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Quebecs Bill 96 - the law that makes it illegal to speak anything but French


onetrack

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Once again, the Quebecois have further isolated themselves from the world with their aggressive Gallic intolerance - by passing a law that makes it illegal to conduct any form of business, or to even speak publically, in any other language but French.


From the CBC:

"The new law significantly affects the lives of newcomers from outside Canada in Quebec.

Under the new rules, refugees and immigrants moving to Quebec will be allowed to get services in English or another language only for six months after their arrival.

After that, all government services will be exclusively in French, unless it falls under one of the exceptions of "health, public safety or the principles of natural justice."

Those offering services to the new arrivals will have to do so in French.

So, for example, if a government worker was helping an immigrant whose first language is Italian, even if the worker also spoke Italian, the worker would still be obligated to only use French."

 

The Quebecois now have "language police" that have the ability to search business premises (without a warrant) to check that documents, phones, emails, and any other communications and writings, have all been in French!

I wonder what the penalty is for being found in possession of English documents? Sacre bleu!! An outsider!! To the guillotine with heem!!" (sorry about the mangled French).

 

I think this article from the Washington Post sums it all up neatly - the Quebecois have only shot themselves in the foot, and the number of qualified people leaving Quebec will now only increase, thanks to this new law. 

Just the climate alone in Quebec would make me not want to live there! - let alone being subjugated to official Francophilic paranoia!

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/05/26/quebec-bill-96-french-language-nationalism/

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When you think about it, it is a good way to deal with those "darned immigrants" that don't want to integrate..  Not prepared to integrate and learn the local lingo? The you will have a pretty tough time living here..

 

(note, there is a touch of cynicism in the comment)...

 

 

Edited by Jerry_Atrick
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France is French territory  and it's better you know French there also. Why should they convert to English? Just paying the devil's advocate.  Quoting Peter "wrong button" Dutton as a source of wisdom or information doesn't carry much weight . I don't welcome the day when it's likely to, either. Nev

Edited by facthunter
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IF EVERY

Tin-pot nation imposed that ' wisdom' the world would have No communication at all.

The scots

The welsh

The irish 

The cumbriuns

AND the mirid of lesser known English 'languages' !.

Will boggle the mind & anyone trying to " communicate ".

spacesailor

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The official language of Québec is often confused with the official languages of Canada. While Canada is officially a bilingual country (French and English), Québec is officially a unilingual province; the official language of Québec is French.

Similar to the situation in the US, where national and state laws sometimes differ from one another, so it is also with the provinces of Canada. Officially, Canada is a bilingual country, which means that all governmental services have to be available in both official languages of the country. However, in the Province of Québec, the local, provincial law overrides the national law. Officially, Québec only has one language, and it is legally only required to offer governmental services in French. In practice, there are regions of Québec where many English speakers live, and English speakers who do not speak French are not left stranded every time they need official paperwork.

The Province of Québec is just one of the many French speaking areas of the world where French is an official spoken language.

 

It would seem to me that it would make sense for immigrants to attempt to learn the language of their new home.

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But - there's a difference between having an official language - and forcing everyone in the country to use it a primary form of communication and business operations.

Add in police enforcement of language and communication use, and they're not far off a police state.

But I suspect they might rethink the idea when they find it hasn't done anything to further develop Quebec's international standing.

And what happens when an international convention is held there? All the attendees have to learn and speak and communicate in French, or they simply miss out?

I see where Sully has resigned as U.S. ambassador to the ICAO (after only 6 mths in the job) - seemingly, because the ICAO is headquartered in Montreal, and it looks like Sully doesn't really want to have to learn French in his later retirement years.

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the U.S. government extended an invitation to 55 States to attend an International Civil Aviation Conference in Chicago in 1944. T54 of the 55 States invited attended the Chicago Conference, and by its conclusion on 7 December, 1944, 52 of them had signed the new Convention on International Civil Aviation which had been realized. Known then and today more commonly as the ‘Chicago Convention’, this landmark agreement laid the foundation for the standards and procedures for peaceful global air navigation. The Chicago Convention also formalized the expectation that a specialized International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) would be established.

 

So because of the usual delays expected in ratifying the Convention, the Chicago Conference signed an Interim Agreement which foresaw the creation of a Provisional ICAO (PICAO) to serve as a temporary advisory and coordinating body. The PICAO consisted of an Interim Council and an Interim Assembly, and from June 1945 the Interim Council met continuously in Montreal, Canada. On 4 April 1947, upon sufficient ratifications to the Chicago Convention, the provisional aspects of the PICAO were no longer relevant and it officially became known as ICAO. The first official ICAO Assembly was held in Montreal in May of that year.

 

Maybe ICAO should have kept its headquarters in Chicago. After all, the FAA is really the Standard setter in aviation.

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