LANG Committee Report

E. Minority-language Education: Establishing a continuum

The key idea emerging from the evidence gathered in Committee is that minority- language education should be viewed as a continuum ranging from early childhood to postsecondary education. Despite the fact that section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (the Charter) guarantees minority-language education rights at only the primary and secondary levels, many stakeholders believe that the case law expands the scope of section 23 to include early childhood, literacy and postsecondary education and that this continuum must be consistent with the notion of education of quality equal to that of education provided to the majority.

In 2009, the Commissioner of Official Languages of Canada outlined a vision of education consistent in all respects with the above statement:

Not only do English- and French-speaking children and students in minority communities have the opportunity to learn in their language, starting in early childhood, in institutions governed by their communities, but the instruction they receive is also of a quality equal to that in majority communities’ institutions.[133]

1. Early childhood

1.1 2008-2013 Roadmap Investments: Initiatives and success stories

Early childhood[134] is represented in the Roadmap as a sector deemed essential to the vitality of OLMC. Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) was granted $4 million for the Strengthening Non-Governmental Organization Capacity for Early Childhood Development program. According to HRSDC, that funding is being used to promote the linguistic and cultural aspects of early childhood development while strengthening and improving access to programs and services in OLMC. The initiative also acknowledges the important role that community organizations play in establishing networks and partnerships with parents’ organizations and educational institutions to support early childhood development in communities:

The funding is used to support the Commission nationale des parents francophones, which includes obtaining a consensus on a vision for early childhood development in official language minority communities and preparing a harmonized national action plan, including the development and transfer of educational tools and products for children and families such as video clips, a guidebook and resources for professionals.

The work of the Commission nationale des parents francophones and its partners has helped to strengthen and improve access to programs and services in official language minority communities. It has worked to create a strong network where partners can work shoulder to shoulder to sustain and evolve the vision for early childhood development among communities and their stakeholders.[135]

The second Roadmap project for early childhood, the Child Care Pilot Project, focuses on research. With a budget of $13.5 million, it is designed to generate new knowledge on the impact of a French-language preschool program on children’s linguistic and cultural development and on the learning readiness of young children living in Francophone minority communities. According to HRSDC, the results will be used to inform parents, service providers and communities about the design and delivery of early childhood development services and about ways to preserve the French language and Francophone culture.[136]

It is important to emphasize that the Roadmap’s early childhood initiatives targeted Francophone minority communities. According to the Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN), Quebec’s Anglophone communities have not benefited from those investments:

We have received nothing from the child care project, as I have mentioned, and we don't have a youth community sector group and therefore are unable to take advantage of the youth initiatives program.[137]

The QCGN noted that it was important to pursue research on the development of preschool children in bilingual environments, particularly their identity development:

We don’t know a lot about early childhood services. There’s work being done in our school boards around early childhood services, but we need more research around what it means to be a little person in a bilingual context, research around attachment and identity and how that attachment could continue throughout their formative years, how it could contribute to the vitality of the community. We don’t have a lot of knowledge.[138]

Research on early childhood in a minority setting in Quebec could assist the federal and provincial governments and communities in designing a model that meets all the objectives of Quebec Anglophones.

1.2 Evidence and recommendations

1.2.1 Early childhood as the basis of the education continuum

Witnesses described early childhood as a crucial stage in life, particularly with regard to language and identity development in children. The 2010 study by Rodrigue Landry titled Là où le nombre le justifie V: petite enfance et autonomie culturelle demonstrates the importance of early childhood as a determining stage for children from OLMC in learning and retaining the French language and identifying with the Francophone community.

The Commission nationale des parents francophones (CNPF) supports those findings:

The research shows that, if we want people to be perfectly bilingual, they have to progress in French for as long as possible. With regard to early childhood, you have to start with the parents because we know that 63% of our parents in Ontario belong to exogamous families.[139]

The Fédération nationale des conseils scolaires francophones shares that view:

[TRANSLATION]

Early childhood is a pillar of the minority Francophone education system supporting the vitality of French-language schools and, consequently, the continued existence of the Francophone and Acadian communities of Canada.[140]

The Commissioner of Official Languages of Canada has also stated his view on the place of early childhood in a comprehensive vision of education:

A comprehensive vision of education should include early childhood in order to allow children to start their learning at an earlier stage and to do so in a more coherent manner from the outset, in a system where they are likely to progress instead of having to adapt.[141]

Stakeholders from the community sector told the Committee that French-language early childhood services suffer from a systematic shortage of resources. Several witnesses said that child care centres, early childhood centres and existing family and childhood centres cannot meet the rising demand for early childhood services in French. That is particularly the case in Saskatchewan:

[TRANSLATION]

However, the community cannot adequately meet this demand. For example, there are waiting lists for existing child care services. This, incidentally, is consistent with the demographic growth and strong economy in Saskatchewan. Many Francophone communities have also requested new child care services and are still waiting for answers as to whether a service will be introduced.

