Overview

Date of entry into Confederation: July 15, 1870
Capital: Winnipeg
Population: 1.1 million  (2001)
Official language: English
Majority group: English (75.8%)
Minority groups: French (4.1%), other languages (19.9%)
Language laws: City of Winnipeg Act (1971), Elections Act of 1987; Multiculturalism Act of 1992; French-language services policy of 1999

Manitoba

Manitoba's linguistic policy is a direct result of court judgments, none of which were in its favour. Despite this, the province of Manitoba may be ranked among those that practise a sector-based language policy, due to certain actions ensuing from these court judgments, particularly in matters of justice and education.

Manitoba was forced to reinstate rights that had been done away with in the Official Language Act of 1890 but brought back in 1979 by the Supreme Court of Canada. Consequently, as of that same year, the province was required to bring its language policy into line with the provisions of section 23 of the Manitoba Act, 1870.

The Language of the Legislature

In 1979, in accordance with the constitutional law of 1870 (the Manitoba Act), bilingualism was restored in the provincial Legislature, with the result that francophone MLAs may express themselves in French, provided they give notice to the Speaker of the House before doing so. In 1980, the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba adopted the Act respecting the operation of section 23 of the Manitoba Act in regard to statutes (chap. 3), which recognized French and English as Manitoba's languages of legislation. Section 1 reads, "In this Act "official language" means the English language or the French language," and section 3 gives further details:

Section 3

Certificate on introduction of Bill

(1)Where a Bill introduced in the Legislature is printed in only one of the official languages when copies thereof are first distributed to the members of the assembly in the assembly, the Clerk of the House shall endorse on the bill a certificate certifying that the Bill was printed in that official language when copies thereof were first distributed to the members of the assembly in the assembly and, if the Bill is enacted, that certificate shall be printed on the Act in all copies thereof printed and published by or on behalf of the government.

Language for distribution of old statutes

(2) For greater certainty in the interpretation of the statutes of the province heretofore enacted, the Bills for all Acts heretofore enacted shall be conclusively deemed to have been printed in the English language when copies thereof were first distributed to the members of the assembly in the assembly.

In 1982, the government prepared draft amendments to the statutes of Manitoba so as to offer sufficient guarantees to Franco-Manitobans and avoid having to translate into French all the legislation enacted solely in English since 1890; these amendments were presented to the Legislative Assembly in 1983. The aim was to recognize the official status of French and English, have a certain number of statutes translated into French, and provide a number of French-language services. These amendments were ratified by a unanimous resolution of the Parliament of Canada, but given the subsequent outcry among Manitoba anglophones, the provincial government backed down and no law was ever enacted.

Justice

In the courts, only English speakers can be sure of receiving services in their language. Francophones must make do with the services of a court interpreter, since only a few judges speak French. In this regard, the government is merely complying with the 1985 decision of the Supreme Court of Canada, which obliged it to provide bilingual services in the courts of Manitoba.

However, in 1996, a report on Provincial Court reform by the Association des juristes d'expression française du Manitoba, the provincial association of French-speaking lawyers, criticized the closure of the courthouse in St. Boniface, which served the francophone community. The report discussed the principle of active offer and recommended the implementation of an awareness program and the establishment of a cooperation agreement between the Provincial Court and the Court of Queen's Bench to facilitate the exercise of French-language rights in the Manitoba Provincial Court.

Government services

Given the dearth of bilingual civil servants, few government services are offered in French, although many government forms have been translated. Discussions are under way concerning service that should be provided and future, and certain municipal French-language services guaranteed in Winnipeg. The availability of health and social services in French is satisfactory, especially at the St. Boniface General Hospital, one of some twenty healthcare establishments that offer French-language services. None of these establishments seem to be threatened, despite recent budget cuts.

Section 88 of the 1987 Elections Act provides for the presence of an interpreter when a voter does not understand the language spoken by the deputy returning officer:

Section 88

Persons not understanding language

(1)Where a person desiring to vote does not understand the language which the deputy returning officer speaks, the deputy returning officer may employ an interpreter to translate the oath or any lawful question necessarily put to or by that person and the answer thereto but the interpreter shall first take an oath in the prescribed form and the poll clerk shall enter in the remarks column of the poll book the word "Interpreted" and the name of the interpreter.

Interpreter not available

(2) Where a person desiring to vote who does not speak and understand either the English or French language is required to take an oath, the deputy returning officer shall not give him a ballot paper or permit him to vote until an interpreter is present who can interpret the language spoken by the person.

In 1971, the Manitoba government enacted the City of Winnipeg Act, which still appears to be the only provincial legislative text in Canada requiring that a municipal authority provide services in the language of its official minority. Some saw this as a way of offloading the problem onto a single city so that measures did not have to be adopted across the province.

Whatever the case, Winnipeg is the only major city in western Canada whose francophone population (some 30,000 of the province's 45,000 French speakers) can point to an historical presence in the municipality. The City of Winnipeg Act of 1971, still in force but amended in 1990 (by the inclusion of the long-awaited French version), groups a dozen municipalities into a single ward (St. Boniface, whose population is mainly French-speaking) for the purpose of offering bilingual services (under Part III of the Act). Section 82 of the City of Winnipeg Act designates the area to which this applies, namely, historic St. Boniface and the neighbouring community of St. Vital, while section 83 provides for the delivery of services in both English and French at city hall and the city's central offices. Subsection (1) of section 83 reads as follows:

Section 83

1)who are able to communicate in the two official languages of Canada, English and French, shall be available at the city's central offices so that residents and visitors may communicate with city employees or may be received in the English or French languages.

