Check against delivery

Monsieur le President, one of the beautiful things about living in the Northwest Territories is the diverse range of cultures and languages that reside here. Our Francophone community, made up of approximately 4,200 residents, is an important component of our society and a significant contributor to our social, economic and cultural development.

That is why I am proud to celebrate our Francophone community during the 24th Annual Rendez-vous de la Francophonie. This nation-wide event, held every March, is an opportunity for Canada’s 10 million French-speakers, and all Canadians, to celebrate and promote French language and culture.

The theme for this year’s Rendez-vous de la Francophonie is Traditions. This theme will highlight the ties that connect past and present generations, communities and cultures. Rendez-vous de la Francophonie gives us an opportunity to reconnect with ourselves and celebrate the richness of the Canadian Francophonie in all of its diversity.

Monsieur le President, as we celebrate Rendez-vous de la Francophonie, I would like to acknowledge the work done by the Francophone Affairs Secretariat. In the last year alone, the secretariat translated more than 3 million words that allowed Francophone residents to access important information in French.

 [In addition, the secretariat launched the annual Francophone Community Satisfaction Survey in February to help ensure that the Francophone community is aware of the Government of the Northwest Territories’ French language communications and services, and is satisfied with their delivery at Points of Public Service in French.

Finally, Monsieur le President, the GNWT has been working diligently to improve its French active offer and delivery of French services. A French active offer is a way of greeting the public to inform them that they are welcome to communicate in either English or French. The secretariat has updated training videos for employees and, this month, is launching a video campaign to promote our French language services to the public and inviting feedback on the quality of these services.

Monsieur le President, our diverse French population adds a cultural richness to our communities. I am proud of our ongoing efforts to support our Francophone residents and to strengthen the diversity of our territory.]

Merci, Monsieur le President.