French language consultation underway in the north

It was a packed room in Sudbury this week as the city's French community came out to air their issues.

They were invited to attend a consultation organized by Nickel Belt MP Marc Serré, as the federal government continues its cross-country tour to update the Action Plan on Official Languages.

"Individuals had an opportunity to tell the federal government where do you think the federal government should be going over the next five years to support the French-language, to support the communities, support individuals and organizations," said Serré.

Franco-Ontariens make up roughly a tenth of the province's population but here in Sudbury, almost 39 per cent of the city is bilingual.

People like Jean-Gilles Pelletier, who not only attended the consultation, but runs the new Place des Arts.

"It's an important consultation -- my sense is that it's not the last word on this," said Pelletier.

He said a lot has been done in Sudbury to promote the French culture but more could be done.

College Boreal also had a seat at the table.

"Well it's incredibly important -- the action plan is sort of the framework for funding a number of different programs which then reach out to a number of different," said Marc Despatie, manager of communications.

"We can't do this alone, we need municipalities, we need the provinces to work together to make sure we can make this happen," said Serré.

Ottawa's current action plan expires next year.

Next week, consultation continues in the Arctic before it moves into Atlantic Canada.