I imagine that everybody who comes to this blog on an ongoing basis has some pretty strong opinions on Bill 101 and I'm not here to convince anyone to change their position towards mine.
That being said, I'm going to give offer my point of view on the major elements, step by step and give you all weekend to make your opinions known in the comments section.
I think that there are four overriding positions that represent the opinions of most Quebecers.
POSITION 1 -There are those who want the law completely abolished because they believe that it is an affront to our democratic freedoms
So what is your poison?POSITION 2 -There are those who want the law strengthened, because they believe that French is more threatened than ever and needs even more protection than is now provided
POSITION 3 -There are those believe that although not perfect, the law is an acceptable compromise.
POSITION 4 -There are those that believe the law should be softened
Door #1, Door #2, Door #3 or Door #4
Regardless of how you feel, it's a foregone conclusion that the law isn't going away. There is zero chance that Bill 101 will be softened, somewhat of a chance that it will be made more restrictive.
That being said we can all fantasize about what we would like to see.
Here are some major bones of contention in relation to Bill 101 and my take on the subject.
MANDATORY FRENCH SCHOOLING
Freedom of choice restrictions apply to immigrants and francophones, but anglophones have the option of going to any school they please. The law makes second class citizens out of francophones and immigrants, but the vast majority of francophones support the idea that their children should be obliged to go to French publicly funded school, at least through high school.
Who am I to argue with those who want to put restrictions on themselves?
And selfishly, it makes no difference to me or my Anglophone family.
As for immigrants being forced into French schools, well, those are the rules that they agreed to abide by before coming to Quebec and so I also don't really have a problem with that either. They can always choose Ontario before coming if they don't like it.. It isn't as if it is a big surprise, sort of like winter, part of what they should expect. And so I remain unsympathetic.
The one bugbear that I have is those immigrants whose first language is English, like someone from Great Britain, Ireland, Australia or New Zealand. Forcing these people into French schools is utterly vindictive.
Is there one chance in hell they will become francophones?
All that being said, the English minority in the province hovers around 10% -13%, but our primary school system is being fed 0% of the newly arrived immigrants. Because we are in the same boat as our francophone brethren in terms of reproduction, the number of students in the system will continue to diminish and the English primary school system will eventually collapse.
Somehow, 10% of the immigrants must be allowed into the English school system to balance things out.
How? ....perhaps a lottery, like the U.S. government does with visas.
As is the case now, anyone wanting an English education, but who is not eligible for publicly funded English school, can pay for private education. That seems legit.
As for 'bridging schools' I can't really say I'm in favour of using a trick to defy the law.
As per applying Bill 101 to cegeps and universities, the vast majority of francophones are against this idea and since a government is supposedly elected to reflect the will of the people, institutions of higher learning must remain open to all.
FRENCH AS THE COMMON LANGUAGE
I haven't got a problem with this, Francophones shouldn't be forced to address bosses in English like the good old days on the plantation. The head offices that refused to adopt French as the working language have long ago fled à la SUN LIFE and they ain't coming back.
As for imposing Bill 101 on small companies, nothing could be stupider or more vindictive.
Imagine a small English family business being forced to add French software that nobody is going to use just to satisfy the OQLF?
FRENCH OUTDOOR SIGNAGE
I have to come down on freedom of choice. Merchants should be free to advertise in the language or languages of their choice and consumers can shop where they want to and avoid stores that offend them. In this case let the DOLLAR rule.Since the government has already moved towards unilingual French signage, be it road signs, or it's own advertising, the face of the province won't change much.
The rule that French must be twice as large as the English is unacceptable. Were the shoe on the other foot, francophones would be rioting over that humiliation.
The two for one ration between English French is as silly as the picture on the right....
Even if the law changed to allow English signage, how many companies would have the guts to go bilingual or English?....Not many, I presume.
In fact, few companies avail themselves of what rights they have now to use English.
SERVICE IN FRENCH
Most of the complaints concerning clerks who can't serve in French have to do with newly arrived immigrants who are working their asses off trying survive without the benefit of welfare or unemployment insurance. Being a clerk is just about the most unrewarding job, offering poor pay, long and inconvenient hours. Who else is going to take the job?
Stores that don't offer service in French are run by idiots who are only hurting themselves by alienating francophone clients.
There's an easy solution for those offended......Shop somewhere else. No law required here.
SERVICE IN ENGLISH
Aside for Revenue Quebec, which will take your money quite happily English, most government services are not really offered in English even if they are supposed to be. Government web sites are slowly losing what English they have and within a few years will be unilingually French.
Yes you can receive most forms in English, but English service at government offices is hard to come by. While I don't think it's reasonable to walk into a license bureau in Alma and expect to be served in English, for anglophones with difficulty with French, arrangement should be made upon request.
At any rate, nobody can deny that Bill 101 changed the face of Quebec and certainly transformed it from a bilingual society into a French society, with English reduced to the island of Montreal.
Has Bill 101 served its purpose?
Has the language issue been redressed in favour of French and has Bill 101 passed its shelf life like Affirmative Action laws in the USA?
Opinions about Bill 101 remind me of pizza.
Go to a real pizzeria with a dozen friends and you'll order 12 different pizzas.
And so, the above post is just one Anglo's opinion.
