Description

Bilingual districts were recommended by the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism to help resolve Canada's sociolinguistic tensions. The cornerstone of the Commission's 150 recommendations and federal language policy, these administrative enclaves were intended to provide symbolic recognition of minority homelands and delineate where federal, provincial, and municipal public services should be made available in both official languages. In the first systematic study of the subject, Daniel Bourgeois traces the complex path that led to the demise of the plan in 1976, following pressure from the Treasury Board Secretariat. Also considers the Royal Commission's approach in the context of contemporary developments. Bourgeois argues for the reconsideration of this previously discarded cornerstone of federal language policy, providing a nuanced analysis of social identity, sociolinguistic policies, nationalism, and minority rights and services.