[lg policy] letter to editor: Bilingualism must be allowed to thrive

[Harold Schiffman]

Bilingualism must be allowed to thrive

As the former mayor of Moncton, the first bilingual city in the
country, and as a pro-bilingual anglophone I am concerned about recent
news reports questioning Canadian official language policy.

The reason for the slow development of Official Languages of late is
that Stephen Harper took bilingualism out of the list of government
priorities because he perceives it as an inconvenience. The prime
minister said that bilingualism in Canada, as a policy and as a
founding principle, is the "god that failed." I have seen minority
communities across the country that were literally saved by these
policies who would beg to differ. Harper's decisions to kill the court
challenges program and to reject the will of the House of Commons
regarding Bill C-232 (regarding bilingual Supreme Court judges) show
his desire to put the brakes on the development of bilingual policy in
Canada.

It is true, 20 per cent of Canadians are newcomers, but this can be
seen as an opportunity to pursue our unity rather than as a financial
burden. It is also true that some jurists would have difficulty
becoming Supreme Court judges if we require them to know English and
French. But this requirement can also be seen as a symbol of justice
and a mark of our achievement as a country.

Obviously, $1.8 billion (which is the Fraser Institute's estimate of
the cost of official bilingualism) is a large amount of money, but one
can also be of the opinion that it is a small price to pay to truly
live out the Canadian ideal of justice and treat our founding nations
as equals. Bilingualism is largely a matter of symbolic support for an
intimate sentiment of belonging. When minority language citizens hear
their federal government speak their language, it tells them that this
government also belongs to them and that it is worth speaking the
language of their ancestors for one more day.

This government has created an environment that undermines official
languages. When former Bernard Lord cabinet members (now senators) are
kept from speaking in support of Bill C-232, as they were, it
threatens Canadian efforts to develop both official languages.

Our government has to find its way back to the Canadian traditions of
justice and to the respect for our shared history of biculturalism. A
long line of supporters from MacDonald and Cartier, to Pierre Elliott
Trudeau, Brian Mulroney, Richard Hatfield, Frank Mc-Kenna and many
others, including myself, have worked hard to make bilingualism
flourish because we believe that, with a little bit of hope and
effort, bilingualism can truly thrive in Canada.

Brian Murphy,

Ottawa


Read more: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/life/Bilingualism+must+allowed+thrive/4002621/story.html#ixzz18lI1s9Fc

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