The many immigrants who arrive in Canada are grouped according to their origin, language and religion, forming a multicultural mosaic within Canadian society. This situation is not uncomfortable for governments, which see diversity as one of Canada’s strengths in the context of a desired surge in immigration.

In fact, Canada is increasingly viewed as a community of communities. We are no longer in the perspective of two founding peoples, one English-speaking and the other French-speaking. The concept of a bicultural Canada is dead. In 1971, Pierre Elliott Trudeau’s government passed the Multiculturalism Policy, which recognizes the contribution of diverse cultures to Canadian history and society. These policies were aimed at managing Quebec nationalism as well as the country’s growing cultural diversity.

Multiculturalism was later enshrined in the constitution as a fundamental feature of Canada. The naturalization of the 1982 Constitution marks the arrival of the Canadian Charter of Rights, Section 27 of which provides that “any interpretation of this Charter shall be consistent with the objective of promoting the preservation and enhancement of the multicultural heritage of Canadians”.

diversity and bilingualism

This reality is all the more acceptable as the linguistic integration of ethnic minorities is not a problem outside of Quebec. Communities are formed and nurtured over time as English is adopted as the language of public communication. However, this is not the case in Quebec, where language transfer towards French is not systematic and the integration of immigrants into the dominant French-speaking culture is not guaranteed.

Making Quebec as French-speaking an English-speaking area as the rest of Canada seems increasingly unlikely, as Canada practices imperfect bilingualism in federal institutions and regularly invokes the Charter of Rights to limit the scope of measures to protect French adopted by the Quebec government. For example, the Respect for State Secularism Act (PL21) and the Act for Respect for Quebec’s official and common language, French (PL96), provoked an outcry in English Canada and among Quebec’s English-speaking minority. They have been labeled xenophobic and racist laws.

The question that needs to be asked is: Why doesn’t Canada’s celebration of cultural differences also apply to Quebec’s cultural differences? We seem to value the distinctiveness of the community, to the point of portraying it as a wealth and asset to the country, but when it comes to Canada’s most important cultural minority exercising its right to preserve its language, nothing goes well. For what ?

diversity and democracy

The protection of minorities is one of the basic democratic principles. The majority should not use its strength to oppress groups that do not belong to it or that differ from it. It is this principle that allows the Charter of Rights to respect. Both the Quebec and Canadian charters give individuals the power to oppose public measures that would prevent the normal exercise of their privileges as citizens.

Canadian practice shows, however, that this resistance can lead to excesses, with citizens challenging any initiative that violates their rights and in particular their supposedly superior freedom of religion. In doing so, some individuals may resist the desire of the majority to recognize Quebec as a secular society and to ensure that the wearing of religious symbols is inconsistent with the exercise of certain positions of authority.

In this confrontation between collective rights and individual rights, the primacy of the latter seems increasingly assured. To reaffirm that Quebec is a secular French-speaking society and to take steps to ensure it remains so today seems at odds with Canadian sensibilities and values. Any means, financial or legal, will be good to prevent this Quebec particularism from developing.

diversity and identity

While the preservation of the French-speaking nation of Quebec in the English-speaking North American Ocean will always be fragile and all studies show that the status of French is in decline today not only in Canada but also in Quebec itself, it is legitimate that the only French-speaking government on American soil trying to guarantee their survival and development?

Language is the main vector of Quebec identity. Its history, territory and culture also contribute to this. If Canadian identity, and the importance that diversity seems to have within it, does not do justice to another Quebec, how can the ideals of one and the other be reconciled?

Quebec also needs immigrants, but to preserve its identity it must take steps to define a common public space that respects newcomers and the French-speaking majority. Hospitality, openness and tolerance are just as necessary for this as elsewhere. Multiculturalism and the cult of diversity that exist in Canada create a conflict of values ​​and a misunderstanding of the nation of Quebec that can only lead to a dead end. Actually, we’re already there.

To see in the video