Meeting of Ministers’ Council on the Canadian Francophonie – Provincial-Territorial Meeting

PRESS RELEASE

For immediate release – Regina, Saskatchewan

June 22, 2022

Ministers’ Council on the Canadian Francophonie (MCCF)

Provincial-territorial Meeting

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CALL FOR INCREASED FEDERAL COOPERATION WITH THE PROVINCES AND TERRITORIES TO BETTER SERVE THE CANADIAN FRANCOPHONIE

Gathered under the theme Spreading Our Roots and Standing Tall, provincial and territorial ministers discussed ways to ensure that all government investments in the Canadian Francophonie lead to sustainable improvements in services for Francophones.

At the dawn of a new federal action plan for official languages, the ministers recognized the commitment of the federal Minister of Official Languages to develop closer federal, provincial and territorial cooperation. In this spirit of stronger partnership between all orders of government, the ministers invited the entire federal government to coordinate its investments in the Canadian Francophonie with those of the provinces and territories to ensure greater efficiency of their respective actions.

The provincial and territorial ministers also asked the Minister of Official Languages to significantly update the financial support for the French Language Services Collaboration Agreements. Provincial and territorial governments are constantly increasing the offer of French-language services, and the ministers consider it essential to maximize resources to ensure the vitality of Francophone communities while respecting constitutional jurisdictions and the diversity of language regimes that prevail in Canada. The ministers also call on the federal government to allocate more resources to promoting both French language and Canadian Francophonie.

"We know that meaningful collaboration between all levels of government will ensure the success of Francophone communities across Canada for years to come,” said the Honourable Laura Ross, Minister of Parks, Culture and Sport and Minister responsible for the Status of Women for the Government of Saskatchewan and provincial and territorial co-chair of the Ministers’ Council on the Canadian Francophonie (MCCF). “As new initiatives are advanced, we ask the federal government to work with us to meet the increased demand for French language services for the benefit of the Canadian Francophonie.”

Saskatchewan took on the provincial and territorial Chair of the Ministers’ Council on the Canadian Francophonie (MCCF) in June 2021. For the next year, this role will be taken on by the Government of British Columbia, which will host the annual meeting in 2023.

*Due to the imminent swearing in of a new Cabinet, Ontario participated in this meeting as an observer and is not party to this communiqué.

The Ministers’ Council on the Canadian Francophonie (MCCF), created in 1994, is an intergovernmental forum that is made up of the ministers responsible for the Canadian Francophonie. The MCCF works for an inclusive and dynamic Francophonie that contributes to and fully participates in the development of Canadian society. Visit the Ministers’s Council on the Canadian Francophonie website at www.cmfc-mccf.ca.

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Information:

Jordan Jackle

Executive Director of Communications

Parcs, Culture et Sport/Parks, Culture and Sport

Government of Saskatchewan

jordan.jackle@gov.sk.ca
‎306-550-5927

Sylvie Painchaud

Executive Director

Ministers’ Council on the Canadian Francophonie

sylvie.painchaud@cmfc-mccf.ca

819-212-6420