About “20%” of the $1.4 billion over five years that Ottawa is adding to its action plan on official languages will support English in Quebec, the federal government indicated the same day the debate began in third reading of Bill C-13 to modernize the Official Languages Act.
Ottawa does not know for the moment how much money will go specifically to English-speakers in Quebec. The proportion of 20% is therefore “an approximation” of what historically represents the distribution of the English-speaking community, explained a senior official from the Department of Canadian Heritage who spoke on Wednesday on condition of anonymity during a session of ‘technical information.
Of this amount, Ottawa indicates that $137.5 million over five years will support initiatives that specifically target the English-speaking community in Quebec, it was explained on the sidelines of the unveiling of the 2023-2028 action plan for languages. official. Other initiatives will receive funding based on applications received.
The federal government also provides funds to support French in Quebec. More specifically, $6.5 million will support the Council of Ministers on the Canadian Francophonie, which includes working to promote French across the country, including in Quebec, and $5 million will go for internships in arts and culture.
Funds will also be allocated to the production and dissemination of scientific content and others will be paid to Quebec for the learning of French as a second language.
The additional $1.4 billion is added to the “historic funding base” of $2.7 billion devoted to official languages, which is “on a continuous and permanent basis”, for a total of $4.1 billion.
Ottawa’s plan aims to support 32 measures around four “areas of intervention”, namely Francophone immigration, official language learning, community development and government action.