On June 30, 2010, 108 children were on a day care waiting list. On June 30, 2011, 227 were waiting for services in Regina, Saskatoon and Moose Jaw. Unfortunately, there is a risk that parents will turn to services outside the Francophone community. Four school communities (Prince Albert, Bellevue, Bellegarde and Vonda) requested new child care services in the year ending on March 31, 2010, with a potential for 91 new spaces. Those communities are still waiting to hear whether this undeniable need will
be met.

This past March, the APF [Association des parents fransaskois] received an official request from parents in Moose Jaw that a Centre d’appui à la famille et à l’enfance (CAFE) be established. A CAFE pilot project was introduced in Lloydminster last April. However, without basic operating funding, these projects cannot continue. As a result, Francophone citizens/parents are not receiving all the services crucially important to ensuring the development of the next generation of Francophones, the future students of the Fransaskois schools. The APF’s efforts, in cooperation with its many partners, to ensure the supply of high-quality early childhood and family services have come to a decisive turning point.

It is important to note that the current early childhood infrastructure network consists of 6 education centres (4 new centres have been requested), 12 junior kindergartens and 10 play groups, as well as 3 CAFEs with 2 satellite services. Note that a large percentage of the available access to this infrastructure has been made possible through investments in kind or one-time financial partnerships. Funding for the CAFEs will make it possible for APF to take in and assist our families, starting at the early childhood stage to ensure a gentle transition to the Francophone education system and to continue contributing to the development of the Fransaskois community.[142]

In Canada’s Far North, the shortage of early childhood resources is made worse by the high cost of day care services. This has an impact on the ability of parents of young children to return to the labour market after their children are born and, ultimately, on the community’s vitality:

This can be explained by a number of reasons, but in our view, there is one that is more critical than all the others: early childhood services. In Yellowknife, childcare costs $700 a month; in Inuvik, $850. Long waiting lists for daycare spots are not helping matters, making it difficult for young mothers to return to the workforce, thereby reducing business productivity and hampering economic development. A number of young families are leaving the NWT, which ultimately reduces the country’s ability to populate its remote regions and maintain its sovereignty.[143]

1.2.2 Early childhood and school recruitment

This problem is part of the broader issue of keeping rights holders in primary and secondary schools in minority communities. Child care centres and early childhood and family centres are veritable nurseries that feed Francophone minority schools:

When the school in St. John’s opened in 2005, there were 35 students. In September, there will be 150. In 2015, we already know that we will have more than 250 students. Our school enrolment is undergoing explosive growth of 15% to 20% a year, partly because early childhood services are rounding out the continuum from child care to pre-kindergarten. As a result, we are taking care of children in French until they start school.

That is why early childhood services are important. We have to keep them in our Francophone system.[144]

The lack of space in these institutions impedes the development of Francophone school systems, leads to low enrolment in French-language schools and has an undeniable impact on the vitality and continued existence of Francophone minority communities:

Here in the communities, the family is a microcosm of society and a reflection of the community. When people become parents, it has to be possible to offer them this Francophone community and access to that community. However, we see that 50% of children are already assimilated by the age of four. As services have not been offered, they have not been able to use them. Choice is already a determinant. Only 50% of our Francophones attend our schools.[145]

Early childhood is a key factor in school recruitment in minority communities. Rodrigue Landry, then-Director General of the Canadian Institute for Research on Linguistic Minorities, sent the Committee a brief titled La petite enfance et le recrutement scolaire : une problématique négligée par la Feuille de route in which he outlined the issue of recruitment in minority schools. It appears that a minority of exogamous couples are “well informed on the conditions favouring their children’s bilingualism and the transmission of a dual cultural heritage.”[146] According to Mr. Landry, it is imperative that the Government of Canada show leadership in this matter. He suggests a tripartite action plan on recruitment that would include a major national awareness campaign directed at parent rights holders, informing them about the conditions favouring their children’s bilingualism and their language rights under section 23 of the Charter.[147] He also proposes that governments provide support for early childhood services (e.g. child care centres and early childhood centres), which assist exogamous parents in socializing their children in French.[148] Finally, he suggests that an intake structure be established in French-language child care centres and schools and be open to a diverse clientele, one that is increasingly exogamous and multicultural.[149]

The Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF) also expressed support for a strategy whereby early childhood would be perceived as a pillar of school recruitment and in which room would be made for intake measures for immigrant parents and children.[150]

1.2.3 Toward an integrated services model: Family and childhood support centres

With regard to the offer of services, the Commission nationale des parents francophones (CNPF), which sponsors the Table nationale sur le développement de la petite enfance, told the Committee that it is important to adopt an integrated services model:

We would like them to be multisectoral. We don’t just want child care services; we want more than that. We would like our health services, literacy services for parents and maternity services, for example, to be attached to a Francophone community that would be near the school…[151]

To be able to offer a broad range of services, the CNPF and the CTF recommend establishing family and childhood support centres.[152] The centres should be integrated into primary schools or located nearby in order to be effective and fulfill their role.

The Committee believes that the Government of Canada’s future official languages initiative should give priority to early childhood. Efforts have been made under the Roadmap to provide early childhood solutions. However, in his 2008‑2009 Annual Report the Commissioner of Official Languages of Canada offered the following comment on the Roadmap’s early childhood investments:

The fact that the federal government did not use the launch of the Roadmap 2008‑2013 to announce the implementation of more ambitious early childhood support programs in official language communities is regrettable. Indeed, children who attend day care centres that operate in the language of the majority do not benefit from precious years of socialization that would help them begin their education in a minority-language school.[153]

In particular, the next strategy must take into account the OLMC’s infrastructure needs and favour a multisectoral approach to programming and service delivery.

2. Support for minority-language education

2.1 2008-2013 Roadmap Investments: Initiatives and success stories

Since the early 1970s, the federal government has helped provincial and territorial governments bear the additional cost of minority-language education and second-language instruction. That support is provided by the Department of Canadian Heritage through its Official Language Support Programs (OLSP). Two OLSP components focus specifically on official-language instruction and education: Minority-Language Education and Second-Language Instruction.

Under the Roadmap, OLSP was given $611 million over 5 years, most of it for education: $280 million to support Minority-Language Education and $190 million for Second-Language Instruction. In addition, over that same period, $40 million has been allocated to the Second Language Summer Bursary Program and $20 million to the Official-Language Monitor Program. It is important to remember that all federal education funding initiatives are provided for under bilateral agreements between the federal government and the provincial and territorial governments.

The witnesses from Canadian Heritage painted the following picture of minority-language education in Canada:

The achievements in minority-language education are vast and it’s a field that involves hundreds and hundreds of people across the country. It’s extremely important for the future of minority communities.

As we speak, 245,000 young people are receiving primary and secondary education in their language in a minority situation — in English in Quebec and in French outside Quebec — in 900 schools administered by 40 minority school boards. Talk about school administration in minority communities began in the late 1980s and the early 1990s, so these school boards for the most part haven’t yet been around for 20 years. Progress in this field is measured with the help of the federal government, provincial and territorial governments and through the work of thousands of volunteers across the country.[154]

2.2 Evidence and recommendations

2.2.1 Community learning centres: a winning strategy

Based on the concept of the community citizenship school, Canadian Heritage has worked to establish networks of Anglophone and Francophone community learning centres (CLC): “The basic principle is that of a school rooted in its community and open to all of its members.”[155]

CLC have a number of common objectives: to foster a lasting, beneficial relationship between school and community, and to promote students’ scholastic achievement.

CLC have been very successful in Quebec. There are 37 Anglophone CLC in the province; each is unique and reflects the local culture:

…the growing network of Community Learning Centres, CLC, within our English schools is breathing new life, stability, creativity, and cooperation in urban, rural, and suburban communities across English-speaking Quebec. In some rural communities, the federal support for the CLC has made the difference between compromising the future of a community by closing down a school and building new coalitions and partnerships toward an invigorated community. Remember, for some communities, if there is no school, there is no more sustainability. Even if it’s not in your little village, it may be the centre for
many villages.[156]

As the above passage shows, CLC are veritable community development agents, particularly in regions far removed from major urban centres.

