In speaking with a friend, who is a Franco-Ontarienne, I asked her what she thought of C 96. "I like it," she replied. I asked why French had to be protected and legislated in Quebec -- overriding the constitution -- and she said it was because immigrants were not speaking French.
First of all, Quebec has not even signed the constitution, so how it can unilaterally and arbitrarily change it is ludicrous, but I digress. The real question is, if immigrants are the issue, and Quebec has had control over immigration since 1968, why are immigrants not speaking French and why is Quebec accepting people who are not going to speak French?
Once again, the problem is numbers. Quebeckers are not reproducing themselves in sufficient numbers to ensure the survival of the language, hence immigration -- even with the enticement of $10 per day daycare. But since 98% of the world's business is conducted in English, why would immigrants limit themselves to French?
See what I mean?!
Immigrants are the problem, but Quebec controls immigration, so it's back to the same old solution: Force people to speak French.
When B was part of the negotiations leading up to the federal/provincial conference of 1980, which amended the constitution, he told me one of the key provisions insisted on by Quebec was the protection of the language, so it was protected in the constitution. But apparently, that was not enough, hence the further draconian measures of C 96.
In the "real" world of finance and business, French has become a nice-to-have accoutrement. English rules with the money boys. Trudeau will find he has stepped on a landmine and opened up pandora's box, paving the way for any other province to trample upon the constitution and do whatever it wants.
As I have said, Canada is no longer a country.
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