The political insane asylum that is Quebec

I grew up in Montreal, but I haven't lived in the city--or the Province of Quebec--since 1991.  Still, I have family and friends there, so I maintain an interest in the place.  For the life of me, I truly don't understand the linguistic insecurity of the French-speaking majority, the result of which has been oppressive, anti-democratic measures employed by even the so-called "federalist" (i.e., they don't want to dismember the Canadian Confederation) political party (The Liberals, for those keeping track).  The overtly separatist party, the Parti Quebecois ("PQ"), doesn't hide what it is, and as a result of that, we have the bizarre spectacle of so-called language police running around the city of Montreal citing people working in retail outlets for the horrific crime of saying "Bonjour/Hi!" to store customers.  Worse yet, the PQ has promised much more in terms of restrictive legislation if it wins the provincial election scheduled for April 7.

I must be weird this way, but it seems to me that if you want to call yourself a truly democratic society, everyone should have the same rights.  In other words, a person should be able to speak the language that they want, when they want, and where they want.  If they want to put up an English-language business sign, that should be fine, too.  It may not generate much (if any) business from the French-speaking majority in the province, but that's the problem of the business-owner.  It should not involve the government.  I really don't understand why so many non-French speakers accept being treated like second-class citizens in a place where many of them have lived for (in some cases) hundreds of years.  It boggles the mind.......................

The latest linguistic idiocy out of the planet of Quebec

Every now and then, Quebec's racist separatists like to remind us that A) They are still around, and B) they are still racist: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2008/06/26/q-languagereport.html. How else to explain Parti Quebecois leader Pauline Marois' latest words of wisdom, where she claimed that immigrants to the province who choose to learn English are contributing to "social dysfunction", and that small businesses should be forced to "operate in French".

Only in Canada in general and Quebec in particular is this type of institutionalized discrimination accepted...........

More linguistic idiocy from the planet of Quebec

Quebec's language police are pushing for criminal penalties against a bar which committed the unforgivable sin of displaying some vintage posters which had (horror of horrors!) English on them: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2008/02/14/qc-olf-0214.html.

This is the type of thing which drives me to distraction. In any other area of the West, it would be considered to be unacceptable and illegal to discriminate against a person or business based solely on their language, but in Canada in general and Quebec in particular, it's A-Ok.

Even though I have family (as well as some friends) who still live there, I have to wonder why in the world ANYONE whose first language is English w0uld stay in the province. How can you accept legally recognized second-class status?

Ineffective, but long overdue

For over 35 years, Quebec's non-French speaking minority has been (for lack of a better word) oppressed. English has been banned in certain businesses, for a long period of time it was banned on all commercial signs. Essentially, English-speaking residents of the province (known as Anglophones, or "Anglos") are treated as though they are unwanted and inferior. Every now and then, an Anglo rights group emerges, but they always prove to be ultimately unsuccessful in maintaining public support. Well, the latest effort is being made at forming a political party to speak on behalf of those whose first language is not French: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2008/01/22/qc-affiliationquebec.html.

I don't know where this will go, but wish the party all the success in the world. For too long, the French majority in Quebec has trampled the rights of those who either do not speak French or for whom it is a second language.

As an aside, I have long thought that French-speaking Quebecers (or their political leaders, more specifically) are the North American answer to the Palestinians (without the rocket attacks and homicide bombings, of course). They specialize in grievance theatre, complaining constantly that any problem that affects Quebec is the fault of the English-speaking "Rest of Canada". They whine, they seethe, and generally govern themselves with a sense of entitlement that no other Canadian has. Don't get me wrong; I am not condemning all French Canadians--I grew up in Montreal, in Quebec, and spent the first 25 years of my life there (with the exception of one misbegotten year in Ottawa), and would not trade that for anything in the world. However, I feel that the province in which I grew up is not the same place it is now, and that is truly a tragedy.

Quebec can't help itself

More linguistic idiocy out of the Province/Planet of Quebec, where xenophobic French nationalists are irate because (gasp!) one of them was greeted by a doctor who spoke English to him: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2007/12/21/qcc-frenchhospital1221.html. Oh, the horror! Imagine the humiliation!

This is why Quebec, for all of its natural beauty and many virtues, will never again be anything more than a second-rate society.

Rights are SOOOOOO inconvenient

You have to think that that's what this Quebec separatist is discussing when he says that only an independent Quebec will "guarantee" the preservation of the French language: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2007/11/26/accommodation-hearing.html. You see, while Quebec is still in Canada, it has to deal with pesky rights and freedoms--though it still does a fairly good job of ignoring those, too. However, if it were independent, it wouldn't be a far stretch to expect to see the English language banned outright.

