Top Acadian minister outlines 'non-negotiable' stance on bilingualism
CBC
The top francophone cabinet minister in Premier Blaine Higgs's government has drawn a line in the sand on what changes he's willing to accept on official bilingualism.
Daniel Allain says in a written statement that he wants to see the office of the commissioner of official languages remain intact and wants two separate health authorities to remain in place with separate boards of directors and CEOs.
His Progressive Conservative cabinet colleague Kris Austin has questioned the usefulness of those institutions in recent weeks.
Allain said in his statement that he felt he had to lay out "the limits of what would be acceptable, and what would be non-negotiable" on language rights.
The local government minister, first elected in 2020, is one of two francophone MLAs in the Progressive Conservative caucus and cabinet.
Asked in an interview to define what he meant by "non-negotiable," Allain said he would not resign if those institutions are changed but would "vote against it in caucus, cabinet and the legislative assembly."
A minister who votes against a government bill normally does not remain in cabinet.
"That's not for me to decide," Allain said. "I serve at the pleasure of the premier."
Higgs has said there's no plan to eliminate the language commissioner's role or merge the two health authorities.
Allain said he was caught by surprise when Radio-Canada revealed last week that the government had sought a legal opinion earlier this year on eliminating the dual school bus systems in the seven anglophone and francophone school districts.
"It would have been interesting if I'd had some type of knowledge of that," he said. "I learned of it from Twitter, just like you guys."
In his statement, he said a single bilingual busing system would violate constitutional language rights and "would be a major setback for francophones."
Allain also acknowledges in the statement that while he supports changes to French immersion to address the problem of streaming, "it is not clear we are operating with the best information available.
"There is disagreement about the validity of the data the government is using to justify its plans," he wrote. "This conflict needs to be explored further and resolved."
If Allan Speight wants to make a phone call, he has to drive about eight kilometres down the road to the Welsford Irving gas station.
Quebec’s third-largest city is switching from weekly garbage and recycling collection to every two weeks in a cost-saving move it says is better for the environment. But the plan is getting mixed reaction from residents and opposition councillors.
If you’re driving through rural Manitoba next summer, you might not see a big increase in the number of golden flowering fields adjacent to the highways, according to some provincial canola producers.
Saskatchewan RCMP say a drone was instrumental when two people needed rescue from a forested area on a dark night in frigid temperatures.
Lori Cheverie has received her fair share of teasing for always having her nose in a book — but for the next few months, that habit will serve a greater purpose, one that goes beyond the love of reading.
Hundreds of Kashechewan First Nation evacuees have arrived in Niagara Falls, one of the Ontario cities taking in people from the Cree community as it endures a weeks-long water crisis due to a damaged treatment plant.
Windsor-based Dainty Foods to separate Canadian, American production as it launches new product line
A Windsor-based company that’s known for its rice products has just launched a new line of pasta side dishes.
According to polling by the Environics Institute, 70 per cent of Canadians are either very or somewhat satisfied with "the way democracy works in Canada."
A plan to partially demolish a 139-year-old church has set off an uproar in a Cabbagetown neighbourhood.
A 33-year-old man has died after being shot by police in Brantford, Ont., Friday morning, the province's police watchdog says.
A Whitehorse resident says gaps in the hospital system are affecting continuity of care – and he has 2,000 pages of documentation to prove it.
A Newfoundland and Labrador judge postponed a decision Friday about whether a man charged with three attempted murders is fit to stand trial, in a case where the accused's family says the health-care system failed him and his alleged victims.
A doctor in Nova Scotia's Pictou County has been handed a professional reprimand for the way he treated a 30-year-old woman who died after being admitted to the Aberdeen Regional Hospital in New Glasgow, N.S., in August 2023.