Wednesday, September 28, 2011

More Anglo Bashing on Quebec Television

Many readers caught a story on the French J.E. television program on the TVA network that was particularly annoying in its wholly biased coverage on a story about English signs in Laval

You can catch the whole report in French on the TVA website, but I've pulled out and subtitled the essential elements here.


The story, as you can view above, complains that many signs in the largely Greek/Italian/Jewish neighbourhoods of Laval are not following Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF ) regulations that require English text to be subordinate to the French.

Any story that interviews Mario Beaulieu as an expert on the subject of language rights, is automatically biased. The militant anglophobe believes that there are already too many francophone Quebecers who speak English and that English instruction should be limited, not encouraged. He just returned from Europe where he spent time telling anyone who would listen that Canada is an evil place and Anglo Canadians a vicious race of colonizers.
The only good news on that front, is that the Europeans couldn't care less.

The story also cited as a contributing factor in the 'deteriorating' sign situation, the fact that Anglos are moving to Laval in increasing numbers and even provided a graph to highlight the 'problem.'
I wonder if it would be acceptable in any other province for a television program to offer a similar graph showing an alarming influx of Tamils, Chinese, Muslims, Jews, Natives or Blacks!
Could you imagine an Ontario television station putting up a graph highlighting a Francophone invasion of a particular neighbourhood in Ottawa and intimating that it is upsetting the linguistic balance!

I don't think so.....

The graph on  the J.E. show underlines the sad fact that complaining about Anglos moving into a neighbourhood is perfectly acceptable as long as it is framed in context of the defence of the French language.
And this isn't an isolated case, the French language militant group Imperatif-francais blasted the City of Laval officials over the same issue and accused them of doing nothing to counter this 'alarming' influx. LINK

Then there's the lovely woman interviewed for the story who told viewers that English shouldn't be allowed on signs anywhere in Quebec, an excellent way to frame the story.. ahem...

Now the gist of the story is about the size of English text on signs, with the commentator reminding viewers that the law demands that the French text be twice as big as the English text.

I've had a problem with this very issue ever since the 'rule' was put in place, because it doesn't make sense as a regulation and it doesn't really satisfy the Supreme Court ruling.
"In 1993, the United Nations Human Rights Committee ruled that Quebec's sign laws broke an international covenant on civil and political rights. "A State may choose one or more official languages," the committee wrote, "but it may not exclude outside the spheres of public life, the freedom to express oneself in a certain language."
Reacting to these events, Bourassa introduced new legislation in 1993. This law allowed English on outdoor commercial signs only if the French lettering was at least twice as large as the English." LINK
Actually the last part about French being twice as large as English is NOT part of the law. It is a common misconception.

What the law  actually says;

Article 18

Les articles 58 58.2 de cette charte sont remplacés par le suivant:


«58. L'affichage public et la publicité commerciale doivent se faire en français.

Ils peuvent également êre faits la fois en français et dans une autre langue pourvu que le français y figure de façon nettement prédominante.

Toutefois, le gouvernement peut déterminer, par règlement, les lieux, les cas, les conditions ou les circonstances o l'affichage public et la publicité commerciale doivent se faire uniquement en français ou peuvent se faire sans prédominance du français ou uniquement dans une autre langue.». LINK

In other words, the law says that French must be clearly predominant. It says nothing about size and leaves that determination to be fixed later by regulation.

The OQLF was given the mandate to enforce the language law and it was the agency that came up with the interpretation of the two to one ratio rule for text on signs, French versus English.

There has been a couple of cases that went to court and subsequently backed up the OQLF position, but the issue has never been tested on the level that I describe below.

At what point does 'nettement predominante' become so overbearing that it has the effect of rendering the English unreadable and so ipso facto, in contravention of the United Nations covenant that English be allowed?

Here's the example the J.E story uses itself. It shows an actual sign in Laval (on top) that contravenes the 2/1 ratio regulation and shows an artist's conception (below) of how the sign should appear to abide by the regulation.


This montage is not my work, it was offered on the television story as a teaching aid and you can see clearly (or unclearly) what the problem is.

When the French text is set to the minimum size that can be reasonably read from the distance from which the sign is expected to be seen, reducing the English to half that size makes it unreadable, something that clearly violates the UN convention.

When the 2/1 ratio rule is applied to large signs, it may be in conformity, but when it comes to smaller text, the application of the rule becomes ridiculous.

Here's another sign featured in the story, it's a sign in front of a professional office.
This time I did the photo manipulation myself to show you what would be required under the 2/1 ratio regulation.


From the distance that the sign would be viewed normally, the English text looks like the bottom line of an eye-chart, the line that nobody can read!

Watching the story on television and looking at the examples provided, convinces me that the regulation, in instances where the size of French is smallish, cannot be enforced legally.

It may be time to take another run at Bill 101 in court concerning this 2/1 ratio issue, but we'd have to find a business that was fined over the issue of ratios in small sized text on a commercial sign.

I'm not sure that the OQLF is fining anyone over this 'small text' issue at all,  perhaps concerned that to do so, would place them at risk of having the regulation overturned.

 **************************
Dear Readers...

A special Happy New Year to Jewish readers of this blog and their families.

