Language police not the answer

The Editor,

Having been raised in the generation of two solitudes with a much smaller English population now and a much larger proportion of French business in command of the Quebec economy now, I wonder what went wrong in the transition from church to state management in the education system.

The world has shrunk, it has changed dramatically since those days, with mass migration of populations looking for a better life and willing to integrate into their new home. But you have to offer them a positive welcome if you wish to convince them to learn a new language and stay in Quebec.

A new generation of Québécois has emerged; the internet has opened that door to change and opportunity. Quebec is at a different crossroad now of an urban/rural divide. I was born in Ontario [and I] am…still an outsider after all these years, and have lived here long enough to appreciate the politics of those days, while my family are all Québécois and all bilingual. I don’t believe language police are the answer….

There is a new proposed law in Italy to fine companies who advertise or substitute English words instead of using Italian words in advertising.

Now there is a novel approach.

Brian Thomas

Cantley, QC