Quebec on my mind.2

27 Saturday Apr 2013

Posted by michelinewalker in Art, Canada, Quebec

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

Bilingualism, Bill-14, Cegep, Claude Lorrain, Language Laws, Quebec, Right to study in English Cegeps, Sovereignty

Le Moulin by Claude Lorrain, 1631

Claude Lorrain (c. 1600 – 23 November 1682)

Photo credit: wikipaintings.org (Lorrain);

www.britannica.com (Sir George-Étienne Cartier)

Bill 14

Yesterday, I wrote a blog on the subject of Bill 14, now under discussion in the Quebec Legislature,[i] but did not post it. I needed to “sleep on it” and did. If enacted, Bill 14 would make Quebec communities where the percentage of English-speaking citizens falls below 50% into French-speaking communities, but it is more complex. It would also put limits on the number of French-speaking Québécois who attend Quebec’s Cégep (grades 12 and 13). After obtaining their DEC Diplôme d’études collégiales) or DCS (Diploma of College Studies), students may enter graduate programs, such as Law and Medicine.

A will to remain within Canadian Confederation

When Jacques Parizeau, a former premier of Quebec, lost the last referendum on sovereignty, held in 1995, he commented that the Parti Québécois had lost because of “money and the ethnic vote.” This cannot be altogether true. Among the c. 51% of the population who voted against sovereignty, there were many French-speaking voters. There are French-speaking Quebecers who wish to retain a close partnership with Ottawa. In fact, this percentage has grown significantly since Madame Marois has become the Premier of Quebec. She leads a minority government and has effected cutbacks and disappointed students. I can state, therefore, that there is, among Québécois, a will to remain within Confederation, a closer bond than that which unites the United States.

French-Canadians Studying English

An excellent indication of this will is the large number of French-speaking Québécois who enrol in English-language Cégeps as well as institutions such as Bishop’s University, in the Eastern Townships, where I reside, with the purpose of learning English. English-speaking Quebecers are willing to accept compromises and, among French-speaking Québécois, many wish to learn English. Because of the operations I have undergone in the last five months or so (cataracts and bunions), I know that it is entirely possible in Sherbrooke, Quebec, to receive medical attention in Canada’s two official languages. For instance I was provided with information on the removal of cataracts in a bilingual booklet. As well, when my second bunion was removed, there were Anglophones waiting for surgery and they were addressed in fluent English and in a friendly, caring manner by French-Canadian doctors and the hospital’s staff.

Bilingualism

Bilingualism is not an evil. On the contrary. It is as a student at the University of Victoria, in British Columbia, and Marianopolis College, in Westmount (Montreal), that I studied French systematically. These were English-language institutions. As a result, I know that in English one “makes a decision” and that in French one takes a decision (prendre une décision). In other words, although French is my mother tongue, I perfected my knowledge of both French and English taking courses intended for English-speaking students. I studied French as a second-language. Later, after finishing my PhD, I taught applied linguistics, or what is involved in the teaching and learning of second or third languages (second-language didactics), at McMaster University, in Ontario. I love studying languages.

Opposing Bill 14

Now that Bill 14 is being discussed, I wish I could provide the Legislature with my personal testimonial. I can do so in fluent and correct French. Consequently, I am opposed to a Bill that would further limit access to the study of English to French-speaking Quebecers. One has to be realistic. If Québécois do not learn languages other than French, English in particular, they will be facing obstacles that have nothing to do with their being part of the Canadian Confederation. They are citizens of the world.

I am also opposed to Bill 14 because it takes away from English-speaking Quebecers the rights I enjoyed in mostly English-language provinces of Canada. The majority of French-speaking Canadians live in Quebec, but there are a great many French-speaking Canadians living outside Quebec. They have their schools or they may enter a French-immersion program. Canadian Parents for French remains a strong lobby and several members of this association look upon French-immersion schools as the better public schools or private schools within the public system.

Sir George-Étienne Cartier

The French-Canadian Legacy

French-speaking Canadians outside Quebec can listen to French-language radio and watch French-language television networks from coast to coast and they are respected by English-speaking Canadians who have been flocking to French-immersion schools from the moment Pierre Elliott Trudeau and his Liberal Party implemented official bilingualism. It is no longer possible for me to speak French at a restaurant table in Toronto or Vancouver expecting that no one will understand what I am saying.

