THE MYTH OF ANGLICIZATION - Part One

"Anglicization, or anglicisation (see -ise vs -ize), is the process of converting verbal or written elements of any other language into a form that is more comprehensible to an English speaker, or, in general, of altering something such that it becomes English in form or character" - Wikipedia

The English bogeyman

I'm not really sure what French language militants mean when they say Quebec or Quebecers are in danger of becoming anglicized.

Do they mean that Quebecers will retain some of their language but incorporate and become dominated by English elements or culture, or do they mean that English is so threatening that Francophone Quebecers are in danger of turning into tea-swilling, English-speaking, monarchists, within a couple of generations?

Either way, the myth of the danger of Anglicization in Quebec is perhaps the greatest fraud ever perpetrated on Quebecers, by a dedicated cadre of separatist manipulators, a group that has invented, nurtured and fed the monstrous and unfortunately successful lie of the 'English Bogeyman' who imperils the very foundation of the French language and Francophone culture.

The hard core gloom and doomers in the 'French-is-in-danger' industry, the Pierre Curzis and Mario Beaulieus, pedal fear over supposed Anglicization in order to camouflage their hidden agenda, which is to frighten people into supporting their quest for Quebec sovereignty through subterfuge and sleight of hand.

The independence movement, born in the 1960s was based on the very real concern of the newly emancipated Francophone community (from the Church,) awakened to the fact that its continued domination by the Anglo minority that controlled the economic levers of power, perpetuated the situation whereby Francophones remained a poor and powerless underclass.

Back then, culture or language was not part of the independence debate, it was purely a question of class struggle. The FLQ manifesto, never mentioned anything about language, culture or assimilation. Read the manifesto

The quiet revolution, the fall of the Catholic Church, as well as the PQ's first term in office, forever changed the economic and social reality. Today, Quebec francophones and the state institutions that they created have rendered Quebecers masters of their domain, eliminating the English ruling class in the process.

Ironically, the very successful transformation of Quebec from a society dominated economically by the English and socially by the Church, led to the weakening of the sovereignty movement.
With most issues largely settled, coupled with the flight of a sizable portion of the English community out of the province, Quebec society lost a great deal of passion for sovereignty. 

Today, those who remain passionately in favour of sovereignty can no longer employ the 'colonialist enslavement' argument and have had to redefine the issue of sovereignty away from the issue of economic emancipation.
And so the bogeyman of 'assimilation' is invented and the narrative of a disappearing language and culture created, as if a group of market researchers, admen, and spin doctors sat down and developed an advertising campaign to repackage and sell sovereignty, like a tired old product that most people had grown bored and indifferent to.

To their credit, the sovereigntists did a good job. A slick and addictive message, playing on the  historical mistrust of the English by Francophones, reinvigorated the movement and like a Madonna makeover, the new and improved version is quite attractive.

And so the myth of Anglicization has been invented;

"Quebec stands on the precipice of its cultural and linguistic destruction.

Surrounded by the overbearing presence and influence of 350 million hostile Anglophones, Francophone society in Quebec is faced with the unrelenting pressure to Anglicize, as has happened in Louisiana and which is happening presently in small francophone communities across Canada.
Until an independent state of Quebec is created, wherein English can be officially eradicated, vigilance must be employed to fight off any English encroachment, no matter how small.

English, in its smallest manifestation is as dangerous as the dreaded flesh-eating disease, which if left untreated starts off as a tiny infection, only to spread rapidly, overpowering and consuming its unsuspecting and oblivious host. The only defense against the disease, is to cut out any and all traces of the infection, in its nascent stage."

It is a nice story that resounds with too many. Unfortunately is a monstrous lie.
We hear variations of this doctrine repeated ad nauseam, even in the comments section of this blog.

But it is in fact nonsense, and an honest analysis of all its elements demonstrates that the basic premises of the danger of Quebec Anglicization are in fact unsupportable.

Now I'll get into the issue of debunking the specific myths, one at a time, later this week, but let me address a question to those Francophone readers of this blog who prescribe to the idea that their language and culture are in danger.

If Francophones de souche like yourself are in mortal danger of becoming anglicized, why isn't there any evidence today that this is happening, even early indicators?

If  anglicization is real, shouldn't we already see at least a few of you manifesting signs that you are transforming yourselves in Anglos, like tadpoles evolving into frogs? (Yikes..., that was certainly a bad metaphor!)

Do you know ANYBODY.........a friend, a sister, a brother, a cousin or an acquaintance who has abandoned their Francophone roots and heritage and actually turned themselves into an Anglophone, or is in the process of doing so?
Now readers, I do admit that there is a group of francophones who do turn themselves into Anglophones and become assimilated to the English side of the language equation.
They are those Francophones who have married or partnered with an Anglophone and have decided to raise their family in the English culture.
It happens.
These people certainly do exist, especially in the Montreal area and because one of the parents is English, the family has the option to send their offspring to English schools. Those who do so, ultimately Anglicize the entire family and that of their descendants.
BUT, statistics published by the EMSB, show that in these French/English relationships, the couple choose French as the family language over two-thirds of the time.
It is in fact, the exception that proves the rule!!

