News Release - An African tour to promote Francophone immigration

OTTAWA, November 26, 2004 — Judy Sgro, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, today announced that a delegation of representatives of the Government of Canada, Francophone and Acadian minority communities, and provincial governments will be visiting the African cities of Tunis (Tunisia) and Yaoundé (Cameroon). The purpose of the tour, which will take place from November 28 to December 9, 2004, is to promote immigration to Canada’s Francophone minority communities.

“Linguistic duality is fundamental to our Canadian identity, and my government is committed to continuing its efforts to form the partnerships required to develop Francophone minority communities,” said Minister Sgro.

This tour is one of a number of initiatives currently underway in support of the objectives set out in the Strategic Framework to Foster Immigration to Francophone Minority Communities that was launched in November 2003. This framework supports the Government of Canada’s Action Plan for Official Languages unveiled in March 2003.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada will soon be releasing the summary of initiatives for 2002-2006 outlining the national, provincial and territorial two-year plans for the department and its partners. These plans were developed to ensure implementation of the Strategic Framework and to report on progress made to date.

For more information (media only):

Giovanna Gatti
Press Secretary
Minister’s Office
(613) 954-1064

Maria Iadinardi
Media Relations
Communications Branch
(613) 952-0740