Chapter six table of contents the future of canada's official language minorities trend lines
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CONCLUSION Parliament, the legislatures, and the courts have no serious policy to counteract the forces demolishing Canada's official language minorities. In the absence of a determined policy aimed at altering clear demographic trends, numbers tell all. In Canada the numbers are clear and the trends are unmistakable. Outside of Quebec francophones are declining in real numbers, and also as a percentage of total provincial population. Anglophones within Quebec are declining in real numbers, and as a percentage of total provincial population. The decline is swift, steep and alarming. The assimilation rates are extraordinary. The official language minorities are disappearing rapidly. Canada is quickly developing into two monolingual enclaves: French in Quebec, English in the rest of Canada (excepting New Brunswick). The forces assimilating Canada's linguistic minorities are clearly discernable. Francophone fertility rates are low, 20% lower then that of Anglophones. Low fertility shrinks each subsequent generation of francophones as a proportion of the Canadian population. Immigration attracts groups that assimilate to the English speaking community, even in Quebec. Anglophones are migrating out of Quebec. Francophones (to a lesser extent) are migrating out of the provinces with English majorities. There is much more contact between the minorities and the majorities, and much more tendency thus to intermarry. There is little economic opportunity in the minority language. There is insufficient cultural stimulation. There is an inadequate network of institutions. There is inept communication trunks between communities. What can be done to counter these trends? This chapter has examined a number of possibilities. Whichever alternative is chosen it cannot succeed without the support of a committed government. History has taken a different course: neither level of government is willing to mount a co-ordinated effort for the promotion and maintenance of minority official language communities. Given today's climate of economic restraint, it is difficult to see how this will change in any future scenario. Francophones outside of Quebec realize that: "A race disappears when it depends entirely on the benevolent kindness of others for its survival"lxxviii. They therefore speak of "taking charge of their future". What does taking charge entail? It includes representation in "provincial governments, regional or municipal councils, diocesan administrations and even hospital boards and banks, credit unions, [and] Chambers of Commerce"lxxix. How realistic is this plan? The programs and changes required to implement this vision require resources. Unless the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada is able to generate sufficient funds from the private sector, which is unlikely, federal and provincial governments will be required to restructure institutions and provide considerable monies. Minority language communities represent five per cent of the Canadian population. Is it reasonable to expect governments to overweight the political representation of language minorities in important institutions given the traditional behaviour of governments? Is it plausible to expect that the governments will provide substantial moneies to these communities given the current fierce competition for scarce resources and the potential political backlash which this may generate? The demographic trends are likely to continue relentless, accelerating in a final terminal stage as the last minuscule mass of the minorities melts away. The unilingual character of a predominantly French Quebec will be reinforced, as will the unilingual character of a predominantly English Canada outside of Quebec. These populations will be joined along a bilingual belt, and they will be inhabited by a slightly increased population of bilinguals, both in Quebec and in the other provinces - the result of the immersion phenomenon. Superimposed upon these populations will be an increasingly bilingual federal administration, and a robust official languages policy. This policy will strive to lessen the pain of official language minorities -- to palliate them -- while current demographic trends conclude their demolition. This policy may differ from what is parroted by the authorities, but it is the real policy, judged by