The Red Fleurs of Quebec

 

 

 

Since 1759 we've liked our Quebecers French.

But not too French.

I mean we want them to change their laws

and get those road signs en anglais aussi

so we can look like we know where we're

going when we visit, eh?

But if they won't change their signs, well,

c'est la vie,

we don't go there that often anyway

and Quebec is, well ... ... Quebec.

 

Toujours cranky.

 

No big deal.

 

But to Quebec's minority English speaking community

language is a big deal.

And maybe we should be paying more attention.

 

If you live in Ontario you've probably met some people

who used to be a part of the Anglo community in

la belle province.

These new Ontarians don't look like your grandparents

looked when they got off the boat from Hong Kong or the

Ukraine in 1903 - all tattered mismatched clothes, bare feet

and empty bellies.

 

Quebec's refugee Anglos look like us.

They sound like us too,

just more pissed off.

Meanwhile inside Quebec the struggle for justice

and a unified country goes on

by people who believe in Canada.

And I'm afraid that if it isn't our battle now,

it will be when the next referendum rolls around.

 

For a grassroots commentary from the Anglo community

in Quebec you can follow

@redfleurquebec on twitter

or facebook.com/redfleurquebec

****

The Separatists Wore me Down

The Separatists wore me down.

I remember what a jolt it was the day after the first Referendum

when the sun came up. 

I hadn't paid any attention to anything except Quebec in such a long time

 that it

was a surprise to see that everything was so ordinary.

 

The Federalists had won, narrowly.

The next Referendum caused anxiety but also a rising anger.   

 

And since that time I have  just become more and more tired of the news

coming out of Quebec. The language laws,

the return of the Parti Quebecois

and the threat of another referendum.

 

"If they want to go, they should go. 

In this day and age we can survive without them," I reasoned.

I was just tired, tired, tired of it all.

 

Then I went to Ottawa for the Remembrance Day week-end.

 

*** 

 

 

 

In Ottawa I saw some of the things that bind us together.

A man carrying a flag on Parliament Hill.

 

A veteran.

 

 



The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.



 

Our connections with each other and with our history.
 

Canadian recruits at the War Museum.

Standing in the crowd, shoulder to shoulder with other Canadians. 

 

 

Our connection with Britain and the Commomwealth.

 

 

Sculpture at the Museum of Civilization.
 

 No one could walk through the Museum of Civilization,

(Museum of Canadian History), and the National War Museum

and not feel that the country must be preserved.

 

A child getting ready to throw a coin into the Centennial Flame,
Parliament Hill.

 For her.

And for all of us.

 

 



A man warms his hands at the Centennial Flame.
 Built in 1967 to celebrate Canada's 100th birthday.
 

 Each generation has had its struggle, its burden. 

Ours has been to keep the country together.


I won't let them wear me down again. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Honk if You Still Love Quebec

Canadian Flag (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They are at it again.

Yes the Parti Quebecois no sooner took power than they got rid of the Canadian flag in their legislature.

(Where it oughta stayed.)

 

I've blogged about this before and I haven't changed my mind.

I can't see why, in our wireless, computerized world, it would matter if Quebec goes or stays.

 

Figuratively speaking. 

Literally they aren't going anyplace.

 

Suppose ten years down the line, they have another referendum, as they are promising that they will, and that time, the unthinkable happens.

 

What are we going to do?

Send in the army?

Put tanks on the streets of Montreal?

 

I can't imagine anyone wanting that.

 

 

We need to get over our hurt feelings. 

If they decide to go, so be it.

And, my sorrowful, somewhat bitter friends,

that means making sure that they are financially able to manage independence. 

Jeesh.

I wish I cared more.





***

Distinctly Anglais

Image via Wikipedia

Whenever I hear the words 'Quebec' and 'distinct' in the same sentence I get cranky.


So I wasn't too happy to open an e-mail from my chosen political party this week informing me that Party Leader Elizabeth May is thrilled that the Quebec Green Party is now a 'distinct' wing and will organize things its own way.


She calls it 'grassroots democracy'.


I call it divisive.

And par for the course.


But I'm not as upset about it as I used to be.

Technology has brought English Canada together in a way that we couldn't have imagined when the FLQ first struck terror into our hearts forty years ago.


Face book and twitter have shrunk the country to the size of our computer monitors and the coverage of the Olympics opened a floodgate of love-of-country that most of us had never experienced.


Who knew the passion that lies beneath our reserved exteriors, eh?



Les Anglais have also seen the power of the Internet this past month in the middle east.


We now know that millions of people can be informed and united for a single cause -

people who are separated from each other geographically.



For the first time it is possible to imagine the country surviving and flourishing without Quebec.



I don't advocate separation and  I suppose it is too much to ask one politician to draw

 a line in the sand, but I can tell you one thing:


I'll be sleeping easier during the next referendum.

Related articles

• Greens cater to Quebec with 'distinct' wing (canada.com)