SoVote

Context: House Hansard - 169 - Mar/20/23

Mr. Alexandre Boulerice (Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, NDP)

Mar/20/23 2:16:54 p.m.
Watch
Re: Bill C-11

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House on behalf of the NDP to mark the International Day of La Francophonie, an important day for celebrating and promoting our beautiful French language. The French language originated in Europe, but it is also entrenched here in North America, in the Arab world and especially in Africa, which is now the continent with the largest number of francophones. This year's theme, “321 million francophones, a world of cultural content”, places an emphasis on the diversity of francophone culture within the Francophonie and for francophiles around the world. A language is much more than vocabulary and grammar. It is also a vision, a way of looking at the world and telling our stories. It is important that French-language works be available and discoverable, especially in the new world of digital broadcasting. That is why the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie is focusing on the discoverability of francophone content. That is good timing, because most members of the House have been working on this issue in the context of Bill C-11. There is still work to be done for the French language, but we have taken a step in the right direction. Let us continue doing that with the rest of the world.

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Context: House Hansard - 169 - Mar/20/23

Mrs. Élisabeth Brière (Sherbrooke, Lib.)

Mar/20/23 2:20:42 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, I wish everyone a happy International Day of Happiness, a happy spring and, most of all, a happy 36th International Day of La Francophonie. The French language is part of our history. The language of Molière unites us and makes us unique. It allows us to connect with francophone communities in Canada and around the world. It is a language with a thousand accents that offers an invaluable social, cultural and economic advantage to those who master it. We should be proud that French is one of our country's official languages. We should not take it for granted. We should all promote French and we should all continue to work to protect French. As Gilles Vigneault says, “La Francophonie is a vast nation without borders. It is the nation of the French language. It is an inner nation. It is the invisible, spiritual, mental, moral nation within us all”. Let us keep taking care of our collective heritage, which sets us apart in the English-speaking ocean of North America, and keep celebrating it. Let us be proud of French.

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Context: House Hansard - 169 - Mar/20/23

Mr. Fayçal El-Khoury (Laval—Les Îles, Lib.)

Mar/20/23 3:08:29 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, the French language is one of our country's treasures. It is the key to understanding the rich and diverse communities found throughout the world and here in Canada. French is spoken from Whitehorse to Laval, from Gaspé to Isle Madame, off Cape Breton in Nova Scotia. Could the Minister of Official Languages tell the House about the measures our government is taking to protect French across the country?

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Context: House Hansard - 169 - Mar/20/23

Hon. Ginette Petitpas Taylor (Minister of Official Languages and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, Lib.)

Mar/20/23 3:09:10 p.m.
Watch
Re: Bill C-13

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my friend and colleague from Laval—Les Îles for his important question and his hard work. Our French language is invaluable, and it is at risk. That is why we are the first government to recognize the decline of the French language and also the first government to say that we will do everything we can to protect and promote French across the country. With Bill C-13 and our next action plan for official languages, we will contribute our fair share to the all-out effort to protect and promote French across the country. I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a happy International Day of La Francophonie.

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Context: House Hansard - 169 - Mar/20/23

Ms. Elizabeth May

Mar/20/23 6:24:30 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, a lot was accomplished, as I said in my moment, but what I really want to focus on now is what is next. The question will remain: How do we recognize this language? The targets from Kunming-Montreal are truly transformative. This is the first UN document that has referenced mother earth; our relationship as humanity with mother earth; the leadership of indigenous peoples around the world; and the indigenization of our cultural approach, which has forever been, at least in industrialized modern society, exploitative, extractive and violent. This is a call for a transformation of our values, a change in our industrial systems and a requirement that we do more in how we conduct agriculture, aquaculture and forestry and that we change our ways while we still have time.

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