Newsletter — April, 2021
COVID-19 pandemic and services in French
The year 2020 was marked by the global spread of the coronavirus. This unprecedented situation, to which governments had to respond, illustrated the need to ensure the efficient flow of information to official language minority communities. Faced with this new reality, the federal, provincial, and territorial governments have shown resilience and have implemented a number of initiatives to ensure they reach their Francophone communities.
Table of contents
The importance of translating and disseminating information in French
The health crisis has required the production of numerous documents, ranging from general information about the pandemic, public health orders and vaccination plans to financial, social and economic support measures. As a result, each government has increased its translation capacity to be able to publish critical information in French. In Alberta, the year 2020 saw an over 50% increase in words translated compared to the previous year, from 135 documents translated and disseminated to French-speaking Albertans to 299. In Nunavut, translation volumes have exploded in order to share information, not in two, but in all official languages of the territory. The Translation Bureau of the Government of Canada developed a COVID‑19 glossary, available online and updated weekly. The Northwest Territories and Prince Edward Island have made their translation services available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including on public holidays. To keep its Francophone population informed, the Government of British Columbia has implemented a new communication system: French-speaking organizations now receive an email notification as soon as information related to COVID‑19 is posted online in French.
Use of technologies
In order to make translated information accessible to their communities, all governments have updated their websites to compile essential information related to COVID‑19 in a web section in French. This includes, for example, travel restrictions and guidelines. The website of the Government of Nova Scotia provides the Safe Check-in form and procedures for entering the province entirely in French. The websites of the governments of Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador also compile communications from the Ministry of Education that are of interest to Francophone institutions, parents and students.
Some governments have the capacity to host press briefings in both official languages, including British Columbia, where the Minister of Health and Minister Responsible for Francophone Affairs, the Honourable Adrian Dix, provides his updates in English and French. This is also the case in the Yukon and in Prince Edward Island, where the bilingual chief medical officers of health allow the media to ask their questions in the language of their choice. In fact, these two doctors have made it to the 2020 list of the 10 most influential personalities in the Canadian Francophonie. In several provinces, when the main speaker cannot speak French, simultaneous interpretation is available live, as in New Brunswick and Ontario, or for differed viewing, as in Manitoba. For the vast majority, government press briefings are archived and made available on social media or government websites.
In addition to simultaneous interpretation, and in order to reach as many people as possible, the federal government and the Government of New Brunswick offer interpretation in Quebec Sign Language in addition to American Sign Language. The Government of Ontario has opted to provide French subtitles.
New services and projects
To maintain contact with official language minority communities, bilingual hotlines have been set up. In the Yukon and New Brunswick, the hotline provides non-medical information about COVID‑19 in the caller’s preferred language. The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador provides linguistic support services, via telephone, to employees in charge of border control.
In addition, the Government of Quebec, through its Programme d’appui à la francophonie canadienne, has supported more than 90 projects and invested over $1.7 million, to promote the Canadian Francophonie during the pandemic. One of the projects was to fund an illustrated magazine for children about COVID‑19, produced in May 2020 by Manitoba’s weekly French newspaper, La Liberté, in collaboration with the newspaper Le Soleil. This support for Francophone and Acadian culture was also demonstrated through the funding allocated to the Canada-wide Fédération culturelle canadienne-française Regards sans masques project promoting the revival of the Francophone arts and culture community in Canada. The Centre de la francophonie des Amériques, for its part, provided several online resources and broadcast several concerts, thereby helping to bring Francophone culture to the homes of a confined population across Canada.
Special publications
Several governments have used their community media to keep in touch with their citizens by placing public service announcements. Notably, the Government of Saskatchewan has invested in numerous pandemic-related advertisements in the newspaper L’Eau vive. The Government of Ontario launched a multi-phase awareness campaign; the content of each phase was fully translated into French and distributed through the many traditional and digital media. Several websites, social media and outdoor advertising were included in this campaign. The Government of Yukon published an eight-page dossier in L’Aurore boréale listing all the recommendations and special measures in effect in the territory. In Manitoba, an awareness campaign destinée aux jeunes a été lancée simultanément en français et en anglais; elle visait à inciter au respect des consignes de la Santé publique.
Intergovernmental collaboration
The Government of Canada has launched the bilingual COVID Alert application, which sends a notification to individuals who have been in contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID‑19. This new application has been promoted to provinces and territories during federal press conferences.
As early as April 2020, the Government of Quebec produced an adapted version of its Self-Care Guide that could be used by all Francophones across the country. The guide provides reliable and comprehensive information on the pandemic.
Lastly, this unprecedented health crisis has made it possible to highlight the number of elected officials able to speak French in almost all provinces and territories. They are no longer the exception. They are numerous. Whether they are premiers, ministers or senior officials, more and more people in the public service can communicate directly with their Francophone minority. Many of them are members of the Ministers’ Council on the Canadian Francophonie and are committed to ensuring the well-being of Francophones and Acadians across the country.
- The Government of Alberta has increased the dissemination of information in French beyond the requirements of its French Policy.
- In 2020, 236,954 words were translated (more than double that of 2019, which peaked at 101,214 words).
- Several tools have been leveraged and new ones created to ensure French-speaking Albertans have access to critical information in a timely manner – including web content, social media and direct mailouts to stakeholder organizations. For example, all translated COVID‑19 resources were compiled and made accessible on Bonjour.Alberta.ca.
- Federal assistance of up to $2 billion has been provided to provinces and territories in order to facilitate the safe return to school for children and staff, in all communities.
