Canada to firmly re-assess its status as a British colony

[Barrister]

Could be malice, or could just be they figure quebecers would just go to the .fr site. Corporations on a whole rarely work on malice. Unless all the IT guys and Baard of directors really hate quebec and veto'd the implementation or something. Oversite and stupidty is often a more accurate theory.

Er... No. If I want to buy the product in Canadian dollars, with Canadian service, why would I go to the .fr site - especially when the site adjusts to the IP adress?

Just in case it was oversight, I wrote an email (in English) asking why this was the case. Twice. Over a year ago. I have yet to receive an answer. I also asked in person, when I needed customer service, to have someone who spoke French talk to me. It never happened.

And, yes, this was but a single example. But when you multiply these examples in your personal life, you get frustrated - or you get the message that to get service in any kind, you should learn English. Which is what people here seem to be championing anyway - yet this is a different form of coercion. But since it is from the market, it is all alright.

Irritating, but what are you going to do?

Corel is a corporation that has seen better days.  They may well just not see the cost of providing French service in Canada as worth the loss in sales.  How can you mandate what an Ontario based company is going to do?

Hell - until you told me I thought Corel was surely out of business by now.

[Grallon]

I must say this discussion about Quebecers and their collective motivations is surrealist when the input provided by actual Quebecers are dismissed as either irrelevant or wrong or malicious.  But then again English Canadians often show extremely bad faith about this particular topic.




G.

[HVC]

Er... No. If I want to buy the product in Canadian dollars, with Canadian service, why would I go to the .fr site - especially when the site adjusts to the IP adress?

Just in case it was oversight, I wrote an email (in English) asking why this was the case. Twice. Over a year ago. I have yet to receive an answer. I also asked in person, when I needed customer service, to have someone who spoke French talk to me. It never happened.

then i agree that's very odd. Don't know whay. maybe there really is malice.

And, yes, this was but a single example. But when you multiply these examples in your personal life, you get frustrated - or you get the message that to get service in any kind, you should learn English. Which is what people here seem to be championing anyway - yet this is a different form of coercion. But since it is from the market, it is all alright.

To be clear i in no way feel a person from quebec should learn english to get serviced. i just find some aspects odd. the predominance things seems odd too me when equal should work fine. Getting upset with the word royal (and/or portraits of the head of state in government buildings). I just can't relate, and i suppose that's the biggest stumbling block.


and i still think 500,000 for a seven up is way too much    

[HVC]

I must say this discussion about Quebecers and their collective motivations is surrealist when the input provided by actual Quebecers are dismissed as either irrelevant or wrong or malicious.  But then again English Canadians often show extremely bad faith about this particular topic.




G.

and quebecers show bad faith to the anglo side. it's what makes canada great. one big disfunctional family

[Malthus]

It's because it's not about having French available - it's about making French the predominate language in Quebec.

So in other words, I agree with you.  It's not about utility.  It is a statement of importance.  But why is that such a terrible thing?

Because using legal coercion to ensure the dominance of a majority over a minority is not now, and has never been, a good thing. Even if the coercion at issue is hardly life or death stuff.

Unless you are Grallon, or Slargos. 

[Barrister]

It's because it's not about having French available - it's about making French the predominate language in Quebec.

So in other words, I agree with you.  It's not about utility.  It is a statement of importance.  But why is that such a terrible thing?

Because using legal coercion to ensure the dominance of a majority over a minority is not now, and has never been, a good thing. Even if the coercion at issue is hardly life or death stuff.

Unless you are Grallon, or Slargos. 

But it's not dominance of French people over anglos.  It's dominance of the French language over the English language.

[Oexmelin]

Irritating, but what are you going to do?

Indeed - but that's the answer we receive for everything. What can you do?

And thus irritation grows, and is transformed into political action. What can you do? Well, in the case of Air Canada, you can sue. But, as we have seen, this is "unreasonable".

[garbon]

Quebec had the experience that even in francophone owned and operated business, most of the day to day language being spoken was English.  They wanted, for a variety of reasons, to change it so that the predominate language of Quebec, both at home and in business, was in French.

I get that - but I guess I question the will to really want that to be the case, if you have to enshrine by law that business will be conducted in a particular language.

[garbon]

Irritating, but what are you going to do?

Indeed - but that's the answer we receive for everything. What can you do?

And thus irritation grows, and is transformed into political action. What can you do? Well, in the case of Air Canada, you can sue. But, as we have seen, this is "unreasonable".

Get over it? 

And I don't mean that in the flippant way that such short phrasing suggests..

[Oexmelin]

Get over it? 

That is the apology of political apathy.

[Barrister]

Irritating, but what are you going to do?

Indeed - but that's the answer we receive for everything. What can you do?

And thus irritation grows, and is transformed into political action. What can you do? Well, in the case of Air Canada, you can sue. But, as we have seen, this is "unreasonable".

But companies not willing to service your area is something that everyone, regardless of language, has experienced.

I lived in the north.  Did you have any idea that large numbers of goods and servcies that were not available to me because of where I lived?

Or there is the border - lots of goods might be available for sale in the US, but not Canada.  It took a year or two for the iPhone to be sold in this country for example.  Apple just didn't see Canada as importtant enough.

As I said - irritating.  But it's hardly discrimination.

[The Brain]

What's the big deal? As a Quebecer you have to learn English. As a Swede you have to learn English. And Sweden isn't even part of an English-speaking country.

[Malthus]

But it's not dominance of French people over anglos.  It's dominance of the French language over the English language.

That's a distinction without a difference, as the minority of anglos in Quebec are identified by linguistic affiliation, not by genetics.

It's the equivalent of saying 'being legally required to wear a cross is not the dominance of Christians over Jews, Muslims and other people, it's the dominance of Christianity over other religions'.

[Malthus]

Irritating, but what are you going to do?

Indeed - but that's the answer we receive for everything. What can you do?

And thus irritation grows, and is transformed into political action. What can you do? Well, in the case of Air Canada, you can sue. But, as we have seen, this is "unreasonable".

The roomfull of lawyers who commented on that lawsuit were not objecting to the notion of taking legal action, they were objecting to the notion of seeking a half-million in damages.

Alternatives were suggested (by me, among others): seeking a mandatory order.

[Oexmelin]

But companies not willing to service your area is something that everyone, regardless of language, has experienced.

Indeed - but that's not quite the same - the Corel example I picked because they are located in Ottawa - and I experienced it recently. I do not expect French service from foreign and distant companies - and yet, often I receive it (i.e., Nokia, Chase Manhattan). It is from companies doing business in Quebec (but often having marketing / customer services / direction elsewhere) - or sometimes, the Federal government - that I expect a minimum and often do not even get that.