the only acceptable measure -- what it actually does. This is where the demographic trends tell Canadians that they are heading -- rapidly. Is this where Canadians want to be? ENDNOTES i. Statistics Canada, Home Language and Mother Tongue (1992). In the 1991 census, 97% of respondents reported a single mother tongue while 3% reported more than one. Unless otherwise indicated, multiple responses have been divided equally between the languages reported. Home language refers to "the language spoken most often at home by the individual at the time of the census" (Statistics Canada, Home Language and Mother Tongue, Catalogue no. 93-317 (Ottawa, 1993) 299. Mother tongue is defined as the "first language learned at home is childhood and still understood by the individual at the time of the census" (Statistics Canada, Mother Tongue, Catalogue no. 93-313 (Ottawa, 1992), 239. The mother tongue question was asked of all respondents. It should be noted that use of mother tongue data has been criticized for illustrating trends that are "a generation behind the facts" (Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism, Report, Book 1 (Ottawa 1967), 18. However, the data on home language are also flawed because only a sample of the population (20%) is asked the question and "the language spoken at home is often determined by the unilingualism of one of the member of the household" (Richard J. Joy, Canada's Official Languages (Toronto: University of Toronto Press 1992), 18 translating D'Iberville Fortier, in Minutes of the Joint Committee on Official Languages, 28 November 1989, 5:34. ii. In the ten years preceding 1991 Prince Edward Island declined by 22.6%, Nova Scotia declined by 13.8% and Manitoba declined by 25.8%. When home language is considered, francophones outside of Quebec are shrinking in real terms in addition to shrinking as a proportion of total provincial population. Fewer Canadians use French at home in 1991 (635,000) than in 1981 (664,000). Only New Brunswick and Quebec reported increases in the number of persons using french as a home language; however, their percentage of the total provincial population remained virtually unchanged since 1981. iii. Caldwell, "Anglo-Quebec: Demographic Realities and Options for the Future", in Bourhis, Conflict and Language Planning in Quebec (Avon, England: Multilingual Matters, 1984), at 206-8. iv. Charter of the French Language, R.S.Q. c. c-11. v. Census data based on 20% of the Canadian population indicate that 53,390 Anglophones within Quebec (by mother tongue) left Quebec between 1986 - 1991 while only 31,465 entered into the province. vii. In 1991, 85.3% with a French mother tongue resided within Quebec and 95.4% of persons with an English mother tongue resided outside of Quebec: Home Language and Mother Tongue, Catalogue no. 93-317 (Ottawa, 1993). viii. Language in Canada, Canadian Social Trends, No. 12, Spring 1989. ix. The language continuity index "represents the relationship between the number of persons speaking language "x" at home and the number of persons for whom language "x" is the mother tongue (Statistics Canada, Canada: A Linguistic Profile, Catalogue no. 98-131 (Ottawa, 1986), 25). x. Statistics Canada, Canada: A Linguistic Profile, Catalogue no. 98-131 (Ottawa, 1986). It should be noted that the French share of the language shift has been increasing over the years: the French share was 29% in 1986, up from 28% in 1981. xi. Home Language and Mother Tongue, Catalogue no. 93-317 (Ottawa, 1993). xii. Language in Canada, Canadian Social Trends, No. 12, Spring 1989. xiii. "The minority language education programme is designed to offer the minority group (Anglophones in Quebec, Francophones outside Quebec) education in their mother tongue. The minority language is used as the language of instruction for a minimum of 25% of the school day" (Statistics Canada, Minority and Second Language Education, Elementary and Secondary Levels, Catalogue no. 81-257 (Ottawa, 1992), 38. xiv. Statistics Canada, Minority and Second Language Education, Elementary and Secondary Levels, Catalogue no. 81-257 (Ottawa, 1992), 38. xv. Statistics Canada, Minority and Second Language Education, Elementary and Secondary Levels, Catalogue no. 81-257 (Ottawa, 1992). xvi. Brief by Alliance Quebec on bills 106 and 107 presented to the commission de l'éducation, monograph, 1988, as quoted in Martel, ibid. at 142. xvii. The total English system is slightly in excess of 111,000 