Press Room

OTTAWA, ONTARIO, December 5, 2003 – Speaking at a roundtable organized by the Canadian Institute for Research on Linguistic Minorities, the Honourable Stéphane Dion, President of the Privy Council and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, said that the contribution of researchers to the implementation and success of the Action Plan for Official Languages is essential.

The Minister pointed out that the aim of the five-year Action Plan, launched on March 12, 2003, is to enable Canada to take full advantage of its linguistic duality in this global world, where peoples’ language skills are one of the keys to success. He also expressed satisfaction regarding the commitment made by the Prime Minister in waiting, the Honourable Paul Martin, to fully support the plan.

He added, however, that the plan will not be able to succeed unless governments, communities, and citizens can have the benefit of the full contribution of researchers.

“It is nothing new for Canada’s language policy to draw inspiration from the work of researchers, for this has been the case from the very beginning,” remarked Mr. Dion, pointing to the key role played by the renowned Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism in the sixties, adding, “What the Commission succeeded in doing must inspire the researchers of today and serve as an example, at this time when new momentum is being given to the Official Languages Policy.”

Stating that, Canada must continue to pursue the objectives mapped out by the Commission and do so relying on the work of contemporary researchers, for it must be done taking into account today’s context, the Minister entreated: “We need the advice of researchers,” he said.

In this regard, Minister Dion stressed that he was relying on the Canadian Institute for Research on Linguistic Minorities, the creation of which he announced in Moncton on February 15, 2002.

Among the research themes to be pursued, the Minister mentioned exogamy, or the fact that more and more young Francophones and Anglophones are starting families together. According to Mr. Dion, it is the phenomenon that has most inspired the orientation of the Action Plan, “for as you well know, it is by far the leading source of assimilation by English in minority Francophone communities.”

In fact, explained the Minister, “when both parents are Francophone, transmission of French takes place in 95% of cases. But when one of the two parents is not Francophone, that rate falls to 42%. Now exogamy is becoming more widespread. In fact, nearly two thirds of these children now find themselves in families where only one of the two parents has French as his or her mother tongue.”

“One very important piece of information to be reckoned with,” he added, “is the fact that, when the Anglophone parent does not speak French, the probability of the children learning that language is only 32%, whereas it climbs to 70% if that parent is also proficient in French.”

“Therefore there is a positive link between the learning of the other official language by the majority and the vitality of the minority official-language communities,” Minister Dion pointed out, urging researchers to look at ways of helping exogamous couples transmit their dual linguistic heritage to their children.

The Minister also stressed the need to continue research on including French in children’s lives from early childhood, one of the priorities of the Action Plan.

“We can all agree that we need more knowledge on official languages and the communities that speak them,” stated the Minister He went on the announce that discussions between the government and the SSHRC in this regard have progressed sufficiently that we have reached the stage of consultation with the research community: “You shall soon be called upon to advise us on the best way to design this new initiative. It is my pleasure to announce this to you today.”

In closing, the Minister indicated, “When Prime Minister Chrétien asked me in April 2001 to prepare an action plan and bring some new momentum to Canada’s linguistic duality, he assigned that responsibility to a researcher who is the son of a researcher. I know that it is with researchers that we will succeed in implementing this Action Plan. We shall do this, governments and researchers, in close cooperation with the communities. There lies the path to success.”

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This document is available on the Intergovernmental Affairs Web site at the following address: http://www.pco-bcp.gc.ca/aia/