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WITByFU REES, WEDNESDÂ4y, MARCH 16, 1988, PAGE,27 Bih -72 iilput. ourhouse.i re.-H mlo Janette Hamilton fromn the office, of the Commissioner of Official Languages spoke on, bilingualism and Bill C-72 at the March meeting of the Canadian Club of Durham Region. According to Hamilton, Canada's national policy on language is based on the premise that "official bilingualism should be the concern of every Canadian. " The role of ber' office, and that of the Com- missioner, is to act as a "conscien- ce" for the government in language matters. There are three officiai roles for the Commfissioner (who is selected by ail three officiai parties): as linguistic ombudsman for language groups who have no representation by authority; "auditor generai" of sorts to measure compliance with the Officiai Languages Act by the federal government; and as the promoter of bilingualisM for the Canadian public. Mainly concerned witb in-_ stitutional biingualism, the com-. missioner does not have the power to force federal institutions to com- ply with -the Act, but bas only the power to "advise" the government on language issues. The basic rationale for the Official Languages Act of 1969, is, to accor- ding to Hamilton, that English and French are the officiai languagesof the country and that botb are tohave equal rights in government services and institutions. For purposes of government and business relations and national unity, French needs to be offered to anyone requiring government. services in that * language or bas to be a part of any legisiation for the French speaking minorities benefit. At the same time, tlese services need to be offered in English for the English minority in Quebec. The commission "protects a sense of fair play in these dealings," Hamilton said. The problem lies in making the Act true because the Commissioner bas no legal right to force the gover- nment to comply witb the languages act, it can only recommend "until it is blueinthelace."' Thus. there is the need for Bill C- 72, which is really the saâme act only with tougher'meausres to get the government and itsservices to con- form. Tbecommissioner still cannot lègally force the government to change its language policies, but if an individual or group complains of inaccessibiity to government ser- vices in their own language, the commissionercan present evidence in a court on that peèrson or group's behalf. The previous Act did encourage bilingualism both federally and provincially, and made the federal government "fully responsibie to two language groups at* high quality, " according to Hamilton. However, too many Canadians, as a small minority in certain areas such as in Northern Ontario, are of- ten finding it difficult to get gover- nment. services in their own language. Under the 1969 Act, services could only be provided in anothèr language where numbers permit- ted. Aithough the previous Act coun- teracted "textreme French nationalism," and was a sensible approacli to the bilinguaiism question, Hamilton concluded that it 6th annual dance upcoming Are you ready to twist the night away, stroll or bop until you drop? If so you should plan to attend the Cystic Fibrosis Durham Chapter's 6th annual 50's and 60's Breath of Life dance. As early as November the chapter has been receiving telephone calîs as to wben ticket' sales are for this very popular dan- ce. Tickets for this year's dance go on sale at Whitby Iroquois Park arena 9 a.m., Saturday, April 9, at a cost of $17.50 per person, with a limit of 10 single tickets per person. Nine hun- dred tickets wilbe availabie. As in past years, Don Daynard of CEFI 98.1 FM and producer Craig Smith of CJEZ 97.3 FM will be ac- ting as masters of ceremonies for the event along with the 'Dazzettes.' Don Baker of DMB Sound will be providing the sound system for the night. ' Ail proceeds from the dance are directed toward cystic fibrosis research within Canada. Garth Edwards, coordinator for the dance, already knows this dance will be.another sellout as in past years. He reports that ail tickets for hast year's dance soid out witbin 20 minutes at Iroquois arena and people were standing in line as early as 4:30 in the morning. As in past years there will be a 1boola hoop contest, best dressed contest, a special leisure draw, a minimum of 100 door prizes and lots of rock 'n roll music. Last year's dance realized a profit of $18.300 for cystic fibrosis resear- ch in Caniada, with a five-year total of approximately $70,000. At R.A. Hutchison BRIAN WOLFF'pl ayed the LISA LANG, a Grade 3 dragon and Elizabeth student at R.A. Hut chison, Johnson was the princess looks over a collection of~ in The Princess, the l00cards and lollipops. The Dragon and the Snowflake. studâents celebrated the The play was put on for lOth day of sehool by students at R.A. Hutchison collecting 100 items. last week. Free Press photo CALL A PR[O FIESSIONAL Painng & Decorating BRIAN TAYLOR AL'S DRYWALL e Ornamental design a Piasterwork e Paintinlg & decoratiflg e Generat contractiflg 68-8958 666-1657 S6cotty. A BRIAN DEEGAN DENTURE THERAPY CLINIC HARWOQD AVE. S. AJAX, ONTARIO 683-6074 L 655-8500 LEEDLE .LAN DSCAPING *Landscapedesigning * Tree planting 10 Stone work 0 Consulting for the home owner Tom Leedie BSc.AGR) WIB If yo ariead yowigcinso yourRs Plz, Ocal: HERB TRAN OSHAWA 725-6564 Whitby 668-5968' TOP 5 QUOTES AVAILABLE WHOLESALE & RETAIL 1 Frelè Press photo 1 would' not bring about French- English unity in Canada. Language, education, being a provincial nmatter, -as welflas .provincial -government bureauceracy, are difficuit sectors for the Commissioner to influence. As with the federal government, a commissiofler can only act in an ad- visorycapacity. Bill C-72 "will put our house in or- der," Hamilton hopes. It Will not mean dictatorial p<iwers for the commissioner, nor will it mean that ail federal and provincial civil ser- vants willhave to bebilingual. What the bill does mean is that a legal system has been set up so that the citizen, assisted by the com- miissioner, can complain and -get resuits (servicesin their own ofý ficial language). And it does mean that a certain number of civil ser- vants, probably no more than at present and mainly the upper levels, will have to be bilingual as services must be available in both languages. In short, Hamilton concluded, C- 72 promises a brighter future of Canadian unity and that "C-72 is the Act of a mature and self-confident nation."