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Tag Archives: French language

Pauline Marois’ Offensive

16 Saturday Mar 2013

Posted by michelinewalker in Uncategorized

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

Canada, French language, Madame Marois, Montreal, Parti Québécois, Pauline Marois, Quebec, Quiet Revolution

Jacques Dallaire

Élégant, by Jean Dallaire (1916-1965)

(with permission from La Galerie Klinkhoff, Montreal)

The Offensive

I was delighted that so many of you read my last post and left a “like.”  The tax I wrote about is mostly trivial, but it is a step in the wrong direction.  Moreover, in an article posted below, Madame Marois claims that separation from Canada is an emergency, which is another step in the wrong direction.  She bemoans the fact Quebecers have “two levels of government” and states that the solution is independence from Canada.  Allow me to quote Madame Marois:

  • ‘We are on the offensive:’ Pauline Marois claims Quebec sovereignty is an ’emergency’ (news.nationalpost.com)
“Marois told a weekend meeting of Parti Quebecois delegates that it is “very important to explain” the benefits of making Quebec a country, which include the province making its own decisions and ending the duplication of two levels of government.” (Feb. 11, 2013)  
 

To my knowledge, it happened the other way around.  Quebec, not Canada, created a government within a government (i.e. a factious government).  For instance, Quebec failed to sign the patriated constitution (1982).  That gesture alone can serve as proof that the government of Quebec had initiated a separation from Canada and had done so without first obtaining from the people of Quebec a mandate allowing it to start negotiating the terms of a new relationship with Ottawa.  There had been a referendum, but indépendantistes  had not obtained sufficient votes.  So, in 1982, the government of Quebec acted as if Quebec had separated from Canada, when such was not the case.

Ironically, in the 1960s, at the time the Quiet Revolution took place, Quebecers were lulled into thinking they would inhabit a welfare state, but they are now paying taxes to “two levels of government” because its own government put the cart before the horse.  It acted prematurely.  Moreover, because Quebec did not sign the patriated Constitution, there are limitations on the validity of Quebec’s health-insurance card.  When I lived outside Quebec, my health-insurance card was valid from coast to coast.

  •  French Canadians are victims of ‘soft ethnocide’ by Ottawa, PQ-funded study claims (news.nationalpost.com)

“The latest outbreak of separatist grievance-mongering comes in the form of a new PQ-funded report that claims Ottawa is allowing Anglophone provinces to commit “soft ethnocide” on French speakers around the country. “We’re reminding people of the evolution of Canada when we systematically eliminated French at the start of the 20th century,” said the lead author this week.” (Feb. 5, 2013)

The School Problem

Regarding the “soft ethnocide” Madame Marois is imputing to Ottawa, need I remind Quebec’s Premier that, traditionally, it has been difficult for French-speaking Canadians to separate language from religion.  They had been taught that language and religion were inextricably linked.  So the reason why French-speaking Canadians living outside Quebec could not receive an education in French has little to do with resistance on the part of English-speaking Canadians and Ottawa.  It has to do with the fact that provincial governments do not fund denominational schools.  Such schools are private schools.

I saw my very own father rebuked and labelled a “communist,” because it was acceptable to him to separate language and religion, or faith and state.  Fortunately, matters changed when Pierre Elliott Trudeau became Prime Minister.  It is now possible for French-speaking Canadians to be educated in French outside Quebec and English-speaking students are eager to enter French-immersion programs.  In other words, there is no “soft ethnocide” of French-speaking Canadians residing outside Quebec, at least not yet.  But there may be an ethnocide if Quebec continues to act recklessly.

Tuition-free education

Let me address this matter once again.  In Quebec, beginning with the Quiet Revolution, the government wanted to give students whose parents had not attended a university a chance to do so.  Students were therefore spared a measure of screening.  It is relatively easy for Quebec students to enter university.  Besides, their tuition fees are half the amount Canadian students pay outside Quebec.  The Quebec government cannot afford what the Parti Québécois peddled so Madame Marois would defeat Jean Charest’s federalist government.  If a referendum were called in the near future, students would not support indépendance.  As for other Québécois and Quebeckers, especially the elderly, they would remember that they are footing the bill so fees paid by students would not rise.  Someone has to foot the bill and, among those who do, too many are living below the poverty line.

The Quiet Revolution took place fifty years ago.  May I suggest therefore that the time may have come for Quebec universities to put into place more selective entrance requirements.  May I also suggest that it is entirely possible for intelligent and hard-working students to obtain a university degree even if their parents have not attended a university.

