C, Ottawa, ON
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I’m all for a divorce just so long as Quebec doesn’t get the gold mine and Canada gets the shaft!
Lindsay M, Carp, ON
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No, I do not want Quebec to leave UNLESS it means that the Official Languages Act is dropped across Canada.
In Eastern Ontario, “Cultural Inventories”, Linguistic Roadmaps” and “Bilingual Sign” bylaws are all indicators that the Quebec separatists have taken over Eastern Ontario.
Quebec license plates in so many institutions are also indications that even if Quebec separated, if they are allowed to continue to work in Ontario, what progress will have been made? Our English speaking young people are fleeing to work in the West while Quebec youth take Ontario jobs and tax dollars back to Quebec.
French only health clinics, French only community centers, French only hospitals, French only senior living centers. If you think that by Québec separating there will be peace, you are wrong.
Yesterday, Canadians for Language Fairness had our 2nd Annual St. Patrick’s Day Brunch (A sellout, 120 people) and the resentment, anger and frustration was incredible in particular the following complaints:
Jobs being based on language not skills.
Families being broken up because young adults are being forced to find jobs out West or in the USA.
Legal challenges being heard by “activist” judges (Judge Monique Metivier).
French immersion that has failed our children.
Language Commissioner Graham Fraser refusing to meet with a Canada-wide organization that represents victims of forced bilingualism.
As of January 1, 2013, every municipality in Ontario must provide bilingual services no matter how few unilingual Francophones are in their communities.
So much for freedom of speech. The unrestricted use of the English language is now against the law in Eastern Ontario municipalities.
The question should not be whether Quebec separates. The question should be whether forced bilingualism and language laws are an attack on our inalienable right to freedom of speech!
Beth Trudeau, Spokesperson, Canadians for Language Fairness, Embrun, ON
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It isn’t just on my program that similar sentiments are being expressed. The following letter to the editor appeared in the National Post on June 5, 2013. It was written in response to an earlier comment by Dan Delmar that the only people upset with the situation in Quebec today are what Delmar called Angryphones.
The following is the reply by Richard D. Field of Toronto:
“It is unfortunate that Dan Delmar cannot comprehend that nearly one million English-speaking Canadians have left Quebec since the French-first language laws came on the scene. The trick word “Angryphone” is just that, a comedic response by the Anglo appeasers that stayed and did not fight for their rights against the Franco chest-thumpers that delighted in rubbing their Anglo fellow citizens’ noses in the dirt of Quebec’s myopic provincialism.
Howard Galganov’s life was threatened and his property destroyed by the cowardly Quebecois linguistic fanatics. He moved to Ontario to continue his fight. He fought for 14 years in Quebec and had damn little support from the Anglo community. He is a courageous Canadian.
Why doesn’t the National Post write an article, exploring why Anglophones cannot hold senior positions in the federal civil service or Crown corporations, or rise above the rank of major in the military if they cannot speak French patois (as judged by a French-patois hiring panel.) Having a French last name even helps.
English only speakers are now a disenfranchised sub-class of Canadian citizenry.
This is one sick country!
Richard D. Field, Toronto, ON
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And then there was this dandy little tirade that appeared in the letters to the editor section of the National Post, June 5, 2013. It was written in response to Radio Canada’s decision (since rescinded) to become simply “ICI”.
Heritage Minister James Moore warns that Canadians won’t tolerate any move away from a pan-Canadian identity. While this may be the government’s position, it is unlikely that Canadians feel this way.
Most Canadians wish Quebec would separate, to end the continual distraction and right what has become an unfair situation. Canada’s government and laws are tilted in favour of Quebec to the point that most Canadians feel the treatment to appease Quebec (e.g., unequal representation in the Senate and the Supreme Court, official bilingualism, transfer payments, disproportionate cultural grants, etc.) has resulted in unfairness.
While Quebec was treated badly in English-Canada in the past, the means used to redress that situation have been excessive, resulting in an inequitable situation for Canadians outside Quebec.
Perhaps a national referendum would be appropriate.
Mac Walker, Edmonton, AB
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In all, I received more than 200 emails and phone calls from that one two-hour program. At least 90 per cent of them indicated that my assumptions were correct, they would not seriously regret the loss of Quebec. Some, as you can see, still hold grievances, particularly as it applies to what they deem to be “forced bilingualism”, but for the most part it’s primarily a matter of just losing patience with the constant demands.
The sentiments expressed to me in the phone calls, the emails and from people who stopped me on the street following the program are perhaps best summed up by this hand written letter that arrived just the other day from Surrey, BC
“Lowell”, “you and I have never met, but in listening to you the other day as you discussed the issue of Quebec and its role in Canada, I couldn’t help but hear some anguish in your voice. You said, and I believe you, that you are totally frustrated with all the problems that Quebec continues to present. The corruption, the constant demands for more money, for more special treatment, etc. etc. You are perfectly correct we are all getting very tired of it.
But I also sensed that in some way you are also sad. No doubt the fact that you have worked so hard for so long to try and keep Quebec within Confederation plays a role in your reaction to what’s happening and how you feel about it. No one likes to lose. I understand that many members of your family, even your daughter and granddaughter still live in the province. This must make it even harder for you.
What you should know is that you are not alone. There was a time when I and all members of my very large family out here on the west coast were adamant federalists. We didn’t go to Montreal in 1995, some of us weren’t even alive then, but several of us did drive around with those famous bumper stickers saying, “My Canada includes Quebec”. But, sadly, just like you, we have all come to the same conclusion. Quebec will never be happy in Confederation no matter what benefits it receives from the rest of Canada.
Lowell we tried to convince Quebec to stay. We used every means in our power to keep them
