OTTAWA, April 30, 2009 - On behalf of the Honourable James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, Shelly Glover, Parliamentary Secretary for Official Languages and Member of Parliament (Saint Boniface), will today address the participants of the symposium "Language Immersion as Formal and Informal Learning: New Perspectives for Research and Public Policy."
The symposium, held by the University of Ottawa's Official Languages and Bilingualism Institute, examines immersion research and policies in formal and informal learning contexts.
"For our Government, linguistic duality is an undeniable economic, social, cultural, and political advantage," said Minister Moore. "It allows Canada to occupy a special place among societies with knowledge-based economies."
"Linguistic duality is a cherished Canadian characteristic that must be preserved for future generations," said Mrs. Glover. "I am proud that this government is taking concrete action to ensure its continued development."
The Government of Canada has provided $18,370 in funding for this symposium under the Enhancement of Official Languages Program of the Department of Canadian Heritage. As with the Roadmap for Canada's Linguistic Duality 2008-2013: Acting for the Future, announced on June 19, 2008, the support for this symposium reiterates the Government of Canada's commitment to linguistic duality. The Roadmap is an unprecedented government-wide commitment of $1.1 billion over five years.
Deirdra McCracken
Director of Communications
Office of the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages
819-997-7788
deirdra.mccracken@pch.gc.ca
Media Relations
Canadian Heritage
819-994-9101
1-866-569-6155
