French versus English Volume 81

Quebec hit with another international black eye.

You can't get much more international exposure than an article in TIME MAGAZINE and the following harrowing account of Quebec's linguistic crusade against English which served to embarrass Quebec internationally once again.
The article has received over 2,000 comments, so it isn't as if the piece went unnoticed.

 Read the story: Time Magazine
 Credit to the many readers who pointed out the story.

"Public hearings on Bill 14 create polarized debate"-CBC

"As the public hearings on Quebec’s controversial Bill 14 continue, there is no lack of opinion coming from all sides of the language debate.
Bill 14 proposes to amend Quebec's language charter by tightening restrictions around the use of English. If passed, the bill would give language inspectors the power of search and seizure, and it would allow the government to remove the bilingual status of some municipalities.
One of the province’s largest labour federations, the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN), called on the government to send a strong message that French is the one and only official language of Quebec.
Jacques Létourneau, president of the CSN, spoke during Tuesday's hearing.
In order to highlight French's decline in the province, Létourneau pointed to Montreal, where people can work in English, shop at the local dépanneur in English and even be served at a café in English.
“The signal we are sending to the world is not only that in Quebec we live in English first and in French second, but also that, in the end, one can live here in English only,” Létourneau said."Link

"Quebec exporters call Bill 14 absurd" - CJAD radio

"Quebec's association for manufacturers and exporters is calling some parts of bill 14 inapplicable and even absurd.

"It's major. It's major," Audrey Azouley said about the bill's impact on business.

The director with the manufacturers and exporters of Quebec had some harsh words for the National Assembly hearing on the new legislation." Link

"Language hardliners titans embarrass PQ government

Quebec's most hardline pasta-chasers gave a news conference denouncing any form of English after having voiced their opinion before a National Assembly Committee on Bill 14, the son of Bill 101 that will further hinder minority language rights in Quebec.

"Members of Imperatif Francais later said that no English institutions, such as universities or hospitals, should exist at all in the province.
Jean-Paul Perreault, the organization's president, said that in a separate Quebec allophones and francophones would certainly not have the right to attend an English CEGEP."

But the most memorable utterance is this hilarious nonsense by melon-head Mario Beaulieu, Quebec's chief defender of the faith;  

 "... the language law is meant to be inclusive -- by forcing everyone in the province to use one, and only one language, for the common good."

He then went on to add more crapola, by stating that most states and countries around the world have similar legislation relating to a single, official language, without elaborating or naming a one. Link

The hardline attitude of Mr. Perreault even shocked one the panel members, Jacques Létourneau of the CSN who immediately piped in that he didn't agree that hospitals should become unilingual.

The presentation by Mr. Perreault and Mr. Beaulieu were so extreme that the Minister of Health felt it necessary to say something;

"I do not agree with this, my government neither, assured the minister briefing. Anglophone institutions should be supported. I told the English school boards that I am very sensitive to their concerns of potential school closures. " Link{Fr}

"Minister for anglophone relations, Jean-François Lisée, also piped in;

"He says Quebec’s English-speaking population is a valued part of the province’s culture and history.
“At the creation of the Parti Québécois there was a great debate, and René Lévesque was very clear that the anglo community in Quebec had rights, historic rights, that needed to be protected forever," Lisée said." Link

I daresay that Mario Beaulieu and Jean-Paul Perreault, Quebec's über-pastas-chasers are the best thing that ever happened in defense of English.

"Hugo Sheabbeare's presentation before Bill 14 committee

 

Watch Anglo MNA Geoff Kelly rip into him after the presentation.
Here's a reply from Mark Bergeron, leader of the Equality Party. Link

Extra credit reading

Universities in France want to teach some courses in English

“The UPR claimed that the legislation would lead to the destruction of the French language and culture, and turn France into an American colony. We are being asked nothing less than to scupper one of the greatest world languages and to bray in the language of McDonald’s to satisfy the aims of ‘profitability’ of a global oligarchy which counts for nothing faced with the peoples and the history of the world,” it said." Yikes! Read more

 Conservative ministers in trouble over English only

"The office of International Co-operation Minister Julian Fantino twice issued a directive that all communication with his signature be in English only, even if the recipient was French-speaking.
Official Languages Commissioner Graham Fraser has agreed to look into the matter after a complaint from the New Democrats, who argue the order may violate the Official Languages Act." Link

"Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird has joined his cabinet colleague International Cooperation Minister Julian Fantino under the microscope of Parliament’s language watchdog over separate “English only” controversies.
While Fantino is under investigation over a directive for bureaucrats to send him correspondence for review in English only, a new report by Official Languages Commissioner Graham Fraser said Baird’s Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade had violated its obligations under federal language legislation by printing English only business cards for the minister." Link

Probe called after book alleges Supreme Court interference into 1982 ‘constitutional coup d’état’

