University of Ottawa law professor Anne Levesque denounces the lack of intersectional analysis in the reports of the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages (COL) and the French Language Services Commissioner of Ontario. An essential component, however, according to her, to ensure greater equality between Francophones in a minority situation.
Also a lawyer, Anne Levesque began to study the file when she saw that the problems faced by her clients in Ottawa’s Vanier neighborhood — one of the poorest in the city — were not represented in the reports. provincial and federal commissioners. Reading them, she had the impression “that it was always the same subjects that came up”. Yet, she says, Francophones outside Quebec do not form a homogeneous group.
“I find that the issues raised in the commissioners’ reports are trivial, while there are Francophones who are fired because of their accent, who live in poverty,” said the professor in an interview with The duty.
The concept of intersectionality aims to understand “the complexity of the disadvantages associated with multiple identities”. According to this principle, the combination of two forms of oppression linked to an identity — spoken language and gender identity, for example — forms in itself a distinct oppression, which disadvantages certain people. After exposing oppression, experts who embrace intersectionality seek to remove its effects.
Professor Levesque argues for an intersectional analysis of language rights in the country. This analysis would be necessary if the language authorities want to ensure real equality in the design and implementation of the language rights of Francophones outside Quebec, explains Ms.me Levesque. “We cannot fight intersectional discrimination if we deprive ourselves of the means to see it,” she writes in an article which will soon appear in the Women and Law Review.
The Franco-Albertan lawyer, however, believes that the various language commissioners in Ottawa and Ontario do not take these intersectional issues into consideration. The CLO and the French Language Services Commissioner of Ontario “reveal no intersectional analysis of language rights issues,” she laments. The lack of mention of the terms “gender” and “race” in these reports is “amazing”, also laments Ms.me Levesque.
Francophone diversity
In her forthcoming article, Professor Levesque statistically documents the weak recognition by linguistic authorities of the multiple identities of Francophones in minority situations and the problems they face. The term “woman,” she notes, for example, appears only seven times in OCOL annual reports published since 1999. “No attempt has been made to take into account the intersectional nature of violations of the on official languages or the issues addressed,” she says of the federal agency’s annual reports.
By email, the OCOL admits that it has not addressed the issue of intersectionality “in its full scope”, but replies that it is incorrect to say that it has been completely ignored. The OCOL says it adopted an intersectional lens in its study of linguistic insecurity within the federal public service. The police station looked to see if the people who were victims of insecurity were more women. The study does not mention it, however, “since we did not observe this trend”.
Regarding the French Language Services Commissioner of Ontario, Kelly Burke, Professor Levesque believes that she “seems determined to ignore the diversity within the Francophone community”. The Commissioner’s two reports “conceal the mere existence of Francophones who come up against forms of intersectional oppression,” continues Anne Levesque. Terms such as “disability” or “immigrant” are absent from the reports, notes the lawyer.
Contacted by The duty, the Ontario commissioner’s office defended itself, arguing that the commissioner’s activities and reports “speak for themselves.” Kelly Burke, “spoke of her dedication to ‘the Ontario Francophonie in all its expressions,'” spokeswoman Emmanuelle Bleytou said by email. “The composition of our team of collaborators fully reflects the diversity of the French-speaking population,” she continues. Kelly Burke was appointed to this position in January 2020.
Recommended changes
Anne Levesque makes a series of recommendations to the linguistic authorities in light of the situation she denounces. “We need to appoint language rights commissioners with a better understanding of intersectionality,” she thinks, for example. At the very least, she continues, the commissioners in place should be trained immediately in order to understand how to “detect complex forms of oppression and tackle them”, it is noted. It also asks the linguistic authorities to better disaggregate the data according to the multiple identities of the complainants.
“To measure the success of a right, we must not look at its effectiveness [dans la protection] of the most privileged minority, but rather that of the most vulnerable people,” says Anne Levesque.
This story is supported by the Local Journalism Initiative, funded by the Government of Canada.