Defending diversity with solid stats
For more than 35 years, Charles Castonguay, a retired professor from the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, has strived to set the record straight on the state of the French language in Quebec, Ontario and elsewhere in Canada for his fellow citizens. Averse to misinterpretations, annoyed by inaction and smug optimism, and perfectly at home in front of the media and the public, Charles Castonguay does not mince words. Clearly, the future of the French language is very close to his heart.
Yet, this spirited mathematician and demographer is…an Anglophone.
What could possibly drive an English-speaking Ontario native to argue so fervently for the protection of the French language? According to Charles Castonguay, there are two types of people in the world: those who simply want to win, and those who try to advance society as a whole.
“I want to help not only French-speaking people but also English-speaking people understand the problems facing the French language in Canada,” he says, making a direct link between protecting the language and preserving the gains of French Canadians. In fact, without a “critical mass” of Francophones, how can we justify safeguarding their rights and privileges?
Actually, at a very basic level, Charles Castonguay is an advocate of diversity.
“My mother always told me that variety is the spice of life. Our differences are what make life interesting,” he says. And as he offers one detailed example after another, the humanistic nature of his struggle becomes clearer and clearer. Still, the mathematician in him has always fought the temptation to “make the numbers say what you want them to say.” From this rigour stem his startling analyses on the proportion of Francophones in Québec and his careful assessment of the vitality of the French language in Ottawa and Montréal.
Asked about his memories of the University of Ottawa, his alma mater, he answers in a flash: “What I cherish above all is the class, my students. I was a demanding professor, but my goal was always to be fair.” When he talks about the many thanks he continues to receive from his former students, it is clear he achieved his goal.
By Sophie Coupal
Published: April 2009