It gets a bit tiring, year after year, more language issues that never go away.
The most recent is Bill 40. Apparently our government will be abolishing the school boards and there will be service centres instead. They might make some provisions for the English minority but right now things seem uncertain.
I've lived in this province for over 30 years, and it boggles my mind how this sort of thing goes on year after year. I read once that a lot of the worst language laws tend to get passed under Liberal governments. Quietly.
When the PQ were in power, it was week after week of the English language being under attack. Whether it was "Pastagate" or stories of sandwiches being thrown in peoples faces for speaking English, or stores being threatened to close due to English signage. It was never ending.
I understand why they want to protect their language, but at the end of the day, the English have been here as long as the French - and not nearly as long as the Natives. We treated the Natives horrifically in the past, and to make up for that we have given them some rights over land and governance and many other small rights. It will never be enough, make no mistake. However, why is it that the English are treated as though they are an ugly stain on the pure and beautiful Quebecois landscape? Why are the English constantly having more and more rights taken away from them and constantly given the message that "if they don't like it they can leave"?
I just don't understand what the French hope to achieve. I have spent a lot of time thinking about it. Canada is a mostly English country. Next door to us is the United States, which is a completely English country. It has a large Spanish population, but their currency is in English and political debates are in English. Not in Spanish. You do not need to speak Spanish in order to enter politics or to hold a government job. There are a few areas where French is spoken, but they are a very small minority.
The United States are our biggest trading partner. Do you see what I am getting at? It kind of makes sense to be able to speak English in order to facilitate trading with our neighbours. Not to mention being able to communicate with other Canadians.
What I'm trying to figure out is, if Quebec were to separate and therefore everything would be completely French, how are they going to manage themselves economically? Right now, there are laws in place that actually prohibit French kids from attending English schools. French kids don't learn English in school until they are in grade 4. They then learn very basic English thereafter. When they graduate from high school they are unilingual. I've met many French people who don't speak a word of English.
There is a loophole though! French people with money can send their kids to English private schools! Therefore, what you end up with is a disgusting class system. You get rich French people that are bilingual, who can then move to other parts of Canada, or stay in Quebec and go into politics, or get a cushy government job. The poor French people have extremely limited options! Most of the jobs are in the cities, particularly in Montreal. Most people living in Montreal speak English and French. Therefore, bilingualism is almost always a requirement to get a job. If you look through the job section in the newspaper, almost all of the jobs ask for bilingualism.
If Quebec were to separate most of the anglos would leave. Particularly the ones with limited French. I speak French, but not well enough that I would want to describe an illness to a French doctor, or to have to have a conversation in French about anything serious like banking, buying a house or a car etc. So, I would pretty much be forced to leave.
If most of the people left were francophone, then what? Ok, Montreal is a nice city. But guess what? If they turned the whole place into a hostile French city where it was against the law to even say "hello" instead of bonjour, do you seriously think anyone would want to come and visit the place? The jazz festival would have to have French only musicians. All the films at the many film festivals would be in French only (they might be all French now anyway).
Do you think people will want to take French lessons before coming to visit Montreal just so they will know how to order a poutine? I don't think so. If tourism disappears due to the hostility, how will the Quebec economy survive?
They will only be able to trade with French countries and with the rest of Canada. Forget about dealing with the U.S! Even trying to sell valuable resources will be a challenge. It's all very hypocritical, because economically they can't function completely independently in French only!
English is the language of business internationally and the Quebec government know this! Everybody knows this! People in India and China spend time learning English so that they can trade and compete in the international market!
So if Quebec wanted to be a 100% French country, where no one is allowed to learn English, no English can ever be spoken in a store or in a restaurant. No English can be heard in an office or spoken on a telephone. Just French. There will be a very small economy!
Is that what their long term goal is? To be a small population of ignorant, poor people - but proud Quebecois?
Based on how things are now, I would think not. What will end up happening is that the class divide will only get bigger. Rich people will continue to educate their kids in English and French so that their kids will be eligible for the best jobs.
I think that is what is the most sad thing about this whole language debate. Guess who suffers the most? French people. English people have the choice to send their kids to what ever school they want! As long as they qualify. I know many immigrants who had to go to French school due to Bill 101. But they still spoke English at home, therefore they ended up bilingual. This means that they can live anywhere they want! They can move anywhere in Canada, have opportunities to move to the United States or to any other English country in the world.
What opportunities do unilingual French people have? They are free to move anywhere they want in Canada. But they will struggle to find a job in English only countries. They will struggle to land a great job in Montreal if they don't speak a word of English.
Sounds like quite the utopia doesn't it? For the rich class it does! They would have very few people to compete for jobs!
