The Liberal government is considering ordering private businesses across the country to speak French, says a media report..Blacklock’s Reporter said the move would be made as cabinet considers changes to the 1969 Official Languages Act..“The private sector has a role to play,” said a federal report..“French is a minority language in this country and the Government of Canada recognizes the need to intervene vigorously to counter and remedy its decline,” said the report English And French: Towards A Substantive Equality Of Official Languages In Canada..“However, this important role cannot happen through government action alone.”.The current Act mandates bilingualism at federal departments and agencies and Air Canada. Amendments would expand mandatory French service to 18,000 federally-regulated private businesses including all airlines and airports, banks, grain mills, marine shippers, radio and TV stations, railways, telecom companies and interprovincial truckers..“The Government of Canada considers it important to act upon these companies to promote and protect the use of French as a language of service and work,” wrote staff. The Commissioner of Languages would gain “a power to encourage federally-regulated private businesses to promote the equal status of the official languages in order to increase the use of French.”.“The power to issue orders would be part of the new gradation of reinforced powers,” said the report..The Department of Canadian Heritage declined to comment when asked how federal agents would police the use of French, or whether scofflaws would be forced to pay cash fines..Federally-regulated businesses would be compelled to speak French in regions with a “strong francophone presence,” said the report. The department did not define “strong.”.“The demographic reality of North America is a permanent obstacle to the defence of the French language including in Québec,” said the report..“The government is concerned about this reality..“The government wishes that the modernized Act takes the situation of the French language into account,” said English And French..“The government proposes to overcome certain challenges, such as those around use of French in the workplace.” No legal text of the proposal was disclosed..Fewer than a tenth of English-speaking Canadians are bilingual, by official estimate. “The use of French at work and at home has also declined in recent years including in Québec,” said the report..French is now a fourth, fifth or even sixth language in some provinces, according to Census data. Westerners are more likely to speak Punjabi, Cantonese or Tagalog than French..Statistics Canada in a 2017 report Highlights Of The 2016 Census said Ontarians who speak Cantonese or Mandarin outnumber francophones. More Manitobans and Albertans speak the Philippines dialect Tagalog than French. Francophones in Saskatchewan numbered only 17,700, the fifth language group, after residents who spoke English, Tagalog, German or Cree..In British Columbia francophones numbering 72,000 rank sixth among language groups after residents who speak English, Punjabi, Cantonese, Mandarin and Tagalog..Dave Naylor is the News Editor of the Western Standard.dnaylor@westernstandardonline.com.Twitter.com/nobby7694
