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Are far-reaching language rights defensible in a liberal society? Language Rights in French Canada explores this question in the context of a political culture long hostile to Québec's language laws, and increasingly resistant to official bilingualism across Canada. It argues for the moral validity of collective goals that aim to preserve and promote the French-Canadian identity in and outside Québec. This book makes a compelling case for recognizing strong language rights as a matter of justice. Pierre A. Coulombe addresses crucial issues about the coexistence of language communities in Canada, issues that will surely resonate in multilingual America.
On what grounds should language rights be accorded in Canada, and to whom? This is the central question that is addressed in C. Michael MacMillan's book The Practice of Language Rights in Canada. The issue of language rights in Canada is one that is highly debated and discussed, partly because the basic underlying principles have been a neglected dimension in the debate. MacMillan examines the normative basis of language rights in Canadian public policy and public opinion. He argues that language rights policy should be founded upon the theoretical literature of human rights. Drawing on the philosophy behind human rights, the arguments for recognizing a right to language are considered, as well as the matter of whether such rights possess the essential features of established rights. Another model that is examined is the idea that rights are a reflection of the established values, attitudes, and practices of society. This analysis reveals that there is a significant gap between what a political theory of language rights would endorse and what garners support in public opinion. MacMillan also scrutinizes the federal and provincial contexts in the development of a language rights framework. From these explorations, a case is developed for a recognition of language rights that is consistent with the logic of human rights and that corresponds roughly with developing Canadian practice. The Practice of Language Rights in Canada is a unique contribution to the current literature not only because it conceives of language rights as a human right but also because it frames the whole debate about language rights in Canada as a question of values and entitlements.
"From the time of its inception in Canada, multiculturalism has generated varied reactions, none more starkly than between French and English Canadians. In this groundbreaking new work, Eve Haque examines the Government of Canada's attempt to forge a national policy of unity based on 'multiculturalism within a bilingual framework, ' a formulation that emerged out of the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism (1963-70). Uncovering how the policies of bilingualism and multiculturalism are inextricably linked, Haque investigates the ways in which they operate together as part of our contemporary national narrative to favour the language and culture of Canada's two 'founding nations' at the expense of other groups. Haque uses previously overlooked archival material, including transcripts of royal commission hearings, memos, and reports, to reveal the conflicts underlying the emergence of this ostensibly seamless policy. By integrating two important areas of scholarly concern -- the evolution and articulation of language rights in Canada, and the history of multiculturalism in the country, Haque provides powerful insight into ongoing asymmetries between Canada's various cultural and linguistic groups."--Publisher's website.
Explores parallel and divergent developments in language policy and language rights in the U.S. and Canada, especially the past 4 decades, as a basis for reflection on what can be learned from one country's experience by the other.
Language rights have emerged as an issue within the study of general human rights among modern normative theorists, but the complexity of the relationship between languages and societies makes them extraordinarily complex. Against this background, this paper will address efforts to reach a workable equilibrium between the ideals and implementation of language rights in Canada, treating language rights as a problem in policy implementation. Our research draws on extensive administrative reports and evaluations, media coverage, and the limited existing academic literature on the subject, as well as qualitative interviews with administrative officials. Canada's language policies are wide-ranging and complex -- covering issues such as preservation and development of minority language communities, societal respect for languages, and language rights in courts and in the work place. Our paper will focus primarily on the two official languages, English and French, and the effort to implement official languages policy at the federal level in the areas of service to the public and language of work following the enactment of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1982 and passage of the revised and expanded Official Languages Act in 1988. While the concept of official languages has extensive historical roots, it has been elevated from the realm of political strategy to that of an individual right. An institutional framework and a committed bureaucracy are in place to implement the official languages policy, represented in responsibilities assigned to the Commissioner of Official Languages, the Treasury Board Secretariat, and Canadian Heritage, headed by the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages. Although polling data and anecdotal evidence suggests a broad acceptance of language rights by Canadians and by the federal public service, support for language rights has also been described as fragile and in constant need of refurbishing. The Commissioner of Official Languages recently expressed concern that support for the official languages policy had begun to plateau, and our research suggests that a fragile equilibrium may be emerging between the policy and its idealized goals on one hand and practical constraints posed by countervailing social and political interests as well as technical issues in implementation. At the same time, Canadian society is showing signs of generally embracing official bilingualism in practice.
Canada’s official languages legislation fundamentally altered the composition and operational considerations of federal institutions. With legislative change, Canada’s public service has achieved the equitable representation of its two official languages groups, provided services to the public in both official languages, and has codified rights for public servants to work in their official language of choice. On paper, the regime is robust. In practice, there is a persistent divergence between policy and practice, as English dominates as the regular language of work in the federal public service. Through an historical institutionalist lens based on extensive archival research and semi-structured interviews, Gaspard shows that the implementation of official languages policy in the federal public service from 1967–2013 could not challenge the predominance of English as the operating language of the federal public service. The analysis of the roles of actors, ideas and institutions that influenced the policy implementation process show that a lack of structural change, inadequate managerial engagement, and a false sense that both official languages are equally ingrained in the public service explain the persistence of English as the dominant language of work. This book is published in English. - La politique sur les langues officielles du Canada a transformé la composition et les considérations opérationnelles des institutions fédérales. Grâce aux modifications législatives, la fonction publique du Canada a réussi à mettre en place une représentation équitable de ses deux groupes de langues officielles, assure la prestation de services au public dans les deux langues officielles, et a procédé à la codification des droits des fonctionnaires de travailler dans la langue officielle de leur choix. En théorie, le régime est robuste. En pratique, il existe un fossé entre politique et pratique, l’anglais s’étant établi comme langue dominante de travail dans la fonction publique fédérale. En adoptant une approche historique à cette question institutionnelle et au moyen de recherches archivistiques et d’entrevues mi-structurées, Gaspard fait valoir que de 1967 à 2013, la mise en oeuvre du programme de langues officielles à la fonction publique fédérale n’a pu influer sur la trajectoire de l’anglais comme langue prépondérante de travail. L’analyse des rôles des intervenants et des institutions qui ont façonné le processus met en lumière le fait que l’absence de changements structurels, l’engagement insuffisant des gestionnaires, de même que la perception erronée que les langues officielles sont toutes deux bien ancrées dans la fonction publique se conjuguent pour expliquer la persistance de l’anglais comme principale langue de travail. Ce livre est publié en anglais.