Legault’s promising support of linguistic minorities
Defending Franco-Ontarians with Ford may reassure anglophones in Quebec
to focus on strengthening economic ties, was the Ford government’s unfortunate decision last week to sacrifice the rights of Franco-Ontarians in the name of clawing its way out of a financial hole. In an economic update, the Ontario government cancelled plans for a francophone university and axed the province’s French-language commissioner, absorbing its functions into the ombudsman’s office. These moves saved a mere $3 million against a $15-billion deficit, but they amount to a betrayal of French-speaking Ontarians, an attack on their hard-won rights and a reopening of old wounds over past failures to recognize the community’s historic importance. The Ford government’s actions have rippled far beyond the borders of Ontario, earning rebukes from Trudeau and Official Languages Minister Mélanie Joly, drawing expressions of solidarity from minority language communities coast to coast, and stirring concern across Quebec, where the protection of French is always of paramount concern. Under normal circumstances, Quebec Premier François Legault might have found a lot in common with Doug Ford, his Ontario counterpart, during their first tête-à-tête in Toronto Monday. Both are businessmen-turned-politicians who have arrived in power by unseating long-entrenched Liberal governments. Both are fiscal conservatives with populist tendencies. Both have concerns about immigration. Both are at odds with Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on major priorities. Both have threatened in their brief tenures to use the notwithstanding clause should the courts stand in the way of their legislative agendas. But looming large over a meeting between the next-door neighbours, which was supposed
From Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante and Quebec City Mayor Régis Labeaume to the Quebec Community Groups Network, representing the English-speaking community, and the Montreal Gazette editorial board, the cuts in Ontario have been denounced far and wide. Legault is himself an ardent champion of the French language, culture and identity. But the timing of this summit has thrust the Quebec premier into the role of defender-in-chief — not only of French, but of minority-language rights. Legault emerged alone from the two-hour rendezvous to say he had expressed his disappointment at the Ford government’s decision to make Ontario’s 600,000-strong francophone community bear such a disproportionate share of the province’s deficit. He spoke of the history of francophones and anglophones as Canada’s founding peoples (though neglected to mention First Nations). And he said he had urged Ford to reconsider the cuts, pointing out the protections and services Quebec provides to its English-speaking minority, like the new anglophone secretariat and the three English-language universities. “I explained to Mr. Ford that I didn’t like that he compared francophones with Chinese or other cultures. I told him we are one of the two founding peoples of Canada and so we have the right to expect that services will be given,” said Legault. This was an apparent reference to Ford’s insulting attempt to justify the cuts by saying the Chinese and Italian communities are of similar size in Ontario but don’t get their own institutions. It was clear Legault would rather have focused on finding common ground with Ontario. He said he wants to increase interprovincial trade to $50 billion each way to help combat growing U.S. protectionism. And Legault offered Ford a deal on buying hydro power from Quebec. He even promised jobs to Ontario workers on building new dams for such a project. A communiqué issued by the Quebec premier’s office after the fact made no mention of the language thorn, characterizing their meeting as “win-win” and announcing such joint efforts as regular get-togethers between their economy ministers and a request for reimbursement from Ottawa for the cost of providing services to asylum seekers crossing the U.S.-Canadian border. But when called upon, Legault spoke up for Franco-Ontarians, who have seen years of progress eroded overnight. Perhaps it’s easier for Legault to take a principled stand. He and Ford both inherited power after 15 years of Liberal rule in their respective provinces, but Legault was handed a $3-billion surplus. It’s also easier for him, as a nationalist, a francophone and a Quebecer, to take on the cause of the French-speaking minorities in other provinces. When it comes to the English-speaking minority at home, Legault has at times been at odds with Quebec’s roughly 700,000 anglophones. His Coalition Avenir Québec government wants to abolish school boards, which could run afoul of constitutional protections for minority-language education. And he fails to grasp how troubling his government’s plan to ban religious garb for police officers, judges and teachers is to many in the anglophone community. And during the campaign, he denied an assertion that he once said he hates anglophones. Since taking office, there have been positive signs. Legault didn’t appoint an anglophone affairs minister to his new cabinet, but said he would carry the portfolio himself. And though he had long been skeptical of the anglophone secretariat created by the previous Liberal government, he finally announced it is here to stay. Legault’s advocacy for FrancoOntarians in this time of darkness is essential. But it may also be a sign he sees the light when it comes to minority-language rights at home.