The passage of Bill 96 will have a lot of unfortunate consequences for both Quebec anglophones and new immigrants arriving to the province. Preventing people from receiving basic services in a language that they have used from birth in . . .
case of Quebec’s anglophone population, or just happened to learn because of its international standing, in the case of new immigrants, is unethical.
That isn’t to say the goal of protecting and promoting the use of the French language isn’t laudable. It is. Quebec’s francophones and francophone Canadians in general are right to be concerned about the future of their language. The gravity of English is strong, not just in North America but around the world.
But the simple fact is that Bill 96, and in particular the punitive aspects of the bill, will probably not protect the language much in the end anyway.
The global cultural dominance of English language media and the fact that English is the language of the global economy are the things that are the real threat not only to the French language in Quebec, but every other language in the world.
Unfortunately, there isn’t much any one government can do about it, barring the collapse of Hollywood and Wall Street.
If there’s anything that will save the French language in the end, it is something that francophone Quebecers already have, which is a love for their own culture and a determined effort to maintain their own identity. The Government of Quebec should focus all its efforts on maintaining and enhancing that culture if truly serious about saving the language. This would not only protect the French language, but also enrich everyone, as more culture is good in itself.
But instead, the government is pursuing a nakedly cynical effort to appease nativist sentiment in order to win an election. The new extrajudicial authority of the Office Québécois de la langue française, the new burdens placed on Quebec’s anglophones and immigrants and the restriction of educational choices of all Quebecers doesn’t suggest that Quebec society is moving in a positive direction.
Causing elderly anglophones to worry if they will still be able to go to the hospital or adding another stressor into the lives of already vulnerable immigrants can’t be justified.
The pressure on the French language is real, but policies that don’t address the systemic reasons for that pressure and instead scapegoat anglo-Quebecers can’t hope to even make a dent in the problem. The Government of Quebec can’t hide from the anglicizing forces of the world unless it pursues a radical break with it, which it doesn’t appear likely to do; it’s just punishing vulnerable people for not being part of a dominant culture.
An alternative way of going about things isn’t going to be easy. While it’s obvious that Quebec linguistic nationalism needs to shed its authoritarian sentiments, English Quebecers need to recognize that this isn’t happening out of the blue. In addition to false claims, there are also understandable fears among francophone Quebecers that English is being imposed on them. Canada may offically be a bilingual country, but in practice bilingualism seems to be expected more from francophones than it is of anglophones.
The real answer, as corny as it sounds, is to live in harmony and respect one another. Dividing ourselves into antagonistic, linguistically divided camps, if history is any judge, will not end well.
Hopefully we can find a better way.
Brett Thoms
