Resources TABLE of CONTENTS Summary Preamble Part I : Status Report 1996-97 Part II : Action Plan 1997-98 Section I. General Information Section II. Identification of Community Needs Section III. Action Plan Contents and Timetable Section IV. Communications Plan Section V. Signature Part III : What do you think of our Action Plan? The Report & Action Plan is available for download in Word for Windows format. Please be advised that the size of the Paper is 86 Kb.

STATUS REPORT 1996-1997 and ACTION PLAN 1997 - 1998 Implementation of Section 41 of the Official Languages Act Part II : Action Plan Section II. Identification of community needs Means used to identify needs of official language minority communities at national and regional levels The needs of the official-language minority communities were identified through both direct consultations with women's organizations including official-language minority women’s organizations in 1996-97 and subsequently through ongoing contacts with these organizations, by such means as teleconferences, individual meetings and roundtables, as well as through the Department's participation, nationally and regionally, in multi-departmental consultations sponsored by the Department of Canadian Heritage (Official Languages Support Programs). NATIONAL WP staff continue to work on an ongoing basis with national official-language minority women’s organizations, e.g., the Fédération nationale des femmes canadiennes-françaises, Réseau national d’action éducation femmes, providing financial and technical assistance. WP staff work in close collaboration with the Official-Languages Support Programs Branch, Canadian Heritage in providing support to these organizations. SWC continues to ensure the participation of official-language minority women’s organizations in SWC consultative activities, e.g., teleconferences with the Secretary of State (Status of Women), consultations, round tables. The November 1996 Report on Consultations Held in March-May 1996 and Follow-up Action Plan reflects the expressed needs and concerns of women’s organizations, including official- language minority women’s organizations in regards to their working relationship with SWC, the development of the Policy Research Fund and the future direction of the Women’s Program. It also outlines SWC’s response by way of a detailed workplan and timetable. Work continues to implement this workplan in 1997-98 and beyond.

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NATIONAL
	Continuing social development and technical assistance in French from the Women’s Program. Increased need for resources and for improved access to information from government and other sources, in French, including by means of the Internet. Access to education and training in French. Full and equal participation within the women’s movement and within the Acadian and francophone community.
REGIONAL
BC/YUKON	Access by francophone women and their families to French language child care in British Columbia. Access to federal and provincial government resources to assist with ongoing operations and special initiatives of francophone minority women’s organizations. More recognition on the part of Section 41 federal government departments and agencies of the existence and particular realities and priority issues of francophone minority women living in British Columbia. Access by francophone women to mainstream women’s services.Incorporation of a gender-inclusive approach to delivery of provincial curriculum to be administered by newly established French Language School Board. Full and equal participation in the women’s equality movement. Full and equal participation in the francophone minority rights movement.Initiatives to address the isolation of francophone minority women due to linguistic, cultural and geographical barriers. Networking among francophone minority women living in the far north.
PRAIRIES/NWT	There is a need for francophone women to achieve economic autonomy both at the personal and at the group level, particularly in the area of entrepreneurship. Full and equal participation of francophone women in the minority francophone rights movement is also a concern. For francophone women in NWT, networking among themselves remains a major concern because of high travel costs and geographic isolation.
ONTARIO	Within the Ontario region, the principal needs of francophone women included: - information in French, from within the community and from government, in print and in alternative formats such as audio cassette, to ensure that women with varying degrees of literacy, have access; - culturally sensitive services in French, including social development assistance and advice provided by the WP; - specific issues which are of priority importance to francophone women in Ontario including 1) access to education and training in French, given the importance of knowledge and skill development for employment, 2) access to social services and the implications of provincial government downsizing for already limited services in the French language, 3) access to services for battered women, in particular shelter services within local communities, and 4) need to set an accountability mechanism to ensure that funding available from government for service to the francophone community is being used to provide that service.
QUÉBEC	Official-language minority communities in Quebec are dispersed geographically (Côte-Nord, Estrie, Outaouais and Montreal) and their primary concerns, at this time, relate to their status as official-language minority communities.
ATLANTIC	Continuing social development and technical assistance from the Women’s Program to their communities. Continuing services in French by the Women’s Program to isolated francophone minority areas across the Atlantic region. Assistance in accessing local and /or regional economic development process.

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Last updated : dec 8 1997