| &Parenthése |

La voix des parents de Colombie-Britannique

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President's Message

Dear Parents,
a At the end of the annual gen-
eral meeting of the Fédéra-

tion des parents francophones de
Colombie-Britannique last November, |
started a two-year term as President of
the organization with enthusiasm and
rigour. | would like to thank the repre-
sentatives of fhe parents’ associations
for this vote of confidence. The board
of directors, which has changed in
part, immediately began the task of
representing your interests as Franco-
phone parents.

| would like to thank fhe person
who preceded me in this role, Ms. Pau-
line Gobeil, for all fhe work and energy
that she invested in advancing the
cause of Francophone parents in our
province and for providing the servi-
ces that are offered to you. Further-
more, | am pleased fo still be able to
count on the continued commitment
of this builder of our organization, who
is now President of the Commission
nationale des parents francophones,
the national organization which pro-
motes our interests. Ms. Gobeil’s vision
will now have a broader outreach
across the country, and her strategic
approach to promoting the rights of
Francophones will further the judicious
use of the limited resources available
to the minority that we represent.

Three new directors joined the
board of the Fédération in November
2012: Nathalie Tremblay (Fraser Valley),
Marie-Pierre Lavoie (South Vancouver
Island), and Michelle Mercier (Greater
Vancouver). These new directors were

integrated info the team quickly and
smoothly. | am convinced that we've
found a balance of renewal and con-
tinuity within the board.

| have also already noticed that
the Fédération has a team of dedi-
cated, competent, and committed
employees. On a daily basis, these
people keep the Fédération moving
forward, and they do so in a profes-
sional manner. Don’t hesitate to com-
municate with them.

This year, | will pay special attention
to three issues: communication, early
childhood, and legal process to ob-
tain services comparable fo those in
the majority.

a Sensitive to reflections heard during
our annual conference, we will try to
make some of our members’ success-
ful practices more easily accessible
to others, and to more widely disse-
minate minority language rights case
history in British Columbia.

a We will continue our efforts to conso-
lidate and develop early childhood
services offered, and fo allow pros-
pective parents to be better informed
about the choices they can make for
their children.

ws Recognizing that the future and vita-
lity of our Francophone community
rests with its youth, the Fédération will
continue to participate in ongoing
judicial proceedings so that our child-
ren will have access to services equi-
valent to those of fhe majority.

By: Denis Roux, FPFCB President

| see my contribution at fhe Fédéra-
tion as modest in the larger collective
work, begun by pioneers and, | hope,
pursued by our children. These efforts
are to gain respect for our pluralist
francophonie and its recognition as a
source of vitality in a society which fos-
ters its development.

| believe that the commitment and
action within the community consti-
tutes a model for our children and a
value that must be shared. | therefore
invite you to get involved personally in
community or political action at any
level, in order to make your opinion
known and to participate in the de-
velopment of your community. The
impending provincial election period
is @Q. good opportunity to raise aware-
ness of the issues facing us with our
neighbours, friends, and colleagues.
Participate wholeheartedly in the de-
bates that determine our future. ©

All the best, Denis

i