Question Period Note: Official Languages Investments in Ontario

Summary of the Government of Canada's investments and achievements in support of official language minority communities and linguistic duality in Ontario.

• Our government is determined to promote the development of our official language minority communities across Canada, including the Franco-Ontarian community and the English speaking community in Quebec, as well as the promotion of our two official languages.
• We are also proud to increase the base funding of our community organizations and to support Francophone arts and culture in our communities, from coast to coast. To do this, in addition to the amounts in the Action Plan, we are going to allocate more than $ 398 million over three years to support our official languages.
• In 2020-2021, we invested nearly $ 126 million in support of activities that promote the development and vitality of the Franco-Ontarian community as well as the promotion of linguistic duality in Ontario.

• The two main components of the Canadian Heritage Official Languages Support Programs are:
o the Development of official language communities program, which aims to promote the vitality of official language minority communities across Canada; and
o the Enhancement of Official Languages program, which aims to promote the full recognition and use of French and English in Canadian society.
• As of 2018, through the Action Plan for Official Languages – 2018-2023: Investing in Our Future (Action Plan), the Government of Canada has invested in Ontario a total amount of $98,111,267 dollars for activities that support the development of the Francophone minority community and promote bilingualism and second-language learning.
• Thanks to the Action Plan, 93 community organizations in Ontario have received a 20 per cent bonus for their annual programming funding, starting in 2018-2019.
• Among others, the flagship achievements include:
o L’Assemblée de la francophonie de l’Ontario: A not-for-profit organization, located in Ottawa that promotes the development and vitality of the Franco-Ontarian community in all its diversity. The mandate of the organization is to represent the rights of Francophones and to reflect the priorities of the Ontario Francophonie as defined in the Community Strategic Plan. The Community Action Workgroups (“Tables de concertation”) is an initiative that has seen great success by bringing Francophone community organizations together in different geographic locations to network and collaborate on projects, professional development and problem-solving of common issues. Through the Action Plan for Official Languages, funding in the amount of $4.5 million has been approved for l’Assemblée de la francophonie de l’Ontario between 2018 2022.
o Le Conseil de la coopération de l’Ontario: Established in 1964, the Conseil de la coopération de l’Ontario is a non-profit organization whose mandate is to contribute to the development of the social economy in Ontario's Francophone community through cooperation. Its responsibilities include supporting economic and social development in French-speaking Ontario, offering quality services and products for professional and popular training, and being the spokesperson for its members on topics of common interest when they require. With $883,000 in funding, 180 student jobs were created for students aged 16 to 30 years.
o La Nouvelle Scène, a major Franco-Ontarian theatre hub in the National Capital Region, has received $6.3 million through Arts and Official Languages funding programs since 1992. Its resident theatre companies have received a further $2.9 million during the same period.

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