Category Archives: Quebec

Maria Chapdelaine

20 Saturday Jan 2018

Posted by in Art, French-Canadian Literature, Quebec, Regionalism

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The Chapdelaine Farm, by Clarence Gagnon

The Chapdelaine Farm by Clarence Gagnon

This post was published on 26 January 2012. It was one of two posts on Maria Chapdelaine. These earned me an invitation, by Montreal’s Writer’s Chapel Trust, to the unveiling of a plaque honouring Louis Hémon. Unexpected events prevented me from attending, but I am thankful for the invitation and regret not attending.
See Related Post: Regionalism in Québec Fiction: Maria Chapdelaine.

Louis Hémon[i]

This is the first post I wrote on Maria Chapdelaine. I went on to write a second one.

French author Louis Hémon (12 October 1880 – 8 July 1913) moved to Canada in 1911. By then he had already published several books. As for his Maria Chapdelaine, he wrote it during the winter of 1912-1913, sent his manuscript to France and started travelling west.

Hémon died in a train accident at Chapleau, Ontario.  Had he travelled a little further he would have met the descendants of voyageurs, Métis, and aristocrats referred to as “The French Counts.”[ii] They had settled in the Assiniboia region: Count Henri de Soras, the Marquis de Jumilhac, Viscount Joseph de Langle, Count de Beaulincourt and others.

Church at Peribonka by Clarence Gagnon

Historical Background: two choices

  • L’Exode or Exodus[iii]

Louis Hémon came to Quebec during a period of its history when there was very little work for French-speaking Canadians inhabiting Quebec and Acadia. This period of Canadian history is called the Exode. Nearly a million French Canadians and Acadians moved to the United States where they could work in factories.

  • The Curé Labelle: colonisation

This could not be the Church’s best choice. One priest, the famed Curé Labelle (24 November 1833 – 4 January 1891), was the chief proponent of colonisation. He urged French-Canadians to settle north and “make land,” faire de la terre, faire du pays, as their ancestors had done. This was their mission.

—ooo—

Making Land: Samuel’s Choice

So making land had been Samuel Chapdelaine’s choice. He had taken his family to the Lac Saint-Jean area where he and his sons were turning inhospitable land into arable soil. I should think Hémon named Samuel Chapdelaine after Samuel de Champlain, whom we could call the founder of New France.

Louis Hémon in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean

When Louis Hémon arrived in Canada, 1910, he lived in Montreal. But two years later he travelled north and stopped at Peribonka, in the Lac Saint-Jean area. At first, he worked as a farmhand, helping “settlers,” but, as noted above, he spent the winter of 1912-1913 writing Maria Chapdelaine.

Hémon had sent his manuscript to France but he never savored the success of his novel. It was serialized in France in 1914 and published by J. A. Lefebvre in Quebec in 1916, with black and white illustrations by Marc-Aurèle de Foy Suzor-Coté. It was an  international bestseller. An English translation, by W. H. Blake, was published in 1921.

Maria Chapdelaine

There is a summary of Maria Chapdelaine (just click on the title) on the website of the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, housed in Kleinburg, a village just north of Toronto. Clarence Gagnon‘s (8 November 1881 – 5 January 1942) 1933 illustrations of Maria Chapdelaine are part of the McMichael Canadian Art Collection.

Napoléon Laliberté by Clarence Gagnon

A Summary of the Plot

However, I will summarize the summary.

Maria is the daughter of a “settler.” She is a little plump, but beautiful. One Sunday, the day on which parishioners get together and chat, Maria meets François Paradis. François is a sort of coureur des bois, voyageur, canoeman, lumberjack: the mythic fearless pioneer.

When François meets Maria, he is attracted to her and tells her that he will stop by her family’s farm before escorting Belgian travelers who are looking for fur. Maria and François fall in love. They will be married when he returns from the logging camp. However, he dies in a blinding snowstorm attempting to visit with Maria on New Year’s Eve.

Eutrope Gagnon and Lorenzo Surprenant: the other suitors

Maria has two other suitors: Eutrope Gagnon, a settler and neighbour, and Lorenzo Surprenant, who has travelled from the United States to find a bride. What Lorenzo has to offer is an easier life: no black flies, no back-breaking labour, milder weather, nearness to a Church and to stores. She is genuinely tempted to marry him, despite the fact that she is not in love with him. For Maria, love died the day François died.

However, she rejects Lorenzo. She will marry Eutrope Gagnon, a settler, and will live as her mother lived. When she is making her decision, she hears voices telling her that in Quebec, nothing must die and nothing must change: « Au pays de Québec rien ne doit mourir et rien ne doit changer… »

The names are all symbolic: Paradis for paradise; Surprenant; for surprising or amazing; and Gagnon for winning.

Beaver Coin

My summary of Maria Chapdelaine may have diminished Maria’s suitors. But Hémon makes them very real and anxious to live their lives, which means taking a wife. Although it is a simple novel, finding a more focused, but somewhat stylized, account of life as it was in 1912 would be difficult.

Hémon describes Québec as un pays, a country. In 1937, Félix-Antoine Savard will feature le délié, a person who is no longer tied (lié) to the land and is therefore looked upon as a man who sold himself: un vendu. (See Menaud, maître-draveur, Wikipedia.)

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Folklore: À la claire fontaine, Université de Moncton, Male Choir

(please click to hear the song)

Maria Chapdelaine can be read online. It is a Gutenberg Project e-book.
Maria Chapdelaine (Project Gutenberg, FR) [EBook #13585]
Maria Chapdelaine (Project Gutenberg, EN) [EBook #4383]
Maria Chapdelaine PDF FR
Canadian literature: The Montreal School, 1895–1935
First serialized in Le Temps (1914) (Paris)
Published in book form in 1916 (Montreal)
Translated into English in 1921 (W. H. Blake)
Translated into all the major languages
 
____________________
[i] “Louis Hémon.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2014. Web. 13 Jan. 2014. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/261010/Louis-Hemon>. 
 
[ii] Ruth Humphrys, “Dr Rudolph Meyer and the French Nobility of Assiniboia,” The Beaver (The Hudson’s Bay Company: Outfit 309:1, Summer 1978), p. 16-23. 
 
[iii] Maurice Poteet (ed.), Textes de l’Exode (Montréal: Guérin Litérature, coll. Francophonie, 1987).
 
Johannes Brahms: Drei Intermezzi, Op. 117, No. 2 
 
The White Horse, by Clarence Gagnon

The White Horse by Clarence Gagnon

© Micheline Walker
26 January 2012
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The “Canadianism” of Philippe Couillard, Premier of Quebec

16 Tuesday Jun 2015

Posted by in Canada, Liberal Party of Quebec, Quebec

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Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard speaks to delegates during the Quebec Liberal Party convention in Montreal, Sunday, June 14, 2015. Graham Hughes / THE CANADIAN PRESS

http://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/don-macpherson-the-defiant-canadianism-of-quebec-premier-philippe-couillard

I am posting an article by Don MacPherson of the Montreal Gazette. It is an accurate résumé of Premier Couillard’s address to delegates. Mr MacPherson’s article should be posted.

—ooo—

By the way, I’m still working on my next post: nominations for the Versatile Blogger award.

Paul Robeson sings Antoine Gérin-Lajoie‘s Un Canadien errant. The first half of Mr Robeson‘s interpretation is in English. He then sings Un Canadien errant in very clear French. I have used this video before, but I feel it should be heard again.