It's your chance to sound off.
We have all weekend. How about a thoughtful comment on Bill 101.
Let's try lay off the #$#@$#!!!!
BTW......How contentious and emotional is Bill 101?
Here's a photo essay to remind us how touchy we all are over the issue of language.
Editor, I agree with you on most points, but I'd just like to point out some things. Regarding schooling, I'm beginning to see more and more ethnic peoples in English schools and I don't think the English system will disappear anytime soon. As long as people are eligible, there will be a system. Besides, Quebec is constitutionally obliged to have an English school system. What's also killing our system is the fact that over 20 000 eligible students are either in private or French schools because the parents feel the children will get a better grasp of the French language from those institutions. Roughly 90% of immigrants attend French school, which means that 10%(roughly the same as the anglo population) either attend private English school or end up marrying an "English eligible" partner. Bill 101 can only hurt the school system so much. I'm curious to know the percentage of immigrants from English speaking countries in Quebec. Got any stats Editor?
ReplyDelete97% of provincial service workers are francophones therefore it's no wonder that it's so hard to get service in English. I think it also depends on your residence. I assume it's somewhat easier to get services in the West Island than if you're living on the East end. Most government web sites have English versions and I was surprised the National Assembly site had some parts in English as well.
I think we can all agree that the sign law is the most ridiculous, insulting out of them all. I'm glad some folks from Chomedey are giving this stupid law the middle finger. It's interesting to note that the law doesn't state that English or any other language must be 2X smaller than French. French must be "markedly predominant". This could just mean having 2/3 of signs in French and the rest in English. I've seen such cases in small stores.
Stores with 50 or more employees must be able to operate in French. I think it's OK for Quebec to impose French, but to prohibit others is a little too excessive. I also don't have an issue with making French the common language.
Posting #1
ReplyDelete...to Editor: As you wrote above: "... our primary school system is being fed 0% of the newly arrived immigrants...the number of students in the system will continue to diminish and the English primary school system will eventually collapse."
If I didn't know better, I'd say you're plagiarizing Reed Scowen's book, "Time to Say Goodbye". In all fairness, I know you're not. You're more or less reiterating something he did write, i.e., the pre-existing English population, prior to Bill 101, will obtain limited accommodation insofar as access to English schools and many other services, but children born post-Bill 101 will not, or at the very least they'll see the quantity of available services in English dissipate throughout their lives until none is left, or at best, a very marginal amount.
You posted several months ago how the CSST, i.e., the Workers' Compensation Department, won't serve any business situated in Quebec in English anymore, but will reluctantly do so for companies situated outside Quebec.
The Great Charter of Charters' objective was to remove the English visage from the face of Quebec. I very much, unfortunately, think it did, and as a result, I'd like Quebec to leave Canada, even if it takes the Real Canada to do it. Despite its success, there are those, like in the last post, are still not satisfied because English and other languages still exist, whether on signs, literature, or are spoken in the streets.
Canada is officially a bilingual country. Even if the real provinces don't serve very well in French, the simple fact of the matter is Quebec did serve the English community very well prior to Bill 22 and chose to cut out the services. Signs WERE bilingual, including street signs, and some were in English alone. OK, at least make them bilingual, and these days it would make lousy business sense to post unilingual English signs à la the late Alan Singer.
Posting #2:
ReplyDeleteI recently drove through the Toronto suburb of Markham on the long East-West Highway 7 and was reminded of the signs posted in Chinese, some unilingually Chinese.
It's very easy to conclude that non-Chinese people are not welcome into these establishments, and if anyone is offended by Chinese-only signs, they can freely boycott. I frequented a grocery store where a fair amount of the packaging was neither in English nor French. If I wanted to know what something was, I could ask.
Not long after I moved to Toronto, I used to like shopping in the stores in the downtown Chinatown, located primarily along the southern part of Spadina Ave. For my first few years in Toronto, I bought my eyeglasses at an optician in Chinatown. I have a rare prescription, and their prices, compared to suppliers of American and European lenses, were pretty good back then, with most of the supply coming from Japan. I must admit the optician gave me a good looking over when she saw me enter the store. I was hoping she found me irresistibly attractive (heaven knows, SHE was!), but after the initial shock, we got down to business, and they did a good job.
To give Quebeckers an idea of what I was implying above re "Downtown Chinatown", there are now FOUR Chinatowns in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area): The downtown one, which is really giving way to other East Asian communities, namely the Koreans and Vietnamese, and is now getting into the other three Chinatowns, namely Scarborough, Markham and Mississauga. The shopping plaza in Mississauga was designed and built by a world renowned architect from China, and features the only ceramic wall in the world outside of Asia with nine dragons. This plaza is very accommodating to the community at large as they feature themselves in Chinese AND English.
While these few paragraphs divert from the topic on the one hand, it goes to show, on the other hand, that Toronto's openness on multiculturalism has done much to enrich the big city, unlike Montreal, where Drapeau pretty much squeezed its Chinatown into a ghetto, and the Quebec government at one time wouldn't allow Chinese on signs in Chinatown. RETARDED!
Posting #3
ReplyDeleteToo, based on the above paragraphs, it also reminds us what the Great Charter of Charters' ulterior motive REALLY is: To ensure preference is given to one group of peoples, aka «Québécois pur laine».
