Sherbrooke stands with Franco-ontarians

The City of Sherbrooke made a public declaration of support for the Franco-ontarian community on Monday night, denouncing the decision of Ontario’s Provincial Government to close the office of the French language services commissioner and cancel plans to build a French-language university in Toronto.

“The city of Sherbrooke is a model when it comes to collaboration, harmony, and cohabitation between the francophone and anglophone linguistic communities,” said Mayor Steve Lussier. “The presence of both francophone and anglophone educational institutions, from elementary schools right up to university, has always been an asset for Sherbrooke and we are proud of that.”

In making the message of support, the council also highlighted the fact that Ontario’s government announced in June that it would be eliminating the Ministry of Francophone Affairs in favour of a smaller-scale office and argued that these actions will have serious negative repercussions on the linguistic rights of the Franco-ontarian community.

Lennoxville Borough President Claude Charron, who serves as the city’s representative on the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, pointed out that the FCM recently adopted a similar motion.

Announced in mid-november, the cuts of Rob Ford’s Progressive Conservative government have been widely criticized by members of the Federal and other Provincial governments as well as minority rights groups like the Quebec Community Groups Network and the Francophone Assembly of Ontario.