French Language Services Act proclaimed 10 years ago in PEI
The French Language Services Act (FLSA) came into effect 10 years ago in Prince Edward Island on December 14, 2013.
The Act is based on the principle of aligning the service priorities of the Acadian and Francophone community with the service capacity of government. When the Act was proclaimed in both English and French in 2013, it was the first major legislative overhaul of French language services in over a decade. It was the result of significant collaboration and consultations with the Island’s Acadian and Francophone community.
Government is committed to improving the availability of French-language services to support the Acadian and Francophone community. Since the Act was proclaimed, the provincial government has:
- Increased the number of designated bilingual positions from 119 to 162
- More than doubled the number of bilingual employees not in designated positions from 102 to 233
- Expanded the number of online services available in French to 160
- Grew the number of French designated services from 3 to 19, with 12 designated services being added in the coming weeks
Today, and in the future, government is and will, continue its efforts to support the Acadian and Francophone community and maintain the French language for future generations. This is being done by:
- Designating new services under the Act;
- Designating new positions to solidify government capacity to offer services in French;
- Working in collaboration with the Acadian and Francophone Community Advisory Committee to identify community priorities;
- Funding and implementing French language services initiatives in areas such as health, social services, justice, culture and Francophone immigration;
- Increasing the availability of online services, web content and news releases in French;
- Increasing the French language capacity of the provincial public service through French language training
“We're proud to have legislation that protects the gains we've made in French language services, and that aims to align government capacity with the priorities the Acadian and Francophone community in Prince Edward Island. That's why our collaboration with the Acadian and francophone community and our long-standing partnership with the Acadian and Francophone Community Advisory Committee and the Société acadienne et francophone de l'Île-du-Prince-Édouard are so important. Together, we can continue to work on service designation to solidify the provincial government's French language service delivery.”
- Honourable Gilles Arsenault, Minister responsible for Acadian and Francophone Affairs.
Media contacts:
Nicole Yeba
Bilingual Senior Communications Officer
Acadian and Francophone Affairs
ntyeba@gov.pe.ca