Neither vertical nor horizontal: Community Governance within the Francophone Minority in Canada

In this article, we are proposing a few avenues that will allow us to understand certain issues at hand relating to the current model of governance being put in place within the minority Francophone association community. To do this, we are following two paths for analysis: the coordination model of the action underlying the governance practices and the relationships between the Canadian federal government and the Francophone association community. Our assumption is as follows: with the current community governance within the Francophone association community, the state reserves the power under which it guides the coordination of Francophone organizations. Powersharing between the government and the Francophone organizations consists primarily of giving responsibilities to the organizations for managing community events. This causes a significant increase in administrative demands. However, increasingly, efforts are being made by the Francophone organizations to anchor governance in consultation, collaboration and deliberation practices among organizations and the minority Francophone community. Actually, the organizations themselves participate, for the most part, in the consultations and help set out the community development guidelines. Thus, our analysis enables us to interpret the idea that the governance is exercised horizontally, without necessarily concluding that it remains vertical. It is the subject of an ongoing negotiation between representatives of the federal government and the Francophone organizations.