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September 14, 2011
Harper Government Invests in Official Languages in British Columbia
VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Francophones and Francophiles across British Columbia will benefit from access to a wide range of activities and services in French, thanks to funding from the Government of Canada. The Honourable James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, today announced support for 29 projects at an official signing ceremony for the Cooperation Agreement between the Department of Canadian Heritage and the Francophone community of British Columbia, represented by la Fédération des francophones de la Colombie-Britannique. Among the organizations receiving support are the Centre culturel francophone de Vancouver, Théâtre la Seizieme, the Société francophone de Maillardville, the Réseau-Femmes Colombie-Britannique, and the Conseil jeunesse francophone de la Colombie-Britannique. The projects range in scope but share the common goal of promoting the development of biligualism in minority Francophone communities. "Our Government received a strong mandate from Canadians to invest in organizations that help define Canadian identity," said Minister Moore. "By supporting such organizations, our Government is delivering on its commitment to strengthen our communities and support our arts, culture, heritage, and official languages." "Our Francophone community is proud of the crucial role it plays in British Columbia--a role conferred on it by the federal government--to strengthen, protect and promote the French language, Francophone cultures, and the linguistic duality of Canada, which is a fundamental characteristic of our national identity," said Dr. Réal Roy, President of the Fédération des francophones de la Colombie-Britannique. "The federal government's support for the Francophones and Francophiles of British Columbia is an engine of their development. It is essential and critically important to the community." The Cooperation Agreement between the Department of Canadian Heritage and official-language minority communities encourages dialogue between the community and federal government departments and promotes a more effective partnership. The agreement aims to identify community development issues; to establish priorities for action and outcomes; to target intradepartmental, interdepartmental and intergovernmental interventions; and to take advantage of community knowledge in guiding funding decisions and the development of public policies and programs. The Government of Canada has provided total funding of $4,593,323 under the Cooperation with the Community Sector component of the Development of Official Languages Communities Program and the Promotion of Linguistic Duality component of the Enhancement of Official Languages Program. For more information about the projects, see the attached backgrounder.
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