Immigrant Threat to French Language Just More Fear-Mongering

Immigrant hordes threatening Quebec...bah humbug!

Every good salesperson needs a good 'spiel,' a well rehearsed story or pitch, which can engage and hook a potential client.
Of course, it doesn't mean that it needs to be true, just convincing enough, agreeable enough or plain frightening enough to manipulate.

My favorite example is the 1957 Broadway musical production of "The Music Man" wherein a con man comes to a naïve small-time, mid-west American town and frightens the locals with talk of impending doom. He frightens the elders by playing up the dangerous influence of the town's new pool hall on local teenagers and offers an alternative, a marching band that could otherwise keep them occupied.
Of course it is the flimflam artist himself who will supply the instruments and the uniforms, the whole affair a device to swindle the town out of their hard-earned money.

♫ ♬ "Ya got trouble, my friend, right here,
I say, trouble right here in River City. ....♩ ♪ ♫

And so the fear of the local children succumbing to the scourge of the evil corrupting influence of pool frightens the townsfolk into paying the snake-oil salesman for a solution to a problem that never existed.

If you have a few minutes, watch the video below and marvel at the talent of an expert manipulator.
Substitute 'pool' for 'English,' and tell me this cynical con artist doesn't remind you of Mario Beaulieu.

It's a premise so stupid that its hard to believe the exact same thing is going on here in Quebec where French language militants like Mr. Beaulieu, are frightening francophone Quebecers over language, in order to create a panic that can only be assuaged by sovereignty.

According to the latest iteration of the separatist spiel, the mongrel horde of immigrants coming to Quebec threatens the very nature of Quebec society because they are adopting English at an alarming rate.
It's important to note that sometimes Mr. Beaulieu complains about the high ratio of immigrants adopting English and sometimes he complains about immigrants in general, touching base with those who are fearful of assimilation as well as xenophobes in general.

In this radio interview, two hostile interviewers scoff at Beaulieu's contention that Quebec is in danger of anglicization with one actually calling him a 'loser.'
In reaction Beaulieu, loses his cool and warns the interviewer and listeners that over the next 10 years, the province will be invaded by 500,000 immigrants, as many people as presently live in Quebec City! Link{fr}

Before I deconstruct the current separatist immigrant scare story, I'd like to remind readers that this spiel is an evolution, in the past, the separatist mantra was that Quebecers were exploited economically by the English and needed sovereignty to prosper. That argument fell by the wayside and into disfavor as Quebecers assumed the levers of their own economic prosperity.

The next spiel offered by language militants was that learning English was in and of itself an act of assimilation, and the only way to protect Quebec from  the scourge of bilingualism was Independence.
But that argument too has been rendered ineffective as most Quebecers have decided, that in a shrinking world of interdependence, English is not only desirable but vitally necessary, at least for themselves and their own families.

And so the evolution of the spiel continues where now it is the immigrants and their propensity towards English that is sending Quebec careening wildly down the inevitable road of linguistic destruction.

Put simply, the new message is that because immigrants are choosing to assimilate into the English community, within a few short years, Quebec will become anglicized.
This is the new Bonhomme sept-heures, the linguistic bogeyman that is supposed to frighten francophone Quebecers towards linguistic intolerance, leading to sovereignty.

So let's crack the numbers and take a look at reality, do the immigrants really threaten the nature of Quebec's French society?
As usual, a cold hearted look at the facts tells a remarkably different story.

We first have to get the numbers straight, Quebec has a population of about eight million people, 87% of whom are on the francophone side of the language equation. It includes those whose mother tongue is French and those who have adopted French as their language of daily use. The 13% balance includes English native speakers and those who have adopted English as their language of daily use.

That is the linguistic reality of Quebec, notwithstanding what separatist and language militants peddle about mother tongue, historical English, blah. blah..blah.

Each year Quebec greets about 49,000 immigrants, but also loses 10,000 to 12,000 immigrants, who abandon Quebec for the greener pastures in the ROC.
Why they leave is the great unanswered question, nobody has dared to stir that pot, but I have my own suspicions where family, language difficulties and better employment opportunities are the principal reasons.

So the statement by Mario Beaulieu that we are being invaded by half a million immigrants over ten years is dishonest right off the bat, the number is under 400,000.

Mr Beaulieu's contention that twenty years ago, 90% of these immigrants assimilated into the English side of the language equation, doesn't reflect today's reality where the majority, or about 55% become part of the French-speaking majority,

So of the 39,000 net immigrants that come to Quebec each year, about 22,000 assimilate into the francophone majority. The 17,000 net immigrants per year that assimilate into the English side is what, according to militants, will transform Quebec into an Anglophone empire.

