Official Languages committee  That's one way of wording what we're proposing. The measure that was announced last week cited the example of master's and doctoral students who are excluded from the measure; that is to say, who are not affected by the cap. ACUFC views them as priority cohorts. That's why they aren't affected by this measure.

Official Languages committee  We ask that francophones who come to study outside Quebec also be considered as a priority cohort. That would have the effect of relieving the provinces of responsibility for determining whether francophone institutions will receive study permits under the established cap. We haven't discussed this dynamic that was introduced in the measure, by which I mean the fact that the provinces will be responsible for allocating the study permits among the institutions.

Official Languages committee  There are challenges in many sectors. Are you thinking of any specific sectors?

Official Languages committee  That's exactly it. Our institutional network has been actively involved in recruiting foreign students for 10 or 15 years. We've made giant strides, and that work must not be wasted.

Official Languages committee  As we all know, negotiations are under way with the provinces to renew the minority language education agreements.

Official Languages committee  That funding will be released on April 1 of this year.

Official Languages committee  We hope that's resolved soon.

Official Languages committee  Public funding is obviously the first. The discussion about international students is part of that. Many institutions have turned to us because the percentage of public funding intended for post-secondary education in Canada has been declining for some time. The revenue structure has to be reviewed to ensure that the institutions can carry out their mandates.

Official Languages committee  The ACUFC doesn't have a mandate to negotiate or talk to the provinces. Our members do so directly. I assure you that all our members are in direct and frequent contact with the department concerned with teaching and higher education in their provinces.

Official Languages committee  The second challenge, which follows from the first, is that we need to ensure that our institutions continue to attract local and international clientele. To do that, they must have the resources they need to establish new programs that respond to changing socioeconomic situations and sociopolitical realities.

Official Languages committee  I noted a number of member initiatives in my remarks. For example, there are all the laboratories designed to support innovation in many economic sectors in partnership with local businesses and civil society organizations in particular. I'm thinking, for example, of Collège La Cité, which has an artificial intelligence lab and is establishing partnerships with local businesses.

Official Languages committee  It's wrong to say that nothing has happened since January 22. The measure has been in place since the day it was announced. There's a moratorium on the processing of student permit applications right now. That could mean that some of our institutions may not have a cohort of foreign students registering for the spring term in May.

Official Languages committee  The institutions in our network have always proved that they are resilient, but the fact remains that, without necessarily resulting in the closure of an institution in the short term, a sudden and significant revenue loss could mean the elimination of positions, fewer programs, cuts to the number of spaces in programs and reduced services on campus.

Official Languages committee  In our view, the first thing to do right off the bat is to make francophone students studying outside Quebec a priority cohort for the purposes of the measure announced last week. You must understand that news such as this travels very quickly. In 24 to 48 hours, our foreign clientele know that measures will be introduced to limit the entry of international students to Canada.

Official Languages committee  Thank you. It's obvious to us that the post-secondary sector plays a role in the Canadian economy, a fact that's particularly true of our 22 post-secondary educational institutions in the francophone communities, which often drive local economies because they are innovation hubs, dynamic employers, consumers of goods and services, magnets for public and private investment and calling cards both here at home and abroad.