As is the tradition, the family gathers around a special dinner to celebrate the Jewish calendar's version of the new year over two nights, tonight and tomorrow. Shana Tova!

79 comments:

  1. Excuse my French : F%%% TVA , the MQF and the SSJB! Go to hell you F%%% seppies !

    ReplyDelete
  2. "I've pulled out and subtitled the essential elements here."

    At 1:00 it is obvious you cut a part and that's funny because I still have the whole episode and that's a part when it shows English-only signs! Coincidence?

    How convenient that you don't talk of those signs... They are definitely against the law.

    The whole segment is longer and at some point they ask the minister of culture why there aren't more inspectors and she is always finding excuses. It is obvious that the so-called language police is very weak in this post-PQ era. Liberals don't want to lose the anglo vote...

    If English written smaller is unfair then what does that make English-only signs? At least on the former people who only understand English (we are constantly told most anglophones are bilingual after all) can still read them.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh wait, I didn't notice the TVA link. I was watching it recorded on TV as I was writing.

    At 1:35 the sign about Tuxedos... you cut just before it.
    And also there is the English-sign at 1:08 just right next to the Liberal MNA's office! It only shows how weak that party is when it comes to applying the law...

    ReplyDelete
  4. YOU obviously speak English very well, so what are you complaining about? It's 2011: get with the times.

    ALSO, according to the Charter: it is perfectly acceptable to display signage in an other language than French if your place of business has an ethnic component (for example: an Italian restaurant, community centers serving specific ethnic groups).

    "If English written smaller is unfair then what does that make English-only signs? At least on the former people who only understand English (we are constantly told most anglophones are bilingual after all) can still read them."

    That was a trademark! The OQLF has no jurisdiction over those.

    "And also there is the English-sign at 1:08 just right next to the Liberal MNA's office! I"

    ReplyDelete
  5. "YOU obviously speak English very well, so what are you complaining about? It's 2011: get with the times."

    It's not just about ME. In Laval, way more people declared knowing only French than only English. How are English-only signs okay? French-only signs = oh those poor old Anglos who don't know French cannot even read them...
    But of course you don't care about Francos (and it's not just old people) who don't know English. And that's not even the point, even bilingual Francophones shouldn't have to read English-only signs anywhere within Quebec. They are against the law! You even acknowledged the law when you said "according to the Charter" but even if you didn't, it still applies whether you like it or not. Don't like it? Try to elect a party that will change it. Good luck.

    "It's 2011: get with the times."
    I thought most Anglos were bilingual in 2011? Most declared themselves bilingual on the census. How are bilingual signs with French bigger worse than English-only signs?

    Saying "You don't speak French, get out!" to someone who would complain about French-only = racist
    Saying "You don't speak English, learn it!" to someone who would complain about English-only = oh right, it's not the same thing...

    Isn't respect is a two-way street?

    ReplyDelete
  6. "Then there's the lovely woman interviewed for the story who told viewers that English shouldn't be allowed on signs anywhere in Quebec"

    I don't see the point of discussing the translation of an ambiguous statement made in French in English so if you don't like it, skip this post:

    On voit bien que vous ne saisissez pas toutes les subtilités de notre langue parce qu'elle voulait probablement dire que tout devrait être en français et pas en anglais dans le sens de pas d'anglais seulement au Québec. Si toutes les affiches étaient bilingues mais avec le français en premier, même pas besoin d'être plus gros, je suis sûr que son opinion et celui de bien des gens serait différent. C'est évident que le manque de français dérange beaucoup plus la population que la présence d'anglais après le français.

    Méchante anti-anglo? C'est totalement normal de trouver ça irrespectueux de ne pas être servi en français au Québec et ceux qui en sont responsables sont les vrais irrespectueux et non le contraire. Il sont en fait anti-franco, se donnent même pas la peine de faire traduire quelques mots sur une affiche sachant que le français est la langue officielle alors que les francophones sont beaucoup plus enclin à offrir du service en anglais, incluant le gouvernement provincial malgré qu'il n'est pas supposé être bilingue, mais surtout au niveau commercial. C'est possible de vivre seulement en anglais dans la région de Montréal et ce seulement grâce à la collaboration des francophones qui offre des versions en anglais de tout, des sites web aux circulaires et autres publicités.

    Vous êtes biaisé vous-même, monsieur le bloggeur, dans votre présentation du reportage.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Your concept of respect is somewhat twisted.

    I'm all for bilingualism but it's really up to businesses to decide on signage. I have NO problem with French-only signs/displays but they shouldn't be enforced.

    You want to serve the Francophone community? >Conduct business and advertise in French. I totally understand that. BUT English-speaking business owners should have the same rights.

    It's either that or EQUAL bilingualism for everyone.

    "Isn't respect is a two-way street?"

    ReplyDelete
  8. Si tu le dis. Mais j'habite dans un quartier de Montreal qui est très fortement Anglophone et peu de gens ici veulent se faire servir en Français ou lire des textes Anglais microscopiques. L'unilinguisme Anglais ne devrait pas être interdit. Si tu as le droit de vivre complétement en Français sur la rive Sud, j'ai aussi le droit de vivre en Anglais à l'Ouest de la ville.

