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François Boileau
French Language Services Commissioner
With the holidays, and the New Year, fast approaching, this is the perfect opportunity to take a look back at what the Commissioner’s Office was doing in 2016!
A review of our publications
Our Special Report – Active Offer of Services in French: The Cornerstone for Achieving the Objectives of Ontario’s French Language Services Act was published in May 2016 (an executive summary is available). I can’t repeat often enough how important this report is, since it is so closely tied to one of my major objectives for the revision of the French Language Services Act. All too often, Ontarians have to request services instead of having the choice of responding to the offer of service in either language. For that reason, active offer is an integral part of my request for a revision of the FLSA.
The second publication, Annual Report 2015-16: FLSA 2.0, is the most important report, in my view (an executive summary is available). It contains an overview of the French Language Services Act’s history, application and raison d’être, which clearly shows that times have changed and Francophone needs have evolved since 1986. The Act made possible many historic advances for Francophones, but it could do more. As a reminder, here are my three main recommendations: Ontario as a single designated area, active offer of service in French, and the integrated, almost organic vision of the French Language Services Act. At the #LSF30 symposium on November 18, the Minister Responsible for Francophone Affairs formally pledged to revise the Act. We still don’t know the details, but I’d say that’s a pretty good start!
The third and last publication of the year is entitled When the most elementary becomes secondary: Homework Incomplete (Follow-up on the report). In 2011, we produced a report concerning the many complaints we had received about the lack of high schools in the Greater Toronto Area, especially the eastern part. We received a response from the Ministry of Education in February 2012. Four years later, we carried out a follow-up to show what progress had been made since the Ministry’s 2012 response. In our recommendations, we stressed how important it was for the Ministry to provide the GTA’s two school boards with additional resources so that they could buy land and build a new school or enter into discussions with the English-language boards. The recent opening of the new French-language high school in Hamilton is a great example of cooperation between the French-language public and Catholic boards. Toronto’s French high schools will soon be at full capacity. The schools are having trouble accommodating new students because of a lack of space, and it will jeopardize the survival of the French language if we lose students from the secondary school system.
We did a lot more than produce reports in 2016. This was a particularly momentous year for the Commissioner’s Office. We moved to new offices, and we grew from a team of six to a team of 14! Modern new office space, but above all, very functional office space. We are particularly proud of our new offices, and we are even happier to have guests. Our doors are open to community organizations, including Francophone community organizations.
Human resources with expertise in a wide variety of fields, which helped us recruit top-notch people, the cream of the crop, as I like to call them! With this new team, we will be able to focus on introducing a new complaints management system to minimize processing delays and, above all, be more proactive.
Despite these major changes, we have continued to do our work – handling complaints, meetings with political and community leaders, speeches, breakfast meetings, lunch meetings, cocktail parties, conferences, training courses and so on. We had the opportunity to work not only with many government officials (ministers, deputy ministers, MPPs, public servants and so on) but also with members and key leaders of the Francophone community. We continued to promote the importance of updating the French Language Services Act to reflect our reality, and many people have responded favourably to the need to put the issue on the legislative calendar and move quickly so that Francophones will have an act that is consistent with their new reality and meets their needs.
In 2017, we will continue to talk about the importance of updating the Act and the importance of active offer. We will be visiting organizations, schools and public servants to educate them about the Act, its application, its purposes and the consequences for Ontarians. We will be more visible than ever across the province and on social media (Facebook and Twitter). By the way, I urge you to share the superb video produced by Improtéine to explain FLSA 2.0. In closing, on behalf of the entire team at the Office of the French Language Services Commissioner, I wish you an excellent holiday period and a happy, healthy 2017 full of joy and success!
In its Bill 41, the government is proposing a major reform in the critical health care sector. The discussion paper issued by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care clearly outlines the deficiencies in health care for the province’s Francophone patients, and I’m grateful to the Ministry for being so proactive in this disclosure. The paper contains the following statement:
“Some Ontarians – particularly Indigenous peoples, Franco-Ontarians, members of cultural groups (especially newcomers), and people with mental health and addiction challenges – are not always well-served by the health care system.”
The government has certainly been responsive to our repeated requests, but I’m concerned that the bill, in its present form, doesn’t go far enough. For that reason, I published a news release, and I appeared before the parliamentary committee last week and gave this presentation. Most importantly, we submitted a more technical legal brief, in which we offered some concrete, achievable suggestions for long-term solutions.
