Canadian Lawmaker: 'Duality Makes Bilingualism Sustainable'

[TESL Network Canada]

The Hon. Mauril Bélanger, MP for Ottawa-Vanier and Liberal Official
Languages Critic, writes:

I would like to put in my two cents concerning the mini-controversy
stirred up by Progressive Conservative MLAs Glen Tait and Sherry
Wilson on June 30, when Michel A. Carrier, Commissioner of Official
Languages for New Brunswick, appeared before the Legislative
Assembly's Standing Committee on Legislative Officers.

I do it because, as a francophone living in a minority situation, I
keep up to date on the challenges and successes of official language
minority communities across the country. It is also one of my
responsibilities as my party's official languages critic.

That said, some people are and always will be deeply opposed to
bilingualism and linguistic duality. Economic considerations are often
given as the reason for not granting rights, as in Arsenault-Cameron
v. Prince Edward Island. They are also the reason behind the
suppression of rights and gains, as the federal Conservatives have
done on two occasions by eliminating the Court Challenges Program.

Full story: http://telegraphjournal.canadaeast.com/opinion/article/1425930