Cross-Canada Official Languages Consultations 2016

SHERBROOKE, QUEBEC--(Marketwired - Aug. 5, 2016) - Department of Canadian Heritage

Randy Boissonnault, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage, today led a roundtable in Sherbrooke, Quebec, with the Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of International Development and La Francophonie and Member of Parliament (Compton-Stanstead). Mr. Boissonnault led the roundtable on behalf of the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage.

The roundtable brought together official-languages stakeholders-notably some key figures from Quebec's Anglophone community-who wanted to talk to the elected officials about the practical experience they had acquired in the field.

These consultations will provide Minister Joly with food for thought on key issues and priority measures to adopt in developing a new multi-year official-languages action plan. The Minister invites all Canadians to take part in these consultations and to share their opinions or comments on the role of English and French in Canadian society.

Quick Facts

Webcasts of the consultations can be viewed at the following links:

- in English: Canada.ca/official-languages-consultation

- in French: Canada.ca/consultation-langues-officielles

Quotes

"My mandate is to develop a new multi-year action plan for official languages in order to rejuvenate government action, especially when it comes to supporting English- and French-speaking minorities. Our approach is based on open and accessible consultations with Canadians and on sincere cooperation with key stakeholders."

- The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage

"While in Sherbrooke, the Queen of the Eastern Townships, I want to underline the importance of including English-language minority communities in these consultations. They face challenges that are unique in Canada, and their vision of what lies ahead for our two official languages is very informative."

- Randy Boissonnault, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage

"The discussions and ideas we have heard today confirm the importance of our going out into our communities to meet with Canadians and obtain their feedback about official languages. This direct contact in the field is very important to us, and it will be extremely useful as we work to develop the Government of Canada's next official-languages action plan."

- The Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of International Development and La Francophonie

Associated Links

The Honourable Mélanie Joly's mandate letter

Stay Connected

Follow us on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Flickr.