25 November 2018

A Snarky Explanation of What’s Going on With Doug Ford vs Franco-Ontarians



If you’ve been following recent news from Ontario, you might be aware that there’s a spat going on right now between Trump of the North Premier Doug Ford and the French-speaking citizens of his province. If not, you should be. This is a big deal. Keeping in mind that Franco-Ontarians are usually pretty much only talked about nationally during referendum season in Québec, and to boot, that this time they’re making international news in France and the U.S., this is a really, really big deal. 

Wait… what’s the deal?

On November 15th, now dubbed Jeudi noir or “Dark Thursday” by Franco-Ontarians, the oxymoronic Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario abolished both the Office of the French Language Services Commissioner and funding for the new Franco-Ontarian University that was set to open in 2020.

Wait… I thought all French-Canadians lived in Québec?

No. In fact, Ontario has the largest French-Speaking population outside of Québec in North America (and by the way, just a reminder that yes, even in the U.S. there are native French-Speakers). We represent between 600 000 to a million individuals, depending on how you prefer to fudge the numbers (and yes, I'm aware the census puts that number a little lower to what other studies have estimated. I'll let the statisticians duel it out.). Point is, there are as many as seven regions in Ontario than can be classified as Francophone. So technically, even if Ontario is not officially a bilingual province like New Brunswick, there exists the French Language Service Act which, in a nutshell, “confers upon members of the public the right to receive services in French from the provincial government, notably in the designated areas.” To this end, the French Language Services Commissioner would receive and investigate complaints from Franco-Ontarians struggling to have access to French services. The Ford government’s actions then are at best a condescending dismissal of our needs as a community, and at worse a racist jab punching downwards.

(By the way, if you think you don’t know any Franco-Ontarians, ask around. Chances are you just never noticed: turns out a strong side-effect of living in Ontario is losing any trace of an accent in English. We walk among you. We look like you. Look in the mirror… you might be one of us! Muahaha… But seriously though, ask around. And when you finally meet a Franco-Ontarian, have him or her explain to you why grated cheese on poutine is a sin.)

Wait… But aren’t Franco-Ontarians immigrants? What about Italian/Etc. rights?

Here’s a bit of personal backstory. In Ontario, as I would be walking on the sidewalk, minding my own business speaking French to a friend, I’ve often had people yell at me “Go back to France!” or “Go back to Kway-Bec!” (By the way, it’s KAY-bec, not KWAY-Bec). One of the most asinine comments I’ve ever heard was “If the French [yep, in Ontario, we’re simply known as “The French”. Hon hon hon, baguette…] hate it so much here, why did they move here to begin with?” Glad you asked, Skippy, I’m about to illuminate you in a bit.

Louis XV checking out all his Franco-Ontarians
Now, if I’m bringing up these personal anecdotes, it’s to illustrate a broader point: Ontario does a very bad job at reminding people about pre-Confederation History. Or any history having to do with French Ontario, for that matter. Prepare to have you mind blown… Franco-Ontarians have been in Ontario for the past four hundred years. You know how old that is? Older than Canada. Older than the U.S. Older than the invention of the pendulum clock—you know, to tell time. Point is, Franco-Ontarians had been interacting with Indigenous peoples for a century and a half before New France became a British colony in 1763. And we’re not talking here of some stranded Voyageurs. We’re talking actual settlements, the most important at that date being in the Detroit/Windsor area. Meaning that even though the fur trade, agriculture, mines and lumber attracted countless Francophones from Québec to Ontario throughout the following centuries, the point to retain here is that French presence within the province is older than the province itself as it stands with its current borders. Franco-Ontarians are a founding population with rights that were granted to them from the get-go.

And finally, let's not forget that the Franco-Ontarian community is not exclusive: our French culture welcomes with open arms Francophone immigrants and Francophiles alike into the folds of the pure laine population ("Pure wool" is our cutesy name for Francophones descendant of the original French colonists). More autonomy on the political and educational scene helps us build up and manage our social networks and tools to maintain the fabric of our community and promote this inclusiveness. 

All in all, our goal as a distinct society is exactly that: to remain distinct and not fade into the melting-pot, culturally enriching both ourselves and contributing to Ontario's multicultural landscape.

Wait… why bother with a French university? Doesn’t Ontario already have great universities, nay, bilingual universities?

Yes, Ontario has terrific universities. But to understand the importance of French postsecondary education, you must first remember the history of French education in general in Ontario.

