Quebec to have a cultural development
policy. Representatives of the Fédération’s
member associations met at the Council of
Presidents at the beginning of March 1992
and adopted some 25 recommendations as
well as the framework that will allow for the
implementation of this development policy.
This culminates almost two years of work -
work which began in 1990 with a
consultative committee which formed a
provisional cultural committee in an attempt
to create a cultural and artistic association.
In May of 1991, the Fédération des Franco-
Colombiens hired a. consultant to help the
committee in fulfilling its mandate. There
then began wide-ranging discussions with
the community and artists in an effort to
assess the situation, needs and aspirations
of each group. Following these
consultations, a proposal for a cultural
development policy for francophones in
British Columbia was discussed and adopted
by the community. Implementation of the
policy is structured around three elements:
thecultural and artistic council, the strategic
planning committee and the arts community.
In an effort to meet the needs of this
flourishing sector, the Fédération has
established a bureau of cultural affairs and
has supplied a communication tool, Trait
d’union culturel, a monthly information
newsletter.

At the annual general meeting in June of
1991, the F.F.C. launched the 1991-1992
edition of the Répertoire artistique et
culturel, an information bank on
approximately one hundred artists and
resource-people within British Columbia’s
francophone arts community. This
promotional tool is updated every two years.

Le Gala Interprovincial de la Chanson
in St. Boniface

In conjunction with the Société Radio-
Canada, the Fédération set up a selection
panel to choose two finalists to represent us
at the second Gala interprovincial de la
chanson de 1’Quest in Saint Boniface last
June. Julie Gagnon was selected in the
singer category and Claude Champagne in
the singer-song writer category. With this
experience under its belt, the cultural sector
of the Fédération des Franco-Colombiens -
in cooperation with the radio network of the
Société Radio-Canada, British Columbia -
launched a competition for the staging of
the first Gala provincial de la chanson.

Annual Report 1991-1992

COMMUNICATION
Europe at our Fingertips

For several years, the F.F.C. has been lobbying
the Canadian Radio-Television and
Telecommunications Commission (C.R.T.C.)
and Rogers Cablesystems to include the channel
TV5 in basic cable service. Last year, little
progress was made and TVS was offered to
pay-TV subscribers. In the restructuring of its
services, Rogers Cablesystems has added TVS
to his basic cable service as of May 1992.

Action-Promotion

Since April of 1991, the Fédération des
Franco-Colombiens has been working on
the Action-promotion initiative. The
objectives are to allow member associations
to identify the greatest number of
francophones possible, to develop a feeling
of belonging to the community, and to
promote the community and cultural
activities of each region. The work done in
1991-1992 has allowed us to develop two
facets to this initiative, i.e., the enumeration

_ a,

ee

Dr. Tom Perry, Minister of Advanced Education, Training and Technology,
speaking to the delegates at the November 15, 16 and 17, 1991 meeting of the Council of Presidents.

Société Radio-Canada

Unfortunately, the impact of the most recent
budget cuts suffered by the Société Radio-
Canada in December of 1990 was felt all the
way out to this end of the country. Budgetary
constraints have forced the Vancouver station
to stop all production of regional television
programming, except for local news bulletins.
The Fédération continues to take steps to ensure
that the programs of Radio-Canada, British
Columbia, are broadcast throughout the
province. Some regions still do not have
access to Radio-Canada programs and receive
no regional news in French.

La Fédération des Franco-Colombiens

of francophones and the promotion of
francophone associations and activities in
the province.