    Ceci étant dit je suis pour le bilinguisme, je trouve que c'est une belle chose mais l'histoire a montré que les gens manquent d'ouverture d'esprit pour pouvoir l'appliquer.

    "C'est totalement normal de trouver ça irrespectueux de ne pas être servi en français au Québec et ceux qui en sont responsables sont les vrais irrespectueux et non le contraire."

    ReplyDelete
  9. Institutional Racism in Quebec, Les Anglais to be treated like "une maladie".. What's next ethnic cleansing????

    ReplyDelete
  10. Bad news for the pro-English Greek/Italian/Jewish people: Laval will not be spared by Algerian, Moroccan, Tunisian, Haitian and Sub-Saharan African immigration. It has already begun. How many Greeks, Italians and Jews arrived in the last decades in comparison? And let's not even compare birth rates.

    They arrive knowing French but not English. Their children are forced to go to French schools. Just because they don't really get along with Francophones doesn't mean they will get along with Anglophones. There is a third way. In fact, it is even less likely they will get along with them... especially French-speaking Muslims and English-speaking Jews.

    I am just saying this neutrally. No need for insults. I am only the messenger.

    ReplyDelete
  11. "especially French-speaking Muslims and English-speaking Jews" .. Really?? these two groups get along fine!!... Just hang out in DDO.. spend some time at the WEST island Adonis... ( Notice I didn't say , banlieu Ouest )

    ReplyDelete
  12. "these two groups get along fine"

    Whatever, all I know is that some Lebanese guy firebombed a Jewish school in 2004 and that many Jews blamed us at first without any proof which is totally unfair and intolerant and did the same thing again when a synagogue was vandalized.

    Please leave us out of your Middle-East related conflicts. It's not our fault France colonized some Arab countries way after our ties with France were cut.

    I don't know how Jews feel about Muslims in Montreal and Laval but what I do know is that here on the South Shore Muslims often say very hateful things about Jews but they don't really encounter any because there are virtually none outside of those two islands.
    It wouldn't be pretty if Muslim youths and Jewish ones went to the same schools but of course they don't for obvious linguistic and geographic reasons.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I wonder if it would be acceptable in any other province for a television program to offer a similar graph showing an alarming influx of Tamils, Chinese, Muslims, Jews, Natives or Blacks!

    Of course not.
    White slave owners from the south of the US used to think slavery and segregation based on race was perfectly fine and normal.

    That's pretty much where the French Quebec separatists are at.

    It's not racism to them, it's "protecting their culture".

    ReplyDelete
  14. It's not only to protect our culture, it's also because Québec is the land of any English.

    ReplyDelete
  15. "...influx of Tamils, Chinese, Muslims, Jews, Natives or Blacks!"

    L'O.Q.L.F est un organisme linguistique.
    Bienvenue à tout les francophiles...Peu importe leur origine!

    ReplyDelete
  16. @ Press 9

    It's not the place and the time , but in other circumstances i would comment your point of view...
    I hope that you realize alone your mistake. I rest my case.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Quelle est la différence entre la discrimination basée sur la langue, ou la religion, ou la race?

    C'est acceptable pour la langue, mais pas pour les deux autres?

    ReplyDelete
  18. It's so annoying when a I see for the publicity sake , les quebecois embrace haitians/muslims/...( francophone ) and when they have the chance, and nobody is hearing them, they constantly make racist remarks. Oh, let's embrace everyone who is francophone, just to keep french on top ...

    ReplyDelete
  19. "C'est acceptable pour la langue, mais pas pour les deux autres?"

    Si vous prenez en compte la situation géolinguistique du Québec...Oui!
    Les américains sont-ils racistes en utilisant des lois linguistiques pour lutter contre l'invasion hispanophone dans certains états du Sud?

    ReplyDelete
  20. Voici un des multiples liens traitant de la question (FR):

    http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/axl/amnord/floride.htm

    ReplyDelete
  21. Since I can not differentiate one Anonymous to the other(s), let me ask this in general.

    Why do businesses need to put French at all at their signs? Business by definition is a private venture. It should be the discretion of the owners how to make their business known.

    To explore this point further, why the rules regarding signage is needed in Montreal? I know for fact that there are plenty businesses in Toronto and Vancouver that do not have any English or French sign. Some of them do not even use Latin alphabet. And I am certain that one can agree that those two cities are more prosperous than Montreal with higher level of liveability.

    PS: Well, the Editor may strongly disagree with my last point seeing how hard he is in denouncing Toronto and Vancouver.

    ReplyDelete
  22. @Press9:

    Je ne sais plus quoi te dire.. Tu viens de confirmer que tu es pour la discrimination basée uniquement sur la langue ou la race.

    Un jour, il n'y aura peut-être plus assez de blancs au Québec à ton goût. J'imagine déjà quelle sera ta réponse.

    Ça ne veut pas dire que je veux que le français disparaisse.. Mais je crois que la discrimination est loin d'être la meilleure solution.

