Double Vision: Reflections of a Bicultural Canada

David De Brou is an assistant professor of history at the University of
Saskatchewan.

A bilingual and bicultural woman working for the federal government in
Ottawa has it made in a Canada where official bilingualism and
employment equity are the law, right? Wrong! As Champagne (a short-story
writer and a federal civil servant who specializes in policy analysis
and communications) so ably describes, the “politics of language”
have forced her as a bilingual and bicultural Canadian to live “a
double life”—a life full of contradictions, anxieties, and
loneliness. Instead of enjoying the fruits of her hard-earned
bilingualism, Champagne is a victim of the French-English language wars
that have plagued Canada in the last 20 years. And the battle-scarred
Champagne, with her “double vision,” has a message for Canadians.
Canada must be for all Canadians—Native peoples and immigrants as well
as English- and French-Canadians. Furthermore, Canadians must not
continue to fight over the past, but must face the complicated
globalization of the twenty-first century by remaining together.
Preachy? Yes, but in times like these, as Canadians confront the spectre
of breakup, a little preaching cannot hurt.