After more than twenty years, one might wonder how the law has fared. According to numerous francophone observers, the record is fairly positive, but there is room for improvement. Société franco-manitobaine presented a brief on the matter in 1990. Bilingualism seemed to have gradually deteriorated to the point it was threatened with extinction. Although more and more official documents are now available in both official languages, the level of bilingualism is far from satisfactory; even in the heart of St. Boniface, where 75% of the population is French-speaking, services are offered solely in English in most cases. Successive municipal governments have been accused of lacking the political will to enforce the law. The Manitoba government recently announced its intention of amending and clarifying the provisions of Part III of the City of Winnipeg Act.

Finally, in 1990, Manitoba ratified a federal-provincial agreement intended to allow the province to provide French-language services in certain hospitals, reception centres, libraries, and government offices "where numbers warrant." The Manitoba government also tabled its French-language services policy in the Legislative Assembly, but this document was never enshrined in law.

Education

Since 1982, Manitoba has been subject to section 23 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Until 1994, there was no official francophone school board to manage the province's fifteen or so French and "mixed" schools. A French-language school board did in fact exist, but had no legal status. In the meantime, English-language school boards controlled over twenty schools in which French was taught in one form or another (mixed schools, immersion classes, etc.).

In 1994, the government created the Division scolaire franco-manitobaine (DSFM), a French-language school authority, for the purpose of managing the French school system. During the first two years of its existence, the DSFM accomplished a great deal, setting up homogeneous French programs in 21 schools, in which 4,500 of Manitoba's 10,000 eligible students enrolled. However, in 1997, due to provincial and federal government budget cuts, the financial situation became cause for concern, as it jeopardized the efforts of francophones to manage their own schools. Manitoba also has a French-language university college, which operates successfully.

Multiculturalism Policy

In 1992, in a bid to demonstrate the Manitoba government's commitment to safeguarding the French language, Parliament adopted the Multiculturalism Act, the preamble of which reads as follows:

WHEREAS the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba believes that Manitoba's multicultural society is not a collection of many separate societies, divided by language and culture, but is a single society united by shared laws, values, aspirations and responsibilities within which persons of various backgrounds have:

  • the freedom and opportunity to express and foster their cultural heritage;
  • the freedom and opportunity to participate in the broader life of society; and
  • the responsibility to abide by and contribute to the laws and aspirations that unite society

Section 5 mandates the secretariat to encourage the use of languages that contribute to Manitoba's multicultural heritage:

Section 5

Purpose of secretariat

The secretariat shall: [...]

d) the business community, labour organizations, voluntary and other private organizations to:   [...]

(iii) recognize the benefits of a multilingual, multicultural society;

e) the use of languages that contribute to the multicultural heritage of Manitoba;

One can only hope that, along with aboriginal and immigrant languages, French is recognized as contributing to the province's multicultural heritage!

In March 1999, the Manitoba government drafted a French-language services policy acknowledging the fact that "the French-speaking population of Manitoba is a constituent of one of the fundamental characteristics of Canada." The policy's purpose is to allow this community to benefit from government services in their own language.

In accordance with this policy, French-language services are provided in completely bilingual service centres located in three designated areas. They are also provided, as approved or specified by the Minister responsible for French Language Services, in partially bilingual service centres that have a sufficient number of designated positions and bilingual employees to ensure an effective delivery of such services. The French Language Services map is divided into three geographical areas:

  1. Winnipeg
  2. southern and eastern areas; and
  3. the western area

The policy also stipulates that French-language services must be actively offered by the administrative bodies in question. Unless specified otherwise by the Minister responsible for French Language Services, all forms, I.D., and certificates intended for the general public must be bilingual. The same applies to signs and public notices posted in the three designated areas and in the bilingual service centres. Public information campaigns in the English language must also have a counterpart in the French language, subject to cost and distribution considerations.

A noteworthy fact is that where the staff of a bilingual service centre is completely bilingual, the administrative body encourages the use of French as the language of work. Nominations to boards, commissions, agencies, etc., take due account of the language dimension of government policy, as well as the right of any Manitoban to use either official language before quasi-judicial tribunals.

This policy applies to the following administrative bodies:

  • All government departments and boards, commissions, corporations, and special operating agencies reporting to them
  • Crown corporations and extra departmental organizations
  • Offices of the legislative assembly and quasi-judicial agencies subject to the requirements of Section 23 of the Manitoba Act
  • Public utilities governed by the Public Utilities Board and serving designated areas
  • Designated health facilities, social services agencies, and Regional Health Authorities

The implementation of this policy is guided and monitored by the French Language Services Secretariat. In fulfilling its mandate, the French Language Services Secretariat seeks and facilitates the implementation of the policy in a manner consistent with the principle of active offer, and makes recommendations to that effect. In order to ensure public accountability, the French Language Services Secretariat publishes an annual report detailing the results of policy implementation by the administrative bodies covered by it. The annual report is prepared in collaboration with these administrative bodies.

In short, these policy statements constitute a giant step forward for official-language minority rights in Manitoba. Except as concerns section 23 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the province adheres to a policy of language rights unsanctioned by legislation, which means that they can be revoked at any time. The government bows to court judgments while promising gradual improvements, provided they have no major economic repercussions.