The Legacy of Planter Jean My: Analysis of Two Private Colonial Homes in Southern Melanesia

This paper discusses two private houses built by New Hebrides planter Jean Marot dit My, one on Santo Island, northern Vanuatu, and another in Nouméa, New Caledonia. The former is relatively well known in Vanuatu, as it is assumed to be the inspiration behind the octagonally shaped mansion of the character Emile de Becque, a French planter in James A. Michener’s Tales of the South Pacific. Mr My’s houses are linked to French Art Deco style and are here compared to one another. Through the study of their similarities and differences, and of their interiors, the integration of Art Deco style and design can be demonstrated. While they represent two very different ways of life, they show the inspiration, aspirations and trajectory of a colonial French family in southern Melanesia. Hopefully, this research will help promote the protection of both houses, through emphasising the importance of their historical and literary connections.     

Marring the Memory: The 1967 Vimy Ridge Commemorations and Canada-France Relations

Commemorating Canada's legendary April 1917 battle of Vimy Ridge has normally proven an emotive event of national importance, symbolic of shared Canadian and French wartime trials and given mostly to remembrance of Canada's war dead. Since 1936, the ridge has been graced by the massive Canadian National Vimy Memorial, for decades the site of impressive and solemn annual ceremonies. But Canada's 1967 50th anniversary celebrations of the battle – a showpiece of the national centenary celebrations – became mired in controversy. French President General Charles de Gaulle was deeply offended that Canada had invited Prince Philip to the event without consulting Paris. It was a stunning diplomatic blunder, especially since Canada's relations with France already were tense as a result of de Gaulle's tacit support for the cause of Quebec independence. Consequently, an opportunity to commemorate a signal event in Canadian history devolved into a fractious bilateral debate and led to a shocking and much-deplored French boycott of the ceremonies. This article adds to the history of commemoration as foreign policy and argues that the Vimy incident had major consequences on France–Canada relations and played a role in France's growing encouragement of Quebec separatists.     

‘The Scum of France’: Australian Anxieties towards French Convicts in the Nineteenth Century

Between the 1860s and the early decades of the twentieth century, escaped and liberated French convicts from the penal colony in New Caledonia arrived on Australian shores, raising concerns about physical as well as moral contamination. This article combines Australian sources with French consular and ministerial archives to examine the impact this little-known episode of trans-imperial history had on the early Australian federal process. The arrival of the convicts and former convicts played on at least two levels. It highlighted the colonial authorities’ weak powers in asserting their territorial sovereignty and policies and pitted them against both Great Britain and the French. Further, the constant nudging of these unwelcome neighbours disrupted the ongoing disavowal of the colonies’ convict past.     

The Limits of Influence: Australia and the Future of New Caledonia, 1975 to 1988

From the late 1970s Australian governments (led in turn by Malcolm Fraser and Bob Hawke) expected New Caledonia to become independent. France responded with suspicion. From 1983, however, reformist governments in Australia and France took apparently converging views. But tensions rose because of unrest in New Caledonia and conflict over French nuclear testing. Australia’s limited capacity to influence developments waned further in 1986 when Jacques Chirac became French prime minister and countered the Kanak nationalist movement. Foreign Minister Bill Hayden favoured moderating Australia’s position, but the issue became moot in mid-1988 when the rival forces in New Caledonia agreed to the truce embodied in the Matignon Accords. The different approaches of the Fraser and Hawke governments reflected philosophical differences, the personal stance of key players, influences from their political movements, and the challenges of changing circumstances. Decades later, with a referendum due by November 2018, Australia’s approach is likely to be cautious.     

