Here we go again...

There is a new political party in Québec. It is called AffiliationQuebec and it has as it's main objective the promotion of the English Language in Montréal.

Fair game, I say. After all, this is a democratic Country and I am always happy to hear of efforts pertaining to minorities everywhere.

My only concern is the spirit that seems to envelop the Party’s Leader, Mr. Allen E. Nutik (see photo above). Yesterday, I received a letter from him indicating that the Charter of Rights is wrong: “Had we known the full implications of the massive changes the Charter of Rights would impose on Canadian life, I wonder if the results have been what the legislators originally intended?” The underlining issue here seems to be because the Charter protects the French Language.

Furthermore, Nutik exclaims: “I do want to talk to you for a moment about complicity, a word that certainly conjures up a negative connotation, especially when used in conjunction with Quebec's infamous language and sign laws, which I am not alone in considering to be illegal, although the Supreme court of Canada, in their wisdom, evidently does not. “

Mr. Nutik agrees that “Quebec law does permit the use of English on signs” yet, in another article received today, AffiliationQuebec has decided to file a complaint with the Quebec Press Council because Le Journal de Montréal has discovered a lack in French Services in downtown Montreal. You may read what this Party calls an “offending article” here:

The article is neither offending nor out of place. Francophones have the right to be served in their own language in the Metropolitan of Québec.

Thus the fight continues. Some appears to still want Montréal to become, if not a bilingual city, an Anglophone city and we have seen this in the past. In our view, the result of such actions simply nourish the Nationalistic sentiments of Quebecers and helps their "Independence" cause.

Time to wake up people. Québec has the right to be as French as Alberta has the right to be English.

Stop harassing francophones!

Jean Lessage (PLQ past Premier) was right: “Maître chez nous”.


phil at uni dot ca