Quebec, the French Language, and Quebecois Identity

[New Brisavoine]

Originally Posted by lio45

In other words, for any color, if you’re an unilingual speaker of that language, you can at the very least, likely manage to travel or even live or do menial work everywhere within the zone of that color.

For Russian no. Younger people in the Baltics don't speak Russian, so if you spoke Russian only, you would have a hard time living in the Baltics (outside of some tight Russian-speaking communities in Riga or Narva). It would be like trying to live only with the French language in Ontario. A bit difficult!

Same in the Central Asian republics. Apart from northern Kazakhstan, the younger generation don't speak or understand Russian anymore today. The revival of the Kazakh language in Kazakhstan has been pretty incredible and unexpected (at least I never expected Kazakh could someday replace Russian as a public and street language). Even the authorities have now decided to use mostly Kazakh in public speeches since the invasion of Ukraine, a clear message sent to the Kremlin.

As for Ukraine, technically you could be understood pretty much everywhere speaking Russian, but I wouldn't advise you to speak Russian with an accent of Russia inside Ukraine these days...

The one country that is fully Russified is Belarus. It's doubtful the Belarusian language will ever be revived.

[Acajack]

Francophone immigrants promised new life where they could use French in bilingual Moncton, now looking to move to Quebec

https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle...medium=twitter

[P'tit Renard]

It'll be interesting to see if France's love-in with RN across the pond will influence Quebec voters and Quebec politics:

Coup de poker à l’Élysée
https://www.lapresse.ca/internationa...a-l-elysee.php

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by P'tit Renard

It'll be interesting to see if France's love-in with RN across the pond will influence Quebec voters and Quebec politics:

Coup de poker à l’Élysée
https://www.lapresse.ca/internationa...a-l-elysee.php

Last night was a wild one in European politics in general.

Not sure if there will be any tangible spin-offs here for us, but it's notable that a leading opinion-maker of the French right is Montreal's Mathieu Bock-Côté, a very adamant supporter of Quebec independence who for a couple of years now has had his own top-rated show on CNews, a French all-news channel. (He also appears in the Quebec media on a daily basis of course, and has newspaper columns on both sides of the Atlantic.)

[kool maudit]

Future where Canada is a kind of Cuba-style holdout for '90s-style high globalization policy.

[New Brisavoine]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Last night was a wild one in European politics in general.

Not sure if there will be any tangible spin-offs here for us, but it's notable that a leading opinion-maker of the French right is Montreal's Mathieu Bock-Côté, a very adamant supporter of Quebec independence who for a couple of years now has had his own top-rated show on CNews, a French all-news channel. (He also appears in the Quebec media on a daily basis of course, and has newspaper columns on both sides of the Atlantic.)

No chance of a "Vive le Québec libre" speech by Marine Le Pen in Montréal, both because she will not be PM (she has said today she will send her junior partner, 28 y/o Jordan Bardella, to be prime minister) and because foreign affairs is the remit of the president, so Jordan Bardella and his RN government will have virtually no say on foreign issues.

So for you guys it's just 3 more years of Macron. Things change only domestically in France. If the RN wins the elections at the end of the month that is (which is likely).

[New Brisavoine]

Originally Posted by kool maudit

Future where Canada is a kind of Cuba-style holdout for '90s-style high globalization policy.

The French Left's project for France is often mocked as "Cuba without the sunshine".

[Acajack]

De plus en plus intéressant!

The head of Les Républicains, the "classic" conservative party in France, has proposed a union with the Rassemblement (Front) National, known to much of the world as the far right Le Pen party.

It's unclear whether he'll be able to pull it off and won't simply get turfed by the party brass, but it's still a shocking turn of events.

[SteelTown]

U.S. officials discussed hitting Canada with trade sanctions over Quebec's language law
U.S government officials have debated whether Bill 96 violates trade agreements

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/bil...rade-1.7230562

U.S government officials have discussed behind closed doors the possibility of imposing trade sanctions on Canada over Quebec's controversial Bill 96 language law, CBC News has learned.

Documents obtained by CBC News under the U.S. freedom of information law also reveal that American government officials are being told that the implementation of Bill 96 could result in fewer American products being shipped to Canada — not just to Quebec.

According to the documents, officials from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) have debated whether the legislation — which includes provisions that could affect things like commercial signs, trademarks and labels on products — contravenes trade agreements between Canada and the United States.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by SteelTown

U.S. officials discussed hitting Canada with trade sanctions over Quebec's language law
U.S government officials have debated whether Bill 96 violates trade agreements

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/bil...rade-1.7230562

U.S government officials have discussed behind closed doors the possibility of imposing trade sanctions on Canada over Quebec's controversial Bill 96 language law, CBC News has learned.

