Good morning, bonjour, ullaakkut.
Mr. Chair, committee members, thank you for your invitation to appear before the Standing Committee on Official Languages. We are pleased to come and share our experience with you and to contribute to the evaluation of the roadmap in order to improve programs and service delivery.
We will briefly present the Association des francophones du Nunavut, its accomplishments and its challenges. Then we will explain the positive impact the roadmap has had on the vitality of the francophone community of Nunavut and why it is essential to renew it.
As the organization representing the Franco-Nunavummiut community for the past 30 years, the AFN has a mission to work toward affirming and achieving the full potential of the francophone community in Nunavut in harmony with the other cultures there. The community governance of the francophone minority in Nunavut is an essential factor in the community's vitality.
As the community's representative organization, the AFN ensures the coordination and mobilization of the associative network. We take part in efforts to implement the territory's Official Languages Act
Few federal government departments are present in the territory and few services are provided in French. On the territorial side, Nunavut's Official Languages Act was passed in 2008 and should be implemented starting in 2012. Few French-language services have been offered to date, but the Government of Nunavut has an Official Languages Branch, a Minister of Languages and a Commissioner of Languages.