A Partnership for French Services in Canada’s North 

The government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) is looking to provide French services for the territory’s francophone community, and representatives from the Francophone Affairs Secretariat and the Fédération franco-ténoise (FFT) will be meeting with residents of four communities to talk to them about the government’s Strategic Plan on French Communications and Services.

Although plans are already in motion to establish French services in the territory, the government is conducting these consultations to ensure that the services they do render are of the highest possible quality.

″On behalf of the Francophone and Francophile community, I am proud to acknowledge the benefits of our closer collaboration with the GNWT, which focuses on the successful implementation of the government’s strategic plan,” said Richard Létourneau, president of the FFT, in a statement.

The consultations will be conducted in Forth Smith, Hay River, Inuvik, and Yellowknife, all of which have a significant francophone population.

The plan was first put in motion in 2010, when the FFT partnered with the GNWT to launch consultations on the state of French services in the territory. The francophone community has since found support from other organizations, like the Supreme Court, who in June ruled that the government must expand French schools within the territory. The government pushed back against that particular ruling, but it nevertheless appears ready and able to meet the needs of francophone communities in the Northwest Territories.

Either way, the partnership has clearly done much to help encourage the introduction of French services to the territory.

Have you had experience implementing services in a new language? What were some of the challenges you faced, and what were the solutions? Let us know in the comments.

Amy Allen is a staff writer with Canadian Government Executive magazine. You can connect with her at amya@netgov.ca.