Quebec Language Police Calling....

With March comes the cautious first steps toward spring after yet another long, hard, cold and snowy Canadian winter. March will bring another treat in its wake, and it will more likely come in like the proverbial March lion, leaving the lamb to tremble behind. The Parti Quebecois has promised to hold consultations on Bill 14, legislation fashioned with great care to give added impetus  and influence to the province's already dreaded language law, Bill 101.

The implementation of Bill 14 promises to make trifling little alterations to a lot of peoples' lives, but to those people whose lives will be touched by these changes they won't necessarily seem very trifling. Grossly interfering, at the very least. Impinging on their human rights in some respects. But this is Quebec, and the province feels entitled to do things its way.

An EKOS poll revealed that 88% of anglophones in the province feel it's important to protect the English language and culture. And 42% claim they have thought of leaving the province since the PQ resumed power, albeit in a minority government for they still feel entitled to impose restrictions on the use of English, and restrain anglophone Quebecers from feeling right at home.

The Quebec Human Rights Act, provincial immigration legislation, municipal charters, the Quebec Labour Code and the Educational Childcare Act will all be impacted to some degree. This is the province whose semi-official slogan has become the proud declaration that "my language is French", empowering pure laine Quebecers to feel entitled to submit to enraged hurt feelings overhearing someone on the street speaking - horrors! - maudit Anglais.

Businesses with over 25 employees will be obliged to operate in French. Francophone students will find it far more difficult to attend English colleges. Municipalities whose anglophone population falls below the magic 50% mark will no longer provide services in both languages. In opposition to this new stark reality, a whopping 200 protesters demonstrated this past weekend outside Premier Marois's office.

That's 200 outraged Quebec citizens out of a total of maybe one million Quebec anglophones and allophones; clearly a complacent lot. Despite which, they will find their lives impacted, and they will complain and some will actually do something about their complaints - like pick up and leave in yet another mass out-of-province migration.

Even Quebec's business lobby, the Conseil du Patronat is critical of the Bill's increased level of francization obligations and labour-code amendments which will really benefit no one other than those always-disgruntled Quebecers who feel put upon by the English presence, its language and demands for equality consideration in a province in a nation where official bilingualism is respected.

But, this is, after all Quebec. Where a customer of an eatery of good reputation with an Italian flair may take umbrage at a menu that lists such un-French words as "pasta", "Pesce", "antipasta", "calamari", and "bottle". That single, solitary complaint brought along a visit from Quebec's language police eager to point out that the use of Italian names for menu dishes is verbotten. French, please, and always.

"They told me 'polpette' [Italian meatball] should be 'boulettes de viande', so I asked them what to call 'insalata caprese'", said Massimo Lecas, owner of the Buonanotte restaurant. "We've asked them what they would recommend, and they don't even have answers. My menu is completely French, what I have in Italian are the names of my dishes", he expostulated.

Not only is the entire menu printed in French, but for the specifically Italian-named traditional dishes, neatly positioned below on the menu a French description is printed to ensure that diners know what the dish consists of.  The preoccupation of petty minds; this uber-policing of the correct usage of French everywhere, at all times, without exception.

Which is where petty legislation emanates from, in a cranky province.