Ottawa, October 22, 2020 — On Sunday, October 18, at the 44th Annual General Meeting, Canadian Parents for French announced the appointment of their new President and Vice-President to the National Board of Directors.

Derrek Bentley will serve as National President. Bentley served previously as Vice President on the National Board of Directors and as a Board Director for the CPF Manitoba Branch. He works as a Point of Sale Administrator and Business Analyst at Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Since participating in CPF Chapter meetings in elementary school, Derrek has been passionate about French language promotion and education in Manitoba and across Canada. He has been actively involved in la francophonie, as he firmly believes that la francophonie needs to be more inclusive of all French-speakers and recognize that our different accents should be seen as a strength instead of a mechanism for exclusion. By bringing together all French-speakers, the opportunities for youth to speak and have fun in French, whether it be their first, second, or fifth language, will only increase exponentially.

He believes that youth are the proponents of this change towards inclusion. He has organized a variety of youth focused events in French that have always been inclusive of French second-language speakers. In 2011, Derrek became the youngest person to receive the prestigious Prix Riel in Manitoba in the area of community development. Through these events with organizations such as the Conseil jeunesse provincial, the Canadian Commission for UNESCO, the Manitoba Association for Right and Liberties, and Canadian Parents for French, Derrek’s network of young change-makers has continued to grow.

“Thank you to all delegates for your support, I am thrilled to serve as President and look forward to working with all members, partners and stakeholders on some of the issues we face on behalf of our members: FSL teacher recruitment and retention, the modernization of the Official Languages Act, linguistic security, and virtual French learning,” said Mr. Bentley.

Kate Peters will serve as National Vice President. Peters served previously as Treasurer on the National Board of Directors and as a Board Director on the CPF Alberta Branch. After beginning her French language education in an immersion context at 18, Kate’s commitment to French second language education has continued to grow. She credits her language learning with her ability to forge strong relationships, manage complexity, and to acquire new skills.

Her relationship with CPF began when she was Deputy Director of the Alliance Française of Calgary, and has strengthened throughout her career in Alberta Francophonie. She completed her Master’s thesis on the implementation of the DELF in Alberta Core French programs and she is now working on an EdD in Educational Leadership at the University of Toronto. Kate’s professional experience also includes Community Liaison Officer for the Francophone Secretariat with the Government of Alberta, and more recently, Director of the Centre collégial de l’Alberta and Academic Administration at the University of Alberta. She has experience working nationally including leading the organization of the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Ministerial Conference on the Canadian Francophonie. A mother of two young children, she feels privileged to have a young Francophile family supportive of community engagement activities and believes that the perspective of a parent brings a valuable asset to the CPF National Board.

Sincere thanks were extended to Outgoing President, Nancy McKeraghan (ON), who served three years in the position and who will continue to serve out her term as Past President, in a mentoring and support role as part of the CPF Network’s succession planning initiatives. Dr. Wendy Carr (BC), Dr. Richard Slevinsky (AB), Marc Gobeil (ON) and Diane Tijman (BC) continue their terms of service on the CPF National Board.
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Canadian Parents for French is a nationwide, research-informed, volunteer organization that represents 25,000 members across Canada and champions the opportunity to learn and use French for all those who call Canada home.