A WORD FROM THE COMMISSIONER

If I asked you, out of curiosity, to give a brief summary of what you have read, seen or heard regarding official languages over the past few months, it is quite possible you would reply: problems, problems and more problems! But, believe me, it has not been all problems. Yes, it is true that on a number of occasions I have criticized the federal government for its flagrant lack of leadership regarding full implementation of the Official Languages Act; that is part of my mandate. On the other hand, there have been a few promising advances that cause me to be optimistic.

In the current issue of INFOACTION, you will see that, in fact, there is a great willingness to consider linguistic duality as a fundamental value, one of the pillars of Canadian identity. That is why I was very pleased to hear that Mr. Stéphane Dion, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, will take on the federal leadership with regard to official languages for the government. Mr. Dion will ensure coordination among the three key departments that, along with his own department, are responsible for official languages: Canadian Heritage, Department of Justice Canada and the Treasury Board. He will oversee co-operation among these bodies, which will keep their respective responsibilities in the area of official languages.

In this issue of INFOACTION, various questions are discussed, one of which is a personal priority: official language communities and immigration. We will also hear from a public servant in Vancouver who talks about how official languages make up a large part of her daily work. Finally, I hope that each page of this bulletin will remind you that there is a spring, the sign of a new season in the world of official languages.

I hope you all have a wonderful summer with lots of sunshine, not too much rain, and a bit of a rest!

THREE CHEERS FOR THE CHAMPIONS!

Whenever official languages come up for discussion in the federal government, there often seems to be a problem. However, it's not all problems. Far from it. INFOACTION wants to tell you about a successful initiative that should interest you.

As you know, the Treasury Board plays an important leadership role in official languages. Among other things, it encourages all federal institutions subject to the Official Languages Act to take the steps needed to raise the visibility of official languages.

Things have been moving rapidly since 1998, when policy development and the publication of two reports* led to a program called Official Languages: An Integral Part of Decision Making. This is usually called the Official Languages Champions Program. The general public should know more about this program because it demonstrates the enormous importance that many public servants attach to official languages.

The Treasury Board had an excellent idea -- ask federal departments and agencies, as well as Crown corporations, to appoint official languages champions to raise the visibility of official languages, which are too often hidden behind the scenes. A task force of the Treasury Board Secretariat's Departments and Agencies Advisory Committee on Official Languages was therefore set up.

The task force developed a very practical guide for champions, a guide that can also be used by everyone in federal institutions. The main purpose of this guide is to encourage federal departments and agencies to take official languages into account when making decisions that deal with the departments' or agencies' functions and statutory activities. In other words, the champions' role is to ensure that official languages are not forgotten but made an integral part of the decision-making process in institutions.

How to meet this enormous challenge? To enable the champions to achieve their goal, the guide suggests 36 strategic activities, grouped around four themes:

This list of 36 activities can help champions decide what would best promote official languages and make them more visible.

But who are these CHAMPIONS? Are they crowned at the conclusion of Olympian linguistic jousts? Not quite. As we mentioned above, they are public service employees who are appointed champions by their departments. They act as resource persons to ensure that official languages are active. The suggested strategic activities show clearly that the program has what it takes to yield positive results. Here are but a few such activities:

The best way to show the program is really working is now to cede the floor to someone who has been using it and making it work. INFOACTION is pleased to be able to publish Ms. Barbara Fulton's account. She is the Deputy Commissioner of Regional Operations for the Pacific Region of the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency.

CONVERSATION WITH AN OFFICIAL LANGUAGES CHAMPION

Barbara Fulton began to take an interest in the French language when she was a young grade 5 student in a Vancouver school. Little did she know at the time that one of the country's two official languages was to play a significant role in her future career.

At the end of high school, Barbara Fulton went to Neuchâtel, Switzerland, where she finished her grade 13 living with a French-speaking Swiss family. Back in Canada, she obtained a B.A. with a major in French after three years at the University of British Columbia. Her interest in the French language continuing to grow, she studied arts at Caen, France, thanks to a scholarship from the French government. In 1975, she was awarded a master's degree in French Canadian studies from the University of British Columbia. The topic of her master's thesis was the novels of Anne Hébert. Ms. Fulton joined the federal public service in 1973, holding various positions. In 1996, she was named Assistant Deputy Minister (now Assistant Commissioner) of Regional Operations for the Pacific Region at Revenue Canada (now the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency).

