Hello everyone.

First of all, I would like to thank you for inviting me to appear before the Standing Committee on Official Languages this evening.

My name is Taylor Good. I'm a student in my final year of a bachelor of education degree at the University of Alberta's Saint-Jean campus. I am also the co-president of the association of university students at the Saint-Jean campus, also known as AUFSJ.

The purpose of the AUFSJ is to support students in their post-secondary learning by providing them with services in French, advocating for their interests, organizing social and cultural activities, supporting academic life, and promoting French and bilingual culture. The AUFSJ is also responsible for helping students get familiar with the campus, helping them better integrate into university life and advocating on their behalf with various community stakeholders.

I am proud to say that I have been part of the AUFSJ for three years. During that time, the Saint-Jean campus has undergone significant changes.

Let me share with you two situations that the students in my graduating class have experienced.

First, since I became a member of the AUFSJ, our campus has survived a pandemic that had a profound impact on post-secondary institutions, including serious underfunding at all levels of government. As a result, the Saint-Jean campus was forced to cut key elements of its programming, including many of the courses it offered as part of its programs. The Saint-Jean campus used to have six programs, three of which were offered entirely in French. Today, only one of those programs is available entirely in French, the one that I am part of, the education program. The pandemic also forced the Saint-Jean campus to make cuts to infrastructure investments, which has negatively impacted the upgrading of buildings and technology.

That being said, I am pleased to share a second situation with you today, and that is that the Saint-Jean campus has been able to overcome those challenges. Over the past two years, two major investments were announced. First, in June 2022, a $13.3-million agreement was reached between the federal government, the Government of Alberta, and the University of Alberta to increase faculty, increase the number of programs and courses offered in French, and improve infrastructure. This funding will also strengthen the visibility of the Saint-Jean campus through cultural activities and multidisciplinary activities at the national level.

I am happy to say that, since that time, we have seen many improvements in all of those areas. Major technological improvements have been made in all of our classrooms. In terms of programming, the Saint-Jean campus announced that, as of September 2024, it would be accepting applications for a new transdisciplinary doctoral program. This is an important step in Alberta's French-language education continuum, because it will enable students in Alberta to pursue their entire education in French, from kindergarten to doctoral studies.

In terms of visibility, the investment also enabled about sixty students from all of our programs to participate in the Political Science Games, which took place at McGill University and the University of Sherbrooke. There, the Saint-Jean campus ranked fourth among nine francophone institutions from across the country. If there is one thing to remember here this evening, it is the one thing that these situations have in common, and that is the importance of federal funding.

The first situation shows the impact that a lack of funding has had and could have on the Saint-Jean campus. Major cuts were made to the campus's investments and most of its programs. The campus took part in a national awareness campaign called “Save Saint-Jean”, because students and members of the community were worried that the Saint-Jean campus would not be able to offer the high-quality programming that it once did.

The second situation shows the impact that federal funding can have. A total of 75% of the $13.3 million in investments that I mentioned earlier came from the federal government. These investments made it possible to make a whole host of improvements, the benefits of which are finally being felt today. Francophone communities can now count on having the teachers, nurses, first responders and entrepreneurs they need to maintain a thriving community. We are talking about a francophone community that is constantly evolving thanks to the increased number of francophone newcomers from around the world who are settling here in Edmonton with their young families in search of a French education. We are also talking about a francophone post-secondary faculty that is part of an institution that is looking to welcome 60,000 students over the next decade.

I wonder what role the Saint-Jean campus plays in these two different landscapes. Some may say that post-secondary education is a provincial matter, but I would argue that the preservation of the French language is a federal priority.

When the federal—

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