    Tu peux me montrer des exemples où les gens sont intolérants comme ici, ça ne changera rien. Si tu veux te comparer aux Américains, vas-y fort.. Personnellement, je vise mieux que ça.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Hi Press 9,

    Can you please show me the language laws in "certain Southern United States" that do not allow store front to have non-English sign or that do not allow certain part of the population to attend school in the language of their choice?

    Thank you in advance for providing the information.

    ReplyDelete
  24. @Troy:

    His link does show that there are language laws in Florida, which cover education.

    § 1003.56
    English language instruction for limited English proficient students.
    1) Instruction in the English language shall be provided to limited English proficient students. Such instruction shall be designed to develop the student's mastery of the four language skills, including listening, speaking, reading, and writing, as rapidly as possible.


    However as I stated in french, if we're going to start comparing ourselves to the Southern US states, I think there's a problem.. I'm sure we can do better...

    ReplyDelete
  25. I've received two complaints from readers who are telling me via email that they cannot post their comments today.
    Does any one else have this problem? I'd like to look into it.

    reply to :anglomontreal@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  26. http://www.sacbee.com/2011/09/27/3942379/canada-is-the-country-with-the.html

    Nice study, interesting result. I wonder what place Quebec would hold :)

    ReplyDelete
  27. This is the opinion of two Anglos about bill 101. If you are able to read the superior language, enjoy.

    http://www.vigile.net/Loi-101-conforme-a-l-ethique-et-au

    ReplyDelete
  28. "If you are able to read the superior language, enjoy."

    Selon mon évaluation,3 ou 4 anglos sur ce blogue comprennent +/- bien la langue de Molière.Quelques francos(Grattoniens)à l'occasion,s'abaissent à s'exprimer dans leur langue d'origine.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Hey you, quit calling quebecois "la langue de Molière"...you speak a totally different language.
    I have friends from France who don't understand more than a few words when you start speaking this joual.

    Quebecois is a standalone language, with french roots, nothing more.

    ReplyDelete
  30. @NM

    Seriez-vous un ADSKISTE par hasard?
    (ne pas confondre avec adéquiste)

    Le seul anglomane chronique que je connaisse venu s'installer dans le seul enclave francophone en amérique du Nord et oui,en amérique du Nord!

    Y'a quelque chose qui cloche car ce type me semble relativement intelligent.

    ReplyDelete
  31. "Quebecois is a standalone language, with french roots, nothing more."

    Tiens donc!Un autre petit fûté de la linguistique.
    Si par magie Molière ressucitait aujourd'hui,Je peux vous assurer qu'aucun Français ne pourrait saisir son discours.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Such laws were never adopted. Get your facts straight.

    "Les américains sont-ils racistes en utilisant des lois linguistiques pour lutter contre l'invasion hispanophone dans certains états du Sud?"

    ReplyDelete
  33. "Quebecois is a standalone language, with french roots, nothing more."

    De plus la langue Québécoise,contrairement au Parisien (l'accent référence selon les...Parisiens:)) par exemple, utilise toujours des termes et des expressions issus de l'époque de Molière.

    ReplyDelete
  34. @Press 9

    "So, you're obnoxious and dull ?" ( Triumph )

    ReplyDelete
  35. @Press 9

    Have you ever been to Paris? :(

    Parisians still use old French expressions, as well as a subtle form of Frenglish. It's not that different from Quebec really.

    "De plus la langue Québécoise,contrairement au Parisien (l'accent référence selon les...Parisiens:)) par exemple, utilise toujours des termes et des expressions issus de l'époque de Molière."

    ReplyDelete
  36. "I have friends from France who don't understand more than a few words when you start speaking this joual."

    Pourtant, chaque année il y a des milliers de Français qui viennent étudier dans nos universités.

    Cela dit, il vaut mieux être un peuple unique avec sa propre langue et sa propre culture, que d'être un peuple sans personnalité propre.

    Un peuple canadien-anglais qui a pour culture de masse celle d'une autre nation (américaine), qui a pour principaux symboles d'identité nationale (le nom canadien, l'emblème de la feuille d'érable, l'hymne ô canada) ceux appartenant à une autre nation (québécoise) et qui a pour chef d'État celui d'une autre nation (monarchie britannique).

    ReplyDelete
  37. @Press 9

    Oh, now you make my day.
    I've been to Paris lot's of times. I bet more than you.
    And you know what: even french guys speak better english than you guys. And they are open to everything, including , SURPRISE, keeping english names to stores. You will not see a PFK in Paris, only KFC.

    And for sure, they have a better sense of reality, and they know that an open city/country means more money, more tourists, more business ... they don't shove french on anybody's throat.
    And people learn french for pleasure, not by constraint.

    So don't sell me crap, 'coz I'm well used to visit France.

    Again, you fail to understand your problem. it's not that we want to see la langue quebecois vanishing, we just want the freedom of choosing language. I'm pro-quebecois and pro-english too.
    Montreal is such a great city especially because is a mixture of french/english.
    And for sure let's not forget the italians/greeks/haitians/muslims and so on. This is a melange the makes this city so unique.
    Don't try spoiling this by imposing everything in french, because you will loose everything that is nice.
    So basically , yeah, Montreal should be allowed to become an official bilingual city !

