Honourable Mention: Support for the 2012 Pan Canadian Forum on Economic Development in the Canadian Francophonie

Last fall, the Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Employment and the Ministry of Research and Innovation sponsored a forum where a significant number of advocates and stakeholders from private and public sectors essential to the economic development of the Francophone community gathered for the first time. The Pan Canadian Forum on Economic Development in the Canadian Francophonie was held in Gatineau, Quebec, from October 31 to November 2, 2012.

The goal of this forum was to challenge representatives of the government, local communities, as well as those from the business community with the aim of creating the first draft of an integrated action plan to enhance the national dialogue and to stimulate a collective contribution from these partners to consolidate a French Canadian economic space.

With regards to Ontario, the Francophone communities of course play an active role in the province’s economic, social and cultural growth. Not only was the spirit of the forum in line with this idea, but also with the fact that the results of consolidating a French Canadian economic space would be beneficial for the country as a whole.

The success of this forum depends on the presence and commitment of each of the partners. I hope that this dialogue will continue to grow to become more and more constructive and proactive, which will be truly beneficial for the Canadian Francophonie.

The Honourable Mentions Series is a series of 15 blog posts that the Commissioner is releasing to individually highlight initiatives by government ministries and agencies that demonstrate efforts to expand the delivery of high-quality French-language services, as listed in his 2012-2013 Annual Report. The full list of honourable mentions and the relevant blog posts are available here.