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Preparlng the New Quebec
lt
is precisely this goal of a bilin–
gual. multicultural society that the
Partí Québecois
is determined to
prevent- at least insofar as Quebec
is concerned. In fact, it is probably
the very prog ress ofTrudeau 's bilin–
gual, multicultural policies which
makes the P.Q. determined to act
now, befare Quebeckers become
" too satisfied" with Canada and
turn their backs on the "Quebec na–
tion" the province's na tionalists es–
pause.
To the P.Q., bilingualism and mul–
ticulturalism run cou nte r to the very
spirit of the confederation and consti–
tute the first step toward a " melting–
pot" Canada, similar to the United
States, where one language, English,
prevails over a
!l.
To the P.Q.. Canada itself is a n
anomaly-a "myth" and "essentially
artificial," in the words of Quebec's
Minister of Cultural Affairs and
Communications, Louis O'Neill. He
believes that bilingualism can never
bridge the gap in a country composed
of"two nations and two cultures."
When I interviewed Mr. O 'Neill
in his office in Quebec Ci ty last fall ,
it was obvious from the beginning
of our conversation tha t he and his
colleagues view independence fo r
the province as only the final and
logical step in the long evolution of
the Quebec " nation."
8111 101
Since its ass umpti on of power,
the
Parti Québecois
has been busy
preparing the province for the fu–
ture it seeks.
The most controversia! piece of leg–
islation has been Bill 10 1, the so–
called "Charter of the French Lan–
guage." In introducing the bill to
Qu ebec's Nationa l Assembly, its au–
tho r. Quebec Cultural Development
Minister D r. Camille Laurin, pro–
claimed that the law announced to
the world the "official birth" of a
French Quebec.
Bill 101 firmly establishes French
as the province's on ly official lan–
guage. This is in direct opposition to
the federal bilingual policy. Under
its terms, all business with the pro–
vincial government must be con-
The
PLAIN TRUTH May 1978
ducted in F rench. All professiona ls.
such as docto rs and lawyers, must,
in the near future, display "appro–
priate" ftuency in order to practice
in Quebec. Corporations employing
more than 50 people will be moni–
tored by a government board to en–
su r e that French becomes the
" language ofwork."
In education, Bill 101 severely re–
stricts the use of English in the
schools. The bill's education re–
quirements a re specifically directed
at the " new Canadian" immigrants.
such as Greeks and lta lians, who up
until now had overwhelming ly
elected to send their children to
Eng lish schools. But the bill also
effectively shuts out the long-term
transfer of English-speaking person–
nel from the rest of Canada to the
large Quebec head offices. since the
children of such transfers would
have to attend French schools. Thus
Bill 10 1 is accelerating the move of
big corporations to Toronto.
A Solution or a Blgger Problem?
Bill 10 1 attempts to rectify a fact of
economic life in Quebec that many
French speakers have long resented:
namely, that lo succeed in business
in the province, one must learn the
Janguage of the "colonial power."
The minority anglophones- now
about one million- have dominated
Quebec's economic a ffairs due in no
small part to the fact that up until
the l960s French-Canadian educa–
tion did no t prepare its young
people for the world of big business.
But if the majori ty of the "privi–
leged " anglophones leave- and
many a re a lready doing so- they
will also take with them their capital
and expertise, and this could resu lt
in a mo unt ain of unemployed
francophones. (One study reveals
that if the ten largest head offices
still left in Montreal were to move
out, sorne 11.000 jobs would go with
them, accounting for an annua l pay–
roll of$400 million.)
Public opinion polls indicate that
the majority of French Canadians in
Quebec have ye t to be sold on the
independiste
approach and its slo–
gans of
ma1tre chez nous
(masters in
our own house) and
Quebec pour les
Québécois
(Quebec for Quebec–
kers) - slogans wh ich appear con–
s is ten! with the mood of
decolonialization which has swept
the wo rld since the early 1950s. Es–
pecially dubious are members of the
older generation.
In Quebec 1 talked with one ve ry
successful and prominent French–
Canad ian businessman. He believed
that the P.Q. was telling only the
(Conrinued on page 32)
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