Five Decades of Canadian and Québec Content in French Textbooks in the United States

This study investigates the evolution of Canadian and Québec content in a sample of 65 first-year university French textbooks in the United States from the 1960s through 2010. Overall indicators of Canadian and Québec contexts and cultural notes were tabulated for each decade in addition to particular content such as Canadian history, Québec identity, and Canadian French language. The chronological analysis challenges the popular notion that teachers and textbooks authors are inherently uninterested in Canada. Instead, the analysis finds Canadian and Québec content increasing over the five-decade period reaching an all-time high point in the most recent decade. Results are explained by dynamic Québec-based factors of language politics and foreign relations initiatives rather than static US-based attitudes toward Canadian French. The analysis offers optimism for the role of Canadian and Québec Studies as a source of content for the teaching of French in the United States.     

Repatriating the Japanese from New Caledonia, 1941–46

This paper considers the negotiations for the repatriation of the Japanese residents of New Caledonia who were transferred to Australia for internment after the outbreak of the Asia-Pacific theatre of World War II. It shows that whilst the Japanese residents’ place of origin was New Caledonia, it was deemed instead to be Japan, and they were repatriated to Japan either as part of the Anglo–Japanese civilian exchange of September 1942 or after the cessation of hostilities. The paper also shows that the Australian government had security concerns regarding the Japanese before and during the war but was willing to repatriate the Japanese to New Caledonia after the war should the New Caledonian authorities have been willing to accept them back. The New Caledonian authorities’ decision not to accept the Japanese back in New Caledonia resulted in their repatriation to Japan even though some expressed the wish to return to New Caledonia.     

New Caledonia's Independence Referendum: Re-Defining the Future

The historic independence referendum that took place on 4 November 2018 in New Caledonia marks the beginning of a potentially four-year self-determination process that is, like the French territory itself, unique. It is the final stage of a series of agreements that ended civil war over independence, and that have overseen peace in New Caledonia for 30 years. The referendum has highlighted the real achievements under the peace agreements, but also areas of deep difference, creating new uncertainties and risks to stability. While the November vote saw majority support for staying with France, it exposed continued ethnic division, with a sizeable Indigenous Kanak vote for independence, despite years of Accord compromises. The referendum is only the first of potentially two more divisive votes by 2022, to be preceded by local provincial elections in May 2019. Whatever the voting outcomes, the majority loyalists must take into account Indigenous independence aspirations in considering the major issues left over after the Noumea Accord's completion, if peaceful governance is to continue. UN decolonization principles present three options: independence, independence in some kind of partnership with France, or continued integration with France. So long as the answer remains ‘no’ to independence, this final process will demand serious dialogue between bitterly opposed parties, at the least about expanded local powers, re-defining governance in New Caledonia beyond the Noumea Accord.     

Australia's Economic Ambitions in French New Caledonia, 1945–1955

ABSTRACT

From 1945, consistent with its broader South Pacific ambitions, Australia sought to strengthen its economic position in New Caledonia. The leaders of the European-descended ‘Caledonian’ community wanted economic autonomy for the territory and improved trade with Australia. Yet the opportunity proved illusory. France remained committed to imperial preference and economic dominance. Its revival was underwritten by Marshall Plan aid, including in New Caledonia. Australia failed to provide enough of the coal that appeared to offer economic influence. In the 1950s the Melanesians gained the vote, and the Caledonians lost political power. Conservative governments in Australia showed less interest than their Labor predecessors. Australia would have welcomed an economically autonomous New Caledonia with close Australian links, but this idea clashed with France's centralist and unitary traditions. In the tension between New Caledonia's geography and its history, France had ensured that history won.     

Rebuilding Indigenous nations through constitutional development: a case study of the Métis in Canada

For the Métis Nation in Canada, self‐government remains the ‘essence of the struggle’ for which their political leader, Louis Riel, sacrificed his life in 1885. As one of Canada's founding peoples, the Métis have sought to reclaim their Indigenous right to self‐government by establishing democratic governance bodies, enhancing their economic capacity and pursuing state recognition of their rights. In addition to these efforts, the Métis have been developing a national constitution, which is anticipated to form the basis of a government to government relationship between the Métis Nation and the Canadian state. Through a case study of the Métis, this article explores the role of contemporary constitution‐building in rebuilding Indigenous nations from within and reclaiming self‐government in settler societies. We conclude that the Métis Nation's pursuit of these goals through constitutionalism will depend on its ability to build legitimacy internally amongst its citizens and externally with state decision‐makers.     

