Ottawa, June 15, 2006
Notes for an Address at the Annual General Meeting
of the Fédération culturelle canadienne-française
Dr. Dyane Adam - Commissioner of Official Languages
Check against delivery
Ladies and gentlemen and dear friends,
I would like to start by saying thank you. It is a privilege for me to share my thoughts with you on Francophone culture. This is probably the last time I will have the opportunity to do this as Commissioner of Official Languages. As you know, my term will be ending in a few weeks.
The pleasure is that much greater because your annual general meeting this year is being hosted by Franco-Newfoundlanders. The history of your province has made you the youngest French-speaking community in Canada, yet French roots were laid here centuries ago.
Since the expansion of Francophone culture is an issue today, your youth without question makes Newfoundland and Labrador the perfect place to talk about growth.
The observations I will be sharing with you are based on what I have seen with my own eyes over the past seven years. I have had the good fortune and privilege of getting to know our communities and learning more about issues related to culture and language in Canadian society. My plan is to share not only what I have drawn from that experience, but also my thoughts on what lies in store.
I will begin by underscoring an important fact: the approach you are currently taking rests on a foundation that is remarkably strong for three reasons.
First, culture is a key factor in the growth and development of your communities. You will therefore now find in the Official Languages Act more solid legal support for your initiatives. I will come back to this in a minute.
Next, as you saw for yourselves in the discussion paper for our 2004 annual general meeting, your sector has grown in strength and solidarity since 1993. As a result, you have free rein when it comes to talking growth.
Finally, your approach meets a universal social objective: lifting the soul and creating harmony. Promoting a culture means preserving diversity. Preserving diversity means fostering inclusion and stability.
In that regard, the comments made by Carmen Gibbs in reference to the Francophone arts and culture summit that will be held in New Brunswick in May 2007 speak volumes. Allow me to reiterate them:
“[TRANSLATION] While the planet is grappling now more than ever with all manner of conflict, we are engaged in a societal exercise that has the noble virtue of seeking to foster a culture of peace. The arts have intrinsic value, but they also have the tremendous merit, for all societies which embrace them, of promoting social cohesion and spreading a culture of peace.”
Your approach can therefore nourish the principles of good governance by contributing to cohesion and prosperity.
In short, you have the foundation, the means, and the reasons to embark on this great adventure.
Creating a bigger cultural space – what exactly does that entail?
Talking about it is easy; explaining it is an altogether different story.
Culture is everyone’s business. You know better than anyone that cultural space grows as more and more stakeholders take part. You have therefore started to involve all players in society: governments, private enterprise, the arts and culture sector, and communities. Bringing as many stakeholders as possible on board and creating a solid network can be the first step in expanding your own cultural space.
It therefore should come as no surprise to learn that cultural space can take many forms and that it does not have to be exclusively Francophone or strictly Canadian.
In his book, In the Name of Identity, writer Amin Maalouf urges us to learn about other cultures.
“[TRANSLATION] When we realize that our identity comprises multiple affiliations, when we see in ourselves, our roots and our path different confluences, cultural mixes, and subtle and contradictory influences, a different relationship is created with others, as with our own tribes or clans. It is not simply us and them.”
This statement is particularly meaningful given that Amin Maalouf was himself a member of the Christian minority in Lebanon, his native country, and now lives in France.
With these new partners, the cultural community explores new outlets: senior citizens’ homes, hospitals, fire stations, even supermarkets – why not?
That is the way to go. The days when languages and cultures were cloistered in their countries or regions of origin are long gone. The immense power of modern communications coupled with a world-wide desire interact with others must be reflected in our communities. As Mexican writer Octavio Paz said, “All cultures are born out of mingling, meetings and clashes. Conversely, civilizations die from isolation.”
The time is right to create and expand alliances that show that French culture in Canada is not just the culture of Quebeckers. It is also the culture of Newfoundlanders, Acadians, Ontarians and others.
And then there is the future. Culture has to stand the test of time. It has already stood for four centuries. How do we know that? We are here talking about it today. As Czech author Milan Kundera said, “Culture is the memory of a people, its collective consciousness, historical continuity, a way of thinking and of living.”
What about the resources available to you?
As I said earlier, your approach has a solid legal foundation: the
Official Languages Act
That foundation is now more solid than ever because of new legislation that was passed last fall to strengthen Part VII of the Act.
