FRENCH LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION IN MANITOBA SCHOOLS PRE-CONFEDERATTON TO 1 985 by Carol-Ànne Margaret Browning A thesis presented to the University of Manitoba in partial fulfiLlment of the requirements for the degree of Master. of Arts 1n Department of Political Studies Wínnipeg, Manitoba (c) Carol-Anne l'largaret Browning, 1985' FRENCH LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION IN MANITOBA SCHOOLS PRE-CONFEDERATION TO 1985 BY CAROL-ANNE MARGARET BROWNING A thesis subnritted to the Faculty of Craduate Studies ol the University of Manitoba in partial fulfill¡nent of the requirernerrts of the degree ol MASTER OF ARTS o 1985 Permission has been granted to the LIBRARY OF THE UNIVER- SITY OF MANITOBA to lend or sell copies of this thesis. to the NATIONAL LIBRARY OF CANADA to microfilnr this thesis a¡rd to lend or sell copies of the film, and UNIVERSITY MICROFILMS to publish an abstract of this thesis. The author reserves other publicatiou rights, and neither the thesis nor extensive extracts from it may be printed or other- wise reproduced without the author's writtelt pernrissiorr. ABSTRÀCT The examination of the changes and developments in French education policies in Manitoba is inseparable from the larg- er historical context of the life at the junction of the two rivers. In another dimension it reflects and responds to the developing relations between the French and the English throughout Canada's national history" Competing visions of federalism are visible at every stage in the development of French language education policy. French language education policy is a classic example of "muddling through," compro- mises or results of the povrer relationships in Manitoba and indeed in Canada at large. It also tends to mirror the pre- vailing national ideology of what Confederation is all about. Yet it is possible that French language education policy may be a crucial building block in the process of na- tion building. It is the contention of the author that in Manitoba (and there are reasons to believe that this observation may also be applicable to other jurisdictions) French language educa- tion policies are at the crossroads. The demonstrated suc- cess of recent French language policy in education may be short-lived if a more integrated or holistic approach is not forth-coming. The more optimistie possibility is bhat 11 French language edueation and in particular the immersion program might become responsible for the emergence of a nevr breed of Canadian, with much more open attitudes toward lin- guist.ic minorities and evenLually leading to a more inte- grated society" lt L ÀCKNOWLEDGEMENTS During the research for and preparation of this thesis I have received much kind support.' especially from my supervi- sor, Murray Donne1Iy who r.tas always patiently there with his time, advice and encouragement' During the course of my work, many others gave freely of their support. In particu- Iar, I would like to thank Mariette Ferré-CoIlet, Monique Roy, Marie Giasson, Kitty and Michael Feld, David HowarLh, A1 Lansdown, Tom and Tony Riffel, Ken McVicar, Nicolai Co- stas, Jesse Vorst, Davis Daycock, Inge Nielsen, Carla Bursh- tein and my family for their faith and inspiration. I would also Iike to thank my EFM and MTS colleagues and support staff, Guy Roy, Gilbert Rosset and the Bureau de L'Education française, Fernand Marion, Raymond Hébert and the CoIIè9e Universitaire de St-Boniface, Janet RedgwelI and Brock Cory- don School, Gilbert Comeaul-t and the M.H.A., the U.of M. and Department of Education librairies, and the Manitoba Ar- chives and Legislative Iibrary. In addition, I would Iike to thank the Winnipeg School Division No. 1 for granting me a leave of absence in order to make this work possible. In preparing this manuscript it was my good fortune to have the help of University Co1lege, Marg Derry and Jeff Cantin. Certaínly no one could have asked for more able and efficient assistance. IV Finally I would Iíke to thank Marek Debicki for hís forebearance and patience with our four children and Brutus, and my children for their cooperation. I am hoping that my good friends in the francophone com- munity will understand my point of view, just as I under- stand and respect theirs" CONTENTS ABSTRACT O O 11 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 1V Chapter paqq I. INTRODUCTION 1 17 TI " Overview: 1 820-1916 17 Pre-Confederat ion 18 Confederation to 1890 23 Toward Àbolition: 1890-1916 26 III. 57 Overview 57 Quiet Cooperation: 1916-1956 59 IV. 82 Overv i ew 82 Recognition:. 1957- 1 959 83 Modernization and Conso i iå"i iå. 1 959- 1 969 87 I mplementat i on : 1 969-1 9 75 .' 