CFN – It seems that a large core of Quebecers are determined to bring language issues to the forefront in Quebec.
CTV in Montreal reported on a new documentary about the issue. LA LANGUE À TERRE, directed by Jean-Pierre Roy and Michel Breton essentially floats that Quebec should only have French spoken with only French on signs and that by having a bilingual presence in Montreal it’s a death knell of the French Language.
Their synopsis paints it a bit kinder, but still is pretty clear showing the same xenophobic and frankly mentally and emotionally insecurity that plagues so many Quebecers and has pushed the province to the point where many Canadians wish it would separate compared to 1995 when the country came to Montreal to clearly say that Quebec should stay.
Is Montreal a Francophone or a bilingual city? A difficult question to ask without generating a heated debate, and the recent controversies about language confirm the deep malaise that polarizes Quebec society. But a fundamental question arises: more than 35 years after the passing of Bill 101, what is the situation of French in Quebec? Is the bilingualism of its metropolis a threat to the survival of the language in Quebec?
Frankly anyone that complains about a sign stating that the consumer loves Italian is an insult to Quebecers needs therapy at this point.
Bill 101 is now 35 years old. The cost to Quebec as their bridges crumble and sink holes open up in downtown Montreal is clear. Eradicating the true heritage of Montreal and the contributions made by non-Francophones is something shameful. Ironically its the very deed and actions that language nazis like Mr. Roy is worried about. Eradicating a culture and society based on language.
But in 2013 it is very clear that Canada and its government have not made any attempts to do such a thing to French across our nation. It’s quite the opposite as official bilingualism has spread across Ontario; New Brunswick is officially bilingual, and you can’t get a good job or advancement in the Federal government or most agencies in Ontario without passing a French as a first language test while in Quebec it’s unilingual Francophone time with no real accomodation for non Francophones. Compare civil servant population ratios in Quebec vs Ontario for example.
No, Quebec doesn’t need more laws. Quebec needs one on one therapy for people like Mr. Roy to overcome their insecurities and realize that their words and actions are the death knell of French as they’d like it simply because it’s a total turnoff to their own people.
Nobody wants to be forced to do or be anything that they don’t want to be. Forcing people what language to speak doesn’t work. And frankly it’s not up to English Canada to save the French language.
Isn’t it time to say “ENOUGH” to people like Mr. Roy? Isn’t it time for our Canadian government to protect all Canadians including English speakers in Montreal?
And maybe isn’t it time for Canadians to have a National dialog across the country and decide if the cost of official bilingualism is really what people want?
It’s time for Quebec to respect the rest of Canada in the manner that it’s been treated which most reasonable people would agree has been really really well. It’s time to push that pendulum back so it could swing in the centre.
While nothing will happen overnight Quebec makes its choices by whom it elects and how tolerant they are of some of the hate crimes committed against Anglos, from forcing people to speak French on breaks to how the public is treated by service providers.
Maybe; just maybe, it’s time to fix the roads and build bridges instead of trying to chase another generation of its young people away in the hopes of winning another referendum?
Jamie Gilcig – Editor – CFN and Former Montrealer.
(Comments and opinions of Editorials, Letters to the Editor, and comments from readers are purely their own and don’t necessarily reflect those of the owners of this site, their staff, or sponsors.)
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The tyrant is uniting a fire of hate that will come back to haunt her, she is just hoping to have only seps like herself before next election
My question about all of this is how many generations does it take to eradicate this fascination about all things French first, French always or French only attitude that permeates the people’s consciousness in Quebec? You’re right Jamie. With bridges crumbling and sinkholes opening up, you would think that there are more important things for Quebecers to worry about rather than eradicating more rights of non-Francophone Quebecers.
@mary: the movie was concieved before the election of the tyrant, as you say..
In Quebec,French is first.We live in a big anglo lake,we have to save our French culture.Many places on earth have these problems with other languages.The rest of Canada does not have a problem with francisation.French first in Quebec ! that is all…When I go in Ontario,I will not speak French,I will speak my second language:English.I understand the word respect and easy intergration.I will not go to Winnipeg and piss people off with French publicity all over the city…Respect! Have you learned a bit of French ? I speak fluently English.I am not even a separatist.I just love my French Quebec .Respect!
Robert M the respect is allowing Canadians to speak whatever language they choose. If you think the French language is doomed because a tourist or local speaks English on Quebec soil it’s already lost.
The fact is that you can speak French in the rest of Canada without someone suggesting you’re breaking a law. You can speak to your co-worker on break in any language you wish.
It’s time for Quebec to show some respect to the rest of Canada and non-French Canadians that live within its borders. It’s enough of the insane Diva act. There are millions of non Francophones that love Quebec but aren’t allowed to truly live free lives with access to the services and opportunities that their families helped build.
That’s just plain wrong.
To me it sounds more and more that many of the French
Language fanatics need brainsuergery, unfortunate e it
ste federal governments that plays their ganme.