"The Supreme Court of Canada says it will investigate allegations that some of its members intervened in the repatriation of the Constitution. The high court’s decision came after urging by Quebec’s Parti Québécois government for Ottawa to “open its books” on the events that led to the repatriation of the Constitution by Pierre Elliott Trudeau’s federal Liberals in 1982.
The call by Quebec Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Alexandre Cloutier on Tuesday came after the publication of a book that alleges Supreme Court of Canada magistrates interfered in the political process and engaged in backroom discussions." Link

The National Coalition on Transfer Fairness attacks Equalization

"The Government of Quebec is like a person on Government assistance.  If they get a job their assistance goes down. If they lose a job their assistance goes up.  In Provinces like Alberta we need to realize that equalization is not something we do for Quebec – its something we do to them!  A model of producing more than you consume is sustainable for a society, but a model of consuming more than you produce is not." Link

 Should Quebec's nanny state train sex partners? Link

In Canada, French is a language of ambition, not decline- Graham Fraser

"In fact, we’re now in the unique situation that a majority of Canada’s premiers are bilingual. Why? They’re bright and want to understand the country as a whole. A former French ambassador once told me that one of the things that impressed him most about Canada is that French is the language of ambition." Link

C'mom Is texting  really a problem while driving?

 "Motorists who use their cellphones while driving will be targeted in a huge crackdown in the entire Montérégie area Wednesday.
The Sûréte du Québec – along with all the different municipal police south of Montreal all the way to the border – will be out in force Wednesday in a blitz aimed at discouraging the dangerous practice of talking on the phone and, more importantly, texting while driving"....hmm! Story:

Montreal potholes are really, really big.....

 

Anybody who has paid Montreal's Bell Centre or Toronto's Air Canada Centre prices for food during hockey games will be astounded at the prices charged for food at the Masters golf tournament.
BTW, the NHL's most expensive beer at over $10 is sold at the Bell Centre where a bottle of water is a staggering $4.50.
My favorite scam at the Bell Centre concession stand is the sign that lists a 'trio' price, consisting of say, a beer, a hot dog and a bag of chips. When you add up the posted prices of the three individual items, it's the exact same price as the trio! When I asked the guy behind the stand what gives, he laughed and said the trio price was just a convenience so customers would know the total in advance. Ha!!!
credit:  25stanley.com


Have a great weekend!
Bonne Fin de Semaine!

Cornwall Hospital Flap a Flashpoint of Language Intolerance

I'm often labeled as an English rights 'angryphone,' someone obsessed with promoting the English and Ethnic community in Quebec.
At least that's the view from the vigile.net crowd who regard defense of English rights an attack on French as if it is a zero-sum game.

So be it, I wear the label with pride because it is true that I am a ferocious defender of these rights, but like most labels, it doesn't really define me.

I do in fact spend most of my time describing the English and Ethnic condition in Quebec because after all, that is what this blog is about.

That being said, I do call out and report on ALL language based intolerance that I see, be it here in Quebec or anywhere in Canada.

And so it is incumbent upon me to report upon what I can only condemn as the small-minded language intolerance of a not inconsequential group of Cornwall residents in regards to the bilingual status of a local hospital, one that has decided in accordance with Ontario law to make certain positions in the hospital open to bilingual staff only.

Before continuing, it is important to note that the area serviced by the hospital is about 30% Franco-Ontarian.

Now the bilingual designation has some locals furious because it means that monolingual but otherwise qualified candidates won't be considered for certain jobs in the hospital and that fact just doesn't sit well with those in the community who see the issue as discrimination against unilingual Anglo-Ontarians.

Up to now I haven't seen one English newspaper or online report on the demonstration that took place last Saturday by about one hundred people, protesting the issue, so I'm going to translate portions of two French reports from Radio-Canada;

"The Cornwall Hospital in Eastern Ontario, is at the center of a controversy ever since it changed its hiring criteria to encourage the use of bilingual workers.

Since January, the hospital is complying with the Act on French-language services in Ontario, but the English-speaking community in the region, as well as the Mayor of the Municipality of South Stormont, Bryan McGillis, oppose it.

In protest, the mayor canceled the payment of its annual funding of $30,000 for the expansion of the institution, with the approval of the council. "I get calls from people who support me, not only in the region but across Canada," he said in English.

Dr. Danny Tombler is the origin of this debate. In an open letter published in a regional newspaper , he was outraged over this new policy and called for a boycott of the fundraising campaign of the Hospital.

"The vast majority of Ontarians are unilingual anglophones, while this bilingualism policy is discriminatory. A clear message would suspend all grants made to the fundraising campaign of the hospital, until the establishment changes its hiring criteria. "- Dr. Danny Tombler

This new hiring criterion does not, however, supersede skills, said the Hospital. "It is important to specify that bilingualism does not trump competence," said Fernand Hamelin, member of the Board of Directors of the Cornwall Hospital.