In fact, anglophone parents choose to send their children to French school a hundred times more often then French parents who send their children to English school!
The EMSB calculates that there are over 14,000 anglophones, eligible for English enrollment who choose a French educational path!
But this fact is conveniently forgotten as language militants would rather rage about the horrible consequences of a hundred or so ethnic students sidestepping Bill 101 through a loophole to attend English school each year, evidence that purports to show French language education under attack.
It is these, deceptive and grossly misleading arguments, selectively chosen by militants that is the basis of the Anglicization argument.

There is absolutely no concrete evidence, nor even the slightest indication that those born into francophone homes are in danger of becoming English.

Now don't be confused with statistics about French losing ground in Montreal, that is only a function of more immigrants arriving, they actually have no anglicizing effect on francophones.

The idea that French is being put in danger because more and more people are speaking English in Montreal, as put forward by French language militants, is a theory refuted by the historical evidence.

Back in the sixties when I was growing up, Montreal had twice as many anglophones as it has today and the city was offially bilingual with English and French signage abounding, sometimes English alone.
Most of the businesses were owned by Anglos and francophones were forced to speak English in the workplace.
Everything in the downtown core was mostly English (with a smattering of French) and it certainly is true that English was the norm at Eaton's, with Francophones shopping at Dupuis Freres, far across the famous English/French dividing line, St. Lawrence Boulevard.
All the big theaters on Ste. Catherine street played English movies exclusively. When I was a kid, I hardly ever met or interacted with a Francophone, in my neighborhood or downtown!

There was no Bill 101 to protect the French language or impose restrictions on Anglos.
English was as pervasive and dominating as French is today, yet francophones weren't anglicized at all. They remained French!!!

If today's militants think that an English sign here and there, or being served by a unilingual English clerk once in a while, or working under a couple of unilingual English bosses in the National Bank is a danger to the French language, they should have lived in the sixties.

Back then, the forces described by militants today as anglicizing elements, were present in factors that dwarf what we see today.

The truth that militants hide, is the fact that Francophone society is quite resilient and has thrived for hundreds of years, even through the decades when Montreal was completely dominated by the English  and through linguistic conditions that were far, far worse than today.

Today, more people speak French in Quebec than ever in the history of the province.
Tomorrow more people will speak French in Quebec than today, the day after, even more.

The French language and Francophone culture has never been in a stronger position. Period.

Now readers, attacking a sacred cow is never easy and I know that I'll take a bit of heat for this unpopular position.
To those who disagree, please avoid personal or nasty remarks. Make your case using facts.

I promise that like bowling pins, I'll knock your arguments down, because the very premise that French is under threat is the greatest fraud ever perpetrated on Quebecers......

Wednesday...Exploding on the myths, one at a time.

French versus English Volume 48

Bilingualism war in Ontario hospital

"CORNWALL, Ontario - A community in eastern Ontario has decided to withhold funding for the renovation of the Cornwall Community Hospital (CCH) to protest against the bilingual policy of the institution.
In January 2011, the hospital was designated to deliver services in French under the Act respecting French language services in Ontario. According to the Mayor of South Stormont, Bryan McGillis,  unilingual anglophone nurses cannot get a job in the facility.
"I have received several complaints last year from English-speaking nurses who say they have no chance for advancement in their careers (in hospital)," said Mr. McGillis.
The City Council has chosen this week to no longer pay the $ 30,000 yearly hospital fee. This sum is part of a total budget of $300,000 which is supposed to be paid by the municipality between 2006 and 2015 to cover part of the $120 million redevelopment project.

The former director of the board of the Cornwall Community Hospital, Dany Tombler, even suggested citizens refrain from giving gifts to the hospital.
Deputy Mayor of South Stormont, Tammy Hart, has already denounced French signage in the past.
"Language policy is a blatant injustice against the English-speaking citizens of the region," she said.

Mayor McGillis also argues that language rights should not prevent someone from finding work.
The Chair of the Board of Directors of HCC, Helene Periard, is concerned that the council resolution of South Stormont will interfere with the fundraising campaign of the hospital.
However, she defended the bilingualism policy because it gives the institution the ability to serve the Francophone community."  Read the original story by Greg Peerenboom in French 

Madeleine Meilleur, Minister Responsible for Francophone Affairs writing in the Ottawa Sun, offered a spirited defense of the government's bilingual position;

"I happened to be a nurse before being a minister. I know the extent to which, for a Franco-Ontarian, receiving health care in French is a matter of quality care and not a linguistic quirk.

