Official Languages committee  Yes. I have a letter I'm going to give the clerk. One of the recommendations is to target graduates of French immersion programs and French as a first language programs. We know anecdotally that the people we train in our education system—the people who come through our educat

Official Languages committee  Yes.

Official Languages committee  Since the last time I presented to this committee, I've had a chance to meet with Mr. Samsonin Ottawa. We talked a little bit about this, and what I mentioned was that I went through French immersion here in Burnaby, and today, if I wanted my kids to go into the same program, the

Official Languages committee  Thank you very much. My name is Glyn Lewis, and I am the Executive Director of Canadian Parents for French — British Columbia and Yukon. I think this is the second time I've appeared before your committee. I will speak to you in English, but I invite you to ask your questions i

Official Languages committee  I'll just speak really quickly. Thank you for mentioning that. This question of accountability is really interesting. In B.C. there is about $10 million that comes from the federal government every year for French second language education. That is $10 million, roughly, off t

Official Languages committee  Well, here is the thing. We meet with the provincial government often and we say, “Here are the things we're looking for”, and some things require funding and some things don't require funding. This does not require funding. Accountability and transparency in the reporting does n

Official Languages committee  I would like to respond to Mr. Samson. I'm lucky My mother was a French teacher, and my sister took a French-language program. However, I have friends whose mothers didn't speak French, but they still went through a French immersion program. In British Columbia, there is anothe

Official Languages committee  Just really quickly, François, this is also something that I mentioned in my presentation. The number you're looking at, with the lines going down, that's the core French number. It's the core French, as I mentioned in my presentation, that we recognize is a struggling program. I

Official Languages committee  There's only one thing I would add. I think it's a really interesting question. Patrick has lived this, because he lives in the community. He's right there. He has worked with a lot of these chiefs of these first nations communities. I remember when they closed the French immersi

Official Languages committee  Thank you, Gino. My mom was persistant that both of her kids would learn French even though my dad was indifferent and derisive at times about the French language; again, this is a meat-and-potatoes west coast person. She persisted and I went through the late French immersion pr

Official Languages committee  My name is Glyn Lewis, and I am the Executive Director of Canadian Parents for French - British Columbia & Yukon. I am a product of the French immersion program in Burnaby, a suburb of Vancouver. I will communicate my notes in English because it is a little easier, but if you