The Parti Québécois set the objective to not ensure you spoke French, but that you ARE "French", i.e., it was legislated to benefit them, cleverly disguised as simply wanting everything spoken and written in French. What is the unemployment rate of «pur laine» compared to those who are not, even if they speak French?
You have a hicktown called Hérouxville that started the whole $5 million Taylor-Bouchard Commission that brought out all the little Adolf Hitlers spewing their hatred of everything not «pur laine». If that wasn't enough, there was the town of Val-David that practically legitimized the arson and sabotage of Jewish cottages because, as one of the townsfolk stated, the Jewish occupants were not very friendly. Has anybody who had partaken in this public mischief ever been brought to justice?
Even Reed Scowen stated in his aforementioned book the Parti Québécois openly promoted and encouraged rhetoric against those who were not of majority's kind.
I still believes what bothers me most about this topic is the fact my grandfathers, my ascendants who landed in Canada (on my mom's side almost 100 years ago), didn't take jobs from anyone, and in fact employed some of the «pur laine» people through the Great Depression. They contributed to the greater good of Quebec, yet just a few decades later, there were those in high places of government who wanted to neutralize and forget what people like my maternal grandfather, who arrived in Sherbrooke with little more than the clothes on his back and maybe one suitcase, did to help families that would otherwise have likely starved to death in the 1930s.
I'll have more to write later, but for now I'll wait to see what others have to say. Editor, I think for the first time, you're going to exceed 100 responses to THIS topic!
WOW
ReplyDeleteI'm amazed. You actually have the exact same opinions regarding bill 101 as I do.
I've long said it's insulting and stupid to force immigrants from English countries into the French system.
My major concern is being able to get service in English from the Quebec government as well.
And last but not least, the signage law makes me roll my eyes every time.
I'm happy to hear bill 101 probably won't affect cegeps and universities. I couldn't believe some people were actually fighting for that!
Everything else regarding bill 101 is fine with me!
So I guess I'm of the opinion to soften bill 101
Editor,
ReplyDeleteIt is not enough to make 2 classes of immigrants. I mean there are immigrants from countries, like India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Kenya, South Africa, Guyana, Trinidad, Jamaica etc... Where English is also an official language. I wouldn't mind if the Quebec system was like that of Ontario for access to French School. If the parents had education in French at any point of their lives the and or came from a french speaking country children are eligible for French school. There are now more French school enrollment in Ontario then in Quebec. Even though English speakers in Quebec are almost double the population.
Before bill 103 and 105. Many english schools in heavy allophone areas like Cote Des Neiges, Park Extension and NDG used to have students that would enter by going to unsubsidized English private school and then would enroll in schools in those areas. Before 2001 English schools in those areas would never have closed down then they made bill 104 and closed that loop hole. Basically Quebecs goal is to choke all access to English school. Some parents still go to Ontario for 2 years and have one or all of their kids go to English school and then move back to get access to Quebec English school. Even then the Quebec government makes it very hard to get into english school. You need a lawyer at times.
There is an appeal to bill 115 going to the supreme court. It looks very likely that the Supreme court will have to force the Quebec government to allow students that go to unsubsidized private school into the Pulic english school system.
Anglo montreal, the number of 20 000 english eligible students in French public school is very high. There are plenty of good French immersion schools available in the English sector. Most of the English eligible students go to subsidized English private religious schools. IF the quebec government cut subsidies to those schools completely then you would have most of those students back in the public english school system.
Before bill 22 Quebec French schools had around 1.4 million Students and the English system centred around the Montreal area was around 250 000. With bill 22 there would have been a slower decline in the English school sector. Probably would have seen 150 000 to 175 000 students and the French school enrollment would have been 900 000.
With Bill 101 the English school system was gutted to less then 115 000 by the year 2000 while the French school system was around 935 000. The only interest in forcing immigrants into French schools happened when the forecast of future declines of French enrollment in the Montreal area. Otherwise, the protestant English schools boards were used as a dump to keep French schools pur laine. There are plenty of stories of non Francophones and non catholics trying to get access to French schools in their neighbourhoods and then being told to go to the English school as the French school was "FULL".
Tout le Quebec en marche pour vivre en francais?
ReplyDeleteWho is preventing these people from living in French? People who live side by side with them who use other languages? Even if the speakers of other languages don't interfere with the French speaking people?
Sorry, I don't buy it, ladies and gentlemen at the rally.
Next.
They are lying to themselves coz Montreal West Island is always anglophone. Look at the flag of Montreal: fleur-de-lis, rose, thistle, shamrock; 3 out of 4 speak English, not French.
DeletePosting #4
ReplyDelete...Anon @ 8:23AM: Yes, yes, you're quite right about the drop in English school enrollments. When I started out in school, I couldn't go to French school if I wanted to because they were all Catholic, and I'm not Catholic.
Paradoxically, a woman I worked with back in my CEGEP days (I had a part-time job at the now-defunct Pascal chain) who was a Hugonot (Protestant, but French mother-tongued), and she had to go to English school because there were no public French schools in the Protestant system. In the end, she didn't mind because she was fluently bilingual.
Today, of course, she would have been easily accommodated and as a Francophone, she would have been forced to go to French school.