Paul Robeson sings Un Canadien errant

The Canada Act, 1982
The Canada Act, 1982

© Micheline Walker
16 June 2015
WordPress

Quebec’s Liberal Party Convention

14 Sunday Jun 2015

Posted by in Liberal Party, Quebec, Sharing

≈ 2 Comments

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32992

Black Hills Woman by Maxine Noel (Photo credit: www.mcmichael.com)

My readers from France love Maxine Noel’s art. I think her art is exquisite and others share that opinion.

quebec-premier-philippe-couillard-waves-to-the-crow-at-the-q

Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard waves to the crowd at the Quebec Liberal Party convention in Montreal on Saturday. Ryan Remiorz / THE CANADIAN PRESS

I apologize for not posting sooner. Quebec’s Liberal Party held its convention in Montreal and I was a delegate. Premier Philippe Couillard addressed us. He was reassuring. As you know, he and members of National Assembly have made cuts that many oppose. In the 60s and early 70s, Quebec leaders promised a welfare state.

Access to a free education is an admirable goal, but for this goal to be achieved, the government needs taxpayers. Separatism and terrorism caused many to leave Quebec and the money used to cover the costs of a welfare state is collected through taxation. If people leave, the number of taxpayers is reduced.

Moreover, several workers insist on being paid on a cash basis, nothing is deducted from their income. Tax evasion also precludes a welfare state. It isn’t an option. Why should people who pay their taxes support those who are able to conceal more substantial earnings? I am not discussing the wages of cleaning ladies.

Amendments

  • young Liberals given a stronger voice

We were amending the constitution. It was a long process. Therefore, I will mention only one topic. It was decided that young Liberals would be given a stronger voice in the Party.

I was a witness to the student strikes of 2012 and felt reticence supporting this amendment. In 2012, students were willing to break the law and they did break the law so their tuition fees would not be raised.

Young Liberals may well be better young citizens than other young citizens, but that is not necessarily the case. Many were brought up at the same time as the students who created mayhem in 2012. In fact, many were brought up in the same milieu.

However, I recognize that they are the future. Let them see the bills and let them also see whether or not they have the money to pay these bills.

We escaped a reenactment of the 2012 student strikes this spring. Students started to demonstrate, but injunctions were issued and the Quebec government decided it would not fund an extra semester if students had not completed their term. The 2012 strike cost millions of dollars.

http://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/quebec-will-cancel-session-if-student-strike-continues-education-minister

Security: Staggering

At any rate, what I had witnessed here in Sherbrooke when Liberals last met was a mere sample of what I saw in Montreal. There was a large number of armed policemen and plainclothes security agents. I saw security personnel carrying machine guns. These were in bags, but the bags nevertheless concealed machine guns. One could tell by the shape. As for the delegates, all of us were meticulously screened. There was violence when members of the Liberal Party met in Victoriaville in May 2012.

http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/victoriaville-violence

Conclusion

Cutbacks are painful, but the government has to operate with the money it levies through taxation. Quebec’s prosperity is not endangered. It has untapped natural resources that should allow it to bounce back in the not-too-distant future. Despite cutbacks, we still enjoy universal healthcare and tuition fees will not be out of reach.

Reculer pour mieux sauter

However, there are times when one has to step back in order to get a better start (jump): reculer pour mieux sauter. The debt was too heavy.

This post is a Canadiana post, but it belongs to a subcategory: Quebec. The first in this series was Austerity in Quebec. It will appear on a Canadiana page.

There is more to tell about Gabriel Franchère. Moreover, I must report that I was nominated from the “Versatile Blogger” award by Petrel41: Dear Kitty1. WordPress.

I thank our colleague most sincerely. My next post will be devoted to this nomination.

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H3847-L50710362

Three Seated Figures by Maxine Noel (www.invaluable.com)

With kindest regards ♥

Daniel Barenboim plays Mendelssohn Songs Without Words Op.30 no.1 in E flat Major

eda8975682d6d1f11b74766ef96bb6d0© Micheline Walker
14 June 2015
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Beyond Bilingualism and Biculturalism

02 Saturday May 2015

Posted by in Quebec, Quebec history

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Statue_outside_Union_Station

Monument to Multiculturalism by Francesco Pirelli in Toronto; four identical sculptures are located in Buffalo City, Changchun, Sarajevo, and Sydney (Photo credit: Getty Images)

Bilingualism 

Investigating Canada’s status as a bilingual and bicultural nation was a difficult endeavour. It may have caused the death of André Laurendeau who served as co-chair of the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism with Davidson Dunton. Davidson Dunton was not the problem. Laurendeau and Dunton were a compatible team.

Laurendeau died in 1968, at the age of 56, before the Official Languages Act of 1969  was passed. From 1963 until his death, his role “brought him considerable criticism from his nationalist colleagues. The stress caused by this criticism was blamed for Laurendeau’s relatively early death by historian Charles Godin.” (See André Laurendeau, Wikipedia.)

These years were very stressful for certain French-speaking Canadians. At the time, my father was the leader of British Columbia’s French-speaking community. He fell ill.

1. On the one hand, he had to deal with individuals who could not understand why their language was not an official language. They lived in communities where the population consisted of immigrants or the children of immigrants who were more numerous than the French-speaking community, if a French-speaking community there was. Britain yes, “they won the battle.” This could explain why Pierre Trudeau was motivated to pass a Multiculturalism Act.

2. On the other hand, my father had to face members of a French-speaking community many of whom wanted their French-language schools to be Catholic schools. For them, language and faith could not be dissociated. This question is central to the history of bilingualism in Canada, i.e. bilingualism outside Quebec. In Quebec, French schools were Catholic schools until the Quiet Revolution.

Yet, had the French language schools or Catholicism been threatened, it is unlikely that the Province of Quebec, led by Sir George-Étienne Cartier, PC, would have entered Confederation. The other three provinces that entered confederation in 1867 did not oppose Sir George-Étienne Cartier, nor did London, the senior authority in the matter. It is as though the Quebec Act of 1774 had left a permanent imprint. However, when I was a student, Catholic schools outside Quebec were private schools. I am a proud graduate of St. Ann’s Academy, in Victoria, BC. I am told changes have occurred and must investigate.

When it entered Confederation Quebec also kept its Code civil. In fact, if approved, Confederation would be an advantage for Quebec because it would rescind the Act of Union of 1841 that united Upper Canada (up the Saint-Lawrence River) and Lower Canada (down the Saint-Lawrence River).

“Maîtres chez nous”

“Maîtres chez nous” (masters in our own home)
the Language Laws
Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day riot (1968)
the Parent Commission (education in Quebec)

During the not-so-quiet Quiet Revolution in Quebec, Quebecers were rebuilding their society and reorganizing their education system. The Parent Commission, named after its Président, Mgr Alphonse-Marie Parent, was established on 21 April 1961. Its mission, restructuring the education system in Quebec, and the passage of language laws in the 1970s, Quebec, are separate issues. If you know French, the video clips shown below are very revealing. It is stated quite clearly that education would be free. If students now go on strike, encourage civil disobedience, intimidate classmates and want to unionize, we can trace that behaviour back to earlier events.

Parent Commission:
http://www.mccord-museum.qc.ca/scripts/explore.php?
http://archives.radio-canada.ca/sports/education/clips/1137/
http://archives.radio-canada.ca/societe/education/clips/1152/

But the “maîtres chez nous” ideology was soon expressed by the Front de libération du Québec. We have already discussed the October Crisis of 1970 and the bombs. It was quite ugly. I have a good friend who saw separatist leader Pierre Bourgault direct thugs to start or join a riot during the 1968 Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day parade in Montreal. My friend was standing a few feet away. Pierre Trudeau, the main guest, was sitting on a platform of honour but he refused to be led away by his bodyguard. Ironically, Pierre Bourgault is credited for creating Quebec’s National Day.