Recently Ms. Fulton graciously agreed to an interview with INFOACTION. Here are the highlights of this conversation with a true Champion of Official Languages.

INFOACTION:
Where does your interest in the French language come from?

BARBARA FULTON:
First of all, I have to admit that I grew up in a community where my only exposure to French was a few minutes each day at school. My parents didn't understand or speak French. I took some French second-language courses, starting in grade 5 as required by the curriculum. We were taught just the basics of written French. I very quickly became curious about French and developed a taste for it that I can't explain.

INFOACTION:
When you got to high school, why did you want to continue studying French?

B.F.:
Frankly, the more I discovered about French, the more learning it became a "game." It was as if I held the key to a secret that opened all sorts of doors for me and made me feel as if I had some kind of mysterious power. My ongoing exploration of French was constantly fascinating. There's no doubt that the culmination of this "game" was my discovery of French literature. The first novel I read was in French and ... the "game" continues!

INFOACTION:
So reading novels in French really got you into it?

B.F.:
Yes, I've never stopped enjoying, studying, learning about and speaking French.

INFOACTION:
And even working in French?

B.F.:
That wasn't always possible. During my first years in the federal public service, I held various positions related to airport maintenance in Western Canada. To my great regret, I didn't use my French much at all.

INFOACTION:
Did you have doubts at the time about the importance of French as a language of work within federal institutions?

B.F.:
It didn't turn out that way. In the eighties, I had the good fortune to get a secondment that brought me to Ottawa. There, I realized that the federal public service was going through some wonderful changes with the implementation of the Official Languages Act. I have to say that, at that time, there was a real change in mentality about bilingualism. More and more public servants were looking at the knowledge of French not so much as an obligation but as an essential element of service to the public, who have the right to be served in the language of their choice.

INFOACTION:
To what did you attribute this change in mentality that you saw?

B.F.:
There's no question that the emergence of the "immersion generation" had a lot to do with it. The federal Public Service Commission was recruiting more and more young, bilingual employees. The globalization movement was just starting. So Canada was opening up more to the world -- hence the collective realization of the value of Canada's linguistic duality.

INFOACTION:
Let's talk now about the Official Languages Champions Program. Why did you get involved?

B.F.:
I was honoured to be able to provide some leadership on the executive committee to ensure that the important decisions made there took official language obligations into account. I also saw the Champions Program as an excellent way to maintain and increase our ties with the minority Francophone community.

INFOACTION:
How has the Program been received by the employees generally?

B.F.:
In general, very well. At the Agency, there are three of us "Champions" delivering the Program. I work closely with Linda Gobeil, Assistant Commissioner in the Human Resources Branch, and Élisabeth Châtillon, Assistant Commissioner, Quebec Region. It's important to note that this Program also aims to make English visible as an official language in federal institutions in Quebec, in terms of service to the public, language of work and equitable participation, not to mention support for the Anglophone community of Quebec.

INFOACTION:
So it was relatively easy to interest the staff in the Program?

B.F.:
As people became more familiar with its objectives, the Program was better understood and accepted. We emphasized the importance of giving French its rightful place as an official language. We also emphasized personal enrichment, and the enrichment of our organization, through stronger ties with the Francophone community. The Agency comes out a winner in both the short and long terms.

INFOACTION:
At the time when your organization was going through certain institutional changes, wasn't there a danger of this official languages program being relegated to the background?

B.F.:
From the time our Agency was created, senior management spared no effort to ensure that we didn't lose sight of the official languages. In a sense, the Program arrived at just the right moment. We took advantage of the opportunity to raise the visibility of French through various practical and effective measures, such as updating an employees' guide and a brochure on French as a language of work.

INFOACTION:
How has the Program made it possible to reach the official-language minority community?

B.F.:
The Program has allowed us to solidify existing ties and create new ones with the region's Francophone community and with the provincial and territorial associations. So the Program is helping us build the network that links us to the community, and at the same time, is giving us the chance to create new networks with other departments and central agencies in the Pacific Region. Thanks to the Program, we are now working in partnership not only with the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada, but also with the Treasury Board and the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages.

These are strengthened partnerships that are really helping to make a difference.

INFOACTION:
As an Official Languages Champion, do you feel that you have some influence on your Agency's executive committee?

B.F.:
I like to think so. I bring to the committee a different perspective, one that's based mainly on the daily delivery of services to the public by our Agency. I bring the perspective of the official language community and of the people responsible for service delivery. French as an official language is increasingly visible at our Agency, and clearly the Champions Program has a lot to do with that.