However, the learning centres’ budgets are inadequate to meet the growing demand for programs and services. Officials at the centres are working hard, through partnerships, to diversify their revenue sources:

…while our budgets individually are quite limited … we leverage that into much greater amounts that come into our centres. Our partners, over 350 throughout the province —English partners, French partners, government and non-governmental partners — have leveraged the minimum amount into more than $2.5 million. We would like to see the Roadmap continue, not only for us but for all our partners who we’re involved with. We really have made partnerships the backbone of Community Learning Centres; without the partnerships, unfortunately, we’d probably cease to exist.[157]

According to the Quebec English School Boards Association, the Ministère de l’Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport was instrumental in building the CLC network. However, it was the federal government’s financial support for official languages that got construction started on the centres and that is now the pillar which supports them:

Our future is uncertain. Our reality includes less government funding, fewer donations, families with reduced income, school boards under threat, and communities with increased expectations of their CLC. This is why it is imperative that the federal government continue to support the initiative in the new Roadmap.[158]

Maintaining the network of coordinators is one of the greatest budgetary concerns of Quebec’s CLC. The coordinators are essential because they facilitate cooperation among the various partners central to CLC:

Last year, our partners provided a contribution equivalent to more than $2.5 million. We have relied on more than 350 partners in various projects. This allowed us to offer services, resources and programs that did not exist before the creation of the CLC.[159]

To guarantee the future of CLC, the Committee recommends:

Recommendation 16

That the Department of Canadian Heritage consult the official language minority communities to determine their priorities and needs with respect to community learning centres and maintain the network of coordinators of community learning centres.

2.2.2 School infrastructure problems in official language minority communities

Despite the gains made in education, particularly the establishment of CLC, some regions of the country are facing school infrastructure problems. In its Sommaire du Bilan des démarches et des réalisations du Plan d’action — Article 23, the Fédération nationale des conseils scolaires francophones acknowledges that, as a result of contributions from government bodies, significant progress has been made in school infrastructure since 2005, although much work apparently remains to be done. The Société de l’Acadie du Nouveau-Brunswick noted that the current infrastructure is inadequate to meet the growing demand for space in French-language primary schools in that province, a fact that limits rights holders’ access to minority schools:

… 1,650 Francophone children in southern New Brunswick — 650 in Saint John, 500 in Fredericton and 500 in Moncton — all rights holders, don’t have access to French-language schools. I think it’s incredible that, in 2011, 1,650 children who are rights holders don’t have access to French-language schools. There is currently no more room in the schools and community centres; they are overflowing. That’s even the case in Fredericton the capital, and in Moncton, where there are 500 children. The situation is becoming urgent for us.[160]

Francophones in Yukon are in a similar situation:

That is why our child care services are growing fast. They need investments and they will need support. Our school is growing and overflowing.[161]

The same is true of Quebec’s English-language school systems:

We require help in maintaining those schools, physical accommodations that have to be changed, and schools that don't have a gymnasium. You have helped us with those structures through that Canada-Québec Entente. We need to expand on that.[162]

In view of the above, the Committee recommends:

Recommendation 17

That, as part of a future Government of Canada horizontal initiative for official languages, the Department of Canadian Heritage encourage provincial and territorial governments to reduce the infrastructure deficit of official language minority school boards.

The infrastructure problem described above is part of a broader issue. On the one hand, the provinces, territories and minority school systems do not always agree on the definition or number of rights holders, yet these are central issues in allocating funding for minority schools and sharing physical and human resources. It is impossible to plan or make projections if education departments and OLMC do not agree on the number of current rights holders or how to count them. One of the results of this situation is a general lack of resources. This state of affairs clearly undermines the ability of minority school boards to offer minority-language education of quality equal to that of education provided to the majority.

On the other hand, there appears to be an imbalance between the recruitment efforts of OLMC school boards and the funding granted by the provincial and territorial governments to expand existing schools or build new ones. School enrolment is growing faster than education departments can make resources available. The objective of the 2003‑2008 Action Plan for Official Languages, the Roadmap’s predecessor, was to increase the number of enrolled Francophone rights holders to a target level of 80% by 2013. According to the Canadian Heritage witnesses, that effort continued under
the Roadmap:

The work that we have been doing since 2003 has certainly made identifying eligible participants and recruiting young people living in exogamous households a priority for every school board and for every education ministry. We are working very hard on that.

The numbers are going up, the Francophone minority system continues to grow despite general reductions in education staff.[163]

In reaction to the above quote, the Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN) consulted the Quebec English School Boards Association. To the best of their knowledge, they are unaware of initiatives taken by the Government of Quebec to prioritize the identification and recruitment of students eligible for English-language schools. A follow-up with Canadian Heritage is necessary to shed light on the matter.[164]

The federal government, provincial and territorial governments and OLMC education stakeholders must work together to establish an acceptable definition of what constitutes a rights holder. It must not be forgotten that this issue concerns rights protected under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Like the federal government, the provincial and territorial governments are responsible for fully implementing constitutional provisions respecting minority-language education. The current state of affairs undermines the development of minority-language school systems, which, in some instances, must go to court to assert their education rights. Through the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC), the Government of Canada, in collaboration with the education ministers, can play a leadership role in this very important matter.

