Toronto, September 29, 2007
Becoming More Inclusive as Host Communities
Speech given at the 60th Congress of the
Association canadienne d’éducation de langue française (ACELF)
Graham Fraser – Commissioner of Official Languages
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Good morning everyone!
It seems, since I became Commissioner of Official Languages, that not a week has gone by during which I have not spoken before a Francophone audience. In not quite one year, I have travelled across the country and met Francophone groups in a number of cities: Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Yellowknife, Regina, Saskatoon, Toronto, Sudbury, Ottawa, Sherbrooke, Montreal, Moncton, Halifax and Charlottetown. Fog prevented me from getting to St. John’s, Newfoundland!
Now I have a question for you: Are you trying to tell me something?
The one thing I can say about all of these meetings is that your passion, your enthusiasm, your vibrant spirit, and your indomitable will to foster your communities’ development have absolutely nothing “minority” about them. You definitely have wind in your sails!
It’s a pleasure and an honour to be with you here today for the 60th anniversary of the ACELF. I would like to take this occasion to talk to you about the major issues and challenges facing the Canadian Francophonie as a result of the increasing cultural and linguistic diversity of our communities.
Very few national organizations have continually brought together, Francophone representatives from each province—and recently also from each territory—over six decades, as you have. This rare example of such continuity should not be a surprise: education remains the cornerstone of the development and vitality of the country’s Francophone and Acadian communities.
Before going further, I would like to express the sadness and regret we all felt last July upon hearing the news of the death of Paul Charbonneau, Executive Director of the Fédération nationale des conseils scolaires francophones and of the Regroupement national des directions générales de l’éducation. Canada’s Francophone community lost one of its great architects and most talented people. We take comfort, however, in the fact that his legacy remains.
The ACELF is something of a symbol to me: a symbol demonstrating that continuous, sustained, and informed dialogue works. I firmly believe that if Canadian society is to live up to the high expectations for it that exist both at home and around the world, we must build bridges between our communities. And equally important, we must constantly maintain and strengthen these bridges.
Self-assertion and the affirmation of individual and collective values in a spirit of openness, transparency and respect for others is the only promising avenue for communities aiming for excellence.
As Francophones in Canada and in North America, you are destined for excellence. For more than four centuries, you have shown time and time again that, against wind and tide, against forces that would quickly overcome ordinary people, you are capable of achieving the extraordinary.
In a world that is constantly heading towards uniformity, your example eloquently illustrates the power of difference through affirmation and the generous sharing of common space with other communities.
In fact, dialogue between cultures is the topic at today’s annual congress. In short, what you are seeking is not to smooth out the differences within your own communities, but rather to let them thrive. You have the advantage of having known for a long time that difference is a strength, not a weakness, because you have experienced this yourselves.
You also realize that beyond the things that divide us, there are many more things that bring us together. This is a complex and difficult challenge to tackle. A community does not develop to the same extent in easy times. It grows, above all, in times of adversity; and it discovers its true strength in its capacity to overcome adversity and emerge stronger than ever.
The cultural and linguistic diversity of Francophone communities have many characteristics and many facets. Today, I will discuss three of them in the context of education: immigration, migration, and what some people call “exogamy.”
Francophone immigration is probably the area where the need for action is most pressing. The Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages has been concerned about this issue for some time now. In February and November 2002, the Office of the Commissioner, under Dyane Adam, produced two revealing studies on immigration in official language communities.
Ensuring cultural and linguistic diversity is part of our mandate. Personally, this is very important to me, and I intend to examine how linguistic duality and cultural diversity co-exist within Canadian society.
The challenge of attracting Francophone immigrants to minority communities and integrating them therein is closely linked to the success of linguistic duality in Canada as a whole. Immigration practices must therefore strive to enhance minority communities, otherwise the imbalance will continue to increase and these communities will not be able to benefit from the energy that newcomers bring to Canadian society.
Two years ago, Statistics Canada predicted that in 2017 one Canadian in five would belong to a visible minority. Currently, for every Francophone immigrant, Canada welcomes ten Anglophone immigrants. This disproportion is even greater when you look at the composition of French-speaking minority communities. While 20% of Canada’s English-speaking population is composed of immigrants, only 5% of Francophones are immigrants.1
This observation leads me to talk about the real gaps that may not necessarily show up in the statistics, because we are referring here to fellow citizens who have expectations and priorities similar to our own.