pupils. Approximately 12,000 English mother tongue students were educated in the majority French system by choice or because they did not qualify to receive and English education: Angeline Martel, Official Language Minority Right in Canada: From Instruction to Management (Ottawa: Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages, 1991). xviii. It is difficult to record an accurate statistical portrait because access to minority language education is not consistent in the provinces with Anglophone majorities, nor are the minority language programs at similar stages of development. Furthermore, some provinces do not keep statistics for minority language programs separate from immersion enrolments. xix. Statistics Canada, Minority and Second Language Education, Elementary and Secondary Levels, Catalogue no. 81-257 (Ottawa, 1992). Note, however, that since 1986-87 slight increases of approximately 1% per year have occurred. xx. In 1986 there were over 77,000 students enrolled in minority language programs, but only 70,000 school aged children were considered to belong to the minority mother tongue group (Martel, Official Language Minority Education Rights in Canada, Ottawa: Commissioner of Official Languages, 1991, p. 68). All subsequent references to enrolment numbers are derived from this study unless otherwise indicated. xxii. Statistics Canada, Minority and Second Language Education, Elementary and secondary Levels, Catalogue 81-257 (Ottawa, 1992) at 19. xxiii. Statistics Canada, Profile of the Immigrant Population, Catalogue no. 93-155 (Ottawa 1989), Table 1. xxiv. Statistics Canada, Profile of the Immigrant Population, Catalogue no. 93-155 (Ottawa 1989). xxv. Home Language and Mother Tongue, Catalogue no. 93-317 (Ottawa, 1993). xxvi. R.S.C. 1970, c. O-2, as rep. by S.C. 1988, c. 38. xxvii. Commissioner of Official Languages, Annual Report, 1983, preface. xxviii. According to mother tongue. xxix. Commissioner of Official Languages, Annual Report, 1992. xxx. Approximately three-quarters of bilingual positions require an intermediate level of proficiency (B). However, the superior level (C) has experienced a slow but steady growth over the past 5 years (from 11.4% in 1988 to 15.9% in 1992) (Commissioner of Official Languages, Annual Report, 1992). xxxi. Commissioner of Official Languages, Annual Report, 1992. xxxii. Commissioner of Official Languages, Annual Report, 1992. xxxiii. Second language immersions programs are defined as ones "whereby students learn the second language by receiving a minimum of 25% of their education in that language" (Statistics Canada, Minority and Second Language Education, Elementary and Secondary Levels, Catalogue no. 81-257 (Ottawa, 1992), 38. However, in practice, for French language schools outside of Quebec, the percentage of education provided in the minority language are much higher. On average, French immersion programs provide 68% of the instruction in French. The percentages range from a high of 82% in the Yukon to a low of 57% in Prince Edward Island: Statistics Canada, Minority and Second Language Education, Elementary and Secondary Levels, Catalogue no. 81-257 (Ottawa, 1992). xxxiv. The percentages vary greatly across the provinces. New Brunswick has the highest overall participation rate in French immersion programs at 18.9%. The Northwest Territories have the lowest rate (2.9%) followed by Nova Scotia (3.3%) and Newfoundland (3.4%). xxxv. See generally, D. Cliff, "Towards the Larger Community" (1984) 12 Language and Society 65 at 66. xxxvi. This is at a time when overall school enrolment within the province increased from 132,843 in 1990-91 to 140,791 in 1991-92. xxxvii. The total participation rate, excluding Quebec, is 9% at the elementary level and 5.3% at the secondary level. xxxviii. Students enrolled in vocational programs are exempt from this requirement. xxxix. This number was obtained through a comparison of data in volumes for provincial and territorial data in Dallaire, L. and R. Lachapelle. Demolinguistic Profiles of Minority Official Language Communities: Canada, 1986 Census. (Ottawa: Department of Secretary of State). xl. Changes in Fertility Among Canada's Linguistic Groups, Social Trends, Autumn 1989. xli. Changes in Fertility Among Canada's Linguistic Groups, Social Trends, Autumn 1989, p.4. xlii. Changes in Fertility Among Canada's Linguistic Groups, Social Trends, Autumn 1989. xliii. Following the United Nation's ruling that Bill 101 violated free expression