    ReplyDelete
  38. @Press 9

    "Pourtant, chaque année il y a des milliers de Français qui viennent étudier dans nos universités. "

    Yup, that's why McGill and Concordia are better than UdeM :).

    "Un peuple canadien-anglais qui a pour culture de masse celle d'une autre nation (américaine), qui a pour principaux symboles d'identité nationale (le nom canadien, l'emblème de la feuille d'érable, l'hymne ô canada) ceux appartenant à une autre nation (québécoise) et qui a pour chef d'État celui d'une autre nation (monarchie britannique). "

    I don't see ROC crying about Quebec, and really they are doing a great job united. Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver are growing each day, not the same thing I can say about Montreal. As for Quebec city , lol ...

    Money talks dude, and in the end, nobody is going to give a crap on culture and language. You adapt intelligently, or you die.

    Again, you should better learn and allow english than chinese

    ReplyDelete
  39. @ Press 9

    Touche, pussycat !

    http://www.rue89.com/rue-des-erables/les-etudiants-francais-partent-au-quebec-apprendre-langlais

    What are you going to say about that? ( and there was silence ...)

    ReplyDelete
  40. @ NM

    Si tu ne t'étais pas juste attardé au titre, tu aurais appris que seulement 15% des Français vont à l'université anglaise, attardé.

    ReplyDelete
  41. "What are you going to say about that?"

    Pourquoi ne pas apprendre "Le vrai anglais" en Angleterre?

    Ils sont cons ces Frenchies!Mdr!

    ReplyDelete
  42. "Un peuple canadien-anglais qui a pour culture de masse celle d'une autre nation (américaine), qui a pour principaux symboles d'identité nationale (le nom canadien, l'emblème de la feuille d'érable, l'hymne ô canada) ceux appartenant à une autre nation (québécoise) et qui a pour chef d'État celui d'une autre nation (monarchie britannique)."

    Excellent mon ami!

    Les anglo-canayens sont effectivement sans aucun goût.Je dirais plutôt un goût indéfinissable,un peu comme le "porridge" et la volaille bouillie...Ouach!

    ReplyDelete
  43. Yep, keep denying.

    "Pourquoi ne pas apprendre "Le vrai anglais" en Angleterre?" - because "Ils bénéficient de l'accord entre le Québec et la France sur les frais de scolarité"

    I will not keep debating with you guys. Apparently there is a veil on your eyes preventing you to see further than your nose.

    If Quebec is to become a country, will they ever have enough money to continue supporting French students from France ?

    So i will not respond to you again on this topic, it makes no sense as long as you fail to see the point.

    Merci beaucoup mes amis.

    ReplyDelete
  44. I wonder what a mean anglophone person did to Press9 to make him so bitter.

    Nobody is questioning anyone's right to speak the language they want, and the country and province has gone to lengths to accommodate both french and english.

    But that's not enough though, it's not good enough to be able to do what you want, people with that mentality want to be able to control what other people do as well.

    I guess "live and let live" is still an unknown concept to them...

    ReplyDelete
  45. @ Press9

    C'est toi qui est con, espèce d'illettré.

    I'm pretty sure you're a middle school dropout.

    "Ils sont cons ces Frenchies!Mdr!"

    ReplyDelete
  46. "Nobody is questioning anyone's right to speak the language they want..."

    Facile à dire quand notre langue domine largement le continent.Essayez de faire la traversée du canada sans jamais être OBLIGER de parler anglais.Mission totalement impossible!

    "Nobody is questioning anyone's right to speak the language they want..."

    ReplyDelete
  47. "I'm pretty sure you're a middle school dropout."

    Right on dude!Do we know each other?

    ReplyDelete
  48. @ Press 9

    I can't help it, and i promised :)

    "Facile à dire quand notre langue domine largement le continent.Essayez de faire la traversée du canada sans jamais être OBLIGER de parler anglais.Mission totalement impossible!"

    What is your point? You are not making any sense. What's that got to do with it?

    Why the f@*& would you like to visit Canada, if "Les anglo-canayens sont effectivement sans aucun goût.Je dirais plutôt un goût indéfinissable,un peu comme le "porridge" et la volaille bouillie" ???

    Just stay in your cottage, and don't learn english if that's your choice. Why would you like to visit a stupid country like Canada ? Why would you like to visit any other country?

    Why it's so hard to understand that english is an asset in our days, and ANYWHERE in the world you travel, you will always be able to speak it? WHY, for God's sake?

    ReplyDelete
  49. Encore une fois, pourquoi est-ce que tu te préoccupes avec ce que font les autres?

    Essaie de traverser l'italie sans parler l'italien une fois! Est-ce qu'ils devraient changer pour moi?

    Mais oui, si tu ne connais pas un mot d'anglais, et tu dois traverser le continent, je suis certain que tu vas te débrouiller pareil. Il y a beaucoup de touristes québécois francophones qui visitent des endroits qui sont anglais à 100%; ils ne se forcent pas à parler l'anglais (je l'ai vu moi-même)..

    De toute façon, honnêtement, si tu n'es pas capable de parler un mot d'anglais en 2011, peu-importe ton origine, ça va pas bien..