My father is an intellectual, but my parents did not attend university.  Yet, on the basis of an entrance examination, I earned myself a free education.  Furthermore, when I entered graduate school, I did so at the doctoral level and by invitation.  In my opinion, if a  student’s performance warrants financial help, financial help should be available, as it was for me.

About Quebec universities

I took courses in musicology at a Quebec English-language university.  The department of music had three full-time professors and twenty-two chargés de cours (part-time teachers).  It needed part-time teachers because students were learning to play different instruments, but three vs twenty-two seemed too wide a discrepancy.  Besides, other departments also hired more part-time teachers than full-time teachers.  As a result, many Quebec university teachers have left Quebec and teach in other provinces.  That is a loss for Quebec.  In fact that is not-so-soft ethnocide perpetrated by the Quebec government.

Conclusion

It seems to me that in the interest of peace, growth, and the pursuit of happiness, Madame Marois and her Parti Québécois, should revisit their decision to separate from Canada.  In particularly, they should assign members of the Office québécois de la langue française, OQLF to more positive tasks.  The time has come for a more significant number of Québécois to speak their language correctly.  Québécois do have a territory and that territory is their culture.  Asking restaurant owners to replace WC by toilettes on the door to a restaurant’s facilities is petty in the utmost and it threatens French-speaking Canadians living outside Quebec.

For forty years, I lived in complete harmony with my English-speaking neighbours as well as my English-speaking colleagues.  Yes, I was overworked, which put a premature end to my career as a university teacher, but no one ever forced me to speak English or got upset if I used French words.  On the contrary!

Moreover, the time has also come for Québécois to be taught the history of their country.  They need to know that French-speaking Canadians were not harmed by Britain.  In 1763, France could no longer afford New France so it chose to retain Guadeloupe as a colony rather than New France.  However, under the new régime, French-speaking Canadians kept their farms, seigneuries, religion and their language.  Moreover, in 1774, the Quebec Act put French-speaking Canadians on the same footing as English-speaking Canadians.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with living in a bilingual or trilingual country.  But it is very wrong to foment dissent and unnecessary conflicts.  Madame Marois is calling for an offensive, but I am calling for all Canadians to respect one another.  I am calling for peace, growth and the pursuit of happiness.

© Micheline Walker
16 March 2013
WordPress
Related articles
  • ‘We are on the offensive:’ Pauline Marois claims Quebec sovereignty is an ’emergency’ (news.nationalpost.com)
  • Quebec on my Mind (michelinewalker.com)

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Comments on the Quebec General Election

28 Tuesday Aug 2012

Posted by michelinewalker in Music

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Canada, Charter of the French Language, French language, Gazette, Le Devoir, Le Monde diplomatique, Official Language Act, Quebec

the Quebec General Election:  Information

The Charter of the French Language (La Charte de la langue française, Bill 101) “is a law in the Province of Quebec, Canada, defining French, as the official language and framing fundamental language rights.  It is the central legislative piece in Quebec’s language policy.”  (Wikipedia)

Bill 101 was passed by the National Assembly and granted Royal Assent by Lieutenant Governor Hugues Lapointe on August 26, 1977, under the government of Premier  René Lévesque, the leader of the Parti Québécois.  The bill was proposed by Camille Laurin, the Minister of Cultural Development.

Bill 101 had been preceded by the Official Language Act (Bill 22), passed in 1974 under the Liberal government of Premier Robert Bourassa.  Bill 101 (1977) has been challenged  and too rigid an interpretation can lead to dangerous situations.

When friends and I were trying to cross the Champlain bridge to leave Montreal, an island, the overhead traffic monitors gave information and instructions in French only.  I told my friends that the information should be given in both French and English to protect all drivers, including French-speaking drivers.

Bill 101 also stipulates that the children of immigrants be educated in French, etc.  For more information click on the Charter of the French Language.  My main source of information in writing this post was Wikipedia’s entry of the Charter of the French Language.

However, yesterday, as reported in Le Devoir, Jean Charest stated he might expand  Bill 101.  Expansion could mean constructive amendments to the current law, but not necessarily.  However, during a political campaign, leaders often attempt to win over support from undecided voters by making promises they cannot respect once they are in office.  I could be wrong, but I believe monsieur Charest did not need to raise the issue, if indeed he raised it.  He may have been compelled to address this subject.

