As the Quebec media continue to criticize the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee for a perceived slight against their province and its language in Friday's 2010 Winter Olympic Games Opening Ceremony. French-language educators in B.C. say an emphasis on both of Canada's official languages would have been "supremely positive" to students enrolled in French programs.
The executive director for the B.C. and Yukon branch of the Canadian Parents for French said the Quebecois press was aware of the immense challenge of representing the country's regional diversity as well as its two official languages, but nonetheless was doubtful Vanoc could deliver.
"That there was only one Quebecois performance just confirmed their fears, which was that Vanoc doesn't seem to grasp the implications of this country's linguistic dualities," Robert Rothon told ctvbc.ca.
Approximately eight per cent, or 42,200 of B.C. students, are enrolled in French Immersion programs, said Rothon. He believes that seeing and hearing French in public spaces such as a high-profile event like the Olympics can reinforce the value and benefit of learning French.
Rothon said advocates had lobbied for French signage on buildings and road markers throughout Vancouver and Richmond, including the creation of advertising where Olympic sponsors had only created ads in English. But from the point of view of media three time zones away, reporters may not have been aware of these previous and on-going efforts, he said.
"You can only go with what they see on TV and what did they see on TV? Speaking personally, it was a great show but suggested that Canada was an overwhelming Anglophone country."
Quebecois artist Garou performed a French-language song during the ceremony, and in their defense, Vanoc spokespeople said they sought to include an important Francophone element. They said they also invited Celine Dion, who turned them down for medical reasons.
"If that wasn't a clueless comment, I don't know what is," said Rothon about Dion being held up as the height of Franco-Canadian culture. "You sense that [Vanoc is] trying, but they just don't get it on every level."
In August 2009, John Furlong committed to promoting French at the 2010 Olympics and Paralympics by signing an agreement with the head of La Francophonie, an international organization representing worldwide French speakers. In a press release from the summer, Vanoc said the signing "reinforces the high standards for bilingualism" and aims to recruit French-speaking volunteers and performers from across Canada and abroad.
Yet the opportunity to benefit Francophone students was missed, according to a spokesperson with the province-wide School District 93 which represents approximately 4,000 learners whose first language is French. Pierre Claveau told ctvbc.ca that a greater emphasis on French performance and interpretation in the Opening Ceremony would have been "supremely positive."
"If it had been in French, as it should have been, it is very natural that it would have had a positive impact," he said, adding that a lack of French was not actually detrimental. It simply could and should have been better, he said.
Federal Heritage Minister James Moore and Quebec Premier Jean Charest have both noted their frustration over the lack of French spoken at the opening ceremony last Friday.
Executive Director of the Federation of BC Francophones, Christine Sotteau, said the disapproval is justified — particularly given that francophone Quebecois freestyle skier Alexandre Bilodeau claimed Canada's first gold medal on home soil.
"It's quite a symbol, don't you think?" said Sotteau.
The Federation interpreted Vanoc's commitment to fill its ranks of volunteers with 25 per cent French-speakers as an indication of what to expect during the Opening Ceremony.
"We had no way of knowing what the ceremonies were going to look like," said Sotteau. "One song in French is not a representation of what Francophone Canada is all about.
Eight to 10 per cent of people in British Columbia speak French and 300,000 residents are francophone, which means they speak French as a first language. Sotteau said this population may be relatively small when compared to 9 million Francophones across Canada but it is not insignificant.
The issue is generating major coverage — and much of it critical — in the French-language press, and is overshadowing Bilodeau's historic Olympic gold medal.
Headlines in Montreal's La Presse on Monday read: French as Rare as Snow in Vancouver; and Only 15 Per Cent of 25,000 volunteers Speak French. One mocking column in the same paper is titled, Fière d'être
A stream of negative viewer comments was also being aired on TV talk shows.
Several commenters argued that French -- which is not only one of Canada's official languages, but actually one of the Olympics' official languages -- was heard more often at the Beijing Games in 2008 than at Vancouver's opening ceremonies.
"It's all a question of symbols and how people read them," said Rothon. "Regional realities have to be counter-balanced against national aspirations. I don't think they found the perfect point of equilibrium in the Opening Ceremony.
"Hopefully for the Closing Ceremony, they will do better."
With files from The Canadian Press