Documents obtained by CBC News under the U.S. freedom of information law also reveal that American government officials are being told that the implementation of Bill 96 could result in fewer American products being shipped to Canada — not just to Quebec.

According to the documents, officials from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) have debated whether the legislation — which includes provisions that could affect things like commercial signs, trademarks and labels on products — contravenes trade agreements between Canada and the United States.

Might have been nice had the article been clearer on just what the trade mark problem might be.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by SteelTown

U.S. officials discussed hitting Canada with trade sanctions over Quebec's language law
U.S government officials have debated whether Bill 96 violates trade agreements

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/bil...rade-1.7230562

U.S government officials have discussed behind closed doors the possibility of imposing trade sanctions on Canada over Quebec's controversial Bill 96 language law, CBC News has learned.

Documents obtained by CBC News under the U.S. freedom of information law also reveal that American government officials are being told that the implementation of Bill 96 could result in fewer American products being shipped to Canada — not just to Quebec.

According to the documents, officials from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) have debated whether the legislation — which includes provisions that could affect things like commercial signs, trademarks and labels on products — contravenes trade agreements between Canada and the United States.

So much for the fallacy that an independent Quebec would be so much better off in North America.

[Ozabald]

Originally Posted by whatnext

So much for the fallacy that an independent Quebec would be so much better off in North America.

Trademarks and intellectual property are covered under international treaty. It would be the same issues if Quebec was independent.

[New Brisavoine]

Originally Posted by whatnext

So much for the fallacy that an independent Quebec would be so much better off in North America.

Québec always has the nuclear option if the US do not behave fairly with them: joining the EU. The mere mention of it should concentrate minds in DC, and avoid the worst excesses of US unilateralism and protectionism.

[New Brisavoine]

Originally Posted by Acajack

De plus en plus intéressant!

The head of Les Républicains, the "classic" conservative party in France, has proposed a union with the Rassemblement (Front) National, known to much of the world as the far right Le Pen party.

It's unclear whether he'll be able to pull it off and won't simply get turfed by the party brass, but it's still a shocking turn of events.

The entire party has disavowed him. Tonight he's an isolated man.

Meanwhile, I find this much more shocking (and scary):
Texas: les anti-IVG veulent interdire aux femmes enceintes de prendre l’autoroute pour aller avorter ailleurs

[Acajack]

There is literally unbelievable stuff coming out of some US states these days.

[YOWetal]

Originally Posted by Acajack

There is literally unbelievable stuff coming out of some US states these days.

In French?

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by Ozabald

Trademarks and intellectual property are covered under international treaty. It would be the same issues if Quebec was independent.

The difference would be that Quebec would be liable for any treaty violations, not Canada.

[P'tit Renard]

Originally Posted by New Brisavoine

Québec always has the nuclear option if the US do not behave fairly with them: joining the EU. The mere mention of it should concentrate minds in DC, and avoid the worst excesses of US unilateralism and protectionism.

There's no way the US would ever permit Quebec (or Canada for that matter) join the EU. They'll pull out all the big guns through trade sanctions, ripping up existing treaties, extremely punishing tariffs etc if the US is ever threatened with that. Their nuclear option would be to annex Quebec.

[New Brisavoine]

Originally Posted by P'tit Renard

There's no way the US would ever permit Quebec (or Canada for that matter) join the EU. They'll pull out all the big guns through trade sanctions etc if the US is ever threatened with that.

They haven't been able to prevent Cuba (poor, small, isolated) from joining the Soviet camp, and you're telling me they could prevent Québec (let alone Canada) from doing whatever they think is best for them (and whatever an independent country has the right to choose)??

Except if the US became a hardcore Trump dictatorship, I can't see how even the currently dysfunctional US could EVER force Canada or Québec to do things against their will, or prevent them from choosing their own path. There are still free media in the US. And the Pentagon is not going to send US troops in Québec City to capture gouvernement buildings and send the Québec premier to a US penitentiary.

[Ozabald]

Originally Posted by P'tit Renard

There's no way the US would ever permit Quebec (or Canada for that matter) join the EU. They'll pull out all the big guns through trade sanctions, ripping up existing treaties, extremely punishing tariffs etc if the US is ever threatened with that. Their nuclear option would be to annex Quebec.

One of the requirements to join the EU is that the country must be located in Europe and/or be part of an European country (that's how Greenland was originally able to join as part of Denmark). There has to be unanimous approval from all current EU members of a country's membership to join the EU. So, an independent Quebec's chances of joining are next to none. Now, if Quebec wishes to be a colony of France or have similar status to that of SPM, it would have a better chance at joining.