The following is being distributed at the request of the Ministerial Conference on the Canadian Francophonie:

Two Events for the Promotion of the Canadian Francophonie

The annual meeting of the Ministerial Conference on the Canadian Francophonie, co-chaired by the Honourable James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, and the Honourable Naomi Yamamoto, British Columbia�s Minister of State for Intergovernmental Relations, concluded yesterday with a willingness to promote the Francophonie during the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

Accordingly, the Ministerial Conference also supported the proposal by British Columbia, in the context of the Games, to declare February 13, 2010 Canadian Francophonie Day.

�Francophones from across Canada�be they athletes, coaches, artists or volunteers�will all contribute to making the Games a unifying event in a typically Canadian fashion�, said the Honourable Naomi Yamamoto.

Minister Moore reiterated the Government of Canada�s commitment to hosting Games that will reflect our two official languages, and he highlighted the collaboration of the provincial and territorial governments in that regard.

The Ministerial Conference also announced that it will partner in the organization of a day-long session dedicated to Francophone immigration to be held on March 18, 2010 in Montreal as part of the 12th National Metropolis Conference. This event will be an occasion for the Conference, governments and various stakeholders to share best practices.

�The Government of Canada is pleased to contribute to this initiative, with the Roadmap for Canada�s Linguistic Duality, which addresses immigration issues among other things, and the actions taken to ensure the place of French in the Olympic Games, we are dedicating unprecedented resources to the promotion of official languages,� said Minister Moore. �This strengthening of intergovernmental relationships and partnerships illustrates our government�s leadership on Canadian Francophonie.�

Ministers accepted an invitation from Jackson Lafferty, Minister Responsible for Official Languages in the Northwest Territories, who will be hosting the next Conference, in Yellowknife and Behchoko, on June 22 and 23, 2010.

The Ministerial Conference on the Canadian Francophonie was created in 1994 and includes the federal, provincial and territorial ministers responsible for the Canadian Francophonie. The ministers meet annually to deal with various issues related to the Canadian Francophonie, to provide direction for intergovernmental cooperation and to perform a unifying role in support of the Canadian Francophonie.

Consult the Ministerial Conference on Canadian Francophonie�s new website at: www.cmfc-mccf.ca.

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2009 09 25                            9:50 a.m.