I observed the fragility of francophone patients who, although bilingual, were more comfortable speaking in French. French is also an integral part of the professional skills required to offer quality services to francophone patients." Read the rest of the story

Elite French B-School offers English degree

Quebec's top French business school the École des hautes études commerciales (HEC) of the Universite de Montreal has offered English to some degree for a number of years, but now in an effort to attract a more diverse student body, is offering a complete MBA degree to students who will no longer have to take any French courses at all.
Kathleen Grant the director of communications said;
 "These students will not completely escape French. They will go to the cafeteria to eat "pâté chinois" instead of "Chinese pie." (she meant to say "Sheperd's Pie.') They hear French every day and are immersed in a French environment," ...Ahem

As you can imagine Jean-Paul Perreault, president  of Impératif français is sorely disappointed. According to the French language militant,  the argument that English is the language of business is fallacious and should not motivate changes in course offerings of universities. Read the story in French 

The two faces of the Ndp..

"Is this collage a metaphor for duplicitous Ndp policy?

Docs describe dangerous French-Canadian disease

A while back, I linked to a story that indicated that francophone Quebecers had a shorter lifespan than Anglos.
Experts attributed this to lifestyle differences, but this story, recently posted, may offer a different reason;

"Some U.S. doctors are urging patients to get checked out for a potentially deadly genetic disease they say was passed down from French-Canadian forefathers.

The hereditary ailment causes dangerously high cholesterol levels and is particularly prevalent in certain parts of Quebec.

Maine cardiologist Dr. Robert Weiss said there is an unusually high number of cases of the disease in the region near the city of Lewiston, which welcomed waves of French-Canadian migrant workers in the late 1800s". Read the rest of the story

'The French are right to resist Global English'

By Christopher Caldwell  for the Financial Post

 "One of the odd stories to come out of the French-speaking province of Quebec last year was the announcement that intensive English courses would be offered to students in state schools. Odd, because in the past half-century, much of the Quebecois identity has been built on resisting English. Authorities throw the book at people for doing things that would be normal elsewhere in Canada. Last autumn, the Montreal newspaper La Presse revealed that two real estate executives had made presentations in English to a Montreal-based pension fund, violating the province’s language laws, which give workers the right to a French-speaking environment.

Now, school authorities in Quebec City are questioning whether the time is ripe for introducing those English classes after all. Their hesitation has left French-speaking parents angry. On one hand, those parents want their children to cherish their own community and its language. On the other hand, English is the international language of business, and their children will have a hard time climbing the social ladder without it.

Self-contradiction besets all governments as they try to work out a role for English in their national culture...."       Read the rest of the story..... Link Alternate Link

Pardon our French

"More than 45,000 Manitobans say the first language they learned as a child was French, yet more than 96% of them report speaking just as much, if not more, English on a daily basis.

So if that’s the case, is it really worth it for governments, cultural organizations and schools to promote the use of French?

Well, pardon our French, but you’d better believe it, say Manitoba francophones.

“It’s the fundamental principle of the Canadian federation: linguistic duality. We want Canada to be a country where there’s a strong and vibrant presence of French-speaking communities not just in Quebec, but across the country,” said Guy Jourdain, executive director of the provincial government’s Francophone Affairs Secretariat." Read the rest of the story

By the way, at that same link there's a funny video of English Winnipeggers trying to pronounce French street names.

Chasing conventions away

The international convention business is something every city tries desperately to attract, the economic spinoffs are so important that most cities invest heavily in facilities and even offer subsidies to attract them. A three to five day convention can easily dump up to ten million dollars into the host city's hotel and restaurant industry. More importantly, these dollars come from outside the community and represent an economic windfall. Like any other city, Quebec City does its best to attract such conventions and has recently landed a pretty big one in SportAccord International Convention which will take place in May.
Of course the usual language critics have come out of the woodwork to complain that the organization, which reunites the various sports federations related to the Olympic movement, operates in English only.
It seems that not only do language militants want to control language in Quebec, they want international organizations that choose Quebec as their destination for conventions to operate in French as well.
Commenting on the situation  Impératif français, Jean-Paul Perreault said that the situation was 'humiliating' and 'contemptuous;'

 "In the national capital, to see that a conference on an issue as important as sports,  will operate with a highly anglicized content, where  the website is not even available in French, where the place of French will be trivialized, that in itself is quite revolting. "  Link{Fr}

This isn't an isolated incident, last year our intrepid defender of the faith Louis Prefontaine complained to the OQLF about another convention held in English, The International Water Association. Link{Fr}

My favorite complaint about unilingual conventions comes from a militant website where a reader complained that a notice, stuck up on a door to a meeting room in the Universite de Montreal was in English only.
It seemed a little strange, so I did a little research and found out that a small, American knitting group, called the Pattern Review, had organized a weekend trip to Montreal and rented out accommodations at the university dorms (it was summer.)
Perhaps next time this intrepid group of sewers comes to Quebec to spend money, they make place on the bus for a translator, so that students won't be offended by an English sign!!

