When Quebec Prime Minister Francois Lego said directly this week that he and his party were “opposed to multiculturalism,” he tried to add some qualifications to that argument.
Quebec has a different model from the rest of Canada, Lego explained – “interculturalism”, not multiculturalism, where different cultures not just coexist but blend into a dominant French-speaking culture.
He added that he was against putting “all cultures on the same level”.
He prefers a “culture of integration”, he added.
But some of those familiar with the debate have said there are few nuances in the prime minister’s comments and that his words are not surprising, but are still deeply unwelcome.
“Every time it’s as painful as the first time,” said Harginder Kaur, a spokesman for the World Sikh Organization of Canada in Quebec.
“You do not expect such comments from the government [of the place] you live in. “
Kaur, 22, said immigrants in Quebec were more aware than anyone of the emphasis on “franchising” or learning to live in French and blend in with Quebec culture.
“I speak French fluently, I have applied all the values of Quebec – also my family, my friends too,” said Kaur.
– WHO IS HE TO DECIDE THIS?
As a Sikh, she may somehow sympathize with Quebec’s long efforts to protect the French in North America, she said.
But there is no excuse for comments like Lego, she said, especially the idea that different cultures can be placed at different “levels,” as the prime minister said.
“Basically, he just says all religions aren’t equal, right?” she said. “But who is he to decide this?”
“As Sikhs, I understand where they come from, because Sikhs are also a minority … even in India,” she said.
“But we understand that equality is what builds one nation, and you can’t keep your own culture at the expense of another.”
The fact that Quebec leaders assume that different cultures have different values shows “the fear they have,” she said, but it is also insulting to those who have made great efforts to settle in Quebec.
“If we are a problem, they need to understand that immigrants come here for a better life because of the values that Canada holds,” she said.
“We all know French, we all know our language – we preserve their culture and our culture,” she added. “They don’t understand what we’re doing for Quebec either.”
Lego’s comments came after one of his top ministers, Simon Jolin-Barrett, gave a speech in Paris in which he also said that the Quebec government considered multiculturalism to be one of its main problems.
He delivered a speech the day before Quebec’s national holiday, Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day.
QUEBEC’S MODEL IS SUCCESS, NOT CRISIS: LIBERALS
Lego and Jolin-Barrett criticized what they called the Canadian model of multiculturalism, commonly described as a mosaic of different cultures. They said it was an example of individual rights that prevail over the collective good and that it harmed Quebec.
In contrast, Quebec, from the 1980s, developed its own model when it came to immigration – the “interculturalism” that Lego mentions.
But a political opponent said he thought they were a distorted version of Quebec’s history.
“We all know over the last 40 years that we have developed our own model [of immigration] in Quebec with our own identity, ”said Saul Polo, the liberal MNA for Laval de Rapid.
The problem, he said, is that many people think it is a success, not a crisis that requires correcting or fomenting new feelings of “division” or “being attacked.”
Quebec liberals believe Bill 101, the original language law, is working well and may need some adjustments, Polo said.
His party also challenges in particular the idea that people who do not speak French at home are a problem.
“Where we don’t see each other face to face [is the idea that] “What languages people speak at home is a major factor in showing whether French is threatened in Quebec,” he said.
“[Legault] sees the presence of all these cultures, especially if you speak other languages at home, as a potential threat, ”Polo said.
“At the end of the day, we can fully integrate into Quebec society, but we can also preserve and appreciate our own heritage,” he said. CAQ “is trying to say that we need to forget our heritage in order to feel completely Quebec.”
This argument also strikes deeply for Polo, who was born in Colombia and moved to Quebec at the age of six. He received a full education in French, but speaks Spanish at home with his family and son.
He repeated to Kaur, saying that Lego’s words were insulting.
“Despite the sacrifices and efforts we are making to fully integrate into this society, it is still not enough for it to fully accept us as residents of Quebec,” he said.
“It’s not up to Lego to decide who is Quebec or who is not Quebec.”
PQ: IF LEGAULT IS SERIOUS, QUEBECK SHOULD SEPARATE
The other main opposition party has taken a different approach, saying that if Lego is serious about rejecting Canada’s model, it must also take sovereignty seriously.
“CAQ is keeping us at a dead end, exposing Canadian multiculturalism while insisting that we stay in Canada at all costs,” Party Québécois leader Paul St. Pierre Plamondon told CTV News.
“Canada is imposing its vision of communitarianism on us, and we are wasting time and energy trying to maintain our vision of a society based on integration and universal citizenship, regardless of our differences,” he said.
“The only way to solve this impasse is to create our own state. If the CAQ leader and Mr. Jolin-Barrett are serious, they must have the courage to name the only solution: independence.”
Lego said his party was determined not to hold a referendum, although it had recently included some new candidates in the upcoming election, who were staunch separatists.
Quebec Solidarity, the third main opposition party, did not respond to a request for comment from CTV.
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