Why is Cloud 500 zeroing in and pouncing on Legault for not speaking a native language ?
There are a dozen of them languages in Québec including Inuktitut.
Which one should he learn first to appease Cloud 500 ?
Apart from the native premiers of Nunavut and the NWT, I doubt that any Canadian Premier or Prime Minister could speak a Native language.
Should something be egregious in the lack of language skills for a public official department it is the fact that Trudeau appointed the current Governor-General who struggles in French.
Ms Simon was born and raised in the province of Québec, has spent much of her career working for CBC North in Montréal and when a member of the Canadian diplomatic corps was entitled to free one on one private tutoring in French at taxpayers' expense. It is not as if she did not have the opportunity to pick up some skills in french before her appointment.
You seem to be taking this too personal. I brought up the Native language because we are all immigrants including Legault, this country was built on immigrants yet he decided that French be the dominant language. The Natives were here before all of us. So why is the Native language not one of the official languages? Okay there are many dialects, they can choose one dialect to be the official language.
I agree 100% with you about the governor general. Anyone in government should be able to speak both of Canada's official languages. But that is it. Government has no business meddling with private businesses or peoples personal lives. Let me put it this way, any business in Montreal that can operate in English only and is able to remain profitable deserves to survive. The same applies vice-versa, any business that can operate in French only in Toronto and remain profitable also deserves to survive. Did you know in Markham there is a Chinese mall called Pacific Mall, it is mainly Cantonese and Mandarin. No one is complaining about it there.
But lets face the reality, the issue of language is only in Montreal, Legault is concerned about the population declining on having French as a maternal language. He wants people to be using French in their homes (that is going too far) and the reason that is the case is because Quebecors are not having enough kids. Plain and simple. Legault should be focusing on real problems like healthcare and inflation, not on identity politics.
For 44 years since the conception of Bill 101, French and English coexisted in harmony with minor issues in Montreal. Now Legault brings the language boogeyman to score political points. He is driving a wedge and causing division. My stance is that language should be determined by the market and demand, whatever the demands are and government should mind its own business and stay out of things they do not understand.
About your six months to learn French, many businesses disagree on this. It is unreasonable to expect immigrants to speak a foreign language like a native speaker in just six months. I like to see you learn Spanish in six months and be able to speak like a Native speaker.
Finally, bashing Anglophones and Allophones to second class citizens does not do anything to promote French, Quebecors having more kids will preserve French. A few things I find very concerning in Bill 96. You see how Legault is trigger happy in using the Notwithstanding Clause but this clause was never made to be used in the way Legault uses it. There are certain rights the constitution guarantees. That is everyone has the right to access justice in both official languages. The Notwithstanding Clause cannot bypass this. The government is saying people have to get an official translation at court at their own expense which can be expensive. What is most unconstitutional is the rule that you have to accompany an English procedure by a French translation. It is like saying you got freedom of expression but got to pay the government $20 each time to use it. Another thing is the OQLF will be given more power then the police, imagine using another language is a bigger crime then a murder case, how weird. The OQLF can search and seize documents from private, commercial offices and public ones that fall under the label “government administration” without a warrant, just suspecting is enough to justify a raid. When it comes to seizures and searches in lawyers and notaries offices, the Supreme Court has held that the solicitor-client privilege is a fundamental principle of justice -- not in the Charter, but in the constitution so Notwithstanding Clause will not protect them either on this one. Finally the bill creates a two-tier system between historical Anglos and other Anglos. The idea of permanently separating two groups into this kind of two-tier system for a variety of daily purposes -- not just in terms of who qualifies for English education -- is new and calls for a legal challenge. Historic Anglos is something created by the Quebec government btw. In Canadian history, this kind of grouping bylaw is almost unheard off. Normal democratic countries do not categorize populations like this.
Things not part of the constitution but still very important. When selling your home, all sale contracts now have to be in French. There are many important things like legal terms that must be understood and to ask an Anglophone or Allophone who might not be too comfortable in French opens the door to misunderstandings. And the convos a patient has with their doctor that has to be in French is also is very concerning. I mean come one, this is about your health, it is very important to be able to understand your doctor. There are many people who do not speak either language well, so now a doctor that speaks Spanish cannot speak Spanish to a patient whose maternal language is Spanish? However regarding language of communication between doctor and patient, it is unclear how it will implemented and enforced because in Bill 96 it is still very vague about this.
The main issue with the bill is that "for the first time, it prohibits certain communications," said Montreal lawyer Eric Maldoff.
montrealgazette.com
So yes Legault created division and problems for nothing but to score political points.
