How Ontario's francophones are teaching Doug Ford a French lesson

French-speaking Ontariansare preparing to protestagainst the PC government Saturday in nearly 40 communities across the province, including a demonstration at Premier Doug Ford's constituency office in Etobicoke.

The protests come after the Ford government's relationship with Ontario's francophonesturned sour with a speed and ferocity that the premier never saw coming, and that many non-francophonesmight not understand. Whatever your views on the issue, there's no denying thatthis provincial controversy hasnational political implications.

"It's a question offrancophonerights and the whole country's very sensitive to that and that's why we have support all over Canada," said CarolJolin,president ofl'Assemblede lafrancophoniedel'Ontario, in an interview Friday withCBCNews.

• MPP Amanda Simardquits PC caucus to sit as an independent
• Andrew Scheer'ssummit on francophone rights described as cordial

Since announcing his move to downgrade the province's independent watchdog on French-language services and to scrap plans for a French-language university in theGreater Toronto Area, Ford has faced agrowing backlashfrom a segment of the population that may not be essential to winning an election in Ontario but sure matters in federal politics.

Ford's handling of the issue prompted federal Conservative Leader AndrewScheerto engagein damage control this week, initiating a Parliament Hillsummit onfrancophonerights outside Quebec, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the other party leaders.Scheeris fighting off guilt by association with Ford, attempting to prove tofrancophonevoters that despite the actions of his Ontario political ally his Conservative Party of Canada cares.

Normally, a provincial backbencher inOntario leaving her party wouldn't even merit a mention in the news in Quebec. ButMPPAmanda Simard's departure from the Progressive Conservativeshit the front page of the province's biggest newspaper on Friday. The flattering headline aboutSimardin le Journal deMontral:"A Francophone the way we like them."

Ford first revealed his lack of connection with Ontario's French-speaking communities when he was running for the party leadership earlier this year. In an interview, the Queen's Park reporter for Radio-CanadaJulie-Anne Lamoureux asked Ford whether he thought it's important for someone who wantsto become premier of Ontario to speak French.

"I think it would be important to be able to communicate with a part of our country that speaks French," responded Ford. "I love Quebec. I love Quebecers. They're passionate."

The statement betrayed that Ford wasunaware that French is the mother tongue of more than half a million people in Ontario, according tothe latest census.

Doug Ford on speaking French

6 years ago

Duration 0:10

Doug Ford tells Radio-Canada's Le Tljournal it "would be important to be able to communicate" with French speakers.

"Basically it means he doesn't know our community," saidJolin. "There's still lots of learning to be done ... first to know us, to respect us and to understand our needs, and I would say our rights."

"I can assure you our premier is totally in touch with Franco-Ontarians and with the francophone community in this province," Ford's Ministerof Francophone Affairs Caroline Mulroney told reporters on Thursday.

"He is working hard on their behalf."

Ford's moves last week to elevate the status of francophone affairs in his cabinet and appointa policy adviser appear to have done little to improve his rapport with the community.

• Francophone leader claims Ford 'knows nothing about the French community'
• Why Doug Ford's Franco-Ontarian cost-cutting could spell trouble for Andrew Scheer

Francophonesfelt slighted by his break with throne speech traditionby failing to make the symbolic gesture of includingeven a single French sentence.

As recently as late July, Mulroney was assuring the community that the Ford government was committed to the French-language university project, so its cancellation is seen as a broken promise.

Now with Simard's departure from his caucus, Ford has lost the only francophoneamong the 76 PCs elected in June.

Even while trying to heal the rift with the community, Ford is stumbling. He said in question period on Thursday thatFranco-Ontarianshave played a major role in the culture and history of the province "even though they're threeper centof the population."

The true figure is more than fourper cent, which may seem a small difference, but the inaccuracy irksfrancophoneleaders like Jolin. He met Ford face to face on Thursday in an attempt to persuade him to change course, but said he came away extremely disappointed.

"Unfortunately, the government stayed on their position;they don't want to listen to anything about what we want to do," Jolin said.

• Francophone Conservatives defend Doug Ford's moves

The university was first promised by theWynnegovernment in 2017 and scheduled to open in 2020. Its proponents point to the fact that while total enrolment in Ontario's English-language school boards has been on a long, slow decline over the past 15 years, enrolment in the French-language boards has been increasing.

'I've been quite upset with what's going on'

One anglophone who will be attending a protest Saturday is Jamie Sugden.

"I've been quite upset with what's going on," saidSugden, He's married to a francophoneand their daughter attends a French-language school in Toronto.

He said the moves by the Ford government need to be viewed against the history of how Franco-Ontarianshad to fight for education in their language and against the closure of the French-language Montfort hospital in Ottawa, proposed by the Mike Harris PC government in 1997.

"A lot of these actions don't make them feel as if they're identified as real citizens of the province," said Sugden in a phone interview, expressing concern that Ontario is now led by "yet another Conservative government not understanding the context of their actions."