43rd Annual General Meeting: A Federation Serving its Members

New Board of Directors and President

At our Annual General Meeting (AGM) held on November 19, 2022, representatives of member associations elected, for a two-year term, four of the seven members of the board of directors of the Fédération des parents. Lucie Vallières was re-elected as the member for the Metro Vancouver region; Julien Gibon was elected as the new member for the Okanagan-Columbia region; and Michael Cameron was newly elected to represent the South Vancouver Island region. The position of President was also up for election, and Christian Leclerc won by acclamation.

Following the election, the composition of the 2022-2023 Board of Directors is:

Christian Leclerc, President;
Lucie Vallières, Vice-President and Member for the Metro Vancouver Region;
Marie-Hélène Hinse, Secretary and Member for the Northern B.C. Region;
Laura Grefford, Treasurer and Member for the Fraser Valley Region;
Julien Gibon, Member for the Okanagan-Columbia Region;
Michael Cameron, Member for the South Vancouver Island Region;
Marc Paris, Member for the North Vancouver Island Region.

To learn more about these parents who volunteer for the benefit of parents’ associations and B.C. Francophone parents, we invite you to visit the « Board of Directors » page, where you’ll find the profile of each member of our board.

Reports: Progress and Milestones

The AGM also provided an overview of the progress made over the past year, as well as setting some milestones for the coming year.

In this regard, the President’s and Executive Director’s reports provided a summary of key areas in Francophone education where significant progress has been made over the past year towards achieving our strategic objectives.

Highlights mentioned in these reports included our work to emphasize liaisons with our member associations, and the creation of new tools for them. While remembering that representing parents’ interests, and advocating on their behalf and according to their needs, are key parts of the mission of the Fédération des parents, it was emphasized that it’s therefore essential to be familiar with the realities and issues affecting school communities across the province.

As for Le Phare C.-B. activities (the new entity within the Fédération des parents dedicated to the development of Francophone child care centres), work involved managing nine child care centres, including six new centres opened in the past year; the strengthening of staff recruitment strategies; and, in addition, providing professional development to educators, and wage subsidies to child care centres to allow employees to continue their early childhood education studies.

Thanks to Board Members Completing their Terms

The AGM was also an opportunity to warmly thank two people completing their terms on the board of directors, after several years of dedicated volunteering.

Having served as the member for the Okanagan-Columbia region for eight years, Christine Leroux left the position because her children have now completed their elementary and secondary education. Throughout their schooling, Christine was actively involved in the Penticton community – first on the board of the preschool, then on the APÉ board of l’école Entre-lacs, where she was president and a member for many years.

The Fédération des parents team also wants to express its gratitude to Suzana Straus, member of our board, first as the member for the Metro Vancouver region, then in the role of President since 2018. Suzana was called upon to play an important role as the spokesperson for B.C. parents in light of the final phases and outcome of the legal case of the Fédération des parents and the CSF, which resulted in a historic victory in the Supreme Court of Canada in June 2020. She has also worked tirelessly as an elected member of the APÉs of l’école des Navigateurs in Richmond and l’école Jules-Verne in Vancouver for many years.

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