Discussions on immigration and cultural diversity

The National Metropolis Conference is Canada’s most important conference on immigration and cultural diversity. This year, the 11th National Metropolis Conference was held in Calgary from March 19–22, 2009, and enabled participants to further their reflection on immigration and cultural diversity in the Prairies and across Canada.

For several years, thanks especially to the involvement of the Commissioner of Official Languages, Metropolis has been addressing the issue of Francophone immigration. On March 19, researchers, community organizations and representatives from government institutions participated in a one-day reflection on Francophone immigration.

Focus on linguistic duality

On November 24, 2008, the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages held a discussion forum in Vancouver on the perspectives of Canadians of diverse backgrounds towards linguistic duality. The main objective of the Vancouver forum was to better understand these perceptions, as well as the links between linguistic duality and cultural diversity. An equally important goal of this forum was to establish relationships with participants in order to continue and deepen this crucial dialogue.

Over 40 participants and observers participated in the forum. They came mainly from ethnocultural groups in the Vancouver area, multicultural associations, new Canadian integration organizations, as well as media representing ethnocultural groups and media interested in the event.

There was lively debate at the forum. Linguistic duality remains an important Canadian value for most participants. However, many criticized the lack of access to French-language learning opportunities for both youth and adults. A forum report will be available on our Web site in the next few months.

This forum was the second in a series of three. The first forum was held in Toronto in 2007 and the third will be held in Montréal in 2010.

Official languages at the Olympics

On December 2, 2008, the Commissioner of Official Languages, Mr. Graham Fraser, published a study entitled Raising our Game for Vancouver 2010: Towards a Canadian Model of Linguistic Duality in International Sport, which examines the steps taken by the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games (VANOC) to ensure a bilingual Games.

“The 2010 Games are a golden opportunity for Canada to show an image of linguistic duality to the world and to showcase our success and pride in being a country with two official languages. The expectations are high, and we want to show ourselves at our best, from every angle,” said Mr. Fraser.

To achieve this, the Commissioner made 18 recommendations. In addition to simultaneous interpretation and bilingual volunteer recruitment, the recommendations refer to signage, sponsors, the role of the Federal Games Secretariat and resources allocated to the Official Languages Unit. “VANOC has developed a strong vision of linguistic duality that accurately reflects Canada’s character,” stressed the Commissioner. “It must now put the necessary resources in place to make this vision a reality on the ground next year.”

The French language in television

Following the release of his study entitled Shadows over the Canadian Television Landscape: The Place of French on the Air and Production in a Minority Context on January 8, the Commissioner stated that “the various federal institutions involved in television production must increase their efforts to ensure that the production and broadcasting of original Canadian television programs can fully contribute to the development of official language minority communities.”

The study highlights the advances made in film and television production coming from Francophone minority communities in Canada. The report also includes 11 recommendations made by Mr. Fraser to better support television production from official language communities and thus enrich and diversify the Canadian television landscape.