French Language Services Act

The French Language Services Act is a law in the province of Ontario, Canada which is intended to protect the rights of Franco-Ontarians, or French-speaking people, in the province.

The Act does not give the French language full official language status in the province, which has no official language defined in law but is primarily an English-speaking province in practice. The Act, however, ensures that provincial government services are offered in French in 25 designated areas across the province with significant numbers of Franco-Ontarian residents.

Preamble

"Whereas the French language is an historic and honoured language in Ontario and recognized by the Constitution as an official language in Canada; and whereas in Ontario the French language is recognized as an official language in the courts and in education; and whereas the Legislative Assembly recognizes the contribution of the cultural heritage of the French speaking population and wishes to preserve it for future generations; and whereas it is desirable to guarantee the use of the French language in institutions of the Legislature and the Government of Ontario, as provided in this Act;"

History

Historically, the Franco-Ontarian community had been ignored or treated with contempt by the government of Ontario, most notably with the adoption in 1912 of Regulation 17, which forbade the use of French as a language of school instruction in Ontario. Regulation 17 was challenged in court by the activist organization ACFÉO, and was never fully implemented before its repeal in 1927. However, it was not until 1968 that the provincial government amended the Education Act to officially recognize the existence of French language schools in the province.

Over the next number of years, the government began to offer a wider range of services in French. In 1970, a Coordinator of Bilingualism was appointed to oversee the development of French language government services. Over the next 16 years, a large number of service policies were adopted on a piecemeal basis by individual ministries, until the French Language Services Act was introduced in 1986.

The Act

The primary purpose of the Act was to consolidate and formalize government policies and regulations around the provision of French language services. The Act guaranteed francophones in 23 designated areas of the province a right to local French services from the provincial government. Two more cities were designated as French language service areas after the Act came into effect.

Francophones living outside of the designated areas can receive services in French by accessing government services located in the designated areas or by directly contacting the head offices of government ministries. The provision and coordination of French language services is managed by the Office of Francophone Affairs.

The French Language Services Act does not cover public agencies such as hospitals, nursing homes or the Children's Aid Society. The Act also does not legislate any responsibilities upon individual municipalities to provide French language services, although a municipality may choose to do so of its own accord.

The Act was introduced in 1986 by Bernard Grandmaître, Minister of Francophone Affairs in the Liberal government of David Peterson, and passed successfully. It provided for a three-year implementation period, and the law officially came into effect on November 19, 1989.

Designated areas

Districts and counties

* Algoma District
* Cochrane District
* Nipissing District
* Prescott and Russell United Counties
* Sudbury District
* Timiskaming District

Municipalities

* Cornwall
* Essa
* Greater Sudbury
* Greenstone
* Hamilton
* Ignace
* Lakeshore
* Laurentian Valley
* London
* Manitouwadge
* Marathon
* Mississauga
* Ottawa
* North Glengarry
* North Stormont
* Pembroke
* Penetanguishene
* Port Colborne
* South Glengarry
* South Stormont
* Tecumseh
* Terrace Bay
* Tilbury
* Tiny
* Toronto
* Welland
* Whitewater Region
* Winchester
* Windsor

Expansion of services

Brampton was designated as the province's 24^th bilingual service center in 2004, and the designation officially came into effect in March 2007. Kingston was designated as the 25^th bilingual service centre in May 2006, and French services will officially come into effect in 2009.

Controversy

The Act was controversial with anti-bilingualism advocates such as the Alliance for the Preservation of English in Canada, who alleged that it created a special entitlement for francophones at the expense of anglophone residents of the province — for example, the requirement to provide bilingual services was perceived to discriminate against government employees who did not speak French.

APEC also misrepresented or misunderstood the reality that the legislation did "not" cover municipal government services, and began a campaign of persuading Ontario municipalities to declare themselves English-only. A number of smaller municipalities, especially in the Western Ontario region, did so during the implementation period. On January 29, 1990, the most famous such resolution was passed in Sault Ste. Marie, igniting a national controversy which in turn became a flashpoint in the Meech Lake Accord debate. (See Sault Ste. Marie language resolution.)

In 1996, New Democrat MPP Gilles Bisson spoke in French in the Legislative Assembly to mark the 10^th anniversary of the Act's passage. He was heckled by Progressive Conservative opponent Joe Spina, who yelled at Bisson to "Speak English!"

External links

* [http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/DBLaws/Statutes/English/90f32_e.htm Text of the Act in English]
* [http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/DBLaws/Statutes/French/90f32_f.htm Text of the Act in French]