The Board of Directors of the Hospital is worried that the controversy will undermine its budget, which threatens the purchase of medical equipment and the hiring of a dozen doctors..."

Full credit for the story to Catherine Lanthier of Radio-Canada. You can read the original story in French HERE

On Saturday a demonstration was held to protest the issue.

"More than a hundred residents of Cornwall, in eastern Ontario, demonstrated Saturday afternoon against the policy of hiring bilingual personnel  for their community hospital. A group of protesters gathered near the hospital. The administration of the Cornwall Hospital has stirred up a controversy when it decided to change hiring criteria to promote the use of bilingual workers in certain occupations. Since January, the facility is complying with the Law concerning French-language services in Ontario.
Demonstrators called for the abolition of this policy. According to them, the new hiring criteria discriminates against unilingual Anglophones and may even require the hiring of outside workers from Quebec. They took the Minister Responsible for Francophone Affairs of Ontario, Madeleine Meilleur to task because she supports the hospital's efforts. Nearly 3,000 signatures were collected on a petition seeking a review of  full government services to Franco-Ontarians. At the event, the Mayor of South Stormont, Tammy Hart, said she hopes to see the abolition of the Ministry of Francophone Affairs....

The French Language Services Commissioner of Ontario, François Boileau, was disappointed to see so much bitterness towards bilingualism in the province. He added that the Act that services French in Ontario, adopted unanimously by the Legislature 25 years ago, has a dual purpose. First, it protects the Francophone minority. Then it ensures progress towards equality of status of French and English in Ontario. Cornwall is nearly 30% Francophone.

"When you look at such events, we realize we still have some work to do to educate the general population. "- François Boileau, French Language Services Commissioner of Ontario.

Full credit for the story to Catherine Lanthier of Radio-Canada. You can read the original story in French HERE

This story demonstrates that language intolerance knows no bounds and that no linguistic group is immune to selfish and immoral behavior.

I am particularly amused by the sign at the top of the page demanding "EQUALITY FOR ALL" 
If an employer can demand a high school certificate, a college degree or specialized training, why can't bilingualism be a criterion when appropriate?
Certainly bilingual employees in a hospital that serves two language groups is appropriate.
It is the same argument put forward in Quebec by French language militants who complain that bilingual job descriptions discriminate against monolingual francophones.....Ya think?

Does "EQUALITY FOR ALL" mean that it is unfair for a pizzeria to demand that it's delivery drivers or waiters be bilingual if 30% of its clientele is French?

I may be called to task for this next observation but the whole affair reminds me of the argument made by Southern States in defense of slavery, in the U.S. Civil War. That is, that the freeing of the slaves would ruin the Southern economy, regardless whether slavery was moral or not.
 
Clearly this language brouhaha in Cornwall is an economic issue, not language.

People just don't want to be cast aside from employment consideration because of their monolingualism, regardless of whether bilingual employees is what the hospital requires.

The question is simple, should a hospital whose patients are 30% French provide service in French and should it hire the appropriate personnel to provide that service?

It's a no-brainer.

What if Israel Enacted Quebec's Bill 101

Israeli Druze casting a vote

It's always easier to give advice than to accept it, finding solutions for other peoples problems a lot easier than fixing our own.

It's my experience that berating dedicated French-language militants over related language issues here in Quebec is about as rewarding and productive as beating a dead horse.

I've always been amazed at the hypocrisy of Quebecers, castigating Israel over defending itself from a hailstorm of missiles, while engaging Natives in hostilities over the most benign confrontation over a golf course. whatever.... 

So I'm going to try a different tack, using Israel (a villain to most true separatists) as an allegorical substitute and ask the above-mentioned group of French-language militants to offer linguistic advice to a country that surprisingly has many things in common with Quebec.

Now I'll stipulate right off the bat, that the comparison is imperfect, but nonetheless, let's have a whirl.

Let us start with population, Israel has a population of about eight million, just about the same as Quebec.
The majority, about 75% are Hebrew-speaking Jews, while in Quebec the majority 79% are French-speaking Christians.
Both countries have significant minorities,  English in Quebec (13%) and Arab(20%) in Israel.

Now this discussion only describes Israel and not Gaza or the West Bank. The Arabs described are full citizens of Israel, enjoying the same legal definition of a citizen as their Jewish countrymen.
In 2009, 53% of Arab Israelis voted in the general election versus 57% of Quebecers who voted that same year in the provincial election, which is pretty similar.

No doubt the tension between Arabs and Jewish Israelis is much higher than relations between Anglos and Francos here, but it's important to remember that a recent Harvard study found that 77% of Arab Israelis would rather live in Israel than in any other country.
I'm not sure that if a similar study was conducted in Quebec about anglos, that the score would be much higher.

In Israel, the Arab minority live largely in voluntarily segregated neighborhoods and communities, a bit like the Anglo bastions in western Montreal, parts of the Pontiac and Townships, where they live their lives in Arabic, practicing their own culture, speaking their own language, distinctly apart from the mainstream society of Israel.

