The annual meeting of ministers responsible for the Canadian Francophonie is an excellent opportunity to share best practices to promote the growth of Acadian and Francophone communities, says MLA for Stratford-Kinlock Cynthia Dunsford, who represented Premier Robert Ghiz at the conference.
“Prince Edward Island is a model when it comes to open and direct dialogue with our Acadian and Francophone community. We have strong partnerships in place such as the Joint Working Group on the Long Term Development of the community. This is an excellent example of joint planning and cooperation between Government and the community,” said Ms. Dunsford.
PEI highlighted accomplishments of the last year such as the review currently underway of the French Language Services Act by Justice Michel Bastarache and provided a future outlook on economic development and immigration, two of the areas of mutual interest to the ministers. Ministers also called on the federal government to maintain its funding commitments under the federal-provincial-territorial agreements on French language services. PEI is an active member of the Conference’s committee on economic development.
The next Ministerial Conference on the Canadian Francophonie will take place June 15 and 16, 2011, in the Dieppe-Moncton region, New Brunswick.
Created in 1994, the Ministerial Conference on the Canadian Francophonie is the intergovernmental forum that brings together ministers responsible for the Canadian Francophonie. The Conference works toward an open, dynamic and diverse Francophonie which contributes to, and fully participates in, the growth of Canadian society. For more information, visit the Conference website www.cmfc-mccf.ca.