Typically 'wokist' and lecturing article in the New York Times about the Québec election. In a nutshell, Legault is a racist who has transformed Québec nationalism from a left-leaning movement of national liberation that identified with other similar movements of national liberation in the global South, into a bigoted form of nationalism afraid of immigrants and change.
They went to L'Assomption, north of Montréal (very much as they would go to Trump country) to observe the bigoted 'pure laine' Québécois in their environment. Interestingly the journalist who wrote the article is also the same journalist who, when he was posted in France, wrote some pretty ugly articles about France and its fight against militant Islamism, which he equated with bigotry and racism (the fight against militant Islamism by French authorities, not Islamism). These articles created an outrage in France, even among left-wing liberal circles.
Quote:
In Quebec, the Independence Movement Gives Way to a New Nationalism
In Monday’s election, residents of a town that was once a stronghold of the independence movement are expected to back the province’s popular premier, who has embraced a nationalism based on French Québécois identity.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/02/w...s-legault.html
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A few excerpts:
Quote:
Residents in the small city of L’Assomption, Quebec, once overwhelmingly backed the province’s bid to break away from Canada in order to establish a French-speaking, independent nation.
On Monday, though, they and much of the rest of the province are expected to strongly back the re-election of their popular premier, who has abandoned calls for independence — and instead has embraced a nationalism based on French Québécois identity.
“It’s a conservative nationalism that recalls the themes of culture, history and memory,” said Jacques Beauchemin, a sociologist and a leading intellectual behind this shift. “It’s a return to the meaning of identity.”
But to critics, this nationalism threatens the cohesion of the increasingly diverse province by taking aim at immigrants, English speakers and other minorities.
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Quote:
In its four years in office, the government of the premier, Francois Legault, has banned the wearing of religious symbols like the Muslim veil in some public areas and has further restricted the use of English. In his campaign for the election, Mr. Legault has doubled down on the issue of immigration, describing it as a threat to Quebec society — a stance at odds with that of the federal government, which is planning to increase immigration sharply over the next few years.
The position is also at odds with the stance of Montreal, the multicultural city where the premier’s popularity is comparatively weak.
“With this electoral strategy, Mr. Legault is deepening the divide between Montreal and the rest of Quebec,’’ said Gérard Bouchard, a historian and sociologist who is a leading intellectual in the province. “The result of this strategy is to marginalize immigrants and ethnic minorities who are concentrated in Montreal.”
A spokesman for Mr. Legault declined a request for an interview.
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Quote:
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Mr. Legault’s brand of nationalism departs sharply from the ideology behind the left-leaning secessionist movement, which sought autonomy for the French Québécois majority that felt historically oppressed by an English-speaking minority.
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I love the "that felt". The alleged racism experienced by new immigrants and veiled Muslim women is presented as objective fact, but the oppression suffered by the French Canadians is purely subjective, "that felt" instead of "that was". This is the sort of subtle (or not so subtle) perniciousness in the New York Times articles.
Quote:
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In his campaign, Mr. Legault has had to backpedal several times after making comments that, his critics say, reveal the divisiveness of his nationalism. [...] He later apologized [...] he also apologized [...] And he apologized last week, after his immigration minister falsely said [...]
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Quote:
Mr. Legault initially argued to keep the crucifix, saying it was not a religious symbol, but changed his position after the passage of the law on religious symbols.
Critics say the law targets Muslims and fuels the debate over the place of veiled Muslim women in Quebec society. It embodies the transformation of Quebec nationalism, which saw itself as linked to other global liberation movements, into a reactionary force, said Jean-Pierre Couture, a political scientist at the University of Ottawa.
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This quote above could be almost a copy and paste of the articles written by that journalist (when he was posted in France) about France's fight against militant Islamism (always with a local source to back the journalist of course).
Then we get of course the mandatory line about Jacques Parizeau and the "ethnic votes" (I spare you the paragraph).
The article ends with that quote from the Polish Catholic priest of L'Assomption:
Quote:
“Now immigrants arrive and experience a rejection in part, a devaluation of their dignity,” Father Ciszek said.
“If Quebec society wanted to perpetuate its French Canadian identity,” he said, “all it needed to do was have more children.”
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What's funny is the likes of the New York Times, when they were very Waspish in the 1960s and 1970s, criticized the left-leaning Québécois nationalism of the PQ with their Waspish glasses (bunch of leftist Commies attacking hard-working Anglo-Montrealer capitalists etc), and now that they have become 'woke', they criticize Québécois nationalism with their new wokist glasses. Things haven't changed much since the Boston Puritans wanted to eradicate that nest of French 'papists' up there in Canada 300 years ago. Whatever the ideology of the moment, French Canada is a threat.
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