    Tu as peur que le français va éventuellement disparaitre? Parfait, je peux comprendre ça. On pourrait commencer par démontrer une fierté envers notre langue, au lieu de pointer tous les autres.
    J'aimerais bien voir les francophones respecter leur propre langue avant de blâmer les autres. J'aimerais savoir quel pourcentage sont capables de bien accorder les verbes " au passé composé.
    Donc on revoit entièrement les médias québécois.. (Loft Story, Musique Plus, etc..) on revoit l'enseignement du français à l'école..

    ReplyDelete
  50. @Press 9:

    Sort of ... I see you everyday on the 55 bus. You're that fat, ugly bus driver.

    "Right on dude!Do we know each other?"

    ReplyDelete
  51. @ Anonymous:
    "How convenient that you don't talk of those signs... They are definitely against the law."

    "And that's not even the point, even bilingual Francophones shouldn't have to read English-only signs anywhere within Quebec. They are against the law!"

    "It only shows how weak that party is when it comes to applying the law..."

    Not all laws are just. The anti-semitic laws that were passed in Germany prior to the Second World War were unjust. The anti-black Jim Crow laws that existed in the southern U.S. were unjust. Bill 101 is definitely a fascist law that discriminates against minorities within Quebec.

    There are hardly any English-only signs in Quebec, with the exception of the trademarks of some international corporations. In the rare instance that an English-only sign appears, language zealots like yourself quickly go on the attack.

    To claim that the French language and the Quebecois culture will disappear because there is some English on signs is utterly ridiculous.

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  52. "Sort of ... I see you everyday on the 55 bus. You're that fat, ugly bus driver."

    Hahahahahahaha!Tu ne changeras jamais mon Philippe!Pas encore de voiture?

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  53. Je respecte l'environnement MOI. hahah

    "Hahahahahahaha!Tu ne changeras jamais mon Philippe!Pas encore de voiture?"

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  54. "Je respecte l'environnement MOI..."

    Mais visiblement pas les chauffeurs de bus :))

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  55. "http://www.rue89.com/rue-des-erables/les-etudiants-francais-partent-au-quebec-apprendre-langlais"

    NM that article was so funny. I laughed my head off. Reminds me of all these french promotion stuff the Quebec government does. Usually works the other way. Like the courses that the Quebec government pays people to learn French. Everyone signs up for them, get paid, learn some French and then hardly ever use it again. If I ever lose my job I am coming to Quebec and then take some of those courses. Get some of my equalization money back.

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  56. anon 4:48

    Quebec is not a nation state like Italy or France. ITs just a province with a francophone majority that have supressed its second official language called English. Even bill 22 and later bill 101 have to be printed and posted in English for it to be a law.

    QUEBEC is a bilingual province that doesn't enforce and needs to be forced to be bilingual again.

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  57. @ Anon 6:01

    Thanks.

    @ Anon 6:03

    At least Montreal should receive the status of bilingual city. For the rest of Quebec, french should be OK. I don't see Quebec becoming an official bilingual city ...
    At least Q-city should have bilingual signage, because it is an intense touristic town...because it's beautiful :)

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  58. "...because it's beautiful :)"

    Et vous tenez à l'enlaidir avec de l'affichage en anglais?

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  59. @ Press 9

    Beaucoup de chauffeurs de la STM sont horribles. Il y en a même un qui m'a dit d'apprendre le Français alors que je m'adressais à lui dans la langue de "Molière".

    Alors même si j'ai un léger accent, je crois que mon Français est plutôt bon.

    "Mais visiblement pas les chauffeurs de bus :))"

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  60. @ Anon 6:39

    See, exactly my point ... you don't get it.

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  61. "Alors même si j'ai un léger accent, je crois que mon Français est plutôt bon."

    Je te dis celà très sérieusement Phil:Y'a des idiots partout et pas juste dans les bus.

    Je suis certain que ton français est très bon et c'est pas une raison pour te décourager.La majorité des Québécois apprécient l'effort de certains anglophones à communiquer en français.

    La prochaine fois,dis lui d'aller chi**.

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  62. As I read these posts from the French Language Zealots/Facists... I can't help thinking after 40 years of "maitre chez nous" , we are left with collapsing bridges, billion dollars of debt and Mafia driven wannabe Bananna Republic.... It must be Palermo, Sicily

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  63. Okay, merci Press9.

    "Je suis certain que ton français est très bon et c'est pas une raison pour te décourager."

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  64. @ 7:42 PM
    French Language Zealots/Facists...
    Mafia driven wannabe Bananna Republic...

    Mafia = English-speaking Italians = ultra-federalist = against bill 101 and independence = vote for the Liberal party which has been in power since 2003 and make donations to that party and not to the PQ which is the "French Language Zealot" party

    They're on your side. They consider themselves Anglophones. Why should separatists get all the blame for corruption when it's mostly a federalist thing not just including Francophone federalists but Anglophone and Allophone federalists too. Yet we are accused of blaming everything on other ethnicities but many do just the opposite by blaming it ALL on French-Canadians. I can provide news articles with tons of Italian names, there even was one linked on this blog a few days ago. Of course, pointing out the truth must somehow make me a racist as if I said all were criminals which I didn't. I'm all for fairness and it's a fact some are involved. Why should they get away with it? Because they are on the English side? Now THAT is intolerant.