The pot calling the kettle black

I chuckled over this story written by Gilles Proulx, Quebec's most vocal defender of the French language.
After visiting Haiti he complained about the wide use of Creole on the island, a dialect of French that he finds distasteful.

"A disturbing phenomenon: There is widespread use of Creole, even among radio hosts, and this idiom is disjointing the French language. Signs are also often in Creole. The Haitian people risk cutting themselves off from the world by falling back on its Patois, says the President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Haiti, Herve Denis, a graduate of Laval University, who married a Quebecois. Link{Fr}

(Thanks to SAMUEL for the story)

Smells like 'bullsheet!'

Our good friend Mario Beaulieu, president and chief bottle washer of a bunch of French language supremacist organizations has once again given us the benefit of his wonderful statistical analysis.

"In 2006 Statistics Canada reported that  86 % of young francophones rated their knowledge of English as passable to excellant.  Link{Fr}

Hmmm.... Considering that only about 50% of Francophone Quebecers can speak any English at all it's quite an interesting figure!!

War on religion continues to rage

In the raging war between religion and the Quebec education department, parents wishing to excuse their children from the generic 'all-religions-are-equal-and-good' study course, (mandatory for all students) lost their appeal in the Supreme Court.
Adding insult to injury, a Quebec teacher, with the backing of her principal, removed the last line from a famous Edith Piaf song because it mentioned God, much to the chagrin of just about everyone, including the minister of education.

 

No French please, we're Flemish!

Readers might recall a story about how a French school board in Montreal has banned any other language but French from its schoolyard. Here's an amusing story of the shoe being fitted to the other foot;

"Children are being punished with detention and language lessons if they are caught speaking French in the playground of Sint-Pieters college, a primary school in a Flemish-speaking suburb of Brussels. One father attacked the policy at Sint-Pieterscollege because it threatened to punish children, too young to choose their mother tongue, for a conflict being fought out between French- and Dutch-speaking adults tussling for political control of Belgium.

''This is linguistic wickedness,'' he told La Capitale newspaper. ''It is not fair and affects only French-speaking kids. The school's decision is dangerous.'' Link

OQLF reveals 'special' relationships

The Office québécois de la langue française, (OQLF) has revealed that it has entered into 'special' language agreements with over 60 companies, allowing them to operate partially outside the terms of Bill 101.
The companies are generally head offices that operate branch locations outside Quebec and/or companies doing research or very involved in very high tech enterprises, like Bombardier, which is asking the OQLF to allow 4,000 employees to work exclusively in English.
These waivers have been going on since 1981, but the numbers have slowly diminished.
For a list of the related companies see the list HERE.
(Credit for the story ...Lord Dorchester)

Sugar Sammy sells out bilingual concert

It's still nice to know that there are people out there who love and enjoy speaking English and French and are proud to embrace another culture. 

Fully one third of Quebec Anglophones make a life for themselves with a Francophone spouse and so there's not as much animosity out there as militants on both sides would have us believe.
Its even possible for federalists and sovereigntists to be friends, I know because I live this reality everyday.
The media doesn't talk about cooperation and even blogs like mine play up the differences because, unfortunately, harmony is not an interesting read. 

I regret that if my missives come off leaving the impression that I dislike francophones, NOTHING cold be further from the truth. 
I complain because I want things to get better.

Jut the same, things are pretty good. In Montreal where I live, there isn't the language tension that outsiders, those in the RoC or RoQ imagine.
We seem to get along fairly well.
Nobody talks about the good things, the cooperation, the camaraderie and friendships that cross ethnic and linguistic lines in Quebec, because it doesn't sell newspapers, as they say.


For thirty years, I played in a garage hockey league where everyone was welcome. The dressing room was a magical Tower of Babel, where everyone kidded each other in all sorts of languages.
I call this the "ALLEZ, shoot!' phenomenon.


Montreal comedian Sugar Sammy is a product of the Bill 101 generation, son of an immigrant family, he was forced into French school, but just the same adopted and embraced Anglophone culture.


Now many French language militants will find this offensive, but it is a Quebec reality.


Emerging as one of Canada's best comedians, he is doing something that I don't believe anyone has tried before, a bilingual comedy concert.

Now if you'd have asked me before, I'd have said that there's a market for something like that, albeit pretty small.
Well, Sugar Sammy has sold out the entire run of thirty concert dates. Impressive.


Concert goers better have a thick skin, whether you are English, French or Ethnic he is going to get you and his observations are not only humorous, but caustic and biting.

He is the quintessential Montrealer, bilingual, urbane, confident and successful. 
Catch a bit of his shtick here.

Watch Sugar Sammy do his thing in French WITH PAULINE MAROIS!!!   HERE

Pauline Marois Throws in the Towel.

Looking at the polling numbers and realizing that her dream of becoming the next Premier of Quebec is a nonstarter, it seems that Pauline Marois has made the only rational and expedient decision that she could, that is to save her own ass derriere.

