WINNIPEG, August 25, 2005 -- Minister of Canadian Heritage and Minister responsible for Status of Women Liza Frulla and Minister responsible for French-Language Services in Manitoba Gregory Selinger today announced the signing of the Canada-Manitoba Agreement on French-language services from the fiscal year 2005-2006 to 2008-2009. The governments of Canada and Manitoba contribute equally to this agreement, which provides $10.6 million in funding.

"I am pleased that the governments of Canada and Manitoba are continuing to work together to help members of the Francophone community in this province to live, work, and grow in French," said Minister Frulla. "This agreement demonstrates our common commitment to encourage the development of the Francophone community in Manitoba."

"By working together with our various partners, we have achieved much success in the area of French-language services," said Minister Selinger. "The renewal of the Canada-Manitoba Agreement will enable the Francophone community to pursue many of its initiatives."

The Canada-Manitoba Agreement on French-language services supports the creation and provision of services in French. Under the agreement, the Government of Manitoba has developed a multi-year action plan with the following goals:

• to support the administrative framework and support services available to government authorities to help them implement the French-Language Service Policy;
• to support the development, planning, and delivery of French-language services in various priority sectors under the jurisdiction of governmental and paragovernmental organizations; and
• to support the development, planning, and delivery of French-language services in economic development sectors and in bilingual municipalities.

In addition, under the agreement, the governments of Canada and Manitoba will each contribute an additional $100,000 in 2005-2006 to support a project entitled "Brand Image of Manitoba's Bilingual Municipalities." Not only will this project enable the Economic Development Council for Manitoba Bilingual Communities to promote "A Shared Heritage," a bilingual branding project for 16 bilingual communities, but it will also enable the Government of Manitoba to establish a committee responsible for creating a brand image for the province.

For more information on the Canada-Manitoba Agreement on French-language services, as well as on intergovernmental cooperation related to minority language services, please refer to the backgrounder attached to this news release on the Canadian Heritage Web site at www.canadianheritage.gc.ca, under News Room.

Financial assistance is provided by the Department of Canadian Heritage through its Development of Official-Language Communities Program.

Funding announced today was provided for in the February 2005 federal budget.

Jean-François Del Torchio
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Minister responsible for Status of Women
(819) 997-7788

Jean-Guy Beaupré
Chief, Media Relations
Canadian Heritage
(819) 997-9314

Colin Lemoine
Cabinet Communications
(204) 945 -1494
clemoine@leg.gov.mb.ca

The Community Life component of the Development of Official-Language Communities Program focuses on the creation, enhancement, and delivery of activities and services for official-language communities in minority situations to ensure their long-term development.

The purpose of the Intergovernmental Cooperation component of the Community Life program is to enable the Department of Canadian Heritage to sign cost-sharing agreements with provincial and territorial governments in order to:

• facilitate the delivery of services in the language of official-language communities in fields other than education;
• encourage cooperation and dialogue among stakeholders at different levels of government; and
• support discussions about best practices and the development of multilateral projects.

The evaluation conducted at the end of the previous cycle of agreements in 2003 confirmed the Program's relevance, but called for it to better target its activities and to improve the tools used to measure its effectiveness. Accordingly, the Department of Canadian Heritage, in consultation with provincial and territorial officials responsible for Francophone affairs, developed a new cooperation framework to clarify the action plan developed for each province and territory.

The Program has an annual base budget of $11 million earmarked for the implementation of provincial and territorial action plans. Additional amounts are allocated for special projects undertaken by the provincial and territorial governments in priority sectors.

The agreement was negotiated between the governments of Canada and Manitoba under the Development of Official-Language Communities Program. The agreement requires each government to contribute $5.3 million over four years to support the delivery of French-language services.