24 June 1968 Saint-Jean-Baptiste Riot

Multiculturalism: a “descriptive ” term

Yet official multiculturalism did happen. As we will see, it was enacted by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney in 1988. However, Canada’s two official languages are English and French. No other language is an official language. In fact, official multiculturalism has been viewed as formal recognition on the part of Canada’s Federal Government that the people of Canada originate from approximately 200 countries (See Multiculturalism in Canada, Wikipedia). As such, it is mostly “descriptive.”

At this point in history, the majority of Canadians are no longer of French and British origin. Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau announced in the early 1970s that Canada would adopt a multicultural policy. Multiculturalism was recognized in Section 27 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (1982). But, interestingly, New Zealand born and educated Peter Hogg, CC QC FRSC, Canada’s foremost authority on Canadian constitutional law,

“observed that this section did not actually contain a right; namely, it did not say that Canadians have a right to multiculturalism. The section was instead meant to guide the interpretation of the Charter to respect Canada’s multiculturalism. Hogg also remarked that it was difficult to see how this could have a large impact on the reading of the Charter, and thus section 27 could be more of a rhetorical flourish than an operative provision.’” (section 27 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Wikipedia.)

Section 27 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is administered by the Department of Canadian Heritage. Multiculturalism was enacted by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and received royal assent on 21 July 1988. (See Multiculturalism, Wikipedia.) Quebec has not adopted multiculturalism. Its policy is interculturalism and it is an “operative provision.”

A Clarification of Terms: Canadian Multiculturalism and Quebec Interculturalism
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/quebec-group-pushes-interculturalism-in-place-of-multiculturalism/article569581/

I rather like Martha Nussbaum definition of interculturalism. She states that it involves “the recognition of common human needs across cultures and of dissonance and critical dialogue within cultures,” (Cultivating Humanity). We may differ in certain ways, but we are nevertheless all the same. Common affinities link humans to other humans. It is also very difficult not to rush to help another human being in distress. The manner in which we all became Charlie is an expression of commonality among human beings. Look at the Nepal tragedy. Kind souls have travelled long distances to help victims.

It would be my opinion that multiculturalism is a very short distance away from interculturalism. One cannot simply stand next to another human being. Canadian multiculturalism has been compared to a mosaic. At first sight, it may be. But Quebec does not want a mosaic. It wants an intercultural French-speaking society.

Conclusion

In short, I doubt very much that bilingualism and biculturalism were the goals pursued by Quebec’s Révolution tranquille “nationalists.” That was happening mostly outside Quebec and may not have been perceived as protection of the French language by Quebecers whose objective it was to protect their own language, an objective akin to the goals of the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism.

Consequently, in the 1960s and 1970s, Québécois were not good candidates for biculturalism or multiculturalism, a federal project. They wanted to be “maîtres chez eux,” masters in their own home. But the declining birthrate that began in the 1960s motivated Québécois to integrate immigrants, who had to learn Quebec’s official language, French, which was interculturalism.

However, failure to learn English is not an option, not in this world. It could be that Québécois are too afraid of losing their language. Yet knowing English and other languages can improve one’s self-image and definitely benefits the human mind, not to mention, ironically, knowledge of one’s mother tongue.

Besides, in 1969, while Québécois were restructuring their education system, Canada did pass its Official Languages Act, reaffirmed by the 1988 Official Languages Act, which protects the French language and cannot possibly harm Quebec.

Please accept my best regards. ♥

  1. Front de Libération du Québec (“Separatism”)
  2. October Crisis of 1970
  3. Official Language Act of 1974 (Bill 22) 
  4. Charter of the French Language of 1977 (Bill 101)
  5. Canada Act of 1982 (the current Constitution)
114695-050-442B859D

Queen Elizabeth signing the Canada Act, Ottawa 1982 (Photo credit: Google Images)

Sources and Resources 

Royal Proclamation of 1763 (Aboriginal Rights, Article 35 of the Canada Act, 1982)
Official Languages Act (Canada; 1969, Canadian Encyclopedia)
Official Languages Act (Canada; 1988, Canadian Encyclopedia)
Official Languages Act, Government of Canada
Multiculturalism (Canadian Encyclopedia)
Interculturalism (The Globe and Mail)
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/quebec-group-pushes-interculturalism-in-place-of-multiculturalism/article569581/
A Clarification of Terms: Canadian Multiculturalism and Quebec Interculturalism
The Constitution Act (Canada; 1982, Canadian Encyclopedia)
The Constitution Acts, Government of Canada
The Canada Act PDF, Canada; 1982:
http://publications.gc.ca/collections/Collection/CH37-4-3-2002E.pdf

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Pierre Trudeau on Quebec

c140544
Pierre Trudeau sketch

© Micheline Walker
1 May 2015
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Quebec’s Language Laws

26 Sunday Apr 2015

Posted by in Quebec

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640px-Outside_Union_Station

Monument to Multiculturalism by Francesco Pirelli in Toronto; four identical sculptures are located in Buffalo City, Changchun, Sarajevo, and Sydney (Photo credit: Getty Images)

Canada is an officially multicultural society, but its official languages are English and French, with the exception of Quebec.

An Overview

Immigrants to Canada enter an officially bilingual country, by virtue of the Official Languages Act (Canada) of 1969 and the Official Languages Act of 1988.

The Official Languages Act of 1969

Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism

Canada became an officially bilingual country under the terms of the Official Languages Act (Canada), signed on 9 September 1969. Passage of the Official Languages Act (Canada) was the culmination of an inquiry conducted by the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism, established by Prime Minister and Nobel laureate Lester B. Pearson, PC, OM, CC, OBE on 19 July 1963. The Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism is sometimes called the Laurendeau-Dunton Commission. André Laurendeau, the editor-in-chief of Le Devoir, Quebec’s leading newspaper, and Davidson Dunton, the President of Carleton University, co-chaired the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism. The findings of the Commission indicated that French-speaking Canadians were at a disadvantage and lived on a lower income than English-speaking Canadians and Italian immigrants. (See Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism, Wikipedia.)

Laurendeau & Dunton
Dunton & Laurendeau

The Official Language Act (Quebec) 1974

Canada’s two official languages are French and English. However, since 1974, by virtue of the Official Language Act (Quebec) (Bill 22) the children of immigrants who choose to live in Quebec must attend a French-language school. Bill 22 was replaced by (Bill 101) or Charter of the French Language, a stiffer language law passed in 1977 by the Parti québécois (Parti Quécébois in English). Under Bill 22 and Bill 101, only children born to a Quebec English-Canadian parent and a French-speaking Canadian could attend an English-language school. This law was amended to include an English-Canadian parent born outside Quebec.

Bill 22 was a Law to promote the French language in Quebec (Loi pour promouvoir la langue française au Québec). It superseded Bill 63 passed in 1969, when l’Union Nationale leader Jean-Jacques Bertrand was premier of Quebec. Premier Bertrand was in office from 1968 to 1970. Bill 63, presented by Jean-Guy Cardinal, Quebec’s Minister of Education, in 1969, allowed parents to enrol their children in either French-language or English-language schools.

In 1970, the Parti libéral du Québec, led by Robert Bourassa, was voted into office. Four years later, under the leadership of Robert Bourassa, Quebec’s Official Language Act (Quebec), or Bill 22, was passed. It made French the only official language of Quebec. For Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, Bill 22 was a “slap in the face.” (See Charter of the French Language, Wikipedia.) It had been a mere five years since Canada had become an officially bilingual country.

Robert Bourassa lost the 1976 provincial election to Parti Quécébois founder and leader René Lévesque, whose government passed Bill 101, or the Charter of the French Language, a stricter enactment of Bill 22.

