A few years ago, a young veterinarian from the U.K. chose to settle in the Pontiac. Of all the places in the world she could have gone, she came here. It was our great good fortune that she made it her home and the place where she practices veterinary medicine.
And Pontiac was doubly blessed because among this particular veterinarian’s many . . .
talents, she has the rare gift of being able to speak fluent horse. Anyone who has had the pleasure of seeing Dr. Mel attend to their animals will know how beautifully she communicates with all creatures, great and small, comforting them, calming them, and healing them.
Hailing from the U.K., she also speaks fluent English and, having made Pontiac her home, she has even picked up a bit of French.
But apparently, her French is not quite good enough to retain her veterinary licence in Quebec. Despite loving her life and work here in the Pontiac, she may have to move somewhere else that places a higher value on her ability to heal animals than on her linguistic profile.
It is a very sad turn of events for Dr. Mel, and devastating for the Pontiac where her services are much needed and greatly appreciated by horse-owners, regardless of the language they speak.
This is just the latest fallout of the provincial government’s attempt to create a linguistic monoculture in Quebec. The long-run gameplan seems to be that non-francophones will either assimilate or life here will become so difficult for us that we leave.
Yes, French is a minority language in the Canadian context. Despite scant little evidence that its existence is threatened, much has been made of the idea out of political opportunism, leading to the nonsense that is Bill 96. And no one anywhere seems to be standing up for the rights of Quebec’s English-speaking minority to live their lives in the official language of their heritage and/or choice.
French is a beautiful language. And there is probably no language on the planet more similar to English.
What a missed opportunity.
Anyone serious about making long-term progress in the use of French in Quebec – rather than short-term political hay – should not be bent on making bilingualism the enemy. They should be creating conditions in which people could fall in love with the language rather than being forced to use it. They should employ more of a carrot than a stick.
And they should certainly not be using language politics to shut down our essential services.
But here we are, about to lose our vet.
Dr. Mel is seeking a language exemption from the folks at the Office québécois de la langue française. If they have any horse sense at all, they’ll grant it.
Zainab Al-Mehdar and Charles Dickson
