International Conference on Language and Territory
From August 29 to September 3, the Laurentian University held its International Conference on Language and Territory in Sudbury. The Conference brought together academic researchers, PhD students, counsels and different language specialists from all around the world: Algeria, Morocco, Sudan, Italy, Ivory Coast, etc. This was an opportunity to exchange and compare views on various language and territory issues.
It was also during this conference that Canada’s five Languages Commissioners (Canada, New Brunswick, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Ontario) met for the first time. This was an initiative from my staff to gather all Canadian languages commissioners to discuss common roles and aspirations. During this conference, the Languages Commissioners agreed to ask their respective government to commit their efforts to ensure the vitality of official languages.
Several keynote Speakers have made very interesting speeches, such as Mr. Ronald F. Caza and the Professor Pierre Foucher to mention, only a few. The highlight of this conference was Sarah Jerome’s speech, my colleague Language Commissioner of the Northwest Territories. It was undoubtedly the one most striking and moving among them all. In conclusion, this was an intense and interesting conference. Bravo to the organizers!
Merci tout d’abord pour les renseignements que vous m’avez donnés.
L’absence de tout visage français dans le ville de Sudbury reste frappante pour le visiteur, même si cela cache des services en français respectant (je suppose) les réglementations fédérales et provinciales (quid des municipales ?). Hors de l’université, il a fallu que je fasse semblant de ne pas connaître l’anglais pour qu’on me parle français, soit directement, soit en appelant en renfort un francophone du voisinage (que je suis heureux d’avoir mis ainsi en valeur, si peu que ce soit).