Statement made on 31 March 2010 by Senator Maria Chaput
Hon. Maria Chaput:
Honourable senators, I rise today as a Franco-Manitoban senator and member of the Western Canada Francophonie.
Although the stronghold of the Canadian Francophonie is located in Quebec, there are bastions in every Canadian province and territory.
I would like to give senators a general picture of francophones in western Canada. The French language has occupied a special place in Manitoba for almost two centuries. Francophones have built a comprehensive network of French-language community organizations and services for themselves.
Francophone culture and the French language have been alive and well in Saskatchewan for over a century and have evolved to reflect the community's diversity and its many partnerships.
Alberta's Francophonie has flourished and sets the standard in many ways. In British Columbia, there has been a spectacular increase in the number of children registered in the francophone school board and French immersion programs. In Yukon, francophones are so dynamic, it is contagious. Francophones in the Northwest Territories have forged many social, community and economic links. In Nunavut, francophones put down roots back in the days of the earliest Arctic explorations. They live in harmony with three cultures and three languages.
The Western Canadian Francophonie is constantly striving to assert itself. Fierce battles have been fought over official languages, schools and French radio, among other things. The francophones in Western Canada have every intention of preserving these signs of progress and they are certainly nowhere near surrendering.
Our language is an official language. It has equal status, equal rights and equal privileges guaranteed by the Constitution. We have an Official Languages Act, which is so important that the Supreme Court of Canada has described it as not an ordinary piece of legislation, but a quasi-Constitutional act. What it protects is of tremendous importance.
Today, in 2010, the francophones of Western Canada distinguish themselves by their increased desire to speak French and by the impressive and sustained growth of their institutions.
Honourable senators, we, the francophones of Western Canada, are not part of folklore; we are alive and well, and proud of our vitality.