The Charter of the French Language

Education
Unilingual posting

The main purpose of Quebec’s Bill 22 and Bill 101 was to ensure that the children of immigrants to Quebec enrolled in French-language schools. Given its rapidly decreasing birthrate, Quebec began transforming immigrants into Québécois. This movement started in Saint-Léonard with the closure of an English-language school attended primarily by the children of Italian immigrants. People protested, at times violently. Bill 63 gave citizens the freedom of choice, causing indignation on the part of a sizable group of French-speaking Québécois.

http://www.panoramitalia.com/en/arts-culture/history/saint-leonard-conflict-language-legislation-quebec/2325/

http://larevolutiontranquille.ca/en/the-bill-63.php

However, the Charter of the French Language also required that Quebecers live in visibly French communities, hence unilingual posting and penalties for “offenders.” Its chief agency was and remains the Office québécois de la langue française, established in 1961 by Quebec Premier Jean Lesage, PC, CC, CD. Related agencies are the Conseil supérieur de la langue française, the office regulating toponymie, the naming of places, and other groups. The Charter of the French Language, la Chartre de la langue française, was introduced by Camille Laurin. 

The Referendums: 1980 & 1995

Quebec held two referendums on a renegotiation of Quebec’s ties with the government of Canada, or souveraineté-association (sovereignty-association). The first took place in 1980, two years before Quebec failed to sign Constitution Act of 1982. The second was held in 1995 but the result was too close to represent a clear “yes” or “no.”  More than 49% of the population of Quebec voted “yes.” The response of the Federal government (Ottawa) was the Clarity Act. The Clarity Act “was passed by the House on March 15, 2000, and by the Senate, in its final version, on June 29, 2000.”  (Wikipedia). The Quebec Government’s response to Ottawa’s response was the Act respecting the exercise of the fundamental rights and prerogatives of the Québec people and the Québec State, passed two days after the Clarity Act.

Remedial Measures

The Québécois nation motion, a  parliamentary motion tabled by Prime Minister  Stephen Harper, Canada’s current prime minister, was approved by the House of Commons of Canada on Monday, 27 November 2006. The English motion read: “That this House recognize that the Québécois form a nation within a united Canada.” I am quoting Wikipedia.

In French, the motion read: “Que cette Chambre reconnaisse que les Québécoises et les Québécois forment une nation au sein d’un Canada uni.” (See Québécois nation motion, Wikipedia). This does not differ much from the souveraineté-association concept put forward by the Parti Québécois.

Bill 101 has been deemed unconstitutional and an infringement of Human Rights, but it has not been rescinded and schools are filled up with French-speaking Quebecers originating from various countries.

Chronology of the Language Laws

  1. Constitution Act, 1867: Section 133, but no official languages
  2. Laurendeau-Dunton Commission (1963 – 1969)
  3. Official Languages Act of 1969
  4. 1969: Act to promote the French Language in Quebec (Bill 63) http://www.oqlf.gouv.qc.ca/charte/reperes/Loi_63.pdf
  5. 1974: Official Language Act of 1974 (Bill 22)FR & EN http://www.oqlf.gouv.qc.ca/charte/reperes/Loi_22.pdf
  6. 1977: Charter of the French Language (Bill 101) EN http://www.canlii.org/en/qc/laws/stat/rsq-c-c-11/latest/rsq-c-c-11.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Commission_on_Bilingualism_and_Biculturalism
  7. 1988: Official Languages Act of 1988
    http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/O-3.01/FullText.html

—ooo—

Temporary Conclusion

Bill 115

http://montreal.ctvnews.ca/after-24-hours-of-debate-english-education-bill-becomes-law-1.564054

Bills allowing education in English in Quebec have been passed. One such bill is Bill 115, passed in 2010. However, I am excluding discussion of Bills making access to English-language schools easier from this post because I need to close it. All I will write is that Bill 101 has been amended six times and that Bill 115 facilitates an English-language education.

Bill 101 is problematical in that it is at cross-purposes with the Official Languages Act of 1969 and the Official Languages Act of 1988. It is also at cross-purposes with a finding and appropriate recommendation of the Laurendeau-Dunton commission: greater prosperity for French-speaking Canadians.

We live in a world where business is often conducted in the English language, which does not mean that one has to unlearn French. I know people who spent a lifetime being impeccably French in an English-language milieu.

Immigrants to Quebec have to attend French-language schools, which seems perfectly acceptable. Quebec needs Québécois. But this does not and should not preclude learning English. English is taught in French-language schools. Why should Quebecers isolate themselves?

Learning other languages is not necessarily detrimental to mastery of one’s mother tongue. Québécois live in French-language milieu. No one has to leave that milieu. In fact Quebec offers two main milieu: a French-language milieu and an English-language milieu. In this regard, Montreal is la crème de la crème as an environment. It is home to thousands of immigrants from all over the world.

In the 1960s and early 1970s, Quebec built the Manicouagan Reservoir and there is further untapped wealth in Northern Quebec. Moreover Quebec has large enterprises, such as Bombardier and SNC Lavalin. These have offices abroad.

There’s nothing wrong with a little prosperity.

My kindest regards to all of you.♥

Félix Leclerc sings “L’Écharpe” (The Scarf)
photo14© Micheline Walker
26 April 2015
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The Quebec Act of 1774

21 Tuesday Apr 2015

Posted by in Quebec, Quebec history

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1885 photo of Robert Harris‘ 1884 painting, Conference at Quebec in 1864, to settle the basics of a union of the British North American Provinces, also known as The Fathers of Confederation. The original painting was destroyed in the 1916 Parliament Buildings Centre Block fire. The scene is an amalgamation of the Charlottetown and Quebec City conference sites and attendees. (Caption and photo credit: Wikipedia)

The French Language in Canada

My next post is about the controversial language laws passed in the Province of Quebec in the 1970s: Bill 22, the Official Language Act, Quebec (1974), and Bill 101, or Charter of the French Language (1977). However, it would be useful to know how many citizens spoke French in the years that followed what many Quebecers still call the “conquest” until the last census.

French-speaking population

1663: 3,000
1712: 20,000
1760: 70,000
2011: 7.3 million

According to Wikipedia, the population of New France was 3,000 in 1663. It grew to 20,000 in 1712 and then jumped to 70,000 in 1760, the year the Battle of the Plains of Abraham (13 September 1760) was fought. (The plains belonged to an individual named Abraham.) At the moment. At the moment, “French is the mother tongue of about 7.3 million Canadians (22% of the Canadian population, second to English at 58.4%) according to Census Canada 2011.” (See French language in Canada, Wikipedia.)

This information takes us to and beyond the Official Languages Act (Canada), which recognized Canada as an officially bilingual country. The Official Languages Act became effective on 9 September 1969.

The Treaty of Paris, 1763

At the conclusion of the Seven Years’ War, also referred to as the French and Indian War, France chose to cede New France (Canada and Acadie) to Britain. Under the terms of the Treaty of Paris (1763), France kept its sugar-rich Caribbean Colonies and the islands of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, off the coast of Newfoundland. French fishermen had been fishing in that area for centuries. (See Seigneurial system of New France, Wikipedia.)

Although it ceded New France to Britain, by virtue of the Treaty of Paris (1763), France did not do so unconditionally. The inhabitants of New France would continue to speak French and practice their religion (Roman Catholicism). Moreover, they would retain their Seigneurial System, which was not abolished until 1854. (See The Royal Proclamation of 1763, Wikipedia.)