As Editor mentioned previously, the English public system will eventually collapse, and that is EXACTLY what Quebec society wants to happen. The English schools are ONLY designated to, as Reed Scowen put it, accommodate the «Anglophones de souche». «Anglophones de souche» is defined as the fraternity of English-speakers rooted in Quebec for a long time. This therefore creates two English speaking classes: (1) Anglophones with roots; (2) Anglophones who are newcomers from other parts of Canada or elsewhere.
In the former case, this fraternity was created to take minimal responsibility for its established English-speaking citizens, but it is a fraternity that cannot be joined by anyone else not already in the fraternity. I was in that fraternity, but by leaving Quebec, I became one less «Anglophone de souche» to worry about. Those who chose to stay will eventually die, so the «Anglophones de souche» fraternity has a limited life. No matter. My son was born in the 1990s, so while he'd be entitled to an English education in Quebec, he would have still been condemned to being expected to live in French because he was born post-Bill 101.
Fortunately, my son was born, raised and is living freely in Ontario--THANK G-D! He's a good student, an avid reader, and very bright. He unfortunately has some learning challenges and is taking an excellent occupational program that helps with the non-academic aspects of his life. One year of French is obligatory in Ontario schools, but because he has to take this program, he has been exempted from his year of French. I'm a little unhappy he won't have adequate second language education, but his core academics are the priority. He just won't be able to apply for bilingual positions in his working life. Things can be worse than that, but in Quebec, he would have had a horrible time with French, and the Quebec government wouldn't have given a damn. Blessèd art thou, G-d, that my son was not born in Quebec!
Posting #5:
ReplyDeleteUp until now, my postings have been pretty genteel, but adski has put the subject in its proper perspective, so blame adski for getting me started (just kidding, ad!)
The simple fact of the matter is, the Great Charter of Charters is a piece of fascist legislation, nothing less! As the late Mordechai Richler put it, it is the key to the objective of a genteel form of ethnic cleansing. No guns, no bullets, no ransacking of English speaking communities, but it's a flagrant abuse of law to use socio-political engineering to achieve an end.
The language police are a collective of bullies used to pick fights with the target population over the most petty of circumstances, and the language testing of the mid-1970s by Bourassa's forerunner, Bill 22, was nothing less than cruel. The examiners fancied themselves gods who were uncontrollably handed the power to be trial, judge and jury over what kids got to go to English school (a minuscule number), and (the vast majority) that didn't. I will never forget as long as I live the one child who made one mistake on his English test and was denied access to English school by the SS agent who tested him. He was asked to go to a fruit bowl and pick out a lemon. He didn't know what a lemon was, not because he didn't understand English, but he never saw one before, or simply didn't know what a lemon looked like. For that only mistake on his test, the SS denied him access to English school. Bourassa was as sick a bastard as the rest of them! What Premier John James "Goldilocks" Charest did to that split that family on the South Shore with the little boy who had to go all the way to Delaware for an English language education when the fascist law makes provisions to prevent this is no less sick. Howard Galganov got the title of his book absolutely spot-on: Bastards!
Quebec in the mid-1970s became an obsessed, vindictive society! Too many naïve Anglophones believe language legislation was strictly governmental machinations--WRONG! Language legislation has existed now for over 35 years because the majority of Québécois people WANT it this way.
In the words of the ONLY Quebec politician who ever had an ounce of integrity:
ReplyDeleteIn my belief, rights are rights are rights. There is no such think as inside rights and outside rights. No such thing as right for the tall and rights for the short. No such thing as rights for the front and rights for the back, or rights for East and rights for West. Rights are rights and will always be rights. There are no partial rights. Rights are fundamental rights. Rights are links in a chain of fundamental values that bind all individuals in a society that wants to be equitable, and just, and fair. Rights are bridges that unite people in a society through a set of fundamental values, and the minute you deny those rights, you withdraw that bridge, and create a gap between members of that society by denying those fundamental rights that bind them together.
Clifford Lincoln
Hey Editor. You forgot about Position number 5: The Who gives a shit position. You know, the position that is held by 99.99% of the worlds population?
ReplyDeleteIt's hysterical that French Canadians think people around the world are up to date with their "plight"
Nobody cares about a bunch of racist laws in a racist province that has little to offer the world other than an animaless circus and maple syrup.
Strengthen, weaken, abolish...... Whatever, nobody in the real world cares.
Thank you for the post, you certainly should dedicate time to this topic, since it is the much the source of the decline of Quebec since it shed religion and pushed us into the Illusion Tranquille (Grand Illusion).
ReplyDeleteI could post a book full of comments from lucid Quebeckers from both linguistic communities, but I invite you all to read the wall of the FB group Rally/Walk for the Abolition of Bill 101
And I am for something between 1 and 4, but mostly 1 - and replace it with a bilingual bill that shows compromise and respect for our community, instead of treating us like a detriment to Quebec society! Discrimination is discrimination, and we should have no fear in questioning the stupidity of Quebec's provincial legislature, because we all know to well Gouvernemama acts like a Colonial tyrant abusing the acquiescence-indifference to political malfeasance, brain-washed majority with the guilt/lie that French in QC is in danger and exploits any and all forms of sociological propaganda and psychological harassment to achieve its end of control.
