Thank you very much. I'll be brief.
I would like to thank the committee for inviting me to testify as part of its study on language obligations related to the process of staffing or making appointments to key positions.
I'm a professor at the University of Ottawa, where I am assigned to the public administration program. I am therefore very familiar with the issues of public service staffing and public policy implementation.
In addition, as you probably know, the University of Ottawa is a bilingual institution. In fact, it is the largest French-English bilingual university in the world. I am therefore very familiar with problems arising from two languages coexisting in the workplace. I'm also very familiar with the challenges of protecting a precarious language, such as French in Ontario, as well as the obstacles to overcome when teaching a second language.
I regularly comment on current events in columns published in Le Droit and Francopresse, as well as on Radio-Canada radio, where I regularly address language issues.
One of those columns garnered a lot of attention when it was published in Le Droit on July 9, 2021. It was about the appointment of the Governor General. I wrote then—and I'm still of the same opinion—that the Governor General's ignorance of French was extremely detrimental, not to Canada's francophonie in general, but to the francophonie outside Quebec specifically.
Francophone populations outside Quebec have been fighting for years to show that knowledge of French in bilingual organizations is not just an asset, but an essential skill. This appointment sabotaged years of effort and struggle. I see it in my own organization, where bilingualism is no longer considered an essential skill for senior management positions, and where some new university programs are being offered in English only.
This appointment also implied that the francophonie and diversity are two separate things. However, recent appointments to senior public offices prove otherwise. Think of Justice Michelle O'Bonsawin or the Lieutenant-Governor of Quebec, Manon Jeannotte.
The most senior people in public administration must demonstrate leadership in protecting and promoting bilingualism, and all employees must be on board. They must be sensitive to the issue of languages and bilingualism. That sensitivity must be manifest as early as possible in every employee's career path, especially those aspiring to more senior positions. In an ideal world, bilingualism would be required of everyone at the time of hiring. If that's not possible, second-language instruction should be provided as soon as possible. The longer people wait, the harder it gets.
By way of illustration, let me tell you about the University of Ottawa's master of public administration program. This program is unique in Canada because one of its objectives is to train future bilingual public servants. We've taken an asymmetrical approach to doing that. Anglophone students are required to take a course in French, but not vice versa. Francophone students can register for courses in English, but they don't have to. This requirement is a challenge for most anglophone students, but the outcomes are good. In fact, many of these students choose to enrol in other courses offered in French afterwards. This example shows that we need to figure out how to overcome initial obstacles and stick to our policy guns.
That concludes my presentation. I look forward to your questions.