Official Languages Act's 40th year marked
Last Updated: Wednesday, September 9, 2009 | 1:38 PM ET
CBC News
English and French have officially had equal status as Canada's languages of government and justice for 40 years this week.
The anniversary of the Official Languages Act, which came into force on Sept. 7, 1969, is being marked in Ottawa by events ranging from an art exhibit to an academic symposium.
Heritage Minister James Moore announced Wednesday that the University of Ottawa will administer a new program to:
- Settle language disputes out of court.
- Support court cases that advance and clarify constitutional language rights that haven't been possible to sort out using the dispute resolution.
- Promote awareness of language rights through public education.
The language rights support program, first announced by the government in June 2008, is expected to be up and running by the end of 2009, Moore said as he opened a two-day symposium at the university called "40 Years of Official Languages in Canada: Our History and the Path Ahead."
Moore, 33, said he experienced the Official Languages Act in a very personal way, as he grew up in an anglophone family, but he and his sisters studied in French immersion schools. They all went on to work in French, he added.
For them, the act isn't just about protecting the "French fact" in Canada, though that is part of it, Moore said.
"It's also about celebrating our past, looking ahead to the future, and not just protecting the French fact in Canada, but looking at the French fact in Canada … as a great opportunity to unify our country, to seize opportunities for the future."
Cartoons trace history
The week's events also include the opening of an art exhibition at Library and Archives Wednesday by Graham Fraser, commissioner of official languages. Called Déjà Vu: 40 Years of Language and Laughter in Political Cartoons, it traces the history of the act.
Daniel J. Caron, librarian and archivist of Canada, said in a statement that the anglophone space and francphone space express different worldviews.
"The ability to speak these languages grants access to these spaces and to their riches, their ideas, their democratic traditions and, of course, their markets."
The main exhibition will be on display until December 2009 in Ottawa, while a smaller version is currently touring Canadian cities across the country.
