Construction of an 88-place French-language daycare centre in Val Therese: A major investment in early childhood

The Government of Canada announces a significant investment to promote the vitality of official-language minority communities.

VAL THERESE, ON, Oct. 18, 2024 /CNW/ - Investing in Francophone daycare centres and French education promotes the vitality of official language minority communities and strengthens their sense of belonging.

Today, Marc G. Serré, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources and to the Minister of Official Languages, and Member of Parliament (Nickel Belt), accompanied by Viviane Lapointe, Member of Parliament (Sudbury), announced an investment of more than $4.2 million in a daycare centre in Val Therese and the EarlyON Centre in Ontario. They made the announcement on behalf of the Honourable Randy Boissonnault, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages.

The investment will allow for the construction of a new 88-place daycare centre in Val Therese, a project that will meet the growing needs of families in the community. This daycare centre will have five rooms: one for 10 infants, two for 30 toddlers, and two for 48 preschool-aged children. The official opening is scheduled for September 2025.

This initiative is in addition to another project, the construction of the new French Catholic elementary school in Val Therese. The integration of a daycare centre into this school will allow children to start learning in a French-speaking institution from early childhood, strengthening their education in the French language from an early age.

This project reflects the Government of Canada's ongoing commitment to supporting French-language education and early childhood services, while promoting the development of local community educational infrastructure.

The investment was made through the Action Plan for Official Languages 2023–2028: Protection–Promotion–Collaboration, unveiled on April 26, 2023.

The Ontario government's investment in the daycare centre and the EarlyON Centre amounts to nearly $1.4 million.

Quotes

"Giving kids the opportunity to learn and grow in both official languages is an essential part of maintaining Canada's culture. We are investing in a new daycare centre in Val Therese, giving 88 more children the chance to thrive in their Francophone community."

—The Honourable Randy Boissonnault, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages

"I am proud that our government is supporting the construction of a daycare centre in the new French Catholic elementary school in Val Therese. The investment demonstrates our commitment to supporting French education and will allow us to offer families in the community essential services that promote their children's development."

—Marc G. Serré, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources and to the Minister of Official Languages, and Member of Parliament (Nickel Belt)

"As a mother, I am a strong believer that children deserve a real and fair chance to succeed. There is no doubt that high-quality early learning provides a solid foundation for future success, especially in their language of choice. I am proud of our government's investment in our children and their future. This investment will create additional, critical spaces for families."

—Viviane Lapointe, Member of Parliament (Sudbury)

"As a parent, I know families in growing areas of Ontario need to have access to modern schools close to home in their community. That's why building more schools is a key part of our Building Ontario plan. Our government is proud to deliver the largest one-year investment in new schools in Ontario history and I'm excited to work with all our partners in education to support these vital infrastructure projects."

—The Honourable Jill Dunlop, Ontario Minister of Education

"We thank Canadian Heritage and the Ontario Ministry of Education for their support in allowing us to move forward with our plans to provide modern learning spaces for our students in Hanmer and Val Therese. The construction of the daycare centre, funded by the Government of Canada, is a very important element of our project as it will allow families to benefit from an important service that will ease the transition from home to school while helping children develop and thrive in a French-language environment."

—Suzanne Salituri, Chair of the Nouvelon Catholic School Board

Quick Facts

The Action Plan for Official Languages 2023–2028: Protection-Promotion-Collaboration represents an investment of $4.1 billion to support seven government departments and 33 new or enhanced initiatives that are aimed at protecting and promoting the country's official languages.

This action plan is the fifth five-year official languages plan in 20 years. The 33 initiatives included in the plan have been structured around four pillars. In addition, they are inspired by government priorities and issues raised by Canadian communities during the Cross-Canada Official Languages Consultations 2022, which is the basis of the Report on the consultations – Cross-Canada Official Languages Consultations 2022.

On June 20, 2023, the Government of Canada received Royal Assent for Bill C-13, An Act for the Substantive Equality of Canada's Official Languages. Among other goals, the Act aims to address the decline of French in the country and to clarify and strengthen the promotion of official languages, while supporting official language minority communities.

Every province and territory has official-language minority communities, each with its own particular reality and needs. The Action Plan is designed to address the unique challenges facing Francophone communities outside Quebec and English-speaking communities in Quebec.

Budget 2023 announced $64.2 million under the Action Plan to support two early learning and child care initiatives in Francophone minority communities across the country (except Quebec), including $14.2 million over five years to continue the development of specialized training programs to address challenges facing the early learning and child care (ELCC) sector, and $50 million to create a network of ELCC stakeholders that will support cross-sectoral coordination in the implementation of specific initiatives for Francophone minority communities across Canada.

Associated Links

Official Languages Support Programs
Action Plan for Official Languages 2023–2028: Protection-Promotion-Collaboration 
An Act for the Substantive Equality of Canada's Official Languages.
Nouvelon Catholic School Board

SOURCE Canadian Heritage

Contacts: For more information (media only), please contact: John Fragos, Communications Advisor, Office of the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages, [email protected]; Media Relations, Canadian Heritage, [email protected]