<div dir="ltr">
<h1 class="entry-title gmail-s-post-title gmail-bb-mb-el">CAQ: Deport immigrants who can’t speak French</h1><h2 class="entry-summary entry-sub-title gmail-s-post-summary gmail-bb-mb-el">Identity
politics and policies of social engineering around the language
question are unsurprisingly at play in the Quebec provincial election
campaign.</h2><hr class="gmail-bb-separator gmail-s-post-header-sep gmail-bb-mb-el"><div class="gmail-s-post-meta-block gmail-bb-mb-el"><div class="gmail-post-meta-content gmail-row"><div class="gmail-d-table-center-sm"><div class="gmail-col-l gmail-d-table-cell gmail-col-md-6 gmail-col-sm-6 gmail-text-left-sm"><div class="gmail-bb-author-vcard-mini gmail-size-md"><div class="gmail-author-avatar"><a href="https://www.thepostmillennial.com/members/dtharris/"><img alt="Dean Tea" src="https://www.thepostmillennial.com/wp-content/uploads/avatars/280/5b801e5e2375f-bpthumb.jpg" class="gmail-avatar gmail-avatar-66 gmail-photo" width="66" height="66"></a></div><div class="gmail-author-info"> <span class="gmail-auth-name"> <span class="gmail-auth-byline">by</span> <a class="gmail-auth-url" href="https://www.thepostmillennial.com/members/dtharris/"> <span>Dean Tea</span> </a> </span><span class="gmail-auth-posted-on">16 hours ago16 hours ago</span></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="gmail-bb-post-share-box gmail-s-post-share-box gmail-top gmail-bb-mb-el"><div class="gmail-content gmail-has-share-buttons"><div class="gmail-bb-post-rating gmail-post-rating gmail-js-post-point"><div class="gmail-inner"> </div></div></div></div> <div class="gmail-bb-post-share-box gmail-s-post-share-box gmail-top gmail-bb-mb-el"><div class="gmail-content gmail-has-share-buttons"><div class="gmail-bb-post-rating gmail-post-rating gmail-js-post-point"><div class="gmail-inner"> <span class="gmail-count"> <span class="gmail-text" label="points">0</span> </span></div></div><div class="essb_links essb_counters essb_displayed_boombox essb_share essb_template_jumbo-retina essb_119624459 essb_width_flex essb_links_center gmail-print-no" id="essb_displayed_boombox_119624459"><ul class="essb_links_list essb_force_hide_name essb_force_hide"><li class="essb_item essb_totalcount_item"><span class="essb_totalcount essb_t_l_big essb_total_icon essb_icon_share-tiny" title=""><span class="essb_t_nb">0<span class="essb_t_nb_after">shares</span></span></span></li><li class="essb_item essb_link_facebook gmail-nolightbox"> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://www.thepostmillennial.com/caq-deport-immigrants-who-cant-speak-french/&t=CAQ%3A+Deport+immigrants+who+can%27t+speak+French" title="" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><span class="essb_icon essb_icon_facebook"></span></a><span class="essb_counter_hidden"></span><br></li><li class="essb_item essb_link_twitter gmail-nolightbox"> <a href="https://www.thepostmillennial.com/caq-deport-immigrants-who-cant-speak-french/#" title="" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><span class="essb_icon essb_icon_twitter"></span></a><span class="essb_counter_hidden"></span><br></li><li class="essb_item essb_link_reddit gmail-nolightbox"> <a href="http://reddit.com/submit?url=https://www.thepostmillennial.com/caq-deport-immigrants-who-cant-speak-french/&title=CAQ%3A+Deport+immigrants+who+can%27t+speak+French" title="" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><span class="essb_icon essb_icon_reddit"></span></a><span class="essb_counter_hidden"></span><br></li><li class="essb_item essb_link_more gmail-nolightbox"> <a href="https://www.thepostmillennial.com/caq-deport-immigrants-who-cant-speak-french/#" title="" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><span class="essb_icon essb_icon_more"></span></a><span class="essb_counter_hidden"></span><br></li></ul></div></div></div><div class="gmail-bb-media-placeholder" style="padding-bottom:50%"><img src="https://www.thepostmillennial.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/quebec-canada-flag.jpg" class="gmail-attachment-boombox_image768 gmail-size-boombox_image768 gmail-wp-post-image" alt="" width="720" height="360"></div><div class="gmail-s-post-content gmail-s-post-small-el gmail-bb-mb-el"><div class="gmail-fr-view"><div class="gmail-quads-location gmail-quads-ad4" id="gmail-quads-ad4" style="float:none;margin:3px"> <a class="gmail-dbox-donation-button" href="https://donorbox.org/the-post-millennial-author-donation?amount=30" style="background:rgb(45,129,197) url("https://d1iczxrky3cnb2.cloudfront.net/red_logo.png") no-repeat scroll 18px center;color:rgb(255,255,255);text-decoration:none;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;display:inline-block;font-size:16px;padding:13px 17px 13px 56px">Donate </a><span style="color:rgb(124,142,164)"> All donations go towards promoting independent journalism and</span> <a href="https://www.sickkidsfoundation.com">this month's charity.</a></div><p>Identity
politics and policies of social engineering around the language
question are unsurprisingly at play in the Quebec provincial election
campaign. </p><p>The perennial and divisive question of french language
rights was brought back into electioneering discourse last week starting
with the CAQ’s proposal to <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/4434247/a-caq-government-would-expel-immigrants-who-fail-to-learn-french-in-3-years/">expel new immigrants</a>
to the province if they have failed to achieve an adequate level of