guarantees, the Quebec government introduced Bill 86: An Act to amend the Charter of the French Language. Section 18 of this Bill provides that, subject to government regulations to the contrary, public signs, posters and commercial advertising must be in French. The legislation permits use of another language on the sign provided that the French text is markedly predominant. However, in reality, Bill 86 is merely an attempt to appease opinion makers in the human rights community by meagre compliance with the Committee's views. At the same time, the legislation is respectful of that portion of francophone opinion which shies away from "true bilingualism." Bill 86 reflects a middle ground devoid of principle. xliv. Richard Joy, Canada's Official Languages: The Progress of Bilingualism (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1992), 49. xlv. In this section the terms anglophone and francophone are based on mother tongue. As well, only single responses are considered. This decision is based on the rational that individuals who are able to speak both official languages will be more marketable and therefore will skew the results for the "pure" language groups. xlvi. See Joy, Languages in Conflict. Toronto, McClelland and Stewart, 1972 who describes the bilingual belt which stretches from Moncton to the Sault. xlvii. One possible explanation is the fact that, as previously mentioned, the majority of Anglophones within the province reside in Montreal, the largest urban centre in the province. xlviii. Laponce, "Relating Linguistics to Political Conflicts: The Problem of Language Shift in Multilingual Societies", in Multilingual Political Systems: Problems and Solutions Quebec, C.I.R.B. 1975 at p.195-6. Professor Laponce reaffirmed this view in August 1984 in a colloq sponsored by the Royal Commission on Economic and Development Prospects for Canada held in Ottawa. xlix. Id., p. 201. Professor Laponce reaffirmed and amplified on these views at a colloquium sponsored by the Royal Commission on Economic and Development Prospects for Canada in Ottawa in 1984. l. Mackey, "Prolegomena to Langue Policy Analysis" (1979) 30 Word 5, 9. Mackey's statement of two main principles is not only accepted by Laponce, supra, note 39, but by most commentators on language planning theory: see Bourhis, "Language Policies in Multilingual Settings", in Bourhis, Conflict and Language Planning in Quebec, Multilingual Matters, 1984, 1, at 14. li. Id. lii. Laponce, "Relating Linguistics to Political Conflicts: The Problem of Language Shift in Multilingual Societies", in Multilingual Political Systems: Problems and Solutions Quebec, C.I.R.B. 1975 at p. 201. liii. Statistics Canada, Home Language and Mother Tongue (1992). (Table 1 Population by home language). liv. Accord: Cartwright, Official Language Populations in Canada: Patterns and Contacts, Montreal, IRPP, 1980, p. 147. As I read Professor Mackey, I understand him to agree with the desirability of tailoring language policy to specific circumstances: supra. lv. Bourhis, "Language Policies in Multilingual Settings," in Bourhis, Conflict and Language Planning in Quebec, Multilingual Matters, 1984, 1 at 10. lvi. Id., p. 9. lvii. Report of the Ottawa-Carleton Review Commission [The Mayo Report] (1968), p. 133; Report of the Ministerial Commission on French Language Secondary Education [The Symons Report] (1972), p. 13 - 15). lviii. Mahe v. A.G. Alberta, [1990] 1 S.C.R. 342 at p. 363. lix. Reference re Minority Language Education Rights, Ont. C.A., June 16, 1984, p. 68. lx. S.A.N.B. v. Minority Language School Bd. No. 50 (1983), 48 N.B.R. (2d) 361. This conclusion was reached independently by the N.B. legislature (School Act, R.S.N.B. 1973, c. s-5 as amended, secs. 3.1 - 3.3, 18.1); and by the Official Language Commissioner, Report (1978), p. 35. lxi. Reference re. Minority Language Education Rights, [1984] 47 O.R. (2d) 1, 71; Mahe v. A.G. Alberta, [1990] 1 S.C.R. 342; Reference Re. Public Schools Act (Manitoba), [1993] 1 S.C.R. 839. lxii. Broadcasting Act, R.S.C. c. B-11, s. 3(k). lxiii. In a meeting with ACFO, CBC officials said: "The CBC's position is firm: our radio programming will not change and televised production outside Quebec will not exceed 5 to 7 hours per week. This objective is already considered as ideal and it will not be achieved in the near future": see The Heirs of Lord Durham, (F.F.H.Q., 1978), p. 61. lxiv. The Heirs of Lord Durham: Manifesto of a Vanishing