General Sir Guy Carleton (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

General Sir Guy Carleton (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Canadian_militiamen_and_British_soldiers_repulse_the_American_assault_at_Sault-au-Matelot

British soldiers and Provincial militiamen repulse the American assault at Sault-au-Matelot, Canada, December 1775, by William Jefferys (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Quebec Act of 1774

Motivation
Benefits to Quebec

England could have reneged on its promises, but its Thirteen Colonies, running down the east coast of the current United States, were threatening to become independent of their motherland, Britain. The Declaration of Independence was promulgated on 4 July 1776 and, in 1783, the Thirteen Colonies won the American Revolutionary War, with the support of France.

General Sir Guy Carleton, 1st baron Dorchester

Guy Carleton, 1st baron Dorchester KB, may have felt Britain could need the help of Quebecers and their Amerindian allies in order to fight rebellious “Americans.” This could be the case, but the status the “Quebec Act” gave French-speaking Canadians tends to outweigh other considerations. Moreover, the Act was unsolicited.

Be that as it may, in 1774, the “Quebec Act” was proclaimed. The “Quebec Act” was a British statute which “received royal assent 22 June 1774 and became effective 1 May 1775.” As defined in the Canadian Encyclopedia, the “Quebec Act:”

  • expanded the territory of the Province of Quebec;
  • guaranteed religious freedom;
  • provided a “simplified Test Oath, which omitted references to religion, enabl[ing] them to enter public office conscientiously;”
  • “restored French civil law;”
  • “provided for the continued use of the Seigneurial system.”[1]  

According to Wikipedia, the following are the principal components of the Quebec Act:

“It would be easier to buy Canada than to try to conquer it.” Benjamin Franklin

Rebellious “Americans” did attack in 1775, but “the francophone upper classes allied themselves with the British. As a result, despite the capitulation of Montreal, the siege of Québec failed, prompting Benjamin Franklin’s famous statement that it would be easier to buy Canada than to try to conquer it.”[2]

Quebec was one of the four provinces that entered into the Canadian Confederation in 1867. It did so under the leadership of Sir George-Étienne Cartier, PC.

Conclusion

It would be my opinion that the Quebec Act of 1774 probably ensured the survival of French in Canada. As noted above, we owe the “Quebec Act” to Guy Carleton, 1st baron Dorchester  KB. It was an act of the Parliament of Great Britain, which replaced The Royal Proclamation of 1763, temporary governance.

Until the Révolution tranquille, the 1960s, a very high birthrate, the revenge of the cradle(s) (la revanche des berceaux), and “colonisation,” settling north, also ensured the survival of French in Canada. But it is unlikely that a vibrant French Canada would have developed had it not been for the “Quebec Act” of 1774.

RELATED ARTICLES

* = fiction

Sources and Resources

My kindest regards to all of you.♥
____________________

[1] Foulds, Nancy Brown, “Quebec Act”, The Canadian Encyclopedia. Toronto: Historica Canada, 2013. Web. 13 August 2013.
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/quebec-act/

[2] Ibid.

—ooo—

“Ô Canada! mon pays, mes amours” (press on the link to see the lyrics)
Sir George-Étienne Cartier PC, a Father of Confederation


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© Micheline Walker
20 April 2015
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(Photo credit: Marianopolis College)

 

Austerity in Quebec, cont’d

16 Thursday Apr 2015

Posted by in Quebec

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Study for Chapel of Château.1
Study for Chapel of Château.2
Study for Chapel of a Choir.3

Paul-Émile Borduas, early works (1927)

In my last post, Austerity in Quebec (12 April 2015), I listed four of the changes, listed below, that occurred during Quebec’s Quiet Revolution. I will expand on this subject but point to elements that were detrimental to the establishment of a welfare state, such as the fourth change and Canada’s language laws.

  • First, the province of Quebec was secularized. Quebec had been called the “priest-ridden” province.
  • Second, strong labour unions were formed.
  • Third, leaders all but promised a welfare state (l’État-providence).
  • Fourth, a terrorist group, the Quebec Liberation Front, was created within the separatist movement. It ceased to exist in 1970.

Precursors to the Quiet Revolution

Asbestos strike (la grève de l’amiante)
Refus global
Immigrants from Europe
Radio-Canada

I also mentioned a precursor to the Révolution tranquille (FR), the Asbestos strike (la grève de l’amiante) of 1949. However, a second precursor was Refus global (total refusal), a manifesto written by Paul-Émile Borduas (1 November 1905 – 22 February 1960) and signed by a group of artists calling themselves the Automatistes. This document was released on 9 August 1948. It is presented in two earlier posts.

A third and very important agent of change was the arrival in Quebec of a large group of French-speaking immigrants and other European immigrants. Prominent figures were, for example, Guy Hoffman (7 April 1916 – 6 March 1986) and Ludmilla Chiriaeff, CC GOQ (10 January 1924 – 22 September 1996).

Le Théâtre du Nouveau Monde

Guy Hoffmann, a seasoned actor and director, arrived in Montreal in 1948. He joined Les Compagnons de Saint-Laurent, led by Émile Legault, c.s.c. (6 March 1986 – 28 August 1983) who founded the troupe in 1937. The troupe would grow into the Théâtre du Nouveau Monde, (TNM), established in 1951.

Les Grands Ballets canadiens

As for ballerina Ludmilla Chiriaeff, born in Riga, Latvia, she brought ballet to Quebec  (see Les Grands Ballets, Wikipedia). Madame Chiriaeff arrived in Canada in 1952. Her company would become Les Grands Ballets canadiens. Both Guy Hoffmann and Ludmilla Chiriaeff settled in Montreal.

Radio-Canada and the National Film Board

Radio-Canada, the French-language counterpart of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), and the Office national du film (ONF), the National Film Board (NFB), became employers to French-speaking intellectuals and “personnalités”  (celebrities). During the fall and winter seasons, Radio-Canada showed televised series based on French-Canadian novels and most Sundays, a televised drama. On Saturday evening, everyone watched the hockey game. Quebecers were fans of the Canadiens.

Therefore, as Maurice Duplessis, “le Chef,” and members of the Union Nationale ruled from Quebec city, the Province of Quebec was changing. I remember my father’s “secret” suitcase he took to “secret” meetings.

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Sea Gull, by Paul-Émile Borduas, 1956 (National Gallery of Canada)

The Révolution tranquille

The above takes us to a new list of events and circumstances that militated against l’État-providence, or the welfare state, and isolated Quebec.

  1. Front de Libération du Québec (“Separatism”)
  2. October Crisis of 1970
  3. Official Language Act of 1974 (Bill 22)
  4. Charter of the French Language of 1977 (Bill 101)
  5. Canada Act of 1982

Separatism and the Front de Libération du Quebec

By 1960, Québec was ready for its Révolution tranquille. It was a vibrant community, but a community that had its “patriotes” and, among them, terrorists.

Bombs in Mailboxes

During the 1960s, the Front de libération du Québec, the FLQ, detonated 95 bombs. Most were placed inside mailboxes. According to Wikipedia:

“It was responsible for over 160 violent incidents which killed eight people and injured many more, including the bombing of the Montreal Stock Exchange in 1969.” (See Front de libération du Québec, Wikipedia.)

The October Crisis

On 5 October 1970, the Front de Libération du Québec kidnapped James Richard Cross, a former British diplomat and a senior trade commissioner. On 10 October, the Quebec Liberation Front also kidnapped Pierre Laporte, Quebec’s Deputy Premier and Minister of Labour. Pierre Laporte was “executed” on 17 October 1970. His body was found in the trunk of Paul Rose‘s car. Paul Rose was the leader of the Quebec Sovereignty Movement. He was convicted of the kidnapping and killing of Pierre Laporte. Mr Cross CMG was released on 10 December 1970.

During the October Crisis, Robert Bourassa, the Premier of Quebec, and Jean Drapeau, the Mayor of Montreal, both requested help on the part of the Federal government, or Ottawa. Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau declared the War Measures Act (Martial Law).

