Liberal reforms seek `equality' of English, French

The Trudeau government is proposing a series of sweeping language reforms that will “intervene vigorously to counter and remedy” the decline of French in Canada.

In a roughly 30-page document titled “English and French: Towards the substantive equality of official languages in Canada” published Friday, the government makes over 50 proposals that aim to counter the decline of French across the country and “reinforce a sense of linguistic security.”

One example: making bilingualism mandatory for future Supreme Court judges.

Mélanie Joly, the minister of official languages, is seeking to reach true equality between English and French. “Because of globalization and also the spread of digital content, English is being favoured.”

The Liberal government has published its sweeping language reforms and will form a committee that will have 60 days to study their implementation. The Liberals then promise to bring forward the necessary legislative amendments. In order to save you from having to go through the hyper-bureaucratic document yourself, the National Post's Christopher Nardi has broken it down into five main proposals.

MORE FRENCH IMMERSION TEACHERS

“Use of French has deteriorated in Canada. The decrease of the demographic weight of francophones is a trend that continues. The use of French at work and at home has also declined in recent years, including in Quebec,” reads the proposal document. “French is a minority language in this country, and the Government of Canada recognizes the need to intervene vigorously to counter and remedy its decline.”

One of the key ways to do that, says Mélanie Joly, the minister of official languages, is to address the deep and consistent shortage of francophone immersion teachers across the country, which in turns limits the availability of French education.

The document proposes two main solutions: increasing the number of training programs for future French teachers, as well as creating a fast-track immigration program focused on recruiting francophone teachers.

“Too many parents across the country, are waiting in line or are participating in lottery systems in order to register their kids for French immersion.

“That is unacceptable,” Joly said.

BILINGUAL SUPREME

COURT JUDGES

After years of fervent debate on the topic, Supreme Court judges should be functionally bilingual, the Trudeau government has decided.

Joly says she wants to remove the section of the Official Languages Act that exempts judges from the country's highest court from having to understand both languages without an interpreter.

“Let's all be clear here: if you're a judge in a superior court across the country, you have access to free French classes. So if you want to become bilingual, you can actually become bilingual if that's a priority for you because you want to become a Supreme Court justice,” Joly said.

INCREASING BILINGUALISM IN PUBLIC SERVICE

Though many management positions in the federal public service require candidates to be completely bilingual, the reality is that that isn't always the case in practice.

So, Joly wants to review the standards under which bureaucrats are tested for bilingualism to ensure that theory meets reality going forward in French or bilingual regions, all the while improving second language training.

“We need to make sure that people are able to speak both official languages when they're in a position of power within the federal government,” Joly said.

MANDATORY FRENCH FOR EMPLOYEES OF FEDERALLY REGULATED COMPANIES

For the francophones among the 815,000 Canadians who are employed in private businesses subject to federal jurisdiction, speaking French at work isn't always easy, the government says.

Thus, Joly proposes that the government oblige employers in Quebec and “other regions with a strong francophone presence” (which are not defined) to: communicate with workers in both official languages; ensure their workers have the right to work in French; and prohibit “discrimination” against an employee simply because they only speak French.

She would also give the Commissioner of Official Languages increased powers to better enforce compliance of the Official Languages Act.

“PROTECTING” CBC/RADIO-CANADA'S

SERVICES

The government wants to “strengthen” CBC/ Radio-Canada as a “cultural institution”, “recognize and protect” the public broadcaster's role in the promotion of both official languages and ensure that CBC/ Radio-Canada implements measures “that enhance the vitality of official language minority communities”.

What does any of that mean? The minister could not detail how those services were to be protected, or whom they were being protected from: programing decisions made by CBC brass, or potential funding cuts from Parliament?

“When services are cut in places around the country, that has an impact on the ability of minorities to have access to news and content from their own region, which in turn has an impact on the vitality of their community, on the strength of their community and on the future of their community,” Joly said.