Let’s be honest: it’s hard living in French in Ontario. With a community that barely represents 4.4% of Ontario’s population, it’s quite a feat really that Franco-Ontarians manage to not drown in a sea of Anglophones. The key to maintaining that social cohesion? Education.

Schools are one the main social environment where young Francophones get to use and apply their mother tongue. And before the thought even crosses your mind, no, French education is not inferior to an English one. In fact, many of the best public schools in Ontario are French. And not to brag, but by the time students following French classes in English schools are learning to read the equivalent of See Spot Run, Franco-Ontarians on the other hand are reading and analysing Shakespeare in their own English classes. As we say, Le français ça s’enseigne, l’anglais ça s’attrape (more or less : You learn French, but you catch English like a cold). So don't think French schools prevent kids from learning Her Majesty's proper English. (Fun fact: the Queen speaks French too.)

Back in 1912 French education was banned in Ontario through Regulation 17. (If you want to see a Franco-Ontarian hiss like a vampire at the sight of garlic, just mention that name…. Règlement 17—HISSSSSSSS!). Though fully repealed in 1944, the damage was done to generations to come. In fact, though French elementary schools were reinstated, French high schools were only permitted to exist as of 1968. And even then… we had to wait until 1998 for the Ontario government to guarantee construction of these schools where the population of Franco-Ontarians justified it. That, ladies and gentlemen, is how I, your humble servant, became the first of my family born in Ontario to officially have a 100% French education. And it’s no exaggeration to state that my little French high school in my little hometown is probably what saved my first language. But that’s a story for another day… Instead, let’s go back to postsecondary education.

As I’ve illustrated above, French education is important in maintaining the social cohesion of the Franco-Ontarian community. A French-language university in Ontario would help the community come full circle with its social aspirations. And this isn’t a spur of the moment wish from the Franco-Ontarian community: we’ve been actively working at convincing the government to let us have our own university for the past four decades at least!

Bilingual universities are important, yes. However the problem is the fact that French programs are not controlled by the French community. French programs always end up taking the back seat to English ones. From my own meandering experience, these universities tend to aim for a minimum quota of French courses instead of full programs. For example, many technical fields will offer French classes for the first and sometimes second year of the program, but students are expected to simply roll over and switch to English courses the remainder of their studies. Even when excellent fully-French programs do exist, they are nonetheless fragile. For example, since I graduated from Laurentian University in 2008, all but one of the history professors retired. Since then, I know of only three new professors that have been hired to replace them. That's a full decade of history students not having the benefit of having as many professors as I had when I was doing my undergrad! 

The tug of war between Francophone students and the administration over the extent and form of French programs is a constant struggle. And sadly, most often, these programs do not reflect the realities of Francophone academic needs. Yet again using a personal example, after I had completed my undergrad at Laurentian University, I chose to follow my postgraduate studies in Quebec partly for the reputation of Université Laval but mostly because there were no specialists of my period of study available in either bilingual university back home… This is a reality that plagues many Francophones: sooner or later they have to face the choice of either switching to an anglophone university or to expatriate themselves to Quebec to maintain a French education. That also means Ontario is losing $$$ that students could have spent back home instead. And here's to hoping these students chose to return to begin with!

Mind you the debate still rages whether a whole French University is really necessary or should the government simply legally impose bilingual universities to offer more French content and professors all the while augmenting their funding to this purpose. But no matter where you stand on these issues, the reality is that the Doug Ford government just took a stand against the postsecondary education of Francophones

And just to illustrate a bit further the need for a French University, let’s check out the 2016 census of some provinces with both a French-speaking population and French universities:
  • New Brunswick has 231 110 native French speakers and has the Université de Moncton.
  • Nova Scotia has 29 465 native French speakers and has Université Sainte-Anne.
  • Manitoba has 40 525 native French speakers and has Université de Saint-Boniface.
  • Québec has an equivalent inverse ratio of French to English speakers as Ontario, and yet their Anglophone community gets… three English universities!

And yet, in Ontario, with 490 720 native French speakers, we get… two bilingual universities that, as we've seen above, offer a halfhearted service to our community. What. The. Heck. If we want to be childish and petty about it, we could oversimplify and say that according to the Nova Scotia ratio, Ontario should have sixteen and a half Université de Sainte-Anne by now. Seriously, why does New Brunswick get a shiny toy but the second largest French-speaking community in North America gets the consolation prize of being kicked in the nuts by Doug Ford?