We see two major issues here. The first concerns a subject of particular importance. Essentially, the Ministry and my office have been in a legal dispute for years about how to interpret the obligations of the Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs) when they identify French-language service providers. We believe quite simply that the service providers become third parties and therefore that the French Language Services Act and its regulations apply to them. The Ministry and the LHINs disagree. It is important to fix this now, while we are in the process of amending the Act. Because the Ministry kept telling me that it could not change the Act to remedy this problem. Now is the perfect opportunity to do so. The consequences for French-language health services for Francophone patients are too great to sit by and do nothing.
The second issue concerns the relationship between the LHINs and the French Language Health Planning Entities. We are offering important recommendations to make the Entities genuine partners in planning health services with the LHINs, as their name indicates, so that they can provide suggestions for long-term solutions for Francophone patients. We also make recommendations to improve the transparency and accountability of both the LHINs and the Entities.
Today, the parliamentary committee responsible for clause-by-clause study of this bill is meeting for the last time to deal with amendments before the bill goes to third reading. We are in attendance to provide advice (or input) if needed, so that we can make sure that we have the best possible bill, a bill that will actually put patients first, including Francophone patients.
A weekend that ended wonderfully with a wonderful announcement! Ontario has been accepted as an observer member of the International Organisation of La Francophonie (IOF).
Following this announcement, I must congratulate and salute the leadership of the province of Ontario, not to mention Canada and the provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec. As for us, we truly believe that this new status will definitely bear fruit on many levels and above all open doors to La Francophonie on a much larger scale. It is a unique opportunity to enjoy a number of economic and cultural benefits as well as an exchange of knowledge and best practices with other member countries.
We hope that this good news will influence the immigration strategy that the government is to develop following the recent publication of the report by the Group of Experts on Francophone Immigration. The province now has a special place on the stage of the International Francophonie, so it may very well take inspiration from that to put in place an effective recruitment plan and achieve its target.
The IOF Summit proved once again that the French language is not in decline. According to the 2014 study by the Observatory of the French Language, if advances in French-language education continue around the world, the number of Francophones will reach 767 million by 2060. The French language continues to make headway among the languages used at the international level by many countries. As LeDroit highlighted in his editorial, the are more and more Ontarians that realise the presence and the importance of the francophone community. Now that Ontario has observer member status, it’s only a matter of time, I hope, until it becomes a permanent member.
The Premier prepared a gretting on Youtube following the acceptance of Ontario as an observer member of the IOF.
The report of the Group of Experts on Francophone Immigration was released yesterday. I issued a press release today providing facts, as well as our reactions to the report.
The report from the Group of Experts is a step in the right direction, and I ask that the government accepts the recommendations and have in place an action plan to make it more concrete. The government will have to work with its federal colleagues, since immigration is a shared jurisdiction. It’s important to have a concerted plan to maximize efforts to promote, recruit, establish and integrate Francophone newcomers.
I would very much like the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration to establish a permanent advisory committee on francophone immigration to guide the government throughout that process. It was one of my recommendations in my 2011-2012 Annual Report and I think it is even more relevant than ever.
This committee could guide the department in establishing the priorities and a precise timeline to implement the recommendations brought forward by the Group of Experts. This committee could also follow the various inter-departmental work that will be needed to counter the current silo culture. Immigration touches many other departments and fields, and it’s very important to have a holistic approach.
With the cooperation of the federal government, it’s possible to reach the 5% objective of Francophone newcomers. Community organizations have to work with the government to ensure that francophones feel at home here and that they have the right programs and services to facilitate their integration within the great francophone community in our province.
To wrap up this superb National Francophone Immigration Week, I would like to mention the various personal stories we heard through the week and point out how significant newcomers’ involvement is in our communities. I also took part in a few interviews here and there.
I stressed a number of times the importance of having good programs to provide the best possible welcome for people who decide to move to Ontario and live their lives in French. We have to be able to welcome them properly, in French, and find a way of retaining them, so that they will decide to settle here.
In our infographics (which many of you have undoubtedly seen circulating over the last few years), we show the large pool of newcomers who contribute to Ontario’s Francophonie. One out of two Francophones in the Greater Toronto Area was born outside Canada, and only 60% of Ontario’s Francophone population was born here. That says a lot!
Also, in 2009 we broadened the meaning of the term Francophone by introducing the Inclusive Definition of Francophone (IDF). Under this definition, Francophones are “persons whose mother tongue is French, plus those whose mother tongue is neither French nor English but have a particular knowledge of French as an Official Language and use French at home.” As a result of this change, more people who are already here, in our province of Ontario, are recognized as Francophones and Francophiles.
Some will say, That’s all very nice, but we’re having trouble attracting, recruiting and keeping those people here. The numbers aren’t there, and we are not reaching the provincial target for Francophone immigration. The long-awaited report of the ministry of Citizenship and Immigration’s group of experts is expected out shortly. I will certainly have occasion to respond to it.
