Bilingualism in Canada
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Bilingualism in Canada refers to laws and policies of the federal government – and some other levels of government – mandating that certain services and communications be available to the public in both English and French. The population of the country itself is by a large majority monolingual as only 18% of Canadians can speak both English and French. The bilingual policies of the government are controversial to many, especially to those who support the Quebec sovereignty movement, and to many conservatives.
At the provincial level, only New Brunswick is officially bilingual (under and Freedoms">section 16 of the and Freedoms">Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms), though all provinces offer some services and education up to high school/secondaire, in both official languages. All three territories are officially bilingual. Several aboriginal languages are also official in Northwest Territories, and Inuktitut is an official language in Nunavut.
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[edit] History
Official bilingualism in various forms dates back to Canadian Confederation in 1867, when the British North America Act allowed both French and English for parliamentary debates and federal court cases. However, for many decades French was given an inferior position in Canadian confederation. The use of French, especially in education, was on several occasions curtailed in mainly English-speaking provinces such as in the Manitoba Schools Question and Ontario's Regulation 17. Bilingualism in its more extensive modern form began with the and Biculturalism">Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism, which started work in 1963 and eventually led to the original Official Languages Act in 1969.
In 1970, the Federal Identity Program, entailing the equal use of both English and French in all federal applications, was established to standardise a corporate identity for the Canadian government.
In 1974, the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act required the use of both French and English on all consumer packaging across the country; bilingual packaging remains one of the most visible aspects of bilingualism for the Canadian general public resulting in this aspect of bilingualism sometimes being termed "cereal box bilingualism". Furthermore, most highway signage in Eastern Canada is bilingual, including all of New Brunswick's.
In 1977, Quebec introduced its Charter of the French Language (the so-called "Bill 101") to promote and preserve the French language in the province, indirectly challenging the federal bilingualism policy. Initially, the charter banned the use of all languages but French on commercial signs in the province, but those limitations were later loosened by allowing other languages on signs, as long as the French version is the most dominant. The act also requires that children of immigrants residing in Quebec attend French-language public schools; The children of Canadian citizens who have received their education in Canada in English may attend English-language public schools, which are operated by English-language school boards throughout the province. The controversy over this part of Quebec's language legislation has lessened in recent years as it has become accepted that French is the operating language of the province to the same degree as English is in the rest of Canada. [1]
In 1982, the Constitution Act, 1982 (which the government of Quebec did not endorse) required provinces and territories, under and Freedoms">section 23, to make education available in both official languages where numbers warrant. it also added the Canada Clause, extending minority language education rights across Canada. In 1988, a second version of the Official Languages Act was introduced, taking into account the new requirements of the Constitution Act. Several minority parents challenged the provincial education authorities at the Supreme Court level over what "where numbers warrant" exactly meant. In most cases if not all, they were successful against the provinces, the most recent case being the one of some Acadian parents of Summerside, Prince Edward Island [2].
In 1986, the government of Ontario passed the French Language Services Act, which guaranteed francophones in 24 designated areas across the province access to government services in French.
In 1988, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in the case of Ford v. Quebec (A.G.) that the commercial sign law provisions of the Quebec Charter of the French Language, banning the use of the English language on outdoor signs, were unconstitutional. In 1989, the Quebec national assembly invoked the and Freedoms">Notwithstanding clause of the Canadian constitution to set aside enforcement of the court ruling for five years. A UN appeal of the 'McIntyre Case' resulted in a condemnation of Quebec's sign law — regardless of the 'Canadian' legality of the notwithstanding clause. In response, the Quebec national assembly passed its Bill 86 in 1993, availing itself of the suggestions proposed in the losing 1988 Supreme Court ruling by allowing other languages on commercial signs, subject to French being markedly predominant .
On March 9, 2005 the province of Ontario amended the City of Ottawa Act to officially recognize the bilingual character of the city of Ottawa.
On March 31, 2005, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled unanimously that the interpretation of major part requirement in Quebec's language of instruction provisions, limiting access to English-language public education, violated the and Freedoms">Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The court did not strike down the law but, as was the case with the 1988 ruling on sign laws, presented the province with a set of criteria for bringing the law into conformance with the charter.
[ and opposition">edit] Support and opposition
Support for bilingualism in Canada is mixed. Some, mostly English-speaking Canadians living in provinces with small French populations, resent the federal bilingualism policies as unnecessary and excessive government regulation, and for those opponents, the presence of French on Canadian products and road signs is a constant reminder of the policy. Many French-nationalists in Quebec, though benefiting from the inclusive labeling law, resent the federal bilingualism policies just as strongly, seeing them as an attempt to dilute their language and culture with English. Quebec's anglophone community, like their francophone counterparts throughout English Canada, tend to be "for" rather than "against" the policy. Support for bilingualism appears to be strongest in the area known as the bilingual belt, covering parts of Ontario, Manitoba, western Quebec and Montreal, and the areas of the Maritimes, and weakest in western Canada, though there are supporters and opponents in every part of the country.
Groups such as the Alliance for the Preservation of English in Canada, and books such as Jock V. Andrew's Bilingual Today, French Tomorrow, have advocated the end of official bilingualism. more recently, the Reform Party of Canada advocated the policy's repeal. In the 2004 election, Conservative Member of Parliament Scott Reid, the party's language issues critic, caused controversy by suggesting that if elected, his party would review Canada's language policy and potentially reduce the provision of bilingual services.
French immersion is an optional education programme that supports bilingualism [1]. it is a method of language education where the student is taught all subjects in the French language, not just the language itself. Its popularity is viewed by some as support for bilingualism; others view it as elitism in public education. French immersion enrollment has been increasing significantly in most provinces. A similar program of English immersion is also available for French students in Quebec but are often in conflict with the official language policies of the Quebec government [3]
[edit] Minority language communities
Although Quebec is the only province that has a francophone majority, all provinces and territories have some French speakers. Each of these groups has its own cultural institutions, history and identity. See:
- Acadian
- Franco-Ontarian
- Franco-Manitoban
- Fransaskois
- Franco-Albertan
- Franco-Columbian
- Franco-Terreneuvians ( and Labrador">Newfoundland and Labrador)
- Franco-Tenois (Northwest Territories)
- Franco-Yukonais
- Franco-Nunavois
In addition, Quebec has an English-speaking community .
Although only English and French have official status across Canada, all provinces also have communities of people whose first language is something other than English or French. In the particular context of Quebec, these are referred to as allophones. These communities frequently use their own languages locally and amongst themselves, although they normally adopt the majority language of their province as a second or third language.
Aboriginal languages, including Inuktitut, Inuinnaqtun, Dene Suline, Cree and Slavey, have official status in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories.
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ The Language Laws of Quebec Claude Bélanger, Marianopolis College
- ^ Supreme Court orders French school in P.E.I. CBC News
- ^ Adieu anglais Montreal Mirror
[edit] External links
- English-language Federal bilingualism web site
- English-language text of the federal Official Languages Act
- Maple Leaf Web: Official Bilingualism in Canada
- The Charter of the French language Government of Quebec
- Vive a trilingual Quebec! UNESCO Courier
- Language laws in Quebec CBC News