For the Benefit of All Men: Oceanography and Franco-American Scientific Diplomacy in the Cold War, 1958–1970**

In the 1960s, the growing strategic importance of ocean exploration led the French government to develop greater capacity in marine scientific research, aiming to promote cooperative and diplomatic relations with the leading states in ocean exploration. Devised during Charles de Gaulle's government (1958–1969), the restructuring of French oceanography culminated, in 1967, in the establishment of the state-led Centre National pour l'Exploitation des Océans (CNEXO). Beyond being intended to control the orientation of marine research at a national level, the CNEXO's mission was to use scientific diplomacy to balance a desire for enhancing international cooperative relations in oceanography with French ambitions to equal the USA's leading capacity to explore the oceans. Its director, the naval officer Yves la Prairie, played a crucial role in articulating scientific, national, and diplomatic interests for France in the oceans.     

‘We Lost on the Numbers,But for Us It's a Victory’: New Caledonia's 2018 Referendum on Self-Determination

On 4 November 2018, more than 141,000 voters in New Caledonia went to the polls to determine the political status of the French Pacific dependency. A referendum on self-determination, the culmination of a 20-year transition under the 1998 Noumea Accord, posed the question: ‘Do you want New Caledonia to accede to full sovereignty and become independent?’

In an unprecedented turnout, 56.67 per cent of voters decided to remain within the French Republic, while 43.33 per cent voted Yes for independence. These figures, with a clear majority opposing full sovereignty, suggest a setback for New Caledonia's independence coalition Front de Libération Nationale Kanak et Socialiste (FLNKS). In reality, the size of the Yes vote has disappointed partisans of the French Republic and opened the way for a second referendum in 2020.

After briefly outlining the 1998 Noumea Accord, the article details the results and participation rates in the November 2018 vote. It then focuses on different aspects of the referendum campaign, including: the role of opinion polling, administration of the referendum by the French state; disputes over electoral registration; international monitoring; key objectives of the anti-independence parties; grassroots campaigning by the FLNKS and the significance of the youth vote. It flags some issues in the aftermath of the referendum, as New Caledonians prepare for the next local elections to be held on 12 May 2019.     

Open Door or Sphere of Influence?: The Diplomacy of the Japanese–French Entente and Fukien Question, 1905–1907

Japanese–French negotiation for their 1907 entente revealed contrasting approaches to the application of the Open Door principle in China, particularly to the Fukien province after the Japanese victory in the Russo-Japanese War. Having learned about France's wish to receive Japanese guarantee for the safety of its colony in Indo-China, Japan strove to define Fukien as its additional sphere of influence once it had secured much needed loans in the Paris financial market. France tried to resist Japan's request to define Fukien as its sphere by adopting a secret note, and attempted to restrain Japan's future expansion into China by enmeshing Japan in the web of political and financial ententes with itself and Britain supporting Open Door. This approach of France was a continuation of French policy toward East Asia since the Boxer Uprising, securing its economic interests by supporting Open Door rather than pursuing territorial competition with other great powers in China. In contrast, the Japanese government strenuously attempted to weaken the general application of Open Door doctrine in China, and could define Fukien as Japan's additional sphere by securing a secret explanatory note for such a purpose.     

Diplomatic relations through wartime alliance: the Republic of China's relations with Canada

Relations between China and Canada began 150 years ago with the arrival of Chinese immigrants in British Columbia. However, formal diplomatic relations were not established until 1942, when Canada and the Republic of China (ROC) became wartime allies in their common fight against the Axis powers. The Canadian government soon passed a China aid program and earmarked 52 million Canadian dollars in war materials for China. This aid program was not favored by either the United States or Great Britain, but was unilaterally adopted by the wartime Canadian government. However, shipments of war materials destined for unoccupied China were blocked by geographic barriers and could not reach their destination. Canada's China aid program continued during the immediate post‐war years. The main motivation was economic: to get rid of Canada's surplus war materials and to develop bilateral trade relations. The aid program came to a halt in late 1948 only when China's political development made the Canadian government change its China policy. Afterward, Canada's diplomatic relations with ROC were stringently maintained until the Canadian government granted diplomatic recognition to the People's Republic of China in 1970. This article is a brief survey of the Canada–ROC relations during those years.     

