Good evening, everyone.
I'd like to begin by thanking you for inviting me to appear before the committee and for taking an interest in the protection and promotion of French.
I represent the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Montréal, which was founded in 1834 to defend the French language and democracy. Other Saint-Jean-Baptiste societies sprang up just about everywhere in Canada in the19th and 20th centuries. They played a central role in all of Quebec's and French Canadians' language battles.
Lawyer Roger Lepage's testimony to this committee shook me. He spoke to you about the oppression of his compatriots in the Prairies, the assassination of Louis Riel in 1885, the Ku Klux Klan's actions, the prohibition of French-language schools in Saskatchewan and elsewhere, the education rights reluctantly granted by Saskatchewan towards the end of the 1960s, the francophone Saskatchewan students confined to old buildings abandoned by anglophones, and in particular, the lack of money for new French-language schools. In comparison to the overfunding of the anglophone school system in Quebec, one can only feel anger over what Mr. Lepage had to go through.
The Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Montréal, which I feel honoured to preside over, has for over 190 years worked to promote the French language, and Quebec's culture and identity. In addition to holding patriotic events and organizing Quebec's national holiday in Montreal from its very beginnings, our organization has taken part in all facets of cultural life, including its major awards in literature, the performing arts, music, cinema, journalism and other fields.
The French language is a precious possession in America. Flowing from the mouth of our great river, it was transmitted unremittingly and lovingly from generation to generation. It gave birth to a rich and original culture that shines in the heavens of the world's cultural diversity, but today, our language is threatened, even in our metropolis.
The decline of French is more than a statistic: it is visible and felt by the population. Our major businesses, our so-called francophone radio stations, and even our French-language television channels bombard us with English songs. In many Montreal businesses, it can be difficult to get service in French. English-language CEGEP students are mainly francophones and allophones. The intensive teaching of English in elementary school is already giving rise to centres of anglicization in our French schools. English-language universities receive three to four times the funding they should. Censuses have been showing a steady decline in French as a mother tongue, and the language used at home and at work.
, Without Bill 101, we would already be well on the way to becoming a minority in Quebec. Unfortunately, as it is not yet a country, Quebec does not have the powers to take the matter in hand and restore a balance that would secure the future of French. With its powerful spending authority, Ottawa interferes in our fields of jurisdiction and injects billions of dollars into education and health, leading to an imbalance and injustice.
The Official Languages Act establishes a fictional symmetry between anglo-Quebeckers and francophone communities outside Quebec. The millions of dollars awarded each year to Quebec under this act have served to promote English, even though it's French that is threatened. English, as you know, will remain the strong majority language in North America and Canada. Anglo-Quebecers are an extension of this majority in Quebec.
The modernization of the Official Languages Act needs to increase support to francophones outside Quebec. Their communities are entitled to it. Given the historical injustices, needs are immense. In Quebec, the Official Languages Act is part of the problem, not the solution.
You may not have been there when this act was adopted and amended, but now you have the power to change things. My question here is a real one: do you want to continue the work undertaken in 1839 by Lord Durham and the leaders of his era? Do you want to see francophones assimilated by the dominant language, or rather turn things around to secure the future of the French language?
If Ottawa truly wants to remedy the situation while waiting for us to become a country, we have three things to put forward.
Firstly, we suggest that funding under the Official Languages Act should be overwhelmingly spent on protecting and promoting French language and culture in every English-majority province and territory, and in Quebec.
Secondly, we are asking the Standing Committee on Official Languages to recommend the establishment of a college specializing in Quebec radio and television to ensure that Quebec has enhanced protection and promotion of French on radio, television and the Internet.
Lastly, we are proposing that the committee recommend that companies under federal jurisdiction be made subject to the provisions of Bill 101, in compliance with the provisions of Quebec's Bill 96.
Quebec is exemplary towards its anglophone communities. It's obvious in comparison to the treatment received by francophone and Acadian communities in Canada.