2.2.3 Need for specialists in minority schools

Education stakeholders told the Committee that there is a need for specialists, such as psychologists, psycho-educators, behavioural specialists and speech therapists, who can serve students in the language of their choice. This need is all the more pressing in educational institutions that offer programs to students with special needs and in those located outside major urban centres:

Then there is the whole area of special education. If you have children who need services and you’re in the Montréal area, it’s fine. But if you’re in the rural areas, you don’t have that service. It has to be brought in. School boards are finding it very difficult. For instance, psychologists are paid more in the private sector than they ever could earn from a school board. We can’t keep them. We have to start trying to match those salaries. If we want to do that, we have to find the resources elsewhere.[165]

2.2.4 Educational resources and ongoing training

The Association canadienne d’éducation de langue française (ACELF) reminded the Committee that the teaching staff in Francophone minority schools have a twofold mandate: traditional teaching, and a social mandate aimed at ensuring the development of minority language and culture as well as fostering community and identity development.

Faculties of education are implementing promising initiatives to assist new teachers in carrying out their social mandate, but less consideration is being given to ongoing training in this area. The Committee was pleased to learn that the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC), sponsors national projects that address the cultural approach to education. According to the ACELF “the movement to develop the skills of staff working in a minority setting is well under way.”[166] The Committee urges Canadian Heritage to consider the professional development needs of teaching staff in minority schools in order to support them more effectively in carrying out their mission.

2.2.5 Use of new technologies

The Canadian Teacher’s Federation (CTF) voiced concern about how little attention is given to information technologies in minority-language education measures:

We released last year the results of a survey involving more than 1,600 French-language school students on technology and building a Francophone identity. Given our previous comments on public space and resulting concerns, we are disturbed by the lack of opportunities to communicate in French through technologies since they are the media most widely used by young people throughout the world. We therefore believe that the federal official languages strategy must promote increased French-language content on the Web and infrastructures that monitor, update and renew information. We also believe that the government must support innovative initiatives for the use of technology in areas like networking, distance education, language learning and dissemination of cultural content.[167]

Industry Canada’s Francommunautés Virtuelles program, which was terminated on March 31, 2008, promoted the development and use of information and communications technologies. There still appears to be a need for that type of program, particularly in the schools.

2.2.6 Needs of immigrant students

The Association canadienne d’éducation de langue française (ACELF) also emphasized the importance of developing cross-cultural skills in stakeholders and youth to create an inclusive atmosphere in minority educational institutions:

By cross-cultural skills, we mean developing attitudes and skills that encourage the in-depth knowledge of one’s culture and the culture of others, with a view to build a pluralistic and renewed collective Francophone culture.[168]

The Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF) supports that action and added that these challenges are part of the effort to recruit from a school clientele that is more and more culturally diverse:

Teachers in French-language schools fully support the efforts being made by all stakeholders to welcome the largest possible number of children entitled to a French-language education in their schools, but they are deeply concerned over the diversity in family backgrounds, especially when these children speak little or no French upon their enrolment in French-language schools.[169]

The CTF explained that teaching staff would like to obtain support for the development of programs designed to facilitate assistance for immigrant students and their families, both at school and in the community. The CTF believes that the need for support begins in early childhood. The Committee is of the view that minority educational institutions must be able to implement programs that promote the integration of immigrant students and their families.

Although this report focuses on the shared first-language education priorities of Francophone and Anglophone minority communities, it is important to emphasize that both groups have specific needs. It is therefore fundamentally important that the Government of Canada take their respective situations into account and grant equitable support to Anglophone and Francophone minority communities.

3. Literacy

3.1 2008-2013 Roadmap Investments: Initiatives and success stories

The Roadmap provides for a total investment of $7.5 million for implementation of the Family Literacy Initiative. The concept of family literacy was defined by the Fédération canadienne pour l’alphabétisation en français[170] and its partners in 2004, as follows:

By family literacy, we mean an approach conducted with an adult who is significant in a child’s life. The aim of this approach is to develop three forms of literacy: personal literacy, school literacy and community literacy. The development of these forms of literacy will help adults better understand their lives as Francophones in a minority setting. They will also be aware of the importance of taking action to improve their living conditions and those of their children. Through family literacy, adults will be better prepared to act as their child’s first educator. The child directly benefits from the family literacy approach, since the adult will be in a position to look critically at and act on the child’s environment. The adult will improve the child’s ability to speak French as well as his or her reading, writing and arithmetic skills. The child will also be able to contribute more actively to the development of his or her community.[171]

