British Columbia introduces francophone policy
The province is taking a step toward a French-speaking population.
British Columbia has developed a unified French-language policy that will be a full-fledged manual for provincial ministries to improve outreach to French-speaking residents. What does it consist of?
- standardization of the delivery of existing public services in French;
- directives to ministries to gradually expand their capacity to serve francophone residents;
- ensuring respectful and constructive engagement with French-speaking residents so that their needs and priorities are considered in the development and delivery of programs, policies and services.
On why the provincial government decided to streamline interactions with the francophone population, Adrian Dix, the Minister responsible for Francophone Affairs, spoke about the reasons why the provincial government decided to streamline interactions with the francophone population:
"Prior to today, British Columbia was the sole jurisdiction in Canada without an overarching policy on French-language services, despite providing information and services in French to its numerous residents."
However, 6.6% of the province's population (more than 328,000 people) are fluent in French, and 1.5% of the population consider it their first language and speak it at home. In all of Canada, only two provinces, Quebec and Ontario, have a higher percentage of French speakers.
"Our government aims to remove barriers and be inclusive so francophones can play an active role in our province’s social, cultural and economic development," Dix added.
French and English are enshrined in the Constitution of Canada. French is an integral part of British Columbia's linguistic identity and diversity. The French-language policy will come into effect on April 1, 2024.
