Thank you for this opportunity.
There are a few points that I did not get a chance to make about access to services.
In 2013, before Gaston's suicide attempt, health authorities refused us access to him, access that would certainly have made it possible to save his life. How does the government intend to facilitate the community's access to health care and how does it plan to be more receptive to what organizations such as the Communauté des Africains francophones de la Saskatchewan, or CAFS, have to say to prevent this type of situation from happening again?
Many studies conducted in Saskatchewan and other provinces show that most of the services that are currently being offered to newcomers do not adequately meet their needs. For example, the number of non-traditional families within our community is growing because in Africa we have alternative family dispute resolution mechanisms that do not involve the justice system or the police. How does the government intend to implement its plan and ensure that it meets the actual needs of newcomers? We cannot continue to use the number of people who participated in an activity as an indicator of a program's success. Success indicators must also include data on the effective changes in the situations of program participants.
With regard to the strengthening our communities component, if we want to build the Francophonie of tomorrow, we cannot just fund cultural activities on an ad hoc basis. I am thinking in particular of Black History Month celebrations. Such activities need to be a regular part of our school programs. Today, there is a lot of talk about reconciliation with indigenous peoples. It is therefore also time to take into account the cultures of newcomers in the tools used to strengthen the community, and that starts in our schools. When will school curricula be changed to reflect diversity? For example, when will it include the reading of African stories?
The sharing and transmission of culture to young people is essential in retaining newcomers since we want to increase the number of newcomers in the province.