French after three years. François Legault, whose party is leading in
the latest polls cited the fact that more than half of the 50,000
immigrants arriving in the province annually do not speak French, and
warned that the french language is at risk of gradually disappearing in
the province. </p><p>The choice by Legault and the CAQ to more
intimately tie together the issues of immigration and french language
policy is likely a move to appease nationalist elements not only within
his own base, but also that of the Parti Quebecois (PQ). <a href="https://www.thepostmillennial.com/francois-legault-calls-for-parti-quebecois-supporters-to-vote-strategically-for-the-caq/">Legault appealed directly to PQ supporters</a>
last week, asking for their support in strategic ridings in order to
ensure the defeat of the Liberals led by Philippe Couillard. To this
constituency Legault said, “You have a choice between voting for a party
that is at its knees before the federal (government), or a nationalist
party that is going to defend Quebec. That’s the CAQ.”</p><p>The PQ has
responded, jumping into the immigration debate. After previously
refusing to propose a precise number of immigrants that they would
welcome to the province each year, the nationalist party has now set a
target of 28,000-40,000 annually. Party leader <a href="https://www.tvanouvelles.ca/2018/09/08/les-etudiants-anglophones-devront-suivre-une-session-dans-un-cegep-francophone">Jean-Fran</a><a href="https://www.tvanouvelles.ca/2018/09/08/les-etudiants-anglophones-devront-suivre-une-session-dans-un-cegep-francophone">çois Lisée blasted Legault’s immigration plan</a>,
saying, “Allowing the entry of 40,000 immigrants each year without
requiring even the most basic level of French will provoke an
acceleration of the decline of our language. It’s dangerous.”</p><div class="gmail-quads-location gmail-quads-ad1" id="gmail-quads-ad1" style="float:none;margin:3px"> <ins class="gmail-adsbygoogle" style="display:block;height:60px"><ins id="gmail-aswift_0_expand" style="display:inline-table;border:medium none;height:60px;margin:0px;padding:0px;width:593px;background-color:transparent"><ins id="gmail-aswift_0_anchor" style="display:block;border:medium none;height:60px;margin:0px;padding:0px;width:593px;background-color:transparent"></ins></ins></ins> </div><div class="gmail-quads-location gmail-quads-ad2" id="gmail-quads-ad2" style="float:none;margin:3px"> <ins class="gmail-adsbygoogle" style="display:block;height:60px"><ins id="gmail-aswift_1_expand" style="display:inline-table;border:medium none;height:60px;margin:0px;padding:0px;width:593px;background-color:transparent"><ins id="gmail-aswift_1_anchor" style="display:block;border:medium none;height:60px;margin:0px;padding:0px;width:593px;background-color:transparent"></ins></ins></ins> </div><p>In
an attempt to one-up the CAQ on the language question, the PQ is also
proposing new requirements for anglophones already living in the
province. Their proposal would <a href="https://www.tvanouvelles.ca/2018/09/08/les-etudiants-anglophones-devront-suivre-une-session-dans-un-cegep-francophone">force anglophone post-secondary students</a>
to complete at least one academic session at a francophone institution,
or be refused their college-level certificate at anglophone Cégeps. The
proposal, being sold as <em>Law 202</em>, is a throwback to the flagship language policies, <a href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/bill-101"><em>Law 101</em></a>, introduced in the 70s by PQ royalty, René Lévesque.</p><p>For
his part, Liberal leader Philippe Couillard is defending the
maintenance of the status quo on immigration. His government has gone
the other way on immigration and language policy, introducing a new
program before the election, <a href="https://www.thepostmillennial.com/quebec-relaxes-french-language-requirements-for-high-tech-immigrant-entrepreneurs/">relax</a><a href="https://www.thepostmillennial.com/quebec-relaxes-french-language-requirements-for-high-tech-immigrant-entrepreneurs/">ing french language requirements</a>
for a select group of immigrant entrepreneurs. The liberal stance on
immigration focuses on the economic needs of the province. Couillard
argued that about half the jobs in the province in recent years have
been filled by immigrants. In response to PQ and CAQ fears of language
loss tied to the immigration issue, <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/4434247/a-caq-government-would-expel-immigrants-who-fail-to-learn-french-in-3-years/">he said</a>, “Immigrants are learning French, and you know where they learn it best? At work.”</p><p>The next government of Quebec will be chosen by voters on October 1</p></div></div>
<br clear="all"><br>-- <br><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature">=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+<br><br> Harold F. Schiffman<br><br>Professor Emeritus of <br> Dravidian Linguistics and Culture <br>Dept. of South Asia Studies <br>University of Pennsylvania<br>Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305<br><br>Phone: (215) 898-7475<br>Fax: (215) 573-2138 <br><br>Email: <a href="mailto:haroldfs@gmail.com" target="_blank">haroldfs@gmail.com</a><br><a href="http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/" target="_blank">http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/</a> <br><br>-------------------------------------------------</div></div>