SPEAKING NOTES
for Commissioner François Boileau
Great debate
9th AGM
Assemblée de la francophonie de l’Ontario
“Do we still need French-language community media in
Ontario?”
Thursday, October 23, 2014
7:00 p.m.
Laurentian University
Fraser Auditorium
Sudbury, Ontario
10 minutes
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 Honoured guests,
 It is an honour for me to be here tonight.
 Thank you to the organizers for inviting me.
 I have been asked to set the table for this debate by
answering a number of questions on the role and needs of
the Francophone media.
 I wouldn’t dare to call myself an expert on the matter, but
we did analyze this subject in the study that we produced
on French-language community radio.
 My remarks this evening are based on that study, but will
extend to all media, not just radio.
“Do we still need French-language community media in Ontario”
L’Assemblée de la francophonie de l’Ontario
Sudbury, October 23, 2014
 It is true that language and identity are inextricably linked.
 In my view, if Ontario’s Francophone communities are to
survive and flourish, their members must be able to live,
grow and develop in French in Ontario.
 That means not only being able to use French in private – at
home, for example; in the community – at school or in
associations, for example; and in public settings – for
government services, on signs or at work; but it also
implies the perception that French is a language of
communication that is valued by the government and useful
for preserving cultural heritage.
“Do we still need French-language community media in Ontario”
L’Assemblée de la francophonie de l’Ontario
Sudbury, October 23, 2014
 So Francophone communities must be able to read, hear
and see themselves in French in a relevant and useful way.
 The presence of French in the media, on Radio-Canada in
Sudbury, for example, but also, and especially, the presence
of Francophone citizens of the region as important players
make the invisible visible.
 Such visibility enables the Francophone community to exist
publicly.
“Do we still need French-language community media in Ontario”
L’Assemblée de la francophonie de l’Ontario
Sudbury, October 23, 2014
 To quote Ginette Gratton: “If this community is invisible, it
doesn’t exist in actual fact. It exists only theoretically, in
what people say. And gradually, its members assimilate
what they see around them. It’s a natural reaction.
Eventually the day comes when they’ve forgotten who they
were, and the community ceases to exist.”
 In my opinion, it is not just hearing French spoken that is
important to the vitality of Ontario’s Francophone
communities; it is also – and above all – the relevance of
the message conveyed in French that affects the perception
of Francophone community members that French still,
today, has a raison d’être in daily life.
“Do we still need French-language community media in Ontario”
L’Assemblée de la francophonie de l’Ontario
Sudbury, October 23, 2014
 As others have said, “being Francophone is a choice you
make every day.”
 For that choice to be valued by the individual member of a
Francophone community in Ontario, it is not always
sufficient for the use of French to be an ideological choice;
particularly in areas where assimilation pressure is high, the
use of French must also satisfy a utilitarian need.
“Do we still need French-language community media in Ontario”
L’Assemblée de la francophonie de l’Ontario
Sudbury, October 23, 2014
 That utilitarian need may take the form of a requirement for
information about such things as the weather when you are
preparing for an activity, local road conditions when you
are getting ready to drive somewhere, the status of the
schools during a winter storm, or local community events
when you want to socialize.
 From my perspective, it is vital for those communities to be
able to “recognize” themselves so that they can justify the
choice of French on a daily basis.
“Do we still need French-language community media in Ontario”
L’Assemblée de la francophonie de l’Ontario
Sudbury, October 23, 2014
 The information conveyed in French must therefore be
relevant and meet the utilitarian needs of Francophone
community members in every part of Ontario.
 Federal and provincial institutions are there to help
Francophone citizens make the choice to communicate and
live in French.
 Those institutions are there to help Francophones in every
part of Ontario cope with isolation and tell themselves that
they are not alone, that they belong to a strong community
that still has a future.
“Do we still need French-language community media in Ontario”
L’Assemblée de la francophonie de l’Ontario
Sudbury, October 23, 2014
 Some sociologists occasionally refer to the concept of a
language’s “legitimacy.”
 That is, an individual’s perception that his or her language
enjoys public recognition.
 In my view, that might apply, for example, when a member
of the Francophone community hears someone from his or
her community speaking on French-language community
radio or reads about himself or herself in local newspapers.
“Do we still need French-language community media in Ontario”
L’Assemblée de la francophonie de l’Ontario
Sudbury, October 23, 2014
 It is not so much the use of French that will affect the
individual as the fact that communicating in French has
relevance because he or she is able to identify with it.
