It is always instructive to observe the fate of francophones outside of Quebec in Canada to remind us how much we must never let up in protecting the French language properly.

The final episode of this bad soap opera, which abuses francophones in Canada, happened this week in New Brunswick, the only officially bilingual province.

Premier Blaine Higgs announced that Kris Austin, known for his hostile positions on French and bilingualism, will sit on the Review Committee of the Official Languages ​​Act in New Brunswick.

Austin is the guy who wanted to abolish the French health care system by merging it with the Anglophone system and who suggested abolishing school transport in French.

spit in face

Already the appointment of this person as minister last month was viewed as an insult by Francophones in New Brunswick.

“Add insult to injury. We have just witnessed the perfect example that illustrates this phrase,” wrote columnist Jessica Savoie in an editorial entitled “Spitting in the face of the Acadian people,” published in theNew Acadia.

She describes Mr Austin as “the most assertive and condescending anti-Francophone there is”.

in steady decline

In this coastal province, the number of Francophones, which now stands at around 32%, has steadily declined since the 1950s.

Former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney recently confided in me his concerns about reducing Quebec’s demographic weight, which will not benefit him.

Although Francophones are still in the majority in Quebec, we can see the impact of their decline in Montreal, where the French language is widely disregarded.

All of this goes to show the importance of not slacking off and ensuring that newcomers have access to all the services needed to learn French.