Thank you.

Mr. Chair, ladies and gentlemen, good morning.

My name is Gillian Anderson and I am a proud francophone parent from the St. Albert region in Alberta. I am also president of the Commission nationale des parents francophones, or CNPF.

Thank you for inviting CNPF to speak to the study on the minority-language education continuum.

Although CNPF works with all parents on the education continuum, it has done a lot of work on early childhood education over the past few decades. We are here today to talk to you on behalf of the parents of 141,000 children aged 0 to 4 who, according to the recent census, have the right to education in French in a minority setting under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The serious shortage of child care spaces in French and the long waiting lists force parents to make choices that have serious consequences: They either register their child for English child care, or they keep their child at home. That agonizing decision is made at the most critical time in their child's development. It is during early childhood that language and a sense of identity develops.

Many parents tell us that their children speak only English after attending an anglophone child care facility even if both parents are francophones, as is often the case. Many parents choose to register their children at an anglophone school to ensure their scholastic success, out of fear that they will not be able to adapt to a francophone school. Imagine how the parents feel: They feel like they failed to pass down French to their children.

In all, 141,635 children have the right to education in French in a minority setting, but less than 20% of parents manage to place their children in francophone child care. In other words, 80% of parents, which represents thousands of parents, have no other option than to place their children in anglophone child care.

Why this lack of early childhood services in French? Essentially, the biggest part of the problem is the agreements concluded with the provinces and territories under the national child care program. These agreements include language clauses, but the provincial and territorial action plans are vague and include very little access to child care in French. For example, there are situations like the one in Alberta, where only 19 of the 1,500 new child care spaces have been allocated to the francophone community.

Early childhood is the gateway to education in French for the entire continuum of education. The fact is that the lack of child care services contributes directly to the assimilation of our francophones. It is crucial to act quickly to expand access to early childhood services in the minority language in Canada and to ensure their quality to promote a positive impact on the language and social development of children.

We also think it is essential for the francophone child care services in minority communities to benefit from much more stable, long-term funding to ensure their sustainability and growth.

Lastly, I would like to take a bit of time to say a few words about the rest of the continuum of education.

We would like to support all the stakeholders who come here to tell you how much the continuum in French is underfunded in Canada.

What is more, we strongly believe it is essential to offer more support to the parents in the entire continuum of education. In our communities, two out of three francophone children come from exogamous families, and parents have intense debates on whether or not to continue educating their children in French. These parents need a lot more support. To that end, more substantial funding needs to be given under the Official Languages in Education Program in Alberta.

We also need to support the parents when it comes time to choose a French-language post-secondary institution. Parents are sorely lacking information to properly support their young people at this important stage of the continuum.

The lack of early childhood services in French and the lack of support for parents is a barrier to exercising the constitutional right to education in a French minority community. As such, this constitutes a threat to the future vitality of francophone minority communities. Action is urgently needed.

Thank you very much for your attention.