In other words, the battle has been fought and won. I have mentioned Pierre Elliott Trudeau‘s government, but he had predecessors who paved the way for a bilingual Canada. Among these leaders are Sir Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine, KCMG (October 4, 1807 – February 26, 1864), Sir George-Étienne Cartier, 1st Baronet, PC (September 6, 1814 – May 20, 1873), a father of Confederation, and Sir Wilfrid Laurier, GCMG, PC, KC, (20 November 1841 – 17 February 1919). It’s time to cease and desist. If not, more English-speaking Quebecers will leave their province as well as French-speaking Québécois many of whom had moved to Quebec from France, Belgium, and other war-torn countries. A large number left in the 1970s. They had fled strife.

Strife is what Lord Durham, John George Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, GCB, PC (12 April 1792 – 28 July 1840), observed and noted in the report he submitted after investigating the mostly misunderstood Rebellions of 1837-1838 (entry from the Canadian Encyclopedia). Lord Durham commented that French-speaking Canadians were “without history and without literature” and recommended that they be assimilated, but this recommendation was never put into effect. Sir Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine, a French-Canadian, was Prime Minister from September 26, 1842 – November 27, 1843. His term began a year after the Act of Union (1841), also recommended by Lord Durham, was proclaimed. Responsible government became the more important objective, as would extending Canada from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean.

The Rebellions of 1837-1838

Québécois who study the history of Canada should be taught that the Rebellions of 1837-1838 occurred in both Canadas (see Upper Canada Rebellion, Wikipedia). There were patriots in Toronto and rebels were hanged in the current Ontario (Toronto and London). Recently, I met a lady who told me she did not know about the Upper Canada Rebellion and was sorry she had not been taught Canadian history in a more accurate manner.

Conclusion

It would be my opinion that souverainistes are now “fighting windmills” (Don Quixote, Miguel de Cervantes). They are also harming all French-speaking Canadians living outside Quebec. Above all, consider the benefits of living harmoniously and in prosperity.

Featured artist

My featured artist is Claude Lorrain, the byname of Claude Gellée (born 1600, Champagne, France—died Nov. 23, 1682, Rome [Italy]), whose landscapes may have been an inspiration to Whistler in that they are lyrical and an earlier expression of a degree of tonalism.[ii]

RELATED ARTICLES

Upper Canada Rebellion (Wikipedia)

Upper and Lower Canada (michelinewalker.com)

The Rebellion in Upper Canada: Wikipedia’s Gallery (michelinewalker.com)

Upper Canada Rebels who died by hanging

Peter Matthews (1789 – April 12, 1838; by hanging [Toronto])

Samuel Lount (September 24, 1791 – April 12, 1838; by hanging [Toronto])

Joshua Gwillen Doan (1811 – February 6, 1839; by hanging [London, Ontario])

REFERENCES

CTV News (François Legault)

CBC News (Coalition Avenir Québec, François Legault)

CBC News (Dawson College, Cégep, priority to Anglophone students)

The Montreal Gazette Loss of identity)

Quebec’s main political parties and their leaders (le chef) are:

Le Parti Québécois (Pauline Marois, chef)

Coalition Avenir Québec (François Legault, chef)

Le Parti Libéral du Québec (Philippe Couillard, chef)

_______________________________

[i] Called “Assemblée nationale” by “indépendantistes” parties.

[ii] “Claude Lorrain.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.

Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2013. Web. 27 Apr. 2013.

<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/120438/Claude-Lorrain>.

art: Claude Lorrain

composer: Johann Pachelbel

piece: Canon (Arr.: Louis Ablazzo, Ed. Mathun)
performers: Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra

conductor: Bemhard Giiller

27 April 2013

WordPress

Trees,

by Claude Lorrain,

1669

Reading Quebec: Le Devoir

07 Thursday Feb 2013

Posted by michelinewalker in Canada

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Bill-14, Canada, Clarity Act, François Hollande, Jean Charest, La Classe, McGill University, Pierre Duchesne, Quebec, Sherbrooke

Tuition Fees: Pierre Duchesne getting ready for the Summit (Garnotte 2013-02-05)

For pictures by cartoonist Garnotte, see Garnotte or http://www.ledevoir.com/galeries-photos/les-caricatures-de-garnotte/105537.

During the 2012 student strike, a red square was worn by students and sympathizers.

Photo credit: Le Devoir

Carré rouge

On Tuesday, 5 February 2013, I bought a copy of Le Devoir, Quebec‘ s finest French-language newspaper. As you can see above, the cartoonist, Garnotte, sat Pierre Duchesne, Ministre de l’Enseignement supérieur, de la Recherche, de la Science et de la Technologie (depuis 2012),[i] under a big red block, ready to fall on his head.

L’Association pour une solidarité syndicale étudiante (ASSÉ), the core association of La Classe: La Coalition Large ASSE) is ready to go on strike. (La Classe).
The business community has refused to pay a tax that would help keep tuition fees as they have been: the lowest in the country.