Bigot: : a person who is obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices; especially: one who regards or treats the members of a group (as a racial or ethnic group) with hatred and intolerance
Bigotry is the state of mind of a bigot, defined by Merriam-Webster as “a person who is obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices; especially : one who regards or treats the members of a group (as a racial or ethnic group) with hatred and intolerance”.[1] Bigotry may be based on real or perceived characteristics, including age, disability, dissension from popular opinions, economic status, ethnicity, gender identity, language, nationality, political alignment, race, region, religious or spiritual belief, sex, or sexual orientation. Bigotry is sometimes developed into an ideology or world view.
racism [‘re?s?z?m], racialism [‘re????l?z?m]
n
1. (Sociology) the belief that races have distinctive cultural characteristics determined by hereditary factors and that this endows some races with an intrinsic superiority over others
2. (Sociology) abusive or aggressive behaviour towards members of another race on the basis of such a belief
Legal
The UN does not define “racism”; however, it does define “racial discrimination”: According to the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination,
the term “racial discrimination” shall mean any distinction, exclusion, restriction, or preference based on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin that has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life.[21]
This definition does not make any difference between discrimination based on ethnicity and race, in part because the distinction between the two remains debatable among anthropologists.[22] Similarly, in British law the phrase racial group means “any group of people who are defined by reference to their race, colour, nationality (including citizenship) or ethnic or national origin”.[23]
“The horror of class stratification, racism, and prejudice is that some people begin to believe that the security of their families and communities depends on the oppression of others, that for some to have good lives there must be others whose lives are truncated and brutal.”
-Dorothy Allison
The total misrepresentation by our leaders and the growing violations of Human Rights and Freedoms are clearly undemocratic and go against our constitution while changes are being made to further discriminate against English / Majority Rights. This defies the UNESCO Conventions that stipulate the Minority Rights cannot interfere with the Federal or Majority Rights and function. The exemption form that parents have available to remove their children from the Forced French Immersion program warns of less equal opportunity in higher education and the work place if they opt out of the program. They stipulate twice that it is a compulsory program (Forced) and intimate that unless your child has a learning disability they are encouraged to play along with the governments decision – So much for Freedom of Choice!
Pierre Trudeau went to China and Cuba. We now have the same communist “Minority Rule” in our civil service as China (Mandarin Syndrome). We cannot get anyone to listen to us and the changes are rapidly growing and laws and our constitution are being changed to expedite this process of Frenchification. It is openly and publicly acknowledged that the SANB (Societe Acadien NB) are exploiting our laws, our rights and freedoms and now they are spearheading the changes to our language laws. Even Trudeau himself declared that this process would tear Canada asunder.
Do you think our soldiers who are currently dispatched overseas fighting for our FREEDOM of CHOICE, FREEDOM of EXPRESSION, DISTINCT EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS and our CONSTITUTION are aware of this? Do you think this is respectful of the sacrifice that MILLIONS of VETERANS paid or perished trying to preserve? Do you still think we are not under QUEBEC RULE? DO YOU STILL HONESTLY BELIEVE THIS IS A DEMOCRACY??? THINK AGAIN!!!
Please write your MLA, MP and the PM and voice your concerns. I suggest you write a letter and include this letter as an attachment or include it below your letter if you choose electronic (e-mail) mail as opposed to traditional or snail mail. This is a matter of grave concern and dire consequence that spits in the face of our fallen soldiers. This is one way that we can pass that torch that was handed us – we must act now to hold it high because our children will surely suffer! LEST WE FORGET!
I don’t understand why, after watching the CTV coverage on the film, you claim that their directors are “nazis”. Looks to me that they accepted to meet with the Montreal TV channel, answered the questions in a very good English… They’re only claiming that the use of English-only publicity is a sign that French is getting weaker in Montreal. If you’d live in Montreal, you would realize that pretty easily.
Merci.
Jamie is correct – all these inane laws against English, an international language, is indicative of mental and emotional immaturity and insecurity. A language should not be legislated and forced on people – it only gets people’s backs up and make Quebec look more ridiculous everyday. The large exodus of people & capital is already causing a severe brain-drain from Quebec – I only have to point to one example – Assant – the ex-leader of a failed separatist party. Quebec’s massive debt is a disgrace when you think about all the money spent on language police that could be spent on a crumbling infrastructure.
We have captured the views of a very intelligent French lady in our DVD – she came to the Rally in Montreal and she says quite categorically that Quebecers are badly informed and most are ignorant of what the real situation is. This DVD is still available for those who have not seen it.
Contact Jamie for my email address.
