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I doubt all those millions of immigrants are Anglophones but are instead people who are already fluent in French and are increasing the francophone demographic not the Anglo demographic.
For the unilingual Anglophone immigrating to Quebec his prospects at a job are slim and his kids will have no other option but to attend French school, and he will also be asked to pay the highest taxes in North America and live in a province that has the possibility of separating from Canada.,IMO not much of a draw to immigrate to Quebec if you arent already French speaking especially when anywhere in the rest of Canada the linguistic issue is not a factor...
All of which is a result of the linguistic situation put in place in Quebec. Growth of the francophone community outside of a tiny trickle would not have taken place had the situation prior to 1977 been allowed to continue.
Without an international border, or Swiss-style language territoriality. Something which Canada has always been unwilling to grant Quebec.
Swiss-style language territoriality would prove to be too little. In Switzerland, Romandie is essentially a cultural extension of France, one of the most powerful and influential countries on the European continent and in the world. For the Schweizerdeutsch who border Germany it is a similar story. Quebec is not like these regions. Quebec is alone the only significant French speaking nation not only on the continent but in the entire western hemisphere.
More importantly, Quebec remains subordinate to the Canadian federal government. Ultimately the future of French Quebec's is dictated by the generosity of the Canadian federal government. When it comes to protecting Quebecois culture and the French language, Quebec gains nothing whatsoever by remaining a simple Canadian province. The reforms promised in 1980 and again in 1995 seem to be nowhere to be found, and despite massive efforts the future of the Quebecois nation remains relatively murky. Sure, official statistics claim that French speakers in Quebec have increased by some tiny single digit percentage - but when considering the margin of error, these claims can be rather dubious. On the world stage, Quebec as a part of Canada is only seen as one relatively insignificant province of a minor player (Canada), and has failed to exert influence through Canada. The entire "bilingual" policy of Canada appears forced and artificial; most people simply consider Canada an English speaking country, and even with Quebec's attempts to exert influence through Canada, they have little or no regard for Quebec.
Independence, not Swiss-style language territoriality, would finally remedy all of these tiresome problems and allow both Quebec and Canada to progress as nations.
I doubt all those millions of immigrants are Anglophones but are instead people who are already fluent in French and are increasing the francophone demographic not the Anglo demographic.
That is why the demographics of MTL are a bit different compared to other Canadian cities. In most other cities we a see similar pattern of immigrant groups. In Mtl we see more Haitians, Arabs and more Latinos than in other cities, and it is because of the language.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jambo101
A false accusation? theres still many francophones who view Anglophones as oppressors and dominators or some evil faction out to bury the French culture and as a result this demographic has some what of a hate thing going for Anglos.
Yes this is true. I remember when I moved to MTL, I was surprised how many Haitians and Latinos I met that support the separatist movement. Many of them had very negative views of Anglos and the ROC, and most of the people I talked with had never been outside of Quebec and knew very little about the ROC. They didn't come to this country with a bad opinion of Anglos, they picked up these attitudes in schools and in the working class neighborhoods of MTL.
All of which is a result of the linguistic situation put in place in Quebec. Growth of the francophone community outside of a tiny trickle would not have taken place had the situation prior to 1977 been allowed to continue.
All the more reason for Quebec to separate from Canada. I see no point in Quebec remaining a Canadian province,they bring nothing to the Canadian mosaic, they have developed into a country within a country,time to leave the nest,eh!
Unfortunately too many francophones enjoy the safety net that Canada provides.
Swiss-style language territoriality would prove to be too little. In Switzerland, Romandie is essentially a cultural extension of France, one of the most powerful and influential countries on the European continent and in the world. For the Schweizerdeutsch who border Germany it is a similar story. Quebec is not like these regions. Quebec is alone the only significant French speaking nation not only on the continent but in the entire western hemisphere.
More importantly, Quebec remains subordinate to the Canadian federal government. Ultimately the future of French Quebec's is dictated by the generosity of the Canadian federal government. When it comes to protecting Quebecois culture and the French language, Quebec gains nothing whatsoever by remaining a simple Canadian province. The reforms promised in 1980 and again in 1995 seem to be nowhere to be found, and despite massive efforts the future of the Quebecois nation remains relatively murky. Sure, official statistics claim that French speakers in Quebec have increased by some tiny single digit percentage - but when considering the margin of error, these claims can be rather dubious. On the world stage, Quebec as a part of Canada is only seen as one relatively insignificant province of a minor player (Canada), and has failed to exert influence through Canada. The entire "bilingual" policy of Canada appears forced and artificial; most people simply consider Canada an English speaking country, and even with Quebec's attempts to exert influence through Canada, they have little or no regard for Quebec.
Independence, not Swiss-style language territoriality, would finally remedy all of these tiresome problems and allow both Quebec and Canada to progress as nations.
It's of course not the first time I have heard these arguments, living in Quebec as I do!
I will say this, though: French and the culture that goes along with it do appear to be stronger than ever (if we take the contemporary era as a reference point) in Quebec at the moment with more practitioners of various origins than ever before.
Is all of this good enough to ensure things for the long term? That is the question.
. Sure, official statistics claim that French speakers in Quebec have increased by some tiny single digit percentage - but when considering the margin of error, these claims can be rather dubious.
Is your whole experience centered in downtown and west-island MTL ?
You should tour the Eastern Townships, once an anglo fortress it is now a study in vacated spaces, disembodied communities, and mournful memories.
The last anglo stronghold is the western part of the island but it is nowhere as monolithic as it once was and with the current laws and regulations will go the way of the Townships sooner or later no doubt.
Quote:
Independence, not Swiss-style language territoriality, would finally remedy all of these tiresome problems and allow both Quebec and Canada to progress as nations.
Yes that way Quebec could allocate the bulk of its sovereign budget to prop up its homegrown legion of singers and stand up comics or else hire some more public servants with iron-clad deals and retirement pensions.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Acajack
Regarding the alleged eradication of the anglo community, that's a false accusation. The idea isn't to eradicate it, it's to prevent its language from taking over as the main language of the province. Unfortunately some people seem to think that that turn of events is its natural destiny, and so anything that stymies it is seen as intolerable and, perhaps, an attempt at eradication.
What was so bad about pre-1976 Quebec? In places like Montreal signs were in both languages. In places like Quebec City, more unilingual French. And I assume the Townships were more Anglo.
OK Celine Dion has a nice voice and Quebec has some talented hockey players....
Totally ludicrous. Quebec in many ways defines Canada both past and present. Way out of proportion to its share of the population.
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