The most recent is Bill 40. Apparently our government will be abolishing the school boards and there will be service centres instead. They might make some provisions for the English minority but right now things seem uncertain.
I've lived in this province for over 30 years, and it boggles my mind how this sort of thing goes on year after year. I read once that a lot of the worst language laws tend to get passed under Liberal governments. Quietly.
When the PQ were in power, it was week after week of the English language being under attack. Whether it was "Pastagate" or stories of sandwiches being thrown in peoples faces for speaking English, or stores being threatened to close due to English signage. It was never ending.
I understand why they want to protect their language, but at the end of the day, the English have been here as long as the French - and not nearly as long as the Natives. We treated the Natives horrifically in the past, and to make up for that we have given them some rights over land and governance and many other small rights. It will never be enough, make no mistake. However, why is it that the English are treated as though they are an ugly stain on the pure and beautiful Quebecois landscape? Why are the English constantly having more and more rights taken away from them and constantly given the message that "if they don't like it they can leave"?
I just don't understand what the French hope to achieve. I have spent a lot of time thinking about it. Canada is a mostly English country. Next door to us is the United States, which is a completely English country. It has a large Spanish population, but their currency is in English and political debates are in English. Not in Spanish. You do not need to speak Spanish in order to enter politics or to hold a government job. There are a few areas where French is spoken, but they are a very small minority.
The United States are our biggest trading partner. Do you see what I am getting at? It kind of makes sense to be able to speak English in order to facilitate trading with our neighbours. Not to mention being able to communicate with other Canadians.
What I'm trying to figure out is, if Quebec were to separate and therefore everything would be completely French, how are they going to manage themselves economically? Right now, there are laws in place that actually prohibit French kids from attending English schools. French kids don't learn English in school until they are in grade 4. They then learn very basic English thereafter. When they graduate from high school they are unilingual. I've met many French people who don't speak a word of English.
There is a loophole though! French people with money can send their kids to English private schools! Therefore, what you end up with is a disgusting class system. You get rich French people that are bilingual, who can then move to other parts of Canada, or stay in Quebec and go into politics, or get a cushy government job. The poor French people have extremely limited options! Most of the jobs are in the cities, particularly in Montreal. Most people living in Montreal speak English and French. Therefore, bilingualism is almost always a requirement to get a job. If you look through the job section in the newspaper, almost all of the jobs ask for bilingualism.
If Quebec were to separate most of the anglos would leave. Particularly the ones with limited French. I speak French, but not well enough that I would want to describe an illness to a French doctor, or to have to have a conversation in French about anything serious like banking, buying a house or a car etc. So, I would pretty much be forced to leave.
If most of the people left were francophone, then what? Ok, Montreal is a nice city. But guess what? If they turned the whole place into a hostile French city where it was against the law to even say "hello" instead of bonjour, do you seriously think anyone would want to come and visit the place? The jazz festival would have to have French only musicians. All the films at the many film festivals would be in French only (they might be all French now anyway).
Do you think people will want to take French lessons before coming to visit Montreal just so they will know how to order a poutine? I don't think so. If tourism disappears due to the hostility, how will the Quebec economy survive?
They will only be able to trade with French countries and with the rest of Canada. Forget about dealing with the U.S! Even trying to sell valuable resources will be a challenge. It's all very hypocritical, because economically they can't function completely independently in French only!
English is the language of business internationally and the Quebec government know this! Everybody knows this! People in India and China spend time learning English so that they can trade and compete in the international market!
So if Quebec wanted to be a 100% French country, where no one is allowed to learn English, no English can ever be spoken in a store or in a restaurant. No English can be heard in an office or spoken on a telephone. Just French. There will be a very small economy!
Is that what their long term goal is? To be a small population of ignorant, poor people - but proud Quebecois?
Based on how things are now, I would think not. What will end up happening is that the class divide will only get bigger. Rich people will continue to educate their kids in English and French so that their kids will be eligible for the best jobs.
I think that is what is the most sad thing about this whole language debate. Guess who suffers the most? French people. English people have the choice to send their kids to what ever school they want! As long as they qualify. I know many immigrants who had to go to French school due to Bill 101. But they still spoke English at home, therefore they ended up bilingual. This means that they can live anywhere they want! They can move anywhere in Canada, have opportunities to move to the United States or to any other English country in the world.
What opportunities do unilingual French people have? They are free to move anywhere they want in Canada. But they will struggle to find a job in English only countries. They will struggle to land a great job in Montreal if they don't speak a word of English.
Sounds like quite the utopia doesn't it? For the rich class it does! They would have very few people to compete for jobs!