Kim Lian Khoo
Montreal is a great city to visit as is Quebec and when I am there I use my French as much as I can but no government in a free country should be telling me I can’t speak the language of my choice to my friends and co-workers who agree and can speak the same language. I agree French in Quebec is not threatened by a two anglos talking English on break at work. In Toronto it’s almost officially tri-lingual. I was shopping at a new premium products outlet on the west side of the metropolis and the mall announcements were in two languages, English and Cantonese. Every Ont Gov road sign is bilingual French and English as is any federally run institution as well as the hospitals. People even conduct their business around me on a daily basis in Russian, Hebrew, Cantonese, Mandarin, Arabic. Do I think any of this threatens English as a language? That’s a laugh. It is obvious given the recent poll about religious freedom attitudes in Quebec that a large number of the francophone population are xenophobic about religious symbols and language. The plan to drive anyone other that pure wool Quebecers from the province is working. Eventually they will separate on terms the rest of Canada will dictate. And after 40 years of hearing this I am ready to say good-bye.
You said it. English is international, well and and advancing against all minority languages. What do you think that the French should be doing to protect their language? Easier to criticize than to offer solutions. Turn the table. What if French is dominant in the world and is the ruling class in Canada and United States? What would the English minority do to protect their language if they can put themselves in others’ shoes. All of you intelligent critics, I challenge you to offer some real intelligent answers. We are talking about diversity in languages, culture, way of being and thinking. Lot of countries have such laws. Just open your minds, Google the Internet and step down from your high horses with your imperialists attitudes.
Just a long running insecurity. Your article describes it well. The problem as you stated, is that bilingual is not good enough for them, they have no respect for the english community in Montreal. I know good anglophone people who have been here for many many generations, and its only in the last 40 years that their freedoms have been eroded. These filmmakers are immature and insecure!
I think you all should come and see movie and then post a real opinion on the subject afterwards ! But I knew by posting an opinion I would get this kind of B.S. ….et incomprehension sur le sujet.
I will say something here before I read the comments from the people. Take a good look at the bridges and roads crumbling in the US as well as the sink holes – I have been looking at this for a long while now and what language do Americans speak the most – yes English. There is Spanish spoken down there among the Mexican people and other Hispanics but their language is English and the country is falling apart at the seams.
Language has nothing to do with the infrastructure but instead has to do with how much debt the province or state has on its plate. Just a while ago I read the headlines where Canadians alone are at least $1 trillion dollars in debt so tell me that it is a French thing why we as Canadians are all in debt. People keep blaming the French people for everything and many people who live in Québec come from many countries around the world and are not whining and complaining. One lady who is Mexican along with her husband and daughter live in Gatineau and speak French and the little girl of 6 is in a French school and loves it. How come that all I hear are English people finding fault. A professional man of English (British) decent loves Québec and lives in Montréal and has a business in Ottawa, Kingston, Toronto and other cities and would not live anywhere else. He also speaks French fluently. You talk about racist so are the English people of Ontario. You go to Alberta and there are a lot of French people out there so don’t think that there is something so unusually different.
Québec has been a French province since the beginning and New Brunswick has been French as well as some English since the beginning because of their Acadian heritage. If only the English would stop being so narrow minded and know their history then they would come to understand why Québec is the way it is and why New Brunswick is the way it is as well. You go to Manitoba (St. Boniface) is very French. Just because James Wolf won against Montcalm doesn’t mean that the French have to give up their language, culture, etc. There are French descendants in the US as well and Louisianna has a lot of French culture. Live and let live.
I went to a French school as a young person and I am mighty grateful for having done so. I have not regretted one day of any of that. Yes there is racism but racism is everywhere and in every country on earth so stop just putting the blame in one spot. Everyone is racist in some way or other.
This year Quebec will receive $ 8.3 BILLION IN EQUALIZATION PAYMENTS from Canada.
Be damned if I want my tax dollars being wasted there.
Why should the rest of Canada be paying for programs like the 1) OQLF (language police)… 2) Propaganda on how the minority English will destroy the French culture.
3) $7.00/day daycare …ROC $49/day
4)FREE fertility clinics
5)Racist laws outlawing religious symbols
6)Government printing signs to promote French only in the workplace …including coffee breaks .
and the list goes on and on to the tune of 8.3 Billion of OUR hard earned dollars.
I say that it is time that the Federal Government of Canada tell Quebec that we have all had enough .
If the game plan doesn’t change to be acceptable to ALL Canadians then we stop the money.
JUST STOP THE MONEY. ..They might as well get used to not having it because when they DO separate they will have to survive without it and get a taste of the real world like the rest of us.
There is no real democracy anywhere at all no matter what country and people are going to see this very soon. It is already happening in the US as well. I read and read and read a great deal and democracy is like 2 sheep in a pen and I forget the rest of it. Under a democracy it would be the majority rules and no rights for the minority and it is not a good system at all of government.
THE WORLD IS WATCHING…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDVl-8T3GSU&hd=1
Interesting article in today’s Sun Media paper.
Hai Xia Sun from BC has the Chinese Canadian National Council fighting for her because of how she was treated by a MacDonald restaurant establishment. She was sent away and told she didn’t understand English and they had other customers to serve.
She wants a written apology from the franchise owner, the manager and wants it made out to all Canadians who aren’t native English speakers?
This is just the beginning towards the end of the English’s self acclaimed sense of power in this country.
