Official Languages committee  There are actually one million francophones outside Quebec. There's a risk.

Official Languages committee  That is true and I refer to this in my text. Provincial data, averages and so on give us a false picture, especially in Quebec where the Montreal area is so unique. The tendency to maintain English and for immigrants to turn to the English language in Montreal is so strong that it ends up masking what could be happening in more remote areas such as the Gaspé and the Eastern Townships.

Official Languages committee  As Mr. Thériault said, there are general trends and changes take at least one generation if not longer. Major changes will be needed in order to reverse the trend. I am not saying that we are headed for a total disappearance of francophones outside Quebec, but I think that we're going to see the pockets get smaller.

Official Languages committee  I couldn't speak for minority communities as such, but rather for national languages. For example, in Ireland and Israel, there are very general trends. Yet, people have managed to reverse the trend in the case of languages that were in danger of becoming extinct. Obviously, investments have been made in resources in various sectors in a way that is different from the strategies developed in Canada.

Official Languages committee  One of the fundamental aspects of this institutional development is what I call the institutional anchoring. School board management is a wonderful example of what can be accomplished when the management rights are granted to francophone communities. Therefore, it is a matter of developing sectors related to early childhood, health, welcoming immigrants and fighting poverty through a network of dedicated institutions, similar to what has been done for education.

Official Languages committee  Would you like me to take my full ten minutes now?

Official Languages committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee. I have prepared a text which will be distributed to you later, once it has been translated. Unfortunately, it is 10 pages long, so I will have to move through some parts of it rather quickly. The title of my presentation is “Official Languages in Canada: Anticipating the 2026 Census”.