From: O2NY <O2NY@UNB.CA>
Subject: Re: Legalized Discrimination in Quebec
Organization: The University of New Brunswick
Date: Fri, 11 Dec 1992 17:24:32 GMT

In article <1992Dec11.161153.19042@cerberus.ulaval.ca> duquet@astro.phy.ulaval.ca (Jean-Remi Duquet) writes:
>In article <Bz2BxB.45s@watserv1.uwaterloo.ca> tjdoran@watserv1.uwaterloo.ca (DORAN TJ - BIOLOGY) writes:
>>>[stuff deleted]
>>I don't suggest that newcomers be allowed *more* rights than people already
>>in Quebec. I'm suggesting that they should have the *same* human rights as
>>the people already there (ie. the right to choose the language in which their
>>children are educated).           ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>>[...]
>>Only in Quebec is the
>>right to choose among existing facilities denied to some people.
>                       ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>Ok, can we settle this fallacy for a while ?
>
>1) If I refer to a recent posting, being educated in french is not easy at
>least in Manitoba, and there is no reason to suppose it's largely available
>west to that province.
>
>2) If the service is not available/insufficient, I hardly see how one could
>"choose the language in which ...", even if the province generously
>recognises everyone this "right".
>
>3) Hence, if the premices are right of course, Anglo-quebecers are not denied
>any right granted to any other linguistic minority in the country as far as
>education is concerned.
>
>4) Now, granted that the english community in Quebec have access, as a whole,
>to a better education system in their own language, the government has the
>right to fix the limits of the population who can use this service.
>It certainly is frustrating for those who cannot use these facilities, but
>don't call this immoral or "racist". (may I remind you that the first people
>affected by this measure are french-speaking quebecers who are denied the right
>to send their children to english school.)
>
>5) So, as someone posted earlier on this network, a far as education of the
>minorities is concerned, Quebec has no lessons to receive from any province
>in Canada. Clean your own backyard first. Does Canada take lessons from India
>or Australia on the topic of good relations with aborigens ? I quit an
>organization for the rights of aborigens just after OKA crisis,
>because I didn't feel like I could give lessons to anyone on this matter.
>I expect the same behavior from (almost) everybody.
>
>I don't mind being criticized by anglo-quebecers. They are concerned by these
>measures, and they have the right to work against them if they want a change.
>But as for the others, unless you have something constructive to suggest, I
>don't accept this kind of comments unless you can show that linguistic
>minorities have access to free education all around this country.
>
>This has not been done yet on this network.
>For all I know, two messages treated of this topic; they said basically:
>- French education is available in Ontario,
>- It's not in Manitoba.
>Still 7 provinces missing...
>
>Any french-canadian (CHQ) can comment ?
>
>-----
>Jean-Remi Duquet
>Physics dept.
>Universite Laval
>Quebec
>.
>.
A topic has been covering New Bruswick as well. New Bruswick has free
access to french schooling almost province wide. ( There are still a
few isolated areas where a population of one or two French families
do not warrent a publicly funded school. There are no restictions on
the number of students permitted. If the numbers are large, funding
would be increased. However, all french schools I know of are far
larger than the student population warrents. French schools have the
best student teacher ratio available anywere in the province. Despite
the fact that english in a majority. NB also has a french language
university in Moncton. This university offers many degree programs
in the French language. So it is easy for any french person to have
any level of education in NB, without ever having spoken a word of
English.

David Szemerda
New Bruswick, the province of superior equality!

Newsgroups: can.politics