Time to remove emotion, and fix this? It is up to you to get politicians involved!
Graham Frasier, our federal official languages Commissioner has teamed up with Ontario’s French language Commissioner, Francois Boileau to”maximize support of their respective citizens and francophone communities”. By allowing “both agencies to share information about their investigations” to “facilitate collaboration” and “promote and study the linguistic obligations” all sounds very nice but was it tested by Ethics Canada rules or reviewed for confidentiality concerns at least?
Do you believe there are undercurrents and agenda’s designed to increase French beyond what is truly needed? Federally we see hundreds of millions of dollars going to (mostly French) language rights groups. Changes upcoming from the Ontario French Language Services Bench & Bar advisory committee report, Ontario’s new immigration strategy, and the Court of Appeal agreeing even, that store owners signage rights are infringed but that matters less than the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, as our minorities take precedence. A part of Ottawa’s Vanier ward became officially the French Quarter and no English papers reported it recently, and for over a year a group has been meeting to make Ottawa officially bilingual, also not in English papers, but all together with various language groups’ roadmaps in play, should altogether give one pause to reflect. (Ottawa has 522,980 English only speakers by the way; it is not a bilingual city.) http://www.attorneygeneral.
Provide services in French where warranted, but let’s make “where warranted” a part of the law. Provide services in French where needed, but let’s determine “where needed” really means in law using unbiased assessment criteria. Provide services in French but let’s add “language” to the Canadian Human Rights Act. Provide services in French but stop assessing more and more jobs bilingual imperative. Provide services in French but stop building or using separate buildings, staffing and resources unless absolutely necessary. Provide services in French but not every employee and manger needs multiple languages in Ontario.
The recent census lists Ontario as having over 97% of the population able to speak English, and the Auditor reports we still have an economic slowdown, high debt / deficit and are continuing value for money audits. When will the Auditor perform a value for money audit on Francophone Affairs, FLSA Commissioner’s Office, FLSA guaranteed funding to “certain” institutions and Ontario Trillium Funding as parts of Ontario’s 120 billion dollar spending plans? Maybe if money and resources were saved for or reallocated, Aboriginal living and learning conditions could be improved, or have less reason for hospitals to fund-raise or the big no no, reduce taxes.
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Franco-Ontarian Symbolism Questioned seems to fall in line with this discussion……….
The recent splash of the Franco-Ontarian Flag
Representations of the Trillium and the Fleur des lis on the same sheath of cloth though symbolic of a religious heritage have come to be seen as more a heritage representation of two founding languages, French and English.
On the on hand they are both lilies and in particular the fleur de lis has a stronger French heritage of uses by Louis V1 and even Joan of Arc as a purity of white and pictured often with lilies in the right hand of the Virgin Mary.
Their is no question of the strength of these flowers as religious symbols in natural English and French history.
On the other symbolic jesters of these two representative flowers came to have their heritages also in the depths of politics in all of Ontario where the Trillium, though seen as primarily English in background traced back to England, has come to represent and be inclusive of ALL cultures and languages spoken and used in Ontario, while the Fleur de Lis has come to also represent ONLY the French heritages found and adopted as primarily French ONLY within the province of Quebec.
These two representations now shown on the Franco-Ontarian flags ONLY flown within Ontario have come to have a false representation of values held high here in Ontario.
They have now become unequally yoked and should show only the TRILLIUM which encompassed the truer representation of ALL LANGUAGES AND CULTRURES HERE IN ONTARIO ,,,inclusive of French and English on an equality of representation as with any others. By showing a French symbol as equal in all inclusions is not a true calling in this instance and should be removed from ALL flag poles in Ontario. The domination of FRENCH symbolically over an ALL inclusive symbol is in deed now shown as a lie and can no longer be tolerated here in Ontario.
DOMINATION of all other languages is NOT the symbolism Ontario wants to be held hostage to. Quebec style politics must not have influences here. If they are too then a stronger ENGLISH only or at the very least, English majority will back lash against the falsity of the symbolism the Franco-Ontarian flag has come to show,
Otherwise an alternate strength of equally yoking would have been to represent this flag as an Anglo-Franco flag……A before F. NO I SAY..TRILLIUM ONLY TO REPLACE SUCH FALISY to show all inclusions appropriately placed.
Has Ontario been the target of yet another French dominated snow job right under our noses?
I think so.
Dukers1
Excellent article, Eric.
What we’ve been saying all along as a portion of the argument set forward – the push of one ethnicity’s ideals, culture, language, flag at the expense (socially, economically) of all others.
The real crime in all of this though is the politician’s willingness and support in all of this.
Time for Protest on the Hill 2013!
Great letter Eric
Thanks
Canadians are ill Informed ,thank you mainstream media.
Do Canadians realize the true costs of bilingualism?
No,I believe not for the cost is not just the trillions spent to date for bilingualism but as well as the negative impact Socially.
Three generations of the majority have felt the sting of lost opportunities and disillusionment which prevailed for only language laws which created government discriminatory hiring practices.