Now in order to maintain the present linguist lines of 87% French / 13% English, the number of those immigrants choosing English should be should be about 7,000.
In other words, the English community is growing by about 10,000 per year in relation to the French community.
This only holds true if the present trend is frozen and is perhaps unrealistic considering that over the years the number of immigrants choosing French is rising. As I mentioned before, over the last twenty years the percentage of immigrants choosing French has risen from 10% to 55%.

At any rate, this massive Anglicization, even in the worst case scenario will likely amount to about no more than 100,000 new Anglos over ten years.

This in a province of 8 million.

It means a linguistic shift of about 1 to 1½ percent, certainly not an Earth shattering change.

But to Mario Beaulieu and his merry men of Chicken Littles it is enough to make hay.

Like the flimflam artist in the Broadway play, Mario Beaulieu doesn't really have to believe in the spiel, he just has to sell it.

He isn't a necessarily racist, he isn't necessarily a xenophobe, he's just a cheap huckster trying to sell sovereignty like band instruments, by any means he can.

Language Militants- Tea and Other Things They Hate

Brooklyn's very own DavidsTea in Park Slope 

I don't know what Oprah Winfrey has to offer as a motivational speaker, but apparently many people believe it's substantial.
She packed the house at Montreal's Bell Centre last Thursday with tickets ranging from a $100 to an astounding $355.

During her presentation, she gave a shout out to a Montreal tea retailer,  DAVIDsTEA which may well be on its way to becoming the next Canadian North American superstar à la Starbucks.

Well perhaps that's a bit of an exaggeration, but the retail newcomer is a neat hybrid that combines an expensive tea experience with related gift  products.

After sending Oprah a loot bag of goodies, the company hit the jackpot with a priceless celebrity endorsement.

"Imagine, if you can, America’s most influential celebrity telling the world that she loves you and she loves your product.
And all of this, at the low price of next-to-nothing.
That’s the shorthand version of what happened Thursday and Friday to David’s Tea, a Montreal-based retailer of fine teas and tea-related products.
Oprah Winfrey told a sold-out crowd at the Bell Centre Thursday night that David’s was her new favourite tea. Several times.
It was a shout-out that sent shivers down the spine of audience member Melanie Barbusci, a David’s Tea employee heavily involved in the public-relations coup.
“We were so excited,” Barbusci said Friday, admitting that she came close to hyperventilating several times just by recalling the evening’s events for various media outlets.
Oprah mentioned Melanie by name from the Bell Centre stage, telling 15,000 frenzied fans that she had been delighted with the David’s Tea gift bag sent to her hotel by the younger woman whose passion was tea.
(For the few who don’t know, Oprah has a passion for people possessed of passion.)
“It was just a great moment that I will definitely remember,” Barbusci said.
If that was not enough of a brouhaha for the tea retailer, on Friday Oprah told her millions of followers on social media about her new favourite tea, via Twitter and Instagram.
All in all, David’s Tea “hit the jackpot,” marketing expert Demetrios Vakratsas concluded Friday. Read more

I hope this Montreal company does well, it has all the elements for success, a unique product that has a markup that would make a drug dealer blush, a young entrepreneur named David Segal who is backed by the solid management and financing provided by his uncle, veteran Canadian retailer Hershey Herschel Segal, founder of the legendary LE CHATEAU clothing chain.

Last month while driving through the tony Brooklyn neighborhood of Park Slope, I saw my first DAVIDsTEA outside of Canada. I've no doubt that the retailer will be successful in the high-falutin' neighborhood where $1,000 baby strollers are de rigueur and where shelling out $6 for a coffee is no big deal.
Despite hard times, there are plenty Park Slopes in the USA, neighborhoods where DAVIDsTEA can find success.

Build a unique or better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door.

This company has all the elements for success and can avoid the pitfalls of other Canadian retailers who expanded to the US, only to meet with disaster because they offered nothing new or innovative. 

I'm reminded of this after checking out a Tim Hortons location, again in Brooklyn, behind the stately courthouse just off of the Brooklyn Bridge, in a dreary and unappetizing food court, offering that particular blend of low-priced pedestrian food, washed down with bland coffee, that has inexplicably made it a powerhouse in Canada.
To this bloggers mind, it's not a formula for success in a city where most street vendors can offer cheaper and better.

As the old song goes;

"If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere… It's up to you New York, New York!"

So I'm happy for DAVIDsTEA's success and I hope that they keep their head office in Montreal, reminding Canada that our fair city, battered and bruised, remains the creative capital of Canada.

