NTRODUCTION
I read with interest a recent article on the French languages and Anglophones in Quebec by a journalist from La Presse whom I greatly respect and whose work I always read with interest, Mr. Yves Boisvert.
I also read it with surprise and a touch of discouragement. Mr. Boisvert speaks of the promotion and protection of French in a negative, even mocking, tone. A bad day at the office?
A few corrections are in order.
DRAFT CONSTITUTION
I had the honour of submitting a brief on February 12 to the Committee on Institutions of the National Assembly, outlining my comments on the linguistic aspects of the draft constitution for Quebec, 2025. In my presentation, I explained that:
-I am very familiar with the two solitudes.
-Quebec is facing a decline in French.
-Faced with this decline, the English school system is doing virtually nothing. Fifty years after Bill 101, approximately two-thirds of students are not proficient in spoken and written French after 12 years of compulsory language instruction. Faced with this situation, a quarter of eligible Anglophone parents choose the nuclear option: sending their children to the French system.
- I recommended requiring, as a condition for graduation, appropriate French exams for graduating primary and secondary school students in the English school system in ALL subjects to ensure they acquire genuine mastery of French.
DUBIOUS STATEMENTS BY MR. BOISVERT
Mr. Boisvert's article makes the following eight points, explicitly or implicitly (and not always subtly). Here are my comments, which stem primarily from my presentation:
1- The author bases his article on the Anglophones I know.
My comment: Clearly, we don't know the same Anglophones. With all due respect, I know the two solitudes better than Mr. Boisvert.
I am from both sides of the Outaouais region; my parents are of French-Canadian and Irish descent; I studied and worked in both English and French, and I have received recognition from Anglophone and Francophone organizations. See my written submission for more details.
2- There isn't a decline in French, rather, French is doing quite well* (emphasis added by the undersigned). The measures in Bill 96 create an atmosphere of hostility that is completely unjustified*.
My comment: All the indicators from the Office québécois de la langue française are negative. The House of Commons Standing Committee on Official Languages has recommended formally recognizing this decline. A French-American from New Hampshire (Mr. Rémi Francoeur), who chose to move to Quebec, recently explained how the use of French in America can, step by step, decline and then disappear.
3- English speakers in Quebec are said to be the most bilingual people in Canada*. So, French is not threatened by "the English," the presence of English speakers does not endanger French*; and consequently, limiting the rights of English speakers does not improve the protection of French.
My comment: A third of non-French speakers in Quebec cannot hold a short conversation in French. And for the others, many cannot hold a long conversation, read, write, or think in French.
4- The promotion of French should be prioritized* in French-language higher education, rather than in English-language universities and CEGEPs. Instead, we should be highlighting the successes of English-language CEGEPs*, not questioning their higher funding.
My comment: The issue isn't the effectiveness of English-language CEGEPs in teaching in English, but rather the incompetence and lack of motivation of their graduates to work in French, which must be addressed and corrected. Otherwise, these CEGEPs should be subject to Bill 101.
5- We shouldn't take measures to impose French as the common language, such as: requiring the "immediate and unconditional" filing of translations for court decisions; limiting access to English-language healthcare services; or discouraging the use of "bonjour, hi" in business greetings.
My comment: Language is a public good whose value depends on the number of people who use it. The more speakers a language has, the more useful it is. This is the network effect. The public use of English diminishes the value of French and undermines everyone's motivation to learn and use it. We must promote the use of French in public, not ridicule these efforts (a friendly reminder: the use of the famous "Bonjour-Québec" rather than a simple "Bonjour" was condemned by a unanimous vote of the members of the National Assembly).
6- We are no longer in the early days of Bill 101*, which mandated the use of French in the workplace.
My comment: The requirement to use French in the workplace dates back to Bill 22 of the Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ) in 1974. It is important to note this to demonstrate that this demand is not partisan, but is shared by both federalists and sovereigntists.
7- We are no longer in the early days of Bill 101, which mandated French-language schooling for immigrants*.
My comment: Bill 101 required Canadians moving to Quebec to send their children to the French-language school system. This obligation was struck down by the Supreme Court. This is an example of court decisions that infringe upon "parliamentary supremacy," a phenomenon that Mr. Boisvert is clearly trying to downplay.
8- Anglophones believe in the need to protect French.
My comment: What is Mr. Boisvert basing this on? According to a 2021 Jean-Marc Léger poll, one in three non-francophones are concerned about protecting the French language. The proportion of Anglophones is undoubtedly lower (a quarter, according to the Journal de Montréal).
CONCLUSION
For the past 50 years, the Quebec government has made a fundamental error: tolerating an English-language school system whose graduates are not proficient in spoken and written French. This system must be abolished or fundamentally reformed to ensure that Anglophones truly master French. In the meantime, please i) stop pretending that Anglophones who are only capable of holding a short conversation in French are bilingual; and ii) don't hesitate to vigorously promote French in public wherever possible, rather than mocking those efforts.
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Marc Ryan
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