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Member for Alfred-Pellan supports Franco-Ontarians

November 23, 2018 - Laval, Quebec – The Member for Alfred-Pellan, Angelo Iacono, is calling out Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservative government for cutting services to Ontario’s francophone minority.

The recent cuts announced by Ontario Premier Doug Ford have caused a stir in Ottawa’s political circles. The drastic cuts in services to Franco-Ontarian communities have angered Liberal parliamentarians and francophones across the country. The cancellation of a French-language university, the abolition of the Office of the Commissioner of French Language Services and the withdrawal of a $2.9 million grant to francophone theatre company La Nouvelle Scène have been one slap in the face after another to the community.

“Our country is a bilingual country and support for linguistic minorities is crucial. We believe it is important for Quebec’s anglophones to have their own anglophone institutions (schools, universities, hospitals), and in turn we need to support francophone minorities outside Quebec,” said Angelo Iacono, MP for Alfred-Pellan.

Faced with these blows, Franco-Ontarians are fighting back. And Liberal MPs are right alongside them. On November 19, a motion was introduced for the House of Commons to recognize the importance of the Franco-Ontarian community within the Canadian Francophonie. The motion, which needed unanimous support to pass, also denounced the Ontario government’s decision to axe the French-language university and the Office of the French Language Services Commissioner. However, opposition voices rang out on the Conservative benches, blocking the motion.

“It’s disappointing that French-speaking Conservative MPs could not put their partisanship aside to support the French language and protect the rights of minorities,” said Angelo Iacono.

The Liberals are fighting on all fronts. The Minister of Tourism, Official Languages and La Francophonie, Mélanie Joly, said in the House: “Millions of francophones and francophiles are going to fight alongside our government and all parties who want to stand up for Franco-Ontarians.” She then urged Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer to speak to his “boss, Doug Ford," to reverse his decision.

In the wake of these cuts, Minister Joly announced she was reinstating the Court Challenges Program (CCP), which provides financial assistance to individuals to bring cases related to official languages rights or human rights before the courts. Abolished by the Harper government in 2006, the program has been revived by the Liberals with a broader scope to better reflect the case law in Canada. While not committing to an exact date when the funds would be made available, Minister Joly said that the CCP is “one more tool available to the Franco-Ontarian community to defend themselves in court.”

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Information
Office of Angelo Iacono, MP
300-3131 de la Concorde East
Laval, QC  H7E 4W4
450-661-4117
[email protected]