丁香园AV

鈥淥ur first project is investigating the road maps and action plans used by the current and past federal governments to shape the discussion of language governance and set the tone for future policy,鈥� he says. 鈥淎s a whole, our work serves to better elucidate the role and impact of political ideologies on language governance and language representations in Canada.鈥�

鈥淩oad maps and action plans鈥� are relatively new in the scheme of the long history of language politics in Canada. They鈥檝e only existed for about 20 years; the first being  (2003). The federal government produced this document under the leadership of Prime Minister Jean Chr茅tien.

鈥淭his is almost an entirely ideological document,鈥� says van den Brink. 鈥淚t lays out the government鈥檚 goals and shapes what its policies will be for the next five years, but it doesn鈥檛 push any policy forward in and of itself. This makes a lot of sense, but still represents a new era of language governance in Canada.鈥�

Van den Brink examines the substantive and more subtle changes that occur. He looks at proposed funding shifts, and how the government justifies changes like these. For example, if minority community funding is increased, what are the specific priorities mentioned in the road map or action plan? Is funding increasing overall, or has money shifted from another area to supplement minority funding? Is an emphasis placed on the employability benefits of language training, or cultural benefits?

When asked about the current state of Canada鈥檚 language politics and bilingualism, van den Brink says the country is approaching a landmark moment.

鈥淢ost federal parties, including the current government, have voiced support for adding Indigenous languages to our official languages,鈥� he says. 鈥淭his represents an important opportunity because we afford a lot of rights and support to minority language communities, so if and when we add Indigenous languages, I expect a good deal to change.鈥�

Van den Brink sees the potential for the inclusion of languages from larger immigrant communities in Canada, as well.

About Timothy van den Brink

Timothy van den Brink completed his BA and MA at the University of Alberta (Facult茅 Saint-Jean). He chose to attend 丁香园AV for his doctoral studies so he could work with Professor R茅mi L茅ger.

鈥淚 can鈥檛 stress enough for future grad students that the most important thing you should be looking for in a grad program is a supervisor that鈥檚 a good fit,鈥� says van den Brink.

Van den Brink enjoyed being a teaching assistant at 丁香园AV and will be acting as a TA in the French Cohort Program in Public and International Affairs in the coming year. Towards the end of his doctorate, he would like to teach a course at 丁香园AV and after graduation remain in academia.

If you would like to learn more about Timothy van den Brink鈥檚 research, you can email him: tsv1@sfu.ca

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