Her decision to go hardline, that is, to embrace a platform that includes a referendum and promotion of independence isn't as bold or dangerous a strategy as one might imagine.

If you're going to lose, you may as well stand on principle and be seen as an honest separatist rather than a dishonest waffler.

It seems to me, that after the inevitable electoral loss that the Pq will suffer, Marois will be able to look hardliners in the eye and say 'told you so," instead of having the hardliners blame her for the loss because she soft-pedaled sovereignty.

For Marois, it's the only pragmatic avenue left open that will maintain her leadership.

The Pq itself has realized months ago that they are bound to occupy the benches of opposition for the foreseeable future.
You can always tell when a political party knows that it isn't going to win power anytime soon, they come up with the stupidest  policy proposals that nobody but nobody can take seriously.

The federal Liberal party proposal to legalize marijuana is just such a fantasy as is the PQ's proposal to allow 16-years olds to vote, or the nonsensical idea of publicly triggered referendums as proposed by the awkward fool, Bernard Drainville.

But let's not soft-pedal this stunning turnaround in direction by Marois.

For years she avoided pushing a referendum strategy, in fear that it would insure an election defeat, but with an election defeat a near certainty, the sovereignty/referendum platform becomes a viable option. At least she could get back the hardliners and maintain a certain credibility as a political force.

Why am I so sure that the Pq can't win?
Well, even with the polling numbers indicating that the three parties are neck and neck, it still looks like a difficult road ahead for the Pq.
As soon as the Liberals play up the spectre of a losing referendum and if they craftily describe such an undertaking as a further humiliation for Quebec after the inevitable loss, Quebecers will back off the Pq.

Even if that isn't the case, it's likely that a minority government will ensue and a coalition between the Liberals and the CAQ will happen. That scenario is more likely than a PQ/CAQ coalition, because in order for that to occur, either the PQ or the CAQ would have to betray it's most fundamental position over a referendum and be seen as betraying its base.

At any rate, back to Marois, who is orchestrating her 'Save Marois' plan with the consummate skill of an orchestra conductor.
In creating her new committee for sovereignty, she craftily cobbled together a collection of political lightweights, artists and has-beens, a group created in her own image and easily controlled and manipulated.
No Parizeau, Curzi, Aussant or Landry, just a bunch of nobodies.

Well-played!

No doubt that the committee, full of brightly scrubbed and eager faces will dance before the cameras for the amusement of all, like performing monkeys doing back flips for the edification of the masses, a classic and cynical case of  Panem et Circenses.

I am reminded of a favourite Shakespeare quote from Macbeth;

"a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing. "

As the election draws near, look for the majority of the separatist 'betrayers,' those who quit the Pq (Aussant, Curzi, Lapointe, et al.) to return, cap in hand.
(This doesn't include Louise Beaudoin, who won't be running.)

As things stand now, they are all dead politicians walking, not one will be able to save their National Assembly seats under the independent label and for these political animals, that is a fate worse than death.

For the betrayers, Marois' newly minted election platform putting sovereignty front and center is the excuse they need to return to the party.
Marois will accept their return like the proverbial prodigal son, as long as they agree to toe the line.
Again, Marois the manipulator, displays the master's hand, adopting the maxim first enunciated by Sun-tzu;

"Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer."

Although Marois has been dubbed the 'Concrete Lady,' I'm not sure it is appropriate.

I think the Pq and Marois should adopt as the theme song for the next campaign, Gloria Gaynor's "I'm a Survivor" just as long as they can get somebody to do a French version.

Bill 101...and the Slippery Slope to "Poutineism'

From birth we are taught that equality before the law is the hallmark of any democratic society.
And so when a state treats one citizen differently than another, and affords unequal rights based on religion, ethnicity, origins, language or religion, it surely must offend our conscience as it betrays the basic tenets of democracy as we define it.

But somehow in Canada, our highest court has ruled that for a 'greater good' such discrimination is justified and so we are subject to the precepts of the infamous Bill 101, a law that makes a mockery of the term equality.

As a result, citizens of Quebec are imbued with certain rights, or lack thereof, based on an accident of birth, be it the language of their parents or the location of their birth.

My discomfort with Bill 101 is not rooted in any negative experience that I or my family may have suffered under its application.

You see, I am born of the privileged class which enjoys certain rights and freedoms that other Quebecers are denied. I am English.

Like the British royal family, I get to pass down to future generations these rights in perpetuity, a neat benefit that makes me feel superior lucky.

I and those like me, possess a birthright that is unique in this province and if you are Francophone or have emigrated here from another country, my rights trump yours.

I can, as we all know, opt for a publicly-funded English education, while you, my fellow citizens, are told that such a choice is not  available to yourself or your family, because you have been forcibly drafted in the 'war' to preserve the French language and culture, while I am given a deferral.

