How many nails need to be hammered into the English language coffin to make sure that not a word is heard or seen anywhere in Quebec? Apparently, there’s no limit.
The latest example is Elections Quebec’s decision to distribute printed information only in French. This decision hampers English speakers from exercising their basic democratic right on an equal basis with French speakers.
Access to English information through a website is an important complementary measure but for essential information, the delivery must be targeted. Quebec communicates directly with you in English when it wants its taxes paid, and so it should for essential information on exercising your right to vote.
The decision not to provide targeted written information about the upcoming election is not going to protect the French language in the long term any more than the other regulatory language constraints imposed by Bill 96. English-speaking Quebecers understand more than other anglophones in Canada the necessity to preserve and promote the French language, but that doesn’t mean they have to stop being English speakers.
If Quebec wants to protect and promote the French language, it should consider using carrots instead of sticks. Reinstate the budgets for French second language training, especially for early childhood programs and in the workplace. Finance youth exchanges in the other language – the federal Young Canada Works program is a great example, where youth travel to another region to work in the other official language for the summer.
There are many more pressures on the French language than those posed by English-speaking Quebecers. If Quebec wants to wield the regulatory stick, it should aim it at Netflix and other transnational cultural offerings that exert far greater pressure on French. For English-speaking Quebecers, the better approach is to open the door to the French language rather than slam the door on English.
Hugh Maynard
Publisher