Wait… why should I care?

Probably for the same reasons 999 675 non-native-French-speakers in Ontario chose to learn the language. (And by the way, holy crap, this is the first time I’ve paid attention to that statistic… it’s amazing to know there are basically twice as many people who willfully chose to learn French in Ontario than people actually born and raised into the language. To whoever you all are, I salute you with a patriotic tear to my eye: Merci!).

But then again, maybe you, yes you reading this, don’t speak French. Again, why should you care? Well, first off, a society is judged by how it treats its minorities. Number two, caring for Francophones (and Francophiles!) in Ontario actually helps the economy. French is one of the major international languages. There are nearly 30 French-speaking countries in the world. French is needed to maintain and strengthen Canadian relations to these societies.

And culturally speaking, let’s not forget that any Franco-Ontarian achievement is by extension an Ontarian achievement. Bet you didn’t know that we supply world-class entertainers, actors, singers, writers, political commentators, among others? Franco-Ontarians aren’t all just sitting at home yacking in French and scarfing poutine you know, we also have aspirations and dreams and want to share them with the world. (And seriously, how can you not love Damien Robitaille?)

Wait… so what can I do?

If you want to be a little more proactive, contacting your local MPP and MP and telling them that you’re against Doug Ford’s cuts against our community, that would be great help, and we thank you for it. Also, keep an eye out in your community if there are any protests coming up (as I’m writing this, there should be a bunch on December 1st).

And from there, don’t worry, I’m not asking you to enroll yourself in a course to learn French (then again, if you do, good on you! Rock on.) But I do hope if everything you’ve read above is news to you, I invite you to help us by simply being more aware of us. Sure the language barrier makes it hard, but simply knowing we exist and politely correcting a friend next time you hear them wonder what the fuss is about will go a long way.

Oh, and please listen to more Damien Robitaille. Your ears will thank you.



43 comments:

  1. Jeudi ne prend pas la majuscule.

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    1. Oui, si c'est le début d'un titre... Jeudi noir est le nom donné à ce jour...

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    2. Sérieusement...

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  2. Excellent article! Très convainquant et surtout, très adapté aux questions que se posent normalement les anglophones. Je partage!

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    1. Droits des Franco-Ontariens et des Acadiens ?

      Où sont les huit autres Premiers-ministres fédéralistes et pro-bilinguisme à la Trudeau ?

      https://www.facebook.com/laurent.desbois2/posts/10156953198013140

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  3. Boy cette article a parti une autre chicane sur un groupe Facebook locale dans le Nipissing Ouest entre les anglophones, les francophones et les assimilés. Faut toujours que sa tourne a de gros mot car l'internet a pas de visage en avant de toi.Sa me fait mal aux coeur. Dire que en Europe et pour la plupart des pays quelqu'un qui parle seulement une langue est pas mal reculé.

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  4. lâche pas la patate
    (Don't give up)

    et si tu attrapes froid bois un coup
    (and if you catch a cold have a drink)
    https://www.ontariotravel.net/fr/social/blog/article/8901


    --------------------------------------------------------
    (You learn French, but you catch English like a cold ... Ah , Ah... , Ah... lol

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  5. Vous offrez un résumé intéressant de la place des francophones en Ontario, merci! Je ne crois pas nécessairement qu'une université francophone en Ontario soit réaliste, mais je soutiens entièrement la protection de notre langue et culture!

