RELEASE — L’Association canadienne française de l’Ontario, Conseil régional des Mille-Îles (ACFO Mille-Îles) is pleased to announce that 2019 is a milestone year for the Francophone and Francophile community and that we are organizing a bilingual speaker series to promote linguistic duality and the enhancement of the official languages of Canada.
On September 9th 1969, the Official Languages Act came into force. This Act gives French & English equal status at the federal level, meaning these two languages have preferred status over all other languages of Canada.
To celebrate this momentous occasion and promote the French language in the Kingston community, ACFOMI is organizing a speaker series entitled ‘One City, Two Realities: Discussions between anglos and francos 50 years after the French Languages Act’. The speaker’s series will take place over a two-year period starting September 9th, 2019. And will address an audience capable of understanding both official languages.
The first theme in the speaker’s series, ‘The History of the Official Languages Act & Services Available in French’, will bring together Stéphanie Chouinard (PhD), Assistant Professor at Queen’s University and the Royal Military College and Kevin Brushett (PhD), Assistant Professor at the Royal Military College to discuss an overview of the past and current political debates around the adoption of the Official Languages Act that lead to the adoption of the French Language Services Act in in 26 designated cities.
The first Commissioner of the Official Languages of Canada, Keith Spicer will introduce the speaker’s series with a summary of how the Official Languages Act came to be, what it was like to be the first Commissioner of the Official Languages as well as how people viewed bilingualism in the 60s and 70s.
The Kingston Frontenac Public Library Central Branch will serve as the arena for this fascinating series. The public library has generously donated the use of their space for the duration of this community event. This project has been made possible by the Government of Canada.
Release | images: acfomi.org