Hi Adski,
ReplyDeleteIt should be noted that although we were few (grand total of 11 after an hour delay, etc) we stood our ground for two full hours against those who support Bill 101 - and the vast majority of those who stood up to defend it were anglophobic separatist militant thugs like Louis Préfontaine and Renaud Léger (who were all proud with each other to celebrate their fausse victoire-fake victories, similar to what the BQ has been doing for 20 years...and now practically vanished).
See you on October 16th, Noon, Norman Bethune statue :)
...to Hugo: What's going on Oct 16th at the Bethune statue? Us Mississaugans are a little out of the loop, plus some Montreal readers may not know what you're pertaining to.
ReplyDeleteI choose 1. Those laws are racist and we all know French is here to stay in Quebec.
ReplyDeleteThe QC government has yet to understand it's completely useless to enforce culture. Sooner or later things will get back to normal.
Hi Mr. Sauga,
ReplyDeleteOn October 16th at Noon, we will hold our 3rd Protest against this discriminatory law. The Norman Bethune statue (of course, with a unilingual blurb next to it, highly disrespectful of our community in itself) is right in front of Tim Horton's, on the corner of Guy and de Maisonneuve. We are always a small crowd, but at least we show up to denounce a generation of bigotry.
Please see the Facebook group, or add me as a FB friend and I'll pass you the links to previous events, etc. See the excerpts Tyranny of Bill 101 on youtube.
"I have a suggestion. Pass language laws that mirror Bill 101 (but favour English and suppress French) in all other provinces and territories in Canada. Make New Brunswick unilingual English - by referendum if necessary. Then watch how Francophones in these other provinces react. They would probably riot, in which case they could be placed in some of Stephen Harper's new prisons. I imagine the Quebecois wouldn't be very happy either.
ReplyDeleteIf Quebec eventually relaxes Bill 101, then the anti-French laws elsewhere in Canada could be lightened as well.
What's good for the goose is good for the gander."
Outside of Eastern Ontario and parts of New Brunswick, the Francophone community is really really tiny. Not gonna happen.
ReplyDelete"Then watch how Francophones in these other provinces react. They would probably riot."
"I have a suggestion. Pass language laws that mirror Bill 101 (but favour English and suppress French) in all other provinces and territories in Canada."
ReplyDeleteC'est déjà fait!De plus,nous devons aller en cours pour nous faire servir un 7up en français.
NOTICE TO READERS
ReplyDeleteThere continues to be issues with BLOGGER with some readers unable to comment.
Before hitting the {POST COMMENT} button, copy your comment to your clipboard just in case Blogger erases your work in front of your eyes!
You can email me (anglomontreal@gmail.com) with your comment along with your 'screen name' (or Anon,) and which post you'd like to comment on
I'll get posted ASAP.
If your comment is not up within 5 minutes it is likely down the drain, so try again or email me.
Don't give up, your comments are an essential element to this blog!
NON! C'est plus une question de démographie que de lois. Mais je ne suis pas d'accord avec vous. Par exemple à Toronto Il y a beaucoup de services en Français dans les agences gouvernementales.
ReplyDelete"C'est déjà fait!De plus,nous devons aller en cours pour nous faire servir un 7up en français."
Bill 101 is a law that was created in the last century and as far as I'm concerned it has no place in the 21st century. Quebec has moved on and the barriers that held Francophones back have been shattered, namely because they have embraced the value of higher education en masse. The law is a mean spirited law created by a fascist, born of vindictiveness and has cost all of Quebec billions since its inception. How do you value educating someone for 20 years then have them skip town to pay taxes in Toronto or Calgary? Now times that by thousands of people for a whole generation. How many family ties and friendships were severed because of this law? French Quebec will never know the pain of losing half your family all of a sudden to another province because of politics. Quebec, outside of the 514 has been virtually 100% francophone for generations and will continue to be so. The sky isn't falling on the french language. This law has no place in a free and democratic society. Francophone parents should have the right to send their kids to bilingual English schools if they wish (they help pay for them!), and immigrants that are English speaking should have the right to choose which schools will be best for their kids too.
ReplyDelete@ DrunkGuyReneLevesqueKilled
ReplyDeleteThe thing is .... humans are territorial animals. Okay it's 2011 but some things never change. Look at Belgium, it's the same language divide. If Brussels wasn't such a dominant city the country would have partitioned long time ago.
From the event page: https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=256821994344547
ReplyDeleteMy friend Mike Bradley puts our stance against Bill 101 best:
My top 10 reasons to Abolish Bill 101:
1) To stop dividing our Quebec society so that we can all live in harmony;
2) To allow the freedom of choice for all of Quebec’s citizens to send their children to whichever school they feel will give their child the education they need to succeed in life;
3) To recognize the rights of the Anglophone community and not just those of the Francophone;
4) To have all institutions of the Government of Quebec provide services in BOTH of Canada’s official languages to all of Quebec’s citizens and companies;
5) To allow immigrants the opportunity to attend English schools (Especially if their mother tongue is English);
6) To stop the migration of our most talented and educated citizens;
7) To enable companies to work in BOTH of Canada’s official languages;
8) To stabilize the economy from the constant fear of separation;
9) To increase investment in Quebec;
10) To change the world’s perception that Quebec is anti-English and only concerned for its French citizens;
If I saw Louis Prefontaine in the streets, I don't think I would be able to control myself. LOL
ReplyDeleteYou're right on the point you just made and for sure, the sky will crumble onto those who supported that repulsive law, which is filled with high quantity of viral nonsense and with absolute bigotry as well.
