Professor Larocque has defended the rights of Francophones for more than a decade, serving as a strong advocate for the advancement of the language rights of Francophones living in minority situations in both Ontario and in Canada as a whole. This distinction from Francopresse draws specific attention to Professor Larocque’s efforts in 2023 to include mention of language minority communities in Bill C-35, legislation covering the Canadian government’s funding commitments for early learning and child care across Canada. The awards committee also highlighted Professor Larocque’s ongoing efforts to bring meaningful reforms to Ontario’s French Language Services Act and Canada’s Official Languages Act.
In 2018, Professor Larocque was awarded the University of Ottawa’s first Canadian Francophonie Research Chair in Language Rights, which was renewed in 2023. The Chair has been a leading example of research innovation, pursuing knowledge mobilization activities aimed at community members, litigants and young people. One example is the free mobile application Planctus, launched in 2020, which allows users, in just a few clicks, to learn about their language rights. Planctus informs users about legal regimes that govern language rights and allows users to quickly access complaint forms from various language commissioners and other competent authorities, facilitating citizen involvement in the defense and assertion of language rights.
Read about the other recipients of the Palmarès 2023 des personnalités influentes de la francophonie Canadienne.
Francopresse and its Réseau.Presse network of member newspapers is a leading national source of news serving the French-Canadian minority population since 1976.
Congratulations to Professor Larocque!