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    1. Je suis totallement d'accord avec ton opinion. Une université francophone n'est pas réaliste avec le budget ontarien et je doute grandement que l'ancien gouvernement l'aurait fait. Je l'admet, suis conservatrice et franco-ontarienne. Il y a peut de décision que le gouvernement Ford a apporté que je ne suis pas d'accord, mais les nouvelles de la dernière semaine m'ont fait questionner mon alliance franco-ontarienne. J'ai essayé de regarder les choses des deux côtés de la médaille. Comme franco-ontarienne qui cherche à préserver ma langue et culture pour mon enfant, mais aussi comme conservatrice qui voit le besoin de faire des changement à un système de gouvernement au-delà de nos moyens. Heureusement le gouvernement essaie de faire marche arrière sur une mauvaise décision suite à avoir entendu la voie franco-ontarienne et il cherche à avoir une discussion pour mieux nous servir tout en suivant son mandat de trouver des économies. Je suis reconnaissante que notre culture est encore vivante et a une voix. Mais en meme temps, j'entend beaucoup de chignage avec les oreilles fermés. Personne veut des coupure mais on ne peut pas continuer à rouler sur des 'fumes'. Des changements sont à venir et ce n'ai pas une attaque personnelle, et c'est ça qui m'écoeure de cette 'bataille' que je vois tant de franco-ontarien déclarer sur le gouvernement. C'est pas une question d'anglais qui essait de nous diminuer, mais d'un gouvernement qui fait des changements à grandeur; incluant le welfare, les agences de l'environment, etc. Peut-importe ou tu regarde, tout le monde sont affectés par nos troubles économiques et peut-importe ce que le gouvernement fait, y'en a qui vont crier. C'est certain qu'on ne peut pas tout laisser passer, but somethings have to give. Qu'ils préserves nos services, et on oublit l'université francophone pour l'instant. J'espère qu'un jour ça revienne sur la table pour augmenter notre présence francophone dans notre province, mais soyons réaliste qu'on ne peut pas tout avoir et ceci s'applique à tous, peut importe ta culture ou ton penchant politique.

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    2. Natalie Melanson-MartinNovember 26, 2018 at 9:44 PM

      Quand la nouvelle a été annoncée, j'étais du même avis que vous. Mais quand j'ai appris que le montant nécessaire pour démarrer cette université ne représente qu'un dixième d'un pour-cent du budget total pour les études postsecondaires, je me suis vraiment indignée. C'est nous dire qu'on compte tellement peu, qu'on ne vaut pas la peine...

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    3. Natalie Melanson-MartinNovember 26, 2018 at 9:48 PM

      Quand la nouvelle a été annoncée, j'étais du même avis que vous. Mais quand j'ai appris que le montant nécessaire pour démarrer cette université ne représente qu'un dixième d'un pour-cent du budget total pour les études postsecondaires, je me suis vraiment indignée. C'est nous dire qu'on compte tellement peu, qu'on ne vaut pas la peine...

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    4. Pour l'université, ça fait quarante ans que l'idée a été lancé, avec la moitié des budgets elle aurait été en fonction depuis 10 ans... il y a un grand manque à gagné, et c'est le temps plus que jamais de s'affirmer !

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    5. Sojo je suis totalement d'accord avec tes remarques.

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    6. L'Ontario est une des économies les plus riches de la planète. L'austérité est honteux. L'éducation est une des seules mesures efficace pour l'égalité des chances dans la vie. C'est à mon avis un des meilleurs investissements qu'une collectivité peut faire pour garantir sa prospérité et son épanouissement futur. Je ne comprends pas qu'on puisse avoir une approche mercantile sur l'éducation et qu'on encourage chacun à agir individuellement. Le rayonnement du savoir et de la culture par une éducation accessible à tous, et dans le cas présent en favorisant le développement d'une des communautés fondatrice de la province, m'apparaît un geste qui devrait faire consensus.

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  6. Merci Joseph. Le message est clair! J'aime ton style... Continue!
    J'espère qu'il y aura plein de gens qui se déplaceront le 1er décembre pour faire voir notre mécontentement. Je cite Paul Demers:
    'Pour mettre les accents là où il le faut...
    Notre place
    Aujourd’hui pour demain
    Notre place
    Pour un avenir meilleur'

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  7. So much of this is familiar to me as a Franco-American, the descendants of the "Canayens" who crossed the border to work in New England factories. In 1900, 10% of New England spoke French. What you say about the role of education is particularly resonant. With respect to primary-secondary education, in Maine there was a "Regulation 17" passed in 1919 that effectively forbid the use of French in public schools. Other states with large francophone populations like Rhode Island and Louisiana passed similar legislation in this period. These laws were part of a wider Nativist trend. In some instances these moves were supported by the Ku Klux Klan, which had nationwide membership and support in the 1920s. There were about as many KKK members in New England in the 1920s as there are native French speakers in Ontario today. If English is the literate language, then it becomes the language of the future. Franco-Americans prove that case, although there's much more 'survivance' here than (I'd guess) most Franco-Ontarians would imagine. The focus in this article is post-secondary education, but the broader point of ensuring French-language education straight through is well-taken.

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  8. Excellent article! Merci de faire connaître l'histoire des Franco-ontariennes et des Franco-ontariens.

