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.
First, the Council of Ministers of Education of Canada, commonly called CMEC is an intergovernmental body founded in 1967 by ministers of education to serve as a forum to discuss policy issues, a mechanism through which to undertake activities, projects, and initiatives in areas of mutual interest; a means by which to consult and cooperate with national education organizations and the federal government; and, finally, an instrument to represent the education interests of the provinces and territories internationally.
For example, CMEC contributes to the fulfilment of Canada's international treaty obligations such as the Lisbon Convention; provides a national clearing house and referral service to support the recognition and portability of educational and occupational qualifications; develops and reports on education indicators; sponsors research in education-related statistics; administers Canada's national official-languages programs—the second language bursary program and the official language monitor program—and, finally, consults and acts on a variety of issues in elementary, secondary and post-secondary education.
In fact, CMEC is a forum for Canada's ministers of Education, who are responsible for primary, secondary and post-secondary systems. On November 3, 2005, the Chair of the Council of Ministers of Education and the minister of Canadian Heritage signed the Protocol for agreements for minority-language education and second-language instruction [2005-2006 to 2008-2009].
In its Action Plan for official languages, released on March 12, 2003, the government of Canada identifies education as one of its priorities to provide new ?impetus to linguistic duality in the country. Through the protocol and related bilateral agreements, Heritage Canada is contributing to the funding committed by provincial governments for minority language and second-language teachers. All the provincial and territorial governments are using this funding to help put in place projects to meet the specific needs of students, teachers and francophone school boards in minority communities across Canada.
Francophone school boards in minority communities throughout the country are facing similar challenges: difficulty recruiting students which leads to relatively low percentages of a potential pool of students with rights at their schools; difficulty retaining students which is expressed by a significant drop in staff, particularly at the secondary school level; mandatory provincial and territorial curriculums that are not always sensitive to the identity and community requirements of francophone schools and minority communities; the scattered nature of the francophone population particularly in rural regions; and, finally the high proportion of students with rights from exogamous families or families where French is not the language most used at home.
In order to respond to these challenges, I would like to tell you about various initiatives undertaken by francophone school boards in minority communities. These are only a few examples and not all of the activities undertaken.
The Francophone School Board of British Columbia implemented a program called SOS Devoirs, which is a hot line where a student can call in they need to speak directly to a teacher. A chat site accompanied by a virtual library is also accessible 24 hours a day. The students also have an e-mail service where any questions on the curriculum can be answered. Furthermore, the Francophone School board of British Columbia continues the implementation of a plan to integrate 800 new portable iBOOK computers to facilitate the use of new technologies.
In Alberta, the Conseil scolaire Centre-Nord established an ad hoc committee on the condition of francophones to implement initiatives promoting French language and culture in its schools. The Conseil scolaire Centre-Nord is also looking into the feasibility of implementing a model for the management and programing of junior kindergarten classes. Produce a three-year plan to help integrate preschool age children into the francophone community schools.
The Conseil scolaire du Sud de l'Alberta is currently implementing the international baccalaureate program in all its schools.
In Alberta and in Manitoba, the Education departments are currently implementing humanities programs that include a francophone perspective. In Alberta, the Education Department is supporting the implementation of curricula by producing manuals that are specifically designed for teachers of such programs and this is being done in French and in English.
In Saskatchewan, all the schools in the Division scolaire francophone has access to a distance education program by using videoconferences and multimedia tools over the Internet. In this way, the council is able to offer fair educational services to eligible persons in rural and urban areas.
In Ontario, since 2004, the Education Department adopted a language policy to ensure the vitality of that province's francophone community. This policy lays down guidelines that allow all the institutions involved in francophone education to ensure that French culture and language are transmitted and enhanced.
In Nova Scotia, within the framework of a pilot project, the Conseil scolaire acadien provincial is in charge of producing curricula. The council is currently planning the creation of working groups for devising, drafting or validating curricula. These documents will help teachers implement the programs.
The francophone school boards, the directorates in French education, departments of education and NGOs involved in francophone education are constantly seeking to identify possibilities of collaboration in view of formulating projects that will avoid redundancy in several key sectors.
In conclusion, the CMEC is currently working on two Canada-wide projects in the field of teaching French as a mother tongue in a minority environment. We are currently developing a tool for teaching oral communication; this project is led by Ontario. There is a second project, led by Prince Edward Island, which aims at producing a set of tools for teaching written communication.
Thank you.