Official Languages committee  Is there more funding than before? I do not think so. I know there is money going to Prince Edward Island. For example, as part of the Canada-community agreements, I know that approximately $850,000 has been divided among community organizations. This amount has not changed in fi

Official Languages committee  Our priorities focus around four areas determined in a process in which the whole Acadian and francophone community participated for one year. First of all, there is a question of identity and of living in French. Then there is the issue of demographic growth and economic develop

Official Languages committee  It happened after the Société Saint-Thomas-d'Aquin made a request to the provincial government. The premier agreed to form a joint committee of community and government representatives. This group worked in parallel on the region's global development plan. Interestingly enough, b

Official Languages committee  I think that the president of the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada , Marie-France Kenny, would be a champion. If I had a second choice, I would choose our premier, Robert Ghiz. He is also the minister in charge of Acadian and francophone affairs. I m

Official Languages committee  The best investment that can be made in Prince Edward Island is in the education system in French, and more specifically in school-community centres. That is the concept adopted in all the regions of Prince Edward Island.

Official Languages committee  As the other speakers have mentioned, I think there is the matter of the clarity of the roadmap. I don't think people in the street read the roadmap every day. I think our emphasis has to be put on our communities' global development plans, as all provincial governments are doing

Official Languages committee  If you take Radio-Canada out of Prince Edward Island…

Official Languages committee  …you eliminate the only media outlet in French.

Official Languages committee  In the late 1960s or the 1970s, there was only one French school in the Évangeline region, which is a homogenous region of Acadians and francophones. During the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, schools were merged. Several Acadian schools were assimilated into anglophone schools. But we

Official Languages committee  Thank you for your question, Mr. Gourde. As I mentioned in the presentation, one of the projects with considerable spinoffs is the school-community centres that were built in Prince Edward Island. It started with setting up the French-language education system in Prince Edward I

Official Languages committee  I feel that the RDEE in Prince Edward Island certainly has a role to play. The Société Saint-Thomas-d'Aquin works closely with the RDEE. The RDEE takes care of training and helps francophone entrepreneurs set up shop. I think it is important for that to take place in all our Acad

Official Languages committee  Mr. Chair, committee members, thank you for the invitation. As the chair just said, with me is Aline Bouffard Cohen, the director general. The Société Saint-Thomas-d'Aquin was created in 1919, and the organization is the official ambassador for Prince Edward Island's Acadians a