Public services in Sarnia-Lambton could soon be offered in both English and French.
Two Sarnia groups, Club Jolliet and the Centre Communautaire Francophone, have submitted applications to the provincial government for official Francophone designation for the riding.
Incumbent Conservative candidate Marilyn Gladu said at the groups' request, she provided them with a letter of full support for the application.
"What it essentially means is that all services would need to be offered in both official languages, so we look forward to hearing back from the province of Ontario. The reality is that as of the last census we have enough people living in Sarnia speaking French to qualify us to get that designation. You have to have at least 5,000 French speakers, I believe we have 8,000 between what they call Francophone and Francophile, and we hope to take our place among other cities in Ontario that have that designation, like Kingston and Oshawa."
Gladu said they hope to hear back on the application process before the new year.
The MP was one of the hundreds who celebrated Franco-Ontarian Flag Day along Sarnia's waterfront Wednesday.
The ceremony from the Seaway Parkette featured singers, speakers and the raising of the green and white Franco-Ontarian flag.
Olivier Lacasse, a teacher at École élémentaire Les Rapides and Conseil Scolaire Viamonde, said the celebration honours all Franco-Ontarians, including those that call Sarnia-Lambton home.
"We're here to celebrate the fact that there have been Francophones in Ontario for over 400 years, and specifically in Sarnia the first families to live here were Francophones and I think it's important that we commemorate that history," said Lacasse. "If you're in your own little French school and you don't get out of it, it's hard to see where else you'll speak French. I think a day like today is important for students to see Francophones celebrating the 25th to see that they're not the only ones speaking French in their own world."
Josee Boissonneault, the principal at St-Thomas D'Aquin, said the event is a great way for students and others to celebrate a piece of themselves.
"We are just really proud to be Franco-Ontarians here in Sarnia. We have over 600,000 Franco-Ontarians in the province, and we are making our presence known in our community," said Boissonneault. "The students decorated their faces, some dressed from top to bottom in green and white, and they know that it's important to celebrate because we have that chance by being in a community that's been pushing through for all these years."
The Franco-Ontarian flag flew for the first time on September 25, 1975 at Laurentian University in Sudbury.
It became the symbol of the Franco-Ontarian community and was officially recognized in 2001.