When providing french services warranted the original Intention has now warped into a bureaucratic monopoly on language that does not have the interest of the population as a whole but ONE MINORITY GROUP.
The government does not have a a measured and accountable hiring practice model consistent of where numbers warrant of which the original intention of providing french services.
Thereby the only solution which easily be measurable would be REPRESENTATION BY POPULATION.
To hire disproportionately as the goverment does now only creates animosity within the majority.
All fine and well, but who is providing Cree services where equally warranted? Visit Moosonee for example, where all but half a dozen residents speak Cree, the majority only Cree. Federal institutions put English above French on their signs. Only provincial and municipal institutions put Cree above English, which is what is actually warranted.
Same goes for Arabic (far more numerous than French in my community), for Cantonese …
johnsankey December 17, 2012 at 1:18 pm
Well said John.
You see the reason that bilingualism was instituted was to protect the minority language .To present date it has cost society 3.1 trillion.
But with the many native languages about to go extinct why is the federal and provincial governments not protecting those near extinct languages?French is far from extinct.
French is the 14th most spoken language in Ontario,yet most provincial services are bilingual(French).
Hello John,
Well said. Being a Timmins resident, I can say that the city makes the effort to provide services for the people who are Cree speaking that come to Timmins to use the social services located here. At last count there is Kunowanimano Child and Family Services, the Timmins Native Friendship Centre, Misiway Health Centre, 5 Nations Energy, Ojibway Cree Cultural Centre, the Metis Nation of Ontario, Nishnawbe-Aski Legal Services. There are more services that are geared towards the Cree populace here but I have forgotten them at the moment.
Having said that now, the Timmins and District signage on the inside reflects the languages of the 3 most spoken languages in Timmins. That being English, French and Cree here. Cree sylabics are included on most of the signs inside of the hospital and there are staff ready to serve in a translation capacity for Cree folk (most often James Bay residents) who need translation services. I know of a nurse who is employed at the hospital who knows some Cree but I believe speaks Algonquin too.
All of this to say that as well as Aboriginal specific programming and places, most places within mainstream social services also employ someone who can speak Cree too.
Misiway for instance, as well as the Timmins Native Friendship Centre, have never turned away anyone because of their ethnicity. I can vouch for both as I used to work at the TNFC and my wife has received health services at Misiway.
If a rally is to be organized on parliament hill in 2013 I am in.
But if it is to be truly meaningful, then the organization must be intensive and detailed.
I would suggest you shoot for huge Engliash numbers, something similar to the rally in Montreal PRIOR TO the 1995 referendum .
If possible, try to get Englsih Canadians from all over canada.
I would even go so far as to bus people in, or have them fly, train etc.
The reason numbers should be huge, is that you can bet your bottom dollar, there will be anti-Englaih elements there to try to create anarchy. The usual suspects if you will.
if this does happen, I hope all who visit this site will promote and encourage people from all acrooss the land
Lets keep this going
tap tap
December 17, 2012 at 6:43 pm
Yes there looks to be a rally this May and tap tap you can contact LFA website ,if interested our moderator may give you my email address.
It is quite obvious that graham Frasier is a french name and is doing a excellent job at being a french fanatic and is playing the part of tearing CANADA apart.
To bad the ONTARIO PREMIER was bambozzoled into hiring a french fanatic for the FRENCH LANGUAGE COMMISSIONAIRE POSITION. Wth Graham FRASIER at the the wheel, it can be quite a disastrous results.
Like it was stated in a religious vow by a saint ” Pauvre Canada”.
Have a nice day.
If its truly 2 official languages -where is Ontario’s English language commissionaire ?
Why does Graham Fraser not defend so ardently for English in Quebec as he does for French in the rest of the country?
Why? Social Engineering that’s why ,only one official language is respected by the feds and it isn’t English.
If you believe me wrong why 65% francophone hires in the federal government for that 22% francophone population in Canada?
I believe we will FINALLY see an extra strong BACKLASH of the English only segment of the http://www.RestOfCanada.ca (Available URL – scoop it up quickly) come this Spring and summer.
To this point the french have worked successfully to almost achieve a majority ‘stranglehold’ on all things public within all legislatures in as much as Saskatchewan West is concerned and most certainly every province East of Saskatchewan including our beloved East coast. Of course we know all too well the depletion of English here in Ontario relative to the numbers in the hiring ratios.
I have come to believe the french dogma is to draw up their numbers so their quantity and also quality of french is at par or more than that of the English so we will no longer bitch and complain.
As an example to take a french course on our own for example, which my wife and I have been doing (Alzheimer’s prevention strategy for our senior years) was ONLY $30.00 for formal instruction 3 x 3 hour sessions per week for 12 weeks. Excellent instruction and quality help quite frankly. So you see, this to be obviously highly subsidized by English tax dollars. As you can appreciate, fully qualified teachers are not cheap.
As the requirementations of the french expansions continue we will eventually cede back to Quebec and thank them for the elimination of English throughout the land.
Merry Christmas,
Okay, this is only a mokery…except some parts.