Yukon language groups 'knitted together,' says MP on official languages tour
Edmonton-Centre Liberal Randy Boissonnault on cross-country tour to talk about the official languages
The federal government will look at increasing funding for groups promoting Canada's official languages.
That's the message from Randy Boissonnault, the parliamentary secretary to the minister of Canadian Heritage, who was in Whitehorse Thursday as part of a 22-city consultation tour on official languages.
Ten Yukon organizations attended the roundtable discussion, which Boissonnault, the MP for Edmonton-Centre, noted have not had a funding increase for 10 years.
Many spoke about bringing Yukoners together, said Jean-Sébastien Blais, the president of Yukon's French speaking school board.
"What can we do to promote the fact that we all live together in Yukon, both French and English people? And the good news is we tried to identify some avenues we can take action on," Blais said.
Boissonnault said that sentiment stood out for him.
"What was really interesting was how knitted together the francophone, anglophone and Indigenous communities are here in Whitehorse and in Yukon," he said.
"What struck me is the readiness of the community groups who came to the table knowing what they want to see in the next action plan on official languages."
Blais said promoting cultural presentations was another topic that the local francophone community is keen on.
"We can recognize the beauty of the culture when people of that culture are proud to show their performing arts, in the theatre," he said.
"So it's about this thing, this identity, this proudness of being francophone, a minority in Yukon, and I think over time people discover that beauty and they are curious, and this is what we want."
There were also discussions about improving French language service in areas like healthcare and daycare.