Reading time : 4 protocol
OTTAWA – The federal government’s new Official Languages Action Plan, coupled with the modernization of the Official Languages Act, will provide impetus to stem the decline of French, say the country’s Francophone stakeholders.
The action plan, announced Wednesday morning, is the largest investment in the history of official languages at $4.1 billion over five years, including $1.4 billion in new funds.
“We welcome the increase in funding. I believe this represents the seriousness with which the government gives official languages and francophone communities in a minority environment,” reacted Fabien Hébert, President of the Assemblée de la francophonie de l’Ontario (AFO), in an interview.
The Federation of Francophone and Acadian Communities of Canada (FCFA) is pleased to note that the Action Plan repeatedly emphasizes restoring the weight of Francophones in the country. “Francophone immigration is the big winner,” says its President, Liane Roy.
It is also the main pillar of this roadmap with a $137 million investment.
“We’ve been listened to, we’ve been heard, and we find that a lot of the demographic weighting initiatives have been there. Reflecting on the vitality and development of communities and the importance of the French language. We’re thrilled,” says Ms. Roy.
The 2021 census data showed the importance of investing and making efforts to restore the demographic weight of Francophones, she argues. The FCFA felt that given the numbers, this plan must be a spur.
“The revival (of Francophonie) has begun. Basically because of the means and the importance attached to Francophone immigration,” she says.
The FCFA wants the federal government to increase its target for Francophone immigration from 12% in 2024 to 20% in 2036 to restore and increase the weight of Francophones in the country. However, the organization believes that it will remain vigilant in the coming weeks as “we do not yet know what type of programs will be used” with these budget envelopes reserved for Francophone immigration.
The Commissioner for Official Languages, present at Wednesday’s announcement, regretted that the action plan does not provide for the creation of a specific program for Francophone immigration.
“It’s good to have new money. On the other hand, we must develop a francophone immigration policy as soon as possible (…). It remains to be seen whether we will develop and create programs with these resources and with C-13,” comments Raymond Théberge.
Post-secondary disappointment
Ottawa had promised during the campaign to double and make its envelope for post-secondary institutions permanent, but that’s not reflected in the announcement. Instead, starting in 2024, $128 million will be sent to provinces over four years to be redirected to francophone post-secondary institutions. Minister Petitpas Taylor dodged the question when asked why this campaign pledge was not included in the action plan.
“The expectations of the sector were that the promise of 2021 in the action plan would materialize,” lamented the Confederation of Colleges and Universities of Canada’s Francophony, which represents a dozen institutions, in a press release.
The AFO said it was “disappointed” that there was no permanent funding for post-secondary institutions or for the University of Sudbury. However, its President Fabien Hébert remains confident that the federal government will keep its promise in the coming years. He reminded that such promised funds would make it possible to develop “strategies” for the post-secondary sector, which would meet the needs for workers in health and education.
“Right now, we’re suffering from labor shortages everywhere in the Franco-Ontarian community,” he recalls.
The passage of Bill C-13, which could come before the end of the June session, could change the picture for this action plan. It clarifies that the measures in Bill C-13 provide for “additional stakeholder engagement in a minority environment,” which could mean more money later.
“If there is royal approval for C-13, there will be a lot of follow-up work because we understood that there would be changes and improvements afterwards,” reacts the President of the Société de l Acadie du Nouveau-Brunswick (SANB), Alexandre Cédric Doucet, adding that the SANB’s demands “have been largely heard”.
Raymond Théberge also points out that “for the first time there seems to be an alignment” between the action plan and C-13. The latter believes that the work in the parliamentary committee has greatly improved the first version of the March 2022 revision of the Official Languages Act.
“The compliance tools made available to the commissioners are much better, but Part VII of the Act has also been significantly improved. The wording of Part VII requires and requires federal institutions to take positive action for the development of minority communities. »
Award-winning entrepreneur. Baconaholic. Food advocate. Wannabe beer maven. Twitter ninja.