Sound familiar?

So my first question to French language militants reading this blog, (and they are legion) is whether  this is reasonable. Shouldn't the Arabs be encouraged to embrace the mainstream culture and identity of the majority in order to create a cohesive society?

Perhaps a noted social commentator like Réjean Labrie could contribute a lesson plan for these Arabs on how best to integrate into Israeli society;

Should Arab Israelis;

• Embrace matzoh, chicken soup,  shakshooka  and cottage cheese for breakfast?
• Speak Hebrew in public?
• Give up their 'ethnic' garb and adopt western attire like the majority of Israelis?
• Participate in national day celebrations by having their own Arab artists sing in Hebrew.
• Celebrate national holidays like Yom Kipper and Passover.
• Watch Hebrew television and movies.
• Circumcise their male children.
• Vote for mainstream political parties rather than those that represent their own narrow Arab interests?

Is it reasonable for a Hebrew language zealot like Quebec's Yves Michaud to whine on the radio that Arabs are bad citizens because they do not embrace the Hebrew nature of the country.

And so, is it reasonable for Israel to declare a national identity that excludes Arab culture, language and history?
Is it reasonable for the Israeli government to declare Israel a one-culture, one-language country where Arab culture and Arabic is tolerated, but not encouraged?

Let us apply Bill 101 to Israel and see what the ramifications would be like.
After all, if French is in danger in North America, Hebrew, the national language of Israel must be equally as well, surrounded by a sea of Arabic. In fact Israel is the only place on Earth where Hebrew is actually spoken, so I can't think of any national language more threatened.

Would it be deemed a tad racist for an Israeli cabinet minister to proclaim that too many Arabs live in Jerusalem and that measures should be taken to increase the number of Jews who live there in order to preserve the Jewish 'character' of the city?

Should Arab only billboards in Israel be disallowed as English ones are in Quebec?

Should all retail establishments be required to post Hebrew signs that are at least 50% larger than the Arabic, even in Arabic neighborhoods where Hebrew speakers are few and far between?

Would it be fair for extremist Hebrew language zealots and government inspectors to go around Arab shops and businesses hounding shopkeepers and businessmen for the slightest violation of language purity laws.

Would it be considered unreasonable that some Arab clerks are unable to serve the Hebrew majority in the language of Abraham?

Should all official communication between citizens and the government be conducted in Hebrew only?

Should Arabs be required by law to speak and understand Hebrew before graduation from Arab language universities?

Should companies that employ mostly Arabs be required to communicate with employees in Hebrew?

Should all professionals be subject to Hebrew language proficiency tests before being allowed to practice, even if they do so in an exclusively Arabic environment.

Should bus drivers refuse to give instructions in Arabic even while driving through exclusively Arab neighborhoods.
In fact should the bus company make it explicit policy that no employee be obligated to speak Arabic to clients, even if they can? 
Should ambulance drivers serving Arabic villages refuse to communicate with patients in Arabic,  even if they speak the language?

Is it fair to tell Arabs that if they don't like the Hebrew nature of Israel they should pack up and leave to Egypt or Jordan where their language and culture reigns?

Is it reasonable to call these measures necessary and reasonable because of the fragile nature of Hebrew?

Hmmmm.....

I can just imagine French language militants bridling at the comparison, but remember, Israel is a country, not a province in an Arab speaking country.
Let us also remember that Israel is a creation of the United Nations, duly formed and constituted under the auspices of a free vote in the General assembly, more than Canada and Quebec can claim, both which basically stole the land from the natives.

I'm sure that everyone would find the above fictional behavior by Israel reprehensible and racist, to say the least.
By the way, little of what is described above is real, the truth being that Arabic is afforded much more freedom in Israel than English in Quebec.
If the measures above were somehow a reality, I'm sure the United Nations would be condemning Israel six ways from Sunday and Amir Khadir would be leading an anti-Israel demonstration in Montreal, supported ironically, by a wide range of pasta chasers over Israeli ethnic cleansing.

How is it that when we view our behavior in the context of somewhere else, it is a lot easier to recognize it for what it is.........Racism.....

REMINDER!.....REMINDER!

Equality Party 2.0 membership drive.

Tonight!
Try and make an effort to attend....

French versus English Volume 80

This week in Corruption

Francois Legault, head of the opposition CAQ party held a news conference to demand that the PQ government take legal action against companies whose senior members admitted to collusion and price-fixing at the Charbonneau Construction/Crime commission.

Lamenting that only a few engineers were forced to resign and that nothing has been done against the companies themselves, Legault demanded that the province take legal action to punish and recover the ill-gotten gains.

It occurs to me that if the government pursues all the executives that were involved and moved to recover the funds, the provinces consulting/engineering firms would collapse, even the mighty SNC-Lavalin who is as wrapped up in all this corruption as any other.