Yes, Monsieur or Madame Untel, it doesn't matter if your Quebec roots date back to the 17th century, I and my descendants, relative latecomers to Quebec, are afforded more rights than you and what is most puzzling to me is that most of you are fine with it.

This post is not about Ethnics and immigrants who came to this province knowing full well they'll be denied equal rights.
In many respects it's a bargain they made, the rules were clear enough before they made their decision to make Quebec their home.

But the fact that the future rights of two children, one French, one English are unequal, even though they were born side-by-side in the same Quebec hospital, on the very same day, offends my sense of fair play, I can't help it.

Now most francophones reading this piece will argue that this limitation or infringement of personal rights is something that they readily embrace and voluntarily accept and that this opinion is also held by the the majority of their francophone brethren.

Fair enough.

If Francophones wish to limit their own rights for the greater perceived good, that is their right and who am I to tell them otherwise.

Today, some thirty-five years since the imposition of Bill 101, Francophone language militants will tell us that the law was essential in preserving Quebec as a French culture, while other like myself would argue that French in Quebec had flourished and grown for over 300 years without any artificial help.

It doesn't matter, the argument is moot and the law endures, if for no other reason than because it is a source of pride, an everlasting symbol and tribute to the victory of French over English in this province.

But there is no doubt that Bill 101 has had an ancillary effect on Quebec society, it has promulgated the notion that restrictions of all manners are acceptable in defense and promotion of the French language and that not only are these restrictions necessary, but desirable.

Today, Quebecers remain proud that they are free of the once powerful and domineering Church, whose unelected officials ruled Quebec society with an iron fist until the Quiet Revolution of the 1960's liberated Quebecers from the dominion of Rome.
At its height, almost every aspect of the lives of every individual Quebecer was controlled, to the point that the parish priest advised families as to how many children to have, or what kind of employment to pursue.

But this new found freedom was short-lived and barely two decades after throwing off the shackles of the Church, language replaced Christianity as the religion of the masses and a new cabal of unelected and self-appointed  'priests' has arisen, deigned to instruct Quebecers how to live and act with the same force and holier than thou attitude that the church historically demonstrated.

This is the slippery slope that Bill 101 has led us to.
As Yogi Berra said it,- It's deja vu, all over again.

Today Francophone Quebecers are once again instructed on how to live and conduct their personal lives.

The likes of the Societe Saint-Jean-Baptiste, Impératif français, Mouvement Québec français, as well as a plethora of other organizations have elected themselves as defenders of the faith, dedicated to defend and promote their elitist and narrow view of Quebec society by exhorting francophones to adopt a certain comportment and attitude, one perceived to promote the French language and culture, according to a narrow and dogmatic view.

So ardent are these zealots that their exhortations sometimes border on the ridiculous;

"The situation of French in Quebec:  Increasingly, we see young francophone parents giving English names to their children.
Is this just a preview of the future Anglicization of Quebec? These young people who without any pride, embrace American music and movies and thus could not care less of their origin.
I think we should talk about this publicly, and even make changes to Bill 101.
Merci." Submitted by Robert David, novembre 8, 2011" Link{fr}

And so the author demands a law that would force Francophones to give their children good Christian French names, stop watching English films or listen to English music.

Laughable?  Foolish?

Unfortunately, the author above is not alone, far, far from it.

Last week I told you about an outraged citizen in Chicoutimi who was deeply concerned that a local theatre would be showing an original English film one day a week.
The writer was worried that francophones would be allowed to see Hollywood films in their undubbed English versions, a travesty and dangerous invitation to Anglicization.

'Poutineism'- Quebec's latest political dogma

An article in Le Journal de Montreal, by Mathieu Bock-Côté, is typical of the current dogma advocated by leading separatists who like the priests before them, wish to impose their particular view on society.
Mr. Côté, a self-styled separatist intellectual, is the latest wunderkind of Quebec media, someone who has a particular dislike for multiculturalism, believing that all minorities must give up their individualism and be absorbed into mainstream Francophone culture.
For want of a better word, I will refer to this political dogma as "Poutineism" in honour of an African women who before the Bouchard Taylor Commission, asked if she had to eat poutine to be accepted as a Quebecer.

Mr. Côté, complained about a Muslin organization that had started a service whereby Muslims could meet other Muslims seeking marriage within their faith.
Bad! Bad! Bad!
Mr. Côté, complains that Muslims are closing themselves off from mainstream Quebec society by choosing to remain within a 'clan'
I imagine that Mr. Côté would equally disparage J-Date or Marriage-Chretien....or perhaps not in the case of the latter.
And so, according to Mr. Côté, choosing to marry within one's faith is wrong, something to be opposed in the new Quebec.

As for free will, Mr. Côté reminds us that we can marry who we want, but.......