The objective of the Family Literacy Initiative, which is managed by Human Resources and Skills Development Canada’s (HRSC) Office of Literacy and Essential Skills, is to improve access to family literacy services, particularly by establishing networks and partnerships with various community stakeholders:

The purpose of the Family Literacy Initiative is to improve access to Francophone family literacy services by supporting networks and partnerships with various community stakeholders with a view to reaching families and adults that play an important role in the lives of children. Family literacy services are being integrated into existing community programs and services, and tailored to the specific literacy needs of minority communities.[172]

The focus of the Family Literacy Initiative is research. According to the Department, the initiative has supported eight new research reports, developed nine family literacy models, implemented two awareness strategies and published various promotional tools.

The Réseau pour le développement de l’alphabétisme et des compétences (RESDAC)[173] noted the significant contribution made by Roadmap investments and expressed its appreciation of the Canada-wide approach taken to implementation of the initiative:

In the context of the Roadmap for Canada’s Linguistic Duality 2008-2013, more than nine projects are currently underway in six provinces, two territories and at the national level. The innovative Canada-wide approach to implementation of the initiative makes it possible to develop areas of expertise specific to provinces and territories that can then be replicated elsewhere in Canada. The strength of our network is its ability to ensure greater cohesion and relevance in these initiatives and especially to avoid funding duplications.[174]

3.2 Evidence and recommendations

3.2.1 Alarming literacy levels

The Réseau pour le développement de l’alphabétisme et des compétences (RESDAC) described the alarming situation of adult literacy levels in Canada. According to RESDAC, two in five adults have difficulty understanding and using the information they read:

This means that 42% of Canada’s population aged 16 to 65 have difficulty understanding and using the information contained in written material. That 42% figure has not changed since 1994.[175]

Low adult literacy levels have a significant impact not only on people’s lives, but also on the vitality of their community:

We know that people with low reading skill levels post lower employment rates; hold jobs that are at risk, with more difficult working conditions; participate less in training and development activities; have lower incomes; say their health is not as good; participate less in volunteer activities in the community; and are less able to assist their children in learning development.[176]

Although the problem is national in scope, the French-mother-tongue population has lower literacy levels than its English counterpart: considering the language groups separately, 56% of the Francophone population exhibits low literacy levels, compared to 39% of the Anglophone population.[177] This means that a large percentage of Francophones “from the age of 16 to 65 have reading skills that prevent them from functioning in modern society and from meeting the needs of the labour market.”[178]

Literacy levels in the French-Canadian population vary by province and region:

A breakdown of the French-speaking population by province for levels 1 and 2[179] gives the following results: New Brunswick, 66%; Quebec, 55%; Ontario, 55%; and Manitoba, 53%. These data tell us that special attention should be paid to language groups in our efforts to change the situation. Francophone adults should acquire literacy in their own language.[180]

According to RESDAC, the slow development of minority school systems is the main cause of low literacy levels: “To achieve level 3, you have to have a level of knowledge corresponding to grade 12, which then enables you to pursue postsecondary studies.”[181]

The Fédération acadienne de la Nouvelle-Écosse (FANE) maintained that the slow development of Nova Scotia’s Francophone school system and school attendance have had considerable impact on literacy among Francophones in that province:

The survey also revealed that 17% of Francophones 15 years of age and over have less than a grade 9 education. Consequently, we still have a lot of work to do on literacy. That percentage is distinctly higher than the figure for Anglophones, which is only 8.6%, a gap of 8.4 percentage points. That’s virtually twice that figure.

In addition, 28.5% of Francophones 15 years of age and over have an education ranging from grade 9 to grade 13. That figure is 8 percentage points less than that of the Anglophones in the province, which is between 35% and 36%. There is a genuine education gap. It is often people who have not had access to French-language schools who now have literacy challenges in their everyday lives. They have difficulty taking part in the economy as they have literacy levels lower than those of the Anglophone majority.[182]

This is a disturbing situation. As FANE explained: “… the illiteracy rate is very high. Francophones are not yet fully able to take part in the Canadian economy, in Canadian democracy or Canadian society.”[183]

English-speaking communities have not received Roadmap funding for literacy projects, a fact that was raised by the Standing Senate Committee on Official Languages in its report titled The Vitality of Quebec’s English-Speaking Communities: From Myth to Reality.

According to The Centre for Literacy, 55% of adult Quebeckers ranked below level 3 in 2003. Of those Quebeckers whose mother tongue was English, 42% fell below that level.[184] There is a pressing need for literacy services among seniors, Aboriginal communities and immigrants whose first official language spoken is English, as well as in communities outside major urban centres.

