If Quebec separated...

[MikeyDB]

Gee really???

The lengths that the language police have gone to in Quebec rivals any pogrom based on religion.

The reason why anyone cares about the issue of separation of church and state is because no assembly of religious zealots should have the power to declare any other religion as unlawful or any practice of religion as a state-sanctioned religion enjoying advantages not permitted to some other religious group...

Language as enforced by the Quebecquois presents as an issue of grave importance to them but they're willing to suspend the rights of others in the name of that belief...

 

[s_lone]

You have the right to post a sign in English or in any language you want, as long as French is predominant. I'm not sure that is suspending rights. No rights are suspended, you just have the obligation to put French on your sign. The Quebec government has taken actions to help the French language thrive in Quebec and this is one of the measures that work. My father is anglophone and certainly doesn't think his rights are trampled... and he lives in Quebec city where anglophones are really a minority.

If some people in Quebec really feel as if their rights are trampled I wonder why they are being so silent. Why do anglophones vote for the provincial Liberal party if that party totally supports bill 101 and more of these measures?

It's funny, the biggest opposition to Quebec's French protection measures always seems to come from outside of Quebec...

 

[hermanntrude]

If they want to use a language like that, it's up to them IMO. English is more useful, efficient and precise, although somewhat less elegant. Your language is your choice and if u can't handle a few french signs then u must be easily frustrated.

 

[MikeyDB]

Gee outside Quebec...

I wonder why that is...

Oh wait maybe it's a case of the tail wagging the dog....

 

[eh1eh]

If they want to use a language like that, it's up to them IMO. English is more useful, efficient and precise, although somewhat less elegant. Your language is your choice and if u can't handle a few french signs then u must be easily frustrated.

I'd like to see one of those language police in Markam, Ontario. Cantonese is the word of the day in many areas, and they don't bother with English. If you can't read the sign you probably wouldn't want it.

 

[eh1eh]

Gee outside Quebec...

I wonder why that is...

Oh wait maybe it's a case of the tail wagging the dog....

Maybe people living there are afraid to complain. Things are different in a faccist state.

 

[MikeyDB]

Maybe we should be sending a bill to Quebec for all the additional costs their non-discriminatory fervor costs the rest of Canada.

If I want to have a sign on my business or my front lawn that has English in ten foot letters, you don't think it's abridging my rights that I have to placate the Language Police...?

 

[s_lone]

Maybe we should be sending a bill to Quebec for all the additional costs their non-discriminatory fervor costs the rest of Canada.

If I want to have a sign on my business or my front lawn that has English in ten foot letters, you don't think it's abridging my rights that I have to placate the Language Police...?

No I don't think so.

However, this doesn't mean there can't be abuse and I can at least partly agree with you; the zeal demonstrated by the language police is sometimes ridiculously close to religious fervor. For example, there is a restaurant in Montreal (on Monkland street) called Tavern... They had a big neon sign saying ''Tavern'' in an elegant writing... The sign had been there for an eternity then one day the language police decided it had to add an -e- so it would be French (tavern in French is Taverne). The restaurant had to waste money doing a completely new sign. I personally think this is totally ridiculous.

 

[MikeyDB]

Well your wrong s _lone

Anytime a persons rights are defined by those willing to impose conditions on how someone else, particularly when the majority of the nation isn't French speaking...that's an abridging of rights.

No one is coming to harm by my having a ten foot sign on my lawn that has English on it.... imposing conditions on behavior that could bring harm to someone is prudent, hence the debate about the kirpan and some practices of other religions...

It's a tiny leap between claiming one's rights aren't being abridged and outright oppression. It's happened before and it will happen again...unless we send Quebec the message that if you want a separate society go ahead...but don't expect anything ANYTHING from the people you've decide to divorce yourself from...including respect.

 

[hermanntrude]

No I don't think so.

However, this doesn't mean there can't be abuse and I can at least partly agree with you; the zeal demonstrated by the language police is sometimes ridiculously close to religious fervor. For example, there is a restaurant in Montreal (on Monkland street) called Tavern... They had a big neon sign saying ''Tavern'' in an elegant writing... The sign had been there for an eternity then one day the language police decided it had to add an -e- so it would be French (tavern in French is Taverne). The restaurant had to waste money doing a completely new sign. I personally think this is totally ridiculous.