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  9. Good read. Thanks. I don't speak French but always regret not learning the language. Now I'm too old and stupid! My daughter though studied in French and now practises medicine in French, a fact of which I'm very proud.

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  10. Mais pourquoi le monde oublie l'Université francophone à Hearst !?

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    1. Université de Hearst est une université affiliée qui n'a pas de charte indépendante. Elle attribut des diplômes de la Laurentienne. L'Université de Hearst a un mandat régional et n'a pas l'ambition de devenir une institution provinciale même si ça leur a été proposé à de nombreuses reprises.
      Sa taille en fait également une institution marginale.

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  11. Excellent article!

    Nous autres à l’autre bord des lignes, on ne fait que secouer la tête à chaque fois qu’on lit encore un article au sujet des niaiseries que subissent nos cousins franco-ontariens dans ce soi-disant "pays bilingue". Lâchez pas la patate! On dépend de vous autres, nous les dizaines de francophones restants au Minnesota où notre devise est asteur et sera en perpétuité, "On est toujours icitte!"

    Croyez-moi, une fois la langue sera morte, c'est l'enfer de la ravoir!

    En parlant des enfants ils disent souvent "qu'il faut UN village".
    En parlant d'une langue on pourrait dire "qu'il faut DES villages". Que vos voix unies partout en Ontario de chaque village et de chaque ville mènent à une réussite solide pour l'avenir du fait français en Ontario!

    Vos amis francophones "de souche" du Minnesota

    Jon Tremblay
    https://www.facebook.com/Francais1534/

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  12. Bonjour M. Joseph Gagné. Une cousine, résidente de Chapleau m'a partagé votre excellent texte. Suis aussi gradué de Laval. Je me permets ce brin de sarcasme. Si D. Ford ne veux pas d'université francophone c'est parce qu'il ne veut pas que les finales de la coupe Vanier soit dorénavant disputé par 2 universités francophones, une du Québec et lcelle de l'Ontario, vainqueur en demi-finale contre Western ou McMaster. ;o)

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    1. J'ai deux erreurs grammaticales dans mon texte et je ne trouve pas comment l'éditer de nouveau pour y effectuer les corrections. Donc, j'aurais dû écrire correctement "soient dorénavant disputées". Désolé, il était tard mettons!

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  13. Joseph, ça m'a beaucoup touché de lire ton article. J'ai quitté l'Ontario il y a longtemps et je t'avoue que les seules situations qui m'ont fait sentir de la discrimination est mon accent francophone lorsque je parlais anglais en Ontario. J'ai trouvé ça dure sur le coup, mais ça m'a servi d'enseignement et je garde le souvenir de cette expérience qui me sert d'exemple pour comprendre les minorités discriminées que je croise. Je me sens riche de cette sagesse. Comme quoi il y a du bon qui émerge de toute situation. Et moi aussi j'aime beaucoup Damien Robitaille. Tu as vu son documentaire sur la francophonie d'Amérique (toute l'Amérique du Nord)? C'est assez génial aussi. L'origine amérindienne de certains mots francophones, l'origine franco de la légende de Paul Bunyan...
    Tu sais que l'expression Amérique Latine a son origine d'une observation d'Alexis de Toqueville lorsqu'il voyagea en Amérique? Elle opposerait l'Amérique anglo-saxonne au reste de pays d'Amérique. La francophonie pourrait être/serait donc inclue dans ce qu'englobe le terme "Amérique Latine". Matière à réflexion.

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  14. Liberal Francophones causing mass hysteria. French services are being relocated to save funds. Kathleen Wynne is to blame for promising a university that we can't afford. Ford is tightening the purse strings. That's what we elected him to do.

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    1. So please explain the rational for the 3 billion dollars lost in cap & trade? The list is endless of waste of money cancelling projects etc. That's not tightening the purse one bit. So much money has been lost by this goverment in its first few months it is staggering. It's simply rearranging the decks to help your side out. If you believe that money is being saved, you are completely delusional.

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    2. There is no hysteria, but there has been an outpouring of support for this grassroots movement to protect our community and its institutions. Ford could have saved money in a myriad of other ways, but he deliberately chose to undermine government watchdogs such as the Environment Commissioner, the French Language Services Commissioner and the Child Advocate. He does not want the public to scrutinize government decisions and policies. The university was granted a charter. It has a board of governors and a budget to work with. Cancelling it is a cut, not a reallocation. Moreover, Ford has also thrown a punch at La Scène, a French-langue theatre organisation in Ottawa and he has removed funding for some French language educational resources. This is concerted; we have been targeted and we need to speak out.

