Ongoing, divisive language debate unnecessary
Posted Mar 4, 2010 By Jeff Maguire
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Tweet ThisEMC Lifestyle - On Friday Feb. 12 millions of Canadians reveled in the official opening of the much anticipated 21st Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Two days later our sense of pride grew when Alexandre Bilodeau of Rosemere, Quebec became Canada's first ever gold medalist on home soil, winning the men's moguls ski event.
His win was the first in what turned out to be a gold rush for Canadian athletes during a generally successful extravaganza.
The day after his emotional win an overjoyed Bilodeau thanked all Canadians for their support, further evidence of just how much his gold medal meant to so many of us.
At almost the same time came word certain officials are unhappy that "not enough French" was spoken during the glittering opening ceremonies broadcast around the world.
Hardly a surprise considering the ongoing and divisive language debate in this country! Certain people can't wait to re-open it and turn up the rhetoric. If there isn't an opportunity they create one.
It would be easy enough to pass this off as simply "a few zealots advancing their own agenda" and most assuredly that is part of it.
I resisted the temptation to comment on the recent decision to relieve the post mistress in nearby Pakenham of her duties because she isn't bilingual enough. I won't miss commenting on the Olympic "issue."
The Pakenham debate is still simmering below the surface although the massive wave of public anger and negative media coverage which swelled in the wake of that decision has at least kept the lady in her job. For the time being!
That situation is simply one example of what I believe is a completely unnecessary problem that's getting worse. Another example is the tempest in a teapot which raged briefly in the wake of the Winter Olympics' official opening.
The argument that the province of Quebec and French-speaking Canadians are being discriminated against by the rest of Canada is a myth and a very tired one at that.
Someone needs to win the language debate however. And that needs to happen soon before the problem spreads and pits even more Canadians against one another.
At present the English versus French debate is confined mainly to a few enclaves, including the "artificial" environment created in the nearby nation's capital by so-called "official bilingualism."
Clearly the language issue is very complex. However, elements of it are more than clear. If there is discrimination involved it is mainly against English speaking people living in Quebec or anyone who wishes to compete for a federal job, anywhere in the country, who doesn't speak French.
What became of official bilingualism by the way? Having little or no command of English doesn't seem to be a barrier to employment for francophones in Ottawa. Have you tried calling a federal office in the capital recently? Quite incredible actually and I hear the same thing from people all the time.
Enough French
As for the Winter Olympics opening ceremonies I think it can be fairly argued there was more than enough French spoken during the ceremonies. To the point where the international television audience must think Canada is heavily francophone, which of course it isn't.
Recent language census numbers underline the fact.
Outside Quebec just 4.1 per cent of the Canadian population speaks French as a first language. However at the time of the most recent census (2006) 11.9 per cent spoke a "non official language" at home. Neither English nor French in other words.
The Statistics Canada survey also revealed 17.4 per cent of all Canadians can conduct a conversation in English and French. Incredibly that means 82.6 per cent of us can't. And yet French is supposed to be equally prominent during an event in Vancouver? Give me a break!
In Vancouver, Mandarin trumps English in parts of the city. That's not a criticism, it's a fact! In 2006 the highest number of newcomers to Canada (14 per cent) was from China. Many of them settled in greater Vancouver.
In his comments on the Olympic language debate, Quebec Premier Jean Charest was decent enough to point out that Chinese speakers easily outnumber francophones in British Columbia. But naturally he agreed with those who thought not enough French was spoken.
"Everybody would have liked to have had more French in the opening ceremonies," Charest was quoted as saying.
Everybody - I don't think so!
I heard a number of talk radio debates and read numerous newspaper letters in the wake of this latest criticism.
One Canadian man, who was visiting the United States at the time and watched the ceremonies on NBC, told an Ottawa radio host he was "ashamed" of how much French was spoken in a city where francophones "are such a tiny minority.
"Why not Chinese," he said. "You would certainly have pleased far more people.
"Maybe we should have arranged it so English was dropped entirely," he said facetiously, but with obvious frustration.
The arguments advanced in the wake of the Olympic opening ceremonies are ridiculous in my opinion. I watched the ceremonies and thought French was a major part of the production. After all English and French are the two official languages of the Olympics and every games held is opened in French, a long standing tradition.
