Machjo

And are you denying that Hector Langevin contributed significantly to the establishment of the residential school system and was a French Canadian?

So do you agree with Bellegarde's recommendation of an official status for all of Canada's indigenous languages? No, I disagree with Parliament run in 50 odd languages. But if we adopt a policy of an official status for the local indigenous language and Esperanto, that would be only two official languages in any given municipality. If we include the local indigenous sign language and the International Sign, that would still be only four official languages (and only two written ones) in any given municipality. Very manageable. Even if English and French lost their official statuses, as long as the official languages apply only to official use, then English and French would still dominate in most of the priave sector. How greedy can we be? And yes, the poor poor monolinguals would have to learn a common easy language and everyone would lose the right to live monolingually. Poor babies.

Also, the Ojibwa generally don't look for total sovereignty like Quebec nationalists do since they recognize that after colonialism and the residential school system, that is not possible. Instead, the ones I have met prefer moderate sovereignty within a federation, but they do highly prize a more equal official status for their languages in the federation and a common auxiliary language for international business. They might disagree with one another on that front, but not by much. Almost all of them have opted for English and find the official status for French in Ottawa to be combersome. Most of the ones I'd met worked in the city in the private sector. One who was bilingual in English and French worked for the Federal government, so yes, even the Ojibwa might sometimes work for the Federal government, but that is rare because of the language barrier. Do you support this: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/afn-asks-ottawa-to-declare-all-aboriginal-languages-official/article25378218/ I do in principle. It woudl be quite manageable to adopt one official auxiliary language and then give some kind of official status to the local indigenous language. My knowledge of different languages and my friendships and interactions have made me aware that not all Canadians see Canada in only English or French terms.

Aanii. Machjo-n dishnikaaz. Non, mon Ojibwa n'est pas très bon, mais je n'en connais un peu. Je discutais ce sujet dans ma classe d'ojibwa, et je peux te dire que les ojibwas ne favorisent pas du tout le bilinguisme officiel, et oui ils sont très conscients de son impact économique sur eux. Ils ne vivent pas tous sur les réserves. Une ojibwa dans cette classe était mariée à un allemand et elle connaissait l’allemand mais pas le français. Une autre avait l’intention d’accepter une position en Chine plus tard. Ils étaient tous des ojibwas urbains et des blancs non-ojibwas comme moi. Et même parmi les blancs, certains ne connaissaient pas le français. Cela était à Ottawa. Bien que je ne suis pas d’accords avec eux, l’opinion populaire parmi la plupart était que l’anglais sert de langue auxiliaire internationale des peuples autochtones de la plupart du Canada, certaines partis du Québec y compris. J’ai discuté le sujet de l’espéranto aussi. Ils favorisaient tous l’idée en principe, mais la plupart croyaient que les anglais et les français ne l’accepteraient pas, donc pour eux l’anglais langue auxiliaire internationale était préférable. Encore, pas que je suis en accord avec l’anglais langue auxiliaire internationale (je préfère l’espéranto dans ce rôle), je t’informe tout simplement du contenu de nos conversations. Alors, quelle est ton expérience personnel des peuples autochtones? Baamaa pii.

Now that's arrogant. What if a person is bilingual in French and LSQ or English and ASL or English and Ojibwa or Chinese or French and Innu or Arabic? You just want a homogeneous Anglo-French Canada to the exclusion of all others?

Let's not rewrite history. The formation of an Anglo-French Canada was the result of a brutal colonial Anglo-French colusion. Germans were allowed to send their children to school in German until WWI. In fact, Kitchener ON was once Berlin ON. worse than rewriting history, the English sometimes tried to outright erase it. but again, the French were no better. Do we reward ourselves for this? What would be wrong with creating a multinational Canada. In other words, we divide the country into fifty or sixty parovinces along indigenous lines, include a moderate right to the local indigenous language iin government institutions, and adopt an international auxiliary language like Esperanto as the common second language that everyone would learn in school? That way, all would be equal. The reality though is that English and French Canadians do not want equality except between themselves to the exclusion of everyone else.

