The sudden and unexplained departure of Ontario’s French Language Services Commissioner, Kelly Burke, on Friday caused surprise in the upper echelons of the Franco-Ontarian community. The work of the trained lawyer appointed to the post of commissioner after the 2018 language crisis in the province is praised by several stakeholders.
The ombudsman of Ontario, Paul Dubé, did not specify the reasons for the departure of Kelly Burke in his press release published late Friday afternoon. A few days later, several influential members of the community still do not know the reasons for his departure. In interview with The duty On Monday, the president of the Assemblée de la francophonie de l’Ontario (AFO), Fabien Hébert, said he had requested a meeting with the ombudsman to learn more about Ms.me Burke and on the upcoming transition.
“We were surprised, we didn’t expect it,” declared Fabien Hébert. “I didn’t see it coming,” admitted University of Ottawa professor François Larocque, a specialist in language rights. “It was a total surprise,” said Carol Jolin, president of the AFO from 2016 to 2022. Former Minister of Francophone Affairs Madeleine Meilleur, who worked with Kelly Burke when she was a public servant, is the one of the many people to have learned of his departure from the press release.
Kelly Burke is replaced on an interim basis by Carl Bouchard, her longtime assistant in the Office of Francophone Affairs and the Office of the Ombudsman. “We know Carl Bouchard, with whom we have a good collaboration,” said Me Vicky Ringuette, President of the Association of French-Speaking Jurists of Ontario. The Association, she said, is available from the Office of the Ombudsman.
Controversial appointment
Kelly Burke, former Assistant Deputy Minister for Francophone Affairs, became Commissioner in January 2020. Her position in the Office of the Ombudsman was created in 2018 after the Ford government abolished the Office of the French Language Services Commissioner and placed its employees under the aegis of the office. A position with the same title as that of his predecessor François Boileau, but without the independence he enjoyed.
In a brief published in December 2018, François Boileau, current taxpayers’ ombudsman of Canada, had raised that his successor would have powers very different from his. “Neither its mandate nor its nature require it to proactively consult communities, write special reports on improving the application of the French Language Services Act,” he wrote. Kelly Burke reported to the Ombudsman and not to the Legislative Assembly, a “devastating setback”, noted François Boileau in this brief.
NDP MNAs France Gélinas and Liberal MNAs Lucille Collard believe that Kelly Burke has done the best she could to defend the interests of Franco-Ontarians with the powers granted to her. “She used her powers well, she did her job well,” says France Gélinas, who, like Lucille Collard, wants the return of an independent commissioner. “I would like to have a more independent and proactive entity to point out the government’s shortcomings,” said Lucille Collard, from the Ottawa-Vanier riding.
During her tenure, Kelly Burke released three annual reports and an investigation into cuts at Laurentian University, in which she criticized the work of two departments. “I was very happy that she announced an investigation,” said François Larocque, who describes the report as a “highlight”. “I think she did the best she could in the circumstances, which is to say a subordinate position, without independence,” he says.
“To have made this transition [au Bureau de l’Ombudsman] like she did and to give a vision, we have to tip our hats to her,” says Carol Jolin. His replacement is still not known, but the skills sought are, according to François Larocque. “It takes someone who has the ability to absorb a lot of information, who is a good communicator, and who has connections in the network [de la francophonie] “, he explains.
This story is supported by the Local Journalism Initiative, funded by the Government of Canada.