Mr. Speaker, I am very proud to have the opportunity to speak this evening about a topic that is extremely important to my province of Manitoba. It is particularly important to francophones in this province, but also to all Manitobans and francophones in western Canada.
In recent months, I have risen a number of times in this House to ask the government to reconsider its decision to change the funding formula for French-language newspapers, which will cause the Manitoba paper La Liberté to lose 50% of its funding in 2013.
La Liberté is the oldest French-language newspaper in western Canada. This newspaper shares the stories of Franco-Manitobans and people, like me, who learned French at a young age in French immersion. This newspaper makes the connection between a rich culture and a rich language, which were founding elements of our region. It gives a contemporary take on the everyday lives of Franco-Manitobans. We must not lose this link between history and the present day.
In Manitoba, we are very proud of our diversity and of the fact that it takes work to promote this diversity. Recently, in the past two decades, Manitoba has seen a huge increase in the number of students and young people who want to learn French in both the French-language and French immersion education systems.
A number of immigrants from French-speaking countries have found that they can use their language and celebrate their diverse cultures in Manitoba.
Our vibrant francophone culture attracts the world, businesses and development to our region. But this is not something that is automatic; it requires investments and a partnership to continue to promote the French language and culture in our province.
I want to know why the federal government will cut funding to La Liberté. I urge it to reconsider this decision, which will really hurt the francophone community in my province of Manitoba.