A second Toronto Francophone Community Forum took place at Glendon on March 17, 2014. Last year, participants took advantage of the 50th anniversary commemoration of the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism to assess the current state of this community and to join Graham Fraser, Canada’s Commissioner of Official Languages, as he mapped out future perspectives.
Introductory remarks by Dr. Alexandre Brassard
This year, the 2014 Forum focused on Francophone immigration to Toronto. The key organizations in the Francophone community had public information booths for those in attendance, and there were three successive round tables.
The first round table reviewed the private sector and aimed to provide an up-to-date picture of employment and entrepreneurship for francophone immigrants in 2014.
The second round table took place after lunch and focused on the public sector. Access to education, health services and social services for francophone immigrants were examined.
Finally, the third round table dealt with the community sector. This round table studied the issue of Francophone immigrant participation in Franco-Torontonian community and cultural life; it also addressed the question of integrating these immigrants into Toronto’s French-speaking milieu.
Carline Zamar from the “Association des communautés francophones de l’Ontario” and “Le Mois de l’histoire des Noirs” in Toronto with Thomas Chanzy from the Trillium Foundation Trillium of Ontario
Employment and employability, access to education and to health services, integration into the Franco-Torontonian and Franco-Ontarian communities: these are some of the daily challenges that the French-speaking immigrants in our midst must face from the moment they arrive here.
This second Toronto Francophone Community Forum was definitely an event not to be missed!
By Michel Héroux