- To compensate for the closure of its offices, Service Canada quickly adapted its communications with the public by offering a prevalent presence online to respond to clients.
- Canadian Heritage has adapted its administrative operations so that the Official Languages Support Programs (OLSPs) can show greater flexibility in accommodating organizations and accelerating fund transfers.
- A French web page on COVID‑19 is updated regularly. It contains provincial news, including restrictions and information on the support programs related to COVID‑19 in British Columbia.
- All joint statements by Dr. Bonnie Henry, Director of Public Health, and the Honourable Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, have been translated into French and posted on the BC Government News site, along with certain press releases, newsletters and social media announcements.
- Service BC offers interpretation services for non-medical issues, such as travel, social distancing, wearing a mask, public health orders, etc.
- The Government of Prince Edward Island's translation service operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
- The French version of the website is updated according to the priorities of the Acadian and Francophone communities. It goes into great detail about the COVID‑19 immunization program.
- Dr. Heather Morrison, Chief Health Officer for Prince Edward Island, is one of the top 10 influential figures in Canadian Francophonie in 2020. Since 2015, this mark of recognition has highlighted the contribution of people who have readily shown their respect and commitment to Canadian Francophonie.
- During his public speeches, the Premier, the Honourable Brian Pallister, often includes statements in French.
- Manitoba has a bilingual website dedicated to COVID‑19. It has links to access the province's speeches and press releases in French.
- The translation service has seen a significant increase in requests from the various public bodies. From April 1 to September 30, 2020, 2,687,824 words were translated, which represents an increase of 43% compared with the same period in 2019.
- In compliance with New Brunswick’s Official Languages Act, all communications relating to the pandemic are in both official languages. The spokespersons deliver the same information in English and French. They have also slowed down their speed of speaking in order to facilitate the work of the interpreters.
- The Government of New Brunswick is posting press conferences online on its YouTube channel. The videos are available in English and French.
- New Brunswick has set up an 811 line, which allows people to ask questions related to COVID‑19 in the language of their choice.
- The French Language Services Act of the Government of Nova Scotia, and its accompanying regulations, require designated public institutions to prioritize the translation of information that relates, among other things, to public health and safety.
- Daily press releases on the number of developing COVID‑19 cases are published simultaneously in English and French.
- A bilingual website on the provincial government's response to COVID‑19 offers information on, among other things, provincial restrictions, healthy daily habits and how to self-isolate.
- Francophones in Ontario have the right to receive communications in French, equivalent to those offered in English. The Government of Ontario's Communications in French Directive and accompanying guidelines provide best practices to consider.
- Government press releases and statements are published simultaneously in English and French in the newsroom of the Government of Ontario's website.
- Daily government press conferences are broadcast live with simultaneous interpretation and French subtitles on the official Government of Ontario YouTube channel.
- Since April 2020, the Programme d'appui à la francophonie canadienne (PAFC, Support Program for the Canadian Francophonie) has supported nearly 100 projects worth around 1.8 million dollars to promote Canadian Francophonie.
- A new call for projects aimed at encouraging cooperation between organizations in Quebec and those in other provinces and territories was launched in January 2021. Projects must adapt to the context of the COVID‑19 pandemic.
- Since the start of the pandemic, the Secrétariat du Québec aux relations canadiennes, the Quebec office in the Atlantic provinces, the Quebec office in Toronto and the Quebec office in Ottawa have published, through their Facebook accounts, many suggestions for activities in French available online, including those proposed by the Centre de la francophonie des Amériques.
- The Government of Saskatchewan created a thematic web page on COVID‑19 to bring together information available in French. From the start of the pandemic until December 2020, it has been widely used, with more than 8,000 visits.
- The government's Facebook page has been very active in French since the start of the pandemic, thanks in part to the dissemination of information and infographics in French, as well as the sharing of links to the thematic web page on COVID‑19.
- The CAT Tel-Aide Empathetic Crisis Line is now available in Saskatchewan, a welcome resource in this difficult time for mental health.
- A website on COVID‑19 in French has been created. The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador has brought together all available information to facilitate access.
- Working with the federal Translation Bureau makes it possible to distribute information in English and in French.
- Good cooperation between the staff of the Office of French Services and those responsible for communications facilitates the dissemination of important information.
- The Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) disseminates all communications related to COVID‑19 in French (public health notices, press releases, vaccinations, self-isolation plan, travel exemption requests, exposure notifications, etc.).
- Most translations are published simultaneously, including the Facebook pages of government institutions.
- The GNWT's Indigenous Languages and Education Secretariat promotes COVID‑19 resources in NWT Indigenous languages and assists central agencies with getting COVID‑19 resources translated into Indigenous languages.
- With Inuktitut, French and English being the three official languages of the territory, the Government of Nunavut ensures that the language rights of its communities are respected. By creating a COVID‑19 category for translation requests, the government has been able to maximize the dissemination of information related to the pandemic in all three official languages.
- A trilingual service, COVID‑19 Helpline, was set up to answer questions from Nunavumiut concerning symptoms, travel and places for isolation.
- All messages from the Premier, the Honourable Joe Savikataaq, are posted in three languages on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
- The Government of Yukon disseminates all communication related to COVID‑19 in French. This includes press releases, awareness campaigns, information about programs and services, etc.
- Cultural initiatives and educational resources in French from across the country have been shared on the government’s social networks to support the vitality of the Franco-Yukonnie.
- A virtual town hall was held, and the Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Brendan Hanley, was able to provide answers in French to the public's questions on COVID‑19.