 "The sacrosanct right to be different must be balanced with the duty of similarity of identity. Being a Quebecer is not just about paper. It is also a question of identity. Those who join a society  must learn to integrate with those who welcome them." Link{Fr}

And so everyday Francophones are bombarded by dogma of Poutineism, proffered by idiots in the opinion section of vigile.net or in the mainstream press by deep thinkers like Mario Beaulieu or Mathieu Bock-Côté, all righteously reminding Quebecers, with the fervor of  bible thumpers, that Quebec is on the road to linguistic and cultural destruction.

In 2009, the tiny Quebec village was mocked for creating a "Code of Life" that immigrants were encouraged to adopt before settling in town. Read about it here and see the code.
I can tell you that in comparing the 'Code of Life' to 'Poutinism,' I much prefer the former.

POUTINEISM

• Abhor religion, but demand that Christian symbols be maintained in public.
• Don't speak English to Quebec Anglophones, demand that they speak French.
• Embrace the idea that learning English is unnecessary for success or fulfillment. 
• Adopt the ideology that multiculturalism and plurality are evil. Accept  that there is room for only one true culture in Quebec. Allow no accommodations, religious or whatnot.
• Don't attend or allow your children to attend an English cegep or university and demand that other Francophones be denied the choice to do so.
• Purchase and listen to French music only. Always attend concerts by Quebec French artists, even if you prefer world-class acts that perform in English!
• Don't watch English television, read English books or magazines or play English video games, even if they are unavailable in French.
• Always opt for the dubbed or subtitled movie, even if you understand English.
• Don't speak English at work or accept that sometimes English is necessary in the workplace. Refuse to correspond or publish scientific work in English!
• Never buy a product that doesn't have French labeling, even if you want it or need it.
• Always blame the English or Ottawa for any problems that exist and always treat the federal government as if it is an enemy.
• Accept the mantra that anything that is English in Quebec is a direct threat, be it one English sign, or one English clerk.
• Embrace  and promote the concept of language paranoia and that French is in mortal danger.

I think the priests were less burdensome.

While Rene Levesque remarked that the imposition of language restrictions was a sad necessity, today's French language militants lovingly embrace the imposition of restrictions, whether imposed upon Anglophones and Ethnics or Francophones themselves and live by the credo that the more control, the merrier.

So what happened to free will in Quebec and what is to happen to those Francophones who don't want to drink the Kool-Aid?

Are Francophones high achievers who want to earn an 'ivy-league' quality diploma in a world class university like McGill to be chastised?

Are those Francophones that choose to make a life with an Anglo and decide to make their family English, traitors?

Are those who choose to attend a Madonna concert instead of Marie-Mai concert to be perceived as sellouts?

Are those Francophones who use every opportunity to polish up their language skills by speaking English to Anglos, contributing to the downfall of the French Quebecois nation?

And most importantly, are these Francophone 'heretics' who pursue English, within their rights to do so, even if it contributes to the downfall of French in Quebec? (Which is, of course, ridiculous)

Perhaps it is now the time to throw off the shackles of the French language supremacists who have taken over from the priests.
Perhaps it is time for a second Revolution tranquille.

Are we there yet? ......Not by a long shot.

CAQ Loses its Shine

When Francois Legault came onto the scene and declared that the sovereignty issue would be set aside in order to afford a government led by his new party the freedom to concentrate on economic issues instead of the life sapping independence debate, people were excited.

This breath of fresh air was immediately appealing to a large majority of Quebecers, federalists who could live with a nationalistic government without the sovereignty option and separatists who were tired of talk of a referendum which in their hearts, they knew could not be won.

The merger between the CAQ and the conservative ADQ augured well for his vision and with the inclusion of an anti-Bill 101 militant, Bill Johnson, Mr. Legault gave evidence that indeed he was organizing a rainbow coalition of diverse elements that would have by its very makeup the force to stay clear of the referendum question, or else explode from within. 

For a while he talked the talk of a radical reformer, but alas, he and his new party has backslid significantly and is more and more becoming just another banal party falling somewhere in between the Liberals and the PQ.
It didn't take long for the politics of expediency to take over and sadly, the CAQ has has sunk quickly into the mire of language and entitlement.

And so we are starting to hear the same old, same old and it's most disheartening.

Sadly, it seems that a potential CAQ government will embrace and promote the same old fantasy that French is under attack and in consequence, attacks on the English language, Ethnics and Anglos will become an entrenched part of the party platform.

"...Mr. Legault emphasized the defense of the French language and is "concerned about the situation in Montreal." "We are within our rights as Quebecers, to worry about preserving our language, our culture and our identity," he said. "Quebec is the only government in America, which represents a majority of francophones. It has a duty to defend the identity of the Quebec nation." According to him, "the Liberal government has failed in its duty to protect our identity, allowing several businesses in Montreal to neglect to serve their clients in French."
Also, the Charest government has allowed  "those who can afford it, to buy a right to go to English schools, in full contradiction with the principles of the Charter of the French language." "For us this right is unacceptable," insisted Mr. Legault.  Link{Fr}

I get the feeling that these attacks are inspired by the Roman tradition of gladiatorial spectacles, a question of bread and circuses, designed to fulfill and satisfy the deviant blood lust of the masses, in this case, language supremacists.
It remains a dishonest and expedient political device, giving these people what they are perceived to desire, not what is right.

