Pointe-de-l’Église, August 3, 2004
Education: Key to the Development and Vitality of Acadian
and Francophone Communities
Speaking notes for the Congrès mondial acadien
Dr. Dyane Adam - Commissioner of Official Languages
Check against delivery
Ladies and gentlemen:
I am delighted to join you in celebrating the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the French here, in Acadia.
For me, an important anniversary always provokes deep thought.
On the one hand, we look back on the past. An anniversary is an opportunity to celebrate the progress we have made, whether at a personal level, in a relationship or in society. We recall our experiences, both positive and negative, our difficulties and our successes.
On the other hand, an anniversary challenges us to ask ourselves what we will do with the rest of our lives, or, in this case, how we see the future of our Acadian and Francophone communities.
It is a fixed moment in time when we weigh the past and the future, when we allow the past to shed light on what is yet to come.
To embark on an adventure into the coming years, to build successfully, we must look at what has been accomplished and create a vision for the future.
Today, I invite you to join me in this visualization exercise. Together, we will imagine what education will be like in Acadia in the next 20 years.
French-language education: The next act
As Professor Gilles Paquet noted, “school is a human capital factory, an institution that must provide our children the means of acquiring the skills and judgment they will need to be responsible and productive citizens.”1 [Transl.]
Ultimately, to deal with the complex challenges facing humanity in the 21st century, we use a single instrument?the one Cro-Magnon man used: the brain.
School is in a way a rehearsal room, where young people learn to master this instrument. They learn to adjust and harmonize its tremendous potential with their environment and personal goals in order to take their place in society and help create the world of tomorrow, to make it more reflective of who they are.
From survival to vitality
CAs the Supreme Court of Canada stated in the Arsenault-Cameron2 decision, “a school is the single most important institution for the survival of the official language minority.” This statement is supported by various sociological studies.
The Court talks about “survival.” But the Acadia of the future will in my opinion have moved past the survival mode, progressing along the path of vitality and affirmation.
The survival mode involves claiming rights and seeking resources and recognition repeatedly. And we have obtained some.
The right to receive an education in one's own language enjoys the same constitutional protection in Canada as do the other fundamental rights. Section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is the cornerstone of the nation's commitment to the values of bilingualism, as recalled by Chief Justice Dickson in the Mahé3 decision.
On the strength of this right, and with the support of the related case law, French-language education has grown right across Canada.
We overcame the many obstacles and obtained school governance. We accomplished great things, largely through our determination. We went through a phase of ongoing claims and repeated appeals before the courts. Each time, governments received a slap on the wrist. Unfortunately, the burden was borne by the communities, and we do not want that to happen anymore.
I imagine that, in 20 years, this type of situation will be a thing of the past. I imagine that responsible governments will recognize the needs of communities and work with them to meet these needs.
If governments give us the resources we need, if they take their responsibilities seriously, it will no longer be necessary to go before the courts and assert our rights. As Justice Bastarache noted in the Beaulac4 decision, language rights “can only be enjoyed if the means are provided.”
This is why, in my last annual report, I strongly emphasized the federal government’s role as champion with respect to other governments. We call upon it to report on its commitments and investments so that, together, governments may contribute to the vitality of official language minority communities.
A vibrant Acadia: From formal equality to real equality
To paraphrase Michel Bastarache and Michel Saint-Louis, what I imagine for the future is an Acadia that will not be limited to formal equality, but will be characterized by real equality.5
An Acadia where the right to an education in French will no longer be something to be asserted, but a right valued by all, as evidenced in practice and in attitudes.
And what is real equality in tomorrow’s schools?
Real “equality” means offering equal opportunity and establishing conditions that guarantee equal results.
This means giving French-language schools, just like other schools, access to qualified teachers, suitable educational resources, and the equipment and funding required to fulfill their mission. This means that young people studying in French will have access to the same opportunities for self-development as do other students. Real equality means ensuring that young people can graduate from French-language schools as winners, begin their post-secondary education, find jobs and succeed in all facets of society.
A product that meets expectations
Our French-language schools are still young, although age is not necessarily an indicator of value. I imagine, however, that in 20 years these schools will offer a product that is irresistible because of the quality of their human, educational and material resources.
In 2002, my Office, along with about 20 leaders in the field of education, held a brain-storming session to imagine how French-language education could better accomplish its mission.6
Participants agreed that a desirable school requires a teaching approach suited to the minority situation, allowing students to acquire knowledge and skills while at the same time helping to build their community and our Francophonie.
A successful French-language school is one that provides the same range of services as do other schools but remains sensitive to the special needs of the population it serves.
It is difficult to provide a wide range of services, however, when faced with inadequate enrolments. Students leaving French-language school early are not necessarily a sign of a lack of interest in French, but rather a symptom of inadequate resources. We must break the vicious circle in which a drop in enrolments exacerbates inadequate resources, which in turn leads to an even greater decline in school enrolments. This brings us to the issue of rights-holders.
