Ottawa, Ontario, Monday, July 7, 2014

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Thank you for your warm welcome. On behalf of all Canadians, I am grateful for the opportunity to address this important assembly and delighted that Canada is hosting its 40th session.

Let me begin by welcoming those of you who have travelled great distances to be here in Ottawa for this gathering. Thank you for coming all this way to share your unique perspectives on the political, social, economic and cultural difficulties and opportunities that Francophone communities around the world face.

I would also like to salute Secretary General Diouf, who is nearing the end of his mandate, for providing such remarkable leadership over the past 12 years.

Excellency, you have shown great dedication to democracy, human rights and good governance, and you have been a singular steward of this institution. During your term in office, the Francophonie has become an increasingly important player in international relations, and its influence is widely felt.

I would like to outline three main themes in my remarks today.

First, I want to call attention to the hard work that has been done by French Canadians to establish the French language and identity in this country.

Second, I want to highlight why that contribution is so important, and how it strengthens Canada.

Third, I want to zero in on how Canada and the Francophonie can lead the way in building a smarter, more caring and inclusive world. 

French Canadians have secured French as one of the two official languages of Canada and established the French language and identity in this country.

This achievement did not happen by accident. Rather, Canada is a French-speaking nation thanks to the longstanding passion, dedication and commitment of French Canadians to their language, culture and heritage.

Francophones are not here due to the forbearance of others. They worked hard to build and shape this country. And Francophones continue to influence their country’s growth and success in every region of Canada.

Theirs has been an epic struggle given the overwhelming predominance of the English language in North America.

And yet French language and culture in Canada is a rich heritage that continues to evolve, and the influence of this heritage has given rise to some fundamental strengths of Canada: inclusiveness, respect for differences and the richness and resilience that spring from diversity.

I could share many stories of French Canadians whose steadfast dedication to their language and culture has made Canada a better country. Let me share one local example of the struggle for language rights from our history.

Just over 100 years ago, a group of Franco-Ontarians successfully led the struggle for bilingual education rights in this province. The protests took place at Guigues elementary school on Murray Street here in Ottawa—just a few blocks from where we are gathered!

The movement arose in response to a provincial law called Regulation 17, which put strict limitations on French-language education. The resulting outcry by Francophone parents, schoolteachers and community leaders forced the government of the day to reconsider its policy. Several years later, bilingual schools were officially recognized in Ontario.

Today, it is our good fortune that those parents and educators took up the cause. Thanks to the hard work of the many committed and passionate Francophones who live from coast to coast to coast in Canada, the French language remains spirited in this country.

This story leads me into my second perspective: how the vitality of French and French-speaking communities strengthens Canada.

One reason is because French provides us with another means of understanding, and Francophone culture provides us with another way of being at home in the world.

To quote my predecessor, the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, “the French language is much more than a heritage. It is a meeting place. A place of sharing. A place of fraternity. It is also and above all a way of celebrating and spreading a singular vision of the world that is expressed in so many different accents, stories and experiences.”

We are fortunate to have the presence of French language, culture and heritage in Canada. We are enriched by French in so many ways.

Let me tell you about the small town of Gravelbourg in southern Saskatchewan.

Gravelbourg is a strong and proud multicultural prairie community. The Association communautaire fransaskoise in Gravelbourg has existed for more than 100 years. It has done important work to celebrate and strengthen the French presence in Saskatchewan.

A good friend and former colleague of mine hails from Gravelbourg.

His name is Paul-André Crépeau, and sadly he passed away three years ago. We met at McGill University in Montréal, where he studied and promoted civil law and the French-inspired civilian tradition.

Professor Crépeau led the team which modernized  the civil code of Quebec including the protection of civil liberties and then lend his talent to the revision of the Napoleon’s Code in France. 

He was one of the seminal scholars of civil law— one of the two great legal traditions of western civilization with the Anglo-Saxon common law—and thanks to the French culture both are practiced in Canada.   

All Canadians are inspired by the example set by people such as Paul-André and even very small communities such as Gravelbourg which ensure French traditions sparkle in a sea of English. They are inclusive, vital and outward-looking—qualities that make Canadians a better people and Canada a better country.

There are of course many larger Canadian cities outside of Quebec that are home to significant French-speaking populations: Winnipeg, Sudbury and Moncton, for example.

And of course, in the great province of Québec, there is Montréal, the City of Québec and numerous other strong and proud Francophone communities.

Let’s use the examples of these communities as a springboard to touch on my third perspective: how the Francophonie can lead the way in building a smarter, more caring and inclusive world.

You may know a book titled Why Nations Fail—co-authored by Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson of MIT and Harvard University, respectively. Their work emphasizes how important equality or “inclusiveness” is to a country’s prosperity.

The basic theme of Why Nations Fail is that societies whose economies and politics are inclusive prosper and strengthen, while those that are extractive become poorer and weaken.

Societies that include people by giving them opportunities to use their talents and pursue their vocations have a much better chance of success than those that exclude people on the basis of race, ethnicity, class, gender and language.

French is an intrinsic element of this country’s DNA and bilingualism an integral part of inclusiveness in Canada. The degree to which French Canadians are able to live and work in French is a major factor in our country’s ability to access their talent and energy, and therefore succeed.

This embrace of diversity—our inclusiveness—is one of Canada’s greatest strengths.

That continued work to use our bilingualism and our membership in the Francophonie to become more inclusive is especially important now because our context today is global.

We live in a hyper-connected world in which national success depends above all on the strength of our links to international networks, rather than our hierarchical position in comparison to others.

Together, we must create and strengthen our international networks if we want to build the smarter, more caring world we all dream of.

Each of you understands the value of networks in our world today. As members of the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie, you have come together on behalf of your respective nations and Francophone cultures worldwide.

And later this year, in Dakar, you will meet again for the 15th Sommet de la Francophonie to choose a successor to Secretary General Diouf and to chart a course for the Francophonie for the years to come.

I am grateful for your efforts, as are all Canadians. French occupies a very special place in Canada, and our membership in the international Francophone community enhances our lives in so many ways.

What lesson can we draw from the perspectives and examples I have shared? It is the value of perseverance, inclusiveness, the richness and community health that come from diversity and a global outlook.

My favorite bumper sticker reads: Minds like parachutes work best when open.

French Canadians and Francophones elsewhere embody these qualities and through them set an example for other cultures and nations of the world.

The Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie also embodies these qualities and through them help create the smarter, more caring world all peoples desire.

Thank you all for your efforts to strengthen French language and culture.

I wish you the very best.