On the other hand, in Spadina’s Chinatown in Toronto comes a different scenario. Anthony Furey, the author of this article, often went to Chinatown because he lives close by. Many times when he asked for assistance, the shop keeper didn’t understand him. Often he was left to himself when the son or grandson could not help. At times he was even smirked at.
Then Anthony adds” Did I make a fuss?” “Did I even think to cry discrimination because I wasn’t served in English in Canada?”
NO…..I JUST SUCKED IT UP!!!!!!!!!
English in this country may be the minority in the not too distant future. It is already happening in larger urban areas. Get used to it, it is coming.
Jamie wrote, “what is the situation of French in Quebec? Is the bilingualism of its metropolis a threat to the survival of the language in Quebec?”
THE BIGGER question may very well be. Why does anyone but the French care?
Why are the Anglophones forced into being concerned about the French language surviving when the French themselves (NOT ALL but, for the most part) are basically trying to kill or eliminate the English language and English culture in that province and everywhere else they gain a majority (ie: New Brunswick http://youtu.be/IxHI4-ZLpxs?t=2m6s (remember – it starts with demand for bilingualism then… )
Many may say. “this is ONLY the radical few and the PQ government but i don’t buy that anymore.” Besides, those so called radical few along with the government are the ones accomplishing this goal and this amounts to a systemic trickle down problem where by the STO workers and everyone else in that province acts the same and is convinced this is OK because their government does it too.
PLUS, how come we don’t hear from the so called majority NON radials? They are not saying a peep because they love the sense of power and pride that comes along with this situation being the way it is. The Anglo’s have been, and are being, beaten down, thump thump thump on the chest, go the moderates too.
Seriously. there is a prevailing sense that the bulk of people in Quebec want NOTHING to do with the English language and the English culture (or the Canadians flag for that matter https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gE8vezHFOhQ&hd=1) and they are slowly doing away with the roots of most of this countries British roots also. BOTH INSIDE QUEBEC and OUTSIDE Quebec as since the French have infiltrated the federal government and are helping to do the same outside Quebec too)
(No statue of the victorious James Wolfe allowed on the plains Of Abraham or ANYWHERE ELSE for that matter ohh no… Can’t have that) Yet every Franco festival and victory is celebrated to the hilt by both french and English Canadians.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZwHOVPCLIw&hd=1
From what i can see, Quebec is no longer “a battle ground.”
In their ever so frustrating (at times) “accommodating way” the English simply metaphorically said, “here, you want Quebec. Then have it.” And they left in droves.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RExZG6Kw9FI&hd=1
What does Quebec want ? MORE… and MORE…
http://youtu.be/3kNcFyBofC4?t=17s
Now, the real and more important issue is the French first, French dominant and French only attempts that are being made OUTSIDE the province of Quebec.
Ottawa, Ontario Canada
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-YM5SxVy0Pbs/URPnoF0iS3I/AAAAAAAAAbg/yVHGHJGGxnI/w590-h787-no/07-19-12+-+Museum+sign+-+Downtown+Ottawa.jpg
Hawkesbury – French first (moving to ultimately French ONLY)
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-7BAPRFf1I0E/UGfr9ne16aI/AAAAAAAAAD8/QJoSp1xPPbY/w385-h205-no/Hawksbury+02.bmp
Embrun – French ONLY
— SOMETHING the English SHOULD BE VERY CONCERNED ABOUT because we have concrete examples of what the French do wherever they gain a larger portion of the population.
Hawkesbury – French first (moving to ultimately French ONLY)
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-uiXmAIFkRC4/UTYV7Pzv4cI/AAAAAAAAAco/-4y3P4DmNKY/w718-h410-no/Enbrun+-+poste+de+pompiers.png
Once the French dominate in numbers (even outside of Quebec) they begin to fear assimilation as is their M.O. so it then is no longer a strive towards “bilingualism” but a blatant aggressive move to towards stamping out and removing English all together and have a complete and French ONLY state of being.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKXJKpOLuwU&hd=1
This is from Cornwall
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gxag3tVJg3A&hd=1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUPk2sijbgs&hd=1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxHI4-ZLpxs&hd=1
Many Eastern Ontario area townships now boasts several (mostly majority Anglo paid for… FRENCH ONLY health care clinics
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BW33xkVB-oI&hd=1
and a newly minted law that say’s ALL SIGNS MUST BE IN BOTH FRENCH AND ENGLISH (note the position of the words “French & English” with French being FIRST as per usual both INSIDE and OUTSIDE Quebec).
One of these Eastern ONTARIO townships (i have been told) conducts all it’s town business IN FRENCH ONLY. NO TRANSLATION for the those few English people that deserve this seeing as their are in ONTARIO, CANADA.
Then we have a myriad of HUGE “territory marking Franco Ontario flags” intentionally VERY well positioned in VERY visible spots along the main 416 highway.
How is it that the Anglophone majority in this country are the the main ones conned or cajoled into paying for the bulk of all this insanity?
