And we, the English, what do we think of Bill 96? (Sound of crickets…) Ah, it’s true, nobody really asked us what we think of this law which aims to reinforce Law 101. The subject belongs to a political and media class whose members are almost all French speakers, baby boomers for the most part. They work together to determine what we are and, above all, how we live. Yes yes.
They are mostly alarmists and Caquists, people who, for the most part, live far from Anglophones and do not mingle with them. They all agree with each other. They’ve been talking to each other for so long. It must be true, what they repeat to each other, right?
It is very strange to attend a debate where people point the finger at you to explain who you are and how they intend to organize your future, without ever even thinking of asking you what you think about it. And God their monologue is filled with good old stereotypes.
They tell us “spoiled”, “privileged”, “anti-francophones”, “unilingual”, “never happy”, “against Quebec”. We have been portrayed like this in some media for a long time. It has become a caricature accepted by many people. But I regret to tell you that this image is false, particularly with regard to the younger generations.
There are still Anglophones who do not speak French. I do not deny it. But much less than in the 1970s and 1980s. Most of us are now bilingual, and even trilingual, among allophones. We love Quebec and its culture and we have made a lot of effort since Bill 101 to respect our part of the social contract. That’s good progress, right?
(Sound of crickets…)
Believe it or not, we all want to preserve the French language in Quebec. Yes, yes, us too. But not like that, not in a punitive and coercive way by depriving young people of their freedom of choice with the notwithstanding clause.
Do you have any concerns for the future in terms of demographics? This is perfectly understandable in the North American context. Let’s talk, dialogue, find solutions together… We are not THE recalcitrant problem to be solved in a bureaucratic and legislative way.
(Sound of crickets…)
We should surely have the right to demonstrate against a bill that will affect us so much, don’t you think? But no, it seems that makes us radicals. What an unhealthy climate!
No member of our government has consulted with the (largely French-speaking) administrators or employees of English-language CEGEPs to see how this law would affect them. Requests from CEGEP administrators wishing to open a dialogue have all been refused.
We saw Michel Leblanc, President of the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal, explain to the young and very ambitious Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette the effect that Bill 96 will have on SMEs. But Mr. Jolin-Barrette, a politician who has never worked in the private sector, believes that he knows more than Mr. Leblanc on this ground, it seems. He dismissed his criticism out of hand.
We saw his showdown with Chief Judge Lucie Rondeau, who tried to explain to him that there are procedures to follow to appoint judges, in addition to having to take into account the reality on the ground. It’s the same thing for police officers, nurses and doctors — all sectors affected by Bill 96, since in theory we will no longer have the right to communicate with citizens in English, regardless of situation.
In a crisis, we know that no one is going to stop to ask themselves in which language to speak. We will react by communicating as best we can.
There again, Mr. Jolin-Barrette seems to claim to know more than a judge who has worked at the Court of Quebec since 1995. The most important thing for the young minister is undoubtedly to win this battle by passing his bill at all costs.
So, how do we feel about Bill 96, we the “agents of the decline” of Quebec culture, as Emilie Nicolas wrote in a brilliant text a few weeks ago?
Sold out. Frustrated. Sad. Caught in a bad historical and nationalist whirlwind that starts again every 20 years or so. Heirs to an outdated idea, fixed in the heads of older generations, who are mistaken about who we really are.