Francophone immigrants who come to a minority community in a province other than Quebec find themselves in a community where the profile, number and quality of institutions and services vary greatly from one area to another. Francophone immigration is a new phenomenon for many of these communities. Nevertheless, more and more of them are setting up reception and integration structures. This is an undeniable sign of the communities’ maturity.
Despite these efforts, Francophone immigrants are often faced with a lack of adequate services in French that can meet their needs. The result is that out of the 3.1% of Francophone immigrants who choose to settle in a Francophone minority community, only 1.6% of them still live there after more than a decade in the country.2
There is a clear parallel between the experiences of immigrants who speak only French upon their arrival in Canada, and the experience that Francophone communities have traditionally had, and continue to have, with assimilation.
Nevertheless, I wish to point out that commendable efforts have been made and are producing convincing results. We have conducted a study on vitality indicators in Francophone communities in Winnipeg, Sudbury and Halifax, whose results will be released in mid-October. The study clearly shows that these communities have developed strategies and very specific objectives to make immigration a key issue in the development of official language communities.
To reverse the trends, there must be a strong push towards greater inclusion. Your attendance at this congress is an important step—crucial, even. Generally speaking, to address a challenge, it must be confronted realistically. That is exactly what you are doing, and I commend you for it.
The major responsibility for welcoming and integrating immigrants does not rest with minority communities, but with government. However, we have known for a long time that only the dedicated involvement of people like you can change things.
According to Stacy Churchill, a renowned University of Toronto professor and researcher, the countries that have had the greatest success in overcoming ethnic and linguistic differences are those that review, critically assess and constantly improve what they are doing. Like democracy, democratic inclusive education is a process that has no beginning and no end, but consists of a perpetual quest for greater equity.
It is very important to understand that, as is the case for our Francophone and Acadian communities as a whole, only a comprehensive approach can provide effective, lasting solutions. While access to education in French is an essential factor for the integration of immigrants, this is not the only factor. Successful integration involves many sectors.
Linguistic transfer occurs despite the positive effect of French-language schools. The problem is therefore much broader.
It is certainly not my role to tell you what avenue to follow. However, I think one thing is clear: a challenge such as that of fostering cultural and linguistic diversity, particularly as it affects Francophone newcomers, must be addressed through the coordinated efforts of many players. These include our teachers, who have the personal and professional experience to meet such a challenge.
My friends, the situation is neither desperate nor irreversible. Especially when it’s clear that you will continually strive to work on behalf of your communities and that your efforts are bearing fruit. In fact, thanks to community action, the federal government has already established new policies and new initiatives, such as the Strategic Plan to Foster Immigration to Francophone Minority Communities.
In addition, the Action Plan for Official Language foresees an investment of $9 million over five years to recruit and integrate Francophone immigrants. Much larger investments are required to successfully implement the Strategic Plan. First and foremost, however, Francophones must participate in the discussions on the recognition of expertise, language skill improvement and housing and employment support for newcomers. All of this involves members of your communities. You have a right to a seat at the table, and I encourage you to take it.
Some provinces—British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Alberta and Newfoundland and Labrador—have added clauses to their agreements with the federal government on immigration with provisions that official language communities be taken into consideration in the selection of qualified immigrants. This is a step forward; however, it is difficult to measure the true progress achieved through this mechanism.
In all of this, let’s remember that there is nevertheless a political will to take action to foster the integration of French-speaking immigrants into minority communities. The door is open a crack. And I know, having seen you at work, that when Francophones put their foot in a door that is ajar, it is impossible to close it again.
Now, I would like to briefly look at the matter of other Francophone groups who have a significant influence on the cultural and linguistic diversity of French-speaking minority communities.
First, let’s look at exogamy.
Just in passing, I just have a question that I would like to put to all congress attendees: can’t we find a better term than “exogamous couple?” It gives me the strange feeling that we’re talking about some kind of exotic disease. I have never heard Canadians say that they are part of “an exogamous family,” except perhaps in an ironic tone. If we want to be inclusive, we need to use terms of inclusion. Jargon is, by definition, limited to a group of people, and is thus “exclusive.”
But let’s get back to some facts: the 2001 Census data show that “exogamous” (smile) households made up 37% of the population of Francophone and Acadian communities, while their children accounted for 63% of the students eligible to attend French-language schools. Consequently, “exogamous” households constitute by far the majority of the population base of French-language school systems. These children we identify as having the right to attend French-language schools.
