Increasingly multicultural Essay

Montreal is a vibrant cosmopolitan city that is becoming increasingly multicultural. although this is the case Quebec’s language laws have made it all but impossible to post outdoor signs in languages other than French. Other disadvantageous do not point just to those who do not speak French. Since Bill 101 was passed in 1977 many were skeptical over the change in the school system when it urged Quebec to change a law that requires most immigrant children to get their schooling in French. The law that now keeps most immigrant children out of English schools, Bill 101, was enacted 22 years ago under the authority of our good old friend Rene Levesque in response to nationalist fears that a pronounced tendency among Quebec allophones to choose an English education for their children – together with a low francophone birth rate – posed a long-term threat to the future of the French language, especially here in Montreal. Why couldn’t the city be left the way it was, the needless threat of all of Quebec’s language laws have posed a menace to society. The more laws that have been passed the more the French Majority have become involved resulting in a greater vigor to stay free from English. There have been in the past many riots and angered separatists willing to give their lives for the right to keep the French language intact. If the Government hadn’t been so enthusiastic over efforts to change the face of the province maybe the majority of the population would have left the issue of language alone and accepted the English for what they are. Many have grown through the upbringing of their parents to treat everybody the same, and also by the old saying. Don’t judge a book by its cover. It is a complete outrage for the Government to witness crimes of hate and to ignored them by making the problem worse by going ahead with their proposed we hate the English lets get them out of here law. That has definitely been the way that allophones have felt and they were never given a fair share of anything, not even a vote. After the referendum this had become the talk of the nation when rumors suggested that die-hard separatists had tampered with the votes after the 1994 referendum when Quebec narrowly escaped separation from Canada by just a hair’s breadth. But the havoc hadn’t only just begun, there were incidents in the past when Prime Minister Trudeau was in charge that literally tested the lives of allophones, closer to home over here in Westmount. Alleged obstinate separatists preformed acts of hate on Montreal’s well-known English community. Bombs were neatly placed in to mailboxes that were, appallingly, set to detonate once opened. This spelled danger to Montreal’s allophone community who flocked elsewhere to get away from the unbearable tensions that were built amongst them by these alleged terrorists. That is exactly why I disagree with Mordecai Richler’s opinion over Montreal’s status. He once said. â€Å"We Haven’t Lost our heads only our apostrophes†¦. Montreal however diminished is still to my mind the most agreeable city in Canada. And this is because the two cultures not only confront eachother but also continue to enrich eachother. † How could such a knowledgeable man ignore all the violence and the lack of equality. It has to be said that there has never been a time when it was liberated to say that we have grown to enrich each other because it quite simply isn’t true. Problems between the two vibrant cultures have not caused astronomical damage, but enough damage to believe that allophones are not wanted. Tensions for a while remained calm, but more recently the bombings that plagued some second Cup coffee shops, in a furious scuffle just to change the name to Deuxieme Tasse. Similar incidents include Jacques Villneuve’s opening of his bar called new town the translation of his last name. The successful Formula 1 hero was the target of many unpleased individuals over the name of his bar. Villneuve was later asked to reply and give his opinion to the miserable reaction over the name and quite simply stated that people in this city must become more open minded. Can’t really disagree there. It comes to show that times haven’t changed and that tensions are still sky high. That is exactly why I disagree with Mordecai Richler’s opinion over the Montreal’s status. He once said. â€Å"We Haven’t Lost our heads only our apostrophes†¦. Montreal however diminished is still to my mind the most agreeable city in Canada. And this is because the two cultures not only confront eachother but also continue to enrich eachother. â€Å"