In 1955, Henri Bourassa stated, “The purpose of immigration was to swamp the French minority in a sea of drunkards, paupers, loafers and jailbirds from England.” As is still the case today, many immigrants came to North America to realise the “American dream”, therefore, English was and is their preferred language which has been an endless source of irritation for French Canada. (Samuel, 1994). Currently, the official language of Quebec is French and there are laws in place for protection; however, should the people of Quebec be forced to accommodate those individuals living in Quebec who do not speak the official language? If Quebec does not separate from Canada, there is little doubt that some day Quebec will assimilate to the point of loosing its French identity (Samuel, 1994). Separatists feel that their well-being is threatened and being brought into question causing them to lash out in some cases. When our values are challenged by other people’s words or behaviours, we tend to react emotionally. Quebec separatists, like most people, react strongly in the face of injustice. Although at first glance the separatists may seem to be using the competing conflict style, upon further investigation it appears to me that they are a group of activists fighting for the common good of Quebec. Activists are people who position themselves as adversaries and want things to change either because they are dissatisfied with the current situation or because some of their values or principles are threatened. They are people with the courage to pursue ideals and take risks to defend what they believe in. (Guerard, 2008). The hurt and alienation felt by Quebec is immense, and at this point separation from Canada seems to be the best way to repay this province for the harm they have been caused…or is it… - Sophie
Against Separatism:
It is understandable that Quebec is fighting to save their language but, immigrants are a big part of our Quebec culture. According to Fenwick (1981), there is a decline in the birthrate of french Canadians and an increase in the number of non-francophone immigrants, French Canadians are becoming the minority and immigrants are becoming the majority in Quebec society. The tables seems to be turning when it comes to language, the french are becomming increasingly bilingual in order to coexist with Quebec's Anglophone population. Since English is the leading language in the world this may not be a negative attribute for the francophone people. In fact expanding one's languages can be an asset and this goes for both French and English speaking people. No one should be forced into a culture or be cornered into speaking a language, the only way to learn is to be willing and open minded to adapting and learning new things. If this happens both sides can grow and no language will be compromised or lost which is the central issue in this conflict.
-Kristian
Personal Experience coming from an Immigrant background
As an immigrant it takes time to be assimilated, one does not embrace and adapt a culture if they are forced into it. As mentioned in previous arguments it is not helping the situation if one is forced by the culture, they need time to learn the language and to assimilate themselves. For people entering a new culture there is much stress that can be aroused, For example there is huge culture shock that goes on and people who may not have as much support from friends can be on the short end of the stick trying to make life work in this foreign place. Immigrants have much more to lose than just language and culture, fitting in is what most want, to learn the language is in their best interest. At the end of the day when people feel alienated in a new place and forced by others, this creates conflict. The only way I see true growth and the possibility of languages to be saved is through collaborating and sharing this where the real assimilation happens. -Kristian
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