With this series, the editorial team goes back to the sources of a Quebec model that is struggling in the hope of rekindling its first sparks, those that allowed our nation to distinguish itself from others. Today: Bill 101.
Of all the reforms related to the Quebec model, the reappropriation of our linguistic destiny remains without a doubt the most important. It was not an easy journey, and it will always be so in a nation unique in its language and institutions on an Anglo-Saxon continent. English still remains the irresistible lingua franca of business, mass entertainment and the digital economy.
Fighting, remaining vigilant, reaffirming our inalienable right to live, grow and dream in French remain missions that we must assume on an individual and collective scale. We will never be reassured by the place of French because of these geographical, demographic and cultural considerations. If those critical of reforms aimed at protecting French could substitute historical understanding for the promptness of their indignation, our societal debates would be better off. On the other hand, if the heirs of the French fact remembered their duty to integrate and extend a helping hand to these thousands of Quebecers and newcomers who must be relentlessly linked to the language and culture of the majority, we would emerge stronger, and perhaps even united in a collective project.
This long-term work spans more than a generation and requires consistency on the part of the political parties that alternately share the steering wheel at the controls of our destiny. Between the initial impetus of 1974, when Liberal François Cloutier made French the only official language of Quebec, the revolutionary and restorative act of 1977, when Camille Laurin broke the chains of inferiority with Bill 101, and the contemporary adoption of Bill 96 by the Legault government, we are forced to admit the existence of numerous lulls in the vigor of the linguistic combat.
We can therefore hope that the next political cycle in Quebec will produce leaders who will all be driven by the same determination to ensure the protection of French and counter its decline. French is in decline mode for a series of indicators, all of which are worrying: its weight in officially “bilingual” Canada, its place as a mother tongue, as the first language spoken at home, and as the language of use in Montreal, the world capital of “Bonjour-Hi.” The appeal of English in CEGEP is unwavering, and it is slowly encouraging a new generation of graduates to join the English-speaking melting pot, as demonstrated by a recent study by the Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF). Despite the tightening of language laws, loopholes still exist, such as the one allowing people to freely choose vocational training in secondary school in English.
Positive points? There are at least two: 93.7% of Quebecers are able to hold a conversation in French, and Bill 101 is still working wonders to Frenchify immigrant children in primary and secondary schools. Let us highlight these successes without being accused of apathy or carelessness by certain demographers seeking a monopoly on the truth.
On the other hand, a generational divide is taking hold, particularly among 18- to 34-year-olds for whom the battles of the past do not resonate in their daily lives. We encouraged them to project themselves into the future as citizens of the world. Demographic changes, openness to others and the breaking down of borders in digital worlds have led them to adopt multiple identities. Bilingualism was presented to them as an asset to broaden their horizons, which remains true today.
The vulnerability of French does not seem to affect them, but how can we blame them? The fight for the language was dominated for decades by the statistical, normative and legislative approach. Without denying their necessity for a single moment, they have taken up so much space that we have relegated to the periphery of the fight the importance of the symbiotic relationship between language and culture. A well-standardized language has less strength than a well-standardized and loved language.
The digital revolution is over 30 years old, but we are only now discovering the importance of asserting Quebec’s cultural sovereignty in these dematerialized worlds, where French-speaking content and creators struggle to find their way to the hearts and minds of the public.
Quebec has gone on the offensive with the creation of the Action Group for the Future of the French Language (GAALF), but its action is concentrated around a handful of ministers and a discreet consultation of experts. It will take a lot of ambition and a mobilization of civil society to take the fight to the next level. The time has come to revive pride and cement the union between French language and culture. This is a titanic task that politicians cannot accomplish alone.