Quite a Stink

A journalist has posted an article in The Globe and Mail that has really caused quite a commotion in French Canada (The article requires registration, so I suggest that you follow the link and then go to http://www.bugmenot.com to get a login in order to read the entire article without registering). Since some of you may not want to go through all of the trouble of getting a login to read the entire article, I'll sum it up.

Basically, the article is a very detailed account of the events of the Dawson College shootings from multiple points of view. This is not such a big deal. However, amidst these stories is an attack on French Quebeccers that - implicitly - blames them for what happened at Dawson College. I say "implicitly" because she never comes right out and says it. She basically asks "Why do we keep having shootings in Montreal and not in Toronto, Vancouver, etc.?", then points out that immigrants in Quebec are marginalized by the French-speaking citizens, then points out that all three shooters of the events of the last 25 years have not been "pure laine", or a pure French-Quebeccer. The assumption, then, is that people who are marginalized are more likely to act out in aggressive ways, and since it is the French-speaking population that is doing the marginalizing, they are responsible for these tragic events.

It's been interesting to see how this has played out. Being a non-French speaking immigrant married to a pure laine Quebeccer, I get to see both sides pretty clearly. Marie-Pierre, of course, feels adamantly (as do all of the other French Quebeccers) that the author of this article is a nutjob. In the English news, however, this story has gone completely unnoticed. I figure that English Quebeccers are either 1) in complete agreement with the article or 2) feel that pure laine Quebeccers are marginalizing English speaking citizens and immigrants and are quietly letting this writer take out her emotions on the French-speaking community whether or not they agree with her. I prefer to think it's the latter.

What I find interesting about all of this is how angry French Quebeccers have gotten over it. It even warranted a good deal of discussion on the strangely popular "Tout le monde en parle" television program. But why are they so upset?

In my opinion, they're upset because they're afraid it's true! Now, let me qualify this by saying that I feel the author is talking about two issues here: 1) pure laine French Quebeccers alienate the English and immigrant communities and 2) the shootings at Dawson, Concordia, and the Politechnique were the result of this alienation. I want to make it very clear that I completely disagree with point #2. To be more precise, I DON'T BLAME THE FRENCH QUEBECCERS FOR THE SHOOTINGS AT DAWSON, CONCORDIA, OR THE POLITECNIQUE. OK? Now that I got that out of the way, let's continue.

As a non-French speaking immigrant to Quebec, I can personally testify that French-Quebeccers do marginalize their English and immigrant neighbors. I sincerely believe that most of them don't do it on purpose; I think they are the products of the Quebec system. You see, the difference comes down to "integration" vs. "assimilation". French-Quebeccers are some of the most accepting people ever when you talk about assimilation. That is, "if you come to Quebec and you're willing to leave your culture behind and do as we do, then you are extremely welcome". However, when you talk about integration, the story changes completely. French Quebeccers aren't interested in having cultures other than their own co-exist inside their communities. I think this comes from the (real) fear of losing their own culture, and so any other culture suddenly becomes a threat. While there is no doctrine that states "A good Quebeccer should marginalize immigrants", it is clear that a good Quebeccer should speak French and protect their culture at all costs; even at the expense of non pure laine Quebeccers. Just to give one more example of how French Quebeccers are more interested in assimilation than integration, take the school system. I don't know the law completely, but it's something like this: Your child must attend a French school unless at least one parent or sibling has attended an English school in Quebec. So this basically means that all immigrants MUST be cultured in French and bilingual families who were raised French MUST send their child to French school.

If you are willing to give up your culture and take on the persona of a pure laine Quebeccer (assimilation), you will be right at home as an immigrant in Quebec. However, if you want to keep your culture and your language while living in Quebec (integration) then you will very likely be marginalized.

But if you do something idiotic, don't try to blame it on the well-intentioned French speakers who inadvertently marginalized you while trying to protect their language and culture.