Question Period Note: Official Languages Investments in the Western Region

The Francophone community continues to grow steadily in Western Canada. To date, the government has approved over $46 million through the Action Plan for Official Languages for activities that support the development, retention and belonging of the Francophone minority community and the promotion of linguistic duality in British Columbia and Alberta. This community has benefited from many consultations in order to better serve the Francophones and Francophiles of Western Canada.

• Through the Action Plan for Official Languages, the federal government has invested over $46 million in 2018-2019 in activities that support the development and vitality of the Francophone community and the promotion of linguistic duality in Alberta and British Columbia.
• We have increased the core funding for community organizations to support their programs, continue supporting the community’s language rights, and ensure the vitality of Francophone communities in Western Canada.
• An agreement on French-language services between Canada and British Columbia (2018–2019 to 2022–2023) will provide French-speaking British Columbians with better access to provincial programs and services in French. The governments of Canada and British Columbia will each contribute $700,000, totaling $1.4 million annually, for five years.

• The agreement on French-language services between Canada and Alberta, which expired on March 31, 2018, was extended for two years, 2018–2019 and 2019–2020, with a federal contribution of $650,000 per year.
• Our government has contributed nearly $2 million to la Fédération de la jeunesse canadienne-française in support of the Canadian Francophonie Games, the eighth edition of which will be held in Victoria in 2020. The Games provide youth with an opportunity to demonstrate their talents on three fronts: sport, art and leadership. The Games create a sense of belonging and highlight the cultural pride of young Francophones from across Canada.
 

• Established in 1945, the Fédération des francophones en Colombie-Britannique (FFCB) is the official representative organization for British Columbia’s Francophone community, which includes some 70,000 Francophones and almost 300,000 Francophiles. The most recent funding was allocated for 2017–2022 FFCB programming through the Development of Official-Language Communities Program in the amount of $3,619,200 million.
• The Association canadienne-française de l’Alberta (ACFA) is the organization representing Alberta’s Francophone community. Since 1926, it has ensured the recognition and rights of Alberta Francophones, and worked to develop the Francophone community. After Ontario and New Brunswick, Alberta has the country’s largest Francophone minority population. The most recent funding was allocated for 2019-2024 ACFA programming through the Development of Official-Language Communities Program in the amount of $2,820,000 million.
• Thanks to the Action Plan for Official Languages, 46 community organizations in Alberta and British Columbia received an additional 20 percent in annual program funding in 2018–2019.

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