A bridge between the two language groups

by Réjean Paulin, Ottawa, Ontario

"I told myself that one of my strengths would be to build bridges between French and English Canada."

Today, the proudly Francophone and fully bilingual Daniel Leblanc explains, in English, Canadian politics to all of Canada in the Globe and Mail. His job is primarily to inform, but he also serves as a bridge between two of his country’s language communities.

Capable of understanding and explaining Canadian politics in both official languages, Daniel always wanted to bridge the gap between both cultures. "When we become journalists, we sometimes look for our niche. We ask ourselves what we can bring to the profession.” 

His Francophone identity and openness towards the English language is the result of a journey that quickly enabled him to learn about Canada's cultural mosaic.

His last name, Leblanc, dates back to the early origins of French in North America. His ancestors are from Trois-Rivières. His parents, Levasseur on his mother's side and Leblanc on his father's side, are Franco-Manitobans. He was born in Ottawa but was still in diapers when his family moved to Quebec.

As a child, he regularly visited Manitoba and Nova Scotia with his parents. These trips opened up his eyes to the country’s many cultural facets, from east to west. “This gave me a better understanding of Canada.”

Leaving Ottawa before learning to speak could have distanced him from the English language, but his brother, who was three years older than him, made sure that did not happen... without even realizing it! “He had control of the TV remote and liked to watch Saturday morning cartoons in English.” 

Because of his big brother’s influence, Daniel worked hard to understand this unfamiliar language at a very young age. He later studied English in an enriched program at Collège Saint-Alexandre in Gatineau.

Today, his language skills are a real asset to him on Parliament Hill. He can easily speak with someone in their language of choice.

He has developed a fairly clear picture of the two official language communities, which he feels are at the same time similar yet different.

They are similar because they are both based on shared social values, but different because each has its own values as well.

This is why some events do not have the same meaning everywhere. In his opinion, the sponsorship scandal is a good example. “There was something more Québécois about it because this ordeal was linked to Canadian flags and the national question.”

He discussed the issue at length in his book Nom de code : MaChouette, which he wrote in French.

“I wrote the book in French because I experienced the inquiry in French. Also, I wanted to prove to myself that I could still do it.” 

Daniel does not agonize over living his life in English, but he does not bury his head in the sand either. “I saw some of my cousins assimilate into the English-language community. It's a fact of life, it's something that... that scares us,” he said, with a worried look in his eyes.

He tries to keep the same thing from happening to him by going back to his roots. He did it by writing his book in French, but his family and his city are his real haven. He and his wife live in Gatineau and they try to ensure that their three children, aged five, 10 and 14, live and grow up in French.

Conscious of the fact that, with considerable effort, a person can preserve his or her language and culture, he has a realistic view on the place of both official languages in Canadian politics.

“It's great to hear Michael Ignatieff ask a question in French and have Stephen Harper answer back in French, but let’s not fool ourselves.”

Based on his experience, he says that unilingual Anglophone journalists on Parliament Hill manage to do their job, even if they sometimes think they have missed something important in French. However, it is not unreasonable to believe that it is a lot more difficult for unilingual Francophones.

Yet his experience working for a daily English-language paper is for the most part a positive one, where Canada’s linguistic vision is accepted. "I believe we have a good awareness of this issue at the Globe and Mail.”

Daniel found what he was looking for when the newspaper wanted to hire a young bilingual journalist to cover parliamentary news. The opportunity came about in 1998, shortly after he finished his Masters degree in political science. He asked himself whether it had happened a bit too soon, knowing that this type of work is usually offered to a seasoned professional.

He has been sharing a world without linguistic barriers with his fellow citizens for 10 years now and his linguistic fluidity has paid off. In 2002, he received the Canadian Association of Journalists Award in the investigative journalism category. He was also a co-recipient of the 2004 Michener Award for meritorious public service in journalism. 

In the end, the job he was offered came at just the right time.

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Credits

Credits: Bill Grimshaw, The Globe and Mail