This day is for everyone who calls Quebec home. There will sadly be those who claim
St-Jean-Baptiste is only for francophones, only for those whose heritage in
Quebec goes back centuries, and only for those who support Quebec leaving
Canada. These are cynical and
exclusionary ideas that have no place in the pluralistic society Quebec has
become. This is a day for everyone who
lives in Quebec to celebrate the uniqueness of this place.
I am a transplanted Anglophone. I was born in a mostly Anglophone area of
Eastern Ontario. I grew up primarily in
an even more Anglophone area of southwestern Ontario. Unlike a lot of people who grew up there, I
always thought it was important to learn the French language and gain an
understanding of Quebec, the place upon which the French language and related
culture is centered in North America. I
always wanted to travel here, talk with people, and especially live here if it
became possible. Four years ago, I moved
to Quebec, by choice. I have had Ontario
Anglophones give me puzzled looks. I’ve
been asked “Why would you do a thing like that?” “Oh, do you find it difficult because of the
language and the politics?” I really
have a hard time not laughing at any of these questions. I chose to live here for economic reasons,
but also because I think Quebec is one of the last, or maybe the last places in
Canada where there is strong support for an equitable society where social
programs and services are intended to serve citizens, and where the state
recognizes the economic and social benefits of being actively involved in
economic development. My favourite
examples of this are Hydro-Quebec and the Societe de l’Assurance
Automobile. While Ontario has destroyed
publicly-owned power and cowered away from doing anything about its ridiculous
auto insurance rates because of the political influence of corporate insurance
companies, Quebec has held firm. What we
have here is not perfect, but it is certainly more beneficial to the citizen
and consumer.
As for language, I hold no ill-will towards Quebec’s
language laws. I grew up in a part of
Ontario where dislike for French was quite apparent. Instructing students in French had to be the
most thankless job for teachers in the local public schools. Few students chose to take French for all of
the years it was offered. I moved here
fully accepting the fact that almost all the commercial, professional, and many
of the personal conversations I engage in would be in French. It is a reality I was fully willing to accept
and tried my very best to be prepared for.
The parochial Anglophones who say that all people in Quebec should have
to speak English are usually the same people who would not want a complementing
rule to apply to themselves for French.
Would one move to Japan and refuse to learn Japanese? Do students come from foreign countries to
study in Canada and never want to learn either of our official languages? Absolutely not! I fully respect Quebec’s language laws as a
means of preservation of a language in a geographic area surrounded by
English.
After living here for four years, I have even more deeply
come to understand the uniqueness of Quebec.
I believe it is a uniqueness best preserved with the economic and social
benefits that come from it being a part of Canada. However, it is easy to very much appreciate
why there are aspects of the society, culture, and operations of this place
that are different from other parts of Canada and are worth preserving and
celebrating. In fact, I would argue that
nine out of 10 provinces in Canada have their own unique cultural, political,
and economic identities. Ontario
traditionally was the only place to focus on a mainly Canadian identity. It usually had the money and political
influence to act as the economic and political centre for Canada. With successive governments that eroded the
influence of the state in Ontari and the precarious state of its once massive
manufacturing economy, Ontario really looks like it’s trying to find itself. That’s what I like about Quebec. It knows what it stands for and has the
courage to do so. St-Jean-Baptiste is a
day for everyone who lives here to celebrate that identity and the courage to
continue its advancement.
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