Official bilingualism has added value that inspires us as educators. It is the asset that comes from a broader vision of our country and our world. I invite you to take a look at the photo I brought with me. For those who do not have it in their hands yet, there is a historical plaque at the Forks National Historic Site of Canada, which is supposed to explain the creation of Manitoba. It is one of the points of interest that our students look at when they are gathering information in the historic neighbourhood and in Saint-Boniface to study the French fact in Winnipeg.
This plaque is also on the wall of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba.
As you can see, in the English version, Riel seized power from an ailing Governor Mactavish.
However, in the French version, we learn that the residents of Red River formed a provisional government.
A unilingual observer would not notice this major difference between the two historical summaries. Our immersion students, having benefited from certain resources, having met with people and having visited the real places, notice the difference right away. This example is a symbol of everything this teaching program has to offer, more specifically everything that the underlying programs and federal resources have to offer.
This is not only about access to a language that was not theirs at the outset, but also about access to multiple perspectives on the world that allow them to be better able to find their own identity through the perspectives of others. This is what we need to promote, protect and enhance.