Quebec keeps losing people

There is a report out that Quebec keeps losing people; i.e., more people are moving out than are moving in: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2007/10/29/qc-quebecmigration1029.html.

Hmm, I have a couple of interesting theories. Maybe it has SOMETHING to do with the fact that the economy is far better elsewhere in Canada. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that people don't necessarily want to be held hostage by racist language laws. Maybe, contrary to the article, it has nothing at all to do with the fact that Quebec, which is one of the most politically correct places in North America, is not "tolerant" enough of minorities.

I miss Montreal

I truly do. I grew up there, one of my sisters and her family are still there, and the other one is just a couple of hours away. As a "restaurant city", it's second only to New York, in my mind, in terms of the diversity of its cuisine. Then.............I read stories like this one, and I realize how much I don't miss about the place: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2007/10/22/qc-blocandfrench20071022.html.

The story is not long, but in it you find out that the Quebec Separatists want the Canadian government to recognize French as the sole official language of the Province (which would have the practical effect of giving the Quebec government a blank cheque to do what it pleased on the language issue), favour the enactment of a Quebec national constitution (translation: "Even if we aren't an independent country, we'll act like one anyway"), and most omiously, they want to ban anyone who "cannot speak proper French" from running for elected office at any level in the province. If that's not enough, they also want to establish a linguistic test as to who can and cannot become a Quebec citizen: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2007/10/20/pq-citizenship.html. Nope, no racism there.....................

More linguistic idiocy out of Quebec

Let's see. Quebec has a law which provides that professionals, such as dentists, doctors, lawyers, etc., if not educated in the province, must pass oral and written tests showing that they are fluent in French. There are no exceptions. Well, Mohammed Raizi, who speaks FOUR languages fluently (including both French and English), passed the oral test easily, but flunked the written test four times: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2007/09/20/ot-dentist-070920.html. As a result, the Quebec government, which had been letting him practice dentistry under a temporary license, has revoked that license, which in turn has prompted Raizi to say that he may very well move.

Only in the bizarro world that is Quebec could something like this take place. By all accounts, Raizi is an excellent dentist (having 2000+ clients would seem to be ample evidence of that fact). His patients have confirmed that he speaks fluent French to them. Yet, the province would rather see him leave than practice dentistry because of this asinine, discriminatory rule. Keep in mind as well, Quebec already has problems with shortages of medical professionals, including in the area where Raizi was practicing.

An inauspicious Canadian anniversary...........

...........though you'd never be able to tell that from this insipid CBC article, which is so vanilla that it says virtually nothing: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2007/08/26/quebec-bill101.html. You see, Quebec is "celebrating" the 30th anniversary of its infamous "Bill 101", which the article says made French the official language of Quebec, but which in reality legalized linguistic discrimination that should never be permitted in a true democracy. But, then again, whoever said that Quebec was truly democratic?

The Planet of Quebec

Stories like this make me SOOOOO happy that I do not live in Quebec anymore. As a preliminary matter, let's all remember that Quebec is ostensibly democratic, and the current governing party, the Liberals, is the supposedly FEDERALIST party. Well, here those "Federalists" are, swearing that they will do their absolute best to enforce Quebec's racist and discriminatory language laws: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2007/05/11/qc-languagelaws.html. Pathetic.......................

The Planet of Quebec

American and international readers (I KNOW that you're out there!!) of this Blog may not be familiar with the linguistic morass that is Quebec. Quebec is a majority French-speaking province in a majority English-speaking country (Canada). Since the 1970s, Quebec voters have periodically alternated between electing separatist and "federalist" (translation: closet separatist) governments, with the "federalists" currently in power right now. However, regardless of who is in power, both of the previously dominant major provincial parties (the Liberals and the Parti Quebecois, whose role may have been usurped by a third party, the Action Democratique Quebecois) have enacted legislation which has promoted the "rights" of the French majority and which have eroded those of the English-speaking minority. By way of example, try finding the English language on a major business sign--you won't be able to do so.

In any event, a form of institutionalized discrimination has set in. The most recent and sad example of this can be found in this article: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=joyce/070418&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab4pos1. Read the article and ask yourself whether there is any doubt in your mind that the ONLY reason that this poor young boy was banned was because he was English. If his name were Marcel Tremblay, or some other typically French name, he would have been allowed to play, plain and simple.