Massive recruitment among exogamous families is presently underway at many, if not all, of the French-language school boards across Canada. However, we know very well that the challenge here is not only a matter of the number of enrolments. In about half of the cases, children from a bilingual home speak English at home. Their knowledge of French may therefore seem very limited when they arrive at school. A child’s sense of belonging to the Francophone community depends largely on the cultural guidance offered by the school and the teachers’ ongoing efforts throughout their schooling.
I have also learned that one of the major concerns of teachers is that too often these same children leave the French-language school system when they go from elementary to high school. In Ontario, in particular, there is major concern about retention, and strategies are being developed to keep more students in the French-language system. Particularly noteworthy is the province’s language planning policy.
I certainly don’t have a ready-made solution to address this issue. But I wonder about the importance schools are placing on communicating with unilingual English-speaking parents and on encouraging these parents to participate in school activities. Have you found ways, without sacrificing the use of the French language in a significant way, to make “reasonable accommodations”—to use an expression currently in vogue in Quebec—so that unilingual English-speaking parents feel involved in the school life of their children in the French-language educational system?
In our discussions, let’s not forget the crucial roles played by couples speaking both official languages—bringing together communities and cultures, fostering acceptance of the minority by the majority, and their vital role in promoting linguistic duality as a fundamental value.
I would also like to mention the support of Francophone Quebecers who choose to settle in Francophone minority communities. We know from experience what a positive effect they have had and continue to have on the development of services for the minority and on minority community institutions. Quebec parents have been among the greatest advocates for Francophone minorities.
However, there is always another side to the coin.
About half of these Quebecers make a choice that has devastating repercussions on the Francophone communities that are hoping to welcome them: they enrol their children in English-language schools. Quebecers arrive in other Canadian provinces with a majority mindset: they believe they are safe from the forces of assimilation. Furthermore, they want to learn English and want their children to speak it fluently.
Allow me to add my voice to those of the members of these communities and to share with our fellow Quebecers an old expression that is well-known in Francophone minority communities: “Here, you don’t just learn English; you catch it like a virus!“
And I would add—with deep conviction—that our Quebec friends have nothing to worry about. They will be amazed to see how quickly and easily their children learn proper English in the excellent French-language schools in Francophone minority communities.
It is also important to realize that outside Quebec, knowledge of French is an asset and an added value for employers. Of course, you also need to know English. The Canadian context means that bilingualism in Quebec and in minority communities requires an affirmation of the French language.
A few words now on a issue that I consider to be very critical to this discussion, but which is probably dealt with less often in this context because it is more specific to the Francophone communities in Western Canada, namely relations with Métis communities.
The history of the Métis in Canada is an integral and important part of the Canadian Francophonie. Would Manitoba have such a proud and vibrant Francophone community were it not for Louis Riel’s efforts? Could we even talk about Riel and the passionate feelings he incited without concluding that the Métis culture is a facet of the culture of all Francophones across Canada? I think we need to make peace with this part of ourselves.
I am happy to see that there are efforts underway in French-language schools attended by Métis to develop approaches that are specific to their culture. By working to harmonize the language spoken by their elders with that used at school, for example, schools will be helping to raise self-esteem among young Métis students and to strengthen their relationship with the French language.
I will conclude by sharing a story related to me by a colleague. During a meeting on intercultural relations, somebody timidly asked a native chief: “Given the troubled history we have had in Canada between native and non-Native people, don’t we need a lot of time to repair the damage?”
The chief answered him with the following question: “What shines the brightest, a diamond that has been cut, with many facets, or a raw diamond, with fewer facets?”
Let’s think about the immense richness that immigrants, Quebecers and the Métis bring to the Francophone minority. Think about what you can become and the summits that you can reach in the process of building your identity, through the simple fact of enthusiastically sharing the best attributes of all of these wonderful peoples. Imagine the strong, vibrant society that will emerge from sharing what each has to offer.
My friends, inevitably it comes down to something that is fundamental for all of us: respect. Respect for ourselves and respect for others. Linguistic duality is based on this value, and this attitude. The thriving cultural and linguistic diversity of your communities is also, without question, a matter of respect. That is the most important type of respect in the world: a respect for marvellous differences.
Thank you.
1 Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages, Immigration and the Vitality of Canada's Official Language Communities: Policy, Demography and Identity, 2002.
2 Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages, Immigration and the Vitality of Canada's Official Language Communities: Policy, Demography and Identity, 2002.
