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25 things to discover about Francophone culture in Ontario Discover 25 interesting facts about the rich and diverse francophone culture within Ontario. 1) September 25th has been named the Jour des Franco-Ontariens et des Franco-Ontariennes en Ontario (Franco-Ontarian Day) The Franco-Ontarian Day Act was adopted unanimously by members of the Legislature on April 26th, 2010, proclaiming September 25th of each year Franco-Ontarian Day. From now on, this day will be set aside to honour the contribution of the Francophone community in Ontario to the cultural, historical, social, economic and political life of the province. 2) 400 years of French presence in Ontario The presence of French in Ontario goes back nearly 400 years. The French were the first to explore the province and establish settlements. These settlements are a significant part of the history of Ontario. French history in Ontario began in 1610 with explorer Étienne Brûlé, and the first Jesuit mission in 1639 was established in Sainte-Marie-aux-Pays-des-Hurons. The French were the first Europeans to discover the natural and economic resources in the territory that would later be known as Ontario, and to make alliances with the aboriginal population. 3) Franco-Ontarian identity is the result of three historic immigration waves Franco-Ontarian identity is the result of three historic waves of immigration. The first was during the 18th century and came mainly from France. These immigrants settled in the Windsor and Detroit region under the French regime. The second wave came from Quebec in the 19th and 20th centuries and settled mainly in the northern and eastern regions of the province. By that time, Ontario had become very British, and this immigrant wave often founded its own villages, or increased the ranks of previously established Francophone communities.  The third wave is much more recent and comes both from Quebec as well as other places in the Francophone world:  places such as Haiti, Europe, Africa, and Vietnam. Immigrants from these countries usually choose to settle in the largest cities of the province. They tend to preserve a strong bond, using new media technology, with their culture of origin (Québécois, Haitian, etc.) and the first of the two definitions of the term Franco-Ontarian is now being used more and more to include them. 4) New and more inclusive definitions of who is a Francophone in Ontario An inclusive definition of who is Francophone recognizes individuals whose mother tongue may not be French, but who know the language and speak it at home. However, it excludes people who can speak French but have identified their mother tongue as being English. This approach is based on the assumption that the latter individuals are receiving services from the government in their own language. The following are examples of Francophones who will be recognized with the new definition. A Franco-Ontarian can be someone who: Was born in Ottawa, with Arabic as their mother tongue, and speaks French and English, and uses Arabic at home Comes from Russia, with Russian as their mother tongue, and speaks French and English, is married to a Francophone from Ontario, and they speak French at home Is from Haiti, with Creole as their mother tongue, and speaks French and English, is married to a Haitian and they speak Creole, English and French at home Was born in Spain, but lived for a time in Montreal, with Catalan as their mother tongue, and speaks French and English, is married to a Cuban and they speak Spanish and French at home Hails from Kitchener, with German as their mother tongue, and speaks French and English, lives with a partner in Toronto, and speaks English and French at home Is from Vietnam, but lived in Brussels (Belgium) for a time, with Vietnamese as their mother tongue, and speaks French. 5) Franco-Ontarians form a diverse community Like the general population of Ontario, the Franco-Ontarian community is diverse and vibrant. For many years, it has welcomed Francophones from Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Europe. Today, Francophone racial minorities represent 10% of the province's Francophone population. The distribution of the Francophone population in Ontario is as follows: 41.5% of Francophones live in Eastern Ontario 28.7% live in Central Ontario 22.5% live in Northeastern Ontario 5.9% live in Southwestern Ontario 1.4% live in Northwestern Ontario 6) The Franco-Ontarian flag was raised for the first time on September 25th, 1975 The Franco-Ontarian flag was unfurled for the first time on September 25th, 1975 at the University of Sudbury. Since that time, it has become a permanent emblem for the Francophone community in Ontario. The time has come to officially acknowledge it. The flag is the legally recognized emblem of Ontario’s Francophone community. It shows two colours placed side by side: a medium shade of green and white. The green side has a white fleur-de-lis in its centre and the white side has a green trillium in its centre. Green represents summer and white is for winter. Together, the two colours represent the diversity of Ontario’s climate. The fleur-de-lis reminds us of Francophone culture throughout the world, and the trillium is the floral emblem of Ontario. 