13,000 Francophones manifested in Ontario

Thousands of Franco-Ontarians - 13,000, according to the organizers - took to the streets of Ontario Saturday to send a clear message to Premier Doug Ford: "Do not attack our rights."

Two weeks after the "Black Thursday of Ontario's Francophonie", nearly 40 marches and demonstrations took place to demand the reinstatement of the University of Ontario and the Office of the French Language Services Commissioner. misery by francophones for 15 years.

No reverse

Faced with the resentment, the Minister of Francophone Affairs Caroline Mulroney proposed to put a commissioner to handle complaints from Francophones under the authority of the provincial Ombudsman, a proposal rejected outright by Francophones.

Until now, the daughter of former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney has refused any additional concession. "I support what we are doing," she said this week.

"I support what we are doing," she said this week.

It was also later learned that a $ 3 million grant to Ottawa's Francophone theater, La Nouvelle Scène, had been canceled. Three Franco-Ontarian educational magazines have also been dropped.

These decisions - and the government's refusal to fully backtrack - led Ford's only Franco-Ontarian MP, Amanda Simard, to slam her party door with a roar.

It was also later learned that a $ 3 million grant for Ottawa's francophone theater, Nouvelle Scène, had been canceled. Three Franco-Ontarian educational magazines have also been dropped.

These decisions - and the government's refusal to fully backtrack - led Ford's only Franco-Ontarian MP, Amanda Simard, to slam her party door with a roar.

Amanda Simard, for her part, is showing in her riding, in the Rockland and Hawkesbury areas. "We demand respect. We are stronger than ever. We are, we will be, "she hammered Saturday morning in an exchange with the Journal.

"Faced with these affronts we have no choice to react to ensure our survival as Franco-Ontarian," for its part launched Michel Jubinville, a teacher who was demonstrating with family in Rockland.

Many politicians from all political stripes participated in provincial demonstrations, including federal Conservative MPs.

Like many, the Minister of Official Languages, Mélanie Joly, is from the Ottawa demonstration, where she is to speak alongside Franco-Ontarian MPs.

"This is a moment we will remember together, that we will tell our children and our grandchildren. We are wholeheartedly with the Franco-Ontarians, Ms. Joly told the Journal. Today, we are all Franco-Ontarians. "

The Franco-Ontarian flag was also raised at the Quebec National Assembly, at the unanimous request of Quebec MPs, in support of the Franco-Ontarian cause

Another Montfort?

These events could be the most important in more than 20 years in French Ontario. On March 22, 1997, nearly 10,000 people crowded the Ottawa Civic Center to denounce the Mike Harris Conservative government's decision to close the Montfort Hospital in Ottawa, the largest Francophone institution in Ottawa. province.

The Harris government had finally retreated after a court battle that ended in the Court of Appeal.