You wouldn't think that Liberal Party members would be anti-Quebec. But then again, Gerard Kennedy did finish in sixth place in Quebec, so perhaps we can forgive Gerard Kennedy supporters for being a tad irritable when it comes to Quebeckers. Why Kennedy supporters continue to support him and think he can win, however, is beyond me.
New Yorkers in Toronto
If you have time to read, I recommend the blog We Move To Canada about a couple who decides to move from an apartment in New York City (Brooklyn) to a house in Toronto(Mississauga). I've been banned for life from commenting on the blog for calling them " the stupidest couple on the face of the earth". Apparently, they are a tad thin skinned, but I digress.
Canada's Green Grass
Following George Bush's re-election, they came down with a major case of the green grass syndrome.
Now I love New York City, and it has always been my dream to live there. I also hate Toronto (don't even get me started on Mississauga). So this blog captivated me from the get go. When the author writes in New York City, she is what Canadians would call a Social-Democrat and what Americans would call a Liberal. In New York City, she is very tolerant towards all minorities, including French Canadians.
For example:
At January 10, 2005 9:58 AM , L-girl said...
I did know that French
Canadians were an oppressed minority (for lack of a better expression). It seems
every minority everywhere is/was such. Not long ago, it was a crime for Irish
people to speak Gaelic, now they are taught it in school. Same for Cajun
speakers in Louisiana - who of course are descendants of French speakers forced
out of Canada. ( Nobody speaks 'Cajun' in Louisiana, but some speak French. In Ireland they speak Irish, a form of Gaelic)
But after her move, she starts disliking Quebeckers. The Bloc Québécois helping the Conservatives stay in power is a major source of irritation.
Then, in September 2006, almost a year after moving to Ontario, she writes about the Conservative cuts :
"Funny how few, if any, of these budget cuts effect social programs in Quebec, where the Conservatives most need votes."
Now she is blaming Quebec and Quebeckers for cuts to national programs! It is completely unjustified, of course, as the programs the Conservatives cut benefited all Canadians.
How do you go, in a year's time, from being open minded about Quebec, to anti-Quebec?
Montreal
So I ask you English Canadian Liberals out there, when you vote on the nation question in Montreal, will you be thinking like an open minded New Yorker, or a like a bitter minded Mississaugan?
-Will American Refugees move back to the USA?
-Gerard Kennedy is the Only Top 4 Candidate Against Quebec Being Called a Nation
9 comments:
(I had to beep some language)
Loraine Lamontagne said...
Have you ever wondered when the process of Quebecers becoming anti French-Canadians began? Almost daily now I read degrading remarks about French Canadians in newspapers. This Saturday, for example, Le Devoir published an article by Denise Bombardier in which she paints French Canadians as lacking in ambition (« né pour un p?tit pain ») and as losers («perdants»). Why do Quebecers take such a pleasure in degrading the characters of French-Canadians ? I would imagine you speak Barachois and consider yourself an Acadien so you may not understand that for a French Canadian like myself, from Ontario, being treated like a ******, and addressed like one would address a ******, is totally revolting.
In the interest of clarification, I think most people would include Quebeckes in the definition of 'French Canadians'.
I have no clue what Barachois is.
Obviously, you will soon have to beep the words French-Canadian....
I would strongly recommend you do not address a Quebecer by calling him a French-Canadian. The term in Quebec is now used to depict a person as subservient, lazy, traitor, lacking in ambition, loser, etc... If you don't believe me, I will keep you posted anytime I read this in a French newspaper, so I'll be in touch almost daily....
Barachois » est un mot acadien désignant une étendue d?eau, calme et peu profonde, qui est isolée de la mer par des dunes - and sometimes used for the slang spoken by Acadians.
Do you have a link or the text of Bombardier's article? I can't find it.
I read Quebec papers all the time, I have NEVER seen the term Canadiens-français in that context.
http://www.ledevoir.com/2006/11/04/122128.html
And I'll keep you posted. Le Devoir in particular always associates French-Canadians with qualities of inferiority in a people. I have read such references so many times yet I have never heard anyone complain about it. As a French-Canadian I find it revolting. I read many French papers every day and I notice this all the time, particularly at Le Devoir. I'll be in touch whenever I spot one!
Thanks for the link. Bombardier is in NO WAY reffering to French speaking Canadians outside Quebec. She is simply refering to pre Quiet Revolution Quebeckers. i.e. Quebeckers of the 60s, 50s and 40s...
I agree with you that Bombardier is referring to the people living in Quebec in the 40s and 50s but I would bet you ten bucks (make that a hundred) that she would refer to Jean-Paul Riopelle, Borduas, Clarence Gagnon as being des peintres Québécois! And they lived in what era, republican? But if someone is viewed by Madame as not too bright, not ambitious and generally dumb (maybe a federalist?), she would call that person a French Canadian. I object, as a French Canadienne, and a proud one at that!
Then I suggest you start an anti-Le Devoir blog. But considering that only 20,000 papers are published per day, you might want to aim at a bigger target...
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