I rise today to inform my honourable colleagues about La Journ�e provinciale de la francophonie, Provincial Francophone Day. May 30^th is the day we celebrate our province�s rich francophone and Acadian history, and the more than 2,000 francophones in this province. These individuals, as well as the 20,000 Newfoundlanders and Labradorians who reap the benefits of speaking Canada�s two official languages, ensure the survival of French as a beautiful, enchanting and colourful language more than 500 years after it was first spoken on our shores.

It was 20 years ago that the French Newfoundland and Labrador flag was raised for the first time in Mainland, known to some as La Grand�Terre, on the West Coast of our province. Earlier today, I had the honour of joining La F�d�ration des francophones de Terre-Neuve et du Labrador and distinguished guests in raising the same flag here on Confederation Hill.

Monsieur le Pr�sident, the French Newfoundland and Labrador flag encapsulates the pride and vitality of our francophone communities. It recalls their French and Acadian origins as well as the maritime tradition of their ancestors. At the same time, it suggests that our francophone communities are on the move, evolving, adapting and pushing forward toward another 500 years of prosperity.

Today, I would also like to recognize a hard-working and dedicated segment of our public service: the Office of French Services. This office of the Public Service Secretariat works diligently to build the capacity of our province�s public service to deliver services in French as was recently demonstrated with the translation of the Provincial Court�s Web site. Through its French-language training program as well as translation, linguistic support and liaison services, and the support it provides to me in my capacity as Minister Responsible for Francophone Affairs, the Office of French Services enables us all to do a better job at contributing to the development of our francophone communities.

I encourage all my honourable colleagues, and indeed all residents of Newfoundland and Labrador, to reflect on the enrichment � cultural, historical, economic and linguistic � that French-speaking Newfoundlanders and Labradors bring to our society.

2007 05 30                                          2:15 p.m.