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NOTES FOR AN ADDRESS BY

THE HONOURABLE DENIS PARADIS,

SECRETARY OF STATE

(LATIN AMERICA AND AFRICA) (FRANCOPHONIE),

ON

THE OCCASION OF THE CELEBRATION OF THE JOURNÉE

INTERNATIONALE DE LA FRANCOPHONIE

HULL, Quebec

March 20, 2002

I am very honoured to be here, in such good company, to participate in this celebration of the Journée Internationale de la Francophonie.

Canada is pleased to be not only a member of La Francophonie, but also a leader within this association that unites 55 nations and governments, from every continent, which share the French language.

On the initiative of our Prime Minister, the Right Honourable Jean Chrétien, Canada has helped to expand La Francophonie's range remarkably, so that it is now playing an increasingly important role at the political level.

I recall the Summit of La Francophonie held in Hanoi in 1997.

Through its values of understanding, generosity, sharing and tolerance, Canada has championed a form of Francophonie focused more on issues related to human security, good governance, democratic development and human rights.

La Francophonie is a growing partnership. Recall, for example, that La Francophonie was the first to endorse the principle of the need for an international instrument granting legitimacy to efforts by states to maintain and develop cultural policies promoting diversity.

If Canada is a credible player in the global debate on respecting cultural diversity, it is because it is an enviable model of multiculturalism and has adopted concrete measures that ensure respect for linguistic duality.

La Francophonie exists, of course, for rational reasons, but also for emotional reasons. What unites us within La Francophonie, first and foremost, is the pride of sharing a magnificent and rich language stretching, as expressed by poet Yves Duteil, from La Contrescarpe to the Île d'Orléans, and beyond.

Nous dire que là-bas dans ce pays de neige

Elle a fait face aux vents qui soufflent de partout

Pour imposer ses mots jusque dans les collèges

Et qu'on y parle encore la langue de chez nous

[To say that in this snowy land

It has faced the swirling winds of adversity

Making a way for its words in our schools

That our language might find a haven there]

French is also our country's language! With their language as the cornerstone, the hardy French settlers formed communities, flourished, and educated their children in North America, and in the end not only won out against the cold, but above all won a place to stand in this new land. Today, they come from many other countries around the world to help strengthen and develop La Francophonie here in Canada.

We are not all "superior trappers" from the Great White North, as was said of the late Jean-Paul Riopelle, whose passing we lamented just last week; the French language and the North American environment have in fact moulded a group of men and women who are "superior promoters" of the French language, and who today are ready to face all of the challenges of modernity, while resolving to master the future in French, and share their diversity with other linguistic groups.

Through La Francophonie we can assert ourselves collectively, as a country. Canada is one country where French has made progress in recent years. For example, each year more than 2.5 million Canadians are learning French as a second language. Through technology and globalization, we can contribute more than ever to the extension of the French language and culture throughout the world.

We can be proud of our achievements. Let's hope that we are able to pass the torch on to those who share our language, so it can continue to be the exceptional tool of communication and political, cultural and economic enrichment that we know it to be.

Long live French and long live La Francophonie!

Thank you.