[A-List] Lesson-Giver Initiatives in Accommodation : Règlement 17

["Jim Yarker" <sjy_estrien@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

http://archeion-aao.fis.utoronto.ca/ArcheionVirtualExhibit/education1.html

The Ruling 17 crisis, 1912-1927

In 1912, the Ontario government put forward Ruling 17, forbidding the use of 
French as a language of instruction in Ontario schools. Franco-Ontarians 
regarded the ruling as the culmination of an assimilation policy extending 
as far back as the 1860s. The Association canadienne-française d'éducation 
d'Ontario (ACFÉO, later named the Association canadienne-française de 
l'Ontario in 1969), on behalf of francophones across Canada, initiated a 
15-year battle, pitting two distinct visions of the country against one 
another.
This first document (original in English) captured the spirit of the claim 
of Ontario French-Canadians, calling for "British Fair Play." At this time 
Ontario's francophone community was not demanding unilingual French schools.
Some of the most heated battles took place in Ottawa, including episodes at 
the Guigues School in 1916, the controversial dismissal of the Desloges 
sisters for refusing to obey Ruling 17, and protests at the Brébeuf School.

The debate extended to Kent and Essex counties, especially between 1916 and 
1917, as Bishop Fallon of London and Dr. Gustave Lacasse, a brilliant 
speaker nicknamed "The Lion of the Peninsula" debated the "eternal 
question." Conflict also arose at Pembroke in 1923 regarding a young 
teacher, Jeanne Lajoie, and her independent school.
Tolerance and diplomacy, 1927-1964

Ruling 17 was amended in 1927 following the recommendations of the 
Merchant-Scott-Côté Report. The royal commission, having visited bilingual 
schools throughout Ontario, concluded that the key to successful learning 
was instruction in the mother tongue of the student. It was a victory on 
paper only, though, since the teaching of academic subjects other than 
French was still conducted in English. Nevertheless, open conflicts gave way 
to diplomacy and internal mediation, notably among school trustees, 
councilors and within the provincial government. In 1934, the ACFÉO adopted 
a report presented by abbot Stéphane Côté, a priest from Chelmsford, which 
emphasized the poor results of the "new education system".
In 1946, twelve years after the 1934 study, an ACFÉO brief presented to the 
Royal Commission on Education in Ontario, the Hope Report found that the 
situation of Franco-Ontarians had improved, without "being perfect," 
strengthened by those in favor of a bilingual system. By 1953, the new 
president of the ACFÉO, Gaston Vincent, in a speech entitled "Perspectives 
for the Future," delivered during the annual Congress.
In that speech, Gauthier expressed his satisfaction, but not delight, with 
the status quo:
"On the topic of our education system, are we not inclined to feelings of 
euphoria, do we not feel a sense of passive satisfaction given the results 
of produced over the last quarter of a century? If everything seems to be 
going well, could things not go better?"

Reorganization of the Department of Education, 1965

After Robert Gauthier's retirement from the Ministry of Education in 1964, 
subsequent ministerial reorganizations were a matter of contention for ACFÉO 
president, Roger N. Séguin. The position of Director of French Education was 
simply abolished. ACFÉO president and the general secretary, Roger 
Charbonneau, took a collaborative approach in working with Franco-Ontarian 
civil servants, such as Roland Bériault (1912-1983).

In areas affecting the Franco-Ontarian minority, fundamental questions on 
the management of the system remained. The question of decentralization and 
restructuring of French schools, and attainment of French secondary schools, 
promised a greater role for Franco-Ontarians in the management of their 
schools. Unlike 1912, the ACFÉO was no longer isolated, and the provincial 
government of John Robart's expressed a willingness to proceed with reforms.

Secondary schools and the management of education, 1966-1988

Under the chairmanship of Roland Bériault, the Committee on French language 
schools in Ontario (1967-1969) established parameters for Bills 140 and 141, 
thereby concluding a process of consultation with the Franco-Ontarian 
community. This process culminated in the the 19th Special General 
Conference on secondary schools held in Ottawa, February, 1967.

