Francophones rising in status, according to
study
calgaryherald.com
Tue 07 Aug 2007

Section: News
Byline: Ann Carroll

MONTREAL -- Francophones are increasingly taking charge
of the Quebec economy and closing the salary gap with anglophones in the
province, says a C.D. Howe Institute report.

Francophone ownership of public- and private-sector businesses in Quebec grew
from 47.1 per cent to 67.1 per cent from 1961 to 2003, according to study
results released Tuesday.

The report, Laggards No More: The Changed Socioeconomic Status of
Francophones in Quebec, appears on the eve of the 30th anniversary of passage of
Bill 101, provincial legislation governing French in the workplace and in
schools.

The relative income gap between anglophone and francophone employees has
narrowed in the three decades between 1970 and 2000.

But while francophone workers are catching up fast, the report says the
average income of unilingual francophones in 2000 still lagged behind the
incomes of unilingual anglophones and bilingual workers.

The average income of unilingual francophone males was $29,665 in 2000,
compared with $34,097 for unilingual anglophones, the report said. Bilingual
anglophone and francophone workers earned average incomes of $38,745 and $38,
851, respectively.

Being able to speak only French or English had less impact on women's
salaries during that same period. But bilingual women generally earned more. In
2000, bilingual francophone and anglophone women earned average incomes of $26,
644 and $26,247, respectively, compared with unilingual francophones ($20,786)
and anglophones ($23,002).

English- and French-speaking allophones have generally seen their earnings
decrease by comparison with francophone salaries since 1970, the report showed.

The average income statistics did not take into account the workers'
respective education levels or experience, noted Yvan Guillemette,
senior policy analyst for C.D. Howe.

The report, which updates previous studies on language and income, was co-
authored by Francois Vaillancourt, an economics professor at Universite de
Montreal, Dominique Lemay, an economist with Tecsult, and McGill University law
student Luc Vaillancourt.

The authors note three factors that might have played an important role in
the changing fortunes of francophone and anglophone workers:

* A significant departure of anglos from Quebec from 1970 to 2000 in reaction
to provincial language laws, the threat of separatism, head-office relocations,
and economic booms elsewhere;

* Growth in Quebec's public and private sectors, providing more jobs for
qualified francophones;

* Increased purchasing power of francophones, who demand goods and services
in French.

The study did not lead to new public policy recommendations, Guillemette
said, but the authors did reiterate previous suggestions, including the
compulsory use of French on signs, in addition to other languages; businesses to
serve the local market in French; use of French as the language of work in
Quebec; and French as the common language of all students, from kindergarten to
Grade 3.

The C.D. Howe report is one of several studies that the Office quebecois de
la langue francaise expects to review or produce in the lead-up to 30th
anniversary of Bill 101 on Aug. 26, spokesman Gerald Paquette said yesterday.

Among Office studies expected to be completed this year: Language and income,
language and culture, attitudes to language and the mastery and quality of
French.

Idnumber: 200708070010
Length: 507 words