The commitment of federal institutions to support the development of official language communities and promote linguistic duality is now more than a simple policy statement. It is an obligation that must be carried out through concrete measures. This is a great victory on the road to of both language communities. However, the effect depends largely on the way you use this new provision.
Your task will be to define your needs and put forward initiatives that will truly make a difference over the long haul in communities and in Canadian society as a whole. You have to think in terms of an overall vision for arts and culture rather than one-time actions, which you already do very well. The ultimate goal is to go well beyond the Action Plan for Official Languages; indeed, culture was hardly at the top of the list of priorities under the plan. The amendments to the Act open the door to that approach.
This brings me to government programs and their effectiveness.
The most spectacular initiatives on paper or in terms of budget will not take us very far if they fail to produce results. It is therefore vital that institutions measure the effectiveness of their policies using language and culture as variables. In other words, institutions must not conclude that the government has fulfilled its obligations when all it does is create a program. What counts is the impact on the communities.
An effective tool for measuring results could also be used to ensure that government action benefits the English- and French-speaking communities equally. The benefits of any program or policy must be the same for all in terms of quality and quantity.
Since this is a question of government support, I should say a few words about the UNESCO Convention.
The Convention provides a compelling argument for seeking government support. Canada has vigorously defended the practice of publicly supporting culture in order to protect and promote its identity and its distinct character. Francophone communities are without question part of that identity and character. As such, they help shape Canada’s image, the very image we aim to defend with the UNESCO Convention.
Of course, the remarks I just made raise a number of questions.
Some of those questions involve government authorities, the federal government in particular. One question that must be asked is whether culture is perceived as a factor in the promotion of official languages and an instrument of growth and development. The answer should be yes, so that we can ensure that cultural development can move forward towards full linguistic duality.
Given the role the media can play in cultural development and expression, that sector should be explored as well.
I think we all agree that we cannot let market forces alone determine the dissemination and production of cultural material. That is the spirit in which Canada defended its position in the debate that led to the UNESCO Convention. Consequently, the idea of regulating and supporting the media in minority communities must be widely accepted.
It remains to be seen whether the CRTC is meeting all its responsibilities regarding the dissemination and production of French-language radio and television content. Does the CBC offer a pan-Canadian image of Francophone culture? Could a national French-language educational network that is in tune with the reality of communities across the country and that contributes to their influence be established?
Community radio stations and newspapers are forums in which culture can be expressed. Are they getting enough support from Ottawa?
Conclusion
In closing, I would like to go back to the amendments to the Act that I mentioned earlier and the importance of ensuring that government actions are properly targeted so that they produce tangible results.
This process entails the development of indicators of success or, if you will, indicators of community vitality.
What are the signs that will let us know whether the initiatives we have taken have had a real effect? An increase in the number of theatregoers? Francophone artists breaking into major Quebec and European markets?
The presence or absence of national or provincial coordination or venues for cultural mediation is an indicator. To cite just one example, the Sudbury Salon du livre is an important meeting place in that region.
Your involvement in the ongoing development of these vitality indicators is in my view essential because you have your finger on the pulse of our communities. The government has its responsibilities, but this responsibility is for the most part yours.
To assist you in this task, because I, too, have responsibilities, I have done two things.
First, my office released a report on May 18 entitled A Sharper View: Evaluating the Vitality of Official Language Minority Communities. The report does not offer a magic solution to every problem, but it does point you in the right directions.
Second, I have asked my staff to produce for 2007 a major study on the arts and culture sector in official language communities. Some of the people here have already been consulted. The study should shed more light on the role arts and culture play or ought to play in the affirmation and consolidation of our communities. I am therefore leaving you a number of tools to help you envision and create the cultural future of our communities.
Finally, I would like to again quote one of my favourite authors, Amin Maalouf, who to me captures the essence of the global issue of language, culture, and identity in contemporary society:
“[TRANSLATION] The struggle that must be waged today is a struggle not for pre-eminence, but for diversity […] A truly civic attitude, a true contribution to peaceful management of the disturbing world in which we live, is to consolidate and harmoniously arrange the cultural and linguistic diversity of human beings so that no one feels scorned, disdained, marginalized, excluded or misunderstood and no one is tempted by the language of violence.”1
Of course, what matters most is not the tool, but the hand and soul of the artist who uses it. You are the artists who will craft a culture of peace. And our communities, our governments, our country, and the modern world are yearning for a language and culture of peace. This is the aim of your discussions and your actions.
Thank you!
1 Courrier International, Cause toujours, Hors série Culture, March-April-May 2003, p. 45.
