French bill

Canada is officially more bilingual than ever before. 

The government changed a language bill to enforce the “equality of status and use of English and French in Canadian society.” 

French language textbook

The amendment modifies and expands the bilingual requirements to include the private sector for the first time.

Reporter (Saskatchewan)

Christopher Oldcorn is a Saskatchewan Reporter for the Western Standard & Saskatchewan Standard. He studied at the Centre for Investigative Journalism at Goldsmith’s, University of London and served as editor-in-chief of the SaultOnline.

Recommended for you

(27) comments

LaraEm

The Liberals in the NA and the Liberals in Ottawa took us for granted. They have done so for the last time. All we got back....throw us under a convoy of busses!

If I sound angry, it's because I am. I am also very sad that no one stands up for us. We're alone in this battle.

LaraEm

Justin, thanks for throwing us, Anglophones and Allophones to the wolves! Definitely not voting for you or your party ever again.

LaraEm

Unfortunately, I live in Qc. I'm here because of my elderly parents. I can't stand being here with their threats of the French language constantly being shoved down our throats and their racism. Their bashing of Canada but no one can breathe a word about Qc. Please get the rest of the provinces together and vote them out. That's what they deserve.

martina1

Many great comments here.

Maybe French just isn’t a very useful language, get over it and join the 21st century. Of course the real reason is to increase QC and federal control.

LaraEm

They want to control everything here and in Canada. They lost the referendum twice. They couldn't achieve it. Therefore, if they couldn't get Qc out of Canada, they'll remove Canada from Qc. But.....they want the Canadian dollar, passport, equalization payments, etc.... Take Take Take!!!!

PersonOne

This will become another tool for Liberals.... they will vote for this, if the Bloc votes to support the removal of Canadian citizens freedoms

Shotinthebleepingdark23

You can't make it law to use another language. You can't force people to do this. Just like forcing people to take the jab. For governments own benefits. They think they are so high and mighty. It like some items aren't allowed in canada cause it doesn't have French language on it. They are so full of themselves. Get rid of this government.

Burnt Wood

This law doesn’t seem very equal. Where’s the protection for English in Quebec, where English is under attack?

LaraEm

It's all because they don't want us here. They use laws to threaten and remove us instead of guns. They remind me of someone.....

Left Coast

No one cares about French . . . it is even dying in France & around the globe.

"Since France began tightening up its language policies in the 1800s, regional languages have continuously declined as a result of neglect and even systemic abuse (students throughout the country’s state schools used to face stringent punishment for speaking in any regional language other than French). Global Voices notes that it’s not even clear whether or not French students in Occitan- or Basque-speaking regions will be able to study in their own languages come the beginning of the 2021–22 school year on Sept. 2."

THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE FRENCH LANGUAGE?

"It's been indisputable for some time that English is becoming the ‘universal language’. As the number of living languages has steadily decreased, the use of English has expanded on every continent. English may not yet have won the globe, but French has definitely lost it.

French has been most visibly hurt in the last few decades in Africa. In North Africa, French has had to compete with Arabic, a language which Arabs are now clinging to as proudly as the French have traditionally clung to French. South of the Sahara, countries which formerly had large French-speaking populations are making the switch to English due to its relevance in Southern Africa, as well as internationally.

In Algeria, after the Algerian War, French was mostly expunged. Its decline has continued, including the recent closure of French schools, as Arabic and English become the standard.

English, meanwhile, is becoming the most important Western language in Africa, replacing both French and Portuguese. An English derivative is the majority language of Sierra Leone, and remains an important language in South Africa, of course, as well as Nigeria, and various other smaller countries.

Former French-speaking colonies beyond Africa have been hostile to the French language. French has been collapsing even faster in Asia than it is in Africa, due to the isolation of French-speaking populations. In Vietnam, students have protested having to learn French, stressing the need to learn English instead. And in the Middle East, the Lebanese have been shucking off French in favor of English.

