Issued also in French under title: 50 ans de bilinguisme officiel.

Issued in print and electronic formats.

"Fifty years ago, the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism published its final report. The result of innovative research and public consultations across the country, this report, replete with data and concepts, sets the stage for a comprehensive policy on official bilingualism, which would profoundly and indelibly change the face of Canada. The resolve to affirm the officially bilingual character of the country was met with the equally fervent determination to make French the common language of Quebecers.

This book provides a critical view of the content and the consequences of the report. It is the outcome of a series of conferences held across the country in 2013, which explored the impact of these two aspects. It combines analyses of the Commission’s activities, its main players, and the specific content of certain volumes of the report. The book is divided into three parts: the first outlines the progress accomplished since the publication of the report and contributors’ views of the challenges which continue to create controversy; the second part provides analyses and studies of topics covered by the Commission, effectively demonstrating how far things have evolved; and the third features testimonials, including a fascinating conversation between the first Commissioner for Official Languages, Keith Spicer, and the Commissioner in office at the time of publication, Graham Fraser.

This political, scholarly and introspective work will captivate all readers who are interested in linguistic debates in Canada and around the world. It is destined to make an original and essential contribution to the study of a defining moment in Canada’s evolution." (Book Cover)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface / Graham Fraser

PROGRESS AND CHALLENGES

1. Fifty Years Later: The Legacy of the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism /
Graham Fraser

2. French, the Common Language of Quebec /
Pierre Curzi

3. Does Bilingualism Have a Future in Canada? / Stéphane Dion

4. 50 Years After the Laurendeau-Dunton Commission: The Journey of French Ontario / François Boileau

5. A Manitoban Perspective on the B and B Commission / Roger Turenne

6. Bilingualism in Canada: Challenges for the Future / Raymond-M. Hébert

7. Official Bilingualism: Fair Exchange? / Sherry Simon

STUDIES AND SPECIFIC ISSUES

8. The Legacy of the Laurendeau-Dunton Commission and the Principle of Cultural Equality / Michelle Landry

9. The Impact of Book IV of the "Report of the Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism" on Fundamental Rights and Multiculturalism in Canada / Ingride Roy

10. Language of Work in the Federal Public Service: What Is the Situation Today? / Matthieu LeBlanc

11. A Look Back at Wage Disparities between Francophone and Anglophone Men in New Brunswick: What Has Happened Since 1971? / Éric Forgues and Maurice Beaudin

12. A Look Back at Book V of the "Report of the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism": What Progress Has Been Made in the Provision of Provincial and Municipal Services in the Federal Capital? / Mark Power, Perri Ravon and Albert Nolette

TESTIMONIES

13. Conversation between Keith Spicer and Graham Fraser / Edited by Richard Clément

14. Bilingualism and the Political Reality in Manitoba in 1983 / Andy Anstett

Profiles of the Authors