Beijing, China, September 15, 2004
Linguistic Duality and Cultural Diversity in Canada:
Harmonizing Territorial and Individual Rights
Notes for an Address at the 9th International Conference
of the International Academy of Linguistic Law
Dr. Dyane Adam – Commissioner of Official Languages
Check against delivery
Ladies and gentlemen:
I am pleased to be able to share with you some aspects of the Canadian experience in language relations. I also hope to learn a great deal from you about the successful governance of diversity. I am delighted to be here for the very first time in China and to discover a country that presents a so vast cultural and territorial diversity.
As the adoption of the UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity has demonstrated, the trend today is towards the promotion of a new universal ethic of intercultural dialogue. This international conference is one more example of that necessary dialogue.
Introduction
Language, as we all know, is much more than a mere tool for communicating. It is a fundamental feature of our identity as individuals and communities.1
For historical, demographic, social and political reasons, the English and French languages, along with our aboriginal heritage, like maple syrup and hockey, have been an essential feature of Canada for more than two centuries. Canada’s official languages, and the people of diverse origins who speak these languages, are the threads that make up the social fabric of my country. Our model of language planning is a compromise between the classic criteria of personality and territoriality. It is based largely on freedom of choice, the concept of collective language rights and a commitment to foster the full development of minority communities. On that basis, we fostered the development of our two official language communities and gradually learned to welcome those who came from many other lands. In that sense, our linguistic duality is of vital importance because it is the glue that keeps our society together. It is the foundation of our progression toward a pluralist society in which diversity flourishes.
Today, I wish to share a brief overview of Canada’s experience in matters of linguistic governance. I also hope to demonstrate how our language legislation provides an effective framework for communications between our citizens and their government, and how this diversity enriches our citizens, our communities and our country.
But before I explain what the equality of English and French means in practice, I will provide a little background information and describe my role as an independent ombudsman in language matters. I will conclude by explaining how the government of Canada is committed to cooperating with other levels of government, in particular the provinces and territories, to support the development of linguistic minority communities in the context of our nation’s growing diversity.
Background information
Canada, a territory nearly as large as China, has a population of only 30 million. Ours is a relatively flexible federation. For example, there are exclusive federal jurisdictions, such as Foreign Affairs, National Defence and Immigration. However, the provinces provincial legislatures have jurisdiction over education, health and social services, job training, local government, natural resources and the administration of justice. The provinces and territories also share numerous powers, including taxation, with the federal government. Each order of government is free to enact language legislation in its areas of responsibility.
There are more than 100 languages spoken in Canada today, including more than 50 aboriginal tongues. However, nine out of ten people speak English or French most often at home. Also, less than 2% of Canadians do not speak English or French. French is the mother tongue of 23% of Canadians. It is also worth noting in passing that in actual numbers, there are more Francophones in Canada than in Belgium2 and Switzerland3 combined.
The third most spoken language in Canada—and this may surprise you—is Chinese, with 872,400 people (2.9% of the Canadian population) reporting that Chinese is their mother tongue.4 This fact alone tells you that Canada is a land of immigrants. For example, today almost one Canadian in five was not born in Canada.
The province of Quebec is the only province with a majority of Francophones.5 However, it also has an important English-speaking population. English is the mother tongue of some 691,000 Quebeckers, or roughly 8% of the population of the province.
There are slightly less than one million Francophones outside Quebec. Three-quarters of them live in the province of Ontario and in the province of New Brunswick. In New Brunswick, they make up a third of the population. Elsewhere, they account for less than 5% of the population. The number of French speakers living outside Quebec—almost 2 and a half million—is larger than the combined Francophone population of some 40 member states of La Francophonie. Canada, after France, is one of the countries in the world where French is most widely spoken.
Now before I make you thoroughly dizzy with statistics, let me back up a bit and tell you how the legal framework for Canada’s language duality came about.
Legal framework
I do not intend to give you a course in Canadian history. However, you should know that some degree of language accommodation has characterized English-French relations in Canada since its origin.6 For example, since the Constitutional Act of 1867, everyone has had the right to use English or French in the debates and proceedings of the federal Parliament and of the legislature of Quebec and in federal and Quebec courts. This said, what is of immediate interest for our purpose is the amount of language planning and language legislation that has occurred over the last 35 years.
In the 1960s, in response to linguistic polarization and to Quebec's growing dissatisfaction with its place in Canada, the government of the day established a Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism.7
This Commission proposed a dramatic new partnership between French-speaking and English-speaking Canadians. The federal government would function in both languages and the provinces would be encouraged to offer public services in the minority language, wherever it was reasonable to do so. Also, more would be done to recognise the contribution and heritage of our cultural communities. In short, Canadians would agree to a new social project. They would give minority-language communities real and viable choices for growth and development.
The legal framework for this reform was the Official Languages Act of 1969.8 This Act proclaimed the equality of status of English and French in all federal institutions. It spelled out the demographic conditions for the delivery of bilingual services. It also created the position of Commissioner of Official Languages, who was to be the "active conscience" of Canadians in language matters.
