Key issues of English-speaking communities of Montreal

In collaboration with Beverley Caplan, Canadian Heritage

The Greater Montreal Community Development Initiative is a community-driven project to identify the key issues of the English-speaking communities (ESC) of the Greater Montreal area. The first segment of the project involved a literature review of ESC research, consultations in five regions of Montreal followed by a session with the public at large and expert panel discussions. The report on the findings of Phase 1 was released in September 2007, and can be accessed through the Quebec Community Groups Network website, at www.qcgn.ca. In its report, the initiative has focused on six key subjects: demographics, health and social services, education, employment and economic development, social participation, and arts and culture.

Research on childcare services in French

In collaboration with Gordon Lenjosek, Human Resources and Social Development Canada

Over 300 children from six Francophone minority communities across the country are participating in a childcare pilot project taking place from September 2007 to October 2009. Entitled Je pars en grand, this research project by Human Resources and Social Development Canada examines the effects of childcare services that are enriched with French on the linguistic and cultural development of preschool-aged children and on their learning ability. The project is part of the government's Action Plan for Official Languages, launched in 2003, and has received the current government's support. The following communities were chosen to participate in the project through a competitive process: Edmundston and Saint John, New Brunswick; Cornwall, Orleans and Durham, Ontario; and Edmonton, Alberta. Family literacy workshops are also planned to provide parents with advice, resources and training to help them support their child's learning.

Canada School of Public Service plays an active role in official languages

In collaboration with Pierre Marquis, Canada School of Public Service

The Canada School of Public Service integrates official languages and section 41-related content throughout its various courses and programs, highlighting the important role public servants have in supporting the development and vitality of official-language minority communities (OLMCs) across Canada as well as promoting linguistic duality. The School's learning products are available in either official language or in a bilingual format, and particular attention is paid to monitoring end-of-course evaluations from Francophone participants to ensure that courses are appropriately adapted to their learning and linguistic needs. At the same time, the School "models" this leadership by ensuring the use of both official languages in course offerings, selecting experts to reflect Canada's cultural and linguistic diversity, and expanding its outreach in the regions.

As part of its central role in providing language training to public servants across the country, including those residing or working in OLMCs, the School is partnering with the Université Sainte-Anne and the Federal Regional Council in Halifax to deliver French-language courses. The School is an active participant in the French immersion class in Pointe-del'Église, in Nova Scotia. This class, led by the School's Halifax Office and piloted for a one-week period in 2004 and 2006, provides public servants with an opportunity to practise their French in an OLMC while developing an appreciation for the Francophone culture of the region. In Quebec, where English is the language of the minority, the School has developed a partnership with the Collège Shawinigan and network of Cégeps to ensure federal employees in remote areas have access to one of its second-language maintenance programs in English since access to English training is very rare. Some of its students have also spent time as volunteer interns with Anglophone community groups in the final phase of their training program. This initiative gave students more opportunities to use their newly acquired language skills in an authentic English setting, and the extra help was also appreciated by the small community groups which play an important part in maintaining OLMC vitality.

The School also works together with several Francophone universities and the Francophone community in the Prairies to deliver language courses, hold language-retention forums and activities, and offer French immersion sessions across the region. In Ontario, the School has set up joint ventures for partnership in language training with Glendon College and Collège Boréal. The School continues to build on these relationships through pilots and consultations with these institutions from the Franco-Ontarian postsecondary network.

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