Ford rethinks French cuts

TORONTO • After days of backlash over its cuts to institutions serving francophones, Ontario’s Progressive Conservative government says it’s making changes meant to recognize the “significant and ongoing” contributions of the Franco-Ontarian community.

In a statement Friday evening, Premier Doug Ford says his government is creating the position of French Language Services Commissioner within the provincial ombudsman’s office, and seeking to turn the office of francophone affairs into a ministry.

The Tories announced last week they were transferring the commissioner’s mandate to Ontario’s ombudsman and scrapping plans for a standalone French-language university.

The moves sparked a massive outcry from francophones in Ontario and Quebec and were publicly denounced by a member of Ford’s own caucus, Amanda Simard, who represents the largely francophone riding of Glengarry-Prescott-Russell on the Ottawa River.

“To my more than 600,000 fellow Franco-Ontarians, you may not know me yet, but know that I am with you,” she wrote in a Facebook post Wednesday.

Both Ford and minister responsible for francophone affairs, Caroline Mulroney, said the cuts were necessary to reduce the province’s deficit, although they did not say how much would be saved.

In Friday’s statement, Ford thanked “all the people who reached out” to his office following last week’s announcement and said he looks forward to building a “constructive dialogue” with Franco-Ontarians.

“They’re fighters. They’re part of the history of Ontario. They continue to work hard for generations to promote and preserve their beautiful culture and language in our province,” he said.

The government also said Ford’s office will hire a senior policy adviser on francophone affairs. No changes were announced in regard to the university.