/R E P E A T -- PROVINCIAL ELECTIONS 2022 - Election debate in French: Discover the parties' spokespersons/

Radio-Canada and TFO, the province's two public broadcasters have decided to join forces to offer citizens a debate in French.

Please note NDP representative for this debate is now France Gélinas

TORONTO, May 17, 2022 /CNW/ - Francophone spokespersons for Ontario's four major parties will gather this Tuesday, May 17 from 8:00 to 9:00 p.m. EDT to participate in a debate co-organized and co-broadcast by Radio-Canada and TFO.

France Gélinas of the New Democratic Party, Cara Des Granges of the Green Party, Caroline Mulroney of the Progressive Conservative Party, and Amanda Simard of the Liberal Party will answer questions from Gabrielle Sabourin (Radio-Canada) and Rudy Chabannes (ONFR+, TFO), and debate the issues that are driving this campaign.

"In keeping with our mandate as Canada's public broadcaster, which includes our mission to put the public at the heart of our actions and decisions, we and TFO are once again offering Francophone and Francophile citizens of Ontario and beyond a televised debate in French on the key issues of the election campaign," said Zaahirah Atchia, Regional Director of ICI Ontario at Radio-Canada.

"Radio-Canada and TFO are once again joining forces during this election period to create a space to discuss Franco-Ontarian realities, in order to ensure that the key issues facing our community are openly debated," said Claude Sauvé, Vice-President of Content and Production at TFO.

Considering the pandemic context, the organizers will not receive members of the public on site. The audience will be able to follow the debate on television on ICI Télé, RDI, and TFO. It will be broadcast on the radio on ICI Radio-Canada Première, webcast on Radio-Canada.ca/elections, on Radio-Canada's Facebook page @iciontario, as well as on TFO's Facebook page through its news franchise ONFR+.

CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada's public broadcaster. With a mandate to inform, enlighten and entertain, we play a central role in strengthening Canadian culture. We are the country's most trusted source of information. Our news, public affairs and international affairs present a uniquely Canadian perspective. Our distinctive, homegrown entertainment programming reaches large audiences across the country. Deeply rooted in communities, CBC/Radio-Canada offers content in English, French and eight Aboriginal languages. We also offer content in Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Punjabi and Tagalog, as well as in both official languages through Radio Canada International (RCI). We remain at the forefront of change to meet the needs of Canadians in the digital age.

TFO is Ontario's Franco-Ontarian public media company offering an interconnected discovery experience across its educational, cultural and current content in French. Audiences lie at the heart of TFO's multi-platform mission and vision, where they see themselves growing alongside its innovative and award-winning creations.

ONFR+ is the digital platform of TFO, which targets Francophones in Ontario through three sections: News, Society, and Culture. Experienced journalists cover Francophone news at Queen's Park, on Parliament Hill and throughout French Ontario. Beyond the headlines, ONFR+ digs into the social issues that affect Francophones, tells their stories and meets and discovers artists and their universe.

Gabrielle Sabourin, journalist and host (Radio-Canada)
For over 10 years, Gabrielle Sabourin has been working for Radio-Canada. She has worked as a multi-platform reporter in the newsroom, as an anchor on the weekday Téléjournal Ontario, and more recently as a host on the provincial radio program À échelle humaine on Saturday mornings. Her passion for local issues has led her to host several Francophone events including the major debates in 2018 and 2019 on the language crisis and the implementation of the University of French Ontario.

Rudy Chabannes, journalist and host ONFR+ (TFO)
Rudy Chabannes is a seasoned journalist with nearly twenty years of experience in the print media. Successively editor, proofreader, head of editorial secretariat and sports journalist in France, he immigrated to Canada in 2016 and joined ONFR+ in 2019. Initially a reporter in Toronto and the Ontario Legislature, he became editor-in-chief of Groupe Média TFO's news platform in 2021.

SOURCE Ontario French Language Educational Communications Authority (TFO)