Symposium on Official Languages in Ontario

A new formula based on needs

The Symposium on Official Languages, organized by the Direction de l'entente Canada-communauté Ontario in partnership with Canadian Heritage,was held in November 2005 and hosted approximately 160 participants, including numerous Francophone community leaders, federal and provincial institution representatives, representatives from foundations and resource people.

The format of the event was based on the needs expressed by the Ontario Francophone community and the departments. Basic issues were discussed and solutions were identified for the development of Francophone communities in Ontario during formal and informal exchanges.Mauril Bélanger, then Minister responsible for Official Languages, addressed the participants on the Government of Canada's Action Plan for Official Languages.

The most notable aspects included:

• a discussion on the theme "The Social/Integrated Economy: A tool for independence or withdrawal of the State?", which included a definition of the concept, a presentation of the issues and the situation in Ontario, the government's reasons for making this commitment, and a dialogue on the institutionalization that may follow;
  
  
• a reverse information fair that enabled members of the communities to learn about the programs and services that are of interest to the community from exhibitors with the governments of Ontario and Canada, and with the foundations;
  
  
• the "Carnets de rendez-vous," where eight federal institutions and two foundations gave personal interviews to community organizations; and
  
  
• a conference by Michelle Boucher of the Ontario Ministry of Education, which provided a better understanding of Ontario's Aménagement linguistique policy for French-language education.

Workshops also enabled the participants to discuss the challenges, obstacles and solutions related to four themes:

• How can we ensure the integration of racial and ethnocultural minorities?
  
  
• How can we facilitate regional and intersectoral cooperation?
  
  
• How can the departments further incorporate the needs of the community into their programs and services?
  
  
• How can Francophone organizations become key stakeholders within the various departments?