The Canada Act of 1982

Moreover, Quebec has yet to sign the “patriated” (from England to Canada)Constitution of Canada or the Canada Act of 1982.  One wonders.  What is the status of Quebec?  Might it be, to some extent, more closely linked to Britain than other provinces?  I am being slightly facetious, but not altogether.

I would hate to see French Canadians swallowed up by an English-language majority, but choosing the appropriate means to protect the French language is a thorny matter.  Language policy remains a central issue in the forthcoming election.

© Micheline Walker
28 August 2012
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composer: Jean-Philippe Rameau (25 September 1683, Dijon – 12 September
1764) 
piece: Les Indes galantes (Indes: North America) & chaconne
 
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  • A PQ government would strengthen Quebec language laws within 100 days: Marois (news.nationalpost.com)
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Current Events & the Crusades

29 Tuesday May 2012

Posted by michelinewalker in Canada

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

CBC News, crusades, CTV News, David Hume, French language, Le Devoir, New York Times, Philippe Jaroussky

Kneeling Knight

Kneeling Knight (History)

This Morning’s News

First thing this morning, I listened to the News on Radio-Canada, the French-language CBC. The news was not pleasant. I heard that lawyers and jurists were now protesting against Bill 78, a law deemed a violation of our cherished freedom of speech. It had turned into a Crusade.

The Crusades

The Crusades were “God’s war” (Christopher Tyerman),[i] but wait a minute.  As David Hume wrote, the Crusades are

the most signal and most durable monument of human folly that has yet appeared in any age or nation.[ii]

“The Lord is a man of war.” (Exodus 15:3) 

First, the time may have come to take God out of the Crusades. The Crusades were a human endeavour. Second, if one takes the view expressed by David Hume, one might come to the conclusion that the last hundred days have been an “assault on reason,”  (Al Gore), were it not that the students were manipulated into breaking a lot of rules and, at times, laws, existing laws, not Law 78. There have been several arrests, which is regrettable.

I believe the lawyers and jurists will soon return to their offices and comfy homes or run the risk of looking ridiculous. Nothing worse could happen to them.

Let us see what the papers and the television have to offer of this subject.

English
The Montreal Gazette: http://www.montrealgazette.com/index.html
The National Post: http://www.nationalpost.com/index.html
The Globe and Mail: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/
The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/
 
CBC News: http://www.cbc.ca/thenational/
CTV News: http://www.ctvnews.ca/
 
French
Le Devoir http://www.ledevoir.com/
La Presse http://www.lapresse.ca/
 
 
_________________________

[i] title of Christopher Tyerman’s God’s War, A New History of the Crusades  (London: Penguin, 2006).

[ii] Quoted by Christopher Tyerman, God’s War, A New History of the Crusades (London: Penguin, 2006), p. xiv.

 

Coquille Saint-Jacques

Haendel: “Ombra mai fu,” from Serse, Jennifer Larmore
Haendel: “Ombra mai fu,” Philippe Jaroussky
 
 
untitled© Micheline Walker
29 May 2012
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Another Desmonstration: a New Law…

18 Friday May 2012

Posted by michelinewalker in Quebec, Students' Strike

≈ Comments Off on Another Desmonstration: a New Law…

Tags

British North America Acts, Canada, Canadian Pacific Railway, French language, Jean Charest, Le Devoir, Monroe Doctrine, Quebec

Jean Charest, Premier of the Province of Quebec

Matters have not improved significantly in the student’s strike.  People are still demonstrating as the Premier tries to introduce a law: Bill 78, that would put an end to the disorder.

Le Devoir.com is a very good source of information, but it’s a French-language paper.  It calls for an end to the demonstrations, called manifestations in French: Assez!  Enough!

Telling this story is difficult because matters keep changing and reports differ.

Links:

  • CBC News:  http://www.cbc.ca/news/ 
  • CTV News: http://montreal.ctv.ca/
  • The Gazette: http://www.montrealgazette.com/index.html
  • The Globe and Mail: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/ 
  • Le Devoir: http://www.ledevoir.com/politique/quebec/348126/greve-etudiante-assez (front page: Enough ! Assez! French)

I am in the process of writing the history of Confederation or Constitution, or BNA Act (British North America Acts, starting in 1867) in blog form.  It cannot be done in one post.  The Constitution was patriated (brought to Canada from England) in 1982, but Quebec did not sign it.

