Roberge is confident of obtaining funding for francization
Quebec French Language Minister Jean-François Roberge expresses the hope that a portion of the $4.1 billion from the federal Action Plan on Official Languages be allocated to francization. This reiterates a request he issued last spring. Such a move would set a precedent. Ottawa officials confirm they are open to discuss this subject with Quebec, with the proviso that the objective is to protect minority language communities – not to train them in French. Eva Ludvig, president of the Quebec Community Groups Network, condemns the approach adopted by the Bloc Québécois and notes that the QCGN pleaded for removal of any mention of Quebec’s Charter of the French Language from the new federal Official Languages Act because it feared negative repercussions on Quebec’s English-speaking community of a two-tier framework.