Vive Québec

If you're an anglo living in Quebec, you've probably experienced this before. You're in a restaurant, the server arrives at your table and says:

"Est-ce que je peux prendre votre commande ?"

So you reply in French. The server, now aware that you're first language is probably English, switches languages, but you persist in French. So the conversation continues with you communicating in your second language and your server in theirs.

It is comical, but somehow oddly charming. This is the side of life in Québec that people outside of the province don't really know or understand. Much has been made in literature and the media about Québec's two solitudes. While it is true that two cultures coexist in relatively close confines, to suggest that there is a constant tension between the two over dramatizes the reality.

There will always be cultural differences, particularly in a city like Montreal where there are so many nationalities and languages coexisting with one another. It's easy, and perhaps a more intriguing storyline, to attribute every conflict to a language or cultural difference. In truth, the vast majority of conflicts in Québec have to do with more pedestrian issues like impatience, selfishness or flat out rudeness. Pardon my English, but some people are just assholes, and it has nothing to do with their heritage.

I worked for about two years at an agency that was %99.9 Francophone. At first, I was a little nervous. I had always worked for relatively bilingual companies, and my French skills are basic at best. What I discovered was that the few issues I encountered were the same as any company, anywhere in the world, and none of them had to do with language. In fact, because of the language differences, we tended to communicate better, understanding the need for clarity given the circumstance. I never felt unwelcome nor a second class employee.

The oft untold story of life as an anglo in Québec is more than one of compromise and grudging acceptance. There is a shared joy and pride in our cities and citizens. There is a richness that comes from discovering and enjoying the fruits of a different culture, and in the case of Montreal, multiple cultures. Courtesy, kindness and mutual respect transcend the language and cultural divides, and this is true of virtually everyone I encounter on a daily basis.

I'm not trying to paint Quebec as some sort of utopia. We have our problems, just like many other parts of the country and the world. We have a history that is deeply rooted in conflict and oppression. It's the kind of thing that doesn't just go away. Politicians continue to manipulate the emotions of voters by stirring up age-old resentment for political gain. It seems lately that Quebeckers are starting to get wise to this, and are perhaps a bit fatigued by hearing the same old rhetoric without any reasonable proposal as to how we move forward. Time will tell.

Meanwhile, Quebeckers continue to go through their daily lives in relative harmony. Different, but the same. Two cultures sharing a common experience, not two solitudes at odds with one another. In fact, we are many cultures, rich in diversity and free to express and share our individuality.

Of course that's not the kind of thing that will make headlines in the Calgary Herald, but some divides are far greater than mere geography.

Go Habs, Go