Immigration and attitudes

Canada prides itself in being a country of immigrants. In recent years, immigration has become an important part of the Canadian identity. This trait is particularly prevalent in provinces other than Québec.

The Globe and Mail is currently conducting an on-line survey to capture the attitude of Canadians toward immigration in the country. The National newspaper invites its readers to chart their perspective and compare their opinion to others. The survey basically asks two questions:

1. How do you feel immigration affects Canada?
2. How often do you interact with immigrants?

At the time of this blog entry, findings suggest that 81% of respondents frequently interact with immigrants and 78% believe that immigration helps Canada. The breakdown per province and territory is as follows:

• Alberta: 82% frequently interact and 79% believe immigration is a plus.
  
• British Columbia: 79% and 77%
• Manitoba: 74% and 80%
• New Brunswick: 72% and 80%
• Newfoundland and Labrador: 76% and 77%
• Northwest Territories: 95% and 100%
• Nova Scotia: 73% and 84%
• Nunavut: 88% and 63%
• Ontario: 83% and 76%
• Prince Edward Island: 72% and 67%
• Québec: 88% and 86%
  
• Saskatchewan: 83% and 77%
• Yukon: 84% and 84%

I can't help but notice Québec's enviable position in the survey and how it contrasts with what seems to be the opinion of other Canadians in regards to the Québécois' attitude towards immigrants.

English-speaking readers from Québec are the most bilingual in the country. French-speaking readers of the newspaper are obviously all bilingual. The Globe's readership from Québec is thus the most bilingual, compared to other parts of the country.

Given that bilingualism allows a greater variety of cultural productions than readers from other provinces, I submit that it is the main driver of this open-mindedness. What do you think?

Katimavik: 1977-2012?

I'm a Katimavik alumnus. Initially one of the many opportunities I took advantage of to improve my second language, it had a profound impact on my personal life; the young adult that I was in 1984 didn't know much about the world outside the family cocoon. It was also my first close encounter with Canadians who spoke only one of the two official languages... an eye-opening experience.

If you're familiar with the program, you're probably aware that in the 2012 federal budget, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced that the program will be eliminated. The reason?... the comparatively high per-person cost of the program when compared to other government initiatives targeted at youth.

Here are some facts the organization has been sharing in response to the announcement:

• The yearly budget for Katimavik to have 1462 youth complete the program in 64 communities helping more than 500 community partners is $15,935,470. This amounts to a total cost per day of $77 per volunteer.
• The volunteer work performed by the volunteers is valued at $10,749,518.
• The direct investments by Katimavik groups in each of the 64 communities where the program takes place, is valued at $218,000 per community, for a total of $13,952,000.
• In 2010-2011, 90% of Katimavik community partners indicated that the Katimavik volunteers' involvement improved their capacity to accomplish their daily tasks.
• Last year, 91% of volunteers said that they would recommend the program to their friends and 88% said Katimavik was one of the best experiences of their lives.

It certainly was for me...

Playing the identity card

Some 100 years ago, French-speaking inhabitants of this country had very few models to look up to. Poor and undereducated, they followed the path drawn by the Church... raising as many children as possible with very little mean. Life was tough.

In 1909, John Ambrose O'Brien entertainded the idea of creating a hockey team to capture francophone interest as a rival for the Montréal Wanderers. This new team was to essentially recruit French-speaking hockey players only. The name chosen to underline this particular trait was Le Club de Hockey Canadien.

Perhaps, you're unsure why the name "Canadien" would specifically appeal to French-speakers. If this is the case, you're unfamiliar with the origins of the word. You see... in those days, English-speakers in this country still had strong ties with England. They basically were British North Americans. In contrast, French settlers and their descendants had long broken their ties with France, developing their own very specific identity, as les Canadiens.

John Ambrose O'Brien saw a commercially feasible venture in exploiting this feeling of distinctiveness. Time proved him right. The hockey team became one of the most successful professional sports team in the world, giving French Canadians from all over the country the models they never had. And what models!... six championship cups in the 50s, four in the 60s, six in the 70s... 24 in total.

Today, pretty much everyone in the country see themselves as Canadians and the majority probably wonders why Montréal's hockey team bears such a name. What used to be known as the Canadien identity has now morphed into something different, the Québécois identity. Le Club de Hockey Canadien hasn't followed this trend (nor should it), but a newer team with less heritage could very well do so.

Founded in 1993, L'impact is Montréal's soccer team. This year is its first season in the MLS. Upon its entry in the big league, the owner saw it fit to redo its entire image. Like Les Canadiens de Montréal did some 100 years ago with French Canadians, L'Impact chose the path of identity to appeal to the Québécois' strong feeling of distinctiveness. Click below to see for yourself.



Of course, today's Québécois don't need heroes as French Canadians of the past did. But if this video doesn't touch you, in all good faith, what will? Look at the picture below and tell me... what are these gentlemen saying to the Québécois of all origins?... be part of the team...

Let the awakening begin?

Times are good for sovereigntists... sorry for repeating myself. A new survey found that 44.5 percent of Québécois would still support separating from Canada if the Constitution could not be changed enough to satisfy the majority of the province. What's wrong?

Following Parizeau's infamous speech in 1995, the PQ has been relatively quiet on the identity front. Since their arrival at the helm, the Liberals have been taking care of their English-speaking electorate. How shall I put this?... la nature a horreur du vide... nature abhors a vacuum?... not sure... but the government's negligence in regards to the linguistic situation in Montréal for the last couple of decades is fertile ground for the sovereignty movement. How so?

In his recent contribution to L'actualité, about the situation of French in Montréal [Google translation], Jack Jedwab points out that the majority of Québécois feels that French as a language would be better protected in a sovereign Québec than in the current federation. The director of the Association for Canadian Studies also points out that these conclusions don't only apply to French-speaking Québécois; the majority of Anglophones and Allophones feel the same way.

With the persistent signals the media has been sending in regards to linguistics incidents in Montréal, there's no doubt in my mind that the Québécois are concerned. Add a Conservative government who's alienating the province of Ottawa in the mix and you have... two... shall I call these?... winning conditions?

Apparently, all this comes as a surprise to many Canadians. Take a look at some of the reactions the report in The Globe and Mail has been prompting to see for yourself. One commentator asks (referring to the Québécois): "Are these people NUTS?" I reply: "Perhaps... but you haven't been following all this very closely... right?"