This annotated draft of the brief on secondary schools was produced during 
the conference, with the final document presented to education minister 
William Davis, March 20th, 1967. The official position of the ACFÉO 
represented a compromise between the Association, its affiliates and the 
community. In effect, it was a strategic renouncement, trading a publicly 
funded Catholic and separate secondary school system, (which arrived in 1984 
with Bill 30, the "achievement") for a system of public secondary schools. 
The traditional association between language and faith was put aside, albeit 
with the assurance that religion would be taught in the public schools.

Bills 140 and 141, establishing primary and secondary French language 
schools in Ontario, did not resolve all controversies. Secondary school 
councils still had the power to determine the need for French language 
education, and in various instances blocked the creation of French secondary 
schools. A new crisis, "Schools of resistance," temporarily emerged. Though 
the ACFÉO had set aside education to fight other battles, it once again took 
up this part of its earlier mandate.
With school conflicts in Sturgeon Falls (1971), the government passed Bills 
180 and 181. But the new legislation came in for criticism, namely that the 
powers of decision within school councils was still not given to 
francophones. When new school crises occurred in Cornwall (1973) and 
Windsor-Essex (1975), the issue of school management by Franco-Ontarians was 
again raised.The Ottawa-Carleton chapter of the ACFO has been trying to 
obtain a homogenous French school council since 1975.

At the ACFO's 28th Annual Conference, held at Cornwall in August 1977, the 
association confirmed its support for the Ottawa-Carleton chapter. With the 
emergence of school crises at Elliot Lake and Windsor less than a year after 
the election of the Parti Québécois, the ACFO decided to step up the 
pressure, addressing its concerns directly to Premier William Davis.

The letter to Premier Davis, which asked for offical status for French in 
Ontario and a school system for francophones controlled by them, went on to 
warn that should the provincial government not take a leadership role on 
these questions, there could be dire consequences for the country as a 
whole.

The letter went on to say that, while willing to work in collaberation with 
the provincial government, failure to respond to the ACFO's demands would 
result in its denouncement of the government.
Under the weight of the Penetanguishene school crisis (1978-1982), various 
lawsuits (Court of Appeal in 1984, Supreme Court of Ontario in 1986) and 
Article 23 in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the provincial 
government passed Bill 75 in 1986, giving francophones the right to manage 
their own schools, though certain aspects such as budget and transportation 
were jointly managed. The province also promised the creation of French 
language school councils in Ottawa-Carleton and Toronto.
Two years later, Bill 109 was passed into law, resulting in the creation of 
the Conseil scolaire de langue française d'Ottawa-Carleton in 1988.

But with the defeat of the NDP government of Bob Rae in 199[5], further 
developements in the management of education were halted.
In January of 1998 all French schools in Ontario became managed exclusively 
by francophones, from kindergarden to the end of high school

Post-secondary education

With the 1960s, the ACFO took the position that French college and 
university programs should complement the Franco-Ontarian education system. 
The fight for management of education required all the attention of the ACFO 
during the 1970s and the first half of the 1980s. In 1985, the Churchill 
Report (Conseil de l'éducation franco-ontarienne) and the Carrier Report 
(University of Ottawa) established a direct link between the availability of 
French language educational programs and the participation of 
Franco-Ontarians in post-secondary education. The ACFO did not ask that the 
colleges and universities fall under the French Language Services Act 
(1986), but instead lobbied to obtain homogenous French institutions.

With this report entitled « Y a du français dans l'air » and « It's Time for 
French! », the ACFO updated and publicized its position on French 
post-secondary education in Ontario.
Developed at its 1988 annual meeting, the report outlined the development of 
a French language post-secondary education program as a priority for the 
ACFO.

The report outlined the disparities disparaging between English and French 
post-secondary education programmes.
It went on to demand the creation of a French language university in 
Ontario.
In collaboration with other organizations, the ACFO continued to pressure 
both the provincial and federal governments. On January 12, 1989, an 
agreement was signed for the creation of the first French community college, 
to be located in Eastern Ontario. In 1990, the Cité collégiale opened in a 
temporary location, but by in 1995 had its own campus. The Collège Boréal 
,originally in Sudbury and now in five other cities of Northern Ontario, and 
the Collège des Grands Lacs (Toronto) followed.
But the question of a Franco-Ontarian university remained. In 1990, the ACFO 
made public a study titled "L'université de langue française: des ressources 
à exploiter". In 1995, the ACFO and other organizations joined forces to 
form the Alliance for a Franco-Ontarian University.   ....