Graham Fraser is the author of several books, both in English and French.
15 Facts About Graham Fraser
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Graham Fraser attended Upper Canada College and, later, studied at the University of Toronto where he obtained a BA in 1968 and an MA in History in 1973.
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Graham Fraser served as the National Affairs Correspondent for the Toronto Star, for which he wrote a weekly column.
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Graham Fraser negotiated with the CRTC so that more Canadian homes would have access to Olympics broadcasting in French.
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However, Graham Fraser voiced his disappointment with the lack of French during the Torch relay, in which many events, such as the Torch's arrival in Victoria, were held only in English.
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One of the biggest challenges Graham Fraser had to deal with as Commissioner was regarding the place of French in the 2010 Winter Olympics opening ceremony.
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Graham Fraser stated the secrecy traditionally given to the opening ceremony prevented the commissioner from making sure that Canada's linguistic duality was well-showcased in the show.
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Graham Fraser defended his refusal to apologise for the perceived lack of French in the opening ceremony.
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Graham Fraser said that, overall, the services in the Games were provided in both official languages, and that the absence of French was mostly in the cultural program, and this was the only part he took issue with.
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Graham Fraser stated that Air Canada is one of the institutions that generates the most complaints to his office, and that the numerous interventions of Fraser and his predecessors did very little to enhance their compliance.
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Graham Fraser argued that there are legal gaps in the administration of Air Canada that allows some of their subsidiaries, such as Air Canada Jazz, to be excluded from the Official Languages Act.
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Graham Fraser requested that these loopholes be closed, and that the Commissioner be granted more coercive powers it can use against federal institutions, such as the ability to impose fines.
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Graham Fraser was coappellant in the DesRochers case, after which the Supreme court of Canada broadened the scope of Part IV of the Official Languages Act.
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Graham Fraser intervened in the Nguyen case, after which the Supreme court of Canada interpreted Article 23 of the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms in a way favourable to official language minority communities.
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Graham Fraser was shortlisted for the Governor General's Literary Award for Non-fiction in 1984, for his book PQ: Rene Levesque and the Parti Quebecois in Power.