RICHMOND, BRITISH COLUMBIA, March 14, 2003 – Speaking at the Hugh M^cRoberts Secondary School in Richmond, British Columbia – an institution offering a French immersion program – the Honourable Stéphane Dion, President of the Privy Council and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, stated that the Action Plan for Official Languages, unveiled earlier this week, will help to strengthen Canada’s linguistic duality and revitalize immersion classes.

The Minister noted first that the Action Plan, a total investment of $751 million in additional funding over five years, includes a separate fund of $137 million for second-language teaching, including immersion programs.

"More teachers, better quality instruction, more accessible and better quality teaching materials, more summer internships, more exchange programs, more opportunities for students to pursue post-secondary education in their second language, are all elements found in the Action Plan. We will respond far more effectively to the desires of parents and students for access to high-quality immersion programs," said the Minister.

Mr. Dion went on to say that he envisioned close collaboration with the provinces in the Action Plan’s implementation. Using the example of his excellent working relationship with the Government of British Columbia’s MLA responsible for Francophone Affairs, Mr. Richard Stewart, the Minister said he anticipated that British Columbia would continue to show the way, being a province where the number of students enrolled in immersion classes continues to increase.

The Minister indicated that the federal government’s objective was " to double the proportion of young Canadian secondary school graduates who have a knowledge of their second official language. Today, 24% of young Canadians in the 15 to 19 age group know the other official language. We need to raise this proportion to 50% by 2013."

Canadians are in favour of an investment in learning the official languages, Mr. Dion continued. Referring to an annual Environics poll conducted on behalf of the Centre for Research and Information on Canada in the fall of 2001, the Minister noted that, "86% of all Canadians (and 82% of Anglophones) think it is important for their children to learn a second language and 75%  of those Anglophones believe this second language should be French. As a matter of fact, 90% of Francophones who want their children to be bilingual would choose English as their second language."

Linguistic duality, Minister Dion emphasized, is "a condition for our future success." Canada, he added, should consider itself fortunate to have two official languages both of which are pre-eminent on the international scene: "... our two official languages are two wonderful wide-open windows that give us access to the world. In this new century, in an era of globalization where communications are increasingly important and where the economy depends more and more on knowledge and innovation, Canada must build on its linguistic duality and the international nature of its two official languages more than ever."

In addition to personal development, mastery of two languages like English and French opens up a broader perspective on cultural heritage as well as being a contributing factor to personal enrichment, said Mr. Dion. This is why Canadians are so adamant about it: " They want to build on immersion, this Canadian jewel that has inspired so many countries. The Action Plan will help Canadians write the next act of the fascinating adventure of Canada’s linguistic duality," concluded Minister Dion.

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