Historic Quebec Anglo T-Shirt

I have a t-shirt being sent my way shortly.

I lived in Montreal for 23 years before I left Canada to live in New Zealand and eventually Australia to get away from the separatists. To this day I still consider myself a political refugee in response to Bill 22 in 1974 which enshrined French as the sole official language in Quebec and the PQ’s Bill 101 in August 1977 which further undermined English language rights in the province:  https://globalnews.ca/news/1237519/fact-file-what-is-bill-101/

The language debate has recently reared its ugly head again by Quebec Premier Francois Legault who has suggested that a list be made up of “Historic Quebec Anglos” to restrict those on the list to have access to government services in English.

The t-shirts are a satiric dig at the language police in Quebec who have historically censored English in street and shop signs for decades. Make sure you attempt the quiz in the last link below to determine whether you qualify as an HISTORIC QUEBEC ANGLO.

The breaking story:

"There was much gnashing of teeth and consternation last month when the CAQ government let it slip that anglos would still have English-language access to provincial government services like electricity bills and automated telephone menu options — provided they were part of the “historic English community.”

But where would the burden of proof lie?

I mused this might entail having to produce documentation of having ancestors who fought alongside English Major General James Wolfe on the Plains of Abraham in the Seven Years’ War — which began in 1756 — to qualify. Or perhaps the solution might