The situation is very critical.
Francophone community media in Alberta are crucial for the survival of our francophone community. That is how we pass down our history, share our day-to-day experience, and reach one another in ways that we are not able to do in the major media, where we cannot be heard, or in the local media, where our voice is drowned out. It is therefore important and crucial that we receive funding.
All community media in Alberta have significant challenges to meet. The beacon of Albertan francophonie, Le Franco, has survived this year, but the paper has had incredible problems. The work done by a new team, who rolled up their sleeves, and by my predecessor as president of the ACFA is really what managed to get Le Franco, which continues to work with us, back on its feet. This newspaper represents a very long tradition and is crucial for the community: it is our history.
Federal government departments really have to be encouraged to invest and to spend their advertising budget as they used to do in the past: using community media, which are followed by ordinary people, by a public that could not be reached otherwise.