BY MICHEL DUGRÉ

MONTREAL, Quebec - On August 24, 700 people rallied to hear Howard Galganov, leader of the Quebec Political Action Committee (QPAC), an organization that drew thousands of anglophones in demonstrations for more English on signs in Quebec earlier this summer.

After being praised by the Montreal English daily Gazette columnist William Johnson as a "freedom fighter" for English rights, Galganov said that since Ottawa "doesn't defend our rights" the Quebec English community will have to use all means necessary to reach its goal, which the Montreal daily La Presse described as a return to English on all signs in Quebec. Galganov also denounced the Quebec government for "threatening us with another referendum" on Quebec sovereignty.

Quebec Law 101, adopted in 1977, imposed French on all signs. This form of affirmative action was necessary because of the high number of English-only signs in Quebec at that time. More than 80 per cent of the Quebec population speak French. English only signs were seen by the majority as a sign of disrespect for Quebecois.

Law 101 did ban other languages on signs, but this changed significantly in December 1993 with the adoption of Law 86 eliminating most restrictions on the use of other languages on signs as long as French remains predominant.

Danielle Gariépy, who works at the auto brakes Distex plant in Montreal, summarized the opinion of the majority of Quebecois workers when she said "Having English on signs in Quebec doesn't bother me as long as French is there and predominant."

"In Moncton, New Brunswick, where half the population speak French, the fight is to get French on signs," said Daniel Gautreau, an Acadian who now works at JWI Johnson, a plant that produces canvass for paper making machines. "But I'm not for banning English on signs either there or here in Quebec. It's just a question of equality."

Acadians, like all other francophones living outside Quebec, face conditions very different than anglophones in Quebec. This is illustrated by the different reactions to the QPAC campaign and the campaign by the Canadian Federation of Francophone and Acadian communities (FCFA) demanding French on signs in the city of Ottawa.

While responding positively to the call for English on signs in Quebec, several important cross-country retail store chains are balking at the FCFA call.

While a third of Ottawa's population speak French, Canada's capital city, which is just outside Quebec limits, is essentially an English city. "In Ottawa, shopping is in English. For a feeling of strangeness, Ottawa is as good as Plattsburg, New York," concluded a page-long article in the August 24 Journal de Montréal.

A privileged minority
The call for more English on signs in Quebec is part of a broader campaign to defend the privileges of anglophones.

While representing less than 10 per cent of the population in Quebec, English speaking people have their own school system. The Canadian constitution imposes on Quebec a double religious school system: a Protestant one functioning essentially in English, the other one Catholic, functioning in French. Anglophones also have their own health system, including a network of well-funded hospitals, which is denied to francophones outside Quebec.

These facts illustrate the reality that in Canada, francophones, including Quebecois, are an oppressed nationality, unlike anglophones.

Montreal is the city with the highest level of poverty in Canada. Of the five poorest Canadian cities, three are in Quebec. Of the ten cities with the highest level of unemployment in Canada, five are in Quebec. A study by the Canadian Council of Social Development has shown that three of the four Canadian cities with the highest level of poverty among old people are in Quebec, with Montreal topping the list.

This situation is worsening. Since last year, for example, the number of people in Montreal seeking help from food banks has doubled.

These figures underestimate the national oppression of Quebecois, because they mask a profound class and national differentiation in Quebec, where the richest 20 percent of the population grabs more than half the total incomes, while the poorest 20 percent gets less than two percent.

Those who speak English in Quebec have almost twice as much chance to get a university diploma than those who speak French.

While giving lip service to the demand of the FCFA, Canada Prime Minister Jean Chrétien has come in full force behind the QPAC's campaign.

Ottawa leads anti-Quebec campaign
Since backers of independence lost last fall's referendum on Quebecois self-determination by the slightest margin, Chrétien has made clear that Ottawa would not recognize any future referendum favoring Quebec sovereignty.

But Ottawa's campaign against Quebecois right to self- determination and campaigns such as QPAC's to perpetuate the privileges of anglophones are not succeeding in pushing back Quebecois and other francophone resistance to national oppression.

"The English are defending their advantages," said another Quebecois Distex worker. The QPAC campaign "is a campaign of intimidation and fear," said Jocelyn Huot. "They're angry because we almost won the referendum and they know we will win the next one," he added.

Quebecois self-confidence was illustrated once again August 25 during a show transmitted by all French radio and television stations in support of the victims of a flooding in the Saguenay area few weeks ago. Mismanagement of dams and barriers by U.S. paper and aluminum companies during a rain storm was responsible for the disaster that killed eleven people and left thousands without home. The solidarity event turned into a show of support for Quebec independence despite attempts by big companies like Bell Canada, Bombardier, and Molson to use it for their own interest. After recalling the point made by an Ottawa newspaper that people in Saguenay -who voted overwhelmingly Yes during the last referendum - should remember next time the support they got from outside Quebec, one speaker, for example, drew thunderous applauds when he said: "Next time, I will vote Yes. I'll remember."

Recent polls have shown that the support for Quebec independence among Quebecois has grown since the fall 1995 referendum. Today a majority of people in Quebec, including non Quebecois, would vote yes to the question posed in the last referendum.

Michel Dugré is a member of the International Association of Machinists at the Montreal JWI Johnson plant. Annette Kouri, a member of the United Steel Workers of America in Distex, also contributed to this article.  
 
 
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