Québec City, September 17, 2008
Notes for an address to the
Ministerial Conference on the Canadian Francophonie
Graham Fraser – Commissioner of Official Languages
Check against delivery
Ministers, Ladies and Gentlemen, good morning.
As ministers responsible for Francophone affairs and as partners of your Francophone communities, you play a key role in fostering community development and vitality. I am therefore very honoured to speak to you today—and to be back in Québec.
First of all, I would like to congratulate all those responsible for the 400th anniversary celebrations. What a success! Bravo! I would also like to commend Quebec’s leadership on extending the Francophonie beyond the province’s own borders. The Quebec government has developed a strong policy regarding Canada’s Francophonie and this has allowed Quebec to create ties and build partnerships with Francophone communities across the country. Last May, Minister Pelletier inaugurated the Centre de la francophonie des Amériques to promote the French language wherever it is spoken. This type of initiative strengthens Quebec, the Canadian Francophonie and your group’s collective action.
Since its inception in 1994, the Ministerial Conference has carved out a place for itself on the national stage. It is the perfect opportunity for you to work together and exercise greater leadership nationally. And your individual and collective actions have already led to genuine progress within Canada’s Francophone communities.
As you know, Canada’s Francophonie is very complex. Each province and territory experiences a different reality. However, every Canadian whose life has been enriched by the French language is called upon to contribute to the success of our Francophonie. I therefore encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity and develop an ambitious vision that will respond to the hopes of everyone in your community, regardless of whether French is their first or second language.
Profile of the federal language policy
The Official Languages Act, in particular Part VII, now requires that the federal government take positive measures to foster and enhance the vitality of official language minority communities, to support and assist their development and to promote the full recognition and use of English and French in Canadian society. And, as stated in the Act, this must be done while respecting the power and jurisdiction of each province.
Under the Action Plan for Official Languages, which expired in March of this year, cooperative efforts led to remarkable progress in health, immigration and justice. Provincial governments were behind much of this progress, and the advances they have made must be able to continue.
In the health sector, many projects are underway across the country in order to improve delivery of services in the minority language. These projects focus on training for health professionals in the minority language, recruitment and networking. Health Canada has signed an excellent collaborative agreement with community health agencies, and, as you know, working with the community is an important factor for success. These professionals work in your health networks and are able to provide services in French to those who request them.
Thanks to the support and commitment of several provinces, significant progress has also been made to help accommodate and integrate newcomers. Over the past two years, a number of promising activities and pilot projects have been launched. A strategic plan was developed in September 2006, but sustained efforts will be needed to implement the planned activities and ensure Francophone communities benefit from the advantages immigration brings.
In June, the federal government unveiled its Roadmap for Canada’s Linguistic Duality, which follows up the Action Plan. The initiatives introduced in this new document will contribute to the government’s efforts to fulfill its linguistic obligations. As I had indicated when it was unveiled, it reassures me to see that we are building on past accomplishments and maintain most of the existing official languages initiatives. I am also pleased to see that the new plan includes efforts to promote linguistic duality as one of Canadian society’s most fundamental values.
This is a good starting point, but it remains to be seen how the roadmap will be implemented through discussions with partners in the coming months. For instance, many collaborative agreements in education and French-language services must still be renewed and negotiated. Like you, I hope that agreements benefiting all parties will be signed as soon as possible, so that no ground is lost during this transitional year.
The federal government has acknowledged that greater collaboration with provincial and territorial governments can advance bilingualism and the language rights of official language minority communities—and I share this opinion. The Ministerial Conference on the Canadian Francophonie is a valuable partner of the federal government when it comes to fostering community development and access to services in French.
The federal government is committed to inter-governmental cooperation, and this is a key factor of success. That being said, the proactive role of provinces and territories is crucial. You must turn into action your government’s commitment to enlivening our linguistic duality and the Canadian Francophonie by delivering services in French and supporting official language minority communities.
Role of the provinces and territories
The provinces, territories and municipal administrations are the levels of government that have closest contact with Canadians. Therefore, by exercising your jurisdictions within the Canadian federation, you have an enormous impact on Canadians’ quality of life.
Francophones and Francophiles who live in your provinces and territories are seeking to create cultural and linguistic spaces that are conducive to speaking French. These individuals look to your governments to support their efforts and to ensure they receive certain government services in their language.
Your provinces and territories have developed their own governance frameworks for services in French. Some have progressive laws and complete regulatory frameworks; others have created administrative policies or offices. The form of governance depends on the province’s or territory’s needs and commitment to properly serving the French-speaking population. The important thing is to take positive steps that will advance linguistic duality and expand the range of services offered to Canadians. Moreover, it is essential to work closely with the community and its representatives through regular consultations. This is especially true in provinces and territories where the Francophone population is small or scattered.
