OCOL - Ottawa, March 19, 2004

Ottawa, March 19, 2004

Canada's Linguistic Framework: Realities, Challenges and Perspectives for the Future

Speaking Notes for the round table "Le français et les lois linguistiques. Défis et enjeux de la mise en œuvre des lois dans le contexte québécois, canadien et nord américain"

Dr. Dyane Adam - Commissioner of Official Languages

Check against delivery

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Aristotle said, "A state aims at being as far as it can be a society composed of equals and peers."¹ However, Canada demonstrates that cultural and linguistic homogeneity is not a prerequisite for the existence or stability of a state. The essential ingredient is instead the promotion of cooperative attitudes and the establishment of institutions to facilitate them.

In Canada, these institutions date back to our founders' decision to reject the traditional model of the nation state in favour of the idea of a federation based on respect for diversity and accommodation of differences, an idea found in the earliest Canadian constitutional texts in the 18th century.² In fact, based on the many surveys done on this issue,³ linguistic duality is now well entrenched in our common values as Canadians.

I am pleased to be able to tell you about the Canadian experience. I would like to talk today about three subjects that will give you a better understanding of our country and its federal language policy:

the effects of Canada's linguistic reality on its federal institutions;
the Canadian language framework and its results; and
some current and future issues.

I. Effects of Canada's linguistic configuration on its institutions

Linguistic duality is a fundamental trait of history that has shaped Canadian institutions and politics

We hear sometimes of the cohabitation of two solitudes in Canada, but in reality, the French and English Canadian populations share a common destiny. Originally from European mother countries, they did not experience revolution as the Americans and French did. Their path to independence and democracy was one of consensual evolution of law that gave birth to language rights and multiculturalism.

This successful cohabitation can be seen today in certain characteristic institutional traits, which I will mention briefly and which involve for the most part arrangements to promote equality between language groups and the protection of minorities.

Institutional arrangements to promote equality between Anglophones and Francophones

Canada favoured federalism as the basis for organizing the powers of the state so as to reconcile the various elements of a linguistic and cultural diversity that was partially "territorialized."

Linguistic duality also determines other typically Canadian characteristics.

For example, our country has two legal systems, the French-inspired civil law and common law.

There are also "continental" elements in the British parliamentary system that is applied to Canada and to Quebec, such as the election of the speaker of the Legislative Assembly by its members.

The Supreme Court Act of 1949 stipulates that at least a third of the judges (three out of nine) must be members of the Quebec bar.

There are also unwritten traditions to ensure the representation of both language communities in the government. The Governor General, for example, is chosen by alternating from one official language group to the other.

II. Canada's language apparatus: foundations, operation and results

These considerations bring us to the point where I would like to give you a quick sketch of Canada's language framework, which guarantees the equality of French and English through two main legislative documents:

the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which enshrines the equal status and use of French and English in our constitution, lists not only individual rights, but also specific collective and linguistic rights, such as the right to minority-language education (s 23); and
the Official Languages Act, which proclaims the equality of the two official languages in all federal institutions.

The Act covers:

citizens' right to receive services from the federal government in English or French, subject to the very flexible criterion of "significant demand";
public servants' right to work in the official language of their choice, in regions designated bilingual; and
the federal government's commitment to promote English and French in Canadian society and promote the development and vitality of the minority communities.

The Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages

To monitor compliance, the Act also created the position of Commissioner of Official Languages as the "active conscience" of Canadian society on language matters.

I see the mandate of the Commissioner of Official Languages as that of an agent of change, one who must encourage federal structures and the federal leadership to constantly enhance the equality of the official languages and the vitality of the official-language minority communities. With that in mind, I have six separate roles: acting as ombudsman; auditing; liaison; monitoring; promoting and educating; and intervening before the courts.

As an ombudsman, I receive complaints directly from citizens, I conduct investigations and I recommend any necessary corrective measures.
I am also responsible for many auditing and liaison activities intended to help federal institutions comply with the Act.
My monitoring duties take the form of interventions when bills, regulations and policies are being developed.
I also devote a great deal of effort, through research, the publication of studies, speeches and awareness-raising activities, to promoting a better understanding of linguistic duality in Canadian society.
Finally, I can ask any court, provincial or federal, for permission to intervene on any matter that concerns the status or use of English or French. I can also institute proceedings against the federal government on a complainant's behalf.

Results of the application of our language legislation

Our linguistic framework has produced results on many levels.