Why on earth should a country (with a typical break down of provincial statistics that show numbers like a — 0.3% — that’s zero point 3% — FRENCH ONLY speaking population outside of Quebec end up forcing all the remaining 98-99% Anglophone citizens who MUST learn French just to get jobs so bilingual service can be provided for that miniscule 0.3% French only population statistic.
This is not only insane but it is an enormous hassle at an an enormous cost while the French in Quebec completely outlaw any use of the English language and shun the English citizens WHO BTW, least we NOT FORGET are still living in THEIR OWN COUNTRY CANADA.
PLEASE WATCH and learn what is going on… IT MUST BE STOPPED.
The Anglophone people need to wake up in this country and realize what is going on.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhPcV0gtFR0&hd=1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iGZE6zxoKQ&hd=1
Never doubt…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChV93gK3o8Q&hd=1
Robert, you don’t have to stop speaking French in Ontario or Manitoba to show respect.
Years ago when my son was attending day care in Montreal my 3 year old was talking to daddy (moi). An ignorant person going the other way on the escalator heard my son speaking English to me and shouted ”C’est Quebec….Parle francias”!
The only drowning the French are having in the big lake is their own bigotry and the fact that weak kneed Canadian politicians gave in more and more that it empowered the separatists to do more and more that eroded the rights of even its own French speaking citizens.
Now, that being said, I am English yet my son speaks three languages fluently. They are English, Spanish and French.
Who do you think is better off the the big lake and who is drowning? it is the French that have limited their own horizons to live within the borders of their own imaginary country.
Now Pauline Merde Roi who would have you believe that Quebecers would be unified under her more recent venture of limiting religious expression is no more than a bigot and is following a dangerous pathway that Germany followed in the 20’s and 30’s.
So Robert, don’t be afraid to speak French outside of Quebec. We are open to all cultures and especially one of the founding nations that actually gave us both our national Anthem ‘O Canada’ and the very name of our country Canada.
I will respect you and I am sure that if you are on an escalator in downtown Toronto and speaking French to your three year old son that some A-hole would not tell you to speak English just because you are in Ontario.
By the way I was there a few weeks ago and I conversed in my best French and in a pleasant way with Francophone visitors from Quebec that were not afraid to expand their horizons and venture out of their fortress. That is mutual respect…not being afraid to speak my native language in Quebec or France or South America. Neither should you.
Dave White
Canada should adopt the language laws of Switzerland and Belgium, territorial unilingualism. Basically they should make Quebec 100% French-speaking and the rest of Canada should be 100% English-speaking. This would assuage the insecurities Francophones feel about their language and remove the onerous burden of the Trudeau-era bilingualism nonsense from the rest of the country.
If you leave the island of Montreal and go anywhere else in Quebec….. it’s pretty boring, pretty “dirt mall” in feeling and economics.
Let the French have their way…….. let all the English leave and move to Ontario, that way Montreal, the last shinning gem in Quebec can turn into the rest of the province……. and then let Quebec slowly……. and surely turn into nothing. Then over time, they will lose their hockey team (much like the Nordiques in Quebec), they will lose the Formula 1, the CFL team…….. and Quebec will be left with nothing at all…….. a big mass of land with nothing to really be proud of
…. Well I guess they can be proud of scaring off all those damn Anglos, you sure showed them!
“Question was posed…
“And maybe isn’t it time for Canadians to have a National dialog across the country and decide if the cost of official bilingualism is really what people want?”
Yes, IT IS TIME and a referendum with a question MUST that is 100 % clear with those answering given a run down of what is really going on in Quebec and New Brunswick right now as sadly, MANY Canadians don’t really know this.
Come and see La langue a terre on 29 of august at Quartier Latin ,then ,we will discuss of it .
Well Robert maybe the producers will send us a media pass and I’ll attend…
@Dave White RE: AMAZING POST on August 26, 2013 at 2:27 pm
Dave so eloquently wrote, “So Robert, don’t be afraid to speak French outside of Quebec. We are open to all cultures and especially one of the founding nations that actually gave us both our national Anthem ‘O Canada’ and the very name of our country Canada.
I will respect you and I am sure that if you are on an escalator in downtown Toronto and speaking French to your three year old son that some A-hole would not tell you to speak English just because you are in Ontario.”
@Dave.
As a Canadian citizen who is half French and half English (with a little whatever else thrown in for good measure 🙂 I would like to commend you on your wonderful post here at CFN
I so love the sense of national spirit and pride for ALL things Canada that drips from your words.
When I was 16 and growing up in Quebec I also saw this wonderful country — Canada — through that VERY SAME LENS.
I saw the workings of two wonderful languages blending together and two peoples living together and “making it work.”
I experienced much of this within my own home (French and English parents) and also within my home town. A place where the flavor of the day, either French or English, seemed to solely depend on how the world was turning on that particular that day, and nothing more 🙂
But, sadly time and the experience of watching how these two groups have dealt with every aspect of the passing of time through to this point where we d find ourselves today with such different states of what is right and fair has made me realize and clearly see that one can no longer have the kind of righteous wonderful ideal of which you speak — and of which I experienced while growing up — without BOTH SIDES continuing to be fair and work together on the same page.
