Tag Archive for: OCOL
Quebec’s English-speaking Communities Need Support to Integrate Newcomers
Montreal – May 7, 2015
Quebec’s English-speaking minority community and Francophone minority communities outside Quebec need the support of the federal government to ensure they take full advantage of the positive impacts that immigration can have on them, said Commissioner of Official Languages, Graham Fraser, as he delivered in his 2014-2015 Annual Report released earlier today.
Language rights should not be sacrificed
Editorial, The Gazette
Official Languages Commissioner Graham Fraser’s annual report is a barometer gauging the state of official bilingualism in Canada, and the latest edition indicates the situation got a little worse last year for French- and English-speaking minorities across the country.
Released this week, the report revealed that complaints rose slightly, with 476 filed in 2013-14 compared to 415 the previous year; the majority — 59 per cent — were related to the delivery of public services in both official languages; and 82 per cent came from francophones.
Commissioner’s Report: QCGN encourages complaints to ensure compliance
Press release
Montreal – October 7, 2014 – Complaints get results. That is one of the main messages the Commissioner of Official Languages, Graham Fraser, delivered in his 2013-2014 Annual Report released earlier today. Fraser noted that part of his duties is to examine cases in which federal authorities have failed to respect the rights and privileges of individuals or groups of Canadians.
How Commissioner Fraser gets federal institutions to comply with the Official Languages Act – from a facilitated resolution process to intervening before the courts – is the theme of his report his year.
Commissioner’s findings confirm concerns of English-speaking Quebec
Montreal, November 7, 2013 –
The Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN) wholly concurs with the Commissioner of Official Languages’ assessment of the situation of Quebec’s English-speaking community and the challenges it faces as well as his suggestion that the provincial government appoint a minister responsible for English-speaking communities.
In his 2012-2013 Annual Report released earlier today, Commissioner Graham Fraser states that since its election, the Parti Québécois has increasingly voiced concerns about the threat to the French language in Quebec.
“We agree with Commissioner Fraser that the French language is vulnerable as well as his assertion that there is a fundamental difference between the dominant role the English language is playing on the international stage and English as the language spoken by Quebec’s English speaking community,” said QCGN Vice-President James Shea who was on hand for the release of the report.
Commissioner of Official Languages Graham Fraser to Present His 2012-2013 Annual Report
The Commissioner of Official Languages Graham Fraser will release findings from his 2012-2013 Annual Report on Thursday, November 7, 2013, at 10:15 a.m. at the National Press Theatre, 150 Wellington Street, in Ottawa. A live webcast of the press conference will be available at the following pages:
English feed – (http://download.isiglobal.ca/ocol/2013-11-07-eng.html)
French feed – (http://download.isiglobal.ca/ocol/2013-11-07-fra.html)
Reappointment of Commissioner Graham Fraser good news for English-speaking community of Quebec
For immediate release
Montreal, March 7, 2013 – The Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN) is pleased with the reappointment of Graham Fraser as Commissioner of Official Languages. The nomination was announced yesterday by Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Pending approval by the House of Commons and Senate, Fraser, who has been serving as Commissioner of Official Languages since October 2006, will serve an additional three years after his current mandate ends on October 17.
“This is extremely good news because of the significant role that Commissioner Fraser has played as a bridge builder between the French and English-speaking communities, both in Quebec and in Canada,” said QCGN President Dan Lamoureux, noting that Mr. Fraser is well respected in Quebec and throughout the country and has been a voice of reason during sensitive language debates including the current controversy over Bill 14.
Vues et Voix – Série “Expression anglaise”: Segment #5
Le Quebec Community Groups Network a collaboré avec l’émission de radio Vues et Voix, anciennement connue sous le nom de la Magnétothèque, sur une série d’entrevues visant à faire connaître la communauté d’expression anglaie. L’objectif de cette série spéciale est de parler des préoccupations, des réussites et des défis de notre communauté. Écoutez ci-dessous le cinquième segment avec M. Graham Fraser, commissaire aux langues officielles.
Vues et Voix – “Expression anglaise” Series: Segment #5
The Quebec Community Groups Network is working with Vues & Voix, formerly la Magnétothèque, on a series of reports on Quebec’s English-speaking community. The idea behind the weekly conversations with our community is to talk about our preoccupations, our successes, and our challenges. Listen to the fifth segment below with the Commissioner of Official Languages, Mr. Graham Fraser.
Embracing bilingualism will improve communications between minority and majority communities
Montreal, October 16, 2012 – More Quebecers and Canadians should be able to communicate with each other in both of the country’s official languages.
“English-speaking Quebecers want to overcome linguistic barriers,” said Dan Lamoureux, President of the Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN). “Bilingualism is a unifying force. The more interaction there is between our minority and majority communities in Quebec and Canada the better we will understand each other.”
Most French-speaking Canadians outside Quebec and English-speaking Quebecers can converse in the language of the majority community. Encouraging majority language communities to communicate with their minorities would be a positive step that would lead to greater social cohesion, notes the QCGN.
The QCGN is funded by the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage.
