MONCTON, August 18, 2005 -- Minister of Canadian Heritage and Minister responsible for Status of Women Liza Frulla, and Minister of Intergovernmental and International Relations, Minister responsible for Service New Brunswick, and Minister responsible for the Culture and Sport Secretariat Percy Mockler today signed the Canada--New Brunswick Agreement on the Provision of French-Language Services for fiscal years 2005-06 to 2008-09. The Governments of Canada and New Brunswick contribute equally to this agreement, the funding for which amounts to $13.6 million."I am delighted that the Governments of Canada and New Brunswick are continuing to work together to help members of the province's Acadian and Francophone community live, work and grow up in French," said Minister Frulla. "This multi-year agreement will make it possible to strengthen the partnership between our two governments and implement new strategies in order to upgrade the quality of services offered in French."The Canada--New Brunswick Agreement on the Provision of French-Language Services seeks to support the development and delivery of services offered in French, and to enhance the vitality of New Brunswick's Acadian and Francophone community."We are enthusiastic about signing this agreement today with the federal government," said Minister Mockler. "New Brunswick, Canada's only bilingual province, has made significant commitments to its Acadian and Francophone residents. This agreement is of great importance to pursuing these priority objectives that aim to ensure linguistic duality here, in New Brunswick."Under the Canada--New Brunswick Agreement on the Provision of French-Language Services, the Government of New Brunswick has developed a multi-year action plan with various objectives:
to strengthen the political, legal and administrative framework of provincial and municipal governments; to support the development, planning and delivery of French-language services in priority sectors, including health and wellness, early childhood, justice, youth, the language industry, the promotion of Acadian and Francophone arts and culture, language development, immigration and literacy; to ensure communication and formal consultation with the community, and its actual participation; and to support programming for the province's school-community centres.
In addition, under the Canada--New Brunswick Agreement signed today, the Governments of Canada and New Brunswick will each contribute an additional $62,500 in 2005-06. This amount will be used to develop services that will encourage immigrants to settle in Francophone regions.For more information on this Agreement, as well as on intergovernmental cooperation related to minority-languages services, please consult the attached backgrounder at the Department of Canadian Heritage's Web site at www.canadianheritage.gc.ca under Media Room, or at the Government of New Brunswick s Web site at www.gnb.ca/0056/index-e.asp.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.Information:Jean-François Del TorchioPress Secretary Office of the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Minister responsible for Status of Women(819) 997-7788Jean-Guy BeaupréChief, Media Relations Canadian Heritage(819) 997-9314Gisèle RegimbalDirector of CommunicationsIntergovernmental and International Relations(506) 444-4594BACKGROUNDERIntergovernmental Cooperation on Minority-Language ServicesThe Community Life component of the Development of Official-Language Communities Program focuses on the creation, upgrade and delivery of activities and services for official-language minority communities to ensure their long-term development.The Intergovernmental Cooperation division of the Community Life component enables the Department of Canadian Heritage to sign cost-sharing agreements with provincial and territorial governments in order to:
encourage the availability of services in their own language for official-language minority communities in fields other than education; encourage cooperation, dialogue and role modelling among stakeholders at different levels of government; and support exchanges on best practices and the development of multilateral initiatives and 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 acquire results measurement tools. Accordingly, the Department of Canadian Heritage, in consultation with provincial and territorial officials responsible for Francophone affairs, drafted a new cooperation framework over the past year to clarify the action plans developed in each of the provinces and territories. The program has an annual base budget of $11 million earmarked for implementation of provincial and territorial action plans. Additional amounts are allocated for special projects undertaken by the provincial and territorial governments in activity sectors deemed to be priorities.Canada--New Brunswick Agreement on the Provision of French-Language Services, 2005-06 to 2008-09The Agreement was negotiated between the Governments of Canada and New Brunswick under the Development of Official-Language Communities Program. The Agreement requires each government to contribute $6.8 million over four years to support the delivery of French-language services.New Brunswick's multi-year action plan calls for support for the following approaches: 1. Strengthening the political, legislative and administrative framework of provincial and municipal governments 2. Supporting the development, planning and delivery of French-language services in priority sectors:
health and wellness early childhood justice youth immigration the language industry promotion of Acadian and Francophone arts and culture language development (signage and services/private sector) literacy (public libraries)
3. Ensuring communication and formal consultation within the community, and its actual participation 4. Supporting programming for the province's school-community centresIn addition to the amounts specified for implementation of the action plans, the two governments have agreed to contribute equally in 2005-06 to fund a $125,000 project for development of immigrant settlement services in Francophone areas. The intent of the project is to develop a strategy for the integration and retention of immigrants and new arrivals in New Brunswick's Acadian and Francophone communities. The strategy will be part of a provincial initiative now under way, with a view to developing a comprehensive strategic plan for immigration.
