Question Period Note: Official Languages Investments in the Prairies

Summary of the Government of Canada's investments and achievements in support of Francophone communities and linguistic duality in the Prairies region (Manitoba and Saskatchewan) since the launch of the Action Plan for Official Languages.

• The new investments of the Action Plan for Official Languages are already making a difference in communities and organizations across Canada, including in the Prairies.
• In Saskatchewan and Manitoba, thanks to the supplementary funding aimed at supporting organizations in a minority situation, our government was able to support three additional organizations: the Union nationale métisse Saint-Joseph du Manitoba, the Fédération des aînés fransaskois and the Communauté des Africains francophones de la Saskatchewan.
• Our government is also making concrete investments for our francophone youth living in minority situations. In Manitoba, we are supporting the construction of a learning and child care centre at the Université de Saint-Boniface and the expansion of École Noël-Ritchot School in Winnipeg.

• In 2018-2019, the Department of Canadian Heritage (PCH) invested more than 30 million dollars in the Prairies in support of official language minority communities: $18.2 million in Manitoba and in $11.9 million in Saskatchewan.
• Community-based organizations funded by PCH have seen their core funding increase by 20 percent, and this as of 2018-2019.
• In 2018-2019, PCH increased core funding to 14 organizations in Manitoba and 20 organizations in Saskatchewan.
 

• In 2019-2020, in the context of the Action Plan for Official Languages and the announcement of supplementary funding to support program funding of organizations in a minority situation, PCH was able to provide program funding to three additional organizations in the Prairies (Manitoba and Saskatchewan);
o $125,000 to the Union nationale métisse Saint-Joseph du Manitoba pour 2019-2020;
o $240,000 to the Fédération des aînés fransaskois for 2019-2020 to 2021-2022 ($80,000 per year);
o $210,000 to the Communauté des Africains francophones de la Saskatchewan for 2019-2020 to 2021-2022 ($70 000 per year).
• In 2018-2019, PCH approved a total contribution of $2.077 million to support the construction of a learning and child care centre at the Université de Saint-Boniface. This multi-year financial contribution covers three fiscal years, from 2018-2019 to 2020-2021 and is delivered through Intergovernmental Cooperation on Minority Language Education sub-component of the Development of Official Language Communities program.
• The new centre will be located on the university campus in a new one-storey, 7,800 square-foot building. It will accommodate 80 children, including 16 infants and 64 preschool children.
• In 2018-2019, PCH also provided $889,970 in funding towards the expansion of École Noël-Ritchot School. The total departmental contribution to this project is $1,989,970 over four years (2015-2019).
• The expansion, which will benefit the 250 kindergarten to grade 8 students and the community, will add nearly 30,000 square feet to the school. In addition, almost 6,000 square feet of the existing structure will be renovated. Eight new classrooms, a new gymnasium and a new child-care centre for 74 infants and pre-school aged children will be created.

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