Yukon pledges $300K for French-language services

The Yukon government has pledged almost $300,000 over the next four years for French-language services including having more bilingual staff working with the public and a telephone system to connect with a translator on demand.

"Our front line staff, we want as many as possible to be bilingual or at least to have a working knowledge of French," said Doug Graham, minister of Health and Social Services.

The government said the move is in response to a growing French-speaking population.

"These new initiatives are a testament to the value that we place on the francophone community," said Elaine Taylor, minister responsible for theFrench-language Services Directorate.

"It is a community that has seen tremendous growth over the last number of years."

In the 2011 Census, 4.3 per cent of Yukon residents said French was their mother tongue, up from 3.1 per cent in 2001.

In 2011, 2.4 per cent of Yukon residents said French was the language they spoke most often at home, up from 1.8 per cent in 2001.