Hundreds of Franco-Ontarians from across the region converged on Main Street North Bay Saturday as part of a larger province-wide protest against changes made in the province’s Fall Economic Statement.
Francophones across the province are calling on the government to maintain the office of the French-Language Services Commissioner with full funding and powers and to maintain its commitment to fund a new standalone French-Language University.
“The role of the commissioner was much more than taking complaints. The role of the commissioner was to prevent things from happening. Prevent the law from being broken. Preventing our rights from being broken. The ombudsman is there to react,” said local protest organizer Michel Page.
“So, the commissioner as an independent party is there to inform, to educate the government and to accompany the government so they understand the law, and they respect the law. It is two completely different things.”
A French language university is one of four in the province not moving ahead.
“The percentage of English language universities which are being affected with these cuts is maybe 10 per cent. What is the percentage of Francophone universities being cut? One hundred percent, because we do not have one. This project has been in the works for five years. We’re ready to open in 2020, and we’re opening in 2020,” said Page.
“We are resisting the announcements made by the Ford government, the announcements made by Mr. Fedeli, cutting back the rights of the Francophones in our province. We asked the people to come out today and have their voices heard. Well, you can see that the people have listened. There are 40 protests going on across the province, around the country. People are mad and the government needs to listen.”
In the crowd offering her support was Ontario Senator Lucie Moncion. As a proud Franco-Ontarian, Moncion believes the Ford government is sending the wrong message.
“Cuts could be made elsewhere, but the first place this government has decided to work on was initiatives that are targeted to Franco-Ontarians. And I think there are efficiencies that can be found in a lot of areas, that Franco-Ontarians might not be the first place to start,” said Moncion.
“This government would be able to balance its budget in time, but doing it to Franco-Ontarians is sending a very bad message.”
In response to the protests, Minister of Finance Vic Fedeli explained the shift from an independent office to the Ombudsman’s office.
“They need to acknowledge a few different things. The first is the government has agreed to create the position of a French language commissioner who will work under the auspices of the Ontario Ombudsman. They will still maintain their independence in investigations, making recommendations and encouraging compliance with the French Language Services Act,” said Fedeli.
“Second will be that, as opposed to simply being an office of Francophone Affairs, Minister Caroline Mulroney will become the Minister of Francophone Affairs, making it a full ministry. And finally, the Premier will be hiring a senior policy person to work in his office who will be responsible for Francophone affairs.”
With respect to cancelling the construction of a French language university, Fedeli says it is one of four universities affected.
“With respect to Francophone university education, we have 10 post-secondary education facilities in Ontario providing 300 Francophone programs. When you have a deficit left by the previous Liberal government of $40 million a day in spending, greater than the amount coming in, there have to be efficiencies found everywhere. Building four new universities was one of these areas.”
North Bay resident Lou Gagne says the Francophone community will continue to fight until its voice is heard.
“I grew up with my parents fighting for our high school. My brother was one of the first students there. I was the next generation at Algonquin high school. So, I thank the provincial government for waking us up. We’ve been complacent for the last 20 some years now because we haven’t had to fight for anything,” said Gagne.
“Now we have to fight again for something that we fought so long for. They woke up the sleeping bear.”
Protestor Jean-Paul Pierre wants to help ensure the rights of Franco-Ontarians are protected.
“It’s my native language. It is a right for us to have our own language in Ontario. We worked for the secondary Franco-Cite in Sturgeon Falls, and we won. We worked for College Boreal, and we got it. So why not work for a university too?” asked Pilon.
“We thank the French community and the English people at the same time because they are helping us with this situation. It is unfortunate what happens in Toronto because they don’t seem to know what the heck is going on with the people in Ontario. When you want to do a budget, you don’t want to cut everything in the province in order to reorganize the province. The policies of politicians are there to have a better life for everyone, not worse than what we have now.”
“I’m here because I want my French to continue, and for my granddaughter. I want her to be able to go to French school and to be fluent in French,” said Francoise Cayouette.
“I am happy with the turnout today, and all the noise. We want Vic Fedeli to understand that we are here, and we are here to stay.”
Suzanne Michel took part in the protest to protect future generations.
“We want to make sure for the future, that our schools remain and our services remain in our communities for the Francophones. The support here today is great. There is a lot of people, and we’re hoping the message gets across to Vic Fedeli.”
Fedeli says the focus should be on the funding provided by the federal government.
“And their lack of attention to Francophone affairs in the province of Ontario. Currently, they pay the province of Ontario $2.78 for Francophone programming in Ontario. Yet in New Brunswick, they pay $7.31, and in Manitoba, they pay $35.71. Our recommendation is they should be putting their resources on the Federal government to bring some equity in the amount of money Ontario receives compared to the other provinces.”