At about the same time, Canada implemented a multiculturalism policy within the framework of language duality. This in turn led to the adoption of the Canadian Multiculturalism Act in 1988,9 which formally recognizes multiculturalism, along with language duality, as a fundamental characteristic of our identity and an invaluable resource in shaping our nation’s future.
In 1982, a new constitutional document, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms,10 confirmed, among other things, the equality of status of English and French as the official languages of Canada. The Charter also recognised, where numbers warrant, a right to primary and secondary instruction, and to management and control of school systems by the English or French linguistic minority population of a province.
The Official Languages Act was revised in 198811 to define more fully the language rights contained in the Charter. The Act now spells out in detail the rules governing:
- Bilingualism in Parliament;
- Bilingualism in federal courts and in criminal trials;
- The right of citizens to receive federal government services in English or French, under a flexible sliding scale of "significant demand" criteria;
- The right of public servants to work in their preferred official language in designated regions;
- The equitable participation of English-speaking and French-speaking Canadians in federal institutions, without regard to ethnic origin or first language learned;
- A commitment by the federal government to promote English and French in Canadian society and to foster the growth and development of minority language communities.
This last measure is proving to be very dynamic, because it affirms that official-language minorities are not marginalized groups. They are essential to our social and political cohesion. Indeed, our Supreme Court has recently recognized that the protection of minority-language communities is an unwritten principle of the Canadian Constitution.12
Moreover, the vitality and development of these communities are contributing to the emergence of a new Canadian society. It is more pluralistic and, as such, more open to the far-reaching diversity that is becoming a defining feature of modern democracies.
My role as Commissioner of Official Languages was reinforced in the Act. I am an ombudsman for language matters who reports directly to the federal Parliament. Essentially, my mandate is to be an agent of change. I receive complaints directly from members of the public, investigate them and recommend whatever corrective action is necessary.
I am able on my own initiative to conduct audits, studies and investigations to address the systemic problems. I also engage in a variety of promotional activities to give Canadians a better understanding of our linguistic duality and of the needs and concerns of minority communities. Finally, I may ask any court, provincial or federal, for permission to intervene on any issue relating to the status or use of English or French.
Having set out the main features of Canada’s language legislation, I will now attempt to tell you how all of this has worked out in practice.
Language Legislation in Practice
Today, the vast majority of minority communities are able to receive most federal services in their preferred official language at specially designated bilingual offices.
Federal employees are able to work in the official language of their choice in the National Capital Region and in regions designated for this purpose in Quebec and Ontario as well as in all of New Brunswick. In the case of Quebec, for example, this means that all federal employees in the province have the right to work in French.
The participation rates of English-speakers and French-speakers in federal institutions are balanced on the whole, but there are still a few regional or sectoral disparities to be addressed.
There has also been very significant progress over the last three decades in the delivery of provincial services in the official language of the minority.
Since the adoption of the Charter, most provinces have established comprehensive minority-language primary and secondary education systems. In addition, there are minority-language community colleges and universities in several provinces. Since language of instruction plays a key role in minority vitality, these educational reforms are of considerable importance.
A majority of jurisdictions now have laws or policies dealing with services in the minority language, among them New-Brunswick, Ontario, Manitoba and Prince-Edward-Island.13 They have adopted legislation, policies or practices to ensure that a range of services, including health and social services, are made available both in French and English. A variety of initiatives are currently underway to provide many services by internet and to integrate municipal, provincial and federal government services under one roof.14
The voluntary and private sector increasingly provides bilingual services in bilingual areas. I should also mention in passing that the bilingual packaging and labelling of virtually all consumer goods have been mandatory under federal legislation15 since 1974.
In 1978, the Quebec government, for its part, adopted a Charter of the French Language,16 which has since been amended from time to time. It declared French to be the official language of Quebec and set out requirements concerning the promotion and use of French, particularly in government, commerce, business and education. However, the province continues to deliver a wide range of services in English, including a comprehensive educational system. Moreover, as noted earlier, the use of English in the legislature, statutes and courts has been a constitutional requirement since 1867.
While fully defending the rights of Quebec’s English-speaking minority, the Government of Canada has worked with Quebec to bolster French language and culture. For example, it has signed agreements with Quebec on immigration and job training; it provides generous support for the arts and for national French-language radio and television. It actively promotes the French language in international relations, most notably in La Francophonie.
One irrefutable sign of the profound changes in language attitudes that have taken place in Canada over the last few decades is the growth in individual bilingualism. The 2001 census showed that the rate of bilingualism among English-speaking teenagers (15 to 19 years old) outside Quebec is now about 15%. This is more than twice the bilingualism rate of their parents. This improvement is due mainly to immersion programs. In Quebec, more than four in ten French-speaking teenagers are bilingual, as are 83% of English-speaking Quebec teenagers.
Unfortunately, the numerous improvements just described have not yet resolved one acute problem, the proportional decline of the Francophone population outside Quebec. This complex phenomenon is attributable mainly to the combined long-term effects of assimilation, low birth rates, interprovincial migration and immigration.