ReplyDeleteToday, we live in an era where the number of manipulative hate-mongering morons like MAROIS and FESS 9 are shrinking down ongoingly ! Down to a point where they will no longer be visible in our naked eye sight, thus leaving more space and a clearer path to those who are willing to step in in order to establish something very constructive and innovative instead of something corrosively destructive and regressive, just like those inconveniences that took place in the past 40 years, for instance.
However, that being said, there will still be some moronic ranting seppies that will barge into the way, going out making pointless and useless protests against something they fear to see happen, but in the end, they will just make fool out of themselves and take a huge fall as they step ahead, since practically no one will really pay attention to what those nobodies have behind their intentions or mock them in a humiliating and persecuting way.
Therefore, according to my perspective, I firmly believed those losers, are skilled with mediocrities and prone to inevitable failures, just like it’s always been the case, and for that matter, that will never change, whether they like it or not.
And as for you mister shebbeare, I hope everything will go fine during your next protest against those low-class uninionized inbred separatist bullies who smell like cat-peed litter boxes. And hopefully then, you will not be vastly outnumbered just like you were last time, I mean, not at all, as a matter of fact, and hopefully, in a better position to crush those roaches!!
I wish you the best and give you all my support!
"I wish you the best and give you all my support!"
ReplyDeleteHugo devrait mettre l'accent sur la présence d'un Dunkin Donuts juste en face.Nous savons tous que les anglouilles sont attirés naturellement par l'odeur des gras trans et du sucre.
Vous pourriez passer d'un groupe de 11 à un groupe de 20!Marketing Hugo,marketing...
Nous pourrions peut-être même apercevoir la sale tronche à Drunk...killed dégustant un Donut :))
Ugh ? What about Poutine? Wasn't it invented by Francophones?
ReplyDelete"Nous savons tous que les anglouilles sont attirés naturellement par l'odeur des gras trans et du sucre."
Editor,
ReplyDeleteIn the dashboard I saw that you posted a piece about Hampstead, but when I went in that post was nowhere to find.
What happened?
Did you guys noticed that when Press 9 has nothing to say he easily starts to offend people?
ReplyDeleteIt's like: yeah, they are right, i've nothing to say, but at least i could f@ck them up a little bit, 'coz I'm so smart and I know i piss'em !
Troy;
ReplyDeleteBlogger is having some serious issues.
I guess you get what you pay for.....in this case..nothing.
Some people are having a great deal of trouble posting comments, which is unfortunate.
Also scheduled post are leaking out prematurely.
The Hampstead post, like the Duchesneau Report was not to be released so early, it is scheduled for Monday, but appeared online for about an hour before I yanked it back.
Sorry for the inconvenience!
A tribal law made by a tribal people.
ReplyDeleteHaïti chérie dit: Une loi visant à rétablir la normalité dans un pays encore anormal...
ReplyDelete@ Haïti chérie
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, it's a province not a country. It'a a shame if you think that a province who imposes such a law is "normal"...
1-50 of 11011
ReplyDeleteArrêtez de nous emmerder avec votre péréquation, Terre-Neuve, l'Ontario, le Nouveau-Brunswick en obtiennent, vous ne les faites pas chier avec ça. Le Québec contribue fiscalement à la cagnotte fédérale. À partir de cette prémisse, arrêtez de nous rabattre vos conneries. La générosité sans intérêt, ça n'existe pas. Et puis tant qu'on y est vive le Québec libre et indépendant !
@ Anon 10:47
ReplyDeleteVous savez la différence entre "le Québec libre" et une vache volante? Nous avons vu des vaches volantes! ( excusez mon français )
Soooo, Quebec Republic never gonna happen.
..to Anon @ 5:10PM, Sept 30th: There are times I have shared your sentiments. Perhaps age has started to mellow me out and wisdom is taking over emotion. By imposing English, it takes away the outstanding practitioner of multiculturalism Canada has become, and while I perhaps am fantasizing, I'm not going to advocate what Quebec is doing wrong. New Brunswick died their official bilingual status into the fabric of our Constitution, so it would take a lot of doing to remove the bilingual status. English is secure outside Quebec, so why bother? Too, by doing what you propose would make us just as bad as Quebec. The question then becomes if you really want to bring yourself down to their level.
ReplyDelete"Nous avons vu des vaches volantes!"
ReplyDeleteVous vivez à ottawa?
Un nouveau livre à lire: La liberté du Québec
ReplyDeletePierre Graveline
Pour la nation québécoise — aujourd’hui confrontée aux brutales et incontestables réalités de l’anglicisation de sa métropole, de son affaiblissement politique au sein du Canada, de la volonté de la nation canadienne de construire son identité sur le dogme du multiculturalisme et de se développer en faisant fi des intérêts et des aspirations du Québec, du défaitisme contagieux de ses élites, de l’isolement international de l’État québécois et de sa marginalisation dans la mondialisation en cours — le statu quo politique est porteur de tous les dangers. Seule la réalisation de son indépendance politique peut lui ouvrir les chemins de l’avenir.
