St. John’s, October 24, 2008
Notes for an address at the reception of the
Fédération francophone de Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador’s Community Forum
Graham Fraser – Commissioner of Official Languages
Check against delivery
Mr. Custodio, dear friends,
I am very pleased to be here today after far too long a wait. Thank you for inviting me again. Last year, the fog put an end to my first attempt to come visit you. Now that I have spent two beautiful days in St. John’s, I only hope that, this time, the fog will keep me from leaving the island.
My meetings with Francophone community leaders, several French second-language officials and public servants were very productive. It is true that nothing is done by half measures in this province. This makes me want to extend my stay so that I can learn more.
Newfoundland is a unique place, and so is Labrador. Francophones have played a special role in the history of these places, and they still do. I get the sense that there is much pride among the province’s Francophonie, and for good reason. I continue to be amazed by the fact that here—as elsewhere in the country—Francophones living among an Anglophone majority have a generous and inclusive vision of their community and identity.
This vision is based on a profound understanding of their history and identity. We cannot help but recognize the role that was played and that continues to be played by each group within a society based on constant interaction. This is very important. It means a shared approach to the future; it means fostering a vision based on the long-term vitality of a community that is always contributing to society as a whole.
Open-mindedness and inclusion are always signs of a community’s confidence in the future. This confidence allows you to continue being yourselves alongside other Francophone communities in Canada, in a context where cultures are increasingly assimilated and homogenized.
A confident community is also one that is not afraid to get involved. It fully participates in the social, cultural and economic development of its environment. A confident community has its say in the major debates of the province and the country. It takes its rightful place and makes itself heard with regard to politics, the arts, the economy and social advancement. By so doing, the confident community garners respect from other groups in society.
I am therefore pleased at how many times I have heard the word “partnership” since I’ve been here: partnerships between the Francophone community and other communities in the province, between the community and the federal and provincial governments, between Memorial University and the French second-language milieu. All of this looks very positive to me and should be encouraged, even held up as an example.
These partnerships are very important for this Francophone community, as they are for Franco-Ontarians or Franco-Manitobans. This is not about numbers. As long as you have something to offer as a community, you will always have opportunities to use everyone’s strengths to achieve common goals.
The most striking example is perhaps your relationship with the Saint-Pierre and Miquelon archipelago, this unique North American window on the European Francophonie. Your community acts as a bridge to this little bit of France off the Canadian coast. And your frequent exchanges in matters of education, culture and sports are one of the best-kept secrets of this part of the country. If it is alright with you, I would like to use this as an example when I meet with members of other Francophone communities in Canada.
This is just one example of the type of partnerships that have already been established. There are many more, some of which are supported by the federal government.
Of course, the government need not play an active part in every cooperative initiative. But it does have a responsibility to support the overall development of official language minority communities. This responsibility is set out in Part VII of the Official Languages Act.
The 2003 Action Plan for Official Languages broadly laid out how the federal government would fulfil its partnership responsibilities with provinces, territories and communities. This produced some interesting results, particularly in the areas of immigration, access to justice and early childhood.
Under the Roadmap for Canada’s Linguistic Duality, which succeeds the Action Plan, the current government is committed to investing $1.1 billion over a five-year time span. This investment should be used to contribute as much as possible to bilingualism and the development of official language minority communities.
A number of you have had a somewhat cautious reaction to this document, myself included. The objectives are not always clear, and many depend on how the projected amounts are used by different departments. For this reason, I encourage you to work closely with the government, to ensure that these measures are based on tangible results that will have a genuine impact on your community.
We can work on this together, as part of my role is to make sure that federal institutions fulfil their official languages obligations.
Your job is to support your community’s development in every possible way. I will support you by reminding the federal departments that this is their job as well. Not only Canadian Heritage’s job, but also Health Canada’s, the ACOA’s, Justice Canada’s, the Coast Guard’s and so on. I will also continue to remind them that, to do this, they should partner with you, or at least consult you.
From you, I ask for one thing in return: when your projects are successful, share the news with Gilbert Taylor, the Office of the Commissioner’s representative for the Atlantic region. This will help us show the government how worthwhile it is to work with you. And when you approach federal institutions and things don’t go as planned, also tell the Office of the Commissioner in Ottawa. That way, we can pinpoint problems or figure out why you were not consulted.
There is a tremendous opportunity for cooperation. The province’s Francophonie faces major challenges, in part because it consists of three main communities that are relatively isolated. The difficulty of day-to-day communication between these communities, the lack of well-structured services and the need for cultural activities are just some of the challenges that need to be addressed.
And then, there’s assimilation. I hear a great deal about this. But the comments and questions come primarily from people who are not experiencing it. Comments such as “20 years from now, Francophones outside Quebec will all be assimilated.” It baffles me that these remarks are still heard in a province where there has been a Francophone presence for 500 years.
Outside Canadian Francophone minority communities and Anglophone communities in Quebec, the concept of assimilation is misunderstood. It is often presented as a mathematical formula—one figure divided by another figure that leads to a percentage that is generally quite high.
This is obviously not what assimilation is all about. Assimilation is personal. It’s about a child who doesn’t understand his grandmother when she speaks to him in French.
Nor is assimilation inevitable. Or at least, it is not inevitable if we give people the opportunity to make a choice. Everyone should have access to spaces where they can live and function in French: school, day care and, when possible, the workplace.
Francophone spaces also include the post office, the Air Canada counter, the employment centre and the Coast Guard, at least in those offices that are required to serve the public in both languages. This is where I come in, not only to deal with complaints from the public, but also to work with the various federal institutions to prevent situations where service may not be up to par.
The development of our linguistic minority communities is important to me. I congratulate you on the work you do within your communities—work that contributes to their vitality. The Francophone communities of Newfoundland and Labrador have shown me that they are thriving, and with a minimum of support. I think that, in the future, you are all going to surprise us.
If you will allow me, I would now like to use any remaining time to hear about your current projects or to answer your questions.
