LANG meeting 7 · 2025-10-30 — Committee Evidence — LegisWatch

Summary

The House of Commons Standing Committee on Official Languages (LANG) met on October 30, 2025, to study the minority-language education continuum. Appearing as witnesses were Ronald Ajavon, Chief Executive Officer of the Conseil des écoles fransaskoises; Marco Fiola, Principal of Glendon College, York University; and Nathalie Lachance, President, and Isabelle Laurin, Executive Director, of the Association canadienne-française de l'Alberta.

Ronald Ajavon described systemic barriers in Saskatchewan, including underfunding and a legislative framework that favours majority schools, which he said perpetuates historical harms from a century when teaching French was illegal. He recommended that the federal government use its spending power under section 41 of the Official Languages Act to directly fund and announce school construction projects without waiting for provincial requests, and to increase operating funding to achieve substantive equivalence with English-language schools.

Marco Fiola highlighted Glendon College's role in training bilingual professionals, including immersion teachers and conference interpreters, and argued that bilingual post-secondary institutions are essential to the education continuum. He noted that 80% of Glendon's students are not first-language francophones, many from immersion programs, and recommended more predictable federal funding that accounts for the higher costs of operating in a bilingual environment.

Nathalie Lachance and Isabelle Laurin stated that Alberta's francophone education system suffers from structural underfunding, with per-capita federal funding of $60 per francophone compared to a national average of $153, and that early childhood services are inadequate, creating "child care deserts." They recommended adjusting federal funding formulas to reflect Alberta's rapid francophone population growth, reviewing mechanisms for community infrastructure, and simplifying recognition of internationally trained workers' credentials.

During questions, Ajavon noted that only 2,000 of 16,000 eligible children in Saskatchewan attend francophone schools, often due to a lack of local schools and perceived inferior services. Fiola disagreed with the idea that bilingual institutions cause assimilation, arguing they help train professionals who can serve the public in both languages. Lachance added that Alberta has 75,000 rights holders under 18 but only 10,000 students in French-language schools, and that many schools were formerly dilapidated English-language buildings.

The committee also debated a motion by Mario Beaulieu calling for the committee to report its desire for rapid implementation of regulations under the new Official Languages Act and for the act's asymmetric approach favouring French in Quebec to become a reality. An amendment to add a request for a government response was proposed but not supported, and the committee agreed to vote on the motion after a brief break.

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Witnesses · 4

Ronald Ajavon

Chief Executive Officer, Conseil des écoles fransaskoises

Opening remarks

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair and members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to speak today on this topic, which is also important to us. I have been working at the Conseil des écoles fransaskoises, or CEF, for a little over 10 years. The continuum, from early childhood to post-secondary education, is a fundamental pillar for the linguistic and cultural vitality of our francophone minority communities in Canada. In Saskatchewan, the survival of French depends on an integrated, accessible and quality education system, from pre-kindergarten to post-secondary education. A number of systemic barriers persist. They create significant problems for the system's proper functioning. I'm thinking in particular of underfunding. I'll go over the historical context. For nearly a century, teaching French was illegal in Saskatchewan, and that created a historic and profound harm in the Saskatchewan community. Section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms recognizes the right to education in the minority language and imposes an obligation on the provincial and federal governments to guarantee substantive equivalence for the children of rights holders. Under…

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Marco Fiola

Principal, Glendon College, York University

Opening remarks

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I would like to begin by thanking the members of the committee for the opportunity to speak to you today. I want you to know that I appreciate the privilege of being able to communicate directly with you as a representative of a bilingual institution. York University, an Ontario post-secondary institution with a bilingual faculty called Glendon College, of which I am the principal, would like to share with the committee members the role that francophone or bilingual post-secondary institutions play in maintaining this continuum and making it relevant. York University believes that it plays a privileged, and often little-known, role in maintaining the education continuum. The lack of awareness of its role in this regard undoubtedly stems from the fact that its bilingual calling is being obscured in favour of other post-secondary institutions that are better able to show their contribution because of their status. York University is Canada's third largest, with three campuses and 10 faculties, where some 55,000 students acquire the skills and knowledge they will need to build their future, as well as the Canada and world of tomorrow. Among these 10…

Nathalie Lachance

President, Association canadienne-française de l'Alberta

Opening remarks

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Good morning to all members of the committee. My name is Nathalie Lachance, and I am the president of the Association canadienne-française de l'Alberta, or ACFA. With me today is our executive director, Isabelle Laurin. I sincerely thank you for the invitation to testify before you as part of this important study on the minority-language education continuum. Since 1926, the ACFA has been defending the rights, gains and vitality of Alberta's francophonie. Today, it represents more than 261,000 French-speaking Albertans, as well as some 50 francophone organizations across the province. We welcome the resumption of the committee's work on this crucial topic. In December 2024, the Fédération des conseils scolaires francophones de l'Alberta, the Fédération des parents francophones de l'Alberta and the ACFA submitted a joint brief presenting a series of recommendations. This brief followed an appearance by the Fédération des conseils scolaires francophones de l'Alberta on October 24, 2024. Today, I would like to come back to some major challenges, particularly in early childhood and post-secondary education. When francophone families don't have…

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