BUT that is NOT the case.
It’s almost like witnessing an innocent person pleading with a psychopath. Using ever ounce of humanity they can muster in order to try and find the soul of this killer so they will be spared but the psychopath has a one track mind with just one vision only as to the outcome of the situation and has NO CARE for anyone or anything else.
This scenario is not too far removed from what we see in this country right now, one side of this issue is hell bent on traveling down the path of having things ONLY THEIR WAY with ZERO regard for the other side, They are so caught up with the end goal that THEY DO NOT SEE the understanding, the empathy and accommodation of the other side. Or worse yet, they see it and believe it is something they deserve.
ADD TO THAT — One side has ABSOLUTELY ZERO concern for the human and social cost of this ultra focused vision they are seeking.
So Dave, IN TODAY’S WORLD what you describe is no longer a realistically attainable goal.
A wonderful dream that began to take shape yes, and perhaps could have been the ultimate outcome also but, sadly now, is only a dream that “SORT OF WAS” back 35-40 years ago.
Thus, we MUST accept reality because doing otherwise is senseless and a direct risk to our own well being.
.
Seeing an approaching hungry lion and “wishing” that it doesn’t eat you is a nice concept but getting inside the jeep for shelter is a much more realistic and intelligent thing to do.
We have reached a state where by if we continue to constantly give in while the other side keeps greedily taking what we give we will end up with nothing and with the greedy side in control.
We have tried and we have given and we have done all the things to show that we can be fair and accommodating that any
but we can no longer allow ourselves to be taken advantage of
as the other just TAKES AND TAKES AND TALES ONLY.
So, to answer your question
“Who do you think is better off the the big lake and who is drowning? it is the French that have limited their own horizons to live within the borders of their own imaginary country.”
My answer is… There are times when we must be mindful of the FACT THAT… the other side just simply DOES NOT CARE and Like the scenario with the psychopath, nothing matter but the end goal.
One cannot and should not continue to “deal with” and reason with that kind of illogical “state.”
I believe the person who is not forced to but “decides” to learn as many languages as they can is better off.
BUT…
Too bad the reality of what transpired over those 35-50 has killed what seemed to be the path this country could have taken.
But, the FACT IS. Those radicals DID TAKE OVER and those things DID happen and we are where we are and thus we must take the rosy colors glasses off now and deal with THAT REALITY before it consumes and squashes everyone in its path.
About Québec it is Canada is any of you have heard and if this nonsense keeps up with anglos complaining and whining about Québec what will happen is that the United Nations will come in and Canada will be “NO MORE” and they will “BALCONIZE” Canada the way they did to the former Yugoslavia and the way they want to balconize the Mid East and the rest of the world. This is all true what I am talking about.
Canadians are lazy and whiners and that is why Canadians are at the bottom and that there is no investment.
John Switzerland and Belgium are bilingual and even trilingual. All the young people today speak at least two and more languages. Switzerland has a German dialect and they speak French and some English. Belgium is Flemish and they speak French, German and some English. The Europeans are very well educated and much more than Canadians and Americans. Europeans have a much higher standard of education than what we have and much further ahead by long shots.
To admin:Like the rest of us,you will have to pay for admission.By the way,France is included in this movie.It should be interesting.You should also watch Questions Nationales from the same producer Jean Pierre Roy.
@ jules RE: post onAugust 26, 2013 at 4:47 pm
Jules (with an opinion on EVERYTHING and an amazing amount of time on her hands) wrote,
“John Switzerland and Belgium are bilingual and even trilingual. All the young people today speak at least two and more languages. Switzerland has a German dialect and they speak French and some English. Belgium is Flemish and they speak French, German and some English. The Europeans are very well educated and much more than Canadians and Americans. Europeans have a much higher standard of education than what we have and much further ahead by long shots.”
Jules, please go to 15 hard core French sites (French media sites are best) and using English tell ALL the French people on those sites to learn English and make Quebec bilingual.
Once you are done with the abuse you receive and fed up of them telling tell you “where to go” and “what to do with your request” that they learn English, you can then come back here and tell us all about it.
Thank you.
Opps, my POST is the same but i meant to quote this post from jules and not the other one…
jules August 26, 2013 at 4:34 pm
Jules wrote,
“About Québec it is Canada is any of you have heard and if this nonsense keeps up with anglos complaining and whining about Québec what will happen is that the United Nations will come in and Canada will be “NO MORE” and they will “BALCONIZE” Canada the way they did to the former Yugoslavia and the way they want to balconize the Mid East and the rest of the world. This is all true what I am talking about.
Canadians are lazy and whiners and that is why Canadians are at the bottom and that there is no investment.”
Jules, please go to 15 hard core French sites (French media sites are best) and using English tell ALL the French people on those sites to learn English and make Quebec bilingual.
