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It plateaued because there was no real perceived benefit to the majority of Canadians other than having knowledge of a second language.
It also lost cachet due to it being demonstrably apparent that Quebec didn't give a ratz patoot by showing either support or appreciation. Instead the ROC got a clear signal "it will never be enough to erase the stain; let's have another round of very expensive separation angst just to demonstrate our complete disdain for any and all efforts by the ROC".
That's the way to garner co-operation and a will to compromise by the ROC. Show 'em you could care less and demand more in the same breath.
This makes it sound like mountains were moved in Anglo-Canada in order to bilingualize the entire school system and churn out millions of anglophones who can speak French. And Quebec didn't say so much as thank you.
Well... while immersion was a good idea and has produced dividends (as I acknowledged), it was still only a fragment of the Anglo-Canadian school system(s) that adopted it.
As a result the percentage of Anglo-Canadians outside Quebec who can speak French increased from 2-3% to around 7% over a period of 40 years or so.
As I said, it is progress. But it's not as if anything resembling a concerted effort was made across the board.
French teaching for 90%+ of Anglo-Canadian students remains a half-assed, half-hearted joke.
This makes it sound like mountains were moved in Anglo-Canada in order to bilingualize the entire school system and churn out millions of anglophones who can speak French. And Quebec didn't say so much as thank you.
Well... while immersion was a good idea and has produced dividends (as I acknowledged), it was still only a fragment of the Anglo-Canadian school system(s) that adopted it.
As a result the percentage of Anglo-Canadians outside Quebec who can speak French increased from 2-3% to around 7% over a period of 40 years or so.
As I said, it is progress. But it's not as if anything resembling a concerted effort was made across the board.
French teaching for 90%+ of Anglo-Canadian students remains a half-assed, half-hearted joke.
Mountains moved? No one's suggesting that, but when you consider a farmer in Saskatchewan had absolutely no reason to absorb either additional cost or inconvenience for his child to learn French other than filial connection to a province that does nothing but complain about being mistreated by HIM you have to wonder at the tendancy for minimizing any and ALL efforts made.
This makes it sound like mountains were moved in Anglo-Canada in order to bilingualize the entire school system and churn out millions of anglophones who can speak French. And Quebec didn't say so much as thank you.
Well... while immersion was a good idea and has produced dividends (as I acknowledged), it was still only a fragment of the Anglo-Canadian school system(s) that adopted it.
As a result the percentage of Anglo-Canadians outside Quebec who can speak French increased from 2-3% to around 7% over a period of 40 years or so.
As I said, it is progress. But it's not as if anything resembling a concerted effort was made across the board.
French teaching for 90%+ of Anglo-Canadian students remains a half-assed, half-hearted joke.
Acajack, the gig is up. It's time for independence. It's like you and other Quebecers are looking for the most complicated possible solution to the issue. It's beyond obvious that it's time to get independence.
Normally this would be unbelievable, but since it's in Quebec it's routine. You would think he would just push for independence and everything he wants would be a given. Instead he wants to spend another 80 million dollars on top of all of the other expensive not-working cultural programs to assimilate immigrants. It boggles the mind. You could just get independence, and it would solve all of your problems, but nope, you want the most irrational and entangled way to assimilate immigrants, and let's be honest, it won't be enough. It's never enough because they are trying to emulate independence while also keeping the benefits of Canada. Quebecers need to decide if they want to stay in Canada and continue to become a backwater, or get independence and spread their wings.
Mountains moved? No one's suggesting that, but when you consider a farmer in Saskatchewan had absolutely no reason to absorb either additional cost or inconvenience for his child to learn French other than filial connection to a province that does nothing but complain about being mistreated by HIM you have to wonder at the tendancy for minimizing any and ALL efforts made.
Farmer's kids in Saskatchewan, Kazakhstan, South Australia and Patagonia will all learn a second language in school. This isn't some unjust imposition on Anglo-Canadians that was just invented in order to placate Quebec.
Acajack, the gig is up. It's time for independence. It's like you and other Quebecers are looking for the most complicated possible solution to the issue. It's beyond obvious that it's time to get independence.
.
