QUESTION PERIOD — Canadian Heritage
Official Languages
March 19, 2024
Senator Gold, your government’s decision to cap the number of foreign students allowed into Canada is having a negative impact in the public sphere. It is jeopardizing the upcoming session for a number of universities and colleges.
This is Francophonie Month, a time to recognize the vital role that francophone post-secondary institutions in official language minority communities play in helping those communities thrive. What positive, concrete measures does your government intend to take to compensate for the direct negative impact of this decision in order to comply with the new requirements of the Official Languages Act?
Thank you for your question. Francophone institutions are key to strengthening francophone minority communities across the country. They are very important. That’s why the government has invested unprecedented amounts since 2021 and made these investments permanent in the new action plan. The proposed cap on new study permits is a necessary measure to protect the integrity of the International Student Program.
Senator Gold, while the Action Plan for Official Languages 2023-2028 includes some innovative measures, it still fails to deliver on your government’s 2021 election promise of allocating $80 million per year in permanent funding for post-secondary institutions in official language minority communities.
Does your government intend to honour this promise? Do we have to wait until the next federal election in 2025 for this commitment to materialize?
The government launched the first federal program to support post-secondary institutions in minority communities, and, this year the government announced an additional investment of up to $128 million over the four years of the 2023-2028 action plan to support funding for post-secondary institutions in minority communities.
