Showcase meeting 2 – Thursday, November 27, 2025

How can we promote FSL to parents and facilitate access to programs for those who want it?

PRESENTATIONS:

Robert James Talbot, Manager of Research, Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages of Canada (OCOL), will briefly revisit some of the highlights of research from the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages, Accessing opportunity: A study on challenges in French-as-a-second-language education teacher supply and demand in Canada, and link to the broader question of how to promote FSL education to parents and how to facilitate access to FSL programmes. He will do so not only by drawing upon the study, but also his professional and personal experiences as a federal public servant at the Office of the Commissioner, as a French immersion graduate himself, and as a parent of children in French immersion today. He will also draw upon the wise words of his mother who, when asked why his parents had put him in French immersion to begin with, responded simply: “Well, why not?”

Ahdithya Visweswaran, Director, Advocacy and Public Policy, Canadian Parents for French, will provide an update on the state of access to French as a second language programs across the country, with a particular focus on French immersion. He will then present the existing policies and levers that influence the availability of these programs, before unveiling Canadian Parents for French (Ontario)’s legislative project, an initiative aimed at guaranteeing and strengthening access to immersion for all students who wish to learn in French.

The question and answer portion of the showcase meeting will be moderated by François Ouellette, Director of the Éducation en français Division, Government of Nunavut, and member of the NTFSL .