I wasn't advocating for anything on this topic. Just providing observations on the situation.
Acajack, the gig is up. It's time for independence. It's like you and other Quebecers are looking for the most complicated possible solution to the issue. It's beyond obvious that it's time to get independence.
You think independence is not complicated, a walk in the park for Quebec? Draw a few lines on the map, name the capital city, print some money, and it's all jolly good? What do you think this is, Civilization V PC game?
Sarcasm aside, I think Acajack makes some very good observations. Also, under Quebec's current political climate and that for the foreseeable future, saying that "it's time to get independence" is a bit far-fetched - it simply isn't a politically feasible task at the moment.
You think independence is not complicated, a walk in the park for Quebec? Draw a few lines on the map, name the capital city, print some money, and it's all jolly good? What do you think this is, Civilization V PC game?
Sarcasm aside, I think Acajack makes some very good observations. Also, under Quebec's current political climate and that for the foreseeable future, saying that "it's time to get independence" is a bit far-fetched - it simply isn't a politically feasible task at the moment.
I'm a bilingual, from Quebec, and have been hearing guys like PBeauchamp and Acajack bat around the same weak tired and recycled ideas for decades. Word it how want, the bottom line is that they are trying to get all of the benefits of independence with all of the benefits of being a Canadian province. It doesn't work. We've been doing it since the late 60's. "More people in English Canada should be bilingual". "We need more rules for knowing French/Quebecois culture". "Other provinces need to agree to a devolution". "Canada needs to give us more power over immigration". Guess what, it doesn't work. Sooner or later any rational person should arrive at this conclusion. We gave it a good shot, but it just doesn't work. It's never enough to get the job done. It's always too little, and then someone recycles another idea and presents it as what Quebec really needs. It's just a cycle stuck on repeat. The result is a stagnant economy because businesses are terrified of the unstable political situation and unbelievably short sighted provincial government policies.
Make no mistake, support for independence right now is just as high as it was in 1980. It's always on the edge. You better believe that moment that the Quebecois feel like Canada isn't giving them what they want, support for independence will surge. See the Meech Lake Accord and the run up to the 1995 referendum. Even the Quebec federalists drafted up demands for separation that were far more radical than the PQ's. Separation isn't going anywhere, and that's bad news for Quebec as a province. Unless Quebec finally takes the final step, it can expect to continue the trend of developing into Canada's #1 backwater. A businessman like Peladeau understands this.
I'm a bilingual, from Quebec, and have been hearing guys like PBeauchamp and Acajack bat around the same weak tired and recycled ideas for decades. Word it how want, the bottom line is that they are trying to get all of the benefits of independence with all of the benefits of being a Canadian province. It doesn't work. We've been doing it since the late 60's. "More people in English Canada should be bilingual". "We need more rules for knowing French/Quebecois culture". "Other provinces need to agree to a devolution". "Canada needs to give us more power over immigration". Guess what, it doesn't work. Sooner or later any rational person should arrive at this conclusion. We gave it a good shot, but it just doesn't work. It's never enough to get the job done. It's always too little, and then someone recycles another idea and presents it as what Quebec really needs. It's just a cycle stuck on repeat. The result is a stagnant economy because businesses are terrified of the unstable political situation and unbelievably short sighted provincial government policies.
Make no mistake, support for independence right now is just as high as it was in 1980. It's always on the edge. You better believe that moment that the Quebecois feel like Canada isn't giving them what they want, support for independence will surge. See the Meech Lake Accord and the run up to the 1995 referendum. Even the Quebec federalists drafted up demands for separation that were far more radical than the PQ's. Separation isn't going anywhere, and that's bad news for Quebec as a province. Unless Quebec finally takes the final step, it can expect to continue the trend of developing into Canada's #1 backwater. A businessman like Peladeau understands this.
You still have not provided a list of the "special deals" that have allegedly been made just for Quebec.
And even if there had been many such deals, what's wrong with tweaks and changes aimed at making the federation work better for its partners?
A few years ago Nfld Premier Danny Williams huffed and puffed, took down Canadian flags all over the province and got the "special deal" that was the Atlantic Accord as a result.
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