Wasn't Hector Langevin, a French Canadian and the Federal Minister of Public Works under John A. MacDonald the one who established the residential school system? Did French-language residential schools not exist in Quebec? Let's not pretend that French was not imposed too. This is not to excuse the imposition of English, but the French weren't angels either. Let's be honest. Many French-speakers worked in the residential school system too.

I've eaten at restaurants in Scarborough that had only Chinese menus. The entire clientele was Chinese along with the staff. I was the only white guy in the restaurant. At another restaurant with an English-Chinees bilingual menu, there was another white guy in the restaurant. And no, there was no French. Are you suggesting that I should have stood up in the middle of the restaurant and sing God save the Queen or Ô Canada! Terre de nos aïeux like a good little Canadian? I'm white, French is my mother tongue, I speak English, but I'm not going to piss on an entrepreneur's hard work because he won't make me the centre of his universe. You might live in La Malbaie where it's wall to wall French, but residents of cosmopolitan cities live a different reality.

So do you support this: http://quebec.huffingtonpost.ca/2015/11/21/je-suis-souverainiste-clame-un-chef-innu-au-conseil-national-du-pq_n_8617932.html The PQ applauded Picard after he said he was a sovereignist. Peladeau had invited him to speak to the PQ. Then, they learnt he was referring to being an Innu sovereignist and not a Quebec sovereignist, and that he was open to the partitioning of Quebec. So, does sovereignty apply only to white cultures?

So the Ojibwa and Innu should have no more rights than Tamils? Because they were militarily weaker than the English and French and because their numbers were redusced through the residential school system, they should know their place as second-class Canadians?

True enough. but then that could expose hypocrisy. For example, Quebec is all about protecting its national identity. The mask would be removed if it refused Inuit Northern municipalities a referendum to join Nunavut. Then we would know that Quebec just wants to make everyone French and not just preserve diversity in the world.

I don't know. Maybe if New Brunswick were willing to give the majority-French municipalities to Quebec on the condition that English municipalities in Quebec could have a similar referendum might work. I imagine Quebec would prefer expanding its borders into French territory rather than just hold on to English ballast, no? Far Northern Quebec might even want to join Nunanut. In then end, all sides would benefit by reducing government translation costs.

I think the biggest problem today is that Canadians are too afraid to think outside the box.

I have no idea if such a hypothetical referendum would be successful. Then again, if the English New Brunswickers gave the French New Brunswickers an ultimatum that NB would become unilingual English speaking but any municipality that wants to join Quebec can do so, that could change the dynamics. It really would depend on many factors as in all hypothetical scenarios. But if it happened, it would clearly save NewBrunswickers money and improve efficiency by saving money on translation costs.

Do the Islamophobes hear even know what Shari'a entails?

I did propose a referendum, not imposition. Are you against democracy? And on the contrary, I'm very much for personal multilingualism. Ironically enough though, official unilingualism is the best way to promote personal multilingualism. Here's why. Under official bilingualism, people feel pressure to learn the same two languages, which in turn suffocates all other languages, whether sign languages, indigenous languages or otherwise. Under official unilingualism, people need to learn only one official language, which frees their time, money, and other resources to develop their own sign language, indigenous language, or other language at will. So if anything, a rational multilinguist will favour official unilingualism. Official bilingualism is precisely to guarantee the right of a person to live unilingually. In that respect, official unilingualism tends to go hand in hand with personal multilingualism whereas official multilingualism can encourage personal unilingualism.

As for New Brunswick, why not hold a referendum in each municipality to determine what municipalities want to join Quebec. Then, the rest of New Brunswick could maybe join another English province. That way, each could adope English or French as the only official language of Government administration and so save money on translation and leave more money to pay debts and help the poor. As for the private sector, people should be free to work in the language of their choice. We're not North Korea here. If shops in Richmond do business in Chinese, so be it. You open up your own business and do business in English. Its not up to you to tear everyone else's hard work down because you can't hack it. Government should adopt one official language of government administration to save money. However, especially in the modern world, no one has a God-given right to be monolingual. Obviously bilinguals will have the advantage in any language. Again, unless we want to become North Korea, private business should be left to do waht it has to do to make money without hurting others. You can choose to not shop there if you like.

