Statement made on 16 March 2010 by Senator Marie-P. Poulin (Charette)
Hon. Marie-P. Poulin:
Honourable senators, on March 20 the International Organisation of La Francophonie, the OIF, will be celebrating the 40th anniversary of its founding.
It was on March 20, 1970, that a number of countries met and adopted the mission of promoting the French language throughout the world while sharing humanist values based on peace and sustainable development.
Today, 40 years later, the OIF includes 70 states and governments, 56 of them full members and 14 of them observers. Together they make up more than a third of the member nations of the United Nations.
Here are some facts: first, the OIF represents more than 870 million people on five continents; second, it has observer status at the United Nations General Assembly, in recognition of the role it plays in the world; third, it has concluded some 33 cooperation agreements with regional and international bodies; fourth, French is the official language of 32 member states of the OIF; fifth, TV5, the French-language television channel, is the third-largest international television network in the world, broadcasting in 202 countries with an estimated audience of over 207 million households; sixth, the OIF's members account for 19 per cent of world trade; seventh, French ranks third among languages most widely used on the Web.
Honourable senators, we are all very proud of having the privilege of living in a country where French is one of the two official languages. We are proud to be active members of the International Organisation of La Francophonie. But we must work together to develop the Canadian institutions that contribute to the quality and encourage the learning of this beautiful language of our country.