A study conducted recently by our Office17 showed that among the immigrants settling in Canada outside Quebec, just over 1% speak French. We would like to see more Francophone immigrants integrate into minority communities. We have therefore called on the federal government to increase its recruitment efforts in countries that are possible sources of French-speaking immigrants.
We also called on the federal government to review all of its Official Languages Programs in order to develop more carefully targeted initiatives, notably in the area of minority community support and development.
In March 2003, the federal government unveiled a new multifaceted action plan18 to revitalize and reorient these programs. More that $751 million will be provided over the next five years to implement this plan.
Conclusion
I believe that Canada’s renewed emphasis on language planning is very timely. Canadians understand the link between support for English and French as official languages and our ability to manage our country’s growing diversity. In the context of globalisation, Canadians are well aware of the significant economic advantages for trade and commerce of a bilingual and multicultural society.
They also know that we cannot hope to foster understanding among Canada’s new immigrant populations if we cannot provide reasonable guarantees of equality among our two major linguistic groups. A recent survey shows that 77% of Canadians support bilingualism.19 The Canadian model of language planning works because it promotes equal opportunities for both official language communities.
In today’s world characterized by globalisation and increased interactions between countries and cultures, instead of a greater uniformity, what we are witnessing is a trend toward diversity and a new commitment to preserving and revitalizing original and local cultures. In that context, globalization provides a comparative advantage to societies that have a particular sensitivity to linguistic plurality and diversity. In Canada, our model of accommodation allows us to manage our diversity and to reap its benefits.
Thank you.
Notes
1 In the words of the Supreme Court of Canada: "The importance of language rights is grounded in the essential role that language plays in human existence, in its development and dignity. It is through language that we are able to form concepts; to structure and order the world around us. Language bridges the gap between isolation and community, allowing humans to delineate the rights and the duties they hold in respect of one another, and thus to live in the society.", Re Manitoba Language Rights, [1985] 1 S.C.R. 721 at 741.
2 There are about 3 360 000 Francophones in Belgium. Belgium Federal Portal.
3 There are about one million and a half Francophones in Switzerland. Government of Switzerland, The Swiss Confederation : a Brief Guide 2004.
4 Includes Cantonese, Hakka, Mandarin and other unspecified Chinese languages.
5 I use the terms "Anglophone" and "Francophone" to refer to people who speak one or the other of Canada’s official languages as their first language, without regard to their ethnic origin.
6 See Joseph Eliot Magnet, Official Languages of Canada: Perspectives from Law, Policy and the Future, Cowansville, Quebec: Les Éditions Yvon Blais, 1995.
7 Report of the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism, 6 vols, Ottawa: Queen’s Printer, 1965-1970.
9 R.S.C. (1985), c.24 (4th supplement).
10 Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Schedule B of the Constitution Act, 1982), enacted as Schedule B to the Canada Act 1982 (UK) 1982, c. 11.
11 R.S.C. (1985), c.31 (4th supplement).
12 Reference re Secession of Quebec, (1988) 2 S.C.R. 217.
13 New Brunswick first adopted its own Official Languages Act in 1969 (S.N.B. 1968-69, c. 14; R.S.N.B. 1973, c. O-1) and has since pursued - and indeed enshrined in the Constitution - an official languages policy based on the principle of equality for its English- and French-speaking communities (R.S.N.B. 1973, c. O-1; Constitution Act, 1982: amended by Constitution Amendment, 1993 (New Brunswick) (SI/93-54)). In 2002, the provincial government again updated its Official Languages Act, creating, among other things, a position of Commissioner of Official Languages, very much like mine (Official Languages Act, S.N.B., c. O-0.5, assented to June 7, 2002). In 1986, the Ontario Government adopted a French Language Services Act (S.O. 1986, c. 45), which guaranteed the availability of most provincial government services in French in designated areas and recognized the right to use French in the legislature and the courts. In 1985, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that an 1890 law which abolished French as an official language in Manitoba was unconstitutional (Re Manitoba Language Rights, [1985] 1 S.C.R. 721). Official bilingualism has been restored and the province is now pursuing an active French language services policy. The province of Prince Edward Island proclaimed its French Language Services Act (S.P.E.I. (1999), c. 13) in March 2000.
14 See Paul Fortier, Official Language Requirements And Government On-Line, Ottawa: Office of the Commissioner of Official languages, 2002; Paul Fortier and Marcel Charlebois, The Single Window Networks of the Government of Canada, Ottawa: Office of the Commissioner of Official languages, 2003.
15 Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act, R.S.C. (1985), c. C-38.
17 Jack Jedwab, Immigration and the Vitality of Canada’s Official Language Communities: Policy, Demography and Identity, Ottawa: Office of the Commissioner of Official languages, 2002.
18 The Next Act: New Momentum for Canada’s Linguistic Duality. The Action Plan for Official Languages, Ottawa: Government of Canada, 2003.
19 See surveys of the Centre for Research and Information on Canada.