People, F.F.H.Q., 1978, p. 60. Recent amendments to the Broadcasting Act appear to take account of this criticism, and may produce changes on the ground. In particular, section 3(c) provides that "English and French language broadcasting, while sharing common aspects, operate under different conditions and may have different requirements;" and section 3 (m)(iv) provides that "the programming provided by the Corporation should be in English and in French, reflecting the different needs and circumstances of each official language community, including the particular needs and circumstances of English and French linguistic minorities." lxv. Fédération des Communautés Francophones et Acadienne du Canada, État des Minorités Linguistiques au Canada, 1990. lxvi. Report of the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism, Ottawa, Queen's printer, 1969, Book 3, p. 554 ("We recommend that in the private sector in Quebec, governments and industry adopt the objective that French become the principle language of work at all levels ..."). lxvii. See Allaire and Miller, Canadian Business Responses to the Legislation on Francization in the Workplace, C.D. Howe Institute, 1980, p. 43 ff, for a discussion of organizational structures and modalities of francization in various organizational units. lxviii. [1985] 1 S.C.R. 721. This reference was occasioned by the failure of Manitoba politics to resolve the constitutional difficulties posed by the 1979 Forest case. A Manitoba francophone forced the issue by challenging the validity of two unilingual Manitoba statutes in a Highway Traffic Act prosecution. At the request of the Société Franco Manitoban, the Federal government referred the issue to the Supreme Court directly. lxix. Ibid. at 751. lxx. Ibid. at 744-5. lxxi. Bilodeau v. A.G. Manitoba, [1986] 1 S.C.R. 449, (Justice withdrew its factum); Reference re. Minority Language Educational Rights, [1984] 47 O.R. (2d) 1 (Justice filed supplementary notes); Manitoba Language Rights Reference, [1985] 2 S.C.R. 721 (Justice intervened against the position of the francophone minority and did not amend its position); MacDonald v. City of Montreal, [1986] 1 S.C.R. 450 (Justice intervened against the anglophone minority and refused to change its position). If there were not something to be said on both sides of the issue, these cases would not be in the Supreme Court of Canada. This is what makes Justice's choice of positions difficult to understand. lxxii. Robin v. Le College de St-Boniface (1984), 15 D.L.R. (4th) 198 (Man. C.A.). lxxiii. A.G. Quebec v. Collier, Que. C.A. (Mtl.) Sept 19, 1985, no. 500-36-000189-830. lxxiv. Commissioner of Official Languages, Annual Report, 1985 at 16. lxxv. MacDonald v. City of Montreal, [1986] 1 S.C.R. 460, Factum of the Attorney General of Canada at 10. lxxvi. S.A.N.B., p. 579: "The Charter reflected "a principle of advancement or progress in the equality of status or use of the two official languages ... this principle of advancement is linked with the legislative process ... The legislative process, unlike the judicial one, is a political process and hence particularly suited to the advancement of rights. ... If the provinces were told that [constitutional language rights were] inherently dynamic and progressive .. that the speed of progress was to be controlled mainly by the courts, they would have no means to know with relative precision what it was that they were opting into. This would certainly increase their hesitation in [advancing language rights]". lxxvii. Ford v. A.G. Quebec, [1988] 2 S.C.R. 712, Devine v. A.G. Quebec, [1988] 2 S.C.R. 790. lxxviii. Lacasse, Maurice, Le lion de la Péninsule, Biography and poems of Senator Gustave Lacasse (1890 - 1953) in Fédération des communautés Francophones et Acadienne du Canada, Project 2000: For a Francophone Space (Final Report), 1992 at p. 10. lxxix. Fédération des Communautés Francophones et Acadienne du Canada, État des Minorités Linguistiques au Canada, 1990 at p. 30. Directory: www5 www5 -> University of central lancashire www5 -> University of central lancashire www5 -> The neural-network analysis data filters www5 -> University of central lancashire www5 -> Gladys Knight and the Pips www5 -> The role of public transportation in New York City’s effort to reduce emissions 30 percent by 2030 will be crucial www5 -> University of central lancashire Download 114.54 Kb. Share with your friends:
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