A postal box in Montreal bearing the graffiti FLQ oui (FLQ yes) in July 1971. The FLQ conducted several bombings of post boxes which typically bore a decal of the Royal Coat of Arms of Canada.
Liberation Cell Surrender, the Chenier Cell

Language Legislation

Its language laws also militated against the establishment of a welfare state, l’État-providence. In 1974, five years after the Official Languages Act made Canada an officially bilingual country, the Quebec government passed its Official Languages, Act (1974), declaring Quebec a unilingual province. After René Lévesque‘s Parti québécois  was elected into power, Bill 22 was expanded into Bill 101: the Charter of the French Language.

The preservation and growth of the French language is the chief and legitimate goal of Quebec’s language laws, but these laws may be offensive to persons who view themselves as Canadians first and then Quebecers. It seems perfectly acceptable to require that Immigrants to Quebec learn French and that their children enrol in French-language schools. Yet Canada remains a bilingual country and promotes French. Besides, Acadians are French-speaking Canadians who live outside Québec, as do many French-speaking Canadians. There is a French-language Canada outside Quebec. I will add that Quebec language laws are at times rather petty.

Conclusion

I should note in closing that Quebec did not sign the Canada Act of 1982, or the patriation of the Constitution. The act was signed after the first referendum on sovereignty which took place on 20 May 1980. The 1980 referendum did not provide the Quebec government with a clear mandate to modify its ties with the Federal government, which is problematical. That matter has yet to be resolved but must be resolved because the status of Quebec within Canada is currently ambiguous.

At any rate, a welfare state seems impossible at the moment. In order to establish l’État-providence, a government needs a large number of taxpayers, but Quebec seems to drive taxpayers away mostly through language laws. The Couillard government could have raised taxes, except that Quebecers pay taxes to both the Provincial and Federal government and are the only Canadians to do so. Obviously, a little austerity is the better path to follow, provided it does not take bread away from the table and does not deprive people of a roof.

In my opinion, the first order of business is signing the Canada Act of 1982.

RELATED ARTICLES

Sources and Resources

Refus global (texte) FR
Refus global (text) EN

This post is somewhat incomplete. I am still feeling very weak. It’s time for spring to chase away winter. This was one of Quebec’s longest winters.

My best regards to all of you.♥ 

Félix Leclerc CC GOQ sings “Un soir de février”

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Paul Rose (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

© Micheline Walker
15 April 2015
(revised on 16 April 2015)
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Austerity in Quebec

12 Sunday Apr 2015

Posted by in Canada, Quebec

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Demonstration in Montreal on 29 November 2014. Cutbacks had started. (Photo credit: lost)

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Quebec Independence Flag (Photo credit: Google images)

This Year’s Budget: Cutbacks

On 29 March 2015, a friend and I attended a meeting of the Quebec Liberal Party. When we arrived, we had to be identified as legitimate guests. There were several police cars and police busses.

As we proceeded to the building where Sherbrooke members of the Quebec Liberal Party were meeting, we saw demonstrators kept at a ‘safe’ distance, if there is such a thing, by several policemen. This was not life as usual.

The problem was the following. Dr Philippe Couillard, Quebec’s Premier had trimmed down Quebec’s budget in order to pay the Province’s debt, and he would be visiting members of the Sherbrooke Parti Libéral du Québec (FR), the Quebec Liberal Party (EN), at the beginning of their meeting. Dr Couillard was not aware of the extent of the debt during his campaign. This matter has been resolved. On 29 March 2015, Dr Couillard stated that future candidates to the Premiership of Quebec would be aware of the province’s financial circumstances.

In short, cutbacks hurt, so people were demonstrating.

See: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/quebec-budget-boosted-by-exports-on-track-for-235-billion-deficit/article21886430/
See: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/the-quebec-liberal-mandate-has-been-hijacked/article22359789/

Loi-spéciale-78-Bill-protest

Protester displaying an anti Bill 78 sign on 22 May 2012 in Montreal (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Student Strike: Bill 78

I would like to discuss the cutbacks and the population’s reaction in some detail. It is, for instance, a product of the Quiet Revolution (Révolution tranquille). However, this post cannot be exhaustive.

You may remember that, in 2012, Quebec students went “on strike.” For several decades they had paid the lowest tuition fees in Canada—they still do—but were facing an increase of “$325 per year over five years (or $1,625).” This was an increase of “75% over current rates.” (See: Bill 78.)

The 2012 student strike was disorderly. Several students were in fact prevented from completing their academic year on the date it was scheduled to end.

On 12 May 2012, Jean Charest’s government, Quebec’s Liberal Party, passed Bill 78, which, for instance, limited the extent to which students could protest. It had other provisions. However, students defied the bill.

On 20 May 2012, members of CLASSE (Coalition large de l’association pour une solidarité syndicale étudiante) voted to call for “continued protests and civil disobedience to oppose the new law, in addition to any increase in tuition.” (See Bill 78, Wikipedia.)

Allow me to quote Wikipedia further:

“Student Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, co-spokesperson for the student association CLASSE (Coalition large de l’association pour une solidarité syndicale étudiante), has urged the population to consider disobeying the law. Université de Montréal philosophy professor Daniel Weinstock has stated that the bill is a scare tactic to frighten students and student leaders.” (See: Bill 78.)

On 22 May 2012, 150,000 students protested in Montreal, defying the law. “After mass arrests on the nights of 22 and 23 May, daily protests where galvanized.”

Bill 78 was condemned by the Human Rights and Youth Rights Commission, the Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse. But the Quebec Council of Employers supported the bill because students had not complied with earlier court orders. In short, reactions varied. (See: Bill 78, Wikipedia.)

The Parti Québécois’ Involvement

One may not agree with the law, but it is in one’s best interest to respect it. As for opposition parties, I believe there is a limit to which members and leaders should use student, very young students in particular, to further their political ambitions.

Pauline Marois, the leader of the Parti québécois, comforted striking students and was elected Premier of Quebec on 4 September 2012. She then “promptly repealed the punitive sections of Bill 78” and also repealed the increase in tuition fees. (See: Bill 78, Wikipedia.)

However, in February 2013, her government held a Summit on Education. This summit had to take place so tuition fees could be increased. Discussions led to an increase of 3% per year. By the time the summit took place, in February 2013, the students had been led to expect a tuition-free education. They were disappointed, but as Madame Marois stated:

The responsibility of the government is to decide, and I decided.

See: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/quebec-education-summit-ends-without-consensus-1.1321678
See: http://freeeducationmontreal.org/quebec-summit-on-higher-education-2012-13/

Labour Unions

It surprised me to see Madame Marois use the students to be elected Premier of Quebec. As a university teacher and Chair of my department, I took a dim view of teachers who involved students when denied a renewal of their contract, tenure, or a promotion.

With respect to the 2012 strike, it may have been legitimate for political figures to involve students. The context was different. Yet seeking support from individuals who are very young and advocate civil disobedience is unsavoury.

However, what truly astonished me was the Labour Unions’ involvement.

“A deal reached between Quebec Liberal Party representatives and student representatives was rejected by striking students on 10 May. The deal had been supported by student unions and major Quebec labor unions including the Quebec Federation of Labour, the Confédération des syndicats nationaux and by the Centrale des syndicats du Québec.” (See: Bill 78, Wikipedia.)

