George Proud, MP for Hillsborough, acting on behalf of the Honourable Fred J. Mifflin, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Secretary of State (ACOA), and the Honourable Pat Mella, Provincial Treasurer and Minister responsible for French Language Services, officially opened the centre at BDC Place in Charlottetown today. Prince Edward Island is the first province in Canada to develop a federal/provincial partnership to provide French language services to government employees.

"I am delighted that the Government of Canada is a partner in this initiative, the first of its kind in Canada," said Mr. Proud. "It demonstrates a spirit of cooperation that serves as a model for the entire country."

The co-location is phase one of the Shared Languages Services Initiative, a project designed to improve delivery of French language services to public servants employed on the Island. It was made possible through funding from the Knowledge Economy Partnership (KEP). Partners involved in this initiative include the Public Service Commission of Canada, the Province of Prince Edward Island and Veterans Affairs Canada.

Prior to this partnership, both federal and provincial governments maintained separate locations for their French language training schools. The co-location has allowed for increased sharing of resources including facilities, training, support staff and instructional materials.

"This cooperative venture by the governments of Canada and Prince Edward Island will not only improve French language training services to PEI public servants, but it will also enable us to do so more cost effectively," says Honourable Pat Mella. "The goal of the partnership is to provide public servants at all levels of government in PEI with a more accessible, diversified and flexible French training program."

Once the program is fully operational, public servants in both the federal and provincial governments will be able to choose from a greater variety of French training programs, from part-time courses to extensive full-time training.

"The Public Service Commission of Canada is proud to have forged this partnership with Veterans Affairs Canada and the Province of Prince Edward Island," says John Montague, Atlantic Regional Director of the Public Service Commission. "This initiative ensures that public servants on Prince Edward Island have access to a wide range of expert French language teaching services to support needs in this area."

In 1998, approximately 200 Federal and Provincial public servants registered in French courses offered at the Canada/Prince Edward Island Language Training Centre.

The Knowledge Economy Partnership is an initiative of the Government of Canada, the Province of Prince Edward Island, the University of Prince Edward Island, Holland College and private sector businesses. The partnership began in 1996 and is now part of the strategic plan for Prince Edward Island. The goal of the partnership is to advance the growth of the knowledge economy in Prince Edward Island by encouraging technological innovation and new approaches in public services, education and commercial enterprise in PEI.