Press in the Yukon | Klondike of French speakers

(White Horse) In a sky rapidly alternating between scorching summer sun and raining clouds, the roar of a low-flying aircraft suddenly pierces the eardrums. “It’s a Beaver, a bush plane. It takes off from a nearby lake,” enthuses Vincent LaRochelle, his eyes glued to the sky.

The 37-year-old lawyer, originally from Quebec, was returning from a bicycle relay race between the Yukon and southern Alaska. Pres Met him in front of his house in Whitehorse. He has lived in the Yukon for eight years, having moved there on a boat trip while working in a completely different environment as a tax attorney at a firm in New York.

His neighborhood is at the foot of “Grey Mountain,” which rises to 5,000 feet and is a playground for residents who race mountain bikes in the summer. Like many residents, he talks enthusiastically about the nearby wilderness and hiking trips, cross-country and high-country skiing, rivers where he can canoe for days without meeting a human, and hunting.

Educated at Oxford University on a Rhodes Scholarship, the impressive achiever found his way into the region by building a practice as a defense lawyer focused on appeals to “overwhelm the opinion of the more rural and northern communities in Canadian justice.”

Francophonie in turmoil

The Yukon is popular among Quebecers, drawn by the wide open spaces or well-paying jobs, or those who land there by chance. According to the latest Statistics Canada census, almost half of the people in the territory, whose first language is French, were born in Quebec.

Francophones from other Canadian provinces and immigrants from Europe and Africa also swell the Francophonie. While the atmosphere is falling in other provinces, the Franco-Yukon community is seeing wind speeds increase with indicators, even if it’s moderate, according to Statistics Canada data. Over the past 30 years, the proportion of residents with French as their mother tongue has increased from 3.4% to 5.7%.

“It’s really very, very positive,” said Isabelle Salles, general director of the Association Franco-Yuconnais, which promotes the Yukon outside the region. »

The Yukon is “a land where everyone comes from elsewhere,” he says, and the French-speaking community we know today was established about forty years ago. Access to services in French may encourage people to settle there permanently, but there is still work to be done.

The needs are real, underlines Jean-Sébastien Blais, who has been in the Yukon for about fifteen years and is president of the Commission Scholar Francophone du Yukon (CSFY). Pres Met him at a popular cafe in downtown Whitehorse, nestled between a fine cheese shop and a children’s toy store.

About forty secondary school students were previously housed in the same building as primary school, an unattractive option that encouraged many to pursue secondary studies at an English-speaking school. But the youngsters were transferred to a new high school a few years ago, which opened its doors after a very long legal battle against the Yukon government.

“Next August, we will have 160 students in a building that can accommodate 150 people. We have a popularity problem,” Jean-Sébastien Blais said in the same breath, saying more French-speaking daycares are needed. “Our graduates have no post-secondary training in French, and I find that scandalous,” he says.

The funding that comes with the protection of the French language can create tension with indigenous communities, with some believing that by giving to some we are not giving to others.

Nordic lifestyle

Although the French-speaking world is growing, English is often used in school corridors, reports a primary school teacher. “There’s still a lot of linguistic insecurity,” notes Marie-Christine Boucher. It is not always easy for students to be proud of being French speakers; »

Pres He met his girlfriend in East Whitehorse, an area of ​​bungalows, asphalt driveways and well-manicured green grass.

The Yukon education system, which aims to close the achievement gap between Aboriginal students and whites, is important to move away from the individual “imagination” of the Yukon centered on elders, and to “give back” to their host land and First Nations.

During our visit, Quebecer was busy cleaning her VanIn it she wanders all summer. She and her roommates have to move out of their rental house because the landlord is coming back. Finding housing in the Yukon is very difficult. “I wanted to buy, but it was too expensive,” he says.

The two Quebecers arrived in the Yukon a few years apart. “I feel like I’m at home, I’m coming to the right place,” says Stephanie, who describes the Nordic and alternative lifestyle. Marie-Christine adds: “There are many places and people from different backgrounds, and there are more opportunities and mutual support.

Both have overcome the harsh days of winter with mosquitoes and forest fires and little sunshine to the long, exciting days of summer. Conditions are sometimes hostile, they admit. “You don’t want to be rich. More serious things can happen because the territory is very serious,” emphasizes Stephanie.

“You have to tell everyone that winter is really hard,” he says with a laugh. Pres Marie-Christine. Otherwise, everyone will want to come. »

This report was made possible by a special grant from the Association of Independent Journalists of Quebec.