Thank you, Mr. Chair and members of the committee.
Let me say that the president, Jean Johnson, would really have preferred to be here. Unfortunately, due to technical difficulties, I will be making the presentation, but he most certainly sends his regards.
Thank you for inviting the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada, or FCFA, to appear today as part of your study on protecting and promoting French across the country. In September, we warmly welcomed the government's commitment in this regard in the Speech from the Throne. For us, this commitment is not only welcome, but necessary, given the vulnerability of French.
Soon after the Speech from the Throne, the Office of the Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages asked the FCFA to propose principles and measures the government could adopt to protect and promote French across the country. As a result, the FCFA produced a discussion paper with several proposals. The paper was submitted to this committee as part of this study.
In the paper, we first confirmed that French is the official language that needs specific support measures to achieve genuine equality with English. We recommended that a council be created to report periodically on the status of French in Canada and to recommend appropriate action. The council would specifically include representatives of the francophone and Acadian communities.
I note that this idea is not in Minister Joly's official languages reform document, and it is something we will discuss with her. Our communities must participate in the implementation of Canada's language policy, which we think is essential.
Second, we noted in the paper an issue of social cohesion around the major Canadian values of the 21st century. Over time, the societal choices that have been made have brought Canada to where it is today. These choices include linguistic duality, cultural diversity and reconciliation with indigenous peoples. However, these choices are not well understood by everyone. As Official Languages Commissioner Victor Goldbloom said in 1992, people cannot support what they do not understand. We believe that government has a responsibility for civic education to foster a better common understanding of these great values and why they are fundamental.
Third, we called the government to action on the demographic weight of the francophone communities. This demographic weight has been eroded over the decades due to assimilation and because the francophone community is not renewing itself at the same rate as the English-speaking community. In this action plan for official languages, the government has already set the objective of restoring this demographic weight to 4%. This will require bold action on francophone immigration and on support for the social and cultural vitality of the francophone communities.
Fourth, we recommended that the government work with the provinces and territories to eliminate the many barriers to learning French as a second language, so that it is no longer seen as a privilege for the few, but as a right for all Canadians.
Fifth, francophone communities are stronger when they are united. Closer ties between Quebec and other francophone communities in Canada are to everyone's advantage. The federal government can contribute to this by promoting francophone mobility, particularly at the post-secondary level. It can also clarify Radio-Canada's mandate so that the Crown corporation's role is to foster better mutual knowledge between Quebec and other francophone communities.
Sixth, the vitality of French depends on French-language services that reach Canadians where it matters most: locally. That is why we are advocating for better cooperation between the federal government, the provinces, the territories and the municipalities to move toward a full range of French-language services developed with, by and for francophone communities. In this regard, Minister Joly's reform document proposes to promote the use of accountability tools in federal-provincial-territorial agreements. The FCFA believes that we need to go further and include strong language clauses in the agreements that transfer funds to the provinces and territories.
Finally, for the seventh recommendation, I would refer you to Graham Fraser's book Sorry, I Don't Speak French: Confronting the Canadian Crisis That Won't Go Away.
In it, Mr. Fraser notes that the government has historically taken a defensive and justificatory stance on linguistic duality, rather than promoting its benefits. Creating a positive perception of French and francophone communities starts at the top. The Government of Canada is in the best position to promote the French language and francophone communities across Canada in its official discourse and publications.
In conclusion, let me be direct. The status of French, whether as an official language of Canada or a language in the public space, is losing ground. I'm not just talking about bilingual government communications during a pandemic. I'm also talking about the precarious situation of francophone universities like Laurentian University, and the Campus Saint-Jean in Alberta, for example. I'm also talking about the use of French in the public service.
Those who feel that this is not a big deal are mistaken. The erosion of French is the erosion of part of Canada's DNA. The federal government is absolutely justified in wanting to act strongly and boldly.
Thank you.