A TIME TO FOCUS ON OUR FUTURE
With new measures to protect French imminent from both the Quebec and federal governments, English-speaking Quebecers should be forgiven for wondering, what about us? Quebec's English-speaking communities also require protection, even if English — as the majority language in Canada and the world's lingua franca of commerce, technology and popular culture — does not.
Over the past 40 years, the number of mother-tongue English-speakers in Quebec has been getting smaller. Measured by first official language spoken, it's the share of the population that has declined. Our school systems are shrinking. Our health and social service institutions, once highly independent, are now part of larger bureaucracies. Our political leverage is minimal.
Our presence within the Quebec civil service is negligible. Historic English communities in the regions face particularly acute challenges, as do racialized English-speaking communities in Montreal.
Yet in certain nationalist circles, we are portrayed as spoiled whiners, the “best treated” minority. Some even bristle at the notion that we are a minority at all, seeing us instead as an extension of the continental English majority. Yet, we are a vulnerable minority, too.
In response to concerns about a decline in French, the Coalition Avenir Québec government is poised to bring in “robust” reforms to the Charter of the French Language (Bill 101). While it has been suggesting that it will not do anything to affect the rights of English-speaking Quebecers, that is not entirely reassuring given its views on what measures infringe on rights. Bill 40, which abolishes school boards, is a case in point. It appears to infringe on the English-speaking minority's constitutional right to control its schools; the government says it does not. The matter is before the courts.
Meanwhile, Ottawa has pledged to modernize the Official Languages Act, and there are concerns about what that might mean for Quebec's English-speaking minority. The federal opposition parties have aligned themselves with Quebec nationalist positions on language. The Liberals have a minority government. An election, and with it the need to win seats in Quebec, may not be far off.
The political stars are aligned in a way that does not augur well. The province's biggest daily newspaper, Le Journal de Montréal, has been playing on the concerns francophones have for the status of their language to whip up fears and to put pressure on governments.
As we head into what appears likely to be a period of turbulence on the language front, it is more important than ever for English-speaking Quebecers to focus on how to ensure the future vitality of our communities, our access to government services in English, the respect for our constitutional rights and the principle of official-language duality in Canada.
Yes, this will mean speaking out in opposition to any new laws and policies that infringe on our rights, and turning to the courts where necessary. But such reactive responses will be insufficient to ensure the future vitality of our communities.
Proactive measures — to strengthen our institutions and grassroots organizations, to ensure our youth have the French-language skills they need for a future in Quebec and to foster a new generation of community leaders — will also be required.