Official Languages committee  Regarding affordability, students often have to leave the north and head to Ottawa, Toronto or Montreal. Those trips and housing are tremendously expensive, and families are separated. So we need to develop the programs we offer in the north to keep our people there.

Official Languages committee  Like my colleagues, I think it’s a matter of ensuring stable multiyear funding. However, we also need to find mechanisms for the federal government to be able to deal directly with institutions, or as directly as possible. Indeed, the fact that we have to go through our territorial government is cumbersome.

Official Languages committee  In fact, for the Collège nordique francophone, having been able to participate actively in Colleges and Institutes Canada, in the Réseau pour le développement de l'alphabétisme et des compétences and, ultimately, in the Association des collèges et universités de la francophonie canadienne provided us with a similar type of discussion forum.

Official Languages committee  That's right. Collège nordique francophone has to tell francophone immigrants who arrive that they have to take language training in English in order to pass our immigration tests, which are not available in French. We feel terrible every time it happens.

Official Languages committee  We nevertheless managed to move things forward with IRCC, which is now somewhat receptive. We received funding this year to develop a French training prototype. However, when the time came to renegotiate funding for the September launch, we were told that there was no money left but that it might be available next year.

Official Languages committee  That's it exactly. IRCC is somewhat receptive, but there has been no real action. That means that we are in a better position than we were before, and it may take another year or two, but there's still a lot of work to do.

Official Languages committee  I agree with my colleagues. I think that the most important thing will be to take steps in order to be in a position to receive multi-year, predictable and stable funding. That's what will really make a difference.

Official Languages committee  Mr. Chair, ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of Collège nordique francophone in Yellowknife, I'd like to thank you for this opportunity to speak to you. My name is Patrick Arsenault, the executive director of the college, and I'm speaking to you from Chief Drygeese Territory. Were it not for the Collège nordique, there wouldn't be any post-secondary French-language education north of the 60th parallel.