Mais ce n’est ni pour prendre une revanche sur notre passé ni en réaction à la nation canadienne que nous devons procla mer notre indépendance. C’est pour nous-mêmes, pour notre dignité, pour notre langue, notre culture et nos valeurs, pour défendre nos intérêts, pour réaliser nos aspirations, pour assumer nos responsabilités parmi les nations du monde et notre place dans l’histoire de l’humanité que nous devons le faire. C’est en somme, tout simplement, pour conquérir notre liberté.
Né en 1952 à Verdun, Pierre Graveline a été journaliste, conseiller à l’information à la CSN, directeur des communications de la CEQ, chroniqueur au quotidien Le Devoir, éditeur et directeur général du groupe Ville-Marie Littérature, puis éditeur associé chez Fides. Il est aujourd’hui directeur général de la Fondation Lionel-Groulx et membre du comité de rédaction de la revue L’ Action nationale. Il est l’auteur de plusieurs ouvrages dont Une histoire de l’éducation au Québec (Bibliothèque québécoise, 2007), Les cent plus beaux poèmes québécois (Fides, 2007) et Une passion littéraire (Fides, 2009).
All that QC nationalism is a huge industry, I hope you all realize that. Tribal economics at his best; and while I'm not a consumer, I don't have a problem with it (on paper).
ReplyDeleteBUT ... there's definitely incitement to ethnic hatred on TVA, LCN, Le Journal de Montreal and other mediums.
Last Thursday I ended up watching Jean-Luc Mongrain's show on LCN and of course they talked about the Hampstead controversy.
That f%ck head Mongrain was insulting the Jews like a neo-nazi (even mimicking Jewish mannerisms). Being of Jewish descent I must say it really hurt.
So I sent an email to Monsieur Mongrain asking for an apology: no response so far.
Only in Quebec :(
I agree with you Phil. I think the only solution for us is to leave that province. It'll be more and more difficult for us in the coming years. I have many friends and colleagues who think to leave that damned province.
ReplyDelete"Being of Jewish descent I must say it really hurt."
ReplyDeleteY'a pas de raison car selon certains anglos,la déscendance n'aurait aucune importance,pourvu que tout le monde parle english.
"I have many friends and colleagues who think to leave that damned province..."
ReplyDeleteLes paroles les plus sensées sur ce blogues depuis des lustres.Y'a pas d'autres solutions si vous êtes incapables de vous intégrer.
That doesn't make sense at all.
ReplyDelete"Y'a pas de raison car selon certains anglos,la déscendance n'aurait aucune importance,pourvu que tout le monde parle english."
Most anglos and allos are bilingual and "intégrés", but all that racism, xenophobia and "Nous vs Eux" is getting old. That being said I know Francophone Quebecers who are open-minded and embrace all cultures.
"Y'a pas d'autres solutions si vous êtes incapables de vous intégrer."
Not much to add that I haven't already said elsewhere on this blog.
ReplyDeleteQuebec in general - and Montreal in particular - need to adopt a pragmatic approach about our geographic position and linguistic situation.
There is no reason why our metropolitan area shouldn't bear out - visually, and tangibly - a tangible facsimile of the Canadian bilingual ideal.
As DrunkGuyReneLevesqueKilled, the non-514 areas of this province have always been overwhelmingly francophone and are likely to remain that way.
Giving an artificial face to any location through affirmative-action law is probably bound to fail sooner or later.
I think it's time Quebec do itself justice and realize that there are far greater evils than becoming a Louisiana of the North - whether or not that ever happens.
Especially as far as Montreal is concerned, our diversity can and should unite us rather than divide us. We are the proud inheritors of two world-class languages. It's more than time we proudly embraced both of them.
@ Editor:
ReplyDeleteI don't know if you and Louis Préfontaine gave each other a call beforehand, but the timing on this is rather curious to me:
http://louisprefontaine.com/2011/10/01/le-complexe-de-la-victime-des-anglophones-du-quebec-video
It's a nearly 8-minute rant that re-hashes many of the tired old seppie complaints about Quebec anglos living in ivory towers thinking they deserve special treatment.
What struck me as most interesting though, is how many hard-core Anglos out there might likely level the same accusations toward many francophones.
Maybe it's time we tackle things issue by issue. Maybe some of our French-speaking commenters here might go to Louis' site and talk about that too.
P.S.: @Hugo:
I think he mispronounces your name at one point. Unless I've been mispronouncing it all along...
@ Editor:
ReplyDeleteHave noticed less activity on your Twitter feed lately. Since you seem to suggest that some of your posts are written in advance, how about a teaser in the form of a tweet a day or so in advance? Just a thought.
@Apparatchik
ReplyDeleteNothing sinister.
I forgot my Twitter password.
Didn't think anyone cared...
@ Editor:
ReplyDeletehttp://twitter.com/account/resend_password
Of course we do! In fact, it would be interesting to get your tweets on specific events/goings on that may not even be related to your blog posts.
Just a thought.
