Speech by the Honourable Madeleine Meilleur, Minister Responsible for Francophone Affairs and Minister of Community and Social Services
At the Press Conference for the Inauguration of New Digital Audio Facilities for La Cité Collégiale's Television Production Program
La Cité collégiale
801 Aviation Parkway
Ottawa
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Ms. Andrée Lortie,
Mr. Michel Noiseux,
Mr. Richard Simoens,
Members of the Press,
Friends,
Good Morning,
It is a great honour for me to be here today to inaugurate La Cité collégiale's new digital audio facilities.
First of all, I bring greetings from the Honourable John Milloy, Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities. I know that this project is very important to him and that he would have liked to be here with us. It is my pleasure to represent him today.
I have just had a tour of the renovated facilities. Let me tell you: they are truly magnificent!
I know that the students in the television production program will agree. This new equipment will inspire them to work hard and to do their very best!
Parents and teachers: expect to see an exceptional level of motivation on the part of these young people!
Since 1990, La Cité collégiale has been training broadcasters and technicians for Ontario's French-language media.
What would our Ontario media—in particular, our Franco-Ontarian media—do without the camera operators, videotape editors, audio mixers, switchers, lighting technicians, grips, and producers that La Cité collégiale trains?
We salute La Cité collégiale for the work that it is doing because we understand the importance of the French-language media to the field of education, to the transmission of our language and culture, indeed, to the quality of life of Francophones in Ontario.
La Cité collégiale has forged numerous partnerships with the television media. 90% of its graduates are hired by these organizations. This is proof of the calibre of the technicians that the College turns out.
However, the industry is constantly evolving and, in recent years, digitization and high definition have revolutionized television production techniques.
In a time of sweeping technological change, the institutions that train television technicians must keep pace with the demands of their industry partners and acquire modern equipment.
In order to continue to train audiovisual technicians for the future, the Government of Ontario invested $1.3 million to update the equipment used in La Cité collégiale's television production program.
This investment made it possible to renovate the facilities, re-organize the work space, and acquire new equipment. This investment also made it possible to go from analog to digital.
With this funding, the students now have state-of-the-art equipment. They will be well-prepared to enter the job market when they graduate.
I am very pleased about this because our government is determined to give our young people the means to be successful and to help create a strong economy.
We want the best possible education system for our young people so that they can achieve their full potential and focus on Ontario's future.
Promoting a province with a better-educated, highly-skilled workforce is one of the priorities of the Government of Ontario.
As the Minister Responsible for Francophone Affairs, it is particularly important to me to ensure that Franco-Ontarians are able to prosper through an education system that is commensurate with their potential.
I am proud that our partners in this endeavour include pioneers in specialized education such as La Cité collégiale and key agents for change such as the French-language media.
I wish all of the students enrolled in the television production program the best of success. Work hard. Make us proud. And create some great programming for us!
Thank you and have a good day.
END
