QUEEN’S PARK – NDP MPP Guy Bourgouin (Mushkegowuk – James Bay) and critic for Francophone Affairs published the following statement for St-Jean Baptiste Day:
"In Canada, St. Jean Baptiste is the celebration of the French fact. It is an occasion to honour the richness and diversity of French-Canadian heritage.
In Ontario, we must be proud of having the largest French community in the country outside of Québec. Being a francophone MPP and critic for Francophone Affairs, I have the privilege everyday to represent our culture at Queen’s Park, being born and raised in the most francophone region of Ontario, the North-East.
Being francophone is a source of pride, but also a lifelong battle. While the demand for French language education is increasing faster in Ontario than anywhere else in Canada, the teacher shortage in our province keeps impacting strongly French-speaking communities that are seeing less and less qualified teachers to teach children fully in French.
NDP is committed to defending the constitutional rights of franco-Ontarians to have access to education in the official language of their choice.
Today, on the symbolic 24th of June, we recognize and celebrate our French communities!”