h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I am astonished by your flippancy towards the plight of the Quebecois people within Canada. While part of the problem of the Quebec nation was dealt with in your entry, when you addressed the festering sore of anglophone oppression, I hardly feel even this was given its due. The outright dominance of anglophones in positions not only of political but also of economic power in the province of Quebec resulted in an explicit exploitation of francophone labour by truly foreign powers, powers who shared no element of the distinct Quebecois culture. The absence of a national formulation for a social contract made this oppression literally tyrannical. Moreover, there resulted a systematic attempt to assimislate the Quebecois people, and destroy their unique culture. From the anglophone staff at Eaton's through Official Bilingualism, anglophones in Quebec have consistently used their economic dominance to force their own language and culture on an oppressed people. While some of these problems have been somewhat mitigated through the rise of nationalist leadership in Quebec, and laws such as Bill 101, only independance can truly save Quebec culture. Just as Canada needs political independance from the United States in order to protect is culture from the American monolith to the South, so does Quebec need political independance from Canada to protect its culture from the Canadain monolith to the South.


Certainly, you may argue that a Candian federal government bent on appeasing Quebec's needs will rectify the situation, but the basic fact of Canadian federal politics is that Ontario, Canada's anglophone bastion, chooses the Prime Minister. It has almost never happened that a party has won control of Parliament without winning Ontario. This means that in spite of internal political control, much of the agenda in Quebec is still set by the foreign, anglophone powers of Ontario. No, only in independence will Quebec be free to decide its own fate as a nation.

Vive le Quebec!!!! Vive le Quebec Libre!!!!!!

Are you serious?

Growing up in Quebec I have never seen a police officer beat up someone for being French etc... How do the 'people' of Quebec (which I assume means people who speak French only and were born in Quebec, not the rest of us) qualify as oppressed. I guarantee that all Canadians pay the same amount of taxes so it can't be that either.

What is the 'plight' of the people who live in Quebec? Canada's free open society, oops I forgot in Quebec there are language police so freedom of speech is en Francais seulemnt. The 'oppressed' are the minority in Quebec that are not French speaking.

The last 3 major Prime Ministers have all been from Quebec. This spans the late 60's to today. Obviously anglophone dominance at its worst!

Without the rest of Canada to support Quebec it will remain on the path to insignificance that it started on 20 years ago. As evidence I hold up Montreal as an example of all that was once good about Canada. It has shrunk into a small city in North America with little influence. All the Banks have moved to Toronto with most of the influential citizens that bolstered Montreal into a prominent world city. There will never be another event in Montreal like the Olympics or the Expo ’67. It is quite sad.

I am still proud to say I am from Quebec despite nationalistic attitudes like yours.

I do not see any argument in your text that'd explain why Quebec's freedom is something insignificant. Defending one's language and tradition isn't insignificant to me. Perhaps i'm the wierd one here...