PQ has big plans for Montreal
The PQ has a big promise to revive Montreal by appointing a minister and enforcing the use of French in a more draconian fashion here. I rather enjoyed listening to Jean-François Lisée on CBC radio this afternoon explaining, in his quite admirable English, why making Montreal more uniformly French would be a huge benefit to the city.
Even Jean Charest promised on Monday to extend the reach of Bill 101, suggesting both that he’s desperately trying to appeal to “soft nationalists” and yet so confident he’s frightened the anglos into voting lockstep for the Liberals that even this won’t change their minds.
I did a bit more earlier Monday on the campaign for OpenFile, summarizing the weekend’s campaign news and the chess moves of the day.
Jack 06:36 on 2012/08/28 Permalink
When was Montreal a uniformly French speaking city? Because I have never found an historical epoch when Montreal was uniformly French speaking. The PQ’s campaign has been its worst in many election cycles at othering Montreal’s anglophone and allophone communities, yet when I bring it up with French origin friends they don’t see it.Radio Canada is superb at deconstructing some of the same political idiocy of the Harper Conservatives and Bush Republicans, yet in their own backyard silence.
Ian 07:33 on 2012/08/28 Permalink
While I recognize the need to preserve Québécois culture, I don’t understand why separatists insist on arguing about identity politics when talking about bring Quebec together as a nation. 3 of the 7 leaders of the Patriotes of 1837 were Anglos. We’re not a hostile force, and we do have an identity as Quebeckers historically, even within the context of sovereignty. Surely our political convictions are more important than what kind of hat or medallion our respective religions require, or what language we speak at home… One might almost think that the real point of all this political sabre-rattling isn’t really sovereignty but a much uglier form of nationalism that is all too familiar.
Kevin 07:41 on 2012/08/28 Permalink
@Ian
One might almost think?
I’d laugh if it didn’t hurt so much.
Tux 08:20 on 2012/08/28 Permalink
Yeah I’m really tired of hearing about the language issue. We speak both languages here. That’s the reality for Montreal. People of my generation know this. When we meet people our age that grew up here who aren’t bilingual we wonder what’s wrong with them. It’s just common sense – being bilingual opens many French-and-English speaking parts of the world to the Québecois traveller, it gives you many more job opportunities, and is the secret sauce for fully and completely enjoying the culture here. Our culture is so cool BECAUSE of the mix of people and language (I mean where on Earth else could Sugar Sammy have come from?) so when I hear politicians that aim to restrict how we speak and write I think “Could you get any more blind?” There is NOBODY good to vote for this election. Bloc Pot or Marxists/Leninists for me!
Marc 08:36 on 2012/08/28 Permalink
Isn’t a monoculture what a loud persistent minority of people are longing for? I’m sure you’ve seen those stickers plastered around town from the Mouvement Montréal Français that say… ” À Montréal, tout en français. Et en français seulement. “
walkerp 09:31 on 2012/08/28 Permalink
Well said everybody.
I think a lot of this is the result of the political process and doesn’t reflect the strong feelings of most people. The Liberals attack Marois on sovereignty because they believe it weakens her and the PQ talk up french nationalism as an aggressive defense, their own internal politics and because they believe it appeals to a solid voting base. The media plays it up and the people get shrill.
Ephraim 10:25 on 2012/08/28 Permalink
Always reminds me of the Ministry of Education, telling the anglos we have to learn French when young so that we will be bilingual, but telling the francophones that if they learn English too early they will ruin their French.
It’s all nonsense. Economically, speaking anything but both means you likely won’t earn as much as you could and frankly, that’s the most important part.
Kate 11:43 on 2012/08/28 Permalink
Ephraim, that’s what gets me about people from the Québécois elite who speak English fluently supporting the purging of English. They benefit from having more than one language, while arrogantly wanting to deny that advantage to others – but it’s not perceived that way.
I always enjoyed Jacques Parizeau’s old-worldy “By Jove!” English, particularly. He’s like something out of Wodehouse.
Marc 12:10 on 2012/08/28 Permalink
I’ve always noticed that the most pur-et-dur separatists are those who speak the best English. Lisée comes to mind.
david m 20:26 on 2012/08/28 Permalink
actually, a lot of quebec is like something out of wodehouse. i just wish i could speak french the way daniel turp speaks french. i was glad to see amir show him the door (oh, was i glad), but it’s undeniable that he and girard and lisée and even martin lemay – basically, the central montreal, separatist intellectual, solidaire bait – are all incredibly refined individuals whose english is often impeccable. contrasting these with the relatively rube-like marois or the parizeau-like drainville and curzi (none of whom have good english) shocks into relief a clear clivage in the montreal vs. roq pq.