Ottawa, October 27, 2006
First-Rate Schools: Counting on Excellence
to Address the Challenges of French Language Education
Speaking Notes for an Address at the Annual General Meeting of the
Commission nationale des parents francophones
Graham Fraser - Commissioner of Official Languages
Check against delivery
Dear Parents and Friends,
I am very pleased to speak to you today. My second week as Commissioner of Official Languages is coming to a close, and I have already crossed the country coast to coast. Yesterday, I met members of the Fédération acadienne de la Nouvelle-Écosse and the Nova Scotia Federal Council. Prior to that, I spoke with immersion teachers and visited a French school in North Vancouver. I met the heads of a new French studies program at Simon Fraser University. I also met with members of the Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic Games, who informed me of their commitment to respect both official languages in the various events. During my stay, I witnessed the energy and innovative spirit of British Columbia’s Francophone community.
First, allow me to introduce myself. I was born in Ottawa and moved to Toronto with my family when I was a teenager. I studied at the University of Toronto, where I earned a bachelor’s degree, and later a master’s degree in history. I became a journalist in 1968, and with a few breaks to travel, study and write books, I have worked as a journalist ever since.
I spent a significant part of my career writing about Quebec for the rest of Canada, and between 1995 and 2000, I wrote about the rest of Canada for Quebec in Le Devoir. The pivotal experience that made that career possible occurred when I was a unilingual English-speaking student at the University of Toronto.
In 1965, I worked on an archaeological dig at Fort Lennox, on Île aux Noix, on the Richelieu River, south of Montréal. That summer, in addition to learning French, I realized just how little I knew about my own country. This is when I became deeply interested in and passionate about Quebec and Francophone Canadians — feelings that have never subsided.
Paradoxically, it was also an experience that helped me appreciate the difficulty of learning a second language and what it means to be an immigrant, because learning another language and another culture makes us more open to those who come from other countries. This realization became more apparent later in my life, when my son attended an English-language school in the City of Québec. It enabled me to fully understand the importance of the school environment for parents and children living in a linguistic minority environment.
Ever since, I have always believed that linguistic duality and cultural diversity are not contradictory, as some would claim, but deeply linked. In fact, without the recognition—conscious or unconscious—that Canada is made up of two language communities, the very idea of multiculturalism would be difficult to accept.
Now, as I begin my mandate, I want to send out a simple message: English and French are languages that belong to all Canadians. French is neither the exclusive property of Quebeckers nor a private code for Francophones.
Today, I want to speak to you about French-language education in Canada and about the vital role that you play, as parents, when it comes to the quality of education that children receive across the country. I find this quite challenging since you know these issues better than I. Nevertheless, I will raise certain points that you may find useful for your discussions and actions.
1. Challenges
Francophone communities are now receiving communities for immigration, as much so as Anglophone communities. This presents a serious challenge to school systems.
You live it every day; school populations today are very different from those of yesterday, as for example, in the time of the Laurendeau-Dunton Commission. Exogamy, which is very common in minority environments, is another aspect of this new reality.
The result is that more and more students in our school systems have mixed linguistic origins.1 However, it is not always easy for schools to harmoniously integrate students whose parents use more than one language at home.
It is important to think about this issue and find concrete ways to welcome students from diverse origins and to support the parents through their children’s educational path.
I was able to fully confirm this occurrence during my visit to Vancouver. The Office of Francophone and Francophile Affairs at Simon Fraser University coordinates French programs for 22 students who, together, speak nine different languages at home.
The French school André-Piolat has 300 students, who, together, speak 30 different languages at home. That is the Canada of today and tomorrow.
This school faces a number of challenges. Francophones in British Columbia are scattered over a large area—their children are often from exogamous families, and parents have several options for their children’s education: English school, immersion programs, private school and French school.
How does André-Piolat school address these challenges? First of all, through dedicated Francophone teachers. Next, through technology: I saw secondary school students taking a physics class, which was being taught by a teacher in Victoria—on their computers. But above all, these challenges can be overcome through a vital commitment to quality. “We have to be a first-rate school,” school principal Raymond Ouimet told me.
And in order for a school to be first-rate, it must offer quality education. No parent, regardless of how committed he or she is, will jeopardize his or her child’s future for a principle—even if it is a noble one. The good news is that schools in minority Francophone communities seem to be focusing on quality. Your achievement in school success is a good indication of this focus.
In June 2006, the Fraser Institute published a list of the best schools in Ontario. Among the 308 schools in the Ottawa region, five out of the ten best schools were French, of which Terre-des-Jeunes ranked first with a perfect score.
Again in Ontario, some French school boards have already met the provincial standards for school success, while the majority of English boards have a long way to go. It is not a coincidence that these results follow a period of increased funding for the French-language system.
The success of French language schools is not reserved solely for other parts of the country. Prince Edward Island has had its share of success.
