[lg policy] Canada: Decision for Quebecers

Marc Levine veblen at UWM.EDU
Mon Nov 23 18:20:23 UTC 2009 

Julia's comment is on target. The situation is much more nuanced than  
simply looking at Montreal's general economic trajectory. There are  
many explanations for the city's economic difficulties  
(deindustrialization, general shift of economic activity to west, and  
the flight of capital similar to that experienced by U.S. midwest/ 
northeast cities; disastrous municipal leadership, etc.). A singular  
focus on "seapratism" or linguistic politics is misleading.

  Moreover, as documented in studies by Vaillancourt, Levine and  
others, the economic status of Montreal's francophones is demonstrably  
better than it was in the 1960s; this has hardly been a trade off of  
linguistic security for economic collapse.


Marc Levine
Professor of History, Economic Development,  and Urban Studies
Director, Consortium for Economic Opportunity
Director, Center for Canadian-American Policy Studies
Senior Fellow, Center for Economic Development
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
414-229-6155
www.ced.uwm.edu
www.ccaps.uwm.edu


On Nov 23, 2009, at 12:04 PM, Julia deBres wrote:

> Yes, and it's a false dichotomy in any case to say that people have  
> to choose either their language or economic prosperity.  It doesn't  
> have to be like that.
>
> From: Christina Paulston <paulston at pitt.edu>
> To: Language Policy List <lgpolicy-list at groups.sas.upenn.edu>
> Sent: Mon, 23 November, 2009 6:21:04 PM
> Subject: Re: [lg policy] Canada: Decision for Quebecers
>
> Stan, you are usually pretty sensible.  The Francophones  did not  
> know the impact their language policies would have on the economy  
> when they implemented them, so you cannot say "by choice". Christina
>
>
>
>
>
> On Nov 21, 2009, at 12:00 AM, Stan Anonby wrote:
>
> > Montreal was prospering economically in the '60's; but a shrinking  
> percentage of Quebec residents were speaking French. The writing was  
> on the wall. Basically, the Quebecois chose their language/culture  
> over economic prosperity. It's a tough call, and you've got to  
> admire them for it. Today, threatened languages/cultures the world  
> over usually have to make the same choice.
> >
> > Stan Anonby
> >
> > ----- Original Message ----- From: "Harold Schiffman" <hfsclpp at gmail.com 
> >
> > To: "lp" <lgpolicy-list at groups.sas.upenn.edu>
> > Sent: Friday, November 20, 2009 8:06 AM
> > Subject: [lg policy] Canada: Decision for Quebecers
> >
> >
> >> Decision for Quebecers
> >>
> >>
> >> The Ottawa CitizenNovember 19, 2009Comments (8)
> >>
> >> In 1967, Montreal was the capital of Canada. Not in name, but in  
> most
> >> everything else. People from all over the globe converged on  
> Montreal
> >> for what was probably the greatest world's fair, Expo 67. The  
> business
> >> community, with its precious head offices, located in Montreal. It
> >> spoke two languages so the city was ideally suited to serve  
> business
> >> and culture in Quebec and the rest of Canada.  In addition to
> >> language, that situation arose because the Canadian highway and
> >> railway systems ended in Montreal. The city had the first major
> >> airport in Canada for flights from Europe making it a natural
> >> entrepôt. The Port of Montreal did big business, located between  
> the
> >> St. Lawrence Seaway and the Atlantic.
> >>
> >> In addition, capital flowed from, as it was called then, St. James
> >> Street, universities grew in two languages, labour was plentiful,  
> and
> >> a country of resources and a world of traders stood at its door.
> >> Montreal could speak English to North America and French to
> >> Europe.Then Montreal, and Quebec, gave it all away. Restrictive
> >> language policies made Montreal look inward. It went from being the
> >> major centre of Canada to the major centre of Quebec. Head offices
> >> fled to Toronto in the face of separatism so the delicate factors  
> of
> >> production that so favoured Montreal disappeared. Why do business  
> in
> >> Quebec in French, companies concluded, when you could conduct  
> affairs
> >> in English in Toronto to serve the bulk of North America? Language
> >> policy divided Quebec from its position of trade and wealth.
> >>
> >> Now former Parti Québécois premier Jacques Parizeau is promoting  
> his
> >> book on sovereignty and dragging out all the old saws about
> >> independence; for example he argues a national securities regulator
> >> would undermine Montreal's economic position. Oddly, it was people
> >> such as Parizeau who did that already. Quebec has an opportunity to
> >> prosper if Canada signs a free-trade deal with the European Union.
> >> Montreal could become the entrepôt again between two continents.  
> Or it
> >> could answer the siren call of nationalism, looking inward. It's  
> up to
> >> Quebecers to decide.
> >>
> >> http://www.ottawacitizen.com/opinion/Decision+Quebecers/2239238/story.html
> >>
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