Last week the city of Montreal faced a difficult conundrum;
How to fix the city's many potholes when all the companies that do the work have been named at the commission as crooked.
The city council told the mayor that he could not hire any of them and so the frustrated mayor asked citizens to voice their opinions, in fact asking them to choose the lesser of the two evils.

The reality is, that if all the bosses, the politicians and civil employees who are guilty of corruption were to be fired tomorrow and the crooked companies made to pay for their crimes, the province would grind to a halt, our very own Quebec version of "Too Big to Fail"

"My battle with the language police as an anglo professional in Quebec"

"At first things went well. I made some francophone friends, and the shopkeepers in our part of town did not switch to English. I understood my francophone patients, and they politely corrected language mistakes to help the new doctor learn.
I watched Tout le monde en parle on TV, took French classes and read L’actualité magazine, whose subscription department was so flummoxed by a common anglophone name in a doctor’s handwriting that my issues arrived addressed to “Jamos Rosi.”
I thought I had found my French groove. Near the end of my residency, a temporary staff position in Quebec’s Kafkaesque health system appeared possible.
People warned me about the exam administered by l’Office Québécois de la langue français. Doctors must pass it within four years to keep their licence in Quebec. Many of my “Rest of Canada” colleagues had failed it several times. Anglophones from Quebec, some of whom do not speak French well, are not subjected to the exam...". Read the rest of the story in the Globe & Mail

Thanks to the many readers who sent a link to this story.

Equality Party 2.0 membership drive.

It's finally happening.
After organizing itself, it's time to get up and running for the Equality Party 2.0.
On Monday the party will be holding a meet and greet in NDG, with an eye to signing up members, the lifeblood of a party.

If you have questions about the program, issues like vote-splitting, or positions on anything that concerns you, here's an opportunity to scratch that itch.

In the comments section of this blog, we hear "What can I do?" quite a lot.
Here is an opportunity to show up and be counted.

 Make an effort to  be there if you can!

CLICK PICTURE TO ENLARGE

By the way, Equality Party 2.0 Leader Mark S. Bergeron will appear on the Barry Morgan Show today, Friday April 5, at 7pm on CJAD Radio 800 in Montreal. You can also listen on the web at cjad.com.
READ: 5 REASONS TO RE-LAUNCH THE EQUALITY PARTY

Followup on Chinese signs in BC.

A little while back I wrote about complaints about Chinese only signs in Richmond BC. Apparently two women were offended and took up a campaign against them.
Here's some of what I wrote;

"I was asked for my opinion about this story in an email by a reader and can answer with a phrase that I recall using as a kid.
You can like it or lump it, which sums up my feelings rather succinctly and my advice to the women offended by the Chinese only signs with another phrase from my childhood...tough noogies." Link

It doesn't surprise me that the whole thing was a tempest in a teapot.
Here is an excerpt from a followup article;

"Out of 869 businesses, they found a total of 12 (one of which appeared to have recently gone bankrupt) with Chinese-only signs. That comes to 1.4 per cent of the shops in Richmond's business core.
Is that what "many residents are upset" about? Is that why Ms. Starchuk (whom I've never met but is no doubt a lovely person in her own right) has been "writing letters to the editor and buttonholing politicians?" according to the Sun story.
Eleven businesses with Chinese-only signs?
The gentlemen asked the shopkeepers with no English on their signs why that was the case. One was a bookstore that sold books only in Chinese.
What would his sign say, one wonders - Chinese Books. Not for You." Read a great story

Quebec planning sovereigntist assault on Canada

"It seems that Pauline is putting her foot down, the next time she sends ministers to Ottawa begging for money, they will do it in French only.
And if the feds don't like it they can lump it!

"The Quebec government has introduced a new initiative that encourages cabinet ministers to speak only French to their counterparts from other provinces and Ottawa.
The strategy is part of the Parti Quebecois’ plan to push its sovereigntist agenda and prevent what it sees as intrusions by Ottawa in Quebec’s jurisdictions.
Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Alexandre Cloutier told a news conference Wednesday that Quebec’s initiative to limit English usage by its ministers is only a guideline, not a restriction.
“The official language in Quebec is French and all the papers being prepared are in French, all documentation is in French, and we think it’s necessary to use the same language that it is written (in),” Cloutier said in Quebec City." Link

Kim-Jong-Pol to Canada... "We are in a STATE OF WAR!!"

