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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Ah, the joys and ironies of bilingualism. The
"Jean Delaire Affair" referred to in this English-language newspaper report was
actually the "Affaire des Gens de l'Air", that is, in literal
translation, the question of the "people in the air." In the
mid-1970s, French-speaking pilots and controllers in Quebec founded the
"Association des Gens de l'Air du Québec", in order to lobby for the use of
French in air traffic control. When, in 1976, the Canadian government
decided to introduce bilingual traffic control in an aviation industry
largely dominated by English-speakers, airline pilots went on strike.
The full story is capably described and brilliantly analysed by
Sandford Borins in <EM>The Language of the Skies: The Bilingual Air Traffic
Control Conflict in Canada</EM> (Kingston and Montreal: McGill-Queen's
University Press, 1983) and, in translation, <EM>Le français dans les airs: Le
conflit du bilinguisme dans le contrôle de la circulation aérienne au
Canada</EM> (Montréal: Chenelière et Stanké, 1983), published by the Institute
of Public Administration of Canada.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Edmund A. Aunger<BR></FONT><FONT size=2>Professeur de sciences
politiques<BR>Campus Saint-Jean, University of Alberta<BR>Edmonton,
Alberta T6C 4G9<BR>téléphone: 780-465-8759<BR>télécopieur:
780-465-8760<BR><A
href="mailto:edmund.aunger@ualberta.ca">edmund.aunger@ualberta.ca</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>web: <A
href="http://www.ualberta.ca/~eaunger/">www.ualberta.ca/~eaunger/</A><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>----Original Message ----- </FONT></DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>From: "Harold F. Schiffman" <</FONT><A
href="mailto:haroldfs@ccat.sas.upenn.edu"><FONT face=Arial
size=2>haroldfs@ccat.sas.upenn.edu</FONT></A><FONT face=Arial
size=2>></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>To: "Language Policy-List" <</FONT><A
href="mailto:lgpolicy-list@ccat.sas.upenn.edu"><FONT face=Arial
size=2>lgpolicy-list@ccat.sas.upenn.edu</FONT></A><FONT face=Arial
size=2>></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Sent: Thursday, November 23, 2006 8:08
AM</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Subject: Canada's language czar preaches importance
of both official languages</FONT></DIV></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial><BR><FONT size=2></FONT></FONT></DIV><FONT face=Arial
size=2>> Canada's language czar preaches the importance of respecting both of
our<BR>> official languages<BR>> <BR>> TONY FERGUSON<BR>> NEWS
EDITOR<BR>> <BR>> Graham Fraser, Canada's sixth Commissioner of Official
Languages, spoke to<BR>> a mostly student audience in the Senate and Board
Chambers last night.<BR>> Fraser spoke about the history of the French
language in a predominantly<BR>> English-speaking country and the challenges
associated with supporting the<BR>> rights of a French population. Fraser is
a well-known and highly regarded<BR>> journalist with over 40 years of
experience writing for various<BR>> publications such as the Toronto Star,
Macleans and the Globe and Mail.<BR>> <BR>> He began the lecture with a
history of language rights in Canada since the<BR>> time of Laurier, a time
when the French language was under threat of<BR>> extermination by the
English elite. Regardless of these attempts at<BR>> suppression, from then on
Canada found itself dealing with an increasingly<BR>> French and
multicultural society. The interests of French society came to<BR>> a boiling
point in the early sixties, as Fraser explained, when an<BR>> important
culminating point was reached. In September 1962, Maurice<BR>> Lamontagne,
one of Pearsons ministers, handed him a short but very<BR>> important memo
regarding the state of the French language, the rest of<BR>> Canada and the
relationship between the two. As Fraser explained, the memo<BR>> set forth
three agendas which were up to the Liberal party to set out and<BR>>
achieve.<BR>> <BR>> These were the patriation of the constitution, the
creation of a national<BR>> flag and anthem and the creation of an officially
bilingual country.<BR>> Shortly after, the commission of bilingualism and
biculturalism was<BR>> created, which today still seeks to answer important
questions regarding<BR>> Canada and its two official languages. Theres a
tendency to think of<BR>> French language laws in Canada as a Pierre Trudeau
dream, says Fraser. In<BR>> fact it was Maurice Lamontagnes proposal that did
this groundwork.<BR>> Language policy in Canada has come a long way since
then, after<BR>> experiencing a few bumps in the road along the way.<BR>>
<BR>> One such bump was the Jean Delaire Affair which was a battle fought
by<BR>> French-speaking pilots over their right to communicate in French to
air<BR>> traffic controllers. It was such a contentious fight that Trudeau
lost two<BR>> cabinet members over it. Today, the situation is much different
as the<BR>> French language is more prominent within most parts of Canada. As
Fraser<BR>> pointed out, it is almost unthinkable these days to have a
unilingual<BR>> Prime Minister. He wasnt so quick to dismiss Canada's
language policy as a<BR>> problem solved, however.<BR>> <BR>> There
continue to be seriously dysfunctional elements in Canada's language<BR>>
policy, he says. There are seven million French-speaking Canadians, four<BR>>
million of whom do not speak English. Here Fraser points to the
importance<BR>> of bilingualism in Canada. That vibrant and culturally
diverse population<BR>> has so much to offer the rest of Canada but it all
goes to waste if we<BR>> cannot comprehend their message. How can it be that
English Canada cannot<BR>> understand their films, their plays, their music,
their debates? he posed.<BR>> <BR>> Fraser reminded the audience of just
how close the issue of language is to<BR>> Canadians. "Language remains at
the core of the country just like race in<BR>> the United States and class in
Britain," he said. He concluded by saying<BR>> that French, although a
minority language, is not to be treated as an<BR>> alien one, which it is by
many Canadians.<BR>> <BR>> "English and French are Canadian languages, not
foreign languages, and<BR>> they belong to all Canadians."<BR>> <BR>>
</FONT><A href="http://www.cordweekly.com/archives/1369"><FONT face=Arial
size=2>http://www.cordweekly.com/archives/1369</FONT></A><BR><FONT face=Arial
size=2>> <BR>>
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