The federal, provincial and territorial ministers responsible for the Canadian Francophonie participated in the 15th Ministerial Conference on the Canadian Francophonie held on June 22 – 23, 2010, at the Explorer Hotel in Yellowknife.

Meeting for the first time in Yellowknife, the ministers responsible for the Canadian Francophonie wanted to increase their understanding of the cohabitation of the Francophonie and the Aboriginal languages in Canada and their knowledge of the reality of the Nordic Francophonie experienced in the territories. On that subject, before the work of the conference began, speaker Serge Bouchard gave a presentation under the theme of “Francophonie and Aboriginal languages in Canada: from past to future”.

During the conference, the ministers specifically discussed the economic development status of the Canadian Francophonie, affirmed the importance of economic matters in the development of the Canadian Francophonie and indicated that they plan to encourage wider national dialogue and expertise-sharing among the main governmental, association-based and private stakeholders.

The ministers also discussed the progress of the role of French witnessed during the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. They agreed to continue their role as catalysts in the area of Francophone immigration, a key element in the overall development of the Canadian Francophonie. A Justice Canada representative gave a presentation to the ministers describing the implementation of French training projects in the justice field.
During their stay in the area, the ministers took the opportunity to build bridges with the community of Behchoko, NWT, at a festival featuring traditional dishes and cultural demonstrations of hand games and drum dances.

The Ministerial Conference on the Canadian Francophonie remains committed to working closely with all levels of government to advance and promote the Canadian Francophonie. The conference is a key stakeholder that fully contributes and participates in the progress of Canadian society.
The ministers accepted the invitation of their colleague from New Brunswick to continue their dialogue at their next annual meeting on June 15 – 16, 2011, in the Dieppe-Moncton region.