Thank you very much, René.
With this mandate and the resulting responsibilities, the Société nationale de l'Acadie wishes to emphasize three key points respecting the celebrations in 2017.
First, we are very aware that linguistic duality is still too often a poorly defined subject where many prejudices prevail. We would like this important anniversary year to serve as a springboard for encouraging our two communities to get to know each other better, thereby strengthening the principles of our country that underpin the Official Languages Act.
In the same spirit, we believe it is important that all activities surrounding the anniversary showcase the entire Canadian francophonie, in which the Acadians play an important role. Too often, Canadians believe that Quebec is French and the rest of the country is English, giving short shrift to the several million of us who live all across Canada. 2017 provides an excellent opportunity to correct this perception.
Lastly, from a structural point of view, we recommend the creation of a program or mechanism for communities to hold large-scale events to celebrate the anniversary of Confederation, both in the lead up to 2017 and during that year.
We now wish to further discuss the principles we believe are essential to organizing these celebrations and how the Société nationale de l'Acadie is ready and willing to play a role, and should do so.
First, this is an opportunity for national dialogue.
In testimony before the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, we noted a comment stressing the need to respect the value of local history in national history. This is something to which we, in Acadia, are particularly attuned. The story of the Acadian people is unique but little known. It deserves to be highlighted during the celebrations of 2017 as one of the many rich facets of the Canadian francophonie and our confederation as a whole.
So we wish to take advantage of the celebrations to promote a real dialogue with the anglophone community. Despite the Official Languages Act and efforts to get to know us, there is still too much misunderstanding. This undesirable situation could be corrected by specific exchange and communication programs between communities speaking each of our country's official languages.
We would also like to celebrate the historic friendship that has prevailed, since the creation of Acadia, between our people and aboriginal people. This relationship is an example of cooperation, tolerance and mutual assistance, which is the very foundation of the Canadian nation and which could benefit the entire country.