This morning, there was an interesting topic at the Newcomers’ conference. It dealt with Canada’s official languages and the impact that language can have on new immigrants. There are approximately 600,000 Francophones living in different parts of English-speaking Canada (excludes Québec). This morning’s conference dealt with the challenges of preserving the French language, culture, and history in English-speaking communities. It also dealt with the importance of promoting the language when it comes to welcoming newcomers to Canada, as many of them will speak French as a first language, but won’t necessarily live in Québec. If these people can be included in the Francophone communities upon arrival to Canada, it will help integrate them into our multicultural community. It is heart-warming to see how there is still a strong movement promoting the importance of both official languages throughout the country.
