There are two classic trump cards in the game of our politicians for ages: it’s the fault of the federal government and… it’s the fault of the Anglos! Our children don’t know how to write French? Don’t look for the causes, blame English! It’s easier!
I was born in Ontario and grew up here in a family of 10 children with a French-Canadian mother and a father of Irish origin. The elders, including myself, all studied in English. The youngest were sent to French school, our parents realizing that a good knowledge of French was now essential.
The two linguistic solitudes
The siblings are now spread from Saint-Lazare to Shanghai, via Calgary and California, but we all have in common a good knowledge of French and a love for Quebec.
I have always had one foot in each of the “two linguistic solitudes”. I know the codes on both sides well and, believe me, there is a lot to decode.
François Legault likes to recall that he grew up in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, in the “West Island” where “Anglos” abound. Famously, he even said at his inauguration party that he hated Anglos. He denies the joke, but in light of his actions, one wonders if there is not always something problematic in his way of conceiving the relationship between “us” and “them”.
A bureaucratic approach
The repercussions of the recent revision of Law 101, the Charter of the French Language, are starting to be better understood and it’s not funny.
Some were offended by a CBC report demonstrating the impact of these new rules on the display of company names. As my colleague Luc Lavoie said so well, the absurdity of the examples is a faithful reflection of the absurdity of the changes imposed. In other words, stop blaming the messenger!
We can add household appliances and other products that are manufactured for a global market with “on/off” which will be banned here. Good luck with that!
By bureaucratic diktat, the CAQ refuses to issue certificates of eligibility for English schools, although they are still guaranteed by law. Of course, this will be challenged in court and, of course, there will be gnashing of teeth.
Funding for English-speaking universities is being cut by brandishing completely fictitious figures. No serious study, just a full-blown attack, because “we hear too much English in the street”.
My favorite is a document just published by the OQLF on the use of French in health establishments recognized as bilingual.
Here is a textual quote from their “Aide-mémoire” of around fifteen pages: “The content of this aide-mémoire has no legal value…”. With good reason, because it is full of false information which is the wish of the language bureaucrats and not the will of the legislator.
We must avoid ensuring that French is perceived, especially by young people, as something that is “imposed”. Rather, let us celebrate this language and its culture that we share with joy and pride.