Official Languages committee  Yes.

Official Languages committee  It is often my job to try to explain to people what we do. The Council of Ministers of Education of Canada is a corporation which was established in 1967 and brings together all Ministers of Education in Canada, from the primary, secondary and post-secondary levels. Unless I am mistaken, we currently have 19 Ministers of Education in Canada.

Official Languages committee  Yes. When we negotiated the protocol, it was a pan-Canadian initiative. It takes into consideration both the second language community and the French as a first language community. It's all part of the package. It's a multilateral agreement, and then there are bilateral agreements negotiated between the federal government and each province.

Official Languages committee  I simply want to make a comment on the use of the expression "minority language." I am a francophone from Manitoba. I know very well what it means to live in a minority context. I think that we should use the term "official language," but in a minority context. English dominates in some contexts, but our use of language needs to evolve as changes and circumstances dictate.

Official Languages committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman. My name is Raymond Théberge and I am the director general of the Council of Ministers of Education. My presentation will be divided in four parts. First, I would like to give you an overview of—

Official Languages committee  I will take less than eight minutes; the four parts are very short. In the first part, I simply want to tell you about the CMEC. Then, I want to talk about the protocol on official languages in teaching, challenges of education in minority communities and, finally, give examples of projects or events taking place in the provinces where francophones in minority communities are trying to face theses challenges.