Canadians can, as a rule, receive all federal services in the official language of their choice (from offices obliged to do so), but the situation is not yet perfect. In four out of five cases, it is possible to obtain services in the official language of one's choice.
Federal public servants may also work in the official language of their choice in regions designated bilingual: certain parts of Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick and the National Capital Region.
The presence of Francophones and Anglophones in federal institutions is well-balanced overall.
Bilingualism is on the rise in Canada, which has a population of some 30 million inhabitants, a quarter of whom are Francophone.
There is a clear increase in bilingualism among the young: one quarter of youths between the ages of 15 and 19 - more than twice the previous generation - are bilingual.
There are more than nine million people who speak French. Another interesting fact: the number of French-speakers living outside Quebec - close to two and a half million - is greater than the Francophone population found in 40 member states of the Francophonie. Canada is one of the countries where French is most widely spoken, after France.
More than one and a half million students take French as a second language and 357,000 others are enrolled in French immersion programs. One student out of every two in Canada is taking French courses.
Twenty years ago, there were no French-language schools in half the provinces, while today the official-language minority communities have schools and school governance structures in every province and territory.
Finally, access to justice in both official languages is another area in which there has been progress and which continues to be a priority.

III. Issues

Therefore, the results of the legislative and institutional arrangements implemented in the past 30 years are impressive. We have played the first act of the Canadian language project, the legislative and regulatory act. Now we must move on to the second act: building on our achievements to solidify the Canadian language project. And I want to talk about two major challenges in our immediate future: increasing bilingualism among youth and the vitality of the official-language minority communities.

Increasing bilingualism among youths

In 2003, the government launched the Action Plan for Official Languages, with a budget of $750 million, to give new impetus to the official languages and support the development of the minority communities. One of the plan's major objectives is to increase the proportion of eligible students enrolled in Francophone schools to 80%. Another ambitious, yet realistic, objective is to double the number of bilingual young Canadians in the next ten years, so that one out of two young Canadians has a working knowledge of the two official languages.

In order to help achieve this objective, the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages organized a symposium at the beginning of the month that brought together leaders from every sector of society. Together they identified avenues for action in order to ensure that the coming generations in every corner of the country have the linguistic abilities essential to their development and their future in Canada and on the international stage.

Various strategies have been proposed: improving core French and English classes, promoting immersion, increasing the number of qualified teachers and offering graduates the opportunity to take advantage of their skills. In fact, what is needed is a continuity of teaching in French, from primary school to university, in all the provinces.

We also want to promote our two linguistic cultures among youth so that they become part of their reality, not only at school, but also in their various activities, including sports, the Internet, music and other leisure pursuits. For example, we want youth to receive national recognition for the effort made to learn a second language and to give them access, in the classroom, to models from the cultural or business worlds.

It is a question of coordinating government policies and investments in order to channel their impact into the realization of the Canadian language project, which must be borne not only by governments, but especially by civil society as a whole.

Vitality of official-language minority communities

Canada has also undertaken another major challenge: to ensure the vitality of the official-language minority communities.

Actions have been taken in every sector in order to maintain the demographic weight of the minority communities, ensure their vitality and facilitate the transmission of language from one generation to the next.

These communities are relatively stagnant in most provinces as compared to Canada's population overall population, which is increasing due to immigration. This complex phenomenon is primarily due to the combined long-term effects of assimilation, a low birth rate, interprovincial migrations and immigration.

The minority communities do not benefit fully from immigration, while this is an important factor in their development. The government has therefore taken measures to quadruple the number of immigrants who settle in the minority communities.

Moreover, the communities and governments are working in close cooperation to offer those living in the minority communities living space in their own language, space that extends beyond the classroom or the family unit. It is necessary to allow these communities greater day-to-day opportunities for living in their language, by providing space for such services as early childcare, health, justice, economic development, education, culture, leisure activities and sports.

Conclusion

Linguistic duality and bilingualism are fundamental elements of our national identity. Our efforts to promote them and ensure the vitality of the official language communities are an investment in the future and in youth. On the international markets, individuals and countries that are sensitive to linguistic plurality and cultural diversity have a decisive advantage. Our language project - opening Anglophone and Francophone cultural spaces to all Canadians - is a result of government effort and policy. But the changes in mentality we seek ultimately rely on the people working in every field, such as teaching, and on the support of civil society as a whole.

Thank you.

Notes

¹ Aristotle, Politics.

² Quebec Act, 1774, and Constitution Act, 1791, Canada’s first democratic constitution. See DESCHÊNES, Gaston. “Les origines et la mise en vigueur de l'Acte constitutionnel de 1791,” Bulletin de la Bibliothèque de l'Assemblée nationale, 20, 3-4 (December 1991): 3-5.

³ See studies of the Centre for Research and Information on Canada; according to the most recent surveys, 77% of Canadians support bilingualism.