"The small-mindedness of Pauline Marois’ policy of “sovereigntist governance” is most recently shown in a directive that Quebec cabinet ministers should speak only French in federal-provincial discussions and meetings – to the accompaniment of simultaneous translation. The idea seems to be that Quebec cabinet ministers have to play a kind of children’s game in which they pretend not to be able to speak English, in order to also pretend that Canada is a foreign country." Link

Yves Michaud's long march to oblivion

For those of you who need to be reminded, Yves Michaud was a militant Peequist who was in December 2000 unanimously condemned in the National Assembly for making some injudicious remarks about ethnics and particularly Jewish Quebecers, railing against the fact that none voted for sovereignty.
Mr. Michaud was deeply stung by the motion which basically branded him a racist, this in the highest legislative body in Quebec.
Since then he has worked tirelessly and obsessively to get the motion reversed and failing that, an apology from every member who voted for the motion.
His story reminds me of the painful journey embarked upon by Jesus on the Way of the Cross, a long and painful ordeal leading to his ultimate crucifixion.
During last September's provincial election he ran a newspaper advertisement asking electors not to vote for the surviving thirteen members who were running, who still hadn't apologized. See the advertisement

But according to election law, it's illegal for individuals to spend money to influence voters in an election campaign outside of a controlled political party.

And so the hapless Michaud has been slapped with a $6,000 fine by the Director General of Elections, something that set him off once again.
Mr Michaud is once again tilting at windmills, telling reporters that he will sue the DGEQ for $100,000 as well as militate for his removal. Link{fr}
When I think of Michaud, I'm reminded of Brian Mulroney's most famous remark that "there's no whore like an old whore"

Lobby group says Bill 14 too weak

"The official advisors for Quebec on linguistic matters say the province is not doing enough to promote the French language, even if every measure in Bill 14 is passed.

Winston Chan & Robert Vezina of the Conseil superieur de la langue francaise

In a report released Wednesday,  The Conseil superieur de la langue francaise, the official advisory body for the Minister of Language, said it has no doubt that the use of French is declining in Quebec. In fact, it said everyone in the province, including native francophones, would do well to brush up on their French language skills.
"The level of literacy in Quebec is pretty low in general," said Winston Chan.

"The bureaucrats say the quality of French spoken by anglophones is of particular concern, and generally not good enough to let them work in Quebec.
"One of the challenges for English students... is the immersion skills are lower and we see that difficulty in the workplace later on," said Chan.
Bill 101 badly needs updating, said the CSLF.
“Now there are new challenges. New immigrants, and allophones taking their place in our society. We have to make sure that French is the language of social cohesion,” he said. Link

...but Bill 14 appears doomed to defeat

"The Parti Quebecois’s plan to toughen Bill 101 could be in trouble.
The Coalition Avenir Quebec confirmed Wednesday the existence of a draft of a letter stating it will oppose the most controversial aspects of Bill 14, the proposed legislation to beef up Quebec's French language law.
In the letter, the CAQ stated it is opposed to the following provisions of Bill 14:

• The right to remove a municipality's existing bilingual status
• Removal of the right of children of francophone military parents to attend English school
• New measures forcing companies with 26 to 50 employees to conduct their internal communications in French
• Measures to restrict francophone and allophone students from attending Anglophone CEGEPS." Read more

Duceppe to lead Employment Insurance Commission

"Quebec Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Alexandre Cloutier unveiled the Parti Quebecois government’s long-awaited sovereignist governance plan Wednesday in Quebec City, and it involves relying on a familiar face.
Former Bloc Quebecois leader Gilles Duceppe will lead a four-person commission into changes the federal government is making to Employment Insurance.
The commission is just one aspect of a multi-part plan which involves being more assertive with the federal government -- a necessity, Cloutier explains, because the federal government has made unilateral decisions that harm Quebecers, with the EI changes being a perfect example." Link

Controversial mayor gives BBC interview

"Huntingdon’s mayor, Stéphane Gendron oversees a mixed community of French and English speakers. “When we have our meetings, we usually switch from French to English in the same sentence,” said Gendron. “It’s like breathing air, we don’t care.”
Sounds reasonable, but that linguistic back-and-forth in Huntingdon is technically against Quebec’s law.
Gendron recalled receiving an email last year from the Office québécois de la langue française. He said the email informed him that he and his administration are “not authorized to communicate in English with our citizens.” Read the story

Listen to the  interview he gave to the BBC;

Language and the Habs

Last week, I highlighted this picture of a unilingual sign in the Montreal Canadiens dressing room in their practice facility in south shore Brossard.

I'm not sure if complaints about language influenced the team to change the sign in the Bell Centre dressing room or if it was there before;

But then again it's a different story when the Canadiens go on the road. Apparently the sign is a fixture in their dressing room and part of the team culture and so the Canadiens paste up the sign in all the dressings rooms they visit while on the road

Hmmmmm.... Repeat after me....."Lip Service"

Here's a message that some fan held up in Pittsburgh to make fun of Michel Therrien's inability to pronounce the hard 'T.'
He was a coach there for some time and I guess fans remember....ouch!

Read a story about it in French HERE

And for no other reason than it's Friday and we are on the subject of hockey, I include this animated GIF of Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask reacting to an improbable and infuriating loss to the Habs. Sweet!

 

It's the weekend, so how about enjoying the best gin in the world. From Quebec!

Have a good weekend!
Bonne Fin de Semaine!