    If anything, independence would mean less mafia because they would probably move in large numbers.

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  65. Remember the Gomery commission? How come there were no scandals involving the separatist Bloc but some Francophone federalist Liberals (not as many people as Bloc people) were involved in corruption?

    Now, on the provincial level. The PQ was in power from 1994 to 2003 and experts agree, there was less corruption in the construction industry back then. Now it's all over the news and Liberals have a lot to hide, no wonder they don't want a public commission.

    Separatists are less corrupt, it's a fact. How could they be MORE corrupt? They have ideals and believe in building a new country. Federalists only go into politics to abuse of the system, like those people accused during the sponsorship scandal.

    Even Charest speaks of Québec as a nation yet doesn't want independence. Why? Because he wants money from the federal government.

    It's always been about money hence Parizeau's speech on money and the ethnic vote. The ethnic vote only accounted for less than 20%.

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  66. This got me reading about the Gomery commission and look what I found:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfonso_Gagliano

    "Justice John Gomery's initial report on the sponsorship scandal places much of the blame on Gagliano, making him the highest ranking Liberal to be charged with deliberate dishonesty, rather than negligence"

    "In September 2006, he argued that Liberal leadership candidate Joe Volpe was the victim of the same kind of anti-Italian sentiment that ended his own political career."

    Will they play the race card again? All others accused didn't say anything about an anti-French sentiment but the Sicilian man did. Just the other day a letter from the Canadian Italian Congress or something like that was sent to the host of a TV show here telling him to stop using the word Italian when speaking of organized crime and that the Italian Mafia was in Italy. Talk about political correctness, calling it the Quebec Mafia or Montreal Mafia or whatever won't change the fact that its members identify themselves as Italians first and the public knows this.

    Anglophones and Allophones will continue to vote in block for the Liberals despite its links with the mafia. Also, they don't help you with your linguistic rights. Please create your own party so that the Liberals lose seats and we'll vote for Legault. That way, the Quebec Liberal party would suffer their worse defeat ever and might never recover from it just like the federal Liberal Party of Canada.

    I hate Charest so much. Always that big smile on his face. Always getting away with everything. It won't last forever...
    I mean look at him:
    http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/Jean_Charest.jpg

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  67. "I hate Charest so much..."

    Bienvenue dans le club.Ses conseillers en image et communication ne pourront plus jouer la carte de la banalisation et du "tout va bien" encore longtemps.

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  68. Yeah you're right, I wish we had her majesty Pauline Marois to lead us.

    She could sit in the tower of her Ile Bizard castle, while watching the little peasants working on their farms (the only jobs left in quebec)

    And it would be perfect, seeing as how she can't even speak english, we wouldn't have to worry about her negotiating with any of those dirty english people from all the assimilated nations of the world!

    And I mean, péquistes are always 100% honest, they always think about the french quebec population first, and they never sell out, just like Lucien Bouchard, right?

    Politicians are all corrupt. That's the definition of the word "politician". They are ex-lawyers. Do you know many people who become a lawyer because they want to positively change the world?...

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  69. @anon 1:44

    Thats fine blaming the italians, but the vast majority of QUEBEC government bureaucrats are pur laineers.

    Also of course most allos and anglos vote liberal. They can't trust the PQ, QS, ADQ or any other pur laine chauvanist party. When given a choice where there is no chance of a sepratist party winning, anglos and allos vote for parties like Eqaulity party. In essence minorities in Quebec have no choice. We have to vote for the likes of Charest, the least worst choice.

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  70. I agree with another commenter above, BOTH language should be displayed out of respect - it is rather spiteful otherwise. 40 years of Master-Slave society and govt control certainly has had its toll: loss of the financial centre of Canada, loss of investment, two referenda lost and the seppies place Rousseau at the CDPQ and we lost an entire generation of investment that Sabia may only recover next year after four years at the helm of the formerly racial institution created by Parizeau!

    If one cannot speak FR properly, and are unilingual (because there are a few that are not good at languages) it is rather intolerant to say that they have to leave the province, right? There should be way more tolerance, and a television station shouldn't be propagating intolerance, which is why many people should complaint to the CRTC regarding this TVA program.
    Good post again regarding the regular persecution we have to deal with here -btw, there is good news! Thanks to the Montreal Police, a clear photo identification of Renaud Léger (of Beloeil) was made this morning for his assault against me on April 17th this year during our Anti-Bill 101 first protest (reported by CTV news of 6pm the very same day). He refused to respect our democratic right to protest, and from the street, took a jab at my head hitting the megaphone and my arm (I did not fight back, although the man is much smaller than me, because this is a peaceful protest, and so shall the next one be). I applaud the Montreal police for helping stop the intolerant language zealots from the Anglophobic terrorist organisation the Reseau de résistance québécoise (now orphans since their funding by the BQ and PQ has been cut). The legacy of Guy Favreau should remind these bullies that the Christian Spirit of tolerance is what we seek with respect to the Bilingual reality of the Greater Montreal Region (including Laval, and South Shore). His behaviour is not acceptable against our community, and the Police support this too: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnJyCtQIRlM&feature=related

    On Aug 26th, our last protest, I let Louis 'Cave' Prefontaine have it, because he is next on the criminal list to take down for posting my home address and phone numbers on a now removed Hate page on FB, for telephone harassment, and insinuating intimidation against my family (even my daughter!).
    Please help vote down their comments here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYgDDfWJ-lk&feature=related
    You can scroll down on the Walk for the Abolition of Bill 101 page to end of July to see his hate crime, and especially the reaction of the mothers in the group for his RRQ style terrorism.