Freeing the hidden potential of our communities
To borrow an expression from Rodrigue Landry,7 when I imagine Acadian and minority education in 2020, I imagine that the “hidden potential” of our communities will be released and put to use. I imagine well-attended schools—schools that seek out and take in all rights-holders. Schools open to the world, creating a welcoming climate that extends both to the community and to immigrants.
When I imagine French-language school 20 years from now, I imagine that all of Canadian society will recognize the added value of the Acadian and Francophone school system. I imagine a time when it will no longer be necessary to justify and defend our schools. School will no longer be a challenge, the result of battles and claims, but a success with a promising future, a centre of excellence.
This will require the mobilization of the entire society to provide unequivocal support to minority communities.
Of course, this begins with the parents of rights-holders—including the English-speaking spouse, as is now most often the case—who must be convinced that education in French is the best choice for their children. They need to know that education in French opens new cultural and career horizons. They need to know that it is in French-language schools that we find the most children with the advantage of having mastered both official languages. They need to know that bilingual Canadians earn on average 10% more than unilingual Anglophone workers8 and that employers are looking for language skills.
A few months ago, the magazine Canadian Business dedicated an entire issue to the economic benefits of diversity in the workplace. According to its study, companies believe that having employees from diverse cultures makes them more competitive and promotes innovation.9 In this era of globalization, speaking a number of languages and being aware of the contributions made by a number of cultures guarantee success and self-fulfillment. And this will be even more true 20 years from now.
Expanding the continuum: From early childhood to post-secondary education and beyond
In the Acadian and Francophone communities of the future, I imagine the French fact having an influence on all stages of life, in the community, at work, at play and on the Internet. School, the source of this influence, is not an end in itself. What we eventually want is to establish spaces where people can live in French, not just moments of existing in French.
As well, education must be connected to real life.
What I imagine for the future is access to a bundle of services, so that our children will be connected to their linguistic and cultural heritage from a very young age and will be able to experience and cultivate this heritage throughout their lives.
In order to achieve this objective, we need to begin by expanding the educational space in French. Limiting our actions to primary and secondary school is not enough. We must invest in early childhood and the entire educational path beyond secondary school.
Early childhood is the springboard for the transition from the family to school.
Post-secondary education is the gateway to future careers and the society of tomorrow.
Early childhood: A springboard for the transition from the family to school
Studies show that by the age of five, just 15% of a person’s makeup remains to be shaped. That means a 15% margin to positively influence a child’s destiny.10 The parts of the brain responsible for language development, symbolic thought, vision and emotional control are fully developed by the age of three. This shows how decisive the first years of life are in a person’s future development and an adult’s general health.
These psychological analyses are also consistent with research on the economic importance of preschool education. For instance, Jim Heckman, Nobel laureate in economics, found that the most profitable investment in education is that made in early childhood. He demonstrated that the first years of life are when faculties and motivations develop that in turn influence a person’s learning, behaviour and productivity.11
It is precisely early childhood that is the foundation of our communities’ education projects. The very first years of life are when children learn to think and feel at home in their language.
What I envision for our communities in the future is full preschool services, usually attached to schools, including parenting skills centres and daycare services.
We must support parents and foster the linguistic and cultural growth and development of their children.
We must work to prevent Francophone rights-holders from becoming anglicized before they can choose French-language schools.
Lastly, we must help more English-speaking rights-holders acquire a sufficient knowledge of French to facilitate their integration into the French-language education system.
These concerns have been highlighted through recent research conducted with the support of Canadian Heritage,12 and in the research of Rodrigue Landry for the Commission nationale des parents francophones.13
Clearly, the focus on early childhood development should not be limited to education. A whole range of initiatives must be established in conjunction with community health centres, social service agencies, family medicine and obstetrics offices and various groups, such as New Brunswick’s brand new Francophone early childhood network.
The early childhood initiative must rally all interested sectors and mobilize all those who support parents and families throughout life.
The federal government must champion early childhood development
For all these reasons, the federal government must champion early childhood development. It has committed to doing so on numerous occasions, for example, in the Action Plan for Official Languages, which supports the training of specialists and daycare workers and the development of preschool resources.
Recently, the government gave the Commission nationale des parents francophones the mandate to carry out their project entitled Partir en français, thereby reiterating the commitment made in the last Throne Speech to make early childhood development a key area of government action.
Nevertheless, as demonstrated by our investigation on the application of the federal-provincial agreement on early childhood in Nova Scotia for example, we must remain very vigilant in ensuring that the federal government performs its role in this area appropriately. Among other things, it must include a requirement in these agreements that federal funding for provincial and territorial programs respect the federal government’s commitment to support the development of official language minority communities and linguistic duality.
Early childhood development is a key issue for Canada right now. It has been the subject of a number of Mr. Martin’s election promises. We must use this window of opportunity to assert our needs and effectively develop the structures that we still require.
Post-secondary education: Gateway to future careers and the society of tomorrow
To round out our initiative, we must also address the other end of the education system, including colleges, universities and professional life.
In the Acadian and Francophone communities of the future, I imagine that young people will be able to complete their entire education in French. I imagine that their education will open some interesting doors for them, academically and in their careers.
