Official Languages committee  Hello. My name is Pierre Godbout. I am the director of the School of Nursing, which offers programs at three campuses: in Moncton, Shippagan, and Edmundston, which my colleague is representing today. The School of Nursing is the only institution east of Quebec that offers a bac

Official Languages committee  Aside from the francophone nurses of Quebec, only 4% of nurses elsewhere in Canada are francophones. That is part of the answer. We aren't considered numerous enough to justify the creation of commercial material. The market is not big enough.

Official Languages committee  I'd like to provide some important context.

Official Languages committee  For historical and other reasons, Quebec withdrew from the Canadian organizations that regulate the profession. This left the other provinces together. That is a good part of the answer to your question. Are the standards the same? No, they are not. The possibility of using the

Official Languages committee  It is the Conseil canadien des organismes de réglementation de la profession infirmière.

Official Languages committee  Quebec's regulatory organization is a part of the organization we've just mentioned, but Quebec did not adopt that exam.

Official Languages committee  Long ago, Quebec abandoned the Canadian organizations that regulate nursing practice because of a lack of services in French.

Official Languages committee  Our province is in a particular situation in the sense that our association represents all of our nurses, including the francophones. As you know, 33% of the population of our province is French speaking.

Official Languages committee  Yes. Some of the members of our association are francophones. We have been there for them from the beginning. Because of this particular situation, the director general of the Nurses Association of New Brunswick, whom you will be meeting later, worked with us to find a solution.

Official Languages committee  It is a computer adaptive exam. It's done on a computer. It's modern technology. The technology as such is good, but the problem is the content of the exam.

Official Languages committee  In addition, less Canadian money would be going to Americans.

Official Languages committee  Every year, in New Brunswick, about 100 to 125 students graduate, on average. There are 49 students in Bathurst, 80 in Moncton and about twenty in Edmundston.

Official Languages committee  Those are rounded figures. About 60% of these cohorts receive diplomas.

Official Languages committee  Yes, approximately.

Official Languages committee  Yes.