Posted24 avril 2022, 07:19
The government is accused of not doing enough to defend the minority speaking the language of Molière.
Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland in Ottawa, Ontario, April 7, 2022.
REUTERS
Are Francophones discriminated once morest in Canada? A series of recent appointments and declarations have revived the controversy and have even prompted the government to react, accused of not doing enough to defend French, the country’s official language along with English. Last snag in date: no longer any member of the board of directors of the Canadian National railway company (CN), whose head office is located in Montreal, a French-speaking metropolis, speaks French.
The question of the mastery of the two languages of Canada by business leaders had already caused a scandal in the fall following the outcry aroused by the remarks of the president of Air Canada, Michael Rousseau, who had said that he had no time to learn French. He had to apologize a few days later.
These two companies – like Canadian airports, federal departments, Crown corporations and federal institutions – are subject to the Official Languages Act and must therefore be able to provide service in French and English to their customers.
Less than 20% bilingual
Saying he was “frustrated”, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau felt that “French-speaking Canadians across the country should see themselves reflected in our major national institutions”. He asked the ministers responsible to ensure that CN works quickly to rectify the situation.
This new crisis recalls the fragility of French in an English-speaking North American ocean, and the past battles to defend its use and status as an official language, included in the Canadian constitution since 1982.
But for the defenders of French, worried regarding the erosion of the language of Molière, the Canadian government is far from being exemplary in the matter in a country which has 8 million French speakers out of 37 million Canadians.
Trudeau pinned
“There is clearly hypocrisy on the part of Mr. Trudeau who is especially moved by issues that do not fall within his jurisdiction,” denounces Stéphane Beaulac, professor of law at the University of Montreal and co-director of the National Observatory. on language rights.
The latter cites in particular the appointment by Mr. Trudeau of the Inuit Mary Simon to the post of Governor General. The new official representative of Queen Elizabeth II in the country is non-French speaking. Originally from Nunavik (northern Quebec), she speaks English and Inuktitut. This week, the Commissioner of Official Languages regretted that events on the Prime Minister’s Facebook page were not all dubbed into French.
According to recent opinion polls, more than 90% of Canadians are very attached to bilingualism, which they consider to be part of Canadian culture, but less than 20% of them master both languages.
(AFP)