Expanding the Australian Empire?: The Australian Council for the World Council of Churches,the Menzies Government and the New Hebrides in the late 1950s

In the late 1950s the Australian Council for the World Council of Churches (AC‐WCC) inspired primarily by the Presbyterian Church, undertook a concerted campaign to pressure the Australian government to assume a greater role in the affairs of the New Hebrides. The AC‐WCC wanted the Australian government to take over the United Kingdom's role in the administration of the Anglo‐French Condominium. It was motivated to undertake this campaign by the dismal social and economic conditions in the islands, the neglect of the British and French colonial authorities, and their failure to offer the indigenous people a way forward to self‐government. The high point of the campaign was a meeting between Robert Menzies, the Australian prime minister and a delegation from the AC‐WCC in early 1958. As a result of this meeting Australian ministers and officials, for the final time, gave extended consideration to expanding Australia's empire in the South Pacific to include the New Hebrides. This article examines the AC‐WCC's campaign, explores the Australian government's response, and analyses the outcome of this important episode in Australia's involvement in the colonial territories of the South Pacific.     

LANGUAGE POLICY AND THE POLITICAL ORGANIZATION OF TERRITORY: A CANADIAN DILEMMA

Within the Official Languages Act of Canada, 1969, a territorial concept was incorporated to facilitate the extension of federal services in English and French and attend the spirit and purpose of the act. This was to be accomplished through the designation of bilingual districts. In spite of the recommendations of two commissions, however, no districts have been designated in Canada. Elements that have tended to prevent the application of this concept are therefore analysed, and an alternative form of application to accommodate the act is suggested. Lorsque l'Acte des Langues officielles du Canada fut formulé (1969), il y avait considérablement de confiance dans le concept du territoire bilingue, ce qui devait faciliter l'accroissement de service fédéral en anglais et en français. II était anticipé que l'essence ou l'esprit de l'acte serait réalisé par la désignation des districts bilingues. En dépit des recommendations de deux commissions aucun district n'a été designé. L'objet de la présente communication est d'analiser les éléments qui ont eu tendance à empêcher l'application du concept de tels districts et de suggérer une autre forme d'application de l'acte.     

Changing partnerships: Firms and the French state

Lindblom's hypothesis that in market‐oriented systems businessmen predominate over statesmen is tested in relation to the way French firms have switched partners since the 1980s. Instead of a dirigiste—style special relationship with government, they have formed multinational partnerships. The implications of the new competitive context, under the pressure of delocalisation panic, are considered, prior to the examination of the effects of nationalisation and privatisation on the national identity of firms. The virtual bankruptcy of Crédit Lyonnais is examined as an example of state‐dependent capitalism, and the impact of EC competition policy is considered. The partial industrial disengagement by the French government in favour of market competition reinforces the applicability of Lindblom's hypothesis to the relations between firms and state in France.     

GOVERNMENT AND THE CANADIAN URBAN SYSTEM: INCOME TAX,TRANSFER PAYMENTS,AND EMPLOYMENT

The impact of government on the Canadian urban system is explored using Revenue Canada data from personal income tax returns. Variations in taxes and in certain forms of government expenditure among urban places are linked with city size, economic base, per capita income, and rate of growth. It is found that many locations are heavily dependent on the public sector and that, overall, government programmes redistribute income toward smaller and less prosperous places. The most significant effect, however, is the stabilization of local economies by means of a large and relatively constant public sector. L'impact du gouvernement sur le système urbain canadien est étudié en utilisant des données de Revenu Canada qui proviennent des déclarations d'impǒt sur le revenu des particuliers. Les variations de taxes et de certains types de dépenses publiques parmi les régions urbaines sont associés avec les variables de taille urbaine, base économique, revenu per capita, et taux de croissance. Il est démontré que plusieurs régions sont fortement dépendantes du secteur public et que, globalement, les programmes gouvernementaux redistribuent le revenue vers les régions les plus petites et les moins prospères. Mais l'effet le plus significatif est celui de la stabilisation des économies locales par le biais d'un large et relativement constant secteur public.     

FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT FROM CANADA: AN OVERVIEW

Foreign direct investment (fdi) research on Canada has historically been centred on incoming rather than outgoing controlling capital. Yet the activities of Canada-based multinational enterprises (mne) have fostered an impressive outflow of direct investment abroad. To appreciate the importance of Canada's mne, one must understand the spatial and functional characteristics of Canadian parent companies and their foreign direct investments. To realize this goal, a sample of more than 17 000 examples of Canadian fdi (at various points in time) has been retrieved and analyzed. Spatially, the favourite target of Canadian outward fdi has been the United States and then the United Kingdom, but significant agglomerations of Canadian controlling capital can be found in many parts of the world (particularly in Western Europe, the Caribbean region, Australia, and Brazil, and in various Asian destinations). The locations of Canadian parent companies have been heavily biased toward the largest metropolitan cities. Additionally, multinational enterprises headquartered in Toronto and Montreal control (by far) the most foreign subsidiaries. In general, manufacturing, financial, and mining activities have constituted the most important endeavours of Canadian multinationals abroad. This pattern of functional emphasis, however, does vary with each specific location. Through a stepwise regression procedure, it was determined that market, trade (with Canada), labour, and crime conditions were critical place-specific criteria that affected the spatial decisions of Canadian direct investors. Par le passé, la recherche sur les investissements directs à I‘étranger (ide) du Canada a été axée sur les entrées de capital de contrôle plutôt que sur les sorties. Pourtant, les activés d'entreprises multinationales basées au Canada ont engendré“un flot impressionnant d'investissements directs à l’étranger. Pour appécier l'importance des entreprises multinationales du Canada, on doit comprendre les caractéristiques géographiques et fonctionnelles des compagnies mères canadiennes, et leurs investissements directs à l'étranger. Pour atteindre cet objectif, un échantillon de plus de 17 000 exemples de ide canadiens (à différents moments) a été choisi et analysé. Géographiquement, la cible favorite des ide canadiens vers l'extérieur a été les États-Unis, puis le Royaume-Uni, mais on retrouve d'importantes concentrations de capital de contrôle canadien en plusieurs autres parties du monde (surtout en Europe occidentale, dans la région des Caraïbes, en Australie, au Brésil etdans diverses destinations asiatiques). Pour le choix de la localisation de leurs sièges sociaux, les compagnies mères canadiennes ont nettement favorisé les plus grandes métropoles. De plus, ce sont les entreprises multinationales dont les sièges sociaux sont à Toronto et à Montréal qui gèrent la plupart (et de loin) des filiates étrangères. En général, les activités manufacturieres, financieres et minieres ont const'itue“la plus importante part des projets des multinationales canadiennes à l‘étranger. Cette tendance varie cependant selon les endroits. Par un modèle de régression, il a étéétabli que les conditions de marché, de commerce (avec le Canada), de travail et de criminalitéétaient des critères décisifs qui affectaient les choix géographiques des investisseurs canadiens. Mots-clés: investissements directs à I'étranger, entreprises multinationales du Canada     

The “Bad” French of Justin Trudeau: When Language,Ideology, and Politics Collide

This article discusses the ideological underpinnings and sociolinguistic factors driving the pervasive negative social discourse on the quality of the French language spoken by Canada’s current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The “obsession” among Québécois with the quality of Justin Trudeau’s French is demonstrated in an analysis of a corpus of commentary generated in Quebec’s mainstream press during the period surrounding the 2015 Canadian federal election. This intensely negative metadiscourse is shown to be rooted in the context of Quebec’s difficult sociolinguistic history and its contemporary language ideologies, viewed here as biased in favor of speakers with monolingual competence and French-Canadian ancestry. Crucially, the pervasive criticism of Justin Trudeau’s French and the ensuing denial to him of Francophone status are claimed here to serve as a proxy for extra-linguistic criticism and the positioning him as “other” with respect to Québécois collective identity.     