Your actions have an impact that extends well beyond the right of French-speaking Canadians to access the same services as their fellow English-speaking Canadians. When services are available in French, the official language minority community has increased visibility and a stronger sense of identity; the availability of services in French also reinforces the linguistic richness of Canada’s provinces and territories.
One example I would like to commend is Ontario’s creation of the French Language Services Commissioner, a language ombudsman position. This position will enable the province to identify potential improvements and strengthen leadership within the public service.
Because you are responsible for Francophone affairs in your jurisdictions, you play a crucial role in the provincial or territorial public service. You are the pivotal contacts that can help direct Francophones to the appropriate departments and institutions.
You are also called upon to serve as champions and facilitators among your colleagues—which I know is not always easy. I encourage you to ensure that your governments’ policies and programs support the development of your Francophone communities. Moreover, you alone are able to identify opportunities where the strengths of French-speaking communities can be consolidated to benefit your entire province. There are many examples proving that this type of cooperation is possible and produces excellent, long-lasting results.
Over the past few years, all provinces and territories have taken concrete steps to foster the delivery of service in French. I am referring in particular to the single window services that have been set up in the Northwest Territories and Prince Edward Island. I am referring to the language training provided to government employees in Newfoundland and Labrador. I am referring to the strengthening of coordination teams in British Columbia, the Yukon and Nunavut. I am referring to the efforts by New Brunswick and Ontario to ensure delivery of municipal services in French. I am referring to the creation of early childhood and family services centres in Saskatchewan and Alberta.
In Nova Scotia, the Health and Acadian Affairs Minister has recently launched a bursary program aimed at nurses and licensed practical nurses who have completed, or are completing, their training and who have agreed to work in regions of the province that hold an important number of Francophones.
I would also like to commend the efforts of the Agence nationale et internationale du Manitoba, which provides services to businesses and other organizations in Manitoba that wish to work in national and international French-speaking markets—particularly Quebec, France and Belgium. Although this agency receives half of its funding from the federal government, the province exercises a great deal of leadership and influence on behalf of the Francophone community in the economic and international trade sectors. The province draws on the added value of Manitoba’s Francophone community in order to strengthen its economic position and expand its trade interests—while also supporting the development of the Francophone community.
Achieving concrete results is not only a question of budgets. It is important to show strong leadership and adopt measures that can better promote every aspect of the Francophonie.
I therefore encourage you to work more closely with your counterparts and with Francophone communities, to create opportunities that will benefit everyone. This is an opportunity for these communities to fully contribute to the economic, cultural and social development of their province or territory.
Promoting linguistic duality
To properly promote the French language and Canada’s linguistic duality at the provincial level, we must go beyond supporting official language minority communities. We must promote these values among all Canadians so that everyone recognizes the benefits of learning and knowing our two official languages. There is no doubt about the enthusiasm for learning French, given the popularity of immersion programs.
But we must not forget: official languages are not only a concern for minorities. In French, there is a phrase: “projet de société”—and I have never found an adequate translation. This is a social project that involves all Canadians. Speaking from experience, I believe the opportunities I have had not only to learn the language, but to be immersed in a Francophone environment, have had a profound impact on me, both personally and professionally. Although not all Canadians may want to have this type of experience, governments should nonetheless ensure that options exist for those who do.
You are in the ideal position to encourage your community members to embrace the concept of linguistic duality in your province or territory and to make it an everyday reality. We must work together to dispel the myths that our language policies are wasteful or irrelevant. We must promote the intrinsic value of learning a second language—or even a third or fourth.
Cultural diversity also plays an important role in your efforts and complements the country’s linguistic duality. Most immigrants and newcomers support this duality as a value representing open-mindedness towards others.
With these immigrants and newcomers, the demographic face of Canada is constantly changing. We must therefore seize this opportunity to continue promoting the link between linguistic duality and cultural diversity. To this effect, the Office of the Commissioner has organized discussion forums on these issues in Toronto and Vancouver, with other forums in other Canadian cities in the coming years.
Naturally, we must provide immigrants and newcomers with the tools that would help them to integrate into our Francophone communities, and by extension, learn French as a second or third language.
A number of communities are currently working to address this challenge and I encourage you to continue in your own efforts to ensure success.
Conclusion
Because of your close contact with Canadians, you play a leading role in enhancing the vitality of our minority Francophone communities. The full implementation of the Roadmap depends on the active participation of all government partners. Finally, I encourage you to be proactive and to establish the programs and services necessary for the full development of your Francophone communities.
I wish you an excellent meeting and look forward to hearing about the outcomes.
Thank you.