But like everything in Quebec, the dark side of language rears its ugly head and trumps economic and creative concerns.
DavidsTea has been castigated by the language militants as a bad corporate citizen because it doesn't have a French name.
For them, an English name is hard to take, but an English name on a retailer, born, bred and based in Quebec, is even harder to swallow, if you will allow me the pun.

Read Sophie Durocher's article in Le Journal de Montreal, where she tells readers that it may be okay for international American giants to keep their English name, but not for Quebec bred companies, who in her eyes have no right to trade under an English banner.

 "To have  English names imposed on use by multinationals, is one thing. All major cities are experiencing the same thing. But retailers and artists from here who give themselves an English identity, are a sign of colonization that worries me much more."
(Qu’on se fasse imposer des noms anglais de multinationales, c’est une chose. Toutes les grandes villes vivent la même chose. Mais que les commercants et les artisans de chez nous se donnent eux-mêmes une identité anglaise, c’est un signe de colonisation qui m’inquiète bien plus.) Link{fr}

And so Davids Tea is on the wrong side of the language ledger, another insult to Quebec pasta-chasers who see one more betrayal in a paranoid world of Anglo persecution.

But why the big deal over a name? To paraphrase Shakespeare,
"A tea by any other name would taste as sweet."

The Mario Beaulieus of Quebec drone on about the need for 'outsiders,' Anglos and Ethnics to respect Quebec's francophone majority and that for a retailer, having French employees, French signage, and otherwise all things French, is not enough.

To be blunt, that is just plain poppycock.

By that same logic, English and ethnic Quebec parents would be advised to give their offspring a French name in respect to the francophone majority..... What utter rubbish!
Since when and where in the world and in what country or jurisdiction is a name, in and of itself, insulting and disrespectful?

The  campaign against English language signage and English store names has more to do with an attempt by language militants and separatists to create an altered reality, rather than any question of respect.

In removing English from public display, militants hope to persuade Quebecers that the English and Ethnic communities are irrelevant to the Quebec experience, like ants at a picnic, nothing more than a nuisance.

Like the mom who places her hands over her eyes and lyrically shouts "I CAN'T SEE YOU, I CAN'T SEE YOU!" to her toddler, the children's game is meaningful only to those with an infantile mind.

The old saying, 'Out of sight, out of mind,' is a most appropriate description of French language militants ploy to portray Quebec as a French only affair, despite the truth that it most certainly is not.

Removing English signs and store names from public display conveys the fantastical message that the non-French elements of society are either nonexistent, minor or irrelevant, and so, anything that serves to disrupt that fantasy must be attacked and destroyed, including DavidsTea.
And so it follows that militants don't want to see and don't want to hear of Quebec Anglo or Ethnic success, because it distorts the fictitious narrative.
Think I'm exaggerating?

While francophone Quebecers are infinitely familiar with iconic business names like, Peladeau, Bombardier, Coutu, Laliberté, and Demarais, how many have ever heard of Stroll,  Jarislowsky, Azrieli, Adams,  Bensadoun, Rossy and Miller, who are among Quebec's richest and most successful entrepreneurs, but decidedly not pur-laine.  Link
And by the way, all of them made their fortunes in post Bill-101 Quebec, so let's not argue about colonialism.

Language militants aren't interested in the success of McGill university, Arcade Fire, Montreal bagels and smoked meat, because to them, they aren't representative of the real Quebec and if the Francophone public embraces them as their own...well, bilingualism wins.

That is why there's nary a mention of Quebec's latest success story, DAVIDsTEA, in the francophone press and that is why it's up to the Globe and Mail to report on this Montreal success story. Link

The complaints about English signage and names is an Orwellian voyage of the absurd, where a store name like 'REITMANS' irritates militants because it doesn't sound French while 'SIMON' is okay because it does, notwithstanding the fact that both stores are named after non-francophone founders.

Language militants have been demonizing English for so long that even people like Sophie Durocher have been brain-washed into making a distinction over a name.
She as well as all of us need to understand the underlining racist basis of the attacks.
Shame on all mainstream francophones who have fallen into the extremist trap of condemning a business based on a name rather than the measure of its service.

I can only imagine the outrage in Quebec if a journalist in Calgary or Toronto demanded in print that LE CHATEAU or CIRQUE  DE SOLEIL be condemned because those companies refuse to modify their name, whilst operating in an English province, realistically, a scenario that is so nonsensical, it is beneath discussion.

Condemning businesses or individuals based on the linguistic, religious or ethnic basis of their name is behavior that is unbecoming and vulgar in a modern democratic society and should be condemned by every fair-minded person across all lines.

It's actually shocking and sad that we are having this debate.

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....