Doug Ford discovers Franco-Ontarians he has never known

Here is a little known fact in France: Doug Ford loves French speakers.

Quebec's neighbors.

As for the 622,000 people who live here in Ontario, they have never really been on his radar. Nothing against them, he just did not notice them – and does not need them.

Until now. Too late.

To understand Ford's blind man, it is useful to revisit his thinking – and his lack of reflection – on Francophone aspirations and protections. Seeking Progressive Conservative Leadership earlier this year, Ford came across a simple question of learning French:

Those who heard his report could not believe their ears.

The Quebecois? What about his Franco-Ontarian television audience?

It was an eloquent comment at the time and it says a lot about it today.

The noisy nod of Ford to French Quebeckers and the heavy reproach of Franco-Ontarians have simply lost. This has revealed his lack of discernment about minority rights that are at the heart of linguistic identity.

If Ford could so easily forget about his fellow Ontarians at the time, is it not surprising that his government remains so unconscious right now – and that he would throw grenades into such a vulnerable community so willingly? Let us count the means:

• On the day of his swearing-in last June, Ford summarily eliminated the Francophone Affairs Ministry, demoted, turning one of our two founding peoples into second-clbad citizens.

• In its fall economic statement, the PC government of Austria delivered on its promise to establish Ontario's first dedicated francophone university. Promise made, promise not kept – in one or the other language.

• The Tories also downgraded the independent French Language Services Commissioner by incorporating the role of advocate into the duties of the provincial Ombudsman's office (which deals with individual grievances, not collective goals).

The heartfelt cry of the Franco-Ontarians was accompanied by an uproar in Quebec and a tumult in Ottawa. French-speaking deputies in the legislature protested their seats; Québec Premier François Legault defended the cause during a visit to Queen's Park; Federal Conservative leader Andrew Scheer joined all major parties to object.

Ford has not only thwarted a vital constituency, it has also alienated potential partners beyond Ontario's borders. The man who would be Prime Minister had repositioned in recent months, as a politician who would be Prime Minister – or perhaps play the King of the King – but the federal future of Ford is now over.

National claims require a federalist vision and provincial acuity that eludes him. Now, having abandoned the French, Ford can forget these ambitions.

But our wounded Prime Minister is not the only influential politician at Queen's Park to have been burned, because his political antennae were no more in harmony. Let's take a look at Caroline Mulroney's background.

As "responsible" Minister of Francophone Affairs (although without a ministry), her perfect French made her a beacon for Francophones at the beginning. Francophone journalists have understood his star quality, as their editors have always coveted a clip of the daughter of a former prime minister.

But the speech is not empathy. And a minister without a ministry is a politician without power.

Mulroney's inability to protect francophone language rights – in fact, the zeal with which she defended the government's blunders in a signed opinion piece published by the National Post – reminds her of her inability to defend the rights guaranteed by the Charter last August, when the Prime Minister reluctantly invoked the notwithstanding clause. redraw the electoral map of Toronto on a whim.

Amanda Simard took a different approach. The only French member of the PC caucus and Mulroney's parliamentary badistant, she spoke out against her own government – and her own minister (although the two do not speak).

In a last-ditch effort to end the controversy, Ford announced last Friday that it had doubted: it belatedly reinstated an autonomous Francophone Affairs Ministry under Mulroney's responsibility, and promised to partially upgrade the version. French degraded. the position of commissioner (although still under the ombudsman), and to hire a new adviser in his office.

But his last language conversion did not satisfy anyone and alienated everyone. In search of ephemeral savings (still undetermined), the Conservatives showed that they did not understand or care about the aspirations of the largest Francophone community outside Quebec.

"I love French-speaking Ontarians," Ford said on Wednesday, noting his radically different tone from his unarmed remarks at Radio-Canada last February. As a result of this, Ford is so bogged down in a narrow provincialism that he has forgotten the generous federalism that binds this country.

Given his known blind spots, he probably did not think twice before deciding to rationalize French services again and again. But what justification did Mulroney have for abandoning the Francophones – and defending the decision for so long – since she had grown up in a bilingual environment at 24 Susbad Drive when the Prime Minister of the day had granted priority to the rights of linguistic minorities?

This is a question that his own rebel parliamentary secretary recently asked. It is worthwhile to answer in one of the official languages ​​of Canada.

Martin Regg Cohn is a columnist based in Toronto covering Ontario politics. Follow him on Twitter: @reggcohn