Frankly I can't believe this ever came up. I'm particularly annoyed that it was federal Heritage Minister James Moore (a Vancouver-area MP) who chose to go public with negative comments.
"I was disappointed there wasn't as much French as we were expecting, as we were told there was going to be," Moore told the media.
I'm not sure who the "we" he referred to is actually?
Graham Fraser, federal Commissioner of Official Languages, also weighed in on the side of more French.
When will anyone in officialdom speak for the rights of anglophones, especially the English-speaking minority in Quebec?
Quebec's Bill 101 is the best (try worst) example of what I am talking about. Among other things the legislation defines French as the only official language of Quebec. That certainly flies in the face of official bilingualism doesn't it?
More than 200,000 anglophones have fled Quebec over the years, fed up with the language discrimination the English minority faces in the province where they were born and raised. It's a national disgrace.
Ignore obvious
The feds conveniently sidestep obvious cases of discrimination against the English-speaking minority in Quebec. At the same time many officials are quick to complain about any perceived slight against francophones, including this Olympic nonsense.
Please see next week's issue of the EMC for the remainder of this column.
Take the case of the anglophone Montrealer (he is bilingual by the way) who recently complained to the Official Languages Commissioner that his federal Member of Parliament sends literature to her constituents printed in French only. The man says his neighbourhood has many anglophones and therefore he believes they have a right to expect mailers from their federal MPP in both official languages. Is that not why the Official Languages Act was passed into law in the first place? To prevent discrimination against either language group!
This particular gentleman told the media his complaint was answered. He was told by the Language Commissioner's office the department "has no jurisdiction in this matter."
I have since found out that is true. So, why do we need these people if they have no jurisdiction over the MPs who approved the establishment of their department in the first place?
Why does the federal government appear to defend only one language group - francophones?
Another anglophone Quebecer, who called an Ottawa talk radio show in the wake of this same controversy, cautioned Ontarians to "beware of what is coming your way."
He says he's been observing events in our province recently and believes some of the same "discrimination we suffer here (Quebec) every day, is headed your way."
He referred to the efforts by Ottawa francophone MPP Madeleine Meilleur and others to advance the French language in the nation's capital and eastern Ontario. Meilleur is the Minister of Community Services and the Minister Responsible for Francophone Affairs in Ontario.
"It's insidious," the man observed. "And believe me it is coming your way."
Based on what we have witnessed recently in Pakenham, his warning carries a certain ring of truth I have to say.
There's no doubt in my mind the Pakenham post office issue is a symptom of the now deep-rooted language issue we are faced with, at least in this area. Certain people are clearly trying to consolidate the already incredible hold francophones have in terms of federal jobs. Who can say the provincial government or even municipal government (in Ottawa at least) isn't next? It is obviously high on the list for some very influential people.
Unfortunately outside of Ottawa, eastern Ontario and certain enclaves across Canada, the majority are unaffected by this situation and therefore are largely unaware of the problem or its potential consequences.
The French contribution to Canada's long and proud history is indisputable.
But there is far too much language-related discrimination in Quebec (witness that province's ludicrous sign law) and it is time the federal government dealt with this once and for all. Enforced bilingualism in areas where speaking French is not indicated should also be stopped in its tracks.
Meanwhile the rights of other language minorities are being ignored and trampled upon, especially in Quebec.
Federal politicians pander to this nonsense, or simply ignore it, in hopes of securing much needed votes in Quebec. That philosophy has failed the current Conservative government despite all of the time and money they have poured into that province.
During the Winter Olympics we celebrated the success of a Quebec athlete and his positive impact on all Canadians. Alexandre Bilodeau was competing on behalf of our nation, not one province. Athletic ability, not language, was the basis of his success and the reason for our excitement.
The success of our athletes at the Vancouver Winter Olympics has raised national pride to a higher level.
And yet we have some people who would tarnish that by unnecessarily dragging the language debate into a place it clearly doesn't belong. They should be ashamed of themselves!
If you have any comments or questions for Jeff Maguire, he can be reached by e-mail at: jeffrey.maguire@rogers.com
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