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    3. And if The Northern Trump and his gang gets away with this, what's next? You shoot the watchdog. Then, you must have more cuts in mind.

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  15. Vous avez oublié que l'Université Sainte Anne de Nouvelle-Écosse est située à Pointe Eglise - c'est une université Francophone. Comme une anglophone qui a étudié a une Université Francophone, je comprends la necessité d'avoir une institution Français.

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    1. Je n'ai rien oublié, ne vous inquiétez pas! J'ai bel et bien écrit "Université Sainte-Anne" et non Sainte-Anne University ;)
      En plus, si vous relisez, vous verrez que le contexte portait justement sur la taille des communautés francophones desservies par des universités francophones.

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  16. Don’t Blame Doug Ford
    It’s difficult to fault Ontario’s rookie Premier Doug Ford for the recent bench-clearing mêlée between Francophones and Francophobes, not only here in Canada’s most populous province but from ‘sea to shining sea’. He is, after all, only a politician. And in the current climate of populism and hocus-pocus rhetoric, there are fewer and fewer fair-minded intellectually capable civic leaders who possess neither the gumption nor the hubris to run for the highest elected offices. So let’s show a bit of sympathy.
    What Ford and most of his minions didn’t foresee in their blind resolve to cut costs where it wouldn’t ultimately cost too many votes was that not only were they going to reopen the barely healed scars from the Franco-Ontarian minority’s hard-fought battles and small victories of the past century but that they would awaken the sleeping giant of Francophobia within the Anglophone majority. All that was needed was an oblivious flag bearer: enter Mr. Ford. As Oliver Hardy used to say to his sidekick Stan Laurel: “Well, here’s another fine mess you’ve got us into!”
    If there’s a positive note in this ‘broohaha’ it’s that it’s given us pause to realize that we need to acknowledge that bigotry, xenophobia and even racism are still very much alive in this great land of supposedly fair-minded and tolerant inhabitants. We have to stop deluding ourselves that we are an openly tolerant society made up equals because there appears to be a belief among some of our country-folk that they are more equal than others. At the very least, we need to face the fact that the age-old debate on bilingualism and biculturalism is far from having been put to rest.
    So, thank you Mr. Ford for this rude but ‘reality-check’ awakening. It doesn’t seem to matter that our Nation and our Province had been prospering reasonably well under a banner of recognition for not only the social and cultural benefits of bilingualism but for its well-documented economic benefits to the country as a whole. Should we flush this down the toilet along with our ideals of diversity, multiculturalism and respect for the rights and freedoms of all minorities? You tell us Mr. Ford.

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  17. All I hear is complaining, when in my experience, Franco-Ontarions have not been accommodating to other cultures and ignorant at best. You feel what immigrants feel on a daily basis, and there's a big outcry. But you don't see what prejudice and judgement you guys place on others.

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    1. I guess you hear and see what you choose to hear and see. Franco-Ontarians are some of the most fun-loving people I know. Many of us are working actively to help immigrants adjust to Canadian society. You are correct we do not see what is not happening. Franco-Ontarians welcome people from all over the world in our homes and communities. As a result, many immigrants to Canada are proud to call themselves Franco-Ontarians today. Anyone can become Franco-Ontarian, even you.

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  18. In fact, many of the best public schools in Ontario are French. And not to brag, but by the time students following French classes in English schools are learning to read the equivalent of See Spot Run, Franco-Ontarians on the other hand are reading and analysing Shakespeare in their own English classes. As we say, Le français ça s’enseigne, l’anglais ça s’attrape (more or less : You learn French, but you catch English like a cold). So don't think French schools prevent kids from learning Her Majesty's proper English. (Fun fact: the Queen speaks French too.)

    Where is the proof to this? This is just biased claims.... Look at the Fraser report. The top 10 Elementary and Secondary schools contain no French schools....

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    1. Might want to visit the Fraser report again... Confédération in Welland is 4 out of 747. And furthermore I can't vouch for a report that can't seem to name all the schools in my hometown.

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    2. And with a little more digging, why should I care what a biased "institute" says about ranking when its goal is to promote libertarian ideas.

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    3. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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    4. Friends pointed to this as well: https://www.app.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/bpr/provinceResults.html

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  19. Excellent article avec un bon brin d'humour. Bravo !

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