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  71. ATTENTION READERS!

    Blogger seems to have some issues and some comments are getting lost.
    I am not censoring anything!

    Before pressing POST COMMENT, copy you comment somewhere and if it doesn't appear within 5 minutes, email me with your comment, your handle and which post you want to comment on.
    anglomontreal@gmail.com
    Thank you for your cooperation.
    Comments are an essential element to this blog!

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  72. Haïti chérie dit: Devant tant de commentaires édifiants de la part ''d'anglos zealots'', je ne puis que dire que malheureusement le débat linguistique risque de prendre plus de place encore. Le laxisme a donné un résultat comme celui décrié dans le reportage. Vous allez voir que si les francophones refusent en bloc d'aller encourager ses commerçants, ceux-ci vont changer leur approche du service à la clientèle. Je suis désolé pour les irréductibles anglomanes, la majorité du Québec n'a pas à dépenser son argent dans une autre langue que la sienne. Allez donc voir si les Canadiens anglais du ROC (majoritaires également sur leur territoire) dépensent leur argent en français ou dans une autre langue... Simple bon sens. Finalement, autre désolation, les nouveaux arrivants n'ont pas le choix de leur communauté linguistique d'adoption. S'ils n'entrent pas dans les critères établis par la Loi 101, ils s'assimilent à la majorité francophone sinon, peut-être une autre migration est elle souhaitable pour votre bien-être personnel, au lieu d'être constamment frustré ? ''"Le patriotisme, lorsqu'il est avisé, consiste moins à se heurter aux circonstances, presque toujours plus fortes que les hommes, qu'à tenter de cheminer parmi elles, tout en faisant rendre à chaque jour le maximum de satisfaction légitimes." Vincent Sténio (Chef d'État-1930-1941)

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  73. @Haïti chérie

    TVA vient de leur faire une très mauvaise pub.

    Personnellement,je n'encourage aucun commerce avec un seul mot anglais sur leur affiche et je ne serai certainement pas le seul après un tel reportage.Bravo TVA!

    Nous ne sommes pas à Paris ici :))

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  74. No Fess 9,

    We are in Canada, in the province of Quebec. Thats why there should be even more bilingual signage. Would be nice to see Laval go from 19% anglo to 33% anglo, 33% allo by next census.

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  75. @ Haiti cherie:

    "Je suis désolé pour les irréductibles anglomanes, la majorité du Québec n'a pas à dépenser son argent dans une autre langue que la sienne. Allez donc voir si les Canadiens anglais du ROC (majoritaires également sur leur territoire) dépensent leur argent en français ou dans une autre langue..."

    Canadians in other provinces do spend money on French. Their money is used to support the Official Languages Act and bilingualism across English Canada. No doubt some of the money from the ROC that ends up in massive transfer payments to Quebec is also used to keep the OQLF operational and to enforce Bill 101. Anglo-Quebeckers also contribute more than their fair share of taxes to the Quebec government. In effect, the money of English-Canadians is being used by Quebec to restrict or ban their own language.

    In Ontario, where Francophones comprise less than 4% of the population, all government services are provided in French. It is a de facto bilingual province. Ontario has also published some documentation in Mandarin for the Chinese community.


    "S'ils n'entrent pas dans les critères établis par la Loi 101, ils s'assimilent à la majorité francophone sinon, peut-être une autre migration est elle souhaitable pour votre bien-être personnel, au lieu d'être constamment frustré ?"

    You keep reinforcing the fact that the federal government of Canada should strip Quebec of its autonomy over immigration. We do not need newcomers like you who advocate for the ethnic cleansing of non-Francophones from Quebec. You should "migrate" back to Haiti.

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  76. French people in Canada are lucky to have the country recognize their language at all; in the States we have huge areas that were settled by the Spanish or Mexicans but there is no official provision for their language. Some places (like San Antonio, TX) have more Spanish speakers than English speakers, but you don't see them whining about their language being "superior" etc. or asking for special privileges. The Quebecois don't have a culture apart from *language.* There's nothing even FRENCH here at all. Except maybe the lack of manners. At least when you go to the southwest in America you can see the Spanish influence in the architecture, food, language, customs, religion, music and more. There's more of a Mexican culture in Texas than there is a French one in Quebec. Not sure exactly what the french are fighting to "preserve" here. They hold tenaciously to a language and are basically American rejects in every other aspect.

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  77. Bill 101 should be broken by all non francophones
    Its a racist law that should not even be there.And as for the recent anglo bashing It smells like the 1930's. If you don't understand that you need some history lessons.

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    ReplyDelete