7) Did you know that many Ontario municipalities are majoritarily Francophone?   In many Ontario municipalities, the percentage of Francophones is greater than 50%. A few examples are Hearst (the Ontario town with the greatest percentage of Francophones, at  89 %[9]), Kapuskasing 68%, West Nipissing  63%, St. Charles 71%, Clarence-Rockland 75%, Embrun 60%, Champlain 70% (the Township of Champlain includes the following villages: Aberdeen, Cassburn, Green Lane, Happy Hollow, Henrys Corners, L'Ange-Gardien, L'Orignal, Pleasant Corners, Ritchance, Riviera Estate, Sandy Hill, Springhill, Vankleek Hill, Vankleek Hill Station and Village Lanthier ), Dubreuilville 83% and Hawkesbury 70%. 8) Did you know that many laws guarantee linguistic rights to Francophones? Despite the fact that Ontario is not an officially bilingual province, the government of Ontario adopted the French Language Services Act in 1986. At the time, it designated 25 places in the province where provincial ministries and agencies had to provide at least one service locally in French. A place is designated as bilingual when there are at least 5,000 persons or 10% of the total population of a community at issue. The French Language Services Act applies only to provincial services. It does not oblige a municipality to offer bilingual services to the population, as these initiatives are left to the discretion of each municipality. In Ontario, The French Language Services Act of 1986 is part of a series of legal provisions that aim to guarantee linguistic rights to Francophones. Other provincial and federal laws guarantee rights to Francophones, in particular the provincial  Education Act, Courts of Justice Act, and  Child and Family Services Act. Federally, we have the Official Languages Act and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. 9) Preserving Franco-Ontarian cultural heritage The preamble of the French Language Services Act recognizes the contribution of the cultural heritage of the French-speaking population and hopes to preserve it for future generations. 10) Did you know that the French Language Services Act was modified in May 2007? The French Language Services Commissioner was created in this modification. It is under the authority of the minister responsible for Francophone Affairs, but independent from the Office of Francophone Affairs. The commissioner’s office processes complaints relating to the French Language Services Act, leads investigations to ensure it is respected, and submits an annual report to the minister which is then presented in the Legislative Assembly. 11) Do you know which regions are designated as officially bilingual in Ontario? The French Language Services Act guarantees the right to receive services in French from the provincial government at government offices located in designated regions of the province.   There are currently 25 regions designated under the Act. To obtain designation, a region must have at least a 10% proportion of Francophones, or in urban centres, there must be at least 5,000 Francophones. Here are the 25 designated regions: City of Toronto: all areas City of Hamilton: all areas of Hamilton as it existed on December 31, 2000 Regional Municipality of Niagara: the cities of Port Colborne and Welland City of Ottawa: all areas Regional Municipality of Peel: the town of Mississauga, the town of Brampton City of Greater Sudbury: the whole city Dundas County: Winchester Township Essex County: the city of Windsor; the cities of: Belle River and Tecumseh; Anderdon, Colchester North, Maidstone, Sandwich South, Sandwich West, Tilbury North, Tilbury West and Rochester Townships Glengarry County: all areas Kent County: the town of Tilbury; Dover and Tilbury East Townships Prescott County: all areas Renfrew County: the town of Pembroke; Stafford and Westmeath Townships Russell County: all areas Simcoe County: the town of Penetanguishene; Tiny and Essa Townships Stormont County: all areas Algoma District: all areas Cochrane District: all areas Kenora District: Ignace Township Nipissing District: all areas Sudbury District: all areas Thunder Bay District: the towns of Geraldton, Longlac and Marathon; Manitouwadge, Beardmore, Nakina and Terrace Bay Townships Timiskaming