Until we see that report and the solutions it will undoubtedly suggest, we have to continue finding ways of attracting newcomers and making sure that we welcome them with open arms. If they feel at home here, they will want to stay and in turn help bring others here and play an active role in the community. We need to continue stressing how important Francophone immigration is and how it enriches our lives.
After an excellent weekend at the Assemblée de la francophonie de l’Ontario (AFO) congress, a very emotional conference, I’d like to provide a brief summary of my favourite moments and the successes of the weekend.
The first thing I’d like to mention is the departure of Denis Vaillancourt as AFO president. In his two terms, totalling six years, Mr. Vaillancourt accomplished a great deal for the community. A very frequent participant in the many francophone events, he was dedicated and highly engaged in issues of importance to the AFO, and he leaves an admirable legacy. There is no doubt that he will continue to be involved in various organizations and local causes. And of course there were the unforgettable celebrations of the 400th anniversary of Francophones’ arrival in Ontario! He also leaves behind him a number of ongoing issues, which I’m confident his successor will deal with effectively. Thank you for the credibility you lent to Francophones and Francophiles, for your sound judgement on many issues, for the pertinence of your many actions, for your respectfulness, for your sustained and very personal commitment, for your listening skills, for your confidence and for your many words of advice. Have a happy “retirement” and, for the 400th time, thank you, Denis!
Carol Jolin, Denis Vaillancourt’s successor, is now president of the AFO. He too is heavily involved in the community, and he’s already taking on issues that are important to AFO members. With his background in education in several regions, and his recent term as president of the AEFO, Mr. Jolin is familiar with the many concerns of the province’s Francophones and Francophiles. He’s already indicated a few priorities for this new term:
official bilingualism of the City of Ottawa;
a French-language university in Central-Southwestern Ontario;
following up with senior officials about implementing the recommendations in my annual report, FLSA 2.0, to update the French Language Services Act.
I’m confident that Mr. Jolin will be an excellent spokesperson for the community and for AFO members. I look forward to working with you, particularly on the proposals for revising the French Language Services Act.
Congratulations to Dominic Giroux for receiving the “pillar of the Francophonie” award. He won the award for his involvement over more than 25 years in the institutional, governmental and community sectors of French Ontario. He’s currently President of Laurentian University, which under his leadership became the first bilingual university to receive partial designation under the French Language Services Act.
Congratulations to the Association des francophones du Nord-Ouest de l’Ontario (AFNOO) on winning the Franco-Ontarian horizon award for publishing and distributing the magazine Le Relais. For the last 30 years, Le Relais, the only French-language magazine distributed free of charge in Northwestern Ontario, has kept the community informed and promoted the region’s vitality, creating synergies and reinforcing the sense of unity in Francophone groups.
Lastly, congratulations to Jean-Claude Legault on receiving the Florent Lalonde award. He won the award for his significant engagement in the entire community. He’s a passionate, dedicated volunteer known for his leadership and involvement, particularly with CFORD, Réseau Ontario, Contact Ontarois, the Knights of Columbus and the Clarington project, in which he assists adults with disabilities.
The congress ended with a stirring tribute to our friend Paul Demers, who passed away Saturday afternoon. That was followed by the AFO’s AGM, which elected the new board of directors. Congratulations to the new board members. We wish you a pleasant term!
It was a weekend full of worthwhile discussions, useful networking activities and, of course, decisions on the focus of the term of Mr. Jolin and his team. As observers, we would be remiss if we failed to mention the significant involvement of the community in this annual congress. Nearly 250 got together to discuss issues, share experiences and talk about best practices. All this demonstrates that Francophones and Francophiles are very concerned about the issues of the day and want to make sure their voices are heard.
We want to continue working with the members of the Legislature to ensure that the FLSA is revised. In my report, I made many recommendations to the government regarding FLSA 2.0; while the current act is useful for obtaining service in French, it has become outdated. In 30 years, many things and many circumstances have changed! All that needs to be done is to reflect these many changes in a revised French Language Services Act. The key recommendations are as follows: provide rules regarding the use of social media, make the province a single designated area, and include active offer.
We’re very happy to have attended this major conference and had an opportunity to take the pulse of the association and community sector. We all have our mandates and our roles, and we have to take care to respect them. It’s my job to put forward ideas, and it’s up to the community to support them if it considers them worthwhile. But that doesn’t mean working in isolation; it means helping one another in the many areas of activity to ensure that Francophones and Francophiles have access to their services in French and continue to demand service in French!
