Happy International Day of La Francophonie!

GATINEAU, March 20, 2023

Today, the Honourable Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Minister of Official Languages and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, issued the following statement to mark the International Day of La Francophonie.

"Today, on the International Day of La Francophonie, I join Francophones and Francophiles in Canada and around the world in celebrating the French language. In Canada, Francophone communities have made tremendous contributions to our rich cultural heritage and our history.

As part of the Canada-wide consultations on the next Action Plan in 2022, I had the privilege of seeing the vitality of our official language minority communities first-hand and meeting hundreds of Francophiles, dedicated young people and artists from all parts of the country. They told me about their reality and the issues they face. I would like to highlight their commitment and desire to grow and flourish in French. More than ever, our government wants to protect and promote our linguistic duality. The comments, ideas and opinions shared can be found in the Report on the consultations - Cross-Canada Official Languages Consultations 2022, which was published in December 2022.

This report was timely, since the comments we received contributed to the development of the Action Plan for Official Languages 2023-2028, which will be published shortly. It aims to promote our two official languages and support the development and vitality of official language minority communities.

This year will be an important milestone, as our government works to modernize the Official Languages Act, Bill C-13, which is before Parliament. It reflects our government's vision and commitments to our two official languages. The bill will allow us to put in place concrete measures that recognize the minority status of French in North America and the need to further protect it.

Francophone culture is at the heart of our identity as Canadians. It is rich, diverse and dynamic. It is essential that we preserve its vitality. Happy International Day of La Francophonie! Let's continue to work together to make our language and culture shine."