I am thinking particularly of the community education centre of Carrefour de l’Isle-St-Jean, here in Charlottetown. Like other communities, you have created an educational institution that also serves as a gathering place for the entire community. Carrefour continues to expand to welcome new students. Furthermore, it continues to gain popularity among members of your community. A victim of its own success, Carrefour is beginning to run out of space. This is a sign that major progress has been made in recruiting and retaining eligible students.
Another example of success was when the community mobilized around the Section 23 Action Plan, which was established in June 2005 with other partners from the education sector. I was told that your national executive worked tirelessly to contribute to the development of a comprehensive action plan to supplement the French-language school system in Canada. It is this type of mobilization work that gives me confidence in the future of our educational system. I congratulate the CNPF and Francophone school boards2 for their leadership role in this initiative.
These achievements should be a source of pride and hope for the future because we must strive for excellence in education.
I am well aware that within Francophone communities in particular, this pursuit of excellence must begin even before children enter school. Daycare and early childhood learning services are vital.
The family and early childhood centres that you set up in your communities serve as a gateway to school—a place where children are introduced to the school system. From that point on, they also contribute do the development of their community. We are in great need of these establishments to teach the young Francophones of the future.
I understand that there are significant challenges in the early childhood field at this time. The situation can be difficult in a federation like Canada, where different governments can have differing viewpoints on daycare and early childhood learning services. What matters is that preschool-age Francophone students have every opportunity to achieve their potential in their language, in like manner as Anglophone students. The CNPF’s position on learning and daycare in Francophone communities seems to focus on social justice for Canada’s Francophone communities.
The message that I wish to convey to you today is “keep it up.” The future of your children and Canada’s Francophone communities depends on it.
2. The complementarity of French-language school systems and French as a second language learning programs
I would now like to speak to you about the relationship between the Francophonie and the immersion system. Some of you may remember that this is not the first time I deliver an address at a meeting of the members of the Commission.
Nearly 15 years ago, I was invited to speak at one of your meetings in Montréal. At the time, I conveyed a message that some considered to be provocative. I said that you could not afford to regard the community of Francophiles—immersion schools, parents of students and organizations such as Canadian Parents for French and French for the Future—as competitors or adversaries. Instead, you must seek to build partnerships and alliances.
Another speaker, Pierre Bourgault, who is no longer with us, was shocked by my comments. He made full use of his skills as a public speaker to convince you otherwise. But I stand by my views.
Having said that, I am all too aware of the sense of vulnerability, even uncertainty, felt by minority communities. I understand the hesitation to commit to working with the immersion movement. But I remain convinced that more resources, such as books, videos, screenings, and appearances by Francophone authors and artists, could be shared.
My recent stay in British Columbia strengthened this conviction. The Fédération des francophones de la Colombie-Britannique told me that Canadian Parents for French is one of its members. The organizations work together to organize meetings, public speaking competitions and debates. As Commissioner, I am very happy to promote these types of initiatives, and I commend you for everything that you have done to this effect and encourage you to continue.
I believe that the existence of various school systems and the maintenance of a variety of French language learning programs will contribute to the success of linguistic duality in Canada. The more choices that are offered, the more likely it will be that students enrol in the programs that they want and the more bilingual people there will be.
Immersion programs are a Canadian experience that strengthens the country’s linguistic duality. This is the society that we chose in the wake of the Laurendeau-Dunton Commission. It is an Anglophone response to Canada’s language policy.
Young people are not being forced to become bilingual. They are being offered an opportunity and access to immersion schools and second language programs so they can fully benefit from everything that both official languages have to offer. It is a matter of fairness and social responsibility, and one that is very closely linked with the Canadian identity.
3. The pursuit of excellence
I would like to reiterate that the success of French language schools depends on the excellence of your respective systems. We must work together and aim for excellence in our schools and in our school boards.
Before concluding, I would like to share a few factors with you that may help our efforts bear fruit. Unfortunately, I cannot go into them in detail today. In my opinion, there are three ingredients that seem to facilitate or catalyze the ongoing process that leads to excellence:
- Consultation among the various community groups;
- Active participation of parents, that is, the implementation of a genuine participation philosophy on the part of all those involved;
- Active listening and full participation of the various levels of government to the educational mission.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I would like to tell you that, as Commissioner, I am very delighted to be defending your rights and the development of French language school systems across Canada. I will continue to visit communities across the country and listen to what you have to say.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to participate in this discussion. I would be happy to hear any comments you may have or to answer a few questions, if time permits.
Notes
1 It was estimated that in 2001, 63 per cent of school-age children allowed to attend minority schools (eligible students) were living in exogamous families where both official languages were used. Rodrigue Landry (2003). Libérer le potentiel caché de l’exogamie : là où le nombre le justifie IV, Ottawa: Commission nationale des parents francophones, p. 3.
2 There are 31 Francophone school boards outside Quebec. They are grouped together within the Fédération nationale des conseils scolaires francophones.