In any Darwinian model, a characteristic can become prominent, or it can be driven out of existence. Use of the French language has been globally dispersed, and French culture is without historical significance in many of its colonies. These are not the characteristics that increase a language's chances of survival."

https://www.newgeography.com/content/002387-the-decline-and-fall-french-language

bwright

More government mandates! If French is so well respected, as they affirm, then shouldn't it naturally thrive?

Seems to me to be the same thing with English - as kids get more involved with emojis, slang, colloquialisms, etc., it seems that the English language is taking quite a beating as well. Vocabulary, spelling, and certainly grammar, have all declined immensely in my lifetime.

Get over it. Spend the money on something worthwhile. Maybe reallocate some funds to be help narrow the gap between what the govt wants to pay and the "too much" that veterans are asking for??

G-MAN41

The same old ,same old. Canada's spoiled and fovored Liberal Province.I have lived in AB for the past 50 yrs and have heard the language of several countries. But not French.Stop shoving Quebec down our throats.Alberta PROUD.

free the west

I have one word for you - WEXIT.

terryc

I agree 100 %. Let's go

guest688

I'm In Free, Terry.. does tomorrow work for everyone!!

terryc

I'm not even kidding. I don't know how to get started, but I'm all in to help however I can.

PersonOne

That one 👍

originalkmiller

I look forward to Western independence and the day we can remove French as an official language. It's just a scheme to make sure Quebecers have the high-level positions in the federal government, and now federally regulated companies.

martina1

[thumbup][thumbup]

guest688

Sorry folks you’re over thinking this issue... it’s real simple Mr. Moe needs to pass language legislation... the official language of saskatchewan is English... the end!

BoomerOG

This is to ensure we never have a Prime Minister that does not speak French. So much for diversity.

Footloose

There are more liars and cheats in this government than any government since Pierre Trudeau's. Guess where most their cabinets came from. And we want to distribute that mentality across Canada. Lunacy.

terryc

Just a thought...

French and English were main languages of Canada since Canada's inception because of the history or France and England occupying parts of Canada and thrusting their influence upon said area. This happened due to the events of the day. Similarly, because of the events of the day in the US, English was taken as the official language there. Spanish has grown significantly in the US due to the type of immigration that occurred from Central and South America. At some point, it was considered to have Spanish as a second language in the US due to the natural circumstances that brought many native Spanish speakers to the country.

If a language is in decline due to natural circumstances in the country, you pour money into promoting and mandating its use, and it still continues to be in decline, is it a smart and prudent idea to pour money into trying to resurrect a language that is declining in said country. Also at the same time, minimal immigrants with said language are immigrating to said country for whatever reason. In Winnipeg for example, we have had many immigrants from India, Phillipines, and Nigeria, almost all of which come with ENGLISH fluency, even though English may be their second language after their native tongue. Then having to learn French might be their 3rd, or even 4th or 5th language.

I'm not really saying it's a good idea or not. I want to open the discussion to what people think is the pluses and minuses to this type of policy

BryanLumsden2003

Of course, the True-dolt Lieberals will define 'any region with a “strong francophone presence." ', as one person with a possibly French name, or has ever spoken a word in French, and lives within 5,000 miles of Quebec. THAT is their concept of a "strong francophonie presence".

TUCK FRUDEAU!

northrungrader

So my Grandfather was born in France, and emigrated after WWI. Having dealt with the French priests in Northern Saskatchewan, he very much scorned the francophones. He had nothing to do with anyone who couldn't speak proper French, including the bastardized version from Quebec. I think once we get past this provincial election, we need a very strong English language law in Alberta. Use the notwithstanding clause and override the federal mandates for anything inside Alberta borders. If anyone wants to complain, they can quite simply move to a whole province of the fake French.

guest356

Wonderful, then lets enforce this bill in QC as they are going in a totally opposite direction. But with our parochial parliament let's just try and make everyone else speak QC French instead of challenging their favourite province. I call BS.

Amy08

💯

Welcome to the discussion.

Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.