INFOACTION:
Can you give us a few examples of this visibility?

TIME FOR ACTION TO MAKE AN IMPORTANT CHANGE

The time has come for action to change the organizational culture of the federal public service in order to provide quality service in both official languages. On April 24, the Commissioner of Official Languages, Dr. Dyane Adam, released a national report on service to the public in English and French.

A FIRST, BUT CERTAINLY NOT A LAST

Why is it that immigration has not had a significant impact on the growth of the Francophone population outside of Quebec? Statistics from the past 15 years indicate that, in Canada, only 3 percent of immigrants are of Francophone origin and that 82 percent of these settle in Quebec.

This situation greatly concerns the Commissioner of Official Languages and she is making the question of immigration and official language communities a priority. She intends to move the issue forward and to intervene effectively with the various bodies having responsibilities in this sector.

On March 29, 2001, Dr. Adam held a meeting in Ottawa to bring together those working in the field, officials from a number of federal departments, as well as specialists on the issue of immigration. It was the first consultation of its kind to take place in an effort to provide OCOL with specific suggestions that will contribute to solving a major problem in Canada.

The Commissioner has already made a presentation to the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration of the House of Commons. This committee drafted Bill C-11, which proposes significant reform to the Immigration Act. Dr. Adam would like the committee to add the following objective to the Bill: to renew the demographic makeup of official language communities through the process for selecting and settling immigrants and integrating them into Canadian society.

During this first consultation, the Commissioner asked participants to answer three major questions:

1. How can we attract more immigrants to official language communities in order to promote equal resourcing of these communities?
   
2. How can we ensure that immigrants are welcomed in such a way that they will want to fully participate in community life?
   
3. What steps should be taken to encourage their integration into the communities?

The discussions on these issues were most productive. Participants provided a number of findings and recommendations that show it is very important for the relevant government departments -- Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Human Resources Development Canada, Canadian Heritage and Health Canada -- to act in partnership with official language communities, which have varied needs and resources. Without listing all of the recommendations, it is important to note that participants focused on the co-operation that must exist among various federal government stakeholders, representatives from official language communities, and the immigrants themselves, who must be closely involved in developing all joint initiatives.

Participants asked OCOL to continue to play an important role in this issue. As a result, OCOL will be able to inform the various stakeholders about the status of the issue, to sensitize policy-makers to the importance of immigration and to motivate them to take the necessary steps.

When thanking participants, Dr. Adam said, "Nobody has all the answers but each person holds a piece of the puzzle. Our job is to bring everyone with a piece of the puzzle to work together. There are different areas of responsibility to mobilize for purposeful action. The most important thing is a show of commitment from the federal government. On a global scale, immigration is a significant issue."

This March 29 consultation is only the first of many that will follow in the upcoming months on other issues of great importance to the Commissioner. A first, but certainly not the last!

A PARTNERSHIP FOR THE SEVENTH TIME

Since 1994, the Alliance des radios communautaires du Canada (ARC) and the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages have worked in partnership. In fact, ARC regularly collaborates with OCOL to promote the language rights of official-language minority communities, the mission of the Commissioner and the services offered by the Commissioner's regional offices.

This partnership revolves around two main themes: public information and public feedback. Over the years, co-operation between OCOL and ARC has taken various forms: information "capsules" about OCOL broadcast by radio stations, radio contests, vignettes, etc.

The 2000-2001 project, in this seventh year of the partnership, aimed at making communities understand why it is necessary to increase the visibility of the French language. The project, entitled Chronique des Ambassadeurs de la francophonie, was carried out with the help of seven radio stations in Francophone communities:

Between March 16 and April 6, 2001, these stations broadcast:

Each radio station chose two regional personalities to become "Francophonie Ambassadors." Each Ambassador put together two Francophonie success stories from their community. In addition to broadcasting the feature by the Commissioner, the Réseau des francophones d'Amérique (RFA) conducted an interview with Dr. Adam.

Thanks to the partnership with ARC, the Commissioner was able to help increase the visibility of French, an official language, while communicating with a large number of Canadians. For their part, the Ambassadors added some local colour to the project, which was deemed another great success.