Jean Charest in France

Former Premier Jean Charest (born 1958) was in France meeting with President François Hollande (born 1954). According to the 5 February 2013 issue of Le Devoir, no one knew what they were discussing, but we were told yesterday, 6 February 2013) that they were discussing business. Monsieur Charest, a veteran politician and the former Premier of Quebec, was not reelected in his own riding: Sherbrooke, Quebec.

Président Holland and Jean Charest, former Premier of Quebec, at l'Elizée

French President François Hollande and Jean Charest, former Premier of Quebec, at l’Élizée (Photo credit: Martin Bureau, Agence France-Presse)

McGill outgoing President on the forthcoming Summit on Education, etc

And, this morning, I am reading that the outgoing President of McGill University, in Montreal, Madame Heather Munroe-Blum, thought that “contrairement à certains libéraux, elle ne croit [believe] pas que la hausse [rise] proposée par le gouvernement Charest était exagérée.”

Madame Heather Munroe-Blum pointed out that, “contrary to certain liberals, she does not believe that the raise proposed by Monsieur Charest’s government [last spring] was too high (exagérée).” In fact, “[i]t wasn’t high enough. « À mon avis, ce n’était pas assez fort », a-t-elle indiqué.” (See Le Devoir.)
Madame Heather Munroe-Blum also stated that the Summit on Higher Education was a “une farce,” a joke. (See Le Devoir.)
She also mentioned that “[i]n Sherbrooke, we had a Senegalese academic who compared our education system to that of Senegal, twenty years ago. What do you think of that?). « À Sherbrooke, on a eu un universitaire sénégalais qui a comparé notre système d’enseignement avec le système sénégalais d’il y a vingt ans. Que penser de ça ? » (il y a = ago) (See Le Devoir.)

There are fewer full-time university teachers in Quebec than outside Quebec. In Quebec universities, numerous teachers are hired on a part-time basis and must travel between two or three universities to make a meagre living. Moreover, concessions are made for students who are first generation university students.

Bill 14

I am also sending you an article on Bill-14. It would transform bilingual communities into unilingual communities, if the English-speaking population drops to below 40% of the total population. (See CTV News.) Quebec wishes to protect the French language, (as does Canada), but there may be friendlier and more effective ways of doing so than the current attempts to marginalize its English-speaking population. What about French-speaking Canadians living outside Quebec?

Working Group on Healthcare or the Council of the Federation: Quebec walks out

In yesterday’s Devoir, I also read that Quebec had left a Working Group on Health Care. (See The Globe and Mail.)

The Estates General on Quebec Sovereignty

États généraux sur la souveraineté

Pauline Marois on les États généraux sur la souveraineté

Moreover, the Estates General on Quebec Sovereignty (CTV News) has found that the Federal government blocks Quebec in 92 ways. (See Le Devoir.)

France’s Position on the Question of Quebec Sovereignty

Here is another useful link regarding France’s position with respect to Quebec’s sovereignty. (See The Huffington Post.)

For more information on most of the above, see The Montreal Gazette or The Montreal Gazette (front page, click on tab above the picture.)

Conclusion

I am posting this blog, because I would like to answer, to the extent that I may, a question English-speaking Canadians often ask. What does Quebec want?

Reflecting on the possible repercussions of sovereignty for Quebec seems a good idea. There has to be a bona fide (in good faith) assessment of gains and losses should Quebec leave confederation. Indépendantistes must consider the consequences of secession, or a form thereof. Truth be told, it would be in the interest of the rest of Canada to define its position should Quebec chose not to remain within the current confederation. Will the rest of Canada be tolerant or will we face disorder?

However, Quebec has not seceded and Québécois may well decide to remain a province of Canada. First Minister Alex Salmond of Scotland has secured an agreement with the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom regarding a referendum. But the people of Quebec have not said yes and under the terms of the Clarity Act (popular in Quebec [See The Globe and Mail.]), passed in the year 2000, independence cannot be a unilateral decision.

“The legislation says secession can occur only through constitutional reform, not a simple vote. It also puts restrictions on the question that can be asked in a referendum and how large a majority is required for a Yes vote.” (See Paul Waldie, The Globe and Mail.)

Much of the above confuses me.

Madame Marois is an indépendantiste, but to what extent?
A degree of sovereignty has been achieved in Quebec. Why and how?
Does Quebec have a mandate to create a government within a government?
To what extent can Quebec legislate unilingualism (Bill-14), or has something happened I do not know about?
Quebec has not signed the Patriated Constitution (1982)? Why and what does this mean?
Do I notice a degree of entitlement on the part of Quebec students not to mention groups (Health Care) in its government?
The Clarity Act (Bill C-20)…