District: all areas Middlesex District: the city of London Parry Sound District: the municipality of Callander Frontenac County: the city of Kingston 12) French language licence plates in Ontario Did you know that since May 2008, Ontario residents have been proudly displaying the Franco-Ontarian emblem on French language licence plates? The new plate is available at vehicle licence issuing offices and ServiceOntario centres throughout the province. It costs $77.75. The licence plates with the Franco-Ontarian flag have been available since June 2003, but only with the English slogan “Yours to discover”. In May 2008, the French slogan became available: “Tant à découvrir” on standard issue plates. Now it’s possible to combine the two on the same plate: the Franco-Ontarian flag plus the French slogan.   13) Did you know that the Francophone community in Ontario has several private, public and community media outlets? Newspapers Ontario has a daily Francophone newspaper, Le Droit in Ottawa. There are 17 other communities in Ontario with a weekly Francophone newspaper, and among the main ones are L'Express in Toronto, Le Métropolitain in Toronto, Le Voyageur in Sudbury, L'Action in London-Sarnia, Le Rempart in the Windsor region, Le Journal de Cornwall in Eastern Ontario, Les Nouvelles de Timmins and Le Nord in Hearst. The list of community newspapers in Ontario can be found at: http://apf.ca/index.cfm?M=2437&Repertoire_No=2137988666&Voir=menu There are four student newspapers published in Franco-Ontarian universities and colleges, including La Rotonde, the Francophone newspaper at the University of Ottawa, Protem, the bilingual newspaper at Glendon College, L'Orignal déchaîné at Laurentian University and SagaCité at La Cité Collégiale. Television The television station most directly connected with Francophone Ontario is undoubtedly TFO, a public station managed by the Ontario government. TFO has transmitters in 18 communities throughout the province, but is only available through cable. In 2003, TFO produced its first Franco-Ontarian soap opera, FranCoeur. TFO is also broadcast in New Brunswick and Quebec Radio-Canada has three member stations in Ontario: CBOFT in Ottawa, CBLFT in Toronto and CBEFT in Windsor.  These stations are broadcast around the province and present the same programs, except for local news. CBOFT in Ottawa-Gatineau is in charge of all Ontario news. Rodgers is also an important community television channel in Ottawa. TVA, TV5 and RDI are available with all Ontario cable networks and these stations are designated by the CRTC to be carried by all Canadian cable companies. Where there is sufficient demand for other French language stations, cable companies can also offer TQS, MusiquePlus and RDS to the population. These stations merely have discretionary status outside of Quebec and New Brunswick. Radio The Franco-Ontarian community has radio services as well: the most important one is Radio-Canada (SRC)’s La Première Chaîne. SRC radio stations are located in Ottawa, Toronto and Sudbury, and are broadcast throughout the province. Espace Musique, the cultural channel of Radio-Canada, broadcasts only in Ottawa, Toronto, Sudbury, Windsor and Paris. Northern Ontario is served by commercial Francophone radio from Le5 Communications, owned by Franco-Ontarian lawyer Paul Lefebvre. The stations Le Loup FM 98.9 Sudbury (CHYC FM) and Le Loup FM 104.1 Timmins (CHYK FM) with 2 rebroadcasters CHYX FM 93.7 in Kapuskasing and CHYK-FM2 92.9 in Hearst. The network reaches approximately 100,000 listeners of the 220,000 who are able to tune in to the stations. Community radio in Chapleau, CHAP FM 95.9, rebroadcasts CHYC FM Sudbury; it is owned by Formation Plus, an educational training unit in Chapleau. Non-profit radio stations also exist in several communities. Among these are CFRH in Penetanguishene, CINN in Hearst, CKGN in Kapuskasing, CHOD in Cornwall, CFDN in North Bay and CHOQ in Toronto. The list of 7 community member stations in Ontario can be found at: http://microontario.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=15&Itemid=28 14) Have you heard of these famous Franco-Ontarians? Dan Aykroyd Franco-Ontarian actor (through his mother) Mauril Bélanger, federal deputy Napoléon Antoine Belcourt (1860-1932), Speaker of the House of Commons (1904-1905) Gilles Bisson, member of the Ontario legislature Lina Blais, actor Don Boudria, former federal deputy and minister Dan Boyle, hockey player, who played for the Tampa Bay Lightning and the San José Sharks Jim Carrey, actor and comedian Roch Castonguay, actor Jean Deschênes, actor Véronic DiCaire, pop singer The Dionne Quintuplets Luce Dufault, singer Roy Dupuis, actor Claude Giroux, hockey player with the Philadelphia Flyers Bob Hartley (hockey), former NHL coach with the Atlanta Thrashers Chantal Hébert, journalist Claude Julien, NHL coach with the New Jersey Devils Gisèle Lalonde, former mayor of Vanier and president of SOS Montfort Martin Laporte, comic writer, teacher Christian Laurin, actor Avril Lavigne, pop singer Diane Marleau, federal deputy and former health minister Paul Martin, former prime minister of Canada Madeleine Meilleur, minister of the Ontario government André Paiement, Canadian musician and composer Gilbert Parent, Speaker of the House of Commons (1994-2001) Robert Paquette, musician and composer Stéphane Paquette, singer, TV host and actor Jean Pearson, actor Jean Poirier, provincial politician Vincent Poirier, actor and improv performer Denis Potvin, former hockey player with the New York Islanders and four-time winner of the Stanley Cup Benoît Pouliot, hockey player for the Montreal Canadiens Denise Robert, movie producer Damien Robitaille, musician Brian St-Pierre, musician, composer and programmer (Festival Franco-Ontarien) Steve Sullivan, hockey player with the Nashville Predators Félix Tanguay, host of the program Les pieds dans la marge Antoine Vermette, hockey player with the Columbus Blue Jackets Stéphane Yelle, hockey player with the Calgary Flames 15) The Montfort affair Hôpital Montfort is the only French-language hospital in Ottawa, Ontario. It is also one of the only Francophone hospitals in the province, and the only Francophone university hospital centre west of Quebec. It was named in honour of Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort. The Conservative government of Mike Harris threatened to close this Franco-Ontarian institution at the end of the 1990s.   An impressive movement organized by SOS Montfort, whose petition gathered a vast number of signatures, allowed the hospital to remain open and to preserve its bilingual mission. Franco-Ontarian patients could continue to be cared for in their mother tongue. The Ontario provincial court of appeal came down in favour of the movement and prevented the government from closing the hospital. In 2005, the Liberal government of Dalton McGuinty invested amounts that would double the hospital’s capacity. 16 ) Ruling 17: a sombre event in the collective memory of Franco-Ontarians Ruling 17 was a ruling by the Education minister in Ontario, adopted in 1912 by the Conservative government of provincial premier Sir James P. Whitney[1]. The ruling limited the use of French “as a language of instruction and communication” in bilingual schools of the public and separate systems. The measure was strongly contested by French Canadians, in Canada and the United States. Quebec journalist Henri Bourassa denounced the aims of those he called “the Prussians of Ontario”.   Franco-Ontarians were vigorously opposed to this initiative, especially in the federal capital of Ottawa where École Guigues was at the centre of the controversy. In 1915, the provincial government of Sir William Hearst replaced the Ottawa school board by a government-appointed commission. After several years of resistance, the ruling was never fully applied.   The ruling was finally abrogated in 1927 by Howard Ferguson’s government. Although Ferguson was an opponent of bilingualism, he abrogated the ruling because he needed to form an alliance with Quebec premier, Louis-Alexandre Taschereau, against the federal government. The Conservative government recognized bilingual schools against its own wishes, but the ruling remained the root of strained relationships between Ontario and Quebec for many years afterward. Ruling 17 is considered a dark period in the collective memory of Franco-Ontarians even today. 17) If you would like to cater to Francophones in Ontario you should: Show flexibility and innovation in the choice of service model you adopt. A carbon copy of the services offered in English is not likely to succeed. 18) Did you know that Francophones represent multi-faith communities? Franco-Ontarians are adherents of Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, African and Caribbean traditional religions. 19) Are you familiar with the Franco-Ontarian directory? You can consult the Franco-Ontarian directory on the site of the Office of Francophone Affairs in Ontario at this link: http://www.apps.ofa.gov.on.ca/annuaire/search.aspx You will find the contact information for thousands of organizations that operate in Francophone communities in Ontario, in various fields of civic life (agriculture, sports and leisure, women’s, youth and elderly associations, daycares, schools, health and social service agencies, immigration, etc.) 20) Three Francophone community discourses In Francophone communities, three competing discourses each hope to dominate.  