Skip to main content

The International Day of the Francophonie

On March 20, I had the pleasure of speaking about the International Francophonie Day, a day to celebrate the global francophone community and their contributions.  You can read the text of my remarks below, or you can see it on video at this link - Journée internationale de la Francophonie.

Mr. Gerrard: Madame la Président, je parle aujourd'hui de la Journée internationale de la Francophonie. C'est une occasion de mention les grandes contributions de la France, de la langue française et des régions avec les peuples qui parlent française dans notre monde.
      Ici, au Manitoba, nous avons beaucoup qui parlent française et nous avons une culture francophone vibrante qui existe et contribué jour à jour à notre province. Le nombre des enfants qui sont  'régistrés' dans notre programme d'études en française augmente année par année. Malheureuse­ment, notre gouvernement Pallister a décidé de couper des fonds pour le Secrétariat des services en langue français, et de couper sévèrement le Bureau de l'éducation française. Le gouvernement a aussi éliminé une sous-ministre adjointe qui parle française et a laissé une personne en haut de ce section de gouvernement qui ne parle ni écrit la langue française.
      Il y a une façon mieux de faire gouvernement au Manitoba, qui respecte mieux la communauté francophone et la culture francophone dans notre province.
      Bienvenue à toutes les membres de la communauté qui sont ici, et heureusement pour tout pour le Journée internationale de la Francophonie.
Translation
Madam Speaker, today I am talking about International Francophonie Day. It is an opportunity to mention the major contributions of France, the French language and the regions in the world with French-speaking peoples.
Here in Manitoba, we have a lot of people who speak French and we have a dynamic francophone culture that exists and contributes to our province day in and day out. The number of children enrolled in our French learning programs is increasing year after year. Unfortunately, the Pallister government has decided to cut funds for the Francophone Affairs Secretariat and to severely cut the Bureau de l'éducation française. The government also did away with a French-speaking assistant deputy minister and left a person at the senior level in this part of government who does not speak or write French.
There is a better way to govern in Manitoba that better respects the francophone community and culture in our province.
Welcome to all the members of the community who are here, and happily for all, for International Francophonie Day

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Comparison between Manitoba and South Dakota shows dramatic impact of Physical Distancing

Manitoba implemented physical distancing measures in mid-March.  South Dakota has still not made physical distancing mandatory.   The result is a dramatic difference in the incidence of covid-19 viral infections between the two jurisdictions.   This graph shows the number of people with Covid-19 infections from March 27 to April 14.  Manitoba ( red line )  started leveling off about April 4 and has seen only a small increase in Covid-19 infections since then.   South Dakota ( blue line )   has seen a dramatic increase in Covid-19 infections since April 4.  Those who are skeptical of the impact of physical distancing in Manitoba should look at this graph! Data are from the Johns Hopkins daily tabulations
18 comments
Read more

Pushing for safe consumption sites and safe supply to reduce overdose deaths

  On Monday June 20th, Thomas Linner of the Manitoba Health Coalition, Arlene Last-Kolb Regional Director of Moms Stop the Harm and Winnipeg City Councillor Sherri Rollins were at the Manitoba Legislature to advocate for better measures to reduce deaths from drug overdoses, most particularly for safe consumption sites and for a safe supply, measures which can reduce overdose deaths.  
Post a Comment
Read more

There is an imperative to have a provincial plan to ensure every child learns to read

Too many Manitoba children with learning disabilities like dyslexia are not being identified and helped early on starting in Kindergarten and grades 1 and 2.   The Supreme Court ruled in 2012 that it is the provinces responsibility to ensure that every child learns to read, and even when, in the case of a child with dyslexia intensive intervention is needed.  In 12 years Manitoba has failed to produce a provincial plan to address this issue.  We are holding a Forum (see below) on this subject.  Please come out to the Forum.  There is no cost. Everyone is welcome.  To learn more about the need to do better helping children, youth and adults with a learning disability click on this link    
Post a Comment
Read more