Vive Le Quebec libre

Hi Paul,

hmm I think you didn't get my point. The fact that british columbia has the smallest number of French speakers in Canada has nothing to do with the right of the public to communicate with federal institutions and be served in the official language of its choice.
Of course, the Official Languages Act does not require all Canadians to speak both official languages but it merely commits the federal government to providing the public with services in the official language of its choice. Unfortunately, the law is not always respected...

M le maudit ,
=>No, absolutly nothing. I wanted you to learn something today.<=

It never came into your mind that I already knew this?

Paul,



Sorry but your views on Belgium are totally wrong,

=>And if you want see just how generous Francophones are to their Linguistic Minorities, take a look a Belgium.<=

First of all there is a French minority in Belgium.And they are possibly the worst example of the ' kindness ' of French when it shares a country with another language.

=>See how their system encourages Bi-Lingualism. <=
LOL, yes but only the Flemish listen to it walloons ignore it.

=>See how much positive concern the Walleroons have for Flemish speakers. <=

If the Walloon corcern for the Flemish could be explained in numbers that would be like 0,0 . You see, the walloons are poor,the were once the richest, and tried horrible things like banning the Dutch language.After the industrial age, the mines closed, and so did the steelworks , unemployment was and is extremely high.And the Walloon governement receive hundreds of millions of Euros in support from the Belgian governement, guess from who?!The Flemish.

Nico,

=>i have never meet a walloon able to speak flemmish and a flemmish able to speak french. They ignore each others,<=

Not true, the Flemish learn French if only fo there own good and it's obliged on schools,nothing like such exists on the walloon side.It's the Walloons who refuse to learn Dutch. It's a miracle that the Flemish haven't halted their economical support...

I have never meet a wallon able to speak flemmish or a flemmish able to speak french. I know some walloons who learnt flemmish at school, and of course the same with flemmish.

I think flemmish and walloons are victims of a big misunderstanding. I don't think there are bad walloons or bad flemmish.

That is not the fault of the walloons or the flemmish. When i have been to Belgium in the flemmish side, i have felt so unwelcome. Maybe they fought i was walloon.

The story you can tell me about the walloon attitude, i can tell you the same about the flemmish one.

And if you want see just how generous Francophones are to their Linguistic Minorities, take a look a Belgium.
See how their system encourages Bi-Lingualism.
See how much positive concern the Walleroons have for Flemish speakers.
Ontario Apathy is a blessing by comparison. >>>

Uhm, I think Paul was being ironic here....!

Nico,

=>i can tell you the same about the flemmish one.<=

Yeah but that would be lying...

Really, how can you accuse someone to be a liar. You don't know me, do you?

I can't believe the fact you accused me to be a liar. Who are you : god? L

You claim that the Flemish have the same attitude as the walloons that would be a lie and as such you would make you a liar.

=>I can't believe the fact you accused me to be a liar<=

Did I?

Sebastien

If I went to a post office in Chicoutimi I would speak French, if I knew how, which I do. That would just be common sense.

To expect that the Post Office in Vancouver should keep French speaking staff around just in case a French speaking person shows up once a year is simply childish. For you to speakFrench there when you are able to speak English is a bit like our new Governor-General making a point of speaking French in Western Canada, when she is fluent in English. It is just childish but very indicative of the petulant mentality of certain Quebecois.

Not may adults in BC speak French but French immersion is very popular amongst school children. Probably several hundred thousand kids go to school in French inBC. But I know this just annoys the nationalists becasue it does not fit with their preferred sense of constant victimhood.

As for Ontario vs. Quebec in the treatment of language minorities, there are problems in both provinces. However, I am certain there are more francophones in government service in Ontario, than anglophones in Quebec. You do not get arrested for putting up signs in French in Ontario. Our federal civil service, however is dominated by francphones, as is our political system.

At any rate, Sebastien, you represent exactly the attitude that I cannot wait to get rid of. That is why I support the indenpendence of Canada from Quebec.

They just have to be independant and to restrict as we do in France the british and US % of people who want to leave in the land.

They just have to be independant and to restrict as we do in France the british and US % of people who want to leave in the land. >>

France has special laws to keep English speakers out, does it? The rest of the world is welcome, but if you're British or American, you can get lost?
What about Australians, New Zealanders, South Africans, Jamaicans etc etc etc? Have you got laws for them too?

Pauvre Steve...

«the petulant mentality of certain Quebecois»

The mentality of a people which, even if you still deny it, after having been conquered, humiliated and despised for several centuries, realizes now that it is able to accomplish great things.


«their preferred sense of constant victimhood.»

Instead of judging the québécois, question yourself about the history of Canada.


«Our federal civil service, however is dominated by francphones»

Have you ever wondered why? It may be that only the Québécois are really bilingual in this country...


«At any rate, Sebastien, you represent exactly the attitude that I cannot wait to get rid of. That is why I support the indenpendence of Canada from Quebec.»

At least, we hope for the same outcome...

PS: Pour quelqu'un qui prétend être diplômé de Sciences-Po, je te trouve assez inapte à débattre sur un sujet. Lorsque j'y étais, on m'a appris ce qu'étaient les nuances.
Avec toi, c'est blanc ou noir; tout est de la faute des maudits québécois....et les pauvres «canadians», bien sûr, doivent absolument se libérer de cet ignoble joug. Je comprend que tout aurait été plus facile pour le Canada si nous avions été assimilés dès le début. Heureusement, nos ancêtres ont lutté pour préserver leur héritage et nous le transmettre, lequel nous continuerons à transmettre à nos enfants. Je suis tout aussi désolé que toi devant cette situation absurde, mais que je sache, nous n'avions pas demandé à être intégrés à ce pays. On nous a un peu forcé la main...si tu vois ce que je veux dire.

Ah oui! une dernière chose: cesse de prendre les québécois de haut s'il te plaît, aujourd'hui ça ne marche plus.

Hi Candy!

«France has special laws to keep English speakers out, does it? The rest of the world is welcome, but if you're British or American, you can get lost?
What about Australians, New Zealanders, South Africans, Jamaicans etc etc etc? Have you got laws for them too?»

Don't worry! I think El C is not serious. I lived in France and there is no law to prevent english-speakers from living in France. However I know that radio stations must play mostly music with French lyrics, and advertisements in English are, with few exceptions, outlawed unless accompanied by a translation.

Hi Sébastien!
I hope he's not serious! :-)
Where did you live in France? I think I read in a previous post that you studied in Paris? I had a friend living there, working as an English teacher, a couple of years ago. He didn't get paid very much, couldn't afford a very nice flat, and found a rat swimming in his toilet one day ;( He went home to Scotland soon after that!!
No seriously, Paris is wonderful - I should go there more often. It's only about 4 hours by train from here. Hoping to get over to Canada some time in the not too distant future! :)