Courted by all parties, who will Franco-Ontarians vote for?

In an interview given Monday to the show Mornings hereStéphane Sarrazin, the Progressive Conservative candidate in Glengarry-Prescott-Russell, maintained that the government of Doug Ford succeeded in a single mandate in doing more for the Francophonie than the Liberals in 15 years.

In terms of achievements, he mentioned the modernization of the French Language Services Act and the recognition of the Franco-Ontarian flag as the official emblem of the province.

I looked at the minutes of the Legislative Assembly at Queen’s Park from the 42nd government, since 2018, he said. The champions of the Francophonie are easy to identify.

Mr. Sarrazin’s remarks did not fail to react to the outgoing MP and Liberal candidate, Amanda Simard, who maintains that she does not have the same reading of events.

” It is completely false. It is misinformation. »

We have seen what they have been able to do in four yearsshe launched with irony, referring to the “Black Thursday” of Franco-Ontarians in November 2018.

That year, the government attempted to terminate the Université de l’Ontario français (UOF) project and transferred the responsibilities of the French Language Services Commissioner to the Ombudsman’s office.

There have been gains in 15 years [de pouvoir libéral] and above all there was respectshe says.

The current government does not respect francophones. We saw it during the pandemic with the speeches just in English, without interpretation, by Doug Ford. During the cuts at Laurentian University, the government did not even have the reflex to tell itself that they could not do that under the Act.

A not all black portrait, says the AFO

Despite a chaotic start to its mandate, the Progressive Conservative government has still managed to do a lot for Franco-Ontarians, nuance Carol Jolin, president of the Assembly of the Francophonie of Ontario (AFO).

” It started with a bang in 2018, but since then a lot of work has been done. Carol Jolin, President, Assembly of the Francophonie of Ontario »

There have been several breakthroughs for Francophones he argued. There are still several files that have moved.

On his list of successes, the president of theAFOAssembly of the Francophonie of Ontario included the three-year renewal of the Francophonie assistance program, the $10 million allocated for the community center in Timmins, the government’s decision to renew investments in the health hub in Orléans and the redesign of the French Language Services Act.

It must be said, the Minister [des Affaires francophones] Caroline Mulroney delivered the goods, he testifies. She did the job.

French-speaking platforms

I think it’s important to say that there has been progress over the past four yearsagrees Stéphanie Chouinard, assistant professor in the Department of Political Science at the Royal Military College of Canada.

The government has reversed some decisions that were announced in the November 2018 economic statement and even if he has not checked all the boxes on the grocery list of Francophone organizationsit has met expectations in terms of modernizing the law.

The political scientist, however, deplores the lack of vision of the Progressive Conservative Party in terms of the Francophonie. We rely a lot on our balance sheet, rather than talking about what we are going to do, she notes. We praise the merits of what has been done over the past four years, but we don’t have a clear vision of where we want to go.

It is quite the opposite of the three other parties which seem, according to her, to have a more precise direction.

” There are two major elements on which the oppositions are one step ahead of the progressive conservatives. »

Steven Del Duca’s Liberal Party, Andrea Horwath’s New Democratic Party and Mike Schreiner’s Green Party have all promised to restore the independence of the office of the French Language Services Commissioner.

The three leaders also pledged to make the University of Sudbury a university by and for French speakers.

We can see that all the parties thought about what they were going to offer Franco-Ontarians, notes Stephanie Chouinard. The Ontario Liberal Party, however, is the only one to have developed and quantified its promises.

A French-speaking electorate, but not homogeneous

Back in the riding of Glengarry-Prescott-Russell, Amanda Simard is pleased. Our platform reflects the demands of French speakerssupports the candidate, who claims to have collaborated in its formatting.

” The Ontario Liberal Party is still the Parti des Franco-Ontarians. »

Even if they do not speak French, it is also the claim of Alicia Elgin and Thaila Riden, respectively candidates of the New Democratic Party of Ontario and the Green Party of Ontario. As the population of Glengarry-Prescott-Russell is made up of approximately 60% Francophones, it would be difficult — even risky — for them to disregard their political weight.

Stéphanie Chouinard, however, warns the parties not to overestimate the support of the Francophone community. No Ontarian is a single-issue voter, she said. They look at the panoply of offers that each party puts on the table during an election.

According to a survey of the AFO’s regional consultation tables, the four priorities of Franco-Ontarians this year are the shortage of Francophone labor, access to health and long-term care in French, more services in French in non-designated areas and greater support in the not-for-profit sector.