Before the ADQ merged with the CAQ, its then leader Gérard Deltell was unambiguous about English immersion in grade six;

"The ADQ wants all children enrolled in sixth grade to receive half their instruction in French, the other half in English.
This bold proposal emanates from the ADQ leader, Gerard Deltell, who says he is very concerned about the low rate of bilingualism among young Québécois. In an interview with The Canadian Press, Mr. Deltell argued that the intensive teaching of English in primary and secondary school should become a priority.
It is urgent, he argues, to train a generation of Quebecers perfectly bilingual and take the necessary steps to get there, and that, whatever the cost."    Link{Fr}

But that position hasn't survived the merger of the ADQ and the CAQ.

Eric Caire is now the education critic for the CAQ.
This once ADQ member supported the intensive English approach while he was an independent member of the National Assembly, but since joining the new party is parroting the new party line;

"The Charest government is wrong in wanting to impose a  "Wall to Wall" program of intensive English in sixth year, according to the Eric Caire of the CAQ. 

But "to impose a  wall to wall model" as does the government may cause problems in some schools, he believes. Students with learning difficulties could be doomed to failure, especially."   Link{Fr}

So much for integrity....

It seems that the CAQ has adopted an anti-English platform that is as bad as the PQ, minus the referendum.
It is in fact a humiliating disappointment.

While the CAQ has promised a new approach, their proposals now sound like the same wishy-washy drivel emanating from the Liberals and the PQ.

As for new proposals, the CAQ has recently backed off its hardline promises to reform Quebec society and tackle the problems of big government, union avarice and the public demand for entitlements.

A good example is the current issue of revolving strikes in the public daycare program.
While the public would support and embrace a total ban on job action, the CAQ has offered a tepid response, allowing the union to retain its right to strike, but  declaring the sector an essential service, subject to limitations set out by the Conseil des services essentiels, a board that limits how far a union can go when striking in an industry determined as essential.

The board is charged with telling striking municipal workers how much snow to remove, or how much garbage to pick up and how many employees must remain on the job during a strike.

How would this work in the daycare industry?
Would the board allow one worker instead of three, mind the 16 children in a certain CPE or would they allow two out of three daycare centres to close down during a strike? Arrghh!.....

As for solving the current shortage of family doctors, the CAQ has proposed that every family doctor take on another 1,000 patients.
Poof, problem solved!

These ridiculous proposals demonstrate that the CAQ is an immature work in progress, it's party platform nothing more than a lick and a promise.

The party's erratic behavior and unrealistic policy declarations have Quebecers backing off.
And like the proverbially crucial second date, the flaws are fast becoming apparent.

Already, the party has plunged in popularity and now the three parties, the Libs, Pq and CAQ are all tied in the polls, a far cry from a couple of months ago, where the CAQ was far out in front.

Alas for we Anglos, there is nothing there for us.

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Next week the ever popular French versus English will return. 

If you come across any stories or nuggets of information that might make the post more interesting, please drop me a line at anglomontreal@gmail.com

Even if you think the story will be sent in by someone else, please make an effort.

I cannot always devote the necessary time to ferret out all the stories, I have a job and sometime there are time constraints.

Please help!

Whatever modest success our blog achieves, it is in fact, reader based. Contribute!

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Here's something fun for the weekend....

I'm sure you are all familiar with GOOGLE AUTOCOMPLETE.
It is the search device that tries to complete your thought when using the Google search box, sometimes with hilarious results.

Here's one that happened to me, which I swear I didn't Photoshop.

 

So go ahead, let's see how clever and original you are. Complete the following search items with a one word or a short phrase, English or French...

I look forward to your offerings in the comments section.

JUSTIN TRUDEAU               _________________

JEAN CHAREST                     _________________

STEPHEN HARPER              _________________

PAULINE MAROIS             _________________

FRANCOIS LEGAULT          _________________

FURTHER READING:
French versus English Volume 47

Have a great weekend!

Gary Carter has passed away. RIP..

I was one of those that attended the very first EXPOS game in Jarry Park.
My mom told me she wouldn't lie on an excuse note for my high school and wrote quite honestly that I took off class because I had EXPOS fever.  I received no detention.
I sat on the 1st base line on a bridge chair because the stadium wasn't complete.
Memories......

I'm not good at sentimental claptrap, but Gary Carter remains a fixture in my Expos memories with the likes of Steve Rogers, Maury Wills, Rusty Staub, Bill Stoneman, Mack Jones, Don Clendenon  and a myriad of other players who were my heroes.

Readers, who was the first player to hit a home run which landed in the swimming pool outside right field?

Most of you are too young to remember Gary, but if you do take a moment in the comments section to offer a kind word.....