KCDOI

With the second Canada-Community
Agreement concluding on March 31,
2004, the 2003-2004 year was a good
time for a review and an evaluation of our
accomplishments and of our needs for the
years to come. Given this timing, through-
out the year the FFCB has put a great
deal of effort into conducting a variety

of surveys that targeted Francophone
individuals and organizations. These eval-
uations resulted in the drafting of a num-
ber of documents such as the report on
the outcomes of the previous Agreement,
the Rapport des retombées de |’Entente
Canada-communauté 1999-2004.

When | think back over the past five years
and try to make my own assessment, |
can't help but be pleased with the strides
our community has made. We find our-
selves with new institutions and existing
organizations have strengthened their
achievements. Today, | am particularly
happy to be able to say that our commu-
nity has access to education in French at
the primary, secondary—and now, univer-
sity—levels. FFCB staff have worked long
and hard over several years to finally
arrive at the creation of a post-secondary
education program in French. And to say
nothing of the progress we've made in
areas that only a few years ago were
underdeveloped: such as health and
immigration. We now have RésoSanté

Message from the President |

Colombie-Britannique, which represents
the Francophone community in dealings
with provincial and federal health care
representatives to secure services in
French. Our organization also has the
tools to support expansion of the

Francophone immigration sector in

British Columbia, and eventually highlight
and facilitate the immigration of French-
speaking people to this province.

Over the past five, ten and twenty years,
our community has gone through some
trying and difficult times—just like any
individual, couple or family. Today we

are in one of our strong and positive
periods. | am struck by the atmosphere of
cooperation that imbues all Francophone
organizations.

This cooperation, strength and unity

are extremely important as we begin
negotiating the next Canada-Community
Agreement and quickly approach the
60th anniversary celebrations of the FFCB.
This significant milestone needs to go
beyond the FFCB and generate festivities
for the community as a whole, which
should take this opportunity to celebrate
and take pride in the 60 years its repre-
sentative organization has been in
existence. We should never forget that
the FFCB is all of us: the community,
Francophone organizations and
individuals.

Although there is cause for celebration,
our community will be facing a number
of challenges in the years to come and
particularly in this next one. We begin
negotiations for the next Canada-
Community Agreement, and must take
stock of our community's dependence on
funding from various federal departments
and provincial ministries and of our
future as a whole.

| am confident that our community is
equal to these tasks. The definition of the
new Global Development Plan proves just
how organized, dynamic and willing our
community is.

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