voo7 avbunmng-arguieg9a) 09 op sousydoounig sap uewUapad NY | = |

At the Federal Level

FFCB Response to the Annual Report of the Commissioner

of Official Languages

As she does every year, the
Commissioner of Official
Languages, Dyane Adam,
tabled her Annual Report
on the delivery of French-
language services within
the Federal Government on
October 6. The FFCB attended
the presentation organized
by the Office of the
Commissioner.

The FFCB agrees with

Ms. Adam's findings that,
although there has been
much progress made by the
federal government, since

| Other issues

1. Action Plan for

Official Languages

Ever since the Action Plan for

Official Languages was devel-
oped in March 2003, the FFCB
has been holding meetings to
discuss implementation of the
Action Plan and the accounta-
bility framework.

A number of initiatives
were made possible by funds
released under this plan: the

The Action Plan for Official
Languages addresses important
issues for minority community
development. It allows us to
secure more French services

in important areas such as
education, health, early
childhood, immigration
and justice.

the Action Plan for Official
Languages was tabled, its
commitment to official
languages remains uneven.

The FFCB supports the
report's recommendations
about ensuring accountabili-
ty. The FFCB agrees that

this element is essential in
determining the effectiveness
of the Action Plan and that,
to date, there is insufficient
accountability within the
federal government. The
FFCB also agrees with the
Commissioner's statement

funding of postsecondary
education at Simon Fraser
University, the creation of
RésoSanté Colombie-
Britannique, financial support
for the Association des juristes
d'expression francaise, and a
number of initiatives related
to immigration.

2. Treasury Board

Pilot Project

The FFCB is still waiting for
an action plan to be put into
effect with regard to French-
language services at offices
designated bilingual through-
out the province. The action
plan should have followed on
the heels of the January 2003
pilot project. The Fédération
continues to push for action
on this issue

that the government hasn't
risen to the challenge issued
two years ago for a change in
culture. The government still
has not addressed the real
problems within its depart-
ments: the lack of bilingual
resources and pubic servants’
language skills.

The FFCB is disappointed that
the importance of regional
community participation in
implementing the Action Plan
and developing programs
and policies is nowhere to be
found in the Commissioner's

The pilot project has already
had some concrete results:
e To generate a dialogue
amongst partners, amongst
institutions themselves and
between partners and
institutions.

® To gauge the availability
and quality of French-
language services provided
by federal institutions in
British Columbia.

© To make members of the
Francophone community more
aware of services in French.

3. Forum 421

The FFCB took part in Forum
421 (4 Western provinces,

2 official languages, 1 action
plan), which was a meeting
to develop a regional official
languages plan at the federal

Annual Report. The FFCB
believes that Francophones
living in a minority situation
should be an integral part
of ongoing consultations in
all sectors. According to the
FFCB, consultation at the
federal level is essential, but
inadequate in determining
the needs of Francophone
communities across all
regions.

public service level. Through
its participation, the FFCB was
able to make senior public
servants from the West aware
of the challenges facing our
community and have them
accept a language retention
initiative for senior officials.

4. Speech from

the Throne

The FFCB expressed its
satisfaction with the Speech
from the Throne made by the
new federal government of
Paul Martin. It was pleased
to see that the new
government reconfirmed

its commitment to official
language communities.