The geographies of crisis: exploring accessibility to health care in Canada

There is increasing concern in Canada that the health care system is in a state of crisis. It is argued that reductions in federal government transfers to the provinces have resulted in a health care system characterized by under‐funding in key areas and policy decisions based more on provincial fiscal concerns than the health needs of their constituents. Provincial governments have responded to reduced levels in federal funding by undertaking aggressive restructuring tactics such as the closure of hospitals and the deinsuring of medical services from provincial health plans. The end result of this restructuring, as argued by the media, consumer groups and indeed some health researchers, is a state of crisis' (i.e., lower levels of accessibility, long waiting lists, overcrowding in hospitals and increasing costs of medication). One crisis theme often mentioned is that fiscal decisions of various kinds are reducing economic and geographic accessibility, one of the five principles of the Canada Health Act (CHA) that defines the very essence of the Canadian health care system. Using data from the 1998‐99 National Population Health Survey (NPHS), this paper explores the extent to which an accessibility crisis exists within the Canadian health care system by examining access to health care services and the barriers encountered in trying to access services in each of the ten provinces. The results show that approximately 6.0 percent of Canadians report access problems, with values ranging from 4.5 percent in Newfoundland to 8.3 percent in Manitoba. Regional variations in barriers to accessing care were also observed. In particular, geographic accessibility appears to be a main barrier to care in Atlantic Canada while economic accessibility emerges as a main barrier to care in Western Canada. We discuss these findings in the context of the current debates on the Canadian health care system ‘crisis’. De plus en plus de Canadiens s'inquiétent que leur systéme de soins de santé soit en état de crise. On défend l'idée selon laquelle la réduction des paiements de transfert aux provinces par le gouvernement fédéral serait responsable de l'état d'un systeme de santé caractérisé par un sous‐financement dans les domaines‐clés et des décisions politiques de santé basées, non pas sur les besoins des membres de la société canadienne, mais sur la fiscalité provinciale. Les gouvernements provinciaux ont réagi à la réduction du financement fédéral par une tactique de restructuration agressive (fermeture d'hôpitaux et retrait de services médicaux des programmes d'assurance de santé provinciaux). Selon les médias, les groupes de consommateurs et même les chercheurs en soins de santé, cette restructuration a eu pour effet un système en état de ‘crise’ (diminution de l'aecès aux services, longues fetes d'attente, hôpitaux surchargés, augmentation des coûts des médicaments etc). Un des thèmes récurrent est celui des décisions flscales de toutes sortes qui entraînent une baisse de l'accessibilité financière et géographique. Cette accessibilité est pourtant un des cinq principes de la Loi canadienne sur la santé définissant l'essence même du système de santé au Canada. Utilisant les données tirèes de l'Enquête nationale sur la santé de la population, 1998‐99 et examinant l'accès aux services de santé et les obstacles rencontrés dans les 10 provinces canadiennes, cet article évalue dans quelle mesure une crise d'accessibilité existe au sein du système de santé canadien. Les résultats démontrent qu'environ 6.0 pour cent des Canadiens ont rencontré des problèmes d'accessibilité, avec des variantes allant de 4.5 pour cent à Terre‐Neuve jusqu'à 8.3 pour cent au Manitoba. On observe aussi des variantes régionales dans les obstacles rencontrés. L'accessibilité géographique en particulier semble un obstacle mqjeur dans les régions de l'Atlantique, alors que l'accessibilite financière semble être un obstacle majeur dans l'Ouest du Canada. Ces résultats sont présentés dans le contexte des débats actuels sur l'existence dune, ‘crise’ dans le système de santé au Canada.