Building a new French-language university for Ontario doesn’t make sense: Smith

Local Francophones are planning a protest outside Peterborough-Kawartha MPP Dave Smith’s constituency office on Saturday in response to the provincial government’s decision to nix both the opening of a Frenchlanguage university in 2020 and the position of French language services commissioner.

The Progressive Conservative MPP’s office on Water Street isn’t open on Saturdays and he says he has other commitments and won’t be there when protesters gather from 1 to 3 p.m.

But he said in an interview Friday that building a new French-language university doesn’t makes sense at a time when three universities and four colleges in Ontario offer a total of 300 French-language programs in total — none of which are full.

“Not a single one has full enrolment at this time,” Smith said.

The local protest is being organized by the Durham-Peterborough branch of the Francophone lobby group l’Assemblée des communautés francophones de l’Ontario (ACFO).

It will be one of about 40 francophone protests taking place across Ontario on Saturday, states a press release from l’ACFO.

Suzanne Kemenang, the program co-ordinator for l’ACFO of Durham-Peterborough, is organizing the local protest.

She works and lives in Whitby, where there will also be a protest outside the office of Progressive Conservative MPP Lorne Coe.

“These will be peaceful protests — but they’re taking place everywhere across Ontario,” Kemenang said in French.

She said she was in touch with Smith’s staff this week, and they know he won’t be present — but they want to join the wave of protests on Saturday all across the province.

She also said Smith’s staff told her that the MPP is “open” to the idea of meeting with francophones later to discuss the issues (Smith also confirmed this).

They may have a lot to talk about: Kemenang says the lack of a fully-French university means young francophones leave for Quebec when it comes time for post-secondary studies.

Furthermore, she said, francophones don’t necessarily come to Ontario to train, live and work when there’s a lack of services such as a fully-French university.

“We’re losing these people — they go to Quebec or elsewhere,” she said.

Kemenang adds that French is Canada’s second official language and that services in French have been hard-won.

“It’s as though they’re stripping us of rights,” she said.

Sophie Simard, a local francophone and president of the school council at Ecole catholique Monseigneur-Jamot, is planning to attend the protest on Saturday.

Monseigneur-Jamot is the only French-language school in Peterborough, and her daughters go to school there.

She said it’s “disappointing” that a French-language university won’t be available for students.

“We want to press ahead — not retreat,” she said in French.

Simard also said the francophone community in Peterborough wants to ensure its voice is heard: “We’re quite present, here,” she said.

That’s news to Smith, who said most of Peterborough’s population speaks English rather than French. “I’ve not come across a large francophone community in this area,” he said. “We don’t experience it the same way as other areas (in Ontario) do.”