2020 Virtual Annual General Meeting

Article from Parenthèse published on 25 November 2020, in the Annual Conference category.

A year marked by significant progress

At this first virtual AGM, President Suzana Straus presented the highlights of a year marked by significant progress on issues that are critical to the Fédération des parents francophones de Colombie-Britannique.

The President began her overview by talking about the long-awaited outcome of the legal process begun in 2010 by the Fédération des parents, alongside the Conseil scolaire francophone de la C.-B. (CSF) and parents: the trial about education in French in B.C. She reminded those present that the Supreme Court of Canada issued a landmark ruling on June 12 in favour of the Francophone community in British Columbia. So, after ten years of effort, the decision of the highest court in the land represents a great victory with implications that will certainly change the face of education in French in our communities.

In addition, Ms. Straus indicated that over the past twelve months, the Fédération des parents had continued to invest all the energy necessary to ensure that the interests of parents were represented at the provincial and national levels. She also mentioned that the Board of Directors and staff had been busy preparing a new strategic plan for 2020-2025. The plan had already been presented to the member associations at a separate online meeting and has been adopted by them. The strategic plan will frame the Fédération's actions over the next five years.

It should be noted that the 2020-2025 strategic plan continues the momentum of the previous plan, renewing two lines of action: welcome and support services for parents, as well as leadership and representation of the interests and rights of parents. In addition, the new plan has been updated to include a new line of action dedicated to the support, management, and development of Francophone daycares. Although the Fédération des parents has been working on this issue for some time, its increasing importance has justified this specific focus on it. The creation of Le Phare C.-B., a new team formed to support the development of child care services in French at all levels, aims to expand access to child care services for parents and their children.

The annual meeting was also the time for delegates present from the member associations of the Fédération des parents to elect four of the organization's seven board members. Following the election, Suzana Straus was re-elected as President, while Lucie Vallières, Christine Leroux, and Christian Leclerc were re-elected as members for Metro Vancouver, Okanagan-Columbia, and South Vancouver Island, respectively. In all cases, these are two-year terms.

Therefore, the composition of the 2020-2021 Board of Directors is as follows:

  • Suzana Straus, President;
  • Lucie Vallières, Member for the Metro Vancouver Region;
  • Christine Leroux, Member for the Okanagan-Columbia Region.
  • Marie-Hélène Hinse, Member for the Northern B.C. Region;
  • Karine LeBlanc-Sault, Member for the Fraser Valley Region;
  • Christian Leclerc, Member for the South Vancouver Island Region;
  • Marc Paris, Member for the North Vancouver Island Region.