A DISTINGUISHED AWARD

Since 1998, the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages has provided the Quebec Writer's Association (QWA) with $2,000 to be bestowed as a literary translation prize. At a recent gala in Montreal, Eva Ludvig, the Commissioner's representative for the Quebec Region, awarded this prize to Claire Dé for Montréal barbare, a translation of City of Forgetting by Robert Majzels (Mercury Press). A former theatre set decorator and costumer, Claire Dé holds a degree in journalism from the Université de Montréal. Novelist, essayist, playwright and translator, she has also written for television. In 1989, she won the Stendhal prize for Le désir comme catastrophe naturelle.

A LIGHTHOUSE STUDY

We all know that the word "study" scares many people. Some would even say that studies are difficult to understand, there are too many of them, and nobody really knows whom they are for and what their purpose is.

FUTURE JOURNALISTS

Jeune reporter-radio is the name of the prize awarded by the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages to the winners of a contest organized by the Association canadienne d'éducation de langue française (ACELF) in co-operation with the Alliance des radios communautaires du Canada (ARC). The aim of this contest, one of the activities scheduled to take place during the Semaine nationale de la francophonie, was to recognize the talent and creativity of students in grades 7 to 12 in producing a radio report. This year's theme was "People and things that increase the influence of French" ("Des gestes et des gens qui font rayonner le français").

Radio professionals helped the contestants produce their reports. The jury based its decision on the following criteria: radio quality, originality and relevance of content, and ease and quality of spoken French.

This year, the Jeune reporter-radio prize was awarded to Christine Coulombe and Jacqueline Robichaud, two grade 8 students from École Monseigneur-Jean-Noël in Windsor, Ontario, for their report on the Windsor-Detroit region's tricentennial celebrations.

Dr. Dyane Adam awarded a $1,000 prize to the two happy winners at a ceremony that took place at the Canadian Museum of Civilization, in Hull, on March 20, 2001, the Journée internationale de la Francophonie 2001.

AN AMAZING STORY

... for all the children who are enrolled in French immersion! We would like to thank the Ottawa Citizen for allowing us to reproduce the following article, published on February 15, 2001.

Dubs voice of Anouk after auditioning for role.

By Tony Lofaro

Moviegoers already bubbling over the deliciously rich Oscar-nominated film Chocolat are bound to miss the on-screen voice of Navan actress Sally Taylor-Isherwood in one of the key roles.

The performance of the young girl, Anouk -- played by Victoire Thivisol -- who plays the daughter of Juliette Binoche in the film stands out; but her entire vocal part was done by 10-year-old Sally in an ingenious bit of movie dubbing. The English-language film about Ms. Binoche opening a chocolate shop in a small French town scored big on Tuesday, winning five Academy Award nominations, including best picture.

Sally was called in at the last minute to redub the voice of Victoire, a job that required precise lip-syncing to the words that had been already spoken by the actress. Sally completed the movie dubbing last fall in studio sessions in Montreal and Toronto, while also receiving acting tips via telephone from the film's director, Lasse Hallstrom, who was based in New York City.

She said it was her first effort at dubbing someone else's voice. "It was pretty different from acting," Sally said yesterday in an interview.

"You had to get straight on with what she (Victoire) is talking about and in acting, you're doing the whole thing yourself."

She said she had the script in hand and had to read the same words as those previously voiced by Victoire while always keeping an eye on the movie scenes being played in front of her on a screen.

"I did all her talking, coughing and laughing," said Sally, a Grade 5 student at Meadowview Public School in Navan. The dubbing sessions were done for about four hours a day over a four-day period.

The most difficult part, she said, was nailing down the accent of the French girl in the movie, she said.

The producers were not satisfied with the voice of Victoire in the film and sought to redub it.

"My French accent is good because I'm in a French immersion course. My mom actually helped me with the accent, so I was actually doing a British accent with French on top of it."

She said she received plenty of help and encouragement from Mr. Hallstrom, who was in a studio in New York listening to her dubbing.

"Sometimes he would say more expression or more energy in this scene. I thought he was really, really nice. He spoke to me very nicely."

Interestingly, Sally had auditioned for the role of the young girl in the film last March, but lost out to Victoire. Producers remembered Sally when they were searching for another actress to dub the part.

The only demand Sally placed on the Hollywood producers was to postpone one day's dubbing in Toronto so she could attend a school soccer tournament.

"I did not want to miss the tournament because it was my first year playing for the school soccer team. We ended up winning a silver medal."

Next up for Sally and her sister, Emma, 13, are the roles of playing on-screen sisters in the television series The never Ending Story. It begins filming in March in Montreal for the Odyssey Network, a cable channel.

"We're pretty good at playing sisters," she chuckled.