Time to act for the future of Francophone communities : Agir maintenant pour l'avenir des communautés francophones : pallier le déséquilibre en immigration

As we approach the 150th anniversary of Confederation in 2017 and celebrate the 400th anniversary of the French presence in Ontario in 2015, we believe that the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario must join forces and show leadership so that immigration truly contributes to the development and vitality of Francophone minority communities and ensure that Canada’s changing demographic [...] One of those purposes is the need, pursuant to Part IV of the Official Languages Act and its Regulations, to use the size of the official language minority population to determine the provision of communications and services in both official languages in specific regions and communities. [...] In March 2012, the Government of Ontario developed a communications plan to improve ministries’ awareness of the use of the IDF as a calculation method common to all levels in the design of policies and programs and the provision of French-language services. [...] In addition, “this new definition will give the government a more accurate picture of the demand for French-language services across the province and help ministries better plan for the delivery of these services.”21 Furthermore, in the wake of the adoption of the IDF, the Ontario Ministry of Education22 encouraged the French-language school boards to standardize their admission policies to make F [...] Over the course of the past year, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration reiterated the federal government’s commitment to the issue of Francophone immigration to minority communities.