“The answer is simple and will be obvious to many: Quebec’s independence. This represents the only way quebeckers (Québécois) will finally send a clear message to the effect that french is the official language here. No individual initiative (sorry Mr. Kondaks) or language law can be successful as a ‘replacement solution’.”

For the record, as I’ve written here on this forum, I’m for individual initiative (freedom of the individual) AND Quebec independence as the solution. BUT: those two concepts must go hand in hand.

i beg to differ – i would suggest that freedom is the “only” thing to hold on to.

learning to speak another language is admirable and recommended but doesn’t cut any ice (and we’ve got plenty) around here. at least not where i come from.

as you are a citizen of canada’s best friend i offer you this:
The ability and need to express oneself is an important characteristic of human beings. Justice Thurgood Marshall of the United States Supreme Court perhaps said it best when considering the constitutional guarantee of freedom of speech under the First Amendment to the United States constitution:

The First Amendment serves not only the needs of the polity but also those of the human spirit – the spirit that demands self-expression. Such expression is an integral part of the development of ideas and a sense of identity. To suppress expression is to reject the basic human desire for recognition and affront the individual’s worth and dignity.

i don’t care what language you translate this into – it rings true. people who want to speak english should speak english – people who want to speak french should speak french – the rest will take care of itself. by this i mean – the advantage will go to those who speak both.

madames et monsieurs – faites vos jeux.

I am an US Citizen (gasp!), but I wholly support Quebec’s independence because from what I have seen and heard (granted, everything I have heard has been from the mouths of Quebecois), it’s been a long time coming. Assimilation would just destroy the wonderful Quebec culture and climate. I’m glad that Quebec francophone natives are fighting. Let the Queen’s people live on their side of the line and preserve what French Canadian culture still exists. I know that there are many Anglophones in Quebec, but I personally think that it would be a crime to allow centuries old Quebec culture to perish in the sea of anglophone north america. I was in Quebec City 2 summers ago, and I fell in love with the land, culture and people. Someday, maybe I can move there (and I would speak French, no worries) ;)

A few basic points:

1) There is nothing wrong in discussing Quebec’s language issues, independence movement, etc. in english. On the contrary, the fact that sovereignists take the time to explain their point of view to anglophones in a language they understand is something to be admired, not criticized. It serves as a welcome alternative to the standard anti-Quebec discourse that we’re used to see on the english language internet and media. I totally disagree with the opinion that doing so is “wasted energy” on the part of sovereignists, who should rather use their time to convince fellow francophones to join their cause. Does that mean that Josée Legault should stop writing in The Gazette, since she’s a sovereignist? Come on!

2) While a certain amount of (polite) assertiveness is in my opinion necessary for any francophone Montrealer dealing with anglophones (in business relationships, mainly), I’m not of the opinion that it is the only way to insure french’s future in Quebec. The answer is simple and will be obvious to many: Quebec’s independence. This represents the only way quebeckers (Québécois) will finally send a clear message to the effect that french is the official language here. No individual initiative (sorry Mr. Kondaks) or language law can be successful as a “replacement solution”.

3) A final and related point: it is only when Quebec finally becomes an independent country that its society will come out of the present schizophrenic situation, under which any use of english is seen as a danger for french. In any other country, being bilingual is an asset; it’s only here that it is rather seen as a Trojan Horse for assimilation in the North-American (meaning US) english “culture”. I’m a proud speaker of french as well as english (and deutsch) and don’t see any contradiction with the fact that I also support Quebec’s independence. Don’t forget that support for sovereignty ususally rises as one becomes more educated… Being able to read Diane Francis’ orangist column in english is surely something that will push someone towards the “Yes” side, don’t you think?

In the immortal words of Jacques Parizeau: I will kick the butt of anyone who refuses to learn english.

One last thing: come on guys, stop throwing insults such as “Traitor” to each other. It reminds me of the early days of the USSR. We can agree that we disagree on specific points, as long as we agree on the main ones (Quebec’s independence), no?

A bon entendeur, salut

Schmorgluf

Vaut mieux lire ça que d’être aveugle ! C’est n’importe quoi.

Don’t you realize how ridiculous is your sentence? How many provinces will there be in Canada if those who receive more money than what they give Ottawa must quit ? The fact is that Quebec pay the price for being part of Canada. Everything has been for Ontario. I am sure we can do much better out of Canada.

Pour en venir au fond du débat, je ne vois pas pourquoi le fait d’écrire en anglais pose problème. C’est même une excellent idée de débattre de l’idée d’indépendance avec le Canada anglais. Ceux qui n’aiment pas n’ont qu’à ne pas vous lire.

oui, c’est vrai que ni agf ni louis est mentionné directement – mais le contenu de cet extrait (libéral facism) est liée à 110% à ce qui se passe. savvy?

torchon?
vous avez un sens de l’humour.