Official Languages committee  I can't speculate. At this point in time--

Official Languages committee  I was not there when that commitment was made, so it's hard for me to explain the context under which such a figure would have been arrived at. It is, to some extent, mystifying, but I can see why politicians set themselves really high objectives. Doing so captures the public imagination, and trying to focus on such really incredible goals does work to gather energies and create synergies.

Official Languages committee  It's in the process of being ratified as we speak. The negotiation process is ongoing. All this is to say that at this point in time it looks very good. The federal government last spring committed to reconvene the sums allocated to la Feuille de route, and I believe at that time the sum looked at was $258 million per year for a period of four years.

Official Languages committee  I don't want to sound like a broken record, but...

Official Languages committee  Absolutely.

Official Languages committee  Perfect. What I was saying is that there are different ways of influencing individual bilingualism. The one you have identified is to establish certain institutional criteria to ensure that graduates of a postsecondary program are bilingual. It is difficult for a government to institute this across the country and it is difficult for a government, even a provincial government that essentially has responsibility for universities and colleges, to require that of all postsecondary institutions in the province.

Official Languages committee  It would take a lot of time to try to understand just how independent universities and colleges are. Colleges have a different degree of latitude from universities, which have very broad latitude. One thing we do know is that the way to influence the development and implementation of postsecondary programs at the university level is often through financial support programs, that essentially allow for new requirements to be developed.

Official Languages committee  I am going to try to answer the question. To some extent, and to the extent I am able, this might also answer Ms. Folco's question. I think there have actually been problems in terms of accountability in the past, in the case of transfers of funds, and I am talking strictly about funds under the Protocol.

Official Languages committee  Thank you. My name is Jean-Gilles Pelletier, and I am the Director of Administration and Communications, Official-Languages Programs, with the Council of Ministers of Education of Canada. I am pleased to be meeting with you again. I met a number of the committee members in Toronto a few years ago, when it was my pleasure to welcome you to the Centre francophone de Toronto, in my former capacity.