Once you are done with the abuse you receive and fed up of them telling tell you “where to go” and “what to do with your request” that they learn English, you can then come back here and tell us all about it.
Thank you.
Robert M what an insult to all the Ontario people that have passed high school after years of toiling and in many cases receiving lower marks which limited university entrance so that they could get bilingual jobs to only find out people like you do not even speak it when you arrive here on a visit . Oh yes many of these students can’t get jobs in the end because they are told they are not French enough and the jobs are being filled by Quebecers who only need grade three English to past there exam while these students have to pass grade nine advanced French . sometimes these jobs are nothing more than conversational French but the management are hard core !
Robert M it’s not customary to pay to review movies or docs, or even books. Publishers send us copies with the hopes that we’ll read and review. As it is if I were to attend I’d have travel costs. Or they can email me a link to view it online as other filmmakers have.
Hope they invite you.
Robert M.
August 26, 2013 at 10:08 am
“We live in a big anglo lake,we have to save our French culture.Many places on earth have these problems with other languages.The rest of Canada does not have a problem with francisation.”
Live that dream that the rest of Canada does not have a problem with francisation ,BUT WAKE UP WE DO!
This best defines Quebec and some franco Ontarians:
“The horror of class stratification, racism, and prejudice is that some people begin to believe that the security of their families and communities depends on the oppression of others, that for some to have good lives there must be others whose lives are truncated and brutal.”
-Dorothy Allison
WELCOME TO CANADA’S LANGUAGE APARTHEID.
stellabystarlight
August 26, 2013 at 2:04 pm
This is just the beginning towards the end of the English’s self acclaimed sense of power in this country.
self acclaimed sense of power- why are you making it a French verses English this is about equality!
“English in this country may be the minority in the not too distant future. It is already happening in larger urban areas. Get used to it, it is coming.”
There you go again stella and your paranoia of other cultures taking over …YOU BELONG IN QUEBEC WITH THE OTHER PARANOID ETHNOCENTRIC’S.
edudyorlik
August 26, 2013 at 5:50 pm
@ jules RE: post onAugust 26, 2013 at 4:47 pm
Jules, please go to 15 hard core French sites (French media sites are best) and using English tell ALL the French people on those sites to learn English and make Quebec bilingual.
WELL JULES GIVE IT A TRY JUST OUT OF CURIOSITY !
Gee I am sitting here thinking wondering what that French web site owner would do if I went back to her site. She was as mad as hell at me. The French ladies and the other Europeans were very interested in what I was steering them into. LOL LOL.
I am very used to the blasts and I can just picture what the Québecois people would answer me.
The people of Québec have a very unique culture of their own. The language that they speak is not used anywhere in the French countries of the world – it is so mucked up that they only understand one another. That is one of the reasons why they are unique. What other place has “poutine” where that garbage destroys the heart valves in the body – YUCK! No other country eats that crap. The thing is that it is their culture, their language (which one French Canadian lady) told me back in the mid 70’s from Orleans here in Ottawa “called la joile” joile meaning the female horse – horse talk. They have their style of music and dance, etc. We as anglos are more like Americans and you wonder why they want to keep their own culture. That is the reason why is because they are living in a country that is mostly American. Can you blame them? I can’t blame them at all. It is humorous to hear their kind of French. My husband has been in Canada for a little over 40 years and he is fluently trilingual and wants his correspondence in English because the French is so mucked up that he might as well be reading Chinese.
ON August 26, 2013 at 10:04 pm
jules wrote, “I can just picture what the Québecois people would answer me.”
Yeah, i can tell ya this much. They won’t be as easy going as the English folks here are with the “agitator gang.”
But the issue and REAL POINT is the Anglophone majority SHOULD NOT be forced to pay for the dream of an all French Canada which in effect is actually to the detriment of the very people being forced to pay for it.
If they believe their language and culture is in danger or whatever then they should be the ones to deal with it. If other Canadians CHOOSE to want to help then find but being forced to. that’s another issue.
Besides, when i hear those who represent “them” and receiving funding from the majority English (the very people who he is putting down) saying things like this man say’s in this movie
http://montreal.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=990455&fb_action_ids=400562520049323
“look at that” (pointing to an English sign) he say’s, “that’s an insult to us.”
An insult? This man live in CANADA and calls the common language of the very country he lives in an insult?
Right !!!
This movie I beleive is about Montreal becoming more and more bilingual with english publicity all over and not care about Bill 101.I will go to Winnipeg downtown and put french publicity all over the city for the next years to come:
Rabais de 50 pour cent sur tout en magasin!
Le meilleur sushi en ville!
La meilleure garantie sur nos produits a Winnipeg!
McDo,Les meilleures frites en ville.
Etc etc etc…
Many people will start to complain about it for sure.Starting by the rednecks first and then after more and more french publicity downtown Winnipeg,a debate of some kind will start in local newspapers,then TV,Web and keep growing until someone in authority says:
We have to do something about these french panels all over downtown Winnipeg…It is time to start a debate on language on publicity panels in Winnipeg!
