Entitled "Protect French, move back to the island"("Protégez le français, revenez sur votre île!"), he frets that ethnics are taking over the island and blames white francophones 'de souche' (native Quebeckers) for moving to the suburbs.
He concludes that the immigrants will ultimately turn into Anglophones and thus contribute to anglicization of Montreal, which will ultimately threaten the very existence of the French language in the Province of Quebec. It's a bit of a stretch, to say the least. Despite all the immigration over the last 30 years, the proportion of Anglos has remained remarkably steady.
It's fair to ask if the issue is actually about language or rather about his fear that immigrants (whether they speak French or English) will outnumber pure-bred Quebeckers on the island of Montreal and so affect it's very essence and complexion.
In an even more disturbing article written in La Presse entitled "Francophones not answering the bell"("Les francophones manquent à l'appel"), writer Marie Allard takes the question of the quality of the 'Frenchness' of Montrealers to a disturbing new level.
She complains that the number of allophone students entering school in Montreal outnumber the Francophones 'de souche' and complains about their mother tongue or the mother tongue of the parents of those students.
Less than 40% were born in Québec, as were both their parents. The others were born in Québec of parents born outside the province (23,1%, this rate is rising since 2005), or born of one parent born elsewhere (9,9%) or born in Canada of two Canadian parents(2,4%).
Eccchh!("Moins de 40% des élèves étaient nés au Québec, comme leurs deux parents. Les autres étaient nés au Québec de deux parents nés à l'étranger (23,1%, ce taux plafonne depuis 2005), nés au Québec dont un parent est né à l'étranger (9,9%) ou nés ailleurs au Canada ou dont les deux parents sont nés ailleurs au Canada (2,4%)")
Sounds disturbingly like a quote worthy of a participant of the Wansee Conference whereby the Nazis discussed how to define Jews.
The fact that these students are all attending French school seems to be completely beside the point. Where the students come from and what language their parents speak at home, seems to be the major issue.
The question is why? If they are attending French school, what's the difference?
René Levesque must be rolling in his grave!
Anyone who says the French language debate has nothing to do with ethnocentrism is deluding themselves.
The debate highlights a much larger issue, the absolute dread that francophone Quebeckers have that Montreal will turn into a ethnically diverse 'zoo', one that resembles Toronto or Vancouver, instead of looking like Quebec City, the pristine, picture perfect example of what Quebec nationalists perceive as ideal.
The only problem for those who dream of an ethnically pure Quebec, is that it is not sustainable.
Between 1987 and 2007, Québec welcomed about 750,000 immigrants, over 600,000 who settled in the greater Montreal region (83%).
Quebec City averages just 2,000 immigrants per year and the numbers for the other regions of Quebec are even more pitiful. It's no wonder that these regions are suffering a declining population. The Gaspé region attracted just 20 immigrants in 2007!
You can see other statistics at Demographymatters.blogspot.com.
As Montreal becomes more and more ethnically diverse, a battle looms on the horizon and it isn't going to be between the English and French, it'll be between immigrants and nativists.
