Introduction
Page 3 of 16
By “governance” we mean the methods of coordinating action within a given society. These may take a vertical and hierarchical or a horizontal and distributed form.
Since the 1990s, because of its commitment to the vitality and development of the official language minorities, the federal government has put in place horizontal methods of coordinating action. It has created new committees made up of government and non-government players and has introduced mechanisms of coordination among the latter. It has signed agreements, such as the Canada-community agreements, with the official language minorities. These new methods of governance have amounted to a new way of facilitating co-operation among the networks of government and non-government players with respect to language planning.
The general purpose of this study is to offer a preliminary analysis of the effectiveness of governance with respect to the vitality and development of the official language minorities in Canada (English speaking in Quebec and French speaking everywhere else in Canada). By “effectiveness” we mean governance distributed among government and non-government players who, by common agreement, share knowledge, resources and power with a view to action that is better targeted and more transparent (Cardinal and Andrew, 2001).
It is more difficult to define the concepts of vitality and development. The federal government has no specific indicators of development, nor do the provincial governments. The available demographic data, certain economic indicators, and some scattered studies seem to serve as reference points in the debate on the development of the official language minorities. No systematic analysis of the question has yet been undertaken by the various government and non-government players.
Specific objective
Have the new methods of governance been effective? Have they promoted the vitality and development of the official language minorities? This report examines the problems and issues associated with the vitality and development of the official language minorities in this new context of governance that is increasingly shared between the government and the official language minorities. Our analysis specifically concerns the Canada-community agreements.
These agreements were one of the first methods of governance that attempted to integrate the official language minorities into the language planning decision-making process. They also claim to meet the minorities’ vitality and development needs pursuant to Part VII of the Act. They serve, for example, to set out a framework for co-operation between the federal government and the official language minorities. They ensure guaranteed funding over a
five-year period for the 350 agencies working in the minority communities. The agreements make it possible to develop programming and carry out projects in a variety of areas such as culture, the economy, communications, law, health, the advancement of racial minorities, and women’s rights.
However, the implementation of the Canada-community agreements poses a challenge for the federal government and the official language minorities. Horizontal governance requires a change in organizational culture, new forms of collective accountability, and ongoing dialogue among the various networks of players. Its must also lead to new relationships between the government and non-government players based on partnership and subsidiary rather than dependence and hierarchy.
Anticipated results
This study will serve to more clearly identify the problems and issues with respect to the vitality and development of the official language minorities in the new context of governance. Analysis of the Canada-community agreements will enable us to make more explicit the factors or conditions that are conducive to the effective coordination of action with respect to community vitality and development. This study lays the groundwork to advance current thinking on the question of the effectiveness of horizontal governance with respect to the vitality and development of the official language minorities.
Presentation of data
The study includes an analysis of government documents and a summary of evaluations of the Canada-community agreements and of the principal studies and works on governance. We also conducted 15 informal interviews with members of minority communities, public servants and former public servants. These interviews were held in the Ottawa area. Our sample was limited, in view of the preliminary nature of our research.
In the first part of the study we examine the theoretical and administrative foundations of governance.
In the second we present a summary of the governance of linguistic minorities within the federal government. We identify the new governance bodies that most significantly involve the minorities in the language planning process.
In the third part we examine more thoroughly the issue of coordinating action under the
Canada-community agreements.
