Forbidding XIY$%Y*& English

The Parti Quebecois struck gold in hitting a sensitive nerve among voters in Quebec now hailing the decision by the governing PQ to introduce legislation that would disallow any civil servant wearing symbols of their religious devotion. In a province and with a government that is wholly dedicated to secularism in pursuing the public weal, intrusive and disturbing visualizations of religious devotion is unwanted and will be forbidden.

Anything that brings the PQ closer to a majority government can be viewed as a huge success. And with the heady realization that the majority of Quebecers agree with the government's move to outlaw the wearing of a turban, a hijab, a kippah, ostentatious religious jewellery and anything else that could be construed as remotely offensive, the coming election will be a breeze toward majority rule.

And that hallelujah! understanding has propelled a more assertive voice for language.

Quebec's Minister Responsible for the Charter of the French Language (Bill 101) in a speech to Quebec business leaders, angrily forbade "creeping bilingualism". "Bonjour-hi", popularly used as an all-purpose bilingual greeting in shops in Montreal are anathema to the PQ, and should be to any self-respecting Quebecer, and she won't have it. Cue the language police; businesses must function in French and enforcement "must be without mercy".

It's hard not to interpret this emphasis on the purity of French and the insulting intrusion of English as a bit of a conspiracy, leading to a clamp-down on English and Anglophones already suffering with diminished language rights in a province of an officially bilingual country which is proudly monolingual, sporting French above all, and English reduced to a tiny tertiary role of grudging appearance.

If the strategy is to incrementally wear out the patience and expectations of Anglophone and allophone Quebecers, it is working marvellously well. English-speaking Quebecers find it difficult enough to have services provided, even as a courtesy by those capable of extending it, but whose unions militate with the government against that courtesy, leaving them adrift in a sea of Francophone resentment of unreasonable language demands.

Live in Quebec, do it the French way.

So is that line of conspiratorial reasoning that if non-French-speakers become sufficiently discouraged they will be encouraged to leave the province for English-speaking pastures? A mass migration of disgruntled Anglophones may be just what the PQ is bargaining for. Leaving them with fewer "no" votes at such future time when they are in a majority government (fairly soon) and will once again introduce the topic of separation.

The Office quebecois de la langue francaise has latterly extended its enforcement of French usage on those living in Quebec by apprising the owner of a small boutique in bilingual Chelsea that her business website is offensive to the dictates of its office because it is in English only. She must present her website as a French-first, English afterthought presentation, else be liable to a hefty fine.

Joel Balsam, Photo, Eva Cooper Holds up the warning letter from Quebec's Office quebecois de la langue francaise that says the messages posted on her Delilah boutique Facebook page must be in French.

The unilingual use of a website from a shop owner in Quebec represents an affront, and Eva Cooper, owner of Delilah in the Parc boutique on Scott Road in Chelsea, is guilty of a verifiable offence. No matter that she may be attempting to reach an international audience, and English is the lingua franca of the cosmopolitan globe.

No matter also, evidently, that by extending its energies in such an absurd manner, Quebec has become an international laughingstock when stories such as this and its campaign of last year to force cafes and restaurants to use French alternatives for words such as "pasta" or "pizza", gained the kind of attention that would make any self-respecting politician wince.

Quebec Premier Pauline Marois doesn't give a damn. She's right, the world is errant, and wrong, wrong, wrong. And don't forget to send transfer payments, Canada.