Each brings its own set of values, ideology and perceptions to the table. Traditional discourse:  The English are the enemy, we can’t trust them.  Strategy: survival/ defensiveness/ stick together and don’t mingle with them. Modern discourse:  We have rights and you must respect them. Strategy: courts of law/ confrontation/ advocacy (we want our institutions to preserve our language). Global discourse:  Language is an asset. Strategy:  promote the economic added-value of the language and use it to support our institution’s growth and the local economy. Source : Marcel Grimard - L'Association des communautés francophones de l'Ontario de Toronto: de la chanson à l'action - Francophonies d'Amérique 18:1 (2004) 149-155  21) A meaningful offer of French language services includes: Answering telephone, email etc. in French Including French on the Voice Messaging System Greeting people in French Posting bilingual signs Displaying French documentation prominently Clearly identifying your Francophone staff Clearly identifying the French language services booth, or line-up Planning lunch and break schedules to keep your FLS available at all times. 22) Francophone and citizen engagement New research from Maurice Lévesque, PhD, Sociologie et Anthropologie and Nathalie Burlone, PhD, Émilie Boyer (2010). Participation citoyenne, francophonie minoritaire et gouvernance des services de santé: les conceptions des acteurs. Ottawa University. In answer to the question: “when I think of citizen participation in the health sector within the Francophone minority I think of”: Governance and engagement Mobilization Conditions and successful factors Respect for the terrain condition Being valued and capacity development Identity and belonging Linguistic inclusion and diversity 23) Symbolic violence, a cause of assimilation Symbolic violence includes actions by which the dominant linguistic group forces the linguistic minority to use the dominant language. The concept of symbolic violence was first introduced by French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu to account for the tacit almost unconscious modes of cultural/social domination occurring within the every-day social habits maintained over conscious subjects. In the Francophone minority environment symbolic violence is expressed in these manners: I don’t understand French, It’s rude to speak French when others don’t! This is an English-speaking environment, please refrain from speaking French. I only speak Parisian French, I don’t understand Canadian French. Why are you asking for French services, don’t you speak English? Why offer French language services when you are only 4.8% of the population? 24) Interiorized oppression: Another reason for the assimilation of Francophones External oppression is the unjust exercise of authority and power by one group over another. It includes imposing one group's belief system, values and life ways over another group. External oppression becomes internalized oppression when we come to believe and act as if the oppressor's beliefs system, values, and life way is reality. "Self-hate" and "internalized racism" are other ways of saying internalized oppression. The result of internalized oppression is shame and the disowning of our individual and cultural reality. In Francophone culture it is characterized by: Discomfort with being Francophone. A desire to disassociate from the community Fear of displaying any differences Fear of making others angry Fear of not being able to receive services Fear of losing gains and credibility Fear of being seen as a “whiner” Fear that no one will listen if you speak French Passive acceptance of assimilation Pretending to belong to the majority to benefit from their privilege Believing that services in English are better than services in French. Source: FAIRE LE PONT > MIEUX COMPRENDRE LES SERVICES EN FRANÇAIS EN ONTARIO http://francofemmes.org/aocvf/documents/faire_le_pont_guide_fr.pdf Reference: Women’s Rural Advocacy Programs. Internalized Oppression. Page consulted on November 18, 2008. URL: http://www.letswrap.com/nadvinfo/internal.htm 3 To find out more about internalized oppression: Sirois, Ghislaine. 1999. Y a-t-il oppression des femmes francophones ? Ottawa. Action ontarienne contre la violence faite aux femmes. 25) Are you familiar with the Assemblée de la francophonie de l’Ontario (AFO)? An important organization in the Franco-Ontarian community is the AFO. Created in 2006, it serves as a rallying point for the Franco-Ontarian community. The AFO is a provincial non-profit organization bringing together the Francophone community in the province to fulfill its mandate as a political voice in French-speaking Ontario. AFO members come from organizations in various sectors of Francophone Ontario. http://afo.franco.ca