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Alvida wrote:

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You don't think it likely it would actually cause trouble in the crowd if they played?

I doubt it. Maybe in the late 70's and early 80's, when tensions between francophones and anglophones had reached an all-time high (The October Crisis, the first Referendum on Quebec sovereignty) but not anymore. I'm guessing a few people are having a "hardcore québécois nationalist" moment.

That said, the tensions back then were a result of people talking at each other, instead of to each other, and segregation attitudes were somewhat more common.

I do understand the idea of "defending the french language" but this will not do that - Plus, we would not have to defend it if we promoted it, by speaking it better and being better at writing and reading the language.

I just hope they won't have the audacity to pretend this is a 'National holiday' if they don't reverse this decision. Both languages are official (in Canada) and english has always been a part of Quebec history and culture.

What if this was a better known band like Arcade Fire? Or Simple plan, which are francophones but sing in english? Leonard Cohen is a Montrealer, would he be excluded to? He's only one of the most important artists to ever come out of this city.

I really think it's time to move beyond the language divide - bilingualism is an asset anyway. I only have to drive an hour or two in just about any direction before I can't function using only french.

The language divide has a cyclic quality to it, it comes and goes, though as it comes back, it seems, at least, less and less aggressive (for the most part). Of course, there are still a few hotheads (on both "sides") but generally speaking it does not turn violent anymore - which is something.

I have to be blunt about this - some francophones in Quebec are locked in the past and suffer from persecution syndrome. For a few, any decision Canada takes that does not seem entirely in Quebec's best interests is oppression. Consciously or not, we do attract some of the bad feelings that we get, some of us anyway.

Actually, Éric Lapointe, our resident rocker, was among the first to speak out on this (and he is a sovereignist): "It's a party and people want to hear some good music - Does it matter if it's in english or french? No - it's not about language."

This particular event (L'autre St-Jean - The other St-John's) is a smaller scale event (compared to some of the massive celebrations which take place in some areas) and this is likely a key, but local sponsor. I find it very suspiscious that this sponsor wishes to remain entirely anonymous, which tells me that the 'concerns' this sponsor has voiced are a politicialy correct way of saying "I just don't want to support an anglophone band."

Similar concerns were voiced during the 400th anniversary celebrations of Québec city last year when Paul McCartny was asked to perform at one of the closing events. To some people, the very idea was 'treason.' How could anyone dare suggest that an English songwriter should be asked to perform in a celebration of Quebec city? Some people were talking about riots, how this was a slap in the face because we were essentially conquered by the British and this was going to be a reminder of that, and so on and so forth.

Nothing happened - McCartny did perform, no incident was reported, which is amazing when you consider that it became the show with the highest attendance of all-times in Quebec city, and it has also translated into a great touristic opportunity. It was Sir McCartny's sole performance on North American soil that year, so many Americans came over to see the show, and many have come back to visit the city since then - That show appears to have single-handedly boosted up Quebec city's touristic appeal and the city has, as a result, shown to be mostly recession-proof in these difficult times.

The 'feelings of division' mostly belong to the old guard. It's also something politicians will occasionally use to divert attention (and Prime Minister Harper certainly made a wonderful use of this tactic before the last election which fortunately backfired). This division is not limited to Quebec - it's (sadly) part of Canadian history, but it's all very subtle now. The days of violent protests or riots dealing specifically in the linguistic divide are long gone.

Quebec has strong contradictions to its culture - At once wanting to be open to the world, and at times, falling back on segregation attitudes. This is not so much an inherent contradiction within the population as it is a generational divide. The younger generation is frankly tired of this 'battle with the english' deal. People in my generation (30 to 50 or so) are somewhat torn between the old guard and this new generation that embraces change and greater openness towards the world - but the society here has, in fact, changed (as it has across Canada). Inter-marriage between francophones and anglophones is a lot more commonplace now and comes with no taboo that I know of. If you flipped through the CD collectinos of most young francophones in this province, you'd notice a majority of what they listen to is in english, there is less resistance to 'americanization' with younger people as they generally perceive Quebec as a nation with what aptly qualifies as an American culture (which is true - we do live in the Americas).

I've spoken to many people about this, francophone and anglophone, and so far, all anglophones and a majority of francophones are either disappointed or disgusted by what is going on with the L'autre St-Jean event. Even most francophones agree that we can't exclude anglophones, which are an integrated and key part of the culture here, from our national holiday.

Bendigo wrote:

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One group singing in English at a major Festival is perceived to be a threat to the French language? Then 'tis a fragile thing of which we speak.

I don't see it as a threat at all, and if I read you correctly, I share your sentiment. The french language will not "protected" through this sort of action at all.

Jacqui Stafford wrote:

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If you are correct; if it really is a case of a 'diehard' traditionalist allowing his or her prejudices against the English to influence their judgement then I am also disappointed rather than disgusted. Progress cannot happen if we refuse to put the past behind us.

I could be wrong but I'm afraid that's what it really comes down to, and my instincts are usually pretty good.

There's a simple principle at work here: You cannot demand the respect you are not willing to offer yourself. If we allow for some level of exclusiveness of english, we cannot expect anglophones to respect french either. I do think bilingualism is an asset, in Quebec, for a native anglophone, and this will certainly not encourage anyone to learn the french language. I also think of bilingualism as pretty much a must for francophones in Canada unless they remain in a small, very predominantly francophone city, but otherwise, you basically have to be bilingual.

Some would say that's an easy stance for me because I do speak english, but there are reasons as to why I learned the language.