The Action Plan for Postsecondary Education in French

The government just unveiled Ontario’s Action Plan for French-language Postsecondary Education in Central-Southwestern Ontario which paves the way for the development and implementation of pragmatic and concrete solutions to remedy the poor representation of 0-3% in French programming at colleges and universities in this region of Ontario. The plan includes some positive measures such as the increase in annual funding given to all French-language and bilingual postsecondary institutions in the aforementioned region, the formation of an advisory committee on French language education and an evaluation of Glendon University College’s capacity to offer more programs in French.

One has to acknowledge that with this plan, and within the context of restrained budgets, the government has demonstrated its vision and commitment to the Francophone community. This investment answers the request for more Francophone and Francophile students to be able to pursue their postsecondary education in French in Central-Southwestern Ontario. This also puts Ontario in a good position to profit from a population well-versed in our country’s two official languages in an increasingly competitive economy.

However; many important questions remain with regards to the autonomy of Glendon University College and the composition, and specific mandate of, the advisory body. The plan doesn’t address the important issue of governance by Francophones, which is critical to protecting current French-language programs and developing new ones. Additionally, there is a concern about the proposed timeline for the creation of the advisory body, which would add unnecessary delays to addressing the needs of Francophones relating to postsecondary education; not to mention the fact that there is no clear indication that the mandate relating to the advisory committee would fall within the parameters set out within my recommendation as well as the Expert Panel’s recommendation. We will be monitoring the outcome. Stay tuned.