In 2012, The Centre for Literacy (Quebec) published a study titled Literacy and Essential Skills Needs of Quebec’s Anglophone Adults.[185]That study identifies significant research needs, particularly in order to understand the connections between access to employment and literacy levels among Anglophone adults and to evaluate literacy levels among immigrants whose first official language spoken is English. Other priority areas are also identified: literacy in health, access to family and early childhood literacy services, and support programs for biliteracy (reading and writing skills in both languages) to improve youth and adult employability.

The Committee acknowledges that the literacy needs of Anglophone Quebeckers were not taken into consideration in the Roadmap. A future federal official languages initiative could help develop literacy initiatives for Quebec’s English-speaking communities.

3.2.2 Establishing a continuum for literacy services in OLMC

In a brief to the Committee, the Réseau pour le développement de l’alphabétisme et des compétences (RESDAC) recommended that a continuum of services be established for adult learners. To do this, the federal government must designate an organization to promote literacy within the federal government. Literacy is in itself a horizontal area of government intervention which has ramifications in health, education and immigration.

In areas of provincial jurisdiction, it is essential to reinforce intergovernmental cooperation. However, according to RESDAC, the current dynamic is not conducive to the introduction of a harmonized approach: “… devolution to the provinces and territories threatens existing services, with respect to job assistance services, and prevents the development of programs and services designed for Francophone adults.”[186] In literacy, the federal government must intervene in a manner consistent with the overall literacy and skills development policies of the provincial and territorial governments. RESDAC believes that the federal government must establish an overall policy framework in cooperation with the provinces and territories, particularly with respect to transfers for literacy in French. The assistance of the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC), in this matter would also be desirable.

RESDAC and The Centre for Literacy (Quebec) noted that the federal government has distanced itself from the family literacy strategy in favour of adult employability projects, even though both components are important. In their view, the government should ensure funding for family literacy and develop a strategy, together with the provinces and territories, promoting the development of services and programs for essential skills.[187] Biliteracy is generally an essential employment condition for individuals from OLMC. A third component, health literacy, must also be included. Health literacy is defined as, “Skills to enable access, understanding and use of information for health.”[188] What is required is a balanced overall strategy that is based on these three components and acknowledges that they are related.

Programs must be flexible and meet the needs of OLMC. In Nova Scotia, current literacy programs are a poor fit for the needs of Acadians and Francophones:

We currently don’t offer Acadians and Francophones in our province an adequate program that would enable them to catch up. Training is often intended to enable people to finish high school, but as a result of various circumstances, literacy levels are too low even among people who have high school diplomas. Consequently, they have to be brought back up to an adequate level.[189]

A literacy strategy for OLMC must be based on recurring core funding. RESDAC believes that the current funding framework should be reviewed, particularly with regard to access to French-language literacy services, because current funding arrangements do not enable Francophone agencies to transition to the service delivery stage.[190]

The Committee is concerned about the literacy problems in OLMC and in Canada in general. Literacy services are part of the educational continuum, and the federal government, through various partnerships, can play a significant role in improving literacy levels. To develop efficient programs that provide Francophone and Anglophone minority communities with access to literacy services of quality equal to that of the services provided to the majority, the Committee recommends:

Recommendation 18

That Human Resources and Skills Development Canada consider undertaking a consultation process with literacy stakeholders in official language minority communities to understand the communities’ needs and that the report on those consultations be made public.

4. Postsecondary Education

4.1 2008-2013 Roadmap Investments: Initiatives and success stories

The Committee heard evidence from the Association des universités de la Francophonie canadienne (AUFC) on the subject of postsecondary education. In general, the AUFC stated that its priorities were well addressed by the objectives of the Roadmap.

I can only observe that the objectives of the current Roadmap and those of the Association des universités de la Francophonie canadienne are similar, since they concern the participation of all Canadians in linguistic duality and support for official language minority communities.[191]

Despite that, the AUFC believes that the Roadmap’s contribution to postsecondary education in French has been modest:

The current Roadmap’s financial contribution to the influence of the association and its members has been modest, but I cannot say enough about the positive effect it has had.[192]

The Roadmap does not provide funding for the network of Francophone minority colleges and universities. It has favoured initiatives that, in partnership with postsecondary institutions, promote linguistic duality and development of the language industry to young people. Among other things, it has contributed to a bursary project coordinated by the AUFC:

