A photo of the father of journalist Toula Drimonis appears on the cover of her essay Us, the others, just published in a translation by Mélissa Verreault at Somme Tout. We discover him behind the counter of his first Montreal restaurant, Le Coin blanc, at the intersection of avenue Henri-Julien and avenue du Mont-Royal. The cook, in spite of himself, spent “eighteen hours a day with his hands immersed in cooking grease”, explains his daughter in her book, swapping the toque for an Expos cap on the rare days off, even if he did not had never seen a team game.
This was before Bill 101, as evidenced by the menu on the wall offering a “ toasted hot dog » at 20 cents, “ fried eggs ” and ” chicken “. Panayote Drimonis had become Peter while crossing the Atlantic. Apart from him, there was really nothing Greek in this restaurant offering a “Canadian menu”.
Toula Drimonis’ parents arrived in the Quebec metropolis in 1963, after a trip from Piraeus to Halifax aboard the TSS Olympia. The couple had $50 in their pocket, and the groom’s suit had been purchased on credit. Ourania caught serious pneumonia in her first winter. She herself worked as a clothing quality controller in a factory on rue De Bleury in the city center, in the Caron building, where The duty for a quarter of a century. Around 108,000 Greeks followed Panayote and Ourania in emigrating to Canada between 1945 and 1971.
“I started writing this book [paru en 2022] because I was in mourning, explains their daughter, joined on vacation in Mexico. I lost my father, I began to think about his legacy, his life and the life of the first generation of many immigrants. Anti-immigration rhetoric began to rise at the same time. Not just here. All over the world, in Europe, as far as Greece, in the United States with Trump. So I wanted to talk about this reality based on my family situation and talk about current events since my job as a journalist requires it. I wanted to give another perspective to people who often talk about immigration without having any personal knowledge of it. It’s human nature to be afraid of something you don’t know. »
False, completely false
Evidence of more or less accepted xenophobia, or even worse, comes from everywhere, from several chronicles of the Montreal Journal such as very recent comments from a CAQ immigration minister saying that “80% of immigrants go to Montreal, do not work, do not speak French or do not adhere to the values of Quebec society”.
“My book is out [en anglais] the same week as the declaration of Minister Jean Boulet, said Mme Drimonis. What he said is wrong, completely wrong. This kind of statement marginalizes immigrants and puts a target on people’s backs. […] I think the recent anti-immigration rhetoric from the new government is very worrying. This is a very dangerous speech for integration, not only for immigrants. »
The interview takes place in French. Mme Drimonis writes his columns for various English-language publications, including The Gazette. She learned this language at school, while her youngest sister was educated in the Tremblay language. Greek was spoken in the family home. “All the allophones I know are trilingual,” she says. This is an immense wealth for a society. »
She polishes her remarks with white gloves up to her elbows and ultra-fine tweezers. In her essay, she repeats every three pages that she loves Quebec, and Montreal in particular. At the same time, she wants to allow herself, like anyone else, to highlight the failings, contradictions and alleged slippages in her corner of the world.
“When I write, I receive so many reactions from people who are not ready to read the criticism of someone who works in English or who has an allophone name,” says the Quebecer. It has become a reflex for me to start a review with a preamble saying that I love Quebec, that I adore Quebec. […] I am forced almost every day to justify my columns or my fundamental right, as a Quebecer, to criticize my society. »
The book multiplies the nuances, balances the points of view, delves into national history to understand and explain the current reality and show that deep down, there is nothing very new under the sun of discrimination. One chapter talks about the deportation of the Acadians. Another recalls the old racist Canadian laws blocking Chinese or Jewish immigration. Yet another brings up the obvious, yet often denied: if French Canadians may have rightly felt minoritized and downgraded, they themselves participated in colonization based on the dispossession of Indigenous peoples of their lands, their children, their cultures, their languages. An oppressed person can very well be an oppressor at the same time.
“Each wave of immigration provokes the same reactions, which speak of a threat to our culture, our language, our values,” continues the interviewee from her hotel room in Playa del Carmen. The Greeks experienced this. The Jews too. Muslims are being attacked now. As each wave of immigrants slowly integrates. We often lack patience and confidence in Quebec. I understand well this need to constantly fight to preserve the distinct language and culture. We should still let people breathe a little, give them time. Learning French cannot be done in six months. »
Problems and solutions
It must be admitted that the questioning surrounding immigration goes far beyond the CAQ. Even federal conservatives are demanding changes to admissions thresholds. Asking for changes to temporary worker or foreign student programs does not necessarily lead to a drift towards far-right positions like we are seeing sprouting up all over Europe at the moment.
“Yes, the questions are legitimate,” says Toula Drimonis. We need to think about social problems, like housing or inflation or the integration of new arrivals. On the other hand, I disagree with the opinion that immigrants cause these problems. »
His next book will again focus on immigration with a strong focus on Roxham Road and asylum seekers. She will follow “Quebecers on the ground who are working hard to welcome immigrants” sometimes despite official policies. “I don’t criticize the population, I criticize the government,” she recalls.
Law 21 concentrates this position this time against, completely against. The columnist in no way approves of the law on secularism, which prohibits the wearing of religious symbols by certain people employed by the State in the exercise of their functions. However, she says in her book that she herself became an atheist at 7 years old.
“I say it very openly – and I know that this will not suit everyone – for me, Bill 21 is discriminatory because it prevents people from doing what they want freely. I know so many Muslim women who have made the decision to wear the hijab, but not for their husband: it is their personal choice. Now these women are prevented from doing their job as teachers. I fight for freedom of choice for people, and even more so for women. Because it’s obviously always women who are asked to dress in this or that way. »