Thursday 18 July 2013

The Anglophone Misconception in Quebec

There seems to be a real division and misunderstanding when it comes to understanding the differences between Franco-Quebecers and Anglo-Quebecers. I writing this in an attempt to explain how I feel, and how many others (I assume) feel about their situation living in La belle province. In my explanation I will try to be as simplistic as possible in conveying my feelings on the subject.


I was born in Montreal, Quebec and lived here all my life. In the city where I grew up in, (Ville St Laurent) there was wide range of ethnic groups: Italians, Greeks, Armenians, Chinese and French Canadians. I went to an English elementary school and got along quite well with everyone in the neighborhood. Of course, we would playfully rib each other during street hockey games but it never seemed absurd or unnatural. We always got along.


One of my favorite shows before my first year of kindergarten was Passe Partout. I loved that show as did many of my friends. As an emerging Montreal Canadiens fan, some of my favorite players were Francophone, Claude Lemieux, Guy Carbonneau, and of course, Patrick Roy. Who did not want to be like Patrick Roy?  As kids, we would all want to be the goalie on our team and tried to emulate his moves. For us, he was a hero and living legend. We did not care what language he spoke. When Les Canadiens won the stanley cup in 1986, we all hugged each other in the streets and we were ONE. It did not matter what language you spoke, we were all Montrealers that day.


During those earlier years, my family and I would take trips to la “cabane a sucre” and this became a yearly tradition. We never called it the sugar shack. Also, we never played rock, paper scissors, it was always “roches papier ciseaux.”  We went to buy candy at the “dep” (short for dépanneur) and never did we call it the 7/11 or convenience store. As kids we were scolded for using the words like “tabarnak” and “calisse,” because believe it or not, we anglos use these words as well.


The Montreal Expos were “Nos amours” not our love. And I was probably not alone when I used to switch the TV dial in hopes of hearing Roger Brulotte calling out the games in French. “Bonsoirrrrrr elleeeee est partieeeeeee!!!” And even as Anglos we rooted for Denis Boucher and felt emotional when he got a standing ovation at the Big O.


In our late teens and early 20’s many of us hung out in francophone night clubs, pool halls and bars, and many of us had francophone girlfriends/boyfriends. A few of us even got married to one. Some of us left this city, but many of us stayed. We are Canadians of course, but there is no denying that we are also Québecois. We love our province and like it or not, even as anglos, we are distinct as well.


Our English is different from the rest of Canada, we say “gallery” instead of balcony, “guichet” instead of ATM, “Metro” instead of Subway. We “close” the TV (not shut off the tv), we “take” a decision (not make one), we “pass” the vacuum and we eat our pizza “all dressed” (not deluxe).


As much as I hate the politics or occasional discrimination I may feel as an Anglophone, after spending time away from this province, I always feel at home when I come back.


To the people who think that we do not belong, I have this to say to you: We stay here because we love it. We are here because we are different from the rest of Canada, if we did not feel this way, we would have moved out of Quebec a long time ago, but we are still here. We love the culture, we love the language and we love being part of a French province that is unique in North America.


Anglophones in Quebec in no way threaten your culture, in fact we would stand right by your side to protect the French language here if we knew for a fact it was in a serious decline. What hurts us are the laws created that make us feel like we do not belong, that we are strangers in our own home...  We are your brothers and sisters, this is our home as well. We have had generations work their whole lives to give everything they have to Quebec.


Yes, we are Canadians, but we will always be Québecois and no one can deny that.


Mike Kane
putbacktheflag

Tuesday 9 July 2013

STM Bus Driver Discriminates Against Elderly Woman According To Witness



***PLEASE NOTE WHEN POSTING THE LINK IT STATES ELDERLY WOMAN WAS THREATENED...THIS WAS CORRECTED THE ELDERLY WOMAN WAS NOT THREATENED BY THE DRIVER SHE WAS DISCRIMINATED AGAINST.  WE CORRECTED THE HEADING, HOWEVER IN SOME LINKS IT STILL SHOWS **

This past Sunday on her way to church, Kimlyn's ride on an STM bus started out like any other, quiet and relaxing. Little did she know that the situation was going to get a lot worse really quickly.

As she was riding on the 110 Lasalle bus line, she noticed an elderly woman asking the bus driver for directions. The response the elderly woman received from the bus driver was very rude and left her confused without any answer to her query. According to Kimlyn the bus driver refused to help her and replied, "Ici au Québec, on parle français."

Upset at what she had witnessed, Kimlyn approached the bus driver and exclamed, "English people take the bus also, and you should have helped the elderly lady,"

The bus driver again repeated the all familiar phrase, " Ici au Québec, on parles français." Kimlyn tried to take a picture of the bus driver and was told by the driver that she would be held until police came if she did that. Kimlyn erased the picture fearing any civil confrontations or trouble with the law.

Undeterred by the threat, Kimlyn proceeded to take a few pictures and record an audio clip for evidence as to the attitude of the bus driver. She politely asked where 39th avenue was and was served the following rude response by the bus driver (in french), "If you are not happy call the number, I only speaks french."


What happened at the end of her ride left Kimlyn in total shock. Kimlyn explains "the bus driver then stopped the bus and called in her dispatcher. She then proceeded to lock the bus doors so I would be stuck in the bus. I managed to step out just in time but my handbag got stuck in the door and I had to yank it out.”


“Any paying customer of Montreal's transit system should not be treated in such a fashion, especially a senior citizen. We should be helping our seniors and not let them off the bus confused,” said Mike Kane, founder of putbacktheflag.com, a lobby group fighting for equal rights in Quebec. He continues on to add that "during these tense political times here in Quebec, we receive these stories everyday through our channels and need to bring them to the attention of everyone in order to shed light on how a select portion of our society in Quebec are failing to respect the simple rights of our citizens such as the elderly lady in this story who only needed a little help with directions. 
 
“We are requesting that the STM review their policy regarding the inclusion of bilingual drivers where the demographic warrants, it is deplorable that in this day and age minorities and seniors are treated in this manner. Montreal is not only a multi-cultural city, but also a bilingual city and if the bus driver was not able to speak in English she could have at the least politely advised the customer and made a best effort to accommodate and help.

 
These customers work hard for their money and pay for the service. No one should be treated differently based on race or language."


See audio below by Kim on July 7th, 2013 10:30 am.

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