The Department of Employment and Social Development administers the program, or the social partnership initiative in official-language minority communities. The $4 million in funding that was previously earmarked for early childhood education was shifted over to this initiative.
What the department has had trouble with is determining the initiative's objectives and desired outcomes. Currently, of that $4 million, some $3 million is supposed to go to francophone minority communities and $1 million is supposed to go to English-speaking communities in Quebec.
On the French side, four national organizations have joined forces. They came up with a plan and project to meet the specific objectives of the initiative, as set out by the department. The four organizations are the Fédération des aînées et aînés francophones du Canada, the Commission nationale des parents francophones, the Fédération de la jeunesse canadienne-française, and the Alliance des femmes de la francophonie canadienne. They put together proposals, and for the last year and a half, they have been waiting for an answer from the department.