Mr. Speaker and distinguished colleagues, as part of this debate on the Bloc motion, I would like to speak to my colleagues in this House about how important the influence of the French language in Canada and the world is to the government, and what the Canadian government is doing in this respect.
Canada's official languages policy and the status it confers on the French language are part of the very nature of this country. This policy is a reflection of the desire of francophones and anglophones throughout the country to live together, and is a sort of social contract between our two major linguistic communities. The government strongly defends these founding principles of Canada.
As for Quebec City's 400th anniversary, we should not forget that Canada was born in French, as our Prime Minister, the Right Honourable Stephen Harper, has said many times. Quebec and the French language are at the heart of Canada, its history and its identity. So an event like the 400th anniversary of Quebec City, for example, is important to all Canadians. The federal government is making a considerable contribution to the anniversary celebrations, through organizations such as the Department of Canadian Heritage, Canada Economic Development and Parks Canada. Quebec City will also host the next Summit of La Francophonie, as announced by Prime Minister Stephen Harper at the summit held in Bucharest in September 2006.
Our government is very pleased to have the opportunity to work with Quebec to strengthen the presence of the French language and culture throughout the world. The summit is also a unique opportunity for Canada to promote a strong and diversified Canadian francophonie.
This gathering will bring heads of state and government from all Francophonie countries to Canada. The last time this happened was in 1999 in Moncton, New Brunswick. Our country has a lot to be proud of when it comes to the influence of its francophonie within the international Francophonie. It is no coincidence that francophone heads of state and government are turning to Canada to hold their discussions. Canada is a beacon of support for the distribution and promotion of the French language.
The 2007 federal budget announced, for instance, that the federal government would contribute $52 million to the Francophone Summit. We will ensure that francophones from all parts of Canada are represented in the activities surrounding the summit. This support for the Francophone Summit shows how committed the government is to ensuring not only that Canada’s francophone aspect is fully represented on the international stage but also that Canada as a whole benefits from the fantastic advantages of having French as one of its official languages.
Spoken by more than 200 million people, French is an official language in 29 countries. Canada is very aware of the importance of its French fact and is determined to help it shine on the international stage. Canada was one of the first countries, therefore, to promote the Francophonie by participating actively in the creation and development of its numerous institutions. Canada helped found the Agence de coopération culturelle et technique, which was established in Niamey, in Niger, in 1970 and eventually became the International Organization of the Francophonie.
Canada has been playing a leading role ever since and is a member of all the multilateral institutions and ministers’ conferences of the Francophonie. The Government of Canada is the second largest provider of funds after France, with a contribution of more than $40 million a year for the International Organization of the Francophonie and francophone institutions.
For Canada, belonging to the Francophonie is more than just talk, as the Bloc Québécois is so wont to do. It means aligning Canada with a rich network of 68 countries and governments that have the French language in common. This network extends from Europe, Africa and the Middle East all the way to the Antilles, the Indian Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, and our own continent. It gives Canadians more opportunity to shine internationally in the areas of language and culture, politics, economics, new technologies and international cooperation.
Finally, it enables the rest of the world to truly appreciate Canada’s original contribution to the building of a modern international Francophonie open to diversity.
Canada’s membership in the Francophonie is one of the main thrusts of its foreign policy. Domestically, Canada’s participation in the Francophonie highlights the linguistic duality of our country and helps the French fact in Canada assert itself and thrive. Internationally, the Francophonie is a natural zone of Canadian influence. It is an area of multilateral cooperation and dialogue where Canada can play a major role and promote the values that Canadian want to share.
The government goes to great lengths to involve Quebec and New Brunswick in the Francophonie and both these provinces enjoy participating government status in it. In the case of Quebec, this status was granted back in the early 1970s.
Thanks to this cooperative approach by the federal government and these provincial governments, Quebec and New Brunswick have been able to play a major role in the work of the Francophone Summits. There is no doubt that the Francophone Summit to come in Quebec City will clearly demonstrate the kind of cooperation that can exist between the governments of Quebec and Canada when it comes to supporting the French language and culture.
I should also mention that the Francophonie has contributed significantly to the adoption, by UNESCO, of a convention that makes cultural diversity an inescapable frame of reference. As we know, this convention formally recognizes, in international law, the fact that cultural goods are different from other goods.
Given the importance that we attach to the strengthening and thriving of the French fact and, of course, to the many other facets of our country's cultural diversity, it is not surprising that we were the first ones to ratify the new Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, which is a critical treaty for the future of cultural diversity at the world level. In so doing, Canada confirmed its historic leadership role regarding an initiative that is providing the international community with a means to draw all the benefits of our diverse cultures and identities, this for generations to come.
I should also point out that, once again, the cooperation between the governments of Canada and Quebec has been exemplary. Our two governments worked in close cooperation to ensure the adoption of the convention and the success of the initial implementation phases.
Such cooperation efforts with Quebec show how the respective initiatives of the Canadian and Quebec governments can complement and strengthen each other. In fact, considering that the challenge of preserving Canada's French language and culture must be met increasingly in the broader context of North American integration and of globalization, I firmly believe that the governments of Quebec and Canada must work together to consolidate a true francophone critical mass within the Canadian, North American and global village.
That is why the Canadian government wants to work to promote the French language in the context of a unifying, inclusive and respectful vision of all the francophone realities of our country. Our approach aims to create a francophone space to connect francophiles from Quebec, from minority communities and from every cultural origin. There are a number of ways to achieve that, but the cultural sector is definitely a preferred option in this respect.
So, whether the purpose is to strengthen the French fact at the international level or within the country, the Canadian and Quebec governments are going to have to work increasingly more closely to strengthen ties between francophones and francophiles in Canada, in Quebec and elsewhere, to promote the establishment of sound partnerships, and to generate concrete and effective measures, which means ensuring that their respective actions complement each other.
