Premier Campbell, how are you? In 2006, at the Olympic Winter Games in Turin, you promised that you would do everything in your power to deliver a speech in French by 2010.

Thank you for inviting us to this Canadian Francophonie Breakfast.

We are here today to celebrate one of Canada’s greatest treasures, which makes it unique in the Americas, and that is, unequivocally, its belonging to the international Francophone community.

Of course, Quebec is the heartland of the French language and culture in this generous country, this land of boundless opportunities, which is what Canada means.

But that language and culture has by no means hidden its light under a bushel: it has spread its roots wide, and that light now burns brightly throughout this vast territory.

In every region of Canada, Francophones have built schools and community centres, founded newspapers, publishing houses and theatres, opened recreation facilities for themselves and their children, and developed broad networks with Francophone communities at home and abroad, and with the ever more Francophiles in this officially bilingual country.

Isn’t that right, Premier Campbell, that right here in British Columbia, Francophones speak, write, sing, study and live in French?

British Columbia’s Francophones form a community that it is to be applauded for its energy, its initiatives and its contribution to the social fabric, and to the civic life and cultural vitality of Vancouver. And all with so much imagination, commitment and determination, even though it is such a small minority. The second language after English in Vancouver today is definitely Mandarin. Nevertheless, British Columbia’s Francophone community has pulled out all the stops to make the French fact beat at the heart of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. It was so important for this great celebration of winter, excellence, achievement and fraternity to be as inclusive as possible.

We, Francophones of this majority Anglophone country, Francophones of this continent, know that we need tenacity and creativity to defend and promote this language that we share and love wholeheartedly. This language whose survival, as I like to point out, concerns not only Francophones, but everyone.

Because we are so keenly aware of how much our language means to us, especially as a minority, we realize all the more how important it is to preserve the cultural and linguistic diversity at the heart of human heritage, and for the greater good of all humanity.

Let us hope that all of the efforts made here, at the Vancouver Olympic Games, to promote the use and visibility of the French language, are not just circumstantial, for the duration of the Games, but instead form a value added, a legacy to preserve and cultivate.

Those efforts also reflect the same principles set out by Pierre Coubertin, when he revived the ancient tradition of Olympism to promote the dialogue of cultures and respect for human dignity.

Francophone and Francophile friends from Canada and around the globe, I believe that the hope Canada represents for the world is grounded in large part in the recognition that the French language is much more than a heritage.

It is a meeting place.

A place of sharing.

A place of fraternity.

It is also and above all a way of celebrating and spreading a singular vision of the world that is expressed in a so many different accents, stories and experiences to share.

As Senghor, the poet and great visionary of the Francophonie, said so eloquently, "French is a symphony that can be sung by all voices, in all tones, from the softest whisper to the loudest roar."

It is important to keep that in mind and to take pride in that, on this momentous occasion that brings us together.

Long live the Francophonie!