Alliance for the Preservation of English in Canada
Encyclopedia
The Alliance for the Preservation of English in Canada (APEC) was a group in Canada, which campaigned against the Canadian government
's policy of official bilingualism
.
The group was formed in 1977 by Irene Hilchie, a government
employee who felt that she was being discriminated against in her job because she did not speak French
. The group's most famous member, however, was Jock V. Andrew, whose book Bilingual Today, French Tomorrow
alleged that bilingualism was part of a government plot to make Canada a unilingually French country.
The group was most influential in the late 1980s, as it engaged in activities which contributed to the defeat of the Meech Lake Accord
. As well, the group was involved in a campaign to have Ontario municipalities declare themselves English
-only, in response to the Ontario government's French Language Services Act. While the act did not apply to municipal government services, APEC represented it as a slippery slope towards such a requirement to convince municipalities to pass English-only resolutions.
Most famously, the city of Sault Ste. Marie
passed such a resolution on January 29, 1990. Quebec voters perceived the Sault Ste. Marie resolution
and the Brockville flag incident as symbols of English Canada's feelings toward Quebec, and the incidents contributed directly to the resurgence of the Quebec sovereignty movement
in the 1990s and thus to the 1995 Quebec referendum
.
APEC also worked closely with the Confederation of Regions Party
and the Reform Party
, two political parties which held similar views about bilingualism and the role of Quebec in Confederation
.
APEC claims not to be not anti-french, but believes that tax money was being wastefully used in the promotion of official bilingualism in Canada.
In February 2000, Leitch moved the organization's head office to Toronto, and changed its name to Canadians Against Bilingualism Injustice (CABI). In 2001, the organization changed its name again, becoming the Canadian Network for Language Awareness.
In the 2000 federal election
, CABI spent just over $150,000 as a registered third party participant. Most of the funds were used to place advertisements in Ontario newspapers. No such participation has been recorded for subsequent elections.
Although the group is nominally still active, they have attracted little media attention since their role in the Meech Lake debate ended. For years, APEC / CABI owned the domain name www.bilingualism.org, but registration lapsed some time between 2000 and 2010.
Government of Canada
The Government of Canada, formally Her Majesty's Government, is the system whereby the federation of Canada is administered by a common authority; in Canadian English, the term can mean either the collective set of institutions or specifically the Queen-in-Council...
's policy of official bilingualism
Bilingualism in Canada
The official languages of Canada are English and French, which "have equality of status and equal rights and privileges as to their use in all institutions of the Parliament and Government of Canada" according to Canada's constitution...
.
The group was formed in 1977 by Irene Hilchie, a government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
employee who felt that she was being discriminated against in her job because she did not speak French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
. The group's most famous member, however, was Jock V. Andrew, whose book Bilingual Today, French Tomorrow
Bilingual Today, French Tomorrow
Bilingual Today, French Tomorrow: Trudeau's Master Plan and How it Can be Stopped was a controversial 1977 book by Jock V. Andrew, a retired naval officer, which alleged that Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau's policy of official bilingualism was a plot to make Canada a unilingually...
alleged that bilingualism was part of a government plot to make Canada a unilingually French country.
The group was most influential in the late 1980s, as it engaged in activities which contributed to the defeat of the Meech Lake Accord
Meech Lake Accord
The Meech Lake Accord was a package of proposed amendments to the Constitution of Canada negotiated in 1987 by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and ten provincial premiers. It was intended to persuade the government of the Province of Quebec to endorse the 1982 Canadian Constitution and increase...
. As well, the group was involved in a campaign to have Ontario municipalities declare themselves English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
-only, in response to the Ontario government's French Language Services Act. While the act did not apply to municipal government services, APEC represented it as a slippery slope towards such a requirement to convince municipalities to pass English-only resolutions.
Most famously, the city of Sault Ste. Marie
Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
Sault Ste. Marie is a city on the St. Marys River in Algoma District, Ontario, Canada. It is the third largest city in Northern Ontario, after Sudbury and Thunder Bay, with a population of 74,948. The community was founded as a French religious mission: Sault either means "jump" or "rapids" in...
passed such a resolution on January 29, 1990. Quebec voters perceived the Sault Ste. Marie resolution
Sault Ste. Marie language resolution
The Sault Ste. Marie language resolution was a government motion passed on January 29, 1990 by Sault Ste. Marie City Council, the governing body of the city of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada, which resolved that English was the sole working language of city government...
and the Brockville flag incident as symbols of English Canada's feelings toward Quebec, and the incidents contributed directly to the resurgence of the Quebec sovereignty movement
Quebec sovereignty movement
The Quebec sovereignty movement refers to both the political movement and the ideology of values, concepts and ideas that promote the secession of the province of Quebec from the rest of Canada...
in the 1990s and thus to the 1995 Quebec referendum
1995 Quebec referendum
The 1995 Quebec referendum was the second referendum to ask voters in the Canadian province of Quebec whether Quebec should secede from Canada and become an independent state, through the question:...
.
APEC also worked closely with the Confederation of Regions Party
Confederation of Regions Party of Canada
The Confederation of Regions Party was a right-wing Canadian political party founded in 1984 by Elmer Knutson. It was founded as a successor to the Western Canada Federation , a non-partisan organization, to fight the Liberal Party of Canada...
and the Reform Party
Reform Party of Canada
The Reform Party of Canada was a Canadian federal political party that existed from 1987 to 2000. It was originally founded as a Western Canada-based protest party, but attempted to expand eastward in the 1990s. It viewed itself as a populist party....
, two political parties which held similar views about bilingualism and the role of Quebec in Confederation
Canadian Confederation
Canadian Confederation was the process by which the federal Dominion of Canada was formed on July 1, 1867. On that day, three British colonies were formed into four Canadian provinces...
.
APEC claims not to be not anti-french, but believes that tax money was being wastefully used in the promotion of official bilingualism in Canada.
In February 2000, Leitch moved the organization's head office to Toronto, and changed its name to Canadians Against Bilingualism Injustice (CABI). In 2001, the organization changed its name again, becoming the Canadian Network for Language Awareness.
In the 2000 federal election
Canadian federal election, 2000
The 2000 Canadian federal election was held on November 27, 2000, to elect 301 Members of Parliament of the Canadian House of Commons of the 37th Parliament of Canada....
, CABI spent just over $150,000 as a registered third party participant. Most of the funds were used to place advertisements in Ontario newspapers. No such participation has been recorded for subsequent elections.
Although the group is nominally still active, they have attracted little media attention since their role in the Meech Lake debate ended. For years, APEC / CABI owned the domain name www.bilingualism.org, but registration lapsed some time between 2000 and 2010.