A sad day for anglophones in Quebec
OQLA’s closure is a result of apathy, fatigue, 40 years after Bill 101, Gary D. Shapiro says.
It’s a sad day for Quebec anglophones and English-language rights. The Office québécois de la langue anglaise (OQLA), which was founded in February 1996 and has attracted over 20,000 members, is officially closing its operations.
The OQLA was founded because of a dire need for pushback against the continual erosion and disappearance of the English language in Quebec.
The reason for our closing is not that the need has disappeared, it is more because of apathy.
There certainly is a need. Without pushback, it seems likely that English will completely disappear from the face of Quebec. It continues to be important to draw attention to injustices and abuses by the Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF). It is just that the anglophone community is tired after four decades of language fights and referendums.
It is slightly ironic that our timing coincides with the 40th anniversary of Bill 101, passed into law on Aug. 26, 1977. This infamous law followed the Parti Québécois electoral victory of Nov. 15, 1976, which led to a mass exodus of Quebec anglophones and was the beginning of the financial decline of Montreal and the establishment of Toronto as the financial capital of Canada.
Those who wanted to and were able to leave the province have done so; those who chose to remain, or had no choice but to remain, have found a way to manage.
The OQLA has been there all these years to push back against language injustices and new proposed laws and regulations that would further infringe on English-language rights. Its mission was to preserve and promote the English language — to ensure it does not become extinct — while working within Quebec language laws.
Just recently, the youth wing of our Quebec Liberals voted against allowing a limited number of francophones to attend English
Without pushback, it seems likely that English will completely disappear from the face of Quebec.
schools, which are threatened by declining enrolment. These youth are supposed to be our visionaries, open minded and aware of the benefits not only of bilingualism, but of multilingualism. This decision, notwithstanding the younger generation’s supposed lack of interest in separation, further indicates that language will constantly be an issue and that the English language remains threatened. It was hoped that “our” Liberal youth would be more progressive and realize that French is now stronger than ever in Quebec, and that we have strength of being a fully bilingual culture in North America. This is a strength that we could capitalize on, to be able to communicate with tourists and be able to become an international trade centre as a multilingual province. As it stands now, we don’t have English schools and French schools, we have bilingual schools and French schools. What more do they want?
We are destined to be second-class citizens in a second-class province. Montreal for the most part has become a service economy. Because of our language laws, we are unable to attract top individuals in any field from other countries to make their home in Quebec unless they are prepared to raise their children in French.
The irony is that the young Quebec anglophone today is bilingual, and fully mobile, while the young francophone is unilingual and ghettoized.
Our politicians have never had the courage to do what is best and right. It seems to me that fear of a small, vocal group of militant separatists has hijacked the political agenda for 40 years. Montreal was Canada’s economic capital and the Paris of North America. It still is a good place to live, particularly in the summertime. But instead of being an economic force, our home has become a party town and a festival city.
Bonne chance à tous!