Читать книгу Language planning and policy in Quebec - Jakob Leimgruber - Страница 17

The constitutional provisions for bilingualism are, in fact, manifestations of pre-existing legal principles outlined in the Official Languages Act 1969 [1985]. This act was passed on the basis of a series of recommendations made by a Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism established in 1963, primarily to address the under-representation of Francophones in the federal civil service. A final report in six volumes made recommendations in the field of official languages, education, the workplace, federal institutions, ‘the cultural contribution of the other ethnic Groups’, the federal capital, and voluntary associations. Among these recommendations were bilingual districts for regions of Canada where members of the minority community, either French or English, made up 10 % or more of the local population, that Ottawa should become a bilingual city, and, crucially, that English and French should be declared official languages of Canada. The bilingual status of Ottawa is still a subject of discussion half a century later (Willing, 2016; Commissioner of Official Languages, 2016), and has not, unlike many other provisions, found its way into the Official Languages Act. Its aims are set out in section 2:

The purpose of this Act is to

1 ensure respect for English and French as the official languages of Canada and ensure equality of status and equal rights and privileges as to their use in all federal institutions, in particular with respect to their use in parliamentary proceedings, in legislative and other instruments, in the administration of justice, in communicating with or providing services to the public and in carrying out the work of federal institutions;

2 support the development of English and French linguistic minority communities and generally advance the equality of status and use of the English and French languages within Canadian society; and

3 set out the powers, duties and functions of federal institutions with respect to the official languages of Canada.

(Official Languages Act 1985, s 2)

The equality of status of English and French is enshrined for Parliamentary debates and its reports (section 4(1)); simultaneous interpretation is mandated for debates (s 4(2)), as are translations into the other language of everything that is said in one language (s 4(3)). All federal legislative instruments have to be printed and published in both official languages (s 7).1 Agreements between the federal government and provincial governments also need to be bilingual, with both versions being authoritative (s 10(2)). This latter point of equal authoritativeness is important and repeated in section 13 (my emphasis):

Any journal, record, Act of Parliament, instrument, document, rule, order, regulation, treaty, convention, agreement, notice, advertisement or other matter referred to in this Part that is made, enacted, printed, published or tabled in both official languages shall be made, enacted, printed, published or tabled simultaneously in both languages, and both language versions are equally authoritative

(Official Languages Act 1985, s 13)

The act further regulates the official bilingualism in the judiciary, with federal courts operating in both languages (Part III), and sets rules for communicating and offering services to the public (Part IV). These rules on bilingual services mention where such services should be available: within the National Capital Region (i.e. Ottawa – the city is not officially bilingual, but federal services are available in both languages), and elsewhere ‘where there is significant demand for communications […] in that language’ (s 22(b)).2 It bears noting that these rules apply to all federal institutions, a term that covers, besides parliamentary institutions, governmental departments, federal courts, and any commission or body under the authority of the Crown, also the so-called Crown corporations (entreprises d’État), such as Canada Post, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the Royal Canadian Mint, and Via Rail Canada Ltd. All of these companies, which were established by act of Parliament, are federal institutions, and, as such, bound by the provisions of the Official Languages Act. The highly visible and powerful office of the Prime Minister, being federal in nature, also works in both official languages.3 The act itself enjoys high degrees of approval throughout the country, although more so in Quebec and Atlantic Canada than in western Canada and the Prairies (Commissioner of Official Languages, 2016).

A related policy that has gradually emerged since the mid-1960s is that of official multiculturalism, formulated under Pierre Elliott Trudeau’s government in 1971, which culminated in the passing of the Canadian Multiculturalism Act in 1988. It is of relevance here because of its emphasis on language. The act marked a departure from a previous assimilatory policy that saw heterogeneity as detrimental, to a policy of inclusion of all ethnocultural and linguistic groups in the country, enabling all citizens to become a full part of Canada. This was a change already enshrined constitutionally in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1982, where section 27 states ‘This Charter shall be interpreted in a manner consistent with the preservation and enhancement of the multicultural heritage of Canadians.', making multiculturalism a cornerstone of federal legislation. Together with the Charter’s section 15(1), which bans discrimination based on (inter alia) race, ethnicity, and religion (but, crucially, not language), these provisions set the ground for official multiculturalism, which was then legislated, in 1988, into the Canadian Multiculturalism Act.

Section 3 of the act spells out the ‘multiculturalism policy of Canada’, which consists of ten components: (s 3(1)(a)) the recognition and promotion of multiculturalism and ‘the freedom of all members of Canadian society to preserve, enhance and share their cultural heritage’, (b) the recognition of multiculturalism as fundamental to the country’s heritage and identity and as an ‘invaluable resource’, (c) full and equal participation in society of everyone, regardless of origin, (d) the recognition of cultural communities, (e) equality under the law, (f) respect by the institutions of Canada towards its multicultural character, (g) ‘promote the understanding and creativity that arise from the interaction between individuals and communities of different origins’, (h) foster recognition and appreciation of diverse cultures, (i) ‘preserve and enhance’ languages other than French and English, while at the same time promoting the use of the official languages, (j) ‘advance multiculturalism throughout Canada in harmony with the national commitment to the official languages of Canada’. Among other duties, federal institutions shall ‘make use, as appropriate, of the language skills and cultural understanding of individuals of all origins’ (s 3(2)(a)); a further mandate specifies that the ministry may ‘facilitate the acquisition, retention and use of all languages that contribute to the multicultural heritage of Canada’ (s 5(1)(f)).

Multiculturalism, therefore, is defined as being an essential ingredient of Canadian identity, and as beneficial to the country’s development. The Canadian Multiculturalism Act goes beyond these general observations and tasks federal institutions with the promotion of multiculturalism, the promotion of cross-cultural and cross-ethnic understanding, the support of cultural and linguistic heritage, and the support of minority communities. The high level of commitment to this policy is evidenced by the creation, in 1991, of a Ministry of Multiculturalism and Citizenship (later superseded by the Ministry of Canadian Heritage). As far as language is concerned, the official languages are promoted, and special emphasis is put on the teaching of the official languages to speakers of other languages. However, in contrast to other language policies that simply state that non-official languages are not prohibited or may receive support at the government’s discretion (see e.g. Constitution of Singapore s 153A(2), Constitution of Switzerland s 18, Constitution of Malaysia s 152(b)), the Canadian Multiculturalism Act specifically encourages the support of cultural and linguistic heritage, with the necessary funding being made available by the government.

The provinces have enacted respective multicultural legislation, too. In the case of Quebec, the policy is designated interculturalism instead, and the focus is on

the acceptance of, and communication and interaction between, culturally diverse groups (cultural communities) without, however, implying any intrinsic equality among them. Diversity is tolerated and encouraged, but only within a framework that establishes the unquestioned supremacy of French in the language and culture of Quebec.

(Dewing, 2009, 15)

Thus the primacy of French is of paramount importance in the context of Quebec’s understanding of multiculturalism, rebranded interculturalism to highlight this crucial difference to the Canadian policy. Section 2.3 will address this in more detail, and how it impacts on questions of citizenship in Quebec. First, however, a closer look at language policies in the rest of Canada (the ‘ROC’, or le ROC [lə ʁɔk], as it’s called in Quebec) is warranted.