I've referred to this before, but an Italian author once said that at sundown, even a short man can cast a long shadow. If, as I've read in many newspapers and reports, the new political hero in
Quebec
is Maxime Bernier, then it's sundown.
Here is what our hero said a few day ago: "My position is this: Yes, it's important that
Quebec
remain a predominantly French-language society. And, ideally, everyone in
Quebec
should be able to speak French. But we should not try to reach this goal by restricting people's rights and freedom of choice."
What he's basically saying is that stopping people from learning another language is morally and economically wrong.
I never thought he was the villain that many of his and my colleagues saw him as when he was forced out of Cabinet for leaving important government documents at his girlfriend's house. However, I don't believe he is a hero for saying what everybody in the world already knows is a foregone conclusion. Bernier is stating the obvious.
In this global economy and globalizing culture, it's imperative to learn as much as possible about the world's languages and cultures. The sad part in all of this is that in
Quebec
, it takes a "hero" to state this obvious fact.
Thankfully, language and culture cannot be legislated. If it were, we would still be dealing with the Soviet Union. Culture can and should be promoted and celebrated, but ultimately, it's up to the people to decide what culture they will embrace.
The contentious parts of the bill, the ones dealing with the display of commercial messages in English, the use of language on the internet, or the discouragement of learning foreign languages (mainly English), is not helping to promote French culture at all. At the best, it's an irritant and will only increase resentment against
Quebec
.
The fact of the matter is that the English language has taken over business, diplomacy and the world of politics. But this doesn't mean that any and every English-speaking country is taking over the world. Language is simply a tool to reach a goal, it's not the goal itself. While my mother tongue is Italian, I've struggled hard to learn another language because it will allow me to reach my goals. This endeavour doesn't mean I don't like the Italian language and culture. I am proud of me heritage and of my skills with my mother tongue. But this emotional attachment is not enough for me to stop learning the English language. After all, learning a language is not a zero-sum game.
A friend of mine once told me that if he had to choose between watching a baseball game in Italian or a soccer game in English, he preferred the latter. In my opinion, he was right. The question is about what you want: promote the language and import other people's sports, or promote your sport to the world.
With legislation like this, the government of
Quebec
is not defending its culture or its language. They are only ghettoizing themselves and accelerating the demise of their culture. In fact, because of the strict language laws, they are discouraging people and companies from immigrating or investing there. People want to be part of the world, not of a small province that cares more about the past than the future.
Québec
City is one of the most, if not the most beautiful city in
Canada
and people love to visit it and appreciate its beauty. But if tourists are met with scorn and a bad attitude when citizens realize tourists don't speak French, or if they insist on speaking in French to people who don't understand, or who don't create a French-speaking person, well they just lose tourists.
It would be wise to do what every country in the world is trying to do: attract tourists by trying to make them comfortable and, of course, spend money.
Quebec
should know it cannot force people to do things it doesn't want to, unless properly motivated with intelligent initiatives.
Unfortunately, Bill 101 is not among those intelligent initiatives and its only accomplishment is to make government backbencher Maxime Bernier look like a hero.
