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Agreement for Cooperation and Exchanges Between the Government of Québec and the Government of Ontario with Respect to Francophone Affairs

ACTION PLAN FOR 2006-2007

Areas of Cooperation:

CULTURE

Working Group on Francophone Culture

The Working Group will develop an action plan which will be integrated within the plan of the Culture Standing Committee and which will take into account the objectives agreed upon in the Agreement for Cooperation on Culture. The Working Group will focus in particular on the following areas:

• Exchanges on cultural policies and programs
  Encourage the regular exchange of information, statistics and research results, sharing of experiences and transfer of expertise in the area of policies and cultural programs relevant to Francophones, taking into account the priorities agreed upon by the Culture Standing Committee.
• Support of cooperative projects
  Promote the development of the culture and heritage to thrive by supporting activities and projects in experience-sharing, expertise transfers, cultural exchanges (e.g. residency programs for artists and co-productions), between companies, organizations, networks and cultural events of both provinces.
• Accessibility of cultural products
  Document current practices of the french cultural communities in Ontario and Quebec, especially from the perspective of the accessibility of cultural products in their respective jurisdictions.

EDUCATION

1. Maintaining high-quality educational services in remote regions
   Sharing solutions that have been or are being developed concerning the problems of maintaining high-quality educational services in small schools in Québec and of delivering the courses necessary to obtain the Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) in the regions. Pooling of the results obtained, in particular by means of information and communication technologies (ICT).
   
   In Québec, the Ministère de l'Éducation du Québec (MEQ) and the Centre francophone d'informatisation des organisations (CEFRIO) are collaborating on a research and activity project that is intended to examine the extent to which and under what conditions the use of ICT can provide a solution to the problems of accessibility and the quality of primary and secondary level teaching in certain schools located in remote regions. In Ontario, the Service d'apprentissage médiatisé franco-ontarien (SAMFO) provides courses on the Internet to students in French-language schools across the province. A research study being carried out on behalf of the Ministry of Education on this approach will examine the results obtained regarding different aspects of the delivery of distance education courses necessary to obtain the Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD).
2. Welcoming and integrating immigrant students into the school environment
   Sharing information and expertise in order to improve the procedures for welcoming and integrating immigrant students into French-language schools.
3. Integrating culture into the curriculum and into teaching practices
   Promoting the integration of culture into the curriculum and into teaching practices:
   • by doing researches on the subject;
   • by developing the Animation culturelle resources and training tools for teaching personnel.

EARLY CHILDHOOD

1. Reviewing the Québec educational program in order to make possible adaptations to Ontario's French-language daycare centres
   Have a group of experts from Quebec make a presentation on the educational program currently being used in Québec in order to provide support to the Ontario experts so that the Franco-Ontarian clientele can use that model.
2. Exploring the possibilities of sharing expertise in terms of training of Francophone staff in daycare services
   Promoting exchanges between civil servants from the two provinces concerning:
   • the various modes of providing training;
   • access to qualified workers;
   • the identification of experts in the field of early childhood learning and daycare.
3. Sharing information with Québec regarding the decentralized management of childcare services in Ontario
   Promoting exchanges between civil servants in the two provinces concerning:
   • the running of the Ontario childcare services network and the role of the municipalities;
   • the advantages and disadvantages of the system.
4. Sharing knowledge concerning the assessment of needs in terms of facilities, the planning of childcare service needs and the assessment of the quality of services
   Arrange meetings between civil servants in order to support the Ontario government in adopting effective methods for determining the needs in this area, and in evaluating the quality of the services being provided.

HEALTH

1. Setting up a Québec – Ontario network for exchange and cooperation, made up of:
   
   • institutions,
   • professionals,
   • civil servants,
   in order to promote the establishment of long-lasting relationships between the various stakeholders.
2. Developing a specialized bilingual dictionary
   Beginning work on developing a French–English and English–French dictionary in order to promote standardization of certain terms in the health sector.
3. Informing citizens via a Web site
   Exchanging information and expertise in terms of best practices for:
   • the management of French-language information on health accessible on the Internet;
   • the assessment of opportunities for sharing content in French.
4. Health professionals
   Exchanging information on the strategies used in promoting careers in the field of health, in particular among young people in remote regions and among young Francophones.
5. Home care services
   Promoting the exchange of information concerning service delivery and the challenges posed by the clientele for this type of service (best practices, standards and methods of inspection).