Maurice Duplessis
Asbestos Strike
Asbestos Strike
Duplessis and Joseph Charbonneau

The Asbestos strike, 1949

I should not have been so surprised. Before the Quiet Revolution or Révolution tranquille, when Maurice Duplessis was Premier of Quebec, there was a violent strike. It may seem distant, but in the 1960s, people remembered. Maurice Duplessis, the leader of l’Union nationale and the Premier of Quebec from 1936 to 1939 and 1944 to 1959, was an opponent of trade unions:

“The strike which began on February 14, 1949 in Asbestos, Quebec, is one of those events that resonate beyond the immediate and define history. It was, as Pierre Trudeau later wrote, ‘a violent announcement that a new era had begun.’”[1]

The Asbestos strike of 1949 was repressed mercilessly and among sympathizers of the strikers was the Church and, especially, Montreal Archbishop Joseph Charbonneau (31 July 1892—19 November 1959).

“But even the conservative Church found itself in sympathy with the strikers and it raised most of the support for the destitute families. When the Archbishop of Montreal, Joseph Charbonneau, openly championed the strike, Duplessis had him exiled to Vancouver. In June Archbishop Roy stepped in to mediate the strike and an agreement was finally reached on July 1.”[2]

There is at least one other version of Monseigneur Charbonneau’s demise. According to this other version, Rome planned Monseigneur Charbonneau’s resignation. Be that as it may, Monseigneur Charbonneau resigned on 9 February 1950 and moved to Victoria, British Columbia, where he worked as hospital chaplain until his death in 1959.  “Archbishop Charbonneau has been seen as a precursor to the Quiet Revolution.”  (See: Joseph Charbonneau, Wikipedia.)

The asbestos strike brought a degree of prominence to other sympathizers: Jean Marchand, Gérard Pelletier, and a young Pierre Trudeau, who would be active in the 1960s. Pierre Trudeau would be Prime Minister of Canada from 1970 to 1979 and from 1980 to 1984

La Révolution tranquille, the Quiet Revolution

Several elements characterize the Révolution tranquille, but I will mention four:

  • First, the province of Quebec was secularized. Quebec had been called the “priest-ridden” province.
  • Second, strong labour unions were formed.
  • Third, leaders all but promised a welfare state (l’État-providence).
  • Fourth, a terrorist group, the Quebec Liberation Front, was created within the separatist movement. It ceased to exist in 1970.

The first element, secularization, was entirely predictable, but the second, the emergence of powerful unions was less easily foreseeable. The third and fourth, the possible emergence of a welfare state and the growth of a strong separatist movement reflect the enthusiasm of Quebecers who were no longer led by the Church and Maurice Duplessis. Although they were and are “maîtres chez soi,” masters in one’s own home, for many Québécois, boundaries are a condition of nationhood.

Separatism could therefore be foreseen, but it militated against the development of a welfare state as it could be perceived and was perceived as unfriendly by other citizens of Canada. A large number of Quebecers left Quebec to settle in a province or country that was perceivably more ‘stable’ than the province of Quebec. The actions, not to say the mere existence, of a terrorist branch among separatists, its Front de Libération du Québec, was harmful to Quebecers. Moreover, these were the 1960s: the war in Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh, Che Guevara and marijuana. 

Pro-austerity       

On 24 March 2015, University of Sherbrooke students went on strike. A number of students obtained an injunction so they could finish their academic year undisturbed. Striking students defied the injunction and walked into the classrooms of students who had obtained an injunction. These students could have been cited for contempt of court which carries a penalty. They were not cited for contempt of court, but a few days later, students decided to end the strike.

http://fr.canoe.ca/infos/quebeccanada/politiqueprovinciale/archives/2015/04/20150411-094455.html

Québec contre la grève étudiante et pour l’austérité (Quebec against the student strike and for austerity), Université du Québec à Montréal (Photo credit: Canoe.ca)

Université du Québec à Montréal faculty members call for a dialogue.

http://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/education/201504/10/01-4859945-uqam-le-syndicat-des-professeurs-lance-un-appel-au-dialogue.php?utm_categorieinterne=trafficdrivers&utm_contenuinterne=cyberpresse_meme_auteur_4819403_article_POS2

“What Charest wanted, Couillard is doing.”

It seems that “what Charest wanted, Couillard is doing.” Charest, the former leader of the Quebec Liberal Party, served as Premier during the student strike of 2012. He was defeated in the General Election of 4 September 2012.

http://www.ledevoir.com/politique/quebec/436399/charest-le-voulait-couillard-le-fait

Conclusion

Cutbacks always hurt. But in the case of Quebec, they hurt a great deal. Quebecers were promised a welfare state.

It would be my opinion that Quebecers have grown to believe they are entitled to a free education and other free services.

There is nothing wrong with entertaining such expectations, but a government cannot give the money it doesn’t have. Without a sufficient and varied number of taxpayers, a government is not in a position to offer free education. There were cutbacks in the new budget, but no increase in taxes. Quebecers now pay taxes to two governments, the federal government and the Quebec government.

I also suspect that Quebec’s reliance on the power of syndicates may have been  somewhat unrealistic. Workers need syndicates or professional associations. The Asbestos strike of 1949 is an example of the misery brought to workers who do not have a syndicate. Yet, if employees are to be provided with generous benefits, fewer working hours, lengthy leaves of absence (maternity leaves, etc.) and cushy pension plans, quantity re-enters the topic from every direction.

In other words, if the government of Quebec and the syndicates do not have a large purse, high wages and concomitant benefits cannot be extensive. Moreover, there may be fewer jobs. In Quebec universities, too many courses are taught by part-time  faculty members, the chargés de cours, some of whom have given themselves a syndicate. These part-time teachers often travel from university to university to earn a meagre living. Many leave Quebec.

I will end on a happy tone. Premier Couillard is going forward with the Plan Nord. Quebec is rich in natural resources. These must be further tapped, which happened in the 1960s. The Manicouagan réservoir is an immense source of electrical power. Premier Couillard has also announced a plan to stimulate small and medium-sized enterprises. (Sherbrooke visit; 29 March 2015.)

 RELATED ARTICLES

Sources and Resources

My regards to all of you. The delay is due to illness.♥
____________________

[1] James H. Marsh, “Asbestos Strike,” The Canadian Encyclopedia, http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/asbestos-strike-feature/#

[2] Ibid.

Pauline Julien sings “La Manic”

Dr Philippe Couillard
Dr Philippe Couillard

© Micheline Walker
12 April 2015
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An Incident in Quebec: Raif Badawi

25 Sunday Jan 2015

Posted by in Extremism, Middle East, Quebec

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DP159399

Laila and Majnun at School, Folio from a Khamsa (Quintet) of Nizami, Calligrapher: Ja’far Baisunghuri (active first half 15th century), Author: Nizami (Ilyas Abu Muhammad Nizam al-Din of Ganja) (probably 1141–1217), Folio from an illustrated manuscript, Date: A.H. 835/ A.D. 1431–32 (Photo credit: Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY)

An Incident

Quebec’s Premier, Dr Philippe Couillard, worked for four years in Saudi Arabia. He is a neurosurgeon who founded or co-founded a hospital in Saudi Arabia. Some members of the opposition in Quebec have therefore been throwing stones in his direction. One could suggest that, as members of the opposition, it is in these politicians best interest to find fault with the Premier, but what about Mr Badawi?

La Rochefoucauld (15 September 1613 – 17 March 1680) wrote a large number of Maximes according to which humans act out of “self-interest.” He is quite right, but the fact remains that many human beings do not act out of self-interest, at least not in the narrowest acceptation of the term. Moreover, although some individuals are rewarded for the good they have done, the good they have done remains good.

A radio personality stated that Premier Couillard would have collaborated with Hitler, which is provocation. That person has since apologized and apologies were accepted. We are closing this door.

Twitter

But yesterday, I saw disparaging comments on Twitter with respect to Dr Couillard, the Premier of Quebec. My response was that Dr Couillard knew the territory, and was in a good position to help Mr Badawi.

