TRIFORCE89
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Yeah, I saw that. Just, lol.
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Premier of Quebec makes you walk instead of taking the bus if you can't speak french
- Thread starter Captain Gizmo
- Start date
Then why can practically nobody outside of Quebec speak French? Their argument is that French is already cut out of Canada, so they're trying to protect the one province that actually does have strong Francophone roots and culture. I don't think I've ever had the chance to be served in French in a Federal government building because nobody on staff can speak French. It's absolutely shocking and the current amount of Bilingual Canadians is depressingly low.
Which doesn't mean that it's still not discrimination. It's still wrong, but I can at least see the sentiment where she's coming from.
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That is true, French is a dying language. But, having to implement mandatory laws to protect it is wrong. I'm pretty sure she can go about saving the language another way. Not by denying you rights of The Charter. She does have good intentions, but the way she's implementing them is wrong.
And at the fact that nobody had actually served you French in a Federal Government building, that's weird. I thought you had to speak at least 2 of Canada's official languages to be applicable for a Government job. Seems I'm wrong.
@Kura: It's not mandatory that you learn both French and English in school, I've had the option since I started in 4th Grade and for each subsequent year. Only in New Brunswick is it mandatory (I think) because they're officially bilingual. Quebec is the only province to declare themselves unilingual (that being French).
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Captain Gizmo
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Quebec is mostly french with a bit of english. The only part where it's multilingual is Montreal, you'll see tons of different ethnicity here. So as for French being a dying language, in Quebec I'm not so sure about that. In Montreal tho, It's not that it died, there's just more people that knows a lot of different language and she think that it's dying.
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tbh I'm surprised she hasn't done anything to Montreal. Probably because there's too many English-speaking people there that there'd be problems if she brought the hammer down on them.
Captain Gizmo
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She did. The main thread was actually set for Montreal's buses and subway services.
Alakazam17
[b]Long time no see![/b]
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Not technically true. Only one province declare themself bilingual, and that is New Brunswick. The other nine are all unilingual, with Québec being the only one which has French as the language. My city of Ottawa is bilingual, but it's a policy of city council, not the province of Ontario.
Anyway, I do understand the issues that Canadian Francophones are having. They are a literally a secluded group in a sea of over 320 million English-speakers, and they feel they need to be more firm about keeping their language alive than we English-speakers have to be. And it is also very evident that French-speakers often have more pressure to learn English than the other way around for aforementioned reasons.
But having said that, I don't agree with the method at all. They should get people to want to learn French, rather than force them into it. In my own case growing up, I was against learning French simply because it seemed like it kept getting pushed down my throat. And I only started learning French because I wanted to prove to myself that I could learn something I didn't want to learn. However once I began learning I quickly started to enjoy it, and have regretted not getting into it sooner.
Nonetheless on the national level English and French have equal weight, and while not everyone should be required to speak both languages, everyone should be required to receive federal services in the language of their choosing, whether the province is unilingual or not. And in services covered by lower levels of government than in Ottawa, as the local transit system is, having a unilingual French-speaking bus driver would be considered legal, though only in Québec. And similarly a unilingual English-speaking driver could legally be prevented from getting a job there. But this issue is about the customer, not the employee, and services should not be denied on linguistic grounds. This smells like an issue that could be resolved by taking a look at the Charter.
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I'm not sure what province you're in, but here in BC taking French is mandatory in middle school, and in some districts, grade 4 and 5 as well. I know a lot of parents aren't all that happy about it, since next to no one around here speaks French, but it's still one of the country's two official languages.
As for having to be able to order your bus tickets in French in Quebec, it does makes sense. Technically, Quebec is it's own "nation within a united Canada," meaning it has a little more freedom in enforcing their laws, one of which being Bill 101 (status of the French language).
I can look at it from both sides of the fence, and agree with points on both sides. If you were trying to order something in BC but can't speak English, then you probably won't get any service. The same thing can be said for Quebec, where an overwhelming majority only speak French. However, just because you can't speak French doesn't mean you should be denied the right to public transit. As long as you're paying, I don't see why you should be denied the right to use any public service. Also, making it a province-wide law isn't the best idea, since the largest city and tourist destination is the biggest hub for English in Quebec. This is why I'm sure a lot of this backlash is coming out, rather than if a single city like Quebec City enacted this law.
I understand the want to preserve the French language in an English dominated environment, but the refusal of basic services really isn't the best way to go about it.
I don't know where in BC you live, because where I'm from middle school doesn't exist, nor is taking French a requirement past grade 8. It's completely optional after then unless you're in a French Immersion or Francophone program.
Toutebelle
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It seems pretty extreme to crack down on English. There are many Anglophone people in Quebec, especially Montreal. And they might have trouble getting around if the buses won't let them speak English.
And replacing the word pasta is silly. Quebecois French actually has tons of English influence (in comparison to French spoken in France). It's a side effect of being surrounded by English-speakers.
As for other provinces...there are various French-speaking communities in other parts of Canada. New Brunswick and Ontario have some. But a lot of the French-Canadians outside of Quebec don't speak French - some haven't for generations. Ontario has tons of people with French last names, but only a fraction of them actually speak French.
Personally, I think the Premier of Quebec shouldn't be so nationalistic. Let's just hope they kick her out and replace her with someone else.
And replacing the word pasta is silly. Quebecois French actually has tons of English influence (in comparison to French spoken in France). It's a side effect of being surrounded by English-speakers.
As for other provinces...there are various French-speaking communities in other parts of Canada. New Brunswick and Ontario have some. But a lot of the French-Canadians outside of Quebec don't speak French - some haven't for generations. Ontario has tons of people with French last names, but only a fraction of them actually speak French.
Personally, I think the Premier of Quebec shouldn't be so nationalistic. Let's just hope they kick her out and replace her with someone else.