Review of the 2012-2013 Annual Report’s Honourable Mentions: The Leading Edge Practises in Bilingual Recruitment Conference in Kingston

In my sixth annual report, I noted the best practices and innovation by government ministries and agencies in providing French-language services. Moreover, I listed fifteen initiatives that demonstrated leadership by various government ministries and agencies in order to increase the provision of high quality French-language services.

All this leads me today to begin a series of 15 blog posts, with each post focusing on one of the initiatives listed in the Honourable Mentions section of the 2012-2013 Annual Report.

In this first post of the series, I would like to tell you more about an excellent conference that took place in Kingston on November 7, 2012, where I had the chance to participate as a speaker. The conference, entitled “Leading Edge Practises in Bilingual Recruitment,” was organized by the Ministry of Community and Social Services, the Southeast Regional French Language Network, and other community partners in order to refine strategies for the successful recruitment and retention of bilingual staff, and to showcase how both public and private sector organizations can benefit from taking a proactive approach to serving Francophones.

With close to 100 participants including representatives of designated agencies and other organizations, this magnificent event was the perfect time to recall the very purpose of the French Language Services Act. I used the time that was allotted to me to deliver my speech highlighting how crucial it is to actively offer French-language services not only because the organizations in the region are obligated to do so, but also because it contributes to the development and well-being of the whole community. Lastly, I hope the conference equipped the participants with concrete tools that will assist them with recruitment, assessing language proficiency, and professional development of bilingual staff.

I want to thank once more the Southeast Regional French Language Network and all its partners who contributed in the organization of this conference. The event was very well received by the community, and the follow-up activities that have ensued will continue to support Francophone citizens, both locally and throughout other designated communities.