At the 38th Annual General Meeting, President Marie-Pierre Lavoie outlined several topics that have come to the forefront in recent months, at the end of a busy and successful year for our organization.

The Fédération des parents has invested a considerable amount of effort in the last twelve months representing the interests of parents at the provincial and national levels, while at the same time implementing its 2015-2020 strategic plan.

Here are some of the highlights mentioned by the President:

• We participated in the consultations for the next federal action plan on official languages; its unveiling is expected in 2018. This action plan, which precedes a memorandum of understanding relating to minority-language education, partially funds the Francophone education system as well as Francophone community organizations.
• Since the announcement last June of an agreement on a “Multilateral Early Learning and Child Care Framework” between the federal government and the provinces and territories, we’ve been working to promote the needs of the Francophone community, so that they’re recognized in the next federal-provincial agreement.
• We increased collaboration with various partners, including some long-standing partners such as the CSF and the Fédération des francophones, and also other more recent partners such as the Société de développement économique. The legal case concerning Francophone education in BC, the increased efforts aimed at secondary school parents, and the enrichment of the CAFE (Centre d’appui à la famille et à l’enfance) programming of the are all good examples of initiatives delivered together with our partners.

Also at the annual general meeting, delegates of the member associations of the Fédération des parents elected three of the seven representatives who will sit on the board of directors. Marie-Christine Claveau was re-elected as the Member for the Northern Region of the Province, and Roch Massicotte was re-elected as the Member for North Vancouver Island. In addition, Karine LeBlanc-Sault was elected as the Member for the Fraser Valley Region. Welcome, Karine!

Following the election, the composition of the 2017-2018 Board of Directors is:

• Marie-Pierre Lavoie, President;
• Suzana Straus, Vice President and Member for the Metro Vancouver Region;
• Marie-Christine Claveau, Treasurer and Member for the Northern Region of the Province;
• Geneviève Deschamps, Secretary and Member for South Vancouver Island;
• Roch Massicotte, Member for the North  Vancouver Island   Region;
• Karine LeBlanc-Sault, Member for the Fraser Valley Region;
• Christine Leroux, Member for the Okanagan-Columbia Region.