The Slippery Slope of Language Intolerance

Back in 1977 when the PQ first introduced Bill 101, the justification by René Lévesque and company was that without enshrined French language rights, the French fact in North America, was destined to disappear, the loquiturs assimilated in a sea of English.

But unlike the hard-line wing of the party led by the author's bill, Camille Laurin, Levesque was troubled and somewhat embarrassed by the need for a such a restrictive law and battled royally to tone its more radical elements before ultimately acquiescing to the majority in his government who saw the law as not only necessary for the preservation of French, but as fair payback to the English who had in their eyes exploited and dominated the French majority for centuries.

Watch a fascinating video on Rene Levesque's unease over Bill 101 in French({fr}

Many clauses that were included in the original Bill 101 were so clearly unconstitutional that even a collegiate freshman would conclude that they were included purely for political reasons, since there was no question of those clauses surviving a constitutional challenge.

Bill 101: "French is the language of the legislation and of the justice system in Quebec"

Nothing but nothing demonstrates the bad faith of the drafter of Bill 101 than Article 7 of Chapter III, which completely contravenes the BNA Act, the founding document that created Canada and which represents the highest law of the land, which incidentally, to this day, defines the limits of federal and provincial jurisdiction.
It couldn't be simpler, Article 133 of the BNA act says;

133. Either the English or the French Language may be used by any Person in the Debates of the Houses of the Parliament of Canada and of the Houses of the Legislature of Quebec; and both those Languages shall be used in the respective Records and Journals of those Houses; and either of those Languages may be used by any Person or in any Pleading or Process in or issuing from any Court of Canada established under this Act, and in or from all or any of the Courts of Quebec.

The only reasonable conclusion to draw is that Dr. Laurin included these clauses knowing full well they'd be overturned in the Supreme Court, thus creating a 'humiliating setback' for French language rights, resulting in a heightened linguistic tension, a cynical attempt to stir up emotions of betrayal and persecution in Quebec through shameful deception and manipulation.

Today language militants still whine that their sacrosanct law has been unfairly sliced and diced by the Supremos, an attempt in their eyes, to limit Quebec's right to determine its own linguistic policy.

But for most Quebecers, Bill 101 was never about punishing Anglos, rather a reasonable effort to advance and protect the French language and culture.
Let us remember that in accepting Bill 101, the francophone majority willingly embraced restrictions on their own community in regards to sending their children to English schools.

And so we should understand that like Certs breath mint, Bill 101 is really two laws in one, a law to protect French and a law to punish the English.
Some see it as one, some see it as the other and some see it as both.

The effect of the Bill 101 is also a question of perspective, hardline separatists seeing the 35 year old law as ineffective, middle of the road francophones seeing it as effective and necessary while most anglos see the law as devastatingly punitive and coercive.

All this has been debated since the inception of the law and opinions abound in both the French and English press as well as the blogosphere.
There's not much I can add to bring much perspective to the debate, smarter and more erudite writers have covered the territory ad nauseum, but I would like to tackle an aspect that remains largely unexplored, that is the cumulative psychological effect that Bill 101 has had on the mainstream francophone opinion, vis-a-vis linguistic relations in Quebec.

Let us put aside for the moment the positions of French hardliners or Anglos and consider the Francophone majority, those who never saw Bill 101 as a weapon, but rather a cure.
The attitudinal shift of this group towards language intolerance over the 35 years reign of Bill 101 is nothing less than remarkable.
I think that if Rene Levesque were alive today, he'd be stunned and humiliated at witch hunt being waged against Anglos and the deliberate marginalization and exclusion of English in Quebec.
But this shift in attitude was inevitable, Bill 101 set in motion by accident or design, an inexorable shift towards linguistic intolerance.

I am reminded of the famous Stanford Prison Experiment back in 1971 wherein Philip Zimbard ran social experiment which laid bare the perils of allowing one group of seemingly well-adjusted citizens to hold dominion over another.
Simply explained, the experiment explored the;

 "...psychological effects of becoming a prisoner or prison guard."
 "The participants adapted to their roles well beyond Zimbardo's expectations, as the guards enforced authoritarian measures and ultimately subjected some of the prisoners to psychological torture." 
The experiment even affected Zimbardo himself, who, in his role as the superintendent, permitted the abuse to continue. Two of the prisoners quit the experiment early and the entire experiment was abruptly stopped after only six days.

Bill 101 cast ordinary francophone Quebecers as the prison guards and Anglos as prisoners and painful as it is to say, we are seeing abusive and racist attitudes creeping into the mainstream society, all courtesy Bill 101, Quebec's very own real-life Stanford experiment.

