Marc G. Serré

Construction of an 88-place French-language daycare centre in Val Therese: A major investment in early childhood

October 18, 2024

NICKEL BELT – GREATER SUDBURY - Investing in Francophone daycare centres and French education promotes the vitality of official language minority communities and strengthens their sense of belonging.

Today, Marc G. Serré, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources and to the Minister of Official Languages, and Member of Parliament for Nickel Belt, with Viviane Lapointe, MP for Sudbury, announced an investment of more than $4.2 million in a daycare centre in Val Therese and the EarlyON Centre in Ontario. He made the announcement on behalf of the Honourable Randy Boissonnault, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages.

The investment will allow for the construction of a new 88-place daycare centre in Val Therese, a project that will meet the growing needs of families in the community. This daycare centre will have five rooms: one for 10 infants, two for 30 toddlers, and two for 48 preschool-aged children. The official opening is scheduled for September 2025.

This initiative is in addition to another project, the construction of the new French Catholic elementary school in Val Therese. The integration of a daycare centre into this school will allow children to start learning in a French-speaking institution from early childhood, strengthening their education in the French language from an early age.

This project reflects the Government of Canada’s ongoing commitment to supporting French-language education and early childhood services, while promoting the development of local community educational infrastructure.

The investment was made through the Action Plan for Official Languages 2023–2028: Protection–Promotion–Collaboration, unveiled on April 26, 2023.

The Ontario government’s investment in the daycare centre and the EarlyON Centre amounts to nearly $1.4 million.

Quotes

“This project will provide families with a community space that will house the EarlyON Centre. This is a concrete action that will increase French-language services from early childhood. In addition, the daycare centre at the new Catholic elementary school in Val Therese will allow children to start their educational journey in their mother tongue. I’m really looking forward to the opening in September 2025.”– The Honourable Randy Boissonnault, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages

“I am proud that our government is supporting the construction of a daycare centre in the new French Catholic elementary school in Val Therese. The investment demonstrates our commitment to supporting French education and will allow us to offer families in the community essential services that promote their children’s development.” - Marc G. Serré, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources and to the Minister of Official Languages, and Member of Parliament (Nickel Belt)

“As a mother, I am a strong believer that children deserve a real and fair chance to succeed. There is no doubt that high-quality early learning provides a solid foundation for future success, especially in their language of choice. I am proud of our government’s investment in our children and their future. This investment will create additional, critical spaces for our families.” – Viviane Lapointe, Member of Parliament Sudbury

“As a parent, I know families in growing areas of Ontario need to have access to modern schools close to home in their community. That’s why building more schools is a key part of our Building Ontario plan. Our government is proud to deliver the largest one-year investment in new schools in Ontario history and I’m excited to work with all our partners in education to support these vital infrastructure projects.” - The Honourable Jill Dunlop, Ontario Minister of Education

“We thank Canadian Heritage and the Ontario Ministry of Education for their support in allowing us to move forward with our plans to provide modern learning spaces for our students in Hanmer and Val Therese. The construction of the daycare centre, funded by the Government of Canada, is a very important element of our project as it will allow families to benefit from an important service that will ease the transition from home to school while helping children develop and thrive in a French-language environment.” - Suzanne Salituri, Chair of the Nouvelon Catholic School Board

Quick Facts

The Action Plan for Official Languages 2023–2028: Protection-Promotion-Collaboration represents an investment of $4.1 billion to support seven government departments and 33 new or enhanced initiatives that are aimed at protecting and promoting the country’s official languages.

This action plan is the fifth five-year official languages plan in 20 years. The 32 initiatives included in the plan have been structured around four pillars. In addition, they are inspired by government priorities and issues raised by Canadian communities during the Cross-Canada Official Languages Consultations 2022, which is the basis of the Report on the consultations – Cross-Canada Official Languages Consultations 2022.

On June 20, 2023, the Government of Canada received Royal Assent for Bill C-13, An Act for the Substantive Equality of Canada’s Official Languages. Among other goals, the Act aims to address the decline of French in the country and to clarify and strengthen the promotion of official languages, while supporting official language minority communities.

Every province and territory has official language minority communities, each with its own particular reality and needs. The Action Plan is designed to address the unique challenges facing Francophone communities outside Quebec and English-speaking communities in Quebec.

Associated Links

Official Languages Support Programs	https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/services/funding/official-languages.html
Action Plan for Official Languages 2023–2028: Protection-Promotion-Collaboration	https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/services/official-languages-bilingualism/official-languages-action-plan/2023-2028.html
An Act for the Substantive Equality of Canada’s Official Languages.	https://www.parl.ca/documentviewer/en/44-1/bill/C-13/first-reading
Nouvelon Catholic School Board	https://www.nouvelon.ca/

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Media Contact:

Kaylie Dudgeon – Communications Manager
Marc G. Serré MP Nickel Belt and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister Energy and Natural Resources and Parliamentary Secretary of Official Languages
705-507-2416
[email protected]