Thousands demonstrate in nearly 40 communities, saying ‘Ford needs to review his Canadian history’
On Saturday afternoon, thousands of French-speakers in nearly 40 communities across Ontario decried Premier Doug Ford’s cuts to some French-language services.
The protests — organized by the Francophone Assembly of Ontario, which represents 740,000 Franco-Ontarians — took place in front of MPPs’ offices of all political stripes.
“Franco-Ontarians have the right to have our rights protected,” Quebec actor Lina Blais said outside Ford’s constituency office where 300 people have gathered.
“Our population justifies our institutions.”
This “resistance” is a response to Premier Doug Ford’s move to downgrade the province’s independent watchdog on francophone services and repeal funding for a planned French-language university in the Greater Toronto Area.
The decision has prompted immediate and growing backlash from Ontarians, the federal government and Quebec’s new premier, François Legault, who have all repeatedly asked Ford to reverse the cuts.
One of Ford’s MPPs, Amanda Simard, broke ranks to criticize the move, saying she was disappointed and frustrated. Earlier this week, the eastern Ontario MPP left the Progressive Conservative’s to sit as an independent.
Her departure from Ford’s caucus means he has lost the only francophone among the 76 PCs elected in June — only widening the schism between him and Ontario’s French community who feel he has undermined their history.
Simard stood among those rallying on the doorstep of her constituency office in Hawkesbury, one of the largest communities in her riding of Glengarry-Prescott-Russell.
She met with three-year-old Glorianne Gaudreau-Cheff, who was dressed in green-and-white, the colours of the Ontario francophone flag, and carrying a sign that read: “I might not be big enough to have a voice, but please don’t take away my rights.”
The Francophone Assembly of Ontario estimated more than 13,500 people attended the day of action.
Demonstrators carried placards scrawled with messages, like “respect franco” and “Franco-Ontarians are not just any minority,” while making their voices heard. They also chanted in French slogans like, “strong franco” and “we are, we will.”
Pierre Joanette was one of dozens of people who drove around 100 kilometres west from Montreal to Hawkesbury to stand with Simard in solidarity with Ontario francophones. He pointed out the importance of protecting the province’s French identity as a cornerstone of Canadian history.
“We believe in Canada you have to protect the two languages,” he said.
According to the latest census, French is the mother tongue of more than half a million people in Ontario.
Meanwhile, hundreds of other people braved the cold weather and gathered outside Caroline Mulroney’s constituency office in Bradford. The York-Simcoe MPP was named as the minister of francophone affairs on Nov. 22 after the PCs backtracked on some cuts affecting Ontario francophones.
Mulroney, who is also the province’s attorney general, has vowed to continue to advocate for the standalone French-language university, but noted the province’s fiscal realities prevent the PCs from funding it right now.
