Black Thursday will be forever engraved in the collective memory of Franco-Ontarians. On Nov. 15, 2018, the Ford government announced it would be axing both the University of French Ontario and the French Language Services Commissioner.

François Boileau, who held the position of commissioner since 2007, was universally perceived in by Franco-Ontarians as the champion of language rights in Queen’s Park.

Ford’s decisions sparked the largest francophone mobilization in the history of the province since the Réglement 17.

A few weeks later, the self-styled “Government of the People” attempted to be perceived as back tracking on its position. The employee at the office of the Ontario Ombudsman tasked with investigating complaints made under the French Language Services Act would henceforth be referred to as the “French Language Services Commissioner.”

This person, however, would exercise his or her functions within the office of the Ombudsman and would therefore not have the same independence as the former commissioner. Franco-Ontarians held their breath for more than a year while waiting for the position to be filled.

On Jan. 15, Kelly Burke, a lawyer and public servant with over 20 years experience in the provincial government, was appointed to the position. Having climbed the ranks of the public service for being a good soldier, Burke is now being called upon to play the role of watchdog for the rights of Francophones in the province.

Last Wednesday’s press conference introducing the new commissioner would have been the ideal moment to comfort worried Franco-Ontarians. The ombudsman and the commissioner could have clearly stated their commitment to following in the footsteps of Boileau of interpreting the French Language Services Act broadly and liberally and proactively responding to the needs of the community rather than merely reacting to complaints from the public.

They did not reassure anyone. The new duo repeatedly stressed the importance of exercising the role with impartiality and refraining from expressing their positions publicly. This new approach ought to send a chill down the spine of anyone who has ever lived in a minority language situation, who knows very well that impartiality toward the fate of francophones paves the way to assimilation.

Some will argue it is still too early to write off the new commissioner; let’s wait and see before passing judgment. But things have started badly.

Both individuals emphasized that they were not the ones who chose to eliminate the independent commissioner but vigorously defended the new complaint mechanism as being better than the one that was in place before.

When asked what she thought of Ford’s record in French language services, Burke responded vaguely by saying, “we often don’t understand what we do not know.”

This government’s track record on minority rights, including those of francophones, is clear. Why pretend to ignore a reality that is well known to all? Why not speak out against the government? This is precisely what commissioners are meant to do.

She went on to explain she would try to “educate the government about the community’s accomplishments and all that it has to offer.” However, the role of a commissioner is not to promote the achievements of Franco-Ontarians. It is to denounce government policies and programs that violate the French Language Services Act.

Could it be that this government’s drastic cuts in public services are disproportionately impacting Franco-Ontarians? The new commissioner’s silence on the issue was particularly startling on the very day that French-speaking teachers and school employees across the province were on strike to protest proposed increases in class sizes and compulsory online learning.

In a context where a growing number of Franco-Ontarians are from households of mixed linguistic backgrounds, the transmission and survival of the French language in Ontario is increasingly dependent on our teachers. . The Supreme Court of Canada has repeatedly reminded us of the importance of our schools to counter linguistic and cultural assimilation.

If the efforts of this government to threaten the rights of those who work in our schools and undermine the learning conditions of French-speaking students are not insufficient to sound the commissioner’s alarm, it is difficult to imagine anything that will.

What is even more telling is the salary of the new commissioner. It is estimated that it will be approximately $20,000 more per year than the annual salary of the former independent commissioner.

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This confirms what many thought all the long: the elimination of the independent commissioner was never about money. The Ford government is ready to pay big bucks to buy wool to pull over the eyes of francophones so they cannot see that Burke is a commissioner only by name.

Correction – Jan 23, 2019: This article was edited from a previous version that misspelled Kelly Burke’s given name.