 In other words, it helps to validate both the individual’s
linguistic choice and his or her desire to belong to the
community.
 Thus, the choice of language as a vehicle for transmitting
information has some relevance.
“Do we still need French-language community media in Ontario”
L’Assemblée de la francophonie de l’Ontario
Sudbury, October 23, 2014
 But for Francophones living in a minority situation in
Ontario, the “content” of the communication is equally
important, sometimes even more important, to justify an
individual’s sense of belonging to a community.
 For myself, since I live in Toronto, if, for example, I am
faced with the choice between the SRC’s 6 p.m. Montreal
regional news in French and the CBC’s Toronto regional
news in English, I may opt for the English network because
the Montreal regional news is not very relevant to me in my
everyday life, even if it is in French.
“Do we still need French-language community media in Ontario”
L’Assemblée de la francophonie de l’Ontario
Sudbury, October 23, 2014
 So it’s not difficult for me to imagine how the members of
Ontario’s Francophone communities may sometimes
switch to English and stop making the daily effort required
to maintain the attachment to the Francophone community.
 When there is no institutional infrastructure, or when the
institutional infrastructure does not meet the needs of the
members of the community it serves, it is not surprising
that the members of that community may try to fulfil their
utilitarian need by other means.
“Do we still need French-language community media in Ontario”
L’Assemblée de la francophonie de l’Ontario
Sudbury, October 23, 2014
 The attraction to the Anglophone community is often very
strong when the community’s needs are not satisfied
through the existing Francophone institutional system.
 In my opinion, broadcasting information about Toronto
(weather, traffic, cultural activities, etc.) to places such as
Sudbury and the surrounding area does not meet the needs
of Northern Ontario’s Francophone communities and
increases the already very high risk of assimilation in that
region.
“Do we still need French-language community media in Ontario”
L’Assemblée de la francophonie de l’Ontario
Sudbury, October 23, 2014
 When a member of the Francophone community perceives
that his or her language is valued and useful in the public
sphere – for example, when he or she hears that community
being talked about in French on community radio – he or
she sees this as individual recognition.
 But that recognition also has a wider impact, an impact on
the entire Francophone community, if it helps justify the
individual’s choice of linguistic attachment on a daily
basis.
“Do we still need French-language community media in Ontario”
L’Assemblée de la francophonie de l’Ontario
Sudbury, October 23, 2014
 Conversely, an individual who has been assimilated
because of the majority language’s power of attraction is
contributing to the gradual erosion of an already fragile
minority community.
 Similarly, knowing not only that there is local
programming that meets local needs in French, but also that
the programming on shows such as “Le midi trente” and
“Grands Lacs café” gives Sudbury’s Francophone
community exposure across the province can also be a
great source of pride, which contributes appreciably to the
expansion of Francophone space in the public sphere and
consequently in the private sphere.
“Do we still need French-language community media in Ontario”
L’Assemblée de la francophonie de l’Ontario
Sudbury, October 23, 2014
 By actively offering service in French tailored to the needs
of Ontario’s Francophone citizens, the Francophone media
are sending the message that, despite the alarming data
about the French fact in their region, their language is still
useful and used.
 They are being told that they haven’t been fighting all these
years to obtain and manage French-language schools for
nothing.
“Do we still need French-language community media in Ontario”
L’Assemblée de la francophonie de l’Ontario
Sudbury, October 23, 2014
 That there is still a future beyond the schools. The
institution, as government-run, private and community
media should do, reassures citizens of their individuality,
and also as members of a vibrant, dynamic Francophone
community that has a future.
 If Ontario’s Francophone citizens no longer have the
opportunity to see themselves, hear themselves and be
informed, in French, about the important things in their
region, in short, if they no longer receive a service that is
moulded and tailored to meet their needs, they will be
forced to look elsewhere to satisfy those needs.
 That elsewhere is available exclusively in English.
“Do we still need French-language community media in Ontario”
L’Assemblée de la francophonie de l’Ontario
Sudbury, October 23, 2014
 Ontario’s Francophone citizens, who already live in a
minority situation, will get the signal that there is no longer
any point in continuing the fight of choosing to be
Francophone on a daily basis.
 Gradually, they will cease to be moved by the
disappearance of French from the public and community
sphere.
 And then, one day, they just won’t care anymore.
 That is how, insidiously, the scourge of assimilation does
its work.
“Do we still need French-language community media in Ontario”
L’Assemblée de la francophonie de l’Ontario
Sudbury, October 23, 2014