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March 08, 2009
Minister Moore Takes Part in Maillardville's Festival du Bois
COQUITLAM, British Columbia, March 8, 2009 - The Honourable James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, today announced funding for the Société francophone de Maillardville to help it hold the 20th edition of Maillardville's Festival du Bois. This annual public event, which offers entertainment for the whole family, is an opportunity to celebrate French-Canadian culture and the French language, which have been a distinctive feature of the Maillardville-Coquitlam region for nearly 100 years. "Maillardville-Coquitlam's Francophones and Francophiles have two reasons to celebrate today: Maillardville's 20th annual Festival du Bois and the City of Coquitlam's centennial. These two anniversaries demonstrate the vitality of British Columbia's Francophone community," said Minister Moore. "The fact that Coquitlam has been designated one of the Cultural Capitals of Canada for 2009 makes these anniversaries even more special." "The community of Maillardville and the Festival du Bois have clearly benefited from the Government of Canada's support," said Johanne Dumas, Executive and Artistic Director of the Festival du Bois. "With this support, the community will show its colours and demonstrate the importance of linguistic duality in western Canada, here in Maillardville-Coquitlam. It is important to celebrate Maillardville's vitality and that of seven generations of Francophone, and to keep celebrating it for years to come." This year, the organizers of the Festival du Bois are offering a new artistic program that pays tribute to cultural diversity. From French-Canadian music to Brazilian and Asian rhythms, a variety of music will enliven the Festival. The Government of Canada has provided funding of $35,000 under the Community Life component of the Development of Official-Language Communities Program. As with the Roadmap for Canada's Linguistic Duality 2008-2013: Acting for the Future, which was announced June 19, support for this project reiterates the Government of Canada's commitment to linguistic duality and the vitality of official-language minority communities. The Roadmap is an unprecedented five-year $1.1 billion cross-jurisdictional investment.
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