Linguistic Duality Week at PWGSC
In collaboration with Julie A. Lemieux, Public Works and Government Services Canada
From left to right: Michael M. Fortier, Minister of PWGSC; Graham Fraser,
Commissioner of Official Languages; François Guimont, Deputy Minister;
Daphne Meredith, Associate Deputy Minister; Francine Kennedy, champion of promotion and development of official-language minority communities; and
Tim McGrath, champion of corporate culture and bilingual service delivery.
Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) celebrated its first ever Linguistic Duality Week from December 3 to 7, 2007. The event aimed to organize activities to raise awareness of both official languages among the Department's employees in order to promote closer ties between them on the basis of language and culture. The theme, "Linguistic duality: experience it!" set the tone for this event which promoted the professional and personal benefits of bilingualism.
Linguistic Duality Week was launched at the national office with speeches by Graham Fraser, Commissioner of Official Languages, followed by Michael Fortier, Minister of PWGSC, and François Guimont, Deputy Minister.
To help its employees better understand official languages opportunities, PWGSC invited various federal institutions to set up booths and distribute information about official languages. The Canada School of Public Service, Canadian Heritage, the Translation Bureau, the Canada Public Service Agency, and representatives from the community sector, including the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada (FCFA), the Réseau de développement économique et d'employabilité (RDÉE) and the Community Table were on hand for the activities.
Linguistic Duality Week was celebrated across Canada. The Atlantic Region organized physical and virtual activities in its offices in Saint John, Moncton, Shediac, Charlottetown, Halifax, Dartmouth, Sydney and St. John's.
The organizers were unanimous in calling this event a great success, and they believe that PWGSC's efforts to promote linguistic duality will generate the expected results.
Chantal Alarie at the Ministerial Conference on the Canadian Francophonie
In July 2007, Chantal Alarie joined the Ministerial Conference on the Canadian Francophonie. The Conference is an intergovernmental organization founded in 1994 bringing together provincial, territorial and federal departments responsible for delivering services in French and supporting Francophone communities and the Canadian Francophonie. It deals with issues affecting the Canadian Francophonie, guides intergovernmental cooperation approaches and acts as a catalyst in support of the Canadian Francophonie. The annual Conference provides an opportunity to discuss intergovernmental issues relating to the Canadian Francophonie and a dialogue that is favourable to the development of public policies that strengthen Canada's linguistic duality. The Conference's regular operations are administered by a network of provincial, territorial and federal public servants called the Intergovernmental Network on Canadian Francophonie. Chantal worked at the Department of Canadian Heritage in Saskatoon from 1999 to 2007.