OTTAWA, April 12, 2005 -- Liza Frulla, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Minister responsible for Status of Women, is proud to announce that the Government of Canada and the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC) have reached a consensus on the key parameters for the next Protocol of Agreement for Minority-Language Education and Second-Language Instruction. Under this Protocol, the Government of Canada will provide the provinces and territories with more than one billion dollars between 2005 and 2009. "Today, we are taking an important step towards strengthening our co-operation with the provinces and territories to provide young Canadians with better access to minority-language education and second-language instruction," said Minister Frulla. "This is a key objective of Canada's Action Plan for Official Languages, which aims to help future generations benefit from our linguistic duality." The Government of Canada and the CMEC have agreed, among other things, on the allocation of funds to the provinces and territories. The agreement also provides a framework for discussion of such elements as provisions relating to the communication of results to the public, processes for consulting interested organizations, and cooperation in official languages in education. The Protocol is a multi-year agreement between the Government of Canada and the CMEC, on behalf of all provinces and territories. It describes the goals and general operation of federal-provincial-territorial cooperation in official languages in education. It governs the negotiation of bilateral cost-sharing agreements with each provincial and territorial government. The parties concerned have given themselves 90 days to finalize the next Protocol. In particular, they will detail provisions for communication, consultation, and use of funds. They will aim to create the best possible conditions for obtaining profitable results for all citizens across the country. -30- Information: Jean-Philippe Côté Director of Communications Office of the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Minister responsible for Status of Women (819) 997-7788 Myriam Brochu Chief, Media Relations Canadian Heritage (819) 997-9314
