Thank you to the member for that question, but let me be clear: This government has done more for francophone post-secondary education in Ontario than any previous government. We stood up not only one but two francophone universities.

Let me be clear: The Ontario government was never directly providing funding to the University of Sudbury as it was never a stand-alone institution. But when the proposals were submitted to make the University of Sudbury a stand-alone institution, our government did a thorough assessment and concluded that it did not reflect the current demand, the enrolment trends or the existing capacity of institutions offering French-language programs in the Greater Sudbury area.

Look, over the past five years, domestic enrolment in francophone-language-education universities has declined by 30% in Ontario. So at this point, it would be irresponsible to stand up a third institution.

We have done more for francophone education in this province. We respect francophone education and giving students the opportunity. We stood up not only the Université de l’Ontario français but also the University of Hearst, so two stand-alone universities. We are giving students the opportunity to study in francophone education in this province. That’s why we are supporting sectors like health human resources by ensuring that Collège Boréal has the opportunity for stand-alone nursing not only in Sudbury, but also in Toronto. I also had the opportunity, with the Minister of Education, to announce more French-language teacher positions right here at the Université de l’Ontario français. So we are doing more for French-language university in this province than any other government has in the past, and we will continue to be responsible with the taxpayers’ dollars.

Thank you to the member for that question. Might I remind the member that this government, under the leadership of this Premier, has done more for francophone education in Ontario than any other government? We established not only one but two stand-alone francophone universities governed by and for francophones: the Université de l’Ontario français and the Université de Hearst. This year alone, we provided $73 million in dedicated funding that supported more than 320,000 post-secondary students enrolled in 381 French-language and bilingual-language programs across the province.

In fact, this fall, with my colleagues the President of the Treasury Board as well as the Minister of Education, we were thrilled to announce an additional 110 French-language education spaces for the 2023-24 academic year, as well as stand-alone nursing programs for Boréal college in Sudbury as well as Toronto.

We are standing up for francophone education in this province.

We need to ensure that money is being spent wisely. My job as the minister is to ensure that post-secondary is viable for generations to come. That is what we are doing, and we are reviewing the recommendations and working with the sector currently. I look forward to those continued conversations.