The discussion starts with the Monroe Doctrine or Manifest Destiny.  We then go back to the descendants of our voyageurs and their leader Louis Riel.  The big story is building the railroad: the Canadian Pacific Railway.

Completing the Railway before 1867 was impossible because it had to go through several ranges of mountains, but a promise sufficed.

Canadian Pacific Logo, 1996
© Micheline Walker
May 18, 2012
WordPress
 
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Keeping up with Current Events in Quebec

17 Thursday May 2012

Posted by michelinewalker in Canada

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Canada, Civil code, French language, La Presse (Canadian newspaper), Madame Marois, Parti Québécois, Quebec, Quebec City, Quebec Government, Wikipedia

Flag of Quebec City, Quebec, Canada.

Flag of Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Current Events in Quebec

For those of you who wish to keep up with current events in Quebec, I am listing a number of links.

Yesterday (May 16), the students were prevented from re-entering the classroom by unsavoury and potentially dangerous groups: gangs.

Given the threat to the students and to their teachers, the Quebec Government has ordered an end to the tuition strike.  There was violence between 1960 and 1970, so the presence of gangs preventing the students from attending their classes has to be taken very seriously.

I saw Madame Marois on television.  She was asking the premier to act as a “good father” (the « bon père » notion of the Quebec Code civil fr/ Civil Code en) to the students and sit with them.  I am hearing the word “negotiations.”  To what extent should a Premier negotiate?  Madame Marois spoke about attentive mothers who talk with their children, etc.

As a bon père, monsieur Charest is putting an end to the academic year and to the strike. I believe monsieur Charest will ask the population to decide: a referendum of some kind.

Here are Civil Code entries (English):

  • http://www.justice.gouv.qc.ca/english/sujets/glossaire/code-civil-a.htm
  • http://www2.publicationsduquebec.gouv.qc.ca/dynamicSearch/telecharge.php?type=2&file=/CCQ/CCQ_A.html
  • http://lawjournal.mcgill.ca/documents/40.Olivier.pdf

Code civil entries in French:

  • http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_civil_du_Qu%C3%A9bec
  • http://www2.publicationsduquebec.gouv.qc.ca/dynamicSearch/telecharge.php?type=2&file=/CCQ/CCQ.html
  • http://www.rdl.gouv.qc.ca/fr/pdf/ccq_du_louage.pdf
  • http://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/dossiers/conflit-etudiant/201204/27/01-4519607-droits-de-scolarite-loffre-de-quebec-est-accueillie-froidement.php (old news)

Here are the URLs of newpapers covering the events:

  • CBC http://www.cbc.ca/news/
  • CTV http://www.ctvnews.ca/
  • Global Montreal http://www.globalmontreal.com/
  • Le Devoir http://www.ledevoir.com/societe/education/350234/conflit-etudiant-haute-pression (French)
  • La Presse: http://www.lapresse.ca/ (French)
  • Le Soleil: http://www.lapresse.ca/le-soleil/actualites/education/201205/16/01-4525999-conflit-etudiant-quebec-pret-a-imposer-une-loi-speciale.php (French: Quebec City)
  • The Montreal Gazette http://www.montrealgazette.com/index.html
  • The Globe and Mail http://www.theglobeandmail.com/
     
Le Code civil
© Micheline Walker
May 17, 2012
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On Comments

18 Sunday Mar 2012

Posted by michelinewalker in Sharing

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

Dunnock, English language, French language, Language, Linguistics, Social Sciences, Steffan Johnson, Uniform Resource Locator

                                       

The Hedge Sparrow by Steffan Johnson

This morning I found a long list of comments most of which were identical except that they referred to a number of posts.  I deleted these comments, thirty-two, to be precise.  The person(s) who had written the comments was/were telling me that the comments I was receiving from other readers looked as though they came from brain-dead individuals.  Many of my readers are learning English.  There are errors and some contain “buzz” words , etc.

But, having taught French to persons who had a scanty knowledge of French, I learned to let them complete their sentences whenever possible.  If I had corrected them in mid-sentence, they may not have dared speak again, but I dealt with errors the next day, not attaching the mistake to one person.

I will have to erase comments from my long list because there are too many, but I will not erase comments because they have been written by persons who have not mastered the English language.

Derogatory comments about comments written in imperfect English will be deleted permanently the moment they reach me.  As well, if a comment contains URLs, it will be either deleted or edited.

In short, I will not publish comments that are offensive to other readers.  My readers will be treated with the respect due every human being.

* * *

March 18, 2012

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