Speech by the Honourable Madeleine Meilleur, Minister Responsible for Francophone Affairs and Minister of Community and Social Services
At the Symposium: 400 Years of French Presence in Ontario at the University of Toronto
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good Morning.
Thank you for inviting me to take part in this symposium on 400 Years of French Presence in Ontario.
I heartily congratulate the organizers of this symposium. This wonderful endeavour comes at a critical time in our collective history as Francophones in North America.
This morning, it will be interesting to recall the historical origins of our Francophone identity in Ontario.
However, if it's all right with you, I will leave that task to the many historians here today who are more qualified than I.
Instead, I would like to talk about Ontario's present and future Francophone community.
I would like to talk about what makes us tick and why we are able to face the future with so much confidence.
And I would like to talk about Ontario's modern, dynamic Francophone community from the perspective of relations between Ontario and Quebec.
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As you know, Samuel de Champlain and his men set foot in Acadia in 1604 and then Quebec City in 1608.
Champlain understood that New France could only survive if it forged alliances with the Montagnais and Algonquin peoples.
The first French settlers in North America sought to forge an identity on the hard-scrabble lands of the Lower St. Lawrence and it was through partnerships that they put down roots here.
As you are also aware, since Confederation, Francophones in Ontario have identified themselves first as French Canadians, then as Francophones outside of Quebec, then, more recently, as Franco-Ontarians.
Sociologists and political scientists have studied this phenomenon extensively. It has shaped our history so strongly.
What I see is the evolution of an identity that has mirrored the changes that have occurred in Canada's social and political landscape since 1867 and even before.
Today, more than ever Calling ourselves Franco-Ontarians
Means stating that we are a minority
that is determined to put down roots
and, come what may, to prosper.
I am very proud of this unwavering determination.
Unquestionably, since 1867, relations between Quebec and Ontario have had, and continue to have, the power to transform the cultural identity of Francophones in both provinces.
Our two provinces share many profound and rich traits, by virtue of our business ties, our dynamic artistic exchanges, and our many bilateral initiatives in the political arena.
Since the signing of the Ontario-Quebec Protocol for Cooperation in 2006, our two governments have brought this dialogue into the 21st century so that it could transform every major sector of activity in both provinces.
More than ever, we are working together on economic, cultural, and political issues, and on tourism.
We have also signed an agreement on labour mobility.
Our premiers are active and respected leaders within the Council of the Federation. More often than not, Ontario and Quebec work hand-in-hand on major national issues.
Our provinces also cooperate closely in international Francophone forums.
Clearly, Quebec's position on the international scene benefits Canada's Francophone community as a whole.
At the same time, the active participation of Franco-Ontarians on the international scene has a profound impact on the development and prosperity of all of the minority communities that make up the international Francophone community.
For it will be remembered that, with the exception of a few countries and member states, the international Francophone community is made up of minority communities just like ours.
I am fully confident that the celebrations surrounding the 400th anniversary of the founding of Quebec City this year, which my government plans to mark, just like the celebrations that will take place in Ontario in 2013, will provide us with wonderful opportunities for further strengthening the economic and cultural ties between Quebec and Ontario.
Today, I am proud to be a member of a government that is listening to what Franco-Ontarians have to say.
Since 2003, we have had a premier who is bilingual, a Francophile, and an ardent supporter of Ontario's Francophone community. The McGuinty Government has successfully implemented many policies and initiatives for the development and prosperity of Ontario's Francophone community.
More than ever, thanks to the good relations that exist between Ontario and Quebec, the future belongs to those who believe in the French fact here in Ontario.
The future looks very promising. The Government of Ontario is taking action on behalf of our community.
The future looks promising because Franco-Ontarian youth have conviction and credibility.
Our young people are fully capable of leading us into future. Recently, I announced that the Government of Ontario would help them through a Youth Strategy.
In closing, I would like to say that, as the Minister Responsible for Francophone Affairs, I am particularly pleased to be working on behalf of a community that is saying, loud and clear:
We are one of the founding peoples.
We always have been
And we always will be.
It is written in our history and it is written into our future.
Have a wonderful symposium.
Long live Ontario's Francophone community!
Thank you.
END
