The Ottawa Citizen
Sun Mar 14 2010
Page: A11
Section: News
Byline: Janice Kennedy
Source: The Ottawa Citizen

I picture them as an army -- sickly looking, but an army nonetheless -- huddled in basements by the half-light of their computer screens, scouring news and opinion sources in search of grievances and outrages that will let them vent their considerable spleen (anonymously, of course) across cyberspace. I picture them leaving behind a large toxic footprint.

Certainly that was my mental image when I waded briefly into the deluge of online responses to a recent story about the reluctance of some Ontario francophones to demand services in French for fear of being labelled troublemakers.

"I am sick and tired of these whiners," wrote one Mr. or Ms. Anonymous. "Please ... just move to Quebec and separate so the rest of us can just move forward," urged another. "Bring on the Referendum," added yet another, "so that the majority of people in Ontario, and in Canada can put a final end to this stupid nonsense of trying to preserve a DEAD LANGUAGE! ... Only semi-illiterate Third World countries still speak french!"

There were a few thoughtful comments, but the depressing majority were venomous and hate-filled, a pool of ignorant - and safely anonymous -- bigotry.

And so I pictured them out there as a kind of army of the half-light.

Until I spoke to Marc Ryan. The 62-year-old vice-president of the Assemblée de la francophonie de l'Ontario, a genial and positive fellow who describes himself as a promoteur, rather than a défenseur, of French, insists such bigoted ignorance is in the minority. Through immersion enrolment and other gauges of public mood, acceptance of French is at roughly 80 to 90 per cent across the country, Ryan says.

And in Ontario, where nearly 600,000 people speak French at home, as many as 900,000 anglos are products of French immersion -- and therefore, in all likelihood, more open to French.

That's encouraging news for francophones (both inside and outside Quebec), as well as all Canadians who appreciate the cultural wealth that is our bilingual country. But it shouldn't encourage complacency in this place where language tension is almost venerable tradition.

Misunderstandings (the non-bigoted variety) persist about what non-Quebec francophones really want -- which, simply put, is nothing more than reasonable balance and respect.

Ryan, a franco-Ontarian originally from Kirkland Lake and a current resident of Embrun, says they are well served now in sectors like education, health and justice. (He singles out the Ontario Provincial Police for special praise.) But there are still significant gaps in other areas, particularly at the municipal level, though the retired insurance executive remains stubbornly hopeful.

And good for him. It must be difficult when some anglos keep throwing Quebec intolerance and the abuses of Bill 101 in franco-Ontarian faces.

As if they're responsible for that particular legislation, enacted in a province not even their own. As if Ontario should aspire to Bill 101 narrowness, which -- in the early days and at its worst -- turned Quebec anglos into pariahs and sent droves of them packing. (I speak from experience.) As if "an eye for an eye," as Gandhi noted, didn't end up blinding the whole world.

Ryan, who is actually sympathetic to Quebec anglos, says he's sometimes called a "separatist" when he requests services in French. The thing is, there are no more dedicated Canadian nationalists than franco-Ontarians. "For us," says Ryan, "Quebec separation is the worst thing that could happen." Nationally, the minority language and culture would become a minority indeed.

And he bristles when anglo-Canadians suggest that French be confined to Quebec. "No," he says, "that's segregating us." That kind of exclusion, which the francophone community here has fought courageously against over the past century, gradually gaining long-overdue victories -- that kind of exclusion is the last thing they want.

Besides, he says, he and his fellow promoteurs are hardly extremists in the bilingualism battle. While they believe it's reasonable to expect French-language services in areas of the province with significant French-speaking numbers, they don't expect them in, say, London or Windsor. And they don't want anyone losing jobs in the process.

In short, to suggest that franco-Ontarians are somehow getting uppity, as some of those online comments did, is to display a woeful lack of awareness.

"The day of the dinosaurs is over," said Irish president Mary McAleese in reference to diehard purveyors of violence on her tiny island. "The future belongs to the bridge-builders, not the wreckers."

Apart from the importance of citing at least one Irish source on this Sunday before St. Patrick's Day (you didn't think I'd let that go, did you?), it is worth considering McAleese's comment from another angle.