Would you agree to the following: "My language is Innu, if Quebec is my country, I expect the provincial government to serve me in my language wherever I live in this country. Otherwise, Quebec is no longer my country. Plain and simple." Not to criticize you, but just to understand your logic. Should Inuktitut become an official language of Canada? If not, then why should the Federal government be required to provide services in English and French in Nunavut when Inuktitut is the majority language there? You expect English speakers to learn French in Quebec. Why not expect French speakers to learn English in Toronto or Inuktitut in Nunavut? If we absolutely need a common second language, why not an easy language like Esperanto for a practical international language when needed?

It should be obvious. If I'm Ojibwa and I want to work for the Federal government or a federally-regulated industry, I first have to learn English and then French. If I'm Innu and I want to work for the Federal government or a federally-regulated industry, I must first learn French and then English. I remember entering a visa office in Ottawa and all but one employee was white. Why is that? Clearly an Anglo has the advantage of speaking one official language as a mother tongue. The same with the Franco. The Ojibwa? He has two foreign languages to learn to access the same job. But if the federal government and industries in Ontario were unilingual English and those in Quebec unilingual French, that Ojibwa or Innu would have a better chance. Then we wonder why they are so poor compared to English and French Canadians. The laws are rigged against them.

Charest had done his part by requesting that federal institutions and federally-regulated industries in Quebec adopt a policy of official unilingualism. Has any Ontario Premier ever done the same? Had the Ontario premier joined Charest by making the same request for Ontario, maybe Canada would have perked its ears up to listen. There is only so much Quebec can do.

I think one big mistake among many Quebecers is they presume English Canada to be monolingual when in fact it is very bilingual, but with English serving as a common second language for many.

There is one big difference between English Canada and Quebec. Many 'English' Canadians speak English as a second language, especially in Toronto and Vancouver. So for many non-French Canadians, French is already a third language. Those who support official bilingualism are usually monolingual English speakers who want to learn French as their second language. Indigenous Canadians must often learn three languages.

Trample? I still support the freedom of a business to operate in French in Ontario if it wants to. I don't support the government administration duplicating its services in French. I disagree with the French language laws in Quebec as they appply to business. Too draconian. However, I don't see how imposing bilingualism on federal institutions and Federally-regulated industries in Quebec help. In fact, if the federal government stopped imposing English on Quebec, the government of Quebec might then be somewhat more lenient towards English in the private sector.

You'll notice how when Franco-Ontarians tried to drag Couillard (a Federalist might I add) into the debate on making the City of Ottawa officially bilingual, he skirted the matter to the discontent of Franco-Ontarians. Worse yet, when French-speaking Yukoners were pushing for more French education rights beyond what the Constitution guaranteed them through the courts, even the province of Quebec presented a statement at the hearing opposing that, mainly fearing that it could create a precedent for Anglos in Quebec. Oh, did I mention that French-speaking Yukoners weren't too happy about Quebec's intervention? Strangely enough, many French Canadians outside of Quebec still count on Quebec's support and react surprised when Quebec opposes them. It's time for them to wake up and realise that Quebec does not support official bilingualism any more than English-Canadian provinces do, and maybe even less so.

I'm French Canadian and oppose official bilingualism, so don't blame me. Point the finger at the right culprit: stupid anglos who believe that supporting official bilingualism will somehow appease Quebec. On the contrary, Quebec is just as irate against official bilingualism as Anglos are. Ironically enough, many French Canadians tolerate official bilingualism thinking that Anglos all support it. One big misunderstanding on all sides. Once each side realises that the other is just as sick and tired of offiical bilingualism as it is, the whole thing will collapse. What I don't get is how both sides can so hate official bilingualism yet tolerate it on the mistaken belief that the other side supports it?!