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from my research, it has been this way for years. The politicians, the union, and the mafia have been in bed for years. They have been having truffles, caviar and cristal parties at the expense of the tax payers for years.
I used to think that Canada was well managed than the US, but after my research, the politicians are probably sleazier and more corrupt than their brothers and sisters south of the bother.
Canada as the Switzerland of the Americas is a myth. The fiscal conditions in Ontario ($24B deficits), Quebec and British Columbia are comparable to California ($42B deficits), New York and Massachusettes. We are all going to pay the price for the fiscal ineptitude of the politicians. The sad part is they gave Billions of contracts to their union buddies and cronies, but we all going to pay for it.
I think the Canadian supreme court recently ruled that Quebec can't force all kids to attend french schools. Quebec should comply with the Bilingual charter of Canada by opening up english schools for everyone who wants to attend.
I am going to be as candid as I can about this. I see Montreal as having as certain mystique to is. I like speaking French(although I don't have alot of opportunities to do so) and I like certain things about French culture. With that in mind, I also see Montreal as a city that did alot of things wrong. Montreal was a major banking centre, and the largest city in Canada(a title now relinquished to Toronto). I have a split view on this. If Quebec wanted to have its independence, at least it could have done so more democratically. The language laws and other laws that made democratic voting nearly impossible were not good for business. I don't believe it was so much the independence movement that was the issue. It was more an unwillingness to work with others that was the issue. Then again, I am not surprised how things worked out. The majority French-speaking population has always felt marginalized by the English-speaking population. Much of the commerce was run by the Anglophone population. Many Francophones felt that independence would be the best solution. It was left to a vote. The vote fell through. Realizing many English-speaking citizens and non-Francophones would vote against independence, many who were in charge voted for tougher language laws, including making students who didn't speak English attend French schools. Basically, the democratic process eroded in a sense. Many people and investments started leaving Quebec because the business climate was less friendly. I don't say it was so much the independence movement, but more, it was stubborness on one end combined with capital on the other end.
Good grief! I leave for a few days and things go nuts here! With all due respect, there are lots of inaccuracies here but I don`t have the time this morning to address them all.
I do have a question about the allusions to democracy here. What do you mean by stuff like this: The language laws and other laws that made democratic voting nearly impossible were not good for business.
I don`t get it. BTW, voting ballots and voter information in Quebec are and have always been bilingual. But maybe that is not your point.
Well, it took quite a bit of time and effort to get there and I was expecting to use some French but unless it was in writing, it was in English ("Cafe Starbucks" was a cool twist on "Starbucks Coffee" though). That's okay; that's why there's France where, I hear, they won't speak to you unless you speak French -- and France French at that, not Canadaian or Louisianan French.
Minato Ku is right. A lot of the neologisms in French (like fin de semaine and courriel for e-mail) are not that well-used in France and were in fact coined in Quebec and this is where they are used more often.
Good grief! I leave for a few days and things go nuts here! With all due respect, there are lots of inaccuracies here but I don`t have the time this morning to address them all.
I do have a question about the allusions to democracy here. What do you mean by stuff like this: The language laws and other laws that made democratic voting nearly impossible were not good for business.
I don`t get it. BTW, voting ballots and voter information in Quebec are and have always been bilingual. But maybe that is not your point.
The point I was talking about was making people who already didn't speak English speak French.
Another thing I know about the language situation in Quebec is this. There is another segment of Montreal's population, Allophones, people who speak something else besides French or English. This is mainly with the immigrant population coming from places like Egypt, Italy, Greece, and other nations that do not speak French or English. There was a law in the 1970's stating that if a student was not fluent in English among arrival to Quebec, said student would be required to enter the French-speaking schools. Many people were aware that many of the immigrants who didn't speak French would choose English as the language of choice because many see Quebec as part of Canada, and therefore, part of an Anglophone society. For this reason, many immigrants chose English-speaking school because they felt they would have more opportunities speaking English. When Quebec was having referendums, the vote often came out as "not in favor of independence". The most likely persons to vote "no" were mainly immigrants and the Anglophone population, and even a few Francophones. Many Quebecois realized this and lobbied for a law to make immigrants speak French, particularly children. The reasoning was "we can't loose anymore votes to immigrants".