To improve their skills in French, to develop the habit of living and creating in French, young people must continue to use their language at college and university and in the workplace.
Our recent study on language of work in the public service14 showed that a number of Francophones are no longer accustomed to using French at work, even when they have the opportunity to do so. They would rather draft memos or use computer programs in English.
The more opportunity young people have to be in a Francophone environment after high school, the more comfortable they will be using their language in all situations.
Every time we study, create, read or work in French, we are consolidating the Acadian and Francophone presence in Canada. We are creating the future we hope for.
At the post-secondary level, supply creates demand.
Universities and colleges have linguistic resources at their disposal that are often underestimated. We must ask them to increase the programs they offer in French, in particular by coordinating and pooling their resources.
In the past, each institution toiled away in its own corner. Over the last decade, we have seen significant growth in cooperative networks. Think for example of the Réseau national d’enseignement universitaire en français. Colleges also have a network. You have surely heard of “Far West,” a program developing French-language college programs in Western Canada. Another recent and very welcome development is the creation of the Consortium national de formation en santé. With funding from Health Canada, this initiative seeks to promote access to health science and medicine programs for students from Francophone minority communities, and to train health care workers in a broad range of specialties in order to meet our communities’ needs.
In this regard, we call upon the federal government to create study chairs and to facilitate the establishment of a network of research centres to promote research on official language minority communities.
This research is important because it allows us to develop an argument based on credible, empirical data to defend our positions, influence decision-makers, and plan our actions with confidence.
Conclusion
To become all it can be, Canada needs vibrant Francophone and Acadian communities. To achieve its potential, Acadia must in turn focus heavily on education in building its community, in order to make it a place where all members of its great family can develop without restrictions or limitations. That is how I see a vibrant Acadia in the year 2020. That is my vision for the Acadia of tomorrow.
We are dreaming of a future where the Francophone cultural environment will sustain our young from the cradle to the grave, a future where, throughout their lives, they can draw on their roots, firmly embedded in rich and fertile soil.
John Ralston Saul said that minorities are the source of social progress because they have to fight, take up challenges and constantly reinvent themselves.15
To my mind, being part of a minority means even more. By virtue of their uniqueness, minorities offer tremendous potential: the potential to stir things up and be a force for change. Too often this power is not recognized or is suppressed. Rather than playing the role of victim, a role that is a thing of the past, minorities are called upon to serve as agents of change. It is the weight of minorities that makes society progress and move away from the easy route, its old habits and monotony. Minorities can and must fully assert their difference.
Acadians have dared to assert themselves, and Canada is richer for it.
So for future generations to enjoy the ideal world we have just imagined, we must take action right away.
This is what an anniversary is all about: a time to stop and reflect in order to move forward more effectively. It is a time to look back on and come to terms with the past and to look to the future with confidence. It is a time to create a game plan for the next act.
Thank you.
Notes
1 Gilles Paquet, Pathologies de gouvernance. Essai de technologie sociale, Montreal: Liber, 2004, p.125.
2 Arsenault Cameron v. Prince Edward Island [2000] 1 S.C.R., p. 5.
3 Mahé et al. v. The Queen (1990) 1 S.R.C. 342, 68 D.L.R. (4d.) 69 (S.C.C.).
4 R. v. Beaulac, [1999] 1 S.C.R. 768, p. 25.
5 Michel Bastarache and Michel St-Louis, “De l'égalité formelle à l'égalité réelle entre les deux communautés linguistiques du Nouveau-Brunswick,” Égalité, No 7, 1982, pp. 15-50.
6 Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages, Marc L. Johnson (reporter), Accomplishing the Mission of French-Language Education under Section 23, September 9-10, 2002.
7 Commission nationale des parents francophones – Rodrigue Landry, Libérer le potentiel caché de l’exogamie, October 2003.
8 Jedwab, Jack, It Pays to be Bilingual in Canada: Though Not Everywhere, Association for Canadian Studies, 2003.
9 “Why Diversity Pays,” Canadian Business, March 2004, http://www.canadianbusiness.com.
10 Fraser Mustard, “Développement du cerveau basé sur les expériences,” Conference, Centre d’excellence pour le développement des jeunes enfants, May 25, 2004.
11 Fraser Mustard, “Who Knows How to Build a Future?” The Globe and Mail, June 22, 2004.
12 Especially the research series entitled “La petite enfance : porte d’entrée à l’école de langue française,” by the University of Ottawa’s Centre for Interdisciplinary Research on Citizenship and Minorities, in partnership with the Canadian Teachers’ Federation: CIRCEM–FCE, La petite enfance : porte d’entrée à l’école de langue française, University of Ottawa, 2002.
13 Commission nationale des parents francophones – Rodrigue Landry, Libérer le potentiel caché de l’exogamie, October 2003.
14 Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages, Walking the Talk: Language of Work in the Federal Public Service, March 2004, http://www.ocol-clo.gc.ca/html/stu_etu_032004_e.php.
15 John Ralston Saul, address to the Fernand-Landry round table about Francophone communities in the face of globalization, Université de Moncton, New Brunswick, September 4, 2003.
