The Post-War Period 255 
     
    
   
   
    
     of the Island government set up a committee for the development 
     
     of the Acadian communities. The “Acadian Committee”, made up of 
     
     representatives from the government and the Acadian community, 
     
     was to act as an advisory committee for the provincial government. 
     
     In addition, the School Act was amended in 1980 giving access to 
     
     French-language education where numbers warrant it. 
     
    

    
     The Saint Thomas Aquinas Society is a member of several national 
     
     and regional organizations working in similar areas. These organizations 
     
     provide the Society with necessary resources, stimulation and support. 
     
     The National Acadian Society operates at a regional level and the 
     
     Federation of Francophones Outside Quebec and the French-Canadian 
     
     Cultural Federation at a national level. 
     
    

    
     Throughout the 1970s, the Acadian community on Prince Edward 
     
     Island showed signs of an extraordinary revival. Nevertheless, the 
     
     process of anglicization and cultural assimilation which started over 
     
     a century ago continues to take its toll. Today, over fifty percent of 
     
     Island Acadians can only speak English. Numerous Acadian com- 
     
     munities are almost entirely English-speaking. The English language 
     
     is making its way into more and more homes—even in the Evangeline 
     
     region where French traditions are the most alive and where the 
     
     population is the most uniformly Acadian. 
     
    

    
     As in the past, the preservation of French life on the Island 
     
     promises to be difficult. However, many people remain optimistic 
     
     and still desire to live as French Acadians on their Island. Yet they do 
     
     not want to live on the fringes of society. They wish to contribute to 
     
     both the province and the country while respecting their history, their 
     
     culture and their language.