The francophone community in Newfoundland and Labrador wants the provincial legislature to pass laws requiring the City of St. John's and other major municipalities to offer French translation and other services.

Although francophones make up less than one per cent of the province's population of 508,000, delegates to a weekend convention in St. John's deemed the move necessary.

"The percentage is not important," Nushka Blais, president of a francophone youth group, told CBC News while speaking in French.

"There is a population.… We exist, we're here, and we're not saying that the whole province needs to translate into French, but that regions like St. John's, which is the capital of our province, should be bilingual because we are an important part of the population."

Mark Cormier, a teacher in Cape St. George on Newfoundland's Port au Port Peninsula, agreed.

"We've been here for 500 years and will be for another 500, maybe more," said Cormier, also speaking in French.

"Therefore, I think it is time that they recognized our presence."

The Port au Port Peninsula is a hub for the francophone community in Newfoundland. France once controlled parts of the island, and ceded control of what is still known as "the French shore," largely along Newfoundland's west coast, in 1904.

Delegates to the weekend meeting said they will fight for other goals, including a French-speaking health-care clinic in St. John's, and a full-time bilingual nurse assigned to the Port au Port Peninsula.