Canadian Francophonie phonie stuff

http://www.jeux2001.ca/servlet/jeux.template?Type=FrameSet&ObjectID=FrameSet&Lang=English


The Francophonie group started in Versailles in 1986 as a movement to arrest the decline of French as an important language. It was a French counterbalance of the Commonwealth summit meetings and games. But nowadays it has evolved into a vast socialist network for developing countries and their protégés. There are fewer French speakers in the world than there are Portuguese speakers in Brazil and there are 12 Francophonie countries that do not have French listed as a language. It is a graphic illustration of the present Liberal government forcing English-speaking Canadians to support their global socialist policies within this so-called French language institution.
http://www.acdi-cida.gc.ca/cidaweb/webcountry.nsf/index.html
The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) tells us that we are part of La Francophonie, a vast network of 51 states and governments that share French as a common language. They seem to have overlooked the Francophonie countries that do not speak French. La Francophonie met in Moncton in 1999 for the eighth Sommet des chefs d'État et de gouvernement des pays ayant le français en partage. They have Francophonie summit meetings and Francophonie games. It gives federal politicians another reason to travel the world as if they needed a reason. Six Francophone Summits have been held:
1987 Quebec
1989 Dakar
1991 Paris
1993 Port Louis
1995 Cotonou in Benin
1997 Hanoi.
1999 Moncton New Brunswick.

Francophonie Games have and will be held:
1989 Morocco
1994 France
1997 Madagascar
2001 Canada – Ottawa Hull area.
2005 Niger

The Francophonie organization now seems to be predominantly African and non-French speaking. Regardless, the Ottawa government loves them all and generously supports them with Canadian taxpayers’ dollars.

African Countries: Burkina Faso, Djibouti, Gabon, Morocco, Rwanda, Burundi, Central African Republic, Guinea, Niger, Togo, Benin, Comoros, Egypt, Guinea-Bissau, São Tome and Principe, Tunisia, Cameroon, Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Mali, Senegal, Chad,


Countries in Francophonie that do not have French listed as a language: Cape Verde, Macedonia, Saint Lucia, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Poland, São Tome and Principe, Bulgaria, Equatorial Guinea, Lithuania, Moldova, Romania.
Some 5,000 athletes and officials are expected at the Francophonie Games in Ottawa-Hull next year at a cost of about 40 million Canadian dollars – not counting CIDA expenses. Benoit Hubert, deputy director-general of the organizing committee, told a press conference that all Francophone African countries, except the Democratic Republic of Congo, have confirmed their participation. Hubert also said that the Canadian International Development Agency has decided to pay for the transportation of contingents from the developing countries. That should make the Canadian taxpayers’ feel better and take their minds off that billion national debt.
Government House Leader Donald Boudria went to Quebec City in April 98 and begged for an agreement with Quebec Municipal Affairs Minister Rémy Trudel about these upcoming Francophonie Games because both France and Quebec had voted for these games to go to Beirut and voted against the Ottawa government in Cameroon in January 1997. There was a strong possibility that Quebec would boycott the games even though the federal government (we the taxpayers) would be paying for it. Quebec eventually won an equal partnership in the games although it only cost them million. The feds made a big issue out of this million as if it could compare with the multi millions the Canadian taxpayers would be paying. Don Cherry wrote in the Vancouver Province on March 31, 98 5that Canada will spend million to bring athletes to Canada for the games.