Released: January 16th, 2012

Vancouver, BC — The Fraser Institute released today a study[1] that shows that provincial and federal governments are spending $2.4 billion a year on minority-language education and services in Canada. Of this amount, British Columbia received $9.5 million for French second language education in 2006/2007.

“French is the second most common language in British Columbia, in part because the parent community has been flocking to French second language programs since they were first introduced in 1968,” said Glyn Lewis, Executive Director of Canadian Parents for French – BC & Yukon. (Source: La Fédération des francophones de la Colombie-Britannique.)

“A nominal annual investment by the federal government of $10 million ensures that the 275,000 students currently enrolled in French second language studies in BC have equitable access to quality French educational programming,” he concluded.

French second language programs include French immersion, Intensive French or French as a subject. When broken down further, 44,800 students (or 7.7% of the entire student population) in BC are enrolled in a French immersion program[2].

Canadian Parents for French (CPF) is a national network of parent volunteers who work to promote and ensure quality and equitable access to French second language opportunities for all youth. The CPF-BC & Yukon branch is by far the largest in Canada with over 8,100 members.    

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For more information, please contact:

Glyn Lewis, Executive Director
Canadian Parents for French
BC & Yukon Branch
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it – 778-329-9115 (ext. 316)
www.cpf.bc.ca


Related article:

The National Post: Bilingual requirement for government costs $2.4-billion per year

[1] Fraser Institute Report: Official Language Policies of the Canadian Provinces Costs and Benefits