How far have attitudes changed?
In a recent article in the decidedly middle-of-the-road La Presse, an article discussing the 'painful' preponderance of English store names, the author Louise Leduc, wrote this;

"Important to note: In Carrefour Laval, if a quarter of the stores have English names , the others don't exactly reinforce the French face of Quebec (Browns, Reitmans, Terra Nostra, Zaxe, Clarks, Briks, Rudsak, Aveda, La Senza, Michael Kors, etc.)."
(" Fait à noter, au Carrefour Laval, si le quart des magasins a un nom anglais, les autres ne renforcent pas nécessairement le visage français du Québec (Browns, Reitmans, Terra Nostra, Zaxe, Clarks, Briks, Rudsak, Aveda, La Senza, Michael Kors, etc.)." Link{fr}

 I don't think I've ever seen such a patently racist thing written in La Presse, yet it passed without a whimper of protest.
To those of you who are apt to defend the above words as something quite innocent, well all I can say is that you are part of the problem.

The author intimates that proper names that are not French, somehow disturb societal karma. Stores named after their Jewish founders (Browns, Reitmans, Michael Kors) or stores named after their English founders (Clarks, Briks,(sic) Birks) or even made up names that have no linguistic definition, are all unacceptable in post Bill 101 Quebec.

I don't know how the author can defend her characterization of Jewish or English family names as unhelpful without sounding racist. Clearly she is telling us Quebec would be better off without them, otherwise why bring them up?
I'm sure Madame Leduc will be furious at my characterization of her and therein lies the problem. To her, complaining about proper names not being French enough is not a sign of intolerance.

How about another mainstream commentator loosing this observation on television;

Have people lost their marbles?.......Yup, there it is, the Stanford Experiment in all its splendor. 

I bet Mr. Pelletier does not even realize how low he has sunk.
Perhaps he would also like impose a $4,000 fine on any person who publicly says "God Bless You" after a sneeze, $2,000 for speaking English and $2,000 for violating the secular nature of Quebec society.

Are these examples an aberration and a misrepresentation of what is going on in mainstream Quebec?
I don't think so, that is why we see stories of extreme language intolerance more and more often.

One of our valued contributors, R.S. put together this recap of language intolerance, ordinary Quebecers acting out their rage;

"Here is a round-up of just some of the recent events concerning franco-Quebecers who don’t want to hear any English in their lives, ever. Believe it or not, there are actually people in Quebec who still don’t understand that English is a right, not a privilege.

Let’s see… well, for starters, there’s always this famous example that went viral around the world:Angry Quebecer goes CRAZY over Asian people speaking English in public in Montreal

Then, there are always these people, whose jobs supposedly involved serving the public:Metro workers allegedly refuse to help English-speaking customer

Then, there was also this public transportation employee who put up a French-only sign in a majority-anglo neighbourhood, implying that he wouldn’t serve customers if they are English-speakers:Sign in ticket booth 'insulting,' metro user says

And then, there’s this intolerant woman in a hospital:Criminal Charges Justified After Man's Allergen Thrown In His Face

And then, there there’s this paramedic who was willing to put a little girl’s life in danger in order to argue about his political opinions:Quebec paramedic argues about language

And then, there was also this woman who was actually physically assaulted for having dared to speak English in public in Quebec:Woman Assaulted by STM worker

And then, there’s this nutbar, of course, who I don’t believe is a unique case in Quebec:Quebec language debate in the metro

And then, there are these people who don’t want to have a good coach for the Habs if he speaks English only:Protest Against Habs Anglo Coach

And then there are these people who are against an immigrant depanneur owner who was tricked by a radio station, illegally recorded and broadcast:Language protest in Montreal's Verdun district"

I've been watching the Bill 14 committee hearings, which is in the process of listening to the opinion of ordinary citizens as well as lobby groups, school commission, unions and even public servants over proposed amendments.
It's a bit sad, the level of disdain among those francophone groups which choose to appear  to fulminate and rage at the English 'enemy.'
There's but one tiresome and pernicious refrain....
"Crack down on the Anglos!"
"More enforcement!"
"More rules and restrictions!"
"Punish all who refuse to knuckle under and steamroll minority rights!"

I defy anyone to tell me that this characterization is not true.

We have come to expect certain behavior from Franco-supremacists like Mario Beaulieu and company, but make no mistake, linguistic intolerance has crept into mainstream society courtesy Bill 101.
Allow for official state-sanctioned discrimination on any level and the unintended consequence is that over time, we get what we have today, a society that breathes nastiness, xenophobia and intolerance.

Bill 101 has sent us down a slippery slope of language intolerance.

Bill 14, the current draft law being debated as a language upgrade, is the logical extension of the "Bill 101 Experiment," it is a law not meant to protect French, it is a law meant to codify the dominance of one societal group over another.

It is a story as old as organized society and as author George Orwell described in his allegorical masterpiece, Animal Farm;

The essence of Bill 101;
“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”

...and this, the essence of Bill 14;
“Four legs good, two legs bad.”   

I don't know if Bill 101 saved French in Quebec, but I do know that it has made Quebec a nastier and more intolerant society and it's more than a little sad to see what the province has become.