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INTERVIEW WITH AN OFFICIAL LANGUAGES CHAMPION

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After some 12 years of exploring careers (officer in the Armed Forces, lawyer, manager in an airline company), fate led me to the public service. For some 25 years, I have had the pleasure of working with passionate people on files that are important to me, such as environmental programs (Transport Canada), citizen participation initiatives (Canadian Heritage) and gender equality (Status of Women), among others. I finally ended up five years ago at Library and Archives Canada (LAC) as Secretary General, a position I held until very recently. Having decided to retire in the coming months, I am now my Deputy Minister’s miscellaneous stuff ninja, responsible for files that will serve the institution in its transformation endeavours. Of course, I continue to serve as an Official Languages Champion!

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After some 12 years of exploring careers (officer in the Armed Forces, lawyer, manager in an airline company), fate led me to the public service. For some 25 years, I have had the pleasure of working with passionate people on files that are important to me, such as environmental programs (Transport Canada), citizen participation initiatives (Canadian Heritage) and gender equality (Status of Women), among others. I finally ended up five years ago at Library and Archives Canada (LAC) as Secretary General, a position I held until very recently. Having decided to retire in the coming months, I am now my Deputy Minister’s miscellaneous stuff ninja, responsible for files that will serve the institution in its transformation endeavours. Of course, I continue to serve as Official Languages Champion!

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'''How long have you been an ~~official languages champion~~? How does this role manifest itself in your daily life?'''

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'''How long have you been an Official Languages Champion? How does this role manifest itself in your daily life?'''

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'''You are known in the archival and library networks ~~of the OLMCs~~ as an Official Languages Champion who demonstrates exemplary leadership. Can you talk about your approach and the initiatives that you have promoted?'''

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'''You are known in the OLMCs' archival and library networks as an Official Languages Champion who demonstrates exemplary leadership. Can you talk about your approach and the initiatives that you have promoted?'''

One of my colleagues tells me that we have a three-pronged approach: strategy, collaboration and inspiration. I would like to claim that my approach was very deliberate, but actually, everything was done rather intuitively.

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From the outset, we decided to avoid a model of general discussions with national organizations whose mandate made little room for documentary heritage. After identifying the most active and representative local players in each province and territory, we invited them to participate in a network. Their initial surprise quickly turned into an outstanding mobilization that gave us wings.

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Aside from establishing two networks (one archival and the other for libraries), we set up an internal advisory committee with representatives from across LAC to implement necessary measures, including the creation of an OL lens. In parallel, we did some research to clearly understand how memory and documentary heritage could foster the development of OLMCs, since the lack of recognition of the impact of documentary heritage did not match our observations nor those of the members of our networks who, on a daily basis, witnessed the importance of its contribution to their community. This [https://publications.gc.ca/site/eng/9.~~896785~~/publication.html ~~'''~~research'''], which was validated by a group of academic experts, created a feeling of community for both LAC and the members of the networks and, in addition, led the latter to design research projects related to the theme. The feeling of being part of a community was also reinforced by the distribution of a monthly [https://publications.gc.ca/site/eng/9.903819/publication.html '''newsletter'''] that provides information on members’ activities and various topics (podcasts, research studies, newspaper articles, etc.) that concern our community and official languages.

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Aside from establishing two networks (one archival and the other for libraries), we set up an internal advisory committee with representatives from across LAC to implement necessary measures, including the creation of an OL lens. In parallel, we did some research to clearly understand how memory and documentary heritage could foster the development of OLMCs, since the lack of recognition of the impact of documentary heritage did not match our observations nor those of the members of our networks who, on a daily basis, witnessed the importance of its contribution to their community. This '''[https://publications.gc.ca/site/eng/9.896163/publication.html research]''', which was validated by a group of academic experts, created a feeling of community for both LAC and the members of the networks and, in addition, led the latter to design research projects related to the theme. The feeling of being part of a community was also reinforced by the distribution of a monthly [https://publications.gc.ca/site/eng/9.903819/publication.html '''newsletter'''] that provides information on members’ activities and various topics (podcasts, research studies, newspaper articles, etc.) that concern our community and official languages.

All these activities inspired our members from the two networks to collaborate with LAC on the organization of a national conference ''Archives and Libraries in Official Language Minority Communities'' in spring 2021. This conference was not only an opportunity to discuss issues and increase collaboration, but it also confirmed the contribution of memory, heritage and history to the vitality of OLMCs. The support for our work expressed by Canadian Heritage, the Commissioner of Official Languages and Minister Fortier particularly moved the members of our networks and inspired other initiatives, such as a partnership for the publication of a post-conference volume at the University of Ottawa Press.

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'''In closing, what to you appreciate the most about your role as Official Languages Champion?'''

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It is without doubt the opportunity to work and share with people who are passionate about the issue: those who create a climate that encourages colleagues to express themselves in their official language of choice, those who share the love of their language, and those who ~~are making~~ the riches of the OLMCs’ cultural heritage accessible. ~~But~~ also, the curious who want to understand the context or develop concepts that transform our perspective of what sustains an OLMC (I am talking about you, Alain Roy, a LAC researcher who has been an invaluable partner without whom our success would not have been possible!).

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It is without doubt the opportunity to work and share with people who are passionate about the issue: those who create a climate that encourages colleagues to express themselves in their official language of choice, those who share the love of their language, and those who make the riches of the OLMCs’ cultural heritage accessible. And also, the curious who want to understand the context or develop concepts that transform our perspective of what sustains an OLMC (I am talking about you, Alain Roy, a LAC researcher who has been an invaluable partner without whom our success would not have been possible!).

'''Ms. Savoie, we thank you for granting us this interview. Our readers will certainly be inspired by your approach and your contagious enthusiasm!'''

Anik.sauve

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CNOLC-newsletter-no1/interview (view source)

Revision as of 14:49, 24 January 2022