That Tempestuous Teapot

"You must know, we fought for our primary schools and high schools in Ontario, and we won. Mr. [Ontario Premier Doug] Ford, we fought for our francophone colleges in Ontario, and we won."
"Mr. Ford, we are fighting for our francophone university, and we will win!"
Ronald Caza, francophone lawyer

Franco-Ontarians protest cuts to French services by the Ontario government in Ottawa on Dec. 1, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Patrick Doyle

For four percent of the population of the Province of Ontario, a deficit-cutting move by the new(ish) Conservative premier of the province in an effort to cut back on the massive debts the previous Liberal government mounted with insouciant disregard for the future -- insisting that they will be harmed by the cuts is absurd. They are not, in actual fact, being short-changed. And eliminating an unbuilt university along with three others for anglophones is not a direct assault on the culture and language of francophones in the province in isolation of any other concerns.

"Our message is clear to governments who act to reduce rights: Go read your history books!", shouted federal Official Languages Minister Melanie Joly at a boisterous rally held in Ottawa, praising protesters for "defending a vision of our country". And that's just it; they are defending a 'vision' of the country for there is no need to protest an absent effort to diminish services for Ontario francophones, merely a stab at consolidating services in a more efficient manner. There are no Ontarians gathering to protest the cancellation of three anglophone-speaking universities.

It isn't difficult, however, to arouse anger and resentment leading to heated arguments and accusations to gather francophones to raucous gatherings of protests when they've been convinced through a delicate sense of entitlement, hysteria and slanted news coverage that their rights as francophone Canadians are being abridged. Predictably, the Quebec legislature has gone to the trouble of denouncing this move by their Ontario counterparts.

MPP Amanda Simard, left, poses with three-year-old Glorianne Gaudreau-Cheff at the rally in Hawkesbury. (Submitted by Marilou Gaudreau)

Under Premier Doug Ford's cost-cutting efficiencies the decision to cancel plans for a stand-alone French-language university and to eliminate the independent and underused office of the French-language services commissioner galvanized the inner victim at rest in the bosoms of most Canadian French-speakers into action. Normally reasonable people became passionately involved in protesting an anglophone government out to devalue French and yet again victimize francophones.

A later announcement in response to the furor that the government would create a compensatory commissioner position to be installed within the office of the provincial ombudsman and establish a Ministry of Francophone Affairs, hiring a senior policy adviser on francophone affairs to be installed in the premier's office has done little to assuage the outrage. That a rookie member of the Conservative caucus representing an Ottawa francophone community resigned in high dudgeon speaks to the superficial gravity of the situation.

There are three universities in the province offering French-language courses, a more than sufficient service to the francophone community; adding another one is in actual fact redundant, a move made by the Wynne Liberal government to ensure that gratified francophones would continue to vote Liberal as they are wont to do. The austerity measures undertaken by her successor in an effort to counteract the mad, spendthrift waste of the Liberal governance is long overdue.

Around 300 people called for the premier to 'review his Canadian history' outside his constituency office in Etobicoke. (Rozenn Nicolle/Radio-Canada)