The association received Roadmap funding for a project in 2009-2010 which enabled it to grant support bursaries for field research on minority Francophones in Canada. Worth $7,500 each, the bursaries funded by Canadian Heritage have enabled eight students whose master’s or doctoral theses concerned Francophone minority communities to conduct research directly in those communities. The bursary recipients came from the Université de Moncton, the University of Ottawa and the Campus Saint-Jean of the University of Alberta, and their projects were in varied disciplines ranging from education to political science, sociology, history and literature. The association was pleased at the time with the high rate of participation in the competition and the diversity of applications received, which revealed a genuine interest by its member institutions not only in research on minority Francophones, but also in research in general.[193]

4.2 Evidence and recommendations

Postsecondary education is the last component of the education continuum and part of a logic of institutional completeness. The opportunity to obtain occupational training in one’s region or province promotes the retention of students, graduates and young professionals, which in turn contributes to the continued existence and vitality of OLMC. Some regions have adequate access to French-language postsecondary institutions and programs, but there are still disparities. That is the case, in particular, of the Fransaskois community, which demanded better access to French-language postsecondary programs:

[TRANSLATION]

Although it is true that there is some French-language postsecondary programming, that programming hardly meets the aspirations of the Fransaskois community. Consequently, as a result of this major cleavage between French-language secondary education (either first-language or French immersion) and postsecondary education, the current situation in Saskatchewan ensures that young Francophones and Francophiles will migrate to French-language postsecondary programs outside the province. And very few of them will return to look for a job or establish a home. Consequently, both sectors are weakened. The absence of a consistent, credible and sustainable French-language postsecondary sector undermines the development of French-language school education because many students leave French-language programs so that they can prepare themselves better at the secondary level for postsecondary studies in English. This massive dropping out and the very limited selection of postsecondary programming in French undermines the development of the postsecondary sector in Saskatchewan. A very small number of students continue their schooling until grade 12. Most of those who finish high school in French pursue postsecondary studies in English for lack of any good college or university-level options in French. Consequently, the federal and provincial governments lose a considerable portion — if not most — of what they invest in French-language preschool and school education.[194]

The AUFC informed the Committee about two projects for which it hopes to obtain financial support under a future horizontal official languages initiative. The first project concerns national student mobility:

The first project, on national student mobility, will consist of student exchanges between association member universities and Francophone universities in Quebec, Ontario and New Brunswick. Its main objective will be to promote Canadian identity and unity, but it will also promote second-language learning by Quebec students, the discovery of a new socio-cultural context and greater understanding of the Francophone minority communities among all participants.

We have already submitted a funding application to the Quebec government’s Canadian intergovernmental affairs secretariat to continue the conceptual phase of this project. It is therefore too early to discuss its parameters, but let’s say that, at the outset, we are considering exchanges of one or two semesters for students in undergraduate, master's and doctoral programs.[195]

The University of Ottawa’s Official Languages and Bilingualism Institute (OLBI) is also planning to introduce bursaries to promote student mobility. The bursary plan will be intended for Francophones and French immersion program graduates who are studying at English-language institutions but would like to receive part of their education in French at the University of Ottawa:

The University of Ottawa offers more than 350 programs in French in 10 faculties. Mobility scholarships and bursaries would make it possible for Francophone students in English-language universities in Canada to complete part of their program at the University of Ottawa and join the 12,000 Francophone students currently registered there. The scholarships and bursaries would also provide French immersion students in English-language universities who wish to complete some or all of their remaining studies in French with access, for a given period during their program, to the University of Ottawa's French immersion studies program and linguistic support that cannot be found anywhere else in Canada.[196]

The AUFC’s second project concerns the recruitment of international Francophone students. It is:

… international in character and based on the essential role that the association and its members must play in the recruitment of international students and their intake and integration in the Francophone minority communities. Given the demographic decline of the Francophone community in Canada, it is Canada’s Francophone universities that will ensure the continued existence of those communities by welcoming students and researchers from around the world. In the wake of this project, the promotion of the Canadian Francophonie and linguistic duality on the international stage will make Canada a preferred destination for studying, conducting research and taking up residence after graduation.

With regard to recruitment, we propose to add a “Canadian Francophone universities” component to the current scholarship program of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade in order to attract and support 100 international students and researchers for the duration of their studies. Annual funding of $15,000 per student would come in equal parts from the Government of Canada, the province concerned and the participating university.[197]

The federal government could make a significant effort to promote postsecondary studies in French and thus improve access to postsecondary training in French in Canada:

We have to continue raising the profile of our universities in order to attract all the Francophones. We also have to increase access to Francophone universities in the Francophone minority communities. There are currently 13 universities, and they are not in all the regions. We have to work to improve access to postsecondary education in French.[198]