To Apparatchik and Editor,
ReplyDeleteBest thing you can is not read or listen any of his garbage (but I would recommend going to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wO3_H9tlpQo and ALL voting down, because at least he cannot delete the ratings...comments are all gone that oppose him. Louis only wants us to be offended with his turning in circles style (did not learn anything from the Bloc's demise I guess), it feeds his delusional mind being one of the septard orphans who have lost all political weight in QC now.
Notice how few likes there during his rant?
I figure what this author says is the best, nobody likes to follow the Chialeur anymore, and with reason, it goes QC nowhere:
http://fr.canoe.ca/divertissement/livres/chroniques/jean-barbe/2011/09/15/18689451-ca.html
The French kiss of Death...
Jean Barbe tells us if people on the Island of Montreal are not of majority FR-speaking at home: SO WHAT!? He refers to Pierre Elliot-Trudeau's quote 'There's no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation' - and so is the same for what language people speak at home. Even the Cultural Minister, C. Ste-Pierre stated that the OLF is fanning the flames of a lost debate, since A. Khadir (as much as I do not agree with his politics) speaks impeccable FR, while at home it is Farsi that is spoken.
Complaining about the death of the language is to kiss it goodbye - it drives people away. Pensez attirer le monde vers le français à la place le Québec, et non pas d'obliger tous à la langue ou par du harcèlement, ou chialage constant, ou comme on le sait trop bien, vendre l'anglophobie! Cela vas faire l'anglophobie, le Québec!
I am a Champion for Canada, et le Québec est inclus dans Mon Pays!
Speaking of Louis Prefontaine: you can also report his McGill Français, Concordia Français, and Bishop Français Facebook pages.
ReplyDelete@Hugo Shebbeare
ReplyDelete"Best thing you can is not read or listen any of his garbage (but I would recommend going to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wO3_H9tlpQo and ALL voting down, because at least he cannot delete the ratings...comments are all gone that oppose him."
I went to the YouTube clip and tried to do what you suggested, but YouTube says voting is not available right now.
Hey Ed, he had his account closed and the videos taken down for propagating hate, and taking away people's right to vote it down, because it was gettinga shiteload of votes down...Thanks for trying anyway buddy :)
DeleteAs an American resident in Quebec, I admire many things about Canada but in the eight years I've lived here, I have never been able to get my head around the complacency that many Anglophone Quebecers and ROC Canadians seem to have about Bill 101.
ReplyDeleteI will never say that the Quebecois are all racist, but I have had my share of run-ins with superior-acting government employees (of the kind that would be simply unfathomable at home in the States) and with random jerks who seem to want to lump me in with the people who stole their "country" so many years ago.
In any case, though this is not my country and not my "gripe" as it were, I have already told my spouse that I can't bear living in Quebec for very much longer.
Though our children would be eligible for English instruction (thanks to my spouse's eligibility) and though the language issue largely does not affect me (I work for an American company, doing business with Americans all day long and was asked to come to Montreal for the sake of the company), the constant day-in, day-out "you will never belong" message that I feel more strongly every day I spend here is intolerable to me. Sorry, I wasn't raised to think of myself as a second class anything. Quite the opposite.
I've basically said that within three years (when the kids are school-age) we will be living in Ontario or New York but at this point, I'm pushing for New York because I kind of want that American "arrogance" to be instilled in them -- if only as a bulwark against anyone, anywhere ever trying to convince them otherwise.
Just my two-cents. Really enjoy your blog and the comments of fellow readers because it does help me try to understand this place a bit. :-)
Having lived in many places and traveled from coast to coast (American), I have never been in a place so well, DRAMATIC. All of this infighting weakens Quebec, but the government seems to enjoy watching its people attack each other (a nice smokescreen eh?) Why can't French and English coexist in peace? Why must everyone fight about whose language is "superior" (one person actually used the reasoning that French is "harder" therefore it is "superior" to English. Seriously? Do we all have our heads THAT far up our asses?) Being American and sort of watching this play out from an "outside" perspective, it's all very theatrical and impotent. A shame, really.
ReplyDeleteLiving in Quebec for 16 years.. and today I do have to complain and this complain will be written in me for the rest of my life
ReplyDeletewhat the hell are the "Quebecois" doing by having a bill 101.. protecting their language in public is all what they need. why in hell should they care about my french.. I m perfectly bilingual.
Today I tried to order a Game from Futureshop.ca
this game is french and english so no problem quebec accepts this shipping.. but when it comes to the HARD STEEL CASE for the game.
this is what I got before I can pay..
"Un ou plusieurs produits de votre panier ne sont offerts que par nos fournisseur et/ou fabricants anglophones ce qui ne respecte par les exigences de la loi sur la langue française au Québec. Par conséquent, ces produits ne peuvent être expédiés dans la province de Québec. Vous devez soit retirer les produits de votre panier ou modifier l’adresse d’expédition pour une adresse située à l’extérieur du Québec..."
is QUEBEC Paying for my game? No! so why in hell should they care about what I play or what I read.
I read from various posts, and found out alot of Anglophone people LEAVE the PROVINCE because bill101 is not good.. why don't we stop fleeing and stand up to it.. the more people we are the more impact it will do to this province. Bill101 needs some changes! if we limit investment due to the French language there will be no new jobs no new opportunities. Bill101 does more bad than good
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvlo_TTmxOE check this out
ReplyDelete