Actually, the primary motive behind the language laws never was to get immigrants (or their children) to vote for independence. It was all about social cohesion. Before the law was brought in, something like 90% of immigrants went to school in English in spite of the fact they were living in a mainly French-speaking city and province. Many couldn't even string together more than two words of French.
Note that the pro-Canada parties like the Quebec Liberals, while initially opposed to the language laws, quickly came on board just a few years later because they figured out it could actually help them out in keeping Quebec in Canada. Basically, since language angst was a main driver of the independence movement, making Montreal and Quebec more French could help assuage some of those fears and make the francophone majority more comfortable with the status quo in Canada and not want to take the independence risk. (Note that when the pro-Canada Liberals have been in power and the language laws have been challenged, they have always defended them. They are not too pleased about this week`s Supreme Court ruling, BTW.)
In the November 1997 National Geographic article "Quebec's Quandary" Montreal was said to have the highest poverty rate in Canada and that unemployment was skyrocketing due to political issues.
The article you were referring to was written by Ian Darragh. It was a brutal piece of journalism that was totally biased. I read it when it came out and thought it bizarre that one could write an article about a political issue without talking to both sides. I am recalling from memory, and it seems to me that almost no francophones were quoted in the article. Or at the very least there were no Quebec nationalists/separatists whatsoever, both of whom are much larger groups in size than the members of the anglo minority that formed the basis of views in the article.
National Geographic realized their mistake soon after it was published, and it was the last piece Darragh ever wrote for them.
Darragh`s case is actually quite typical unfortunately of many English Canadians, who can be highly respected worldly experts in their fields, but when it comes to the Quebec question, they just lose it.
It`s sort of like trying to get an accurate analysis of Fidel Castro from a Cuban exile in Miami. No matter how esteemed an individual your interlocutor is, rationality goes out the window as soon as you broach that one subject.
I would hope someone says enough is enough and brings the businesses back to Montreal. It's such a hidden gem of a city and one of the best on the entire continent. Language, culture and business can all co-exist with multiple languages. Just look at Europe, South Africa (11 official languages), Singapore and various other countries.
And its not the language with the power that is going to win. It's the language with the money. English split and took its dollar with it.
Well, the unemployment rate in Montreal is actually lower today than it was in the good old days of anglo domination prior to 1976.
Unemployment rates vary from month to month, but since that article was published Montreal and the province of Quebec have modestly outperformed Toronto and the province of Ontario on employment growth.
This is a first in my lifetime, and perhaps in the lifetime of anyone living today.
I think the Canadian supreme court recently ruled that Quebec can't force all kids to attend french schools. Quebec should comply with the Bilingual charter of Canada by opening up english schools for everyone who wants to attend.
Nope. Quebec has never forced *all* kids to attend French schools. Kids whose parents are English-speaking Canadians and who themselves went to school in English have always been able to go to school in English. This has effectively been the case since the language laws were adopted in the late 70s.
The laws have never been about getting English-speaking Canadian kids to go to school in French. Their rights to schooling in English have always been guaranteed.
It`s mainly about immigrants who willingly move to a place that they full well know is French-speaking before they even arrive, and then they go about their business and try to live (which apparently includes trying to con their way into having access to free public schools in English) as if they had moved to Toronto or Chicago rather than Montreal.
Unemployment rates vary from month to month, but since that article was published Montreal and the province of Quebec have modestly outperformed Toronto and the province of Ontario on employment growth.
This is a first in my lifetime, and perhaps in the lifetime of anyone living today.
This is the first positive thing I have heard about Montreal's economy.
It`s mainly about immigrants who willingly move to a place that they full well know is French-speaking before they even arrive, and then they go about their business and try to live (which apparently includes trying to con their way into having access to free public schools in English) as if they had moved to Toronto or Chicago rather than Montreal.
Not shocking! In your opinion, would you say that illegal immigration or migration is part of the root cause?
And I can't help but notice how your paragraph resembles the situation in another North American country that does a ****-poor job of protecting its borders.
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