(Toronto) A casual “hello” here, a laborious “welcome” there. For the first time in several election campaigns, none of Ontario’s political leaders have truly mastered French.
Posted at 12:07 p.m.
The two previous Liberal leaders, Kathleen Wynne and Dalton McGuinty, were fluent in the language of Molière. They could communicate directly with Franco-Ontarians. It is more laborious for the current boss of the Liberals. Steven Del Duca has been learning French on and off since 2013, the party says. However, he does not yet dare to say a few words in his prepared speeches.
“Like anyone who did not grow up in the language, speaking fluent French is a long-term project for him,” said Liberal spokesperson Andrea Ernesaks.
Progressive Conservative leader Doug Ford said last year he had stopped taking French classes because of the pandemic. He would have taken them back. He says he learned from time to time a few phrases from his Minister Responsible for Francophone Affairs, Caroline Mulroney.
NDP leader Andrea Horwath has taken French lessons in the past, but this is not currently the case.
Green Party leader Mike Schreiner is taking lessons with a private tutor, a spokesperson said.
According to Statistics Canada, more than 600,000 Francophones live in Ontario. It’s harder to connect with them if you don’t speak their language, says Geneviève Tellier, a political science professor at the University of Ottawa.
“The good news for the chefs is that none of them speak French, none of them have an advantage over the others,” she adds.
However, the president of the Assemblée de la francophonie de l’Ontario (AFO), Carol Jolin, sees positive signs on the Ontario political scene. More and more candidates for deputy appear to be bilingual. His team met with a group of conservative candidates and only one of them did not understand French. During another meeting with 11 New Democrats, nine were able to have a conversation in French.
“Things are changing. I have been following the activities of the Legislative Assembly for 10 years and I see change, positive change,” said Mr. Jolin.
Bigger issues
According to him, the fact that the chiefs do not speak French will not influence voters as much as important issues such as access to health care or long-term care in French.
“Many Francophones have difficulty finding a family doctor. There is a great regional disparity in access to health care,” says Mr. Jolin.
Access to long-term care is also a problem. He recalls that 5.5% of seniors in the province are Francophones. However, less than 2% of establishments are subject to the French Language Services Act.
The AFO wishes to expand the Francophone space in Ontario. Currently, approximately 80% of Francophones live in the 27 designated regions where the government must provide services in both languages. This means that one in five Francophones does not receive services in their language.
Ontario’s French Language Services Commissioner Kelly Burke reminds us that access to health care is still one of the major issues she must deal with. Another source of concern is the lack of manpower.
“The French-speaking population wants to know more about this subject. She wants to know how we are training the Francophone workforce for the future,” she says.
Preserving post-secondary education in French is also an important issue in solving employment challenges, says Mr. Jolin.
” We know that [nos jeunes] study at university in English, that they follow the programs in English, that they do their internship in English and that they work in English. Worse still for the Sudbury community is that they don’t come back,” he laments.
“There is a large Francophone community in the Sudbury region. These graduates must be able to provide services in French. Unfortunately, that won’t be the case, at least for the next few years. »
The north, particularly Sudbury, and eastern Ontario will be two regions that will have to be in the sights of political parties to reach the French-speaking electorate, said Pre Tellier.
The riding of Glengarry-Prescott-Russell will be one to watch. She had elected a Conservative MP, Amanda Simard, in the last election, but she left the Conservative caucus and joined the Liberals after the government cut services to Francophones.
“Generally, the Conservative Party has a lot to do to restore the confidence of Francophones, says Pre Tellier. The community fears further cuts. »
In the budget presented Thursday, the Progressive Conservatives promise to invest $300,000 starting this year to support the development of French-language educational sessions and materials. According to them, this “will help make services more accessible to French-speaking residents of long-term care facilities, as well as to their families.” They are also committed to promoting the Francophone labor force in Ontario and to stimulating job creation.
In its platform, the NDP promises to restore the independence of the French Language Services Commissioner and give the organization the power to evaluate government services based on the French Language Services Act. It also intends to expand access to health care for Francophones and invest to guarantee a university for and by Francophones in Sudbury.
The Liberals want to increase equitable access to French immersion programs, invest in new schools, recruit and train more French-speaking teachers and increase the number of French-speaking educators.
The Greens, whose website is only in English, have promised to recruit more French-speaking teachers, work with French-language school boards and improve the availability of mental health care for French-speakers.