No one has tapped Premier Couillard’s telephone, so we do not know what he may have said to Saudi officials, if he phoned Saudi officials. His telephone bill may show that he has phoned the royal family, but we would not know what he said. It would be imprudent on the part of Premier Couillard to provide details concerning a private telephone conversation. He may antagonize Saudi officials, if there was a conversation.

Conclusion

Protest is necessary, but throwing stones is not be a good approach. We know, for instance, that upon appeal, Mr Badawi’s sentence grew from 7 years in prison to 10 years, and from 600 lashes to 1,000. Mr Badawi’s story reminds me of Nicolas Fouquet’s demise. This is a story I have told (see RELATED ARTICLES).

I will note, however, that when Nicolas Fouquet appealed his sentence: banishment, Louis XIV, an absolute monarch, sentenced him to life imprisonment. In both Fouquet’s and Raif Badawi’s cases, we are dealing with absolute monarchs, which should be taken into consideration.

Mr Badawi was not flogged on 16 January 2015, nor was he flogged on 23 January. In fact, he may not be flogged again. This is reassuring. He has yet to be sent to Canada, but we should not assume he will not be released.

RELATED ARTICLES

Kindest regards to all of you.

—ooo—

Joseph Haydn‘s Serenade

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Dr Philippe Couillard

© Micheline Walker
25 January 2015
WordPress

Philippe Couillard, Quebec’s Premier

11 Friday Apr 2014

Posted by in Quebec

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Quebec Premier designate Philippe Couillard speaks at a news conference, Tuesday, April 8, 2014 at the legislature in Quebec City. Quebecers elected a Liberal majority government on April 7. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot

Quebec Premier designate Philippe Couillard speaks at a news conference, Tuesday, April 8, 2014 at the legislature in Quebec City. Quebecers elected a Liberal majority government on April 7. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot

The Quebec Elections

  • a possible empowerment of the French culture, not the opposite
  • respect for French-speaking Canadians outside Quebec: Acadians, descendants of voyageurs, etc
  • the French legacy in North-America
  • an end to petty rules
  • speaking French and speaking it correctly: a personal responsibility 

Dr Philippe Couillard, the leader of Quebec’s Liberal Party, has been elected to the premiership of the Province of Quebec. It was a landslide victory. The election of Philippe Couillard will not destroy the Parti québécois, but separatism has been dealt a major blow. There will be changes and, in my opinion, these will not harm French-speaking Québécois. Demanding that restaurant owners write “salle d’eau,” instead of WC, on a bathroom door is somewhat petty. When I lived in France, the word for salle d’eau was WC.

A Strong Canada as an asset to Québécois

Separatist or sovereigntist Québécois may not be fully aware of this fact, but they are already “maîtres chez nous,” (masters in our own home), their motto. Truth be told, federation with a strong and officially bilingual Canada may in fact ensure rather than hinder the preservation and growth of the French culture in both Quebec and Canada, not to mention North-America. It seems to me that in order to thrive culturally, Québécois’ best option may be to remain in a prosperous and united Canada. Quebec is already a de facto ‘distinct’ society. Need it go that much further?

Safety is one of the main reasons, if not the main reason, why, in 1867, Quebec entered into Confederation under the premiership of Sir Georges-Étienne Cartier. American expansionism, as expressed in Manifest Destiny was a threat. Remember as well the Fenian raids. In 2011, Peter Vronsky published Ridgeway: The American Fenian Invasion and the 1866 Battle That Made Canada (link to Amazon). One of the battles fought to push back the Fenians was the Battle of Ridgeway. At the moment, no nation is threatening Canada’s sovereignty, but unity and strength remain an asset. “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” (See Lincoln’s House Divided Speech). Philippe Couillard has to build an economically strong Quebec, an instrument of permanence. There are united yet bilingual and multilingual countries.   

The “Great Expulsion:” never again

Besides, although Quebec has the largest concentration of French-speaking Canadians, French is spoken outside Quebec. Acadians are French-speaking Canadians and Acadie was the first French settlement in North America. Remember Pierre Dugua, sieur de Monts‘ (Du Gua de Monts) and cartographer Samuel de Champlain‘s expedition of 1604. For many years, Champlain was considered the father of Acadie. But this is not altogether the fact.

As you know, the Acadians were deported in 1755 (see Great Expulsion, Wikipedia) and should not be deported again. From the Great Expulsion (le grand dérangement) grew the Cajun people of Louisiana. Deported Acadians survived and many returned the Canada’s Atlantic provinces. I spent twenty-two years of my teaching career in Nova Scotia, where I was surrounded by Acadians. Acadian author Antonine Maillet told the story of Acadians returning “home” pulling their “charrette.” Pélagie-la-Charrette (1979) earned madame Maillet the 1979 Prix Goncourt, the most prestigious award for a work of literature written in French.

Voyageurs

It should also be pointed out that many descendants of Canadiens voyageurs settled in Manitoba when they retired. They created a nation: the Métis inhabiting Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Louis Riel, a Métis, may be a tragic figure but he is a Canadian legend.  Legends endure. Moreover, there is an Évangéline (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1847). She has long ceased to be merely fictional, if ever she was fictional.  Finally, among voyageurs, many found employment in the lumber industry in British Columbia as did other French-Canadians. In other words, there are French-speaking Canadians from coast to coast. It could be that the Québécois’ pays (country) is Gilles Vigneault‘s country: winter. « Mon pays, c’est l’hiver. »

French starts at home

Moreover, the survival of the French culture in Quebec does not depend entirely on creating a milieu where exposure to English is minimized. Preserving Quebec’s culture is also a personal responsibility on the part of Québécois. They must make sure they speak their language as well as possible. They are at liberty to use the word that best conveys a concept. They must read. A language is an identity. Why quarrel? Separatists have sometimes turned the “Anglos” into scapegoats. If we were maîtres chez nous (masters in our own home), such and such would not happen. Well, speaking French correctly and preserving one’s French heritage starts at home: chez nous. It is a choice.

A Liberal Victory: Dr Philippe Couillard

At any rate, the new premier of Quebec is the Quebec Liberal Party leader Philippe Couillard, a neurosurgeon by profession and a descendant of one of the first French families to settle in Quebec. The liberals’ colour is red. Well, on Monday 7 April 2014, Montreal voted red and so did Sherbrooke, etc. Dr Couillard has yet to prove his mettle as Premier of Quebec. But he proved a good candidate to the premiership of Quebec. “Let’s focus on the real issues” was his rallying cry and Quebec does need to focus on the real issues. With respect to issues, my next post will be devoted to the debate on the Quebec Charter of Values.

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Dr Philippe Couillard

Conclusion

No one knows the future, but one can attempt to build it. Throughout history, millions of individuals have had to leave their country because of genocide, war, poverty, famine and other evils. Millions have suffered. Why should Quebec inflict on itself major and unnecessary confrontations? By and large, Québécois and French-Canadians have been privileged in this regard and their rights are protected.

We now live in an English-speaking world, which was not always the case. Empires rise and fall. Yet, although the world learns English, nations do not have to betray their linguistic and cultural heritage.

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Rue du Parc Lafontaine, Montreal

RELATED ARTICLES

Sources:

The Globe and Mail “Meet Philippe Couillard, the former neurosurgeon who is Quebec’s new premier…”
The National Post “A quiet intellectual with a need to serve.”
Global Montreal “Who is Quebec Liberal leader Philippe Couillard?”
Le Devoir Liste des articles liés à « Philippe Couillard » 
Antonine Maillet, the Unknow Acadian, CBC
 

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Tchaikovsky, Old French song 

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© Micheline Walker
April 11, 2014
WordPress