Official Languages Committee on March 23rd, 2022

[Arielle Kayabaga, Liberal, London West, ON]

London is not a bilingual city, but it has the francophone designation because a certain percentage of francophones live there. How can your department supports cities like London so that they can be in a position to retain francophones? What kind of investments do you think could be made to achieve that?

[Sarah Boily]

That's an excellent question.

We definitely have programs to encourage this, such as French courses for residents of London. The focus here is on young elementary and high school students. Some tools have also been developed for adults. You have no doubt heard of the Mauril app, which is free and accessible to all Canadians. The application focuses on Canadian cultural products in connection with second official language instruction. After that, I would encourage every city in the same situation as London to build bridges with francophone cities in Quebec, or with other Canadian cities interested in the francophonie.

[Arielle Kayabaga, Liberal, London West, ON]

Thank you for your answer.

I think that…

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

Excuse me, Ms. Kayabaga. You have 15 seconds left.

[Arielle Kayabaga, Liberal, London West, ON]

Okay.

We could also give consideration to a program that might encourage other cities where francophones live to obtain this designation, because it's useful for education, medical care and many other things.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

Thank you very much.

That brings us to the end of this meeting.

On behalf of all the members of the Standing Committee on Official Languages, I'd like to thank Ms. Petitpas Taylor's team, which is very knowledgeable in its field.

Thank you for the details you were able to provide us with in your testimony. You agreed to send us some documents concerning a number of questions that were asked. If you think of other information that could help us as part of this study, don't hesitate to provide us with additional documentation through our clerk. We are truly grateful.

And thank you for coming, Mr. Lehoux.

The meeting is adjourned.