Fifty Years of Official Bilingualism
Challenges, Analyses and Testimonies
- Publisher
- Les Presses de l'Université d'Ottawa/University of Ottawa Press
- Initial publish date
- Nov 2021
- Subjects
- Comparative Politics, History & Theory, General
-
eBook
- ISBN
- 9780776638393
- Publish Date
- Nov 2021
- List Price
- $8.99
Library Ordering Options
Description
Fifty years ago, the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism published its final report. The result of innovative research and public consultations across the country, this report, replete with data and concepts, sets the stage for a comprehensive policy on official bilingualism, which would profoundly and indelibly change the face of Canada. The resolve to affirm the officially bilingual character of the country was met with the equally fervent determination to make French the common language of Quebecers.
This book provides a critical view of the content and the consequences of the report. It is the outcome of a series of conferences held across the country in 2013, which explored the impact of these two aspects. It combines analyses of the Commission's activities, its main players, and the specific content of certain volumes of the report.
The book is divided into three parts: the first outlines the progress accomplished since the publication of the report and contributors' views of the challenges which continue to create controversy; the second part provides analyses and studies of topics covered by the Commission, effectively demonstrating how far things have evolved; and the third features testimonials, including a fascinating conversation between the first Commissioner for Official Languages, Keith Spicer, and the Commissioner in office at the time of publication, Graham Fraser.
About the authors
Richard Clément's profile page
Pierre Foucher est professeur titulaire à la Faculté de droit de l’Université d’Ottawa, tant du côté common law que droit civil. En 2015-2016, il a aussi dirigé le Centre de recherche en civilisation canadienne-française (CRCCF) de l’Université d’Ottawa. Son expertise porte sur les droits linguistiques des minorités francophones au Canada.
Graham Fraser is an author and journalist who served as commissioner of official languages from 2006 to 2016. He lives in Ottawa.
François Boileau's profile page
Raymond-M Hébert's profile page
Sherry Simon teaches in the Département d'études françaises at Concordia University and is active in the Literary Translators Association of Canada. She is co-editor, with David Homel, of Mapping Literature: The Art and Politics of Translation (Véhicule 1988).
Michelle Landry's profile page
Matthieu LeBlanc's profile page
Éric Forgues, PhD, est sociologue de formation. Depuis 2012, il est directeur général de l’Institut canadien de recherche sur les minorités linguistiques (ICRML). De 2003 à 2012, il y a été directeur adjoint et chercheur. Ses travaux portent notamment sur le développement des communautés en contexte minoritaire, plus particulièrement sous l’angle de la gouvernance, de l’organisation communautaire et de l’organisation des services destinés aux francophones.