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Graham Fraser
Graham Fraser OC (born 1946) is a Canadian former journalist and writer who served as Canada's sixth Commissioner of Official Languages. He is the author of several books, both in English and French.
Fraser is the son of Blair Fraser, a respected newspaper and magazine reporter of the mid-20th century. Blair Fraser drowned on a canoe trip in 1968. Graham Fraser attended Upper Canada College and, later, studied at the University of Toronto where he obtained a BA in 1968 and an MA in history in 1973.[citation needed]
In the summer of 1965, Graham Fraser went on an archeology trip at Fort Lennox, Quebec, with the intention to learn French and learn more about Quebec, as the province was undergoing the vast social transformations of the Quiet Revolution. In his 2006 book Sorry, I Don't Speak French, Fraser described that, in this trip, he felt like a "foreigner in his own country", because of the linguistic and cultural differences he encountered there. This trip sparked his lifelong interest in the Canadian language question and in the relationship between Anglo Canadians and French Canadians.[citation needed]
During his career as a journalist, Fraser wrote for Maclean's, The Globe and Mail, The Montreal Gazette, The Toronto Star and Le Devoir. He served as the National Affairs Correspondent for the Toronto Star, for which he also wrote a weekly column. He was also an adjunct professor of journalism at Carleton University from 2003 to 2008.[citation needed]
Fraser's unusual abilities as a journalist to write in both of Canada's official languages gave him natural qualifications to be Canada's Commissioner of Official Languages.[citation needed] In early 2006, he published a book, Sorry, I Don't Speak French, in which he reviewed the successes and failures of Canada's official bilingualism policy. It was largely on the basis of this book, and of Fraser's bilingual work experience, that then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper nominated Fraser to be Canada's next Commissioner of Official Languages in September 2006. The nomination was unanimously approved by the House of Commons on October 17.
In 2009, Graham Fraser created the Award of Excellence – Promotion of Linguistic Duality. The prize is given annually by the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages to an individual or organization in Canada that is not subject to the federal Official Languages Act, but that makes a difference by promoting linguistic duality in Canada or abroad, or by contributing to the development of official language minority communities.
After they were announced, Graham Fraser had identified that the 2010 Winter Olympics, held in Vancouver, were an opportunity to showcase Canada's linguistic duality. He negotiated with the CRTC so that more Canadian homes would have access to Olympics broadcasting in French. However, Fraser voiced his disappointment with the lack of French during the Torch relay, in which many events, such as the Torch's arrival in Victoria, were held only in English.[citation needed]
One of the biggest challenges Fraser had to deal with as Commissioner was regarding the place of French in the 2010 Winter Olympics opening ceremony. Fraser was of the impression that the event was "developed, perceived and presented in English with a French song." Fraser's office received over 100 complaints regarding the ceremony. Minister of Canadian Heritage James Moore, Quebec Premier Jean Charest, and Secretary General of La Francophonie Abdou Diouf also expressed their disappointment regarding the place of French in the Ceremony. VANOC, however, defended their case and said that they had made "a very deliberate focus and effort to ensure a strong celebration of Quebec culture and language." They also said that there was a significant amount of French in the opening ceremony. David Atkins also said that the ceremonies did celebrate francophone Canada.
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Graham Fraser
Graham Fraser OC (born 1946) is a Canadian former journalist and writer who served as Canada's sixth Commissioner of Official Languages. He is the author of several books, both in English and French.
Fraser is the son of Blair Fraser, a respected newspaper and magazine reporter of the mid-20th century. Blair Fraser drowned on a canoe trip in 1968. Graham Fraser attended Upper Canada College and, later, studied at the University of Toronto where he obtained a BA in 1968 and an MA in history in 1973.[citation needed]
In the summer of 1965, Graham Fraser went on an archeology trip at Fort Lennox, Quebec, with the intention to learn French and learn more about Quebec, as the province was undergoing the vast social transformations of the Quiet Revolution. In his 2006 book Sorry, I Don't Speak French, Fraser described that, in this trip, he felt like a "foreigner in his own country", because of the linguistic and cultural differences he encountered there. This trip sparked his lifelong interest in the Canadian language question and in the relationship between Anglo Canadians and French Canadians.[citation needed]
During his career as a journalist, Fraser wrote for Maclean's, The Globe and Mail, The Montreal Gazette, The Toronto Star and Le Devoir. He served as the National Affairs Correspondent for the Toronto Star, for which he also wrote a weekly column. He was also an adjunct professor of journalism at Carleton University from 2003 to 2008.[citation needed]
Fraser's unusual abilities as a journalist to write in both of Canada's official languages gave him natural qualifications to be Canada's Commissioner of Official Languages.[citation needed] In early 2006, he published a book, Sorry, I Don't Speak French, in which he reviewed the successes and failures of Canada's official bilingualism policy. It was largely on the basis of this book, and of Fraser's bilingual work experience, that then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper nominated Fraser to be Canada's next Commissioner of Official Languages in September 2006. The nomination was unanimously approved by the House of Commons on October 17.
In 2009, Graham Fraser created the Award of Excellence – Promotion of Linguistic Duality. The prize is given annually by the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages to an individual or organization in Canada that is not subject to the federal Official Languages Act, but that makes a difference by promoting linguistic duality in Canada or abroad, or by contributing to the development of official language minority communities.
After they were announced, Graham Fraser had identified that the 2010 Winter Olympics, held in Vancouver, were an opportunity to showcase Canada's linguistic duality. He negotiated with the CRTC so that more Canadian homes would have access to Olympics broadcasting in French. However, Fraser voiced his disappointment with the lack of French during the Torch relay, in which many events, such as the Torch's arrival in Victoria, were held only in English.[citation needed]
One of the biggest challenges Fraser had to deal with as Commissioner was regarding the place of French in the 2010 Winter Olympics opening ceremony. Fraser was of the impression that the event was "developed, perceived and presented in English with a French song." Fraser's office received over 100 complaints regarding the ceremony. Minister of Canadian Heritage James Moore, Quebec Premier Jean Charest, and Secretary General of La Francophonie Abdou Diouf also expressed their disappointment regarding the place of French in the Ceremony. VANOC, however, defended their case and said that they had made "a very deliberate focus and effort to ensure a strong celebration of Quebec culture and language." They also said that there was a significant amount of French in the opening ceremony. David Atkins also said that the ceremonies did celebrate francophone Canada.
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