French-language Parliamentarians Meet in Halifax
French-language parliamentarians from across the continent will meet to discuss ways to strengthen the French language in Nova Scotia and North America.
The North American contingent of the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie (APF), an international association of French-speaking parliaments, will meet in Halifax, today, Sept. 16 to Sunday, Sept. 20.
"The work of the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie helps Nova Scotia's French speaking families access more services in their first language," said Acadian Affairs Minister Graham Steele. "Hosting the conference is a great opportunity to show the rest of North America that Nova Scotia has an active Acadian and francophone community."
Representatives from other Canadian provinces, Louisiana and Africa will discuss topics such as French-language services in Nova Scotia, the preservation of cultural heritage and the level of bilingualism at the Olympic and Paralympic games. The conference will have five working sessions hosted by APF sections from the government of Canada and provincial governments of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec and Ontario.
The primary objective of the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie is to strengthen the presence and accessibility of French-language parliamentary information. The Office of Acadian Affairs is co-ordinating many special projects funded by the international Francophone organization's Noria Program to further this objective. The program was started in the 2008 to improve services in French from the Legislature, and will continue until 2011.
"For a small province, we have done well to benefit from programs supported by the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie," said Michel Samson, president of the Nova Scotia section of the APF. "The Noria program helps fund French-language programs that we otherwise would not have."
The Noria program helped fund the translation of the Nova Scotia Legislature website and the Elections Nova Scotia website. This year's fall session of the House of Assembly will be the first time the information will be available in French online. More than 32,500 words were translated, representing a value of $9,000 in services. The program also provides funding for French-language training classes for members of the Legislative Assembly and Legislature staff and the Legislative Library purchased a number of French-language publications.
The Nova Scotia chapter of the APF co-ordinated the first Nova Scotia-based ceremony of the Ordre de la Pléiade in October 2008. The ceremony honoured 15 former and current Acadian and francophone parliamentarians and three community leaders for their contribution to the Acadian and francophone community.