Indeed, it’s one of the many important topics that are featured in my annual report that will be published on Wednesday, June 6.

My federal counterpart, Official Languages Commissioner Graham Fraser, is also very much interested in this topic. And thus, Commissioner Fraser announced today that he will be conducting a study that will hopefully lead to improvements in access to justice in both official languages. Specifically, this study will focus on the bilingual capacity of superior courts across Canada.

And it is my pleasure to let you know that my own office will be participating in this study that will consider this issue in six provinces: Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba, Alberta, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

I invite you to read the news release that was issued this morning by the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages regarding this study.

The timing of this study couldn’t be better, coming on the heels of the soon-to-be published Bar and Bench Committee report (the Rouleau LeVay report) on the topic of the appointment of bilingual judges. This committee was formed following a recommendation that I presented to the Government of Ontario in my 2008-2009 Annual Report.

Health is, of course, one of the topics that will be presented in my fifth annual report that will be published on June 6.

In the meantime, I urge you to read an article published on Radio-Canada’s Web site over the weekend. By reading this article, you will learn that French-language health care is improving at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre.

The situation was quite the opposite in 2009, when the health needs of Francophones were somewhat given a back seat. One mustn’t forget the province-wide distribution of a unilingual English flyer regarding the H1N1 pandemic flu that happened that same year.

But I would be curious to hear your thoughts regarding improvements to health care. Are Francophones truly doing better than they were in 2009?

For more information visit http://www.cvfht.ca/index.php?lang=fr or contact Guylaine at 905-813-1100, ext. 6626.

I also urge you to attend the Credit Valley Health Team’s open house on Wednesday, May 9, 2012 from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m at 2000 Credit Valley Road, Suite 302, in Mississauga.

We have also been informed by Ottawa’s French-language daily Le Droit, that the University of Ottawa also intends to present its own designation request to the Government of Ontario next month.

In both cases, these institutions have my full support. BRAVO!

I also want to point out how amazed I was to witness the rich diversity found within the Franco-Ontarian population. This was readily apparent to me yesterday upon seeing the many beautiful faces of the school children who attended both events.

Finally, I urge you to read the news release issued by the CSDCCS regarding these two new French-language schools. I also invite you to visit Radio-Canada’s website, where you will find a photo slide show of one of these events.

Last Friday, I was very proud to attend the official inauguration of the new Credit Valley Family Health Team, which recently began providing primary health care to Francophone patients in the Mississauga Halton and Brampton region.

The team’s introduction of bilingual services is the government’s response to the community’s repeated requests for French-language health services in the region, the lack of which was the focus of our investigation report published in March 2010.

The investigation gave me an opportunity to remind the government that it had a duty to provide French-language health care services to residents by proposing practical, concrete models for their delivery. And in January 2011, they were served with another reminder. The outcome: The Credit Valley Family Health Team was to add a second site to serve the Francophone community with the assistance of a team of physicians and other highly skilled health professionals.

The Credit Valley Family Health Team’s new site is ready for patients. It’s time to sign up to take advantage of the many services now available to you in French!

I also urge you to find out more by visiting the Credit Valley Family Health Team’s website and by reading the articles about the inauguration published by Radio-Canada and Mississauga.com.

Breaking news: La Cité collégiale has announced that it will apply for designation under the French Language Services Act (FLSA).

Indeed, the college’s Board of Directors has adopted a resolution to begin the designation process that would eventually provide the Cité collégiale with better legal protection of its programs and services while maintaining its administrative autonomy.

This is excellent news that arrives only a few months after the Conference on the 25 years of the French Language Services Act where designation of French-language educational institutions made headlines.

If the government grants this designation, La Cité collégiale would become the second collegial institution to be designated under the French Language Services Act.

Finally, I urge you to read the news release that was issued this morning by La Cité collégiale.

 
Last week, I attended the gala marking the 15th anniversary of French for the Future, an organization whose mission is to motivate and encourage Canadian students to learn French and live in French. It was a wonderful evening, needless to say. Please visit the organization’s website to discover the many activities it offers to our young people.

Seeing all those parents, all those volunteers who give so generously of their time to the organization, was truly remarkable. I have noted in the past that Francophiles are the natural allies of Franco-Canadians. But sometimes I have the impression that we live in two parallel worlds, when the reality, increasingly often, is that Francophones are in exogamous couples. Indeed, they are us, and we are them!

It is vital that we find ways of talking to each other more, getting closer instead of being strangers. As Max Cooke noted at the Conference on the 25 Years of the French Language Services Act, last November, we have to move out of our traditional comfort zone and think differently. Learn to understand our respective challenges. Discuss, share concrete experiences, in short, make French not just an individual asset, but something natural and desirable for both Francophone and Francophile students. Not easy, I agree. “French for the Future” has addressed that challenge brilliantly for 15 years now, and I would like not only to congratulate them but also to express my sincere gratitude.

The success of major events often requires the involvement of people in the community. One such event is the Pan/Parapan American Games, to be held in July and August of 2015.

With some 10,000 athletes from 41 countries participating, the eyes of the entire world will be on us. One way of showing our know-how and our ability to extend a warm welcome to the 250,000 tourists who will come to watch the Games is by getting involved.

Yesterday, the Organizing Committee for the Games launched a campaign to recruit some 20,000 volunteers to handle logistical work in various areas, such as reception, transportation and artistic and cultural programming. You will find all this information on the PanAM Toronto 2015 website, www.toronto2015.org — a site that provides full information in French, including all supporting documents.

In fact, I had the opportunity to meet with the people who head PanAm Toronto 2015, and I am quite satisfied with what seems to be a conscientious approach to the necessity of reflecting the rich contribution of the French language and culture.

I thus urge you to answer the call. Francophones and Francophiles, young people and not-so-young people, bilingual and even trilingual people: we need you!

Think about it: Here is a golden opportunity not only to promote French for the entire duration of the Games but also to enjoy an extremely rewarding experience as a volunteer!

When I visited the Glendon campus on Monday, I had the pleasure of holding talks with the College’s senior executives and student representatives. We covered a number of topics, including the institution’s recruitment and curriculum challenges as well as its successes, such as the construction of its new Centre of Excellence for French-language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education.

Speaking with students — all of whom were bilingual or even trilingual — led to most enriching discussions. Indeed, Glendon’s student body provides a good reflection of the province’s francophone reality and our country’s multiculturalism: the campus has a mix of Franco-Ontarians, foreign students and francophiles from French-immersion programs sharing the same educational space. The College currently has 400 international students, more than 10% of whom are in exchange programs. It is also worth noting that the grade point average needed for admission to Glendon is higher than what is required by the parent institution, York University.
 
In short, it was an intense visit, with productive and interesting discussions. Well done, Glendon!