Her "wreckers" may have been those stubborn Catholic and Protestant sectarians at the heart of "The Troubles" all these decades, people united in nothing but hatred for, and blind ignorance of, the other side. But the observation works just as well in a Canadian linguistic context.

If, after all these years, we still can't come to terms with the fact that our Canadian nation is the offspring of two founding languages and cultures -- if we're too stunted to realize that this is cause for celebration, not fear and mistrust -- then we're in trouble.

"Fostering cultural empathy can not be done by restriction," says Ryan. "You have to reach out."

You do -- from all sides, with open hearts, like members of a large, loud, lucky family. Because that is what we are.

 

OTTAWA (September 22, 2009) — The 20th annual conference of the Association française des municipalités de l’Ontario (AFMO ) provided the Honorable Madeleine Meilleur, Minister Responsible for Francophone Affairs, with the perfect opportunity to announce a new initiative geared to Francophone youth. Thanks to this initiative, students from four high schools will be invited, over the course of the year, to become more involved in municipal politics and to provide input on local issues.
"In order to ensure that Francophone communities remain vibrant and dynamic, it is essential that our youth be engaged socially and politically at the local level. Our young people will soon be in charge of shaping Franco-Ontarian society and this initiative will give them the tools to carry this mission forward" , stated Madeleine Meilleur, Minister Responsible for Francophone Affairs.
Part of the province's Accent on Youth strategy, a new youth initiative developed by the Office of Francophone Affairs through a partnership with AFMO, is being piloted at schools in communities with large Francophone populations, in Embrun and Casselman in Eastern Ontario, and Kapuskasing, in Northern Ontario. It will help students develop awareness about the issues encountered by municipalities and the way city councillors resolve them.
"This program will allow our youth to follow city councillors in their activities, observe decision-making processes and contribute ideas on how to improve their municipalities", explained Lorraine Dicaire, President of AFMO.

Special recognition

During this annual conference, AFMO, jointly with the Town of Cochrane, honoured several founding members including the founding president, Gisèle Lalonde (former mayor of Vanier), MPP Jean-Marc Lalonde (former mayor of Rockland), Yves Drouin (former mayor of Hawkesbury), and the late Gaston Patenaude (former mayor of Russell). These founders created the AFMO in 1989.

Other highlights of the conference included an announcement by AFMO about the renewal of a partnership with the City of Ottawa that allows the association to consolidate and promote its database of municipal wording, available in both official languages. This archive centre includes municipal documents, in both French and English, which other municipalities can access to help craft the wording of their own documents.

Held in Cochrane, from September 15 to 17, the conference was host to over 250 community leaders, partners and key community players who are involved in the development of the Francophone community in Ontario. These people work in the fields of social innovation, economic development, tourism, education and youth (services). This year, the conference program highlighted a number of entrepreneurial practices, strategies in town planning and other proven mechanisms to help municipalities deal with the current economic crisis affecting our country.

AFMO is comprised of 44 municipal corporations and close to 50 associate members, provincial organizations and institutions that partner with the municipal sector in Ontario. The Association’s goal is to ensure the maintenance and improvement of governance, as well as the delivery of municipal services in both French and English, in the regions of Ontario designated under the French Language Services Act of Ontario.

For additional information, please contact:

 

Office: 613 834-7067
Lorraine Dicaire

President,Cell phone number: 613-715-0585

Jacqueline Noiseux

Chief Executive Officer 
Cell phone number: 613-295-7850

Ottawa - The Francophone Association of Municipalities of Ontario is pleased to announce the renewal of their partnership with the City of Ottawa  to consolidate and promote its database of municipal texts and by-laws available in both official languages. The archive center is available to municipalities wishing to better meet the needs of their Francophone and bilingual residents.

Furthermore, the contribution by the City of Ottawa to this translation project will enable AFMO to offer its members municipal texts of high quality.

Thanks to a contribution agreement between the Department of Canadian Heritage and the City of Ottawa, funding for projects aimed at promoting services in both official languages wil be available. 

$70,000 will be allocated to AFMO to allow municipalities in Ontario access to municipal translated texts in both official languages.

 

For more information

Jacqueline Noiseux

613-834-7067