103 v 125 Overview 125 Organ ization and Administration 129 VI. CONCLUSIONS 194 Appendix paqe A. 212 B. 213 SELECTED BIBLTOGRAPHY 217 vt Chapter I I NTRODUCTT ON This thesis is a study of French language policy in edu- cation in the province of Manitoba' vüith particular refer- ence to French as a language of instruction in the schools. F'ew would question that the two major political issues in Canada today are the depressed economy and the question of national unity. Many would go so far as to argue that the former is partially related to the concentration of the fed- eral government on the national unity question to the deLri- ment of economic stability. There is no question however that the national unity issue has had far-reaching implica- tions forcing an evaluation of the country's very reason for existence. There is probably not a single Canadian who has not been affected by the profound national unity debate. One area in which this debate has had dramatic consequences is in the area of education. The present policy of French language education has re- sulted from two very different historical and political con- texts. Historicatly French bilingual education resulted from the social and political conditions at the time of Con- federation, and has been closely associated with religion. In recent years, due to a variety of factors ranging from a 1 2 grovring world wide interest in travel and second-Ianguage acquisition, the ongoing educational innovations in language teaching which began in the fifties and the accompanying pa- rental- demands for educational change to the federal govern- menL's actíve supporL of multiculturalism in a bilingual framework, there has been a new trend. Instruction in French is now demanded for the sake of receiving a bilingual education and is now offered in non-denominational schools. Traditionally, French language education had its roots in constitutional guarantees provided at the time of Confedera- tion. Section 23 of the Manitoba Act provided for the use of either French or English in the debates of the provincial legislature and for the obligatory use of both languages in public records or journals,l ÀI1 acts were to be printed and published in both languages and furthermore either language could be used in the courts. While Section 93 of the å.N..À. Act assigned the control of education to the provinces, it protected denominational rights as they existed by law at the time of Confederation. As French education in 1870 v¡as completely under the con- trol of the Roman Catholic Church, French language rights were assumed to be protected by the Dominion Parliament. lf one defines bilingualism, as does the Roval Commission on Bilinqualism and Biculturalism, to mean that two linguistic 1 Statutes of Manitoba: Manitoba Act, 1 870, 33 Vic. c .3 3 groups have equal official status,2 then in 1870 Manitoba was a bilingual province. Education vras in the hands of two separate school commissions, one being Protestant and Eng- Iish, and the other Roman Catholic and French. As Manzer states: The emergence together of public schools, responsible IegislaÈures, professional police and custodial pris- ons from the 1840s to the 1880s is not a coincidence. These institutions formed a vital complementarity in nineteenth-cenLury Iiberal thinking about the require- ments of public order,3 At the time of Confederation, education vras generally a mat- ter of local initiative. Not surprisingly, the language of instruction in the schools was left to the discretion of 1o- cal authorities. Following the American example and also influenced by changes in sritish philosophy of education civic education became a leading issue in Canadian politics between the 1840's and the turn of the century. The school was to become a major instrument in the preservation of so- cial order and the shaping of the public mind. The language of instruction in Canada's public schools became a crucial subject of debate. 2 Canada: ReÞoljq of the Roval Commission on Bilingualism and Bículturalism, Vol. I, Book 1 Official Languases (ot- tawa: Queen's Printer, October 8, 1967 I . 3 RonaId Manzer, Public Policies and PoliticaI Development in Canada (Toronto, UDiversity of Toronto Press, 1g9q) p.118. 4 A major influx of settlers from Ontario and large scale immigration from Eastern Europe at the turn of the century polrer drastically upset the French-EngIish balance of " Whereas until 1881 education was in the hands of the respec- Live churches, in 1881 provincial legislation established a "public" board of education, consisting in part of Protes- t.ants and in part of Roman Catholics. The Manitoba Public Schools Act was amended in 1890 af- fecting a radical change which abolished the dual system of education, removing religious and therefore French language education from the public to the private realm. Public schools were now to be funded through a general property tax and provincial grants.a The constitutionality of the Act was challenged by Catho- lics Dr. J.K .