forward by Mr. McKenna, Premier of
New Brunswick, contained certain
elements that might have overcome the
constitutional impasse while leaving
the content and intent of the Meech
Lake Accord intact. The McKenna
resolution was important for official
linguistic minorities as it delegated
responsibility for promoting and
protecting linguistic duality to the federal
government.

At that time, there was hope that the
Meech Lake Accord might still pass.
Later, when the legislative assemblies
of Newfoundland and Manitoba would
not ratify the agreement, the
constitutional accord was unable to
survive past the fateful deadline of June
23, 1990. It was therefore with
disappointment that the Fédération
accepted the failure of the Meech Lake
Accord.

Post-Meech - The Challenge

With the knowledge that relations
among the various components of the
country would never again be the same,
the Fédération struck a special committee
to study and implement recommend-
ations and concrete strategies for facing
the multitude of possible constitutional
scenarios. The committee was made up
of members representing regional and
sectoral interests within the francophone
community.

We have played a very active role in
representing the francophone community
in British Columbia through papers
presented to the Spicer Commission,
the Cabinet Committee on Confederation
and to the Beaudoin-Edwards
Commission. At the time of this last
commission, held on March 25, 1991 in
Vancouver, the Fédération declared its
support for a constituent assembly in
the process of amending the Constitution.
Although there remain a number of
challenges to be faced, the Fédération

Page 4

Annual Report 1990-1991

reconfirms its commitment to fight for
and promote the rights of the francophone
community in British Columbia.

With the possibility of upcoming provincial
elections, the Fédération has met with the
leaders of the New Democratic Party and
the Liberal Party, Mr. Mike Harcourt and
Mr. Gordon Wilson respectively. The
meetings were aimed at making these
politicians aware of the concerns of
francophones in British Columbia. We
also attended the Social Credit Party
convention at the Pan Pacific Hotel in
Vancouver in order to follow more closely

President Marie Bourgeois, with the leader of the
provincial NDP, Mike Harcourt, during his visit to
the Fédération and the Maison de la
Francophonie.

the directions being taken by the party in
power.

Court Trials in French

A criminal trial involving a francophone
has confirmed the concerns of the F.F.C. -
which was called upon by the accused to
ensure that the language issue in his case
was properly addressed - that there are
serious shortcomings in the justice system
in British Columbia as regards the French

language. Following a decision handed
down on February 11, 1991 by Mr.
Justice Macdonell which denied Mr.
Beaulac the right to a trial before a
bilingual judge and jury, the Fédération
initiated a series of meetings in order to
pursue francophone demands before the
B.C. Ministry of the Attorney General.
At the time of writing, we have been
informed that this case may be appealed
before the Supreme Court of Canada.

Interdepartmental Cooperation

Throughout the 1990-1991 year, the
question of interdepartmental cooper-
ation on language issues within federal
ministries has been of primary
importance. If the current trend of cuts
to federal government grant and
contribution programs continues, we
will increasingly be required to seek
new sources of funding. It should be
noted here that we are concentrating
our efforts on the submission of projects
to ministries other than the Secretary of
State. The Fédération has therefore
initiated working sessions in conjunction
with the Fédération des Francophones
Hors Québec. These discussions have
provided us with knowledge about the
workings of government and with
expertise in deciphering various federal
programs.

Working sessions have resulted in the
preparation of an action plan focussed
on developing future projects for the
francophone community over the next
two or three years.

Native Claims

The native crisis which erupted last
summer in the province of Quebec has
affected all other native land claims in
Canada. In British Columbia, the
Fédération has not been insensitive to
the native claims that have been drawing
both media and public attention. In an
effort to understand the scope of these

La Fédération des Franco-Colombiens