Graham Fraser Commissioner of Official Languages

Notes for a speech at the launch of the English-Speaking Communities Research Network

Holiday Inn – Le Plaza Montréal, Quebec April 17, 2009

Check against delivery Notes for a speech at the launch of the Quebec English-Speaking Communities Research Network Montréal, April 17, 2009

It is a real pleasure to be here, and to be participating in the launch of this extremely important research network. As we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Official Languages Act this year, it is important that we reflect back on everything we have accomplished over the past four decades. Most importantly, through initiatives such as this one, we recognize what still needs to be done, but also the huge potential our communities represent.

The idea of a research network specifically for Quebec's English-speaking communities is not new. The need for more research had been discussed within the community for a long time. The situation English-speaking Quebeckers find themselves in is quite unique. And we cannot take for granted that the findings about other minority communities necessarily apply to this one. When my predecessor, , launched, in 2006, the study on vitality of minority communities entitled A Sharper View , she said that « there should be a research institute specifically to research the [English-speaking] communities of Quebec and to foster networking among those doing research in this area ». Today, you have accomplished this, and I congratulate you.

This research network fills a vacuum—and comes at an important time for the English-speaking communities of Quebec. And the subject for research is a fascinating one: a community that has undergone massive change over the last 50 years and is continuing to undergo changes.

It has been almost 30 years since Sheila McLeod Arnopoulos and the late Dominique Clift published their book The English Fact in Quebec . In 1980, the community was living through a particularly trying period: the first mandate of the Parti Québécois government, Bill 101 and the 1980 referendum. I don’t need to remind you of the exodus that occurred during those years.

In their book, Arnopoulos and Clift observed that two decades earlier, English community institutions were largely self-financing but, with the Quiet Revolution, many of them were taken over by the Quebec government. 1 They observed what this transfer of power and authority meant for the English community:

“… English community institutions must justify their existence in the eyes if the French population, which has the final say in the disposal of taxation revenues. They must carve out a role for themselves which is perceived to have some usefulness for the province as a whole. This constitutes a dramatic transformation in outlook for the self-contained and culturally autonomous English-speaking population of Montreal. The change is not willingly and spontaneously accepted. It requires an ability to mingle and

1 Sheila McLeod Arnopoulos and Dominique Clift, The English Fact in Quebec, Montreal, McGill- Queen’s University Press, 1980, p. 200.

1 Notes for a speech at the launch of the Quebec English-Speaking Communities Research Network Montréal, April 17, 2009 work with the French in a quite different manner, without the condescension that existed before the Quiet Revolution.” 2

That description—and prescription—is itself an indication of how far English- speaking communities have come in three decades—and of what remains to be done. To a large extent, that role has been carved out, and there has been a dramatic transformation in outlook, and considerable emphasis on personal initiative and flexibility. On the other hand, there remains a reduced amount of political influence for the community as a whole.

Three years later, Richard French, then the Member of the National Assembly for Westmount, gave a speech in which he talked about the uniqueness of the cultural situation of English Quebeckers:

“It is time to understand that to be an anglo-Quebecer is to define oneself as another kind of North American. It is to accept the status of cultural outsider in Quebec, a status which is unique because it requires absolutely no concession of one’s full membership in the dominant culture . It is to accept the pertinence, indeed the necessity, of the existential questions, without for all that surrendering the comforts of and the New York Times , ABC and NBC.” 3

Then casting his eye around the world, he concluded that this cultural mobility could not be found anywhere else—not in Paris, not in New York, not in Florence.

Ten years ago, two decades after Arnopoulos and Clift, Garth Stevenson wrote one of the few academic analyses of the English-speaking community of Quebec, and its title was itself eloquent about its state of mind: Community Besieged: The Anglophone Minority and the Politics of Quebec . In his conclusion, he described how optimists and pessimists viewed the future of the community.

He found that optimists pointed to the adaptability of young Anglophones living in a French-speaking society, the strength and economic value of the English language in North America, McGill’s continuing international reputation, and what he called “the apparent decline of extreme nationalism and xenophobia in Quebec” and “the usefulness of a bilingual minority to a Quebec that wishes to participate fully in the continental economy.” 4

2 Ibid , p. 201. 3 Being l’autre: The Existential Pleasures of the Anglo-Quebecer , Homecoming Seminar, Faculty of Management, McGill University, September 23, 1983. 4 Garth Stevenson, Community Besieged: The Anglophone Minority and the Politics of Quebec , Montreal, McGill-Queen’s University Press, 1999, p. 298

2 Notes for a speech at the launch of the Quebec English-Speaking Communities Research Network Montréal, April 17, 2009 Pessimists, on the other hand, emphasized the absence of jobs for young Anglophones, the exodus of the young Anglophone middle class, the declining enrolments in English-language schools, the pressure on immigrants to adopt French rather than English, and the perception that English are no longer moving to Quebec. 5

Stevenson was cautious in his prediction over who would be proved correct.

After reviewing carefully the points raised by both sides, he concluded that “those Anglophones who have remained seem to have adapted reasonably well to the new order” 6

Now, almost a decade later, I think it can be said that the optimists have the upper hand.

The Bouchard-Taylor Commission advised Quebecers to view English as a language of dialogue and exchange with the world, not the language of the conquerors. Young English-speaking Quebecers are dramatically more bilingual than their elders—or than the community in the past.

But, as anthropologist Martha Radice showed in her book Feeling Comfortable? The Urban Experience of Anglo Montrealers , problems of adaptation and acceptance remain.

There are still challenges for English-speaking communities: challenges in receiving health services off the island of Montreal, challenges in political representation, challenges in acceptance.

This dynamic network will be an alliance that will allow distinct research to truly flourish in Quebec's English-speaking communities. The evolving nature of these communities makes the need for a research network all the more critical. The English-speaking communities, and their partners, such as Concordia University, must take full advantage of such a network and look to other similar initiatives. In doing so, the research and data that will follow will lead to a greater understanding of the community by the Quebec majority, as well as the rest of Canada, who don’t always understand the challenges associated with being an English-speaking minority.

For its part, Concordia University has continuously shown the importance its puts toward community engagement and it has truly stepped up to the plate as one of the English-speaking community’s leading institutions.

Also, I am pleased to see a partnership was established with the Canadian Institute for Research on Linguistic Minorities, based in Moncton. I feel it is

5 Ibid , pp 298-299. 6 Ibid , p. 309.

3 Notes for a speech at the launch of the Quebec English-Speaking Communities Research Network Montréal, April 17, 2009 important to build more bridges between academics from the English-speaking and French-speaking minority communities.

Together, you will continue to make your community thrive. And of course, you continue to have the support of my office.

I wish you all much luck with the fascinating work you will be doing on such important issues.

Thank you.

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