Two Quebec scholars, Marcel Martel and Martin Pâquet, have published a fascinating, occasionally disturbing account of language politics in Canada. Their book, Speaking Up, is structured as an historical review, but it is really a study of public policy and cultural identity.
Successful societies must find ways to manage internal cleavages, whether economic, political, or cultural. Canada has many such divisions, such as Quebec’s recent conflicts over secularism and religious symbols. But, historically, our best leaders have promoted compromises between extremes, fostering a core Canadian value and our image as a reasonable, polite country.
Contemporary language policies are a good example of this. Language tensions, which have often been a lightning rod for community strife, are now reduced from earlier times. Across the country, there is more access to education and public services in both official languages.
Nevertheless, social interactions between communities remain sporadic. Federal official languages commissioner Graham Fraser warns us against complacency, because, he says, “polite obliviousness often hides a deep chasm in Canadian public consciousness.”
In Speaking Up, Martel and Pâquet take readers through six phases of Canadian language history, describing issues in colonial New France, the education crises of early Confederation, and recent periods of agitation and reform. They show how today’s policies reflect a wider acceptance of cultural diversity and a profoundly changed legal climate.
Language programs across Canada are hardly uniform, however. Witness the official bilingualism of the federal government and New Brunswick; the slow expansion of French in Ontario (it’s been called “bilingualism by stealth”); the French-first policies of Quebec (but with English education and services still available); and the English-first policies in other provinces (but with some increases in French education and services).
The key conclusion by Martel and Pâquet is that community activism, the impact of the 1982 Charter of Rights and Freedoms (notably Section 23 on official languages), plus four decades of program reforms have altered our “fundamental values of citizenship,” changing “the symbolic order” of the Canadian state.
Their interesting book is full of insights and explanations, but it has several shortcomings. It looks at our complex society through a single lens — language — and provides an in-depth study of one issue while ignoring many others. Equally compelling Canadian histories can be written on nasty religious tensions (notably Catholics versus Protestants), or ethnic divisions, or regional conflicts.
As well, the authors give little or no attention to people who fought to bridge divisions. Historic builders of compromise such as Thomas D’Arcy McGee, GeorgeÉtienne Cartier, and John A. Macdonald, or more recent figures such as Davidson Dunton, Lester Pearson, Frank Scott, and Keith Spicer, hardly rate a mention. Instead, the authors choose to cite the ideas and words of language radicals, both anglophone and francophone. This emphasis on extremism is misleading.
The book’s title reflects an intellectual schizophrenia that is stylish among some academic and political commentators. “A History of Language and Politics in Canada and Quebec” expresses an attitude of de facto separation. It implies that Quebec is not in Canada, no longer part of a dialogue within one country. The authors’ tone expresses their continuing anger, perhaps because they have focused too much on people who fomented conflicts, not solutions.
But this is part of Canada’s history, and Martel and Pâquet have added an important analysis of language policies and politics. Speaking Up should be read along with Graham Fraser’s 2006 volume, Sorry, I Don’t Speak French. Together, these books express vital insights into the language challenges — and opportunities — that still face Canada and our national identity.
— Victor Rabinovitch (Read bio)
Victor Rabinovitch former president of the Canadian Museum of Civilization (now the Canadian Museum of History), chair of Ottawa's Opera Lyra company, and an adjunct professor at Queen's University.