Then it starts…
Robert M I would bet dollars to donuts that if any business in Canada outside of Quebec decided to put only French signs up it would not cause much of a controversy. They might get some grief from some customers; but it would not be anything close to the neurotic insanity of certain Quebecers.
It may be time to add something to the poutine in la belle province….
And dude; here’s the reality. If in Darwinian terms Montreal was bilingual or even if French suffered, and it was organic such is life. Look at certain towns in Ontario that have gone heavily Francophone. It’s not the end of the world. It’s the nature of things. Artificially legislating people what to speak will not stop or change it.
Good for you !
Robert M. August 27, 2013 at 7:02 am
wrote, Robert M. August 27, 2013 at 7:02 am
This movie I beleive is about Montreal becoming more and more bilingual with english publicity all over and not care about Bill 101.I will go to Winnipeg downtown and put french publicity all over the city for the next years to come:
Rabais de 50 pour cent sur tout en magasin!
Le meilleur sushi en ville!
La meilleure garantie sur nos produits a Winnipeg!
McDo,Les meilleures frites en ville.
Etc etc etc…
It’s more like “This movie I beleive is about Montreal becoming more and more bilingual with english
(the language that the person in this movie refers to as “an insult” and this man calls his home CANADA ?
a country where English is the common language of the land
Or should i refer to him as what he really is based on what he is saying. Someone who believes Quebec is a country of it’s own but Canada sends them 8 billion ENGLISH TAX dollars a year
Robert goes on to say, “Many people will start to complain about it for sure.Starting by the rednecks first and then after more and more french publicity downtown Winnipeg,a debate of some kind will start in local newspapers,then TV,Web and keep growing until someone in authority says:”
Of course they will complain, and they would have a right to complain…
That would be like a representative group (say 17.5%) of French people moving into say Russia setting up shop and demanding that French be equal to the Russian language.
Bzzzzttt. no dice.
Comparing these two languages is A MAJOR ERROR.
THEY ARE SIMPLY NOT COMPARABLE on an equal basis.
— French is a minority language that exists in “a province”
— English is the main common language of this COUNTRY within which the “province” of Quebec resides.
COUNTRY ——————– PROVINCE
PROVINCIAL LANGUAGE — COMMON LANGUAGE OF THE LAND
We also MUST NOT forget that there indeed was —
(i know the French side wishes to forget this part of HISTORICAL FACT or brush it aside with statements like oh that is ancient history while at the same time holding in reverence many other “more favorable” historical facts. But… one cannot pick and choose which historical events they wish to remember as they are all just HISTORICAL events
— a war fought and people died trying to solidify whose language and culture would be dominant in this country and from what understand, the French lost and the British were victorious. France then ceded all of Canada to the British by declaration. DONE DEAL OK, it’s fine that French exists now and it is a wonderful language but it is NOT comparable on an equal basis the way you are trying to imply with your signs in Winnipeg example.
But, go ahead Robert. Do it, as the debate should be interesting. The English are so damn accommodating i am curious.
Dude!
Well stated Mr. Moderator.
Bt how can Canadian politicians just stand by and say nothing???
Biblically, this reminds me of Pilote washing his hands off the matter of Christ’s being crucified
Too bad I cannot post an image of the publicity just beside Le Quartier Latin where the movie will be shown.It is one of those sterile english publicity that says:
VINTAGE
A clothing publicity with a male and a female.
That is the whole point dudy..
Yes Robert. It is the whole point. Who cares? Really; if a company in Quebec wants to put up an English, or Italian sign who cares and why? Dig deep into that question and the real answers; the truth, are very scary.
The part of Quebec culture that does care about it need medication.
admin August 27, 2013 at 8:00 am
Good point Jamie.
What I am trying to fathom here is how is legislation suppressing other languages helping Francophones pass their language on to their offspring!
Canada has 200+ language groups why is it the one province has legislated language laws that supress the usage of languages.
Since when does a Government of an apparent Free democratic society have a right to tell its FREE CITIZENS what words that are to come out of thier mouth or to be written!
The answer is simple :They are not a Free people if this is allowed.
Protection of a language should never come at the cost of oppressing other languages and thus there is no merit in protecting that language if those measures are employed.
Very interesting to see that the “agitator gang ” has not verbally attacked the writer of this article (Jamie) and yet readily does so on letters to the editor.
Thanks for the great article Jamie as it is thought provoking as well will bring much dialogue to the subject that many see as very discriminatory in nature.
Well,you have had your 15 Min of glory with me….See you dude on the 29 au Quartier Latin .Hope they send you a ticket.
Robert M, good of you to bring the documentary info, but using the English advertising is to create interest and free publicity. Anyway, Montreal has been becoming more bilingual for years. 2006 Census lists about 51% and 2011 about 55%.
If you want to do business with English companies, you need to speak English, because of the number of possible purchasers who are French only is small, the same is not true in reverse.