Now i imagine if u asked a frenchman to do something like this he'd first of all not do it, then, if forced into it, he'd either start a riot in paris, or he'd stick a peice of cardboard on the end with a badly drawn E on it which would eventually fade and rot off.

not because he was sloppy, but because that's a good way to make a statement.

 

[s_lone]

Now i imagine if u asked a frenchman to do something like this he'd first of all not do it, then, if forced into it, he'd either start a riot in paris, or he'd stick a peice of cardboard on the end with a badly drawn E on it which would eventually fade and rot off.

not because he was sloppy, but because that's a good way to make a statement.

That's what I would have done!

 

[hermanntrude]

me too. i would have done the crappiest job i could, and spent a long time doing it and basically made it a headache for them. they would porbably have dropped it eventually.

 

[s_lone]

Well your wrong s _lone

Anytime a persons rights are defined by those willing to impose conditions on how someone else, particularly when the majority of the nation isn't French speaking...that's an abridging of rights.

No one is coming to harm by my having a ten foot sign on my lawn that has English on it.... imposing conditions on behavior that could bring harm to someone is prudent, hence the debate about the kirpan and some practices of other religions...

It's a tiny leap between claiming one's rights aren't being abridged and outright oppression. It's happened before and it will happen again...unless we send Quebec the message that if you want a separate society go ahead...but don't expect anything ANYTHING from the people you've decide to divorce yourself from...including respect.

Quebec is not imposing anything on the rest of Canada. If a majority of Canadians don't support bilingualism they should scrap it. But apparently, not so many Canadians are shocked by the fact that most products you buy have French and English on them. Yes, the majority of the nation does not speak French; I personally don't see why all products in Canada should include French. But in Quebec, the majority speaks French and we want French as an official language (in our province). Is that a sin?

The province of Quebec has the right to have its own laws and those who consider themselves as being oppressed should ask themselves why they are still living here. If I lived in a place where I felt my rights were abridged I would do all I can to get the hell out.

 

[hermanntrude]

i think the bilingual thing is pretty good. not only does it help out with the francophones in quebec, but once you've put things in both english and french, that's a huge proportion of the world's population taken care of. Ive met a lot of foreigners in canada who say they're grateful for the fact that french is a common language here because it helps them understand. Maybe we should add spanish and mandarin. then we'd be covering probably 90%.

 

[hermanntrude]

listen to me saying "we" lol.

 

[eh1eh]

Quebec is not imposing anything on the rest of Canada. If a majority of Canadians don't support bilingualism they should scrap it. But apparently, not so many Canadians are shocked by the fact that most products you buy have French and English on them. Yes, the majority of the nation does not speak French; I personally don't see why all products in Canada should include French. But in Quebec, the majority speaks French and we want French as an official language (in our province). Is that a sin?

The province of Quebec has the right to have its own laws and those who consider themselves as being oppressed should ask themselves why they are still living here. If I lived in a place where I felt my rights were abridged I would do all I can to get the hell out.

Canadians have the right of free movement within it's borders. When one province steps on the freedoms of it's citezens is an afront to the freedom of every Canadian. I have five generations of Quebecois blood in my family tree. French was my mother tongue, although I lost it early, and I am still personally insulted by, not so much the actual law of 'French Bigger Sign', but the faccist tape messure toting 'police' that enforce the policy.

 

[MikeyDB]

How do you think the Charlottetown accords were sculpted to include the distinct society statement...why do you think that a law that discriminates is permitted in Canada...

French has been forced on the rest of the nation and it's enshrined in a law that gives Quebec the special right to discriminate on the basis of law...

How long would my ten-foot sign in English exist before either the QPP or the Language Police came knocking on my door?

Not long I'd gurantee it.

 

[hermanntrude]

it seems silly to enforce a rule like this in shops and bars. after all if the sign isnt in french, less francophones are likely to use the shop/bar. so the shop/bar is doing itself out of business, which isnt a smart move anyway.

 

[eh1eh]

listen to me saying "we" lol.

You're a we now weather you like it or not. LOL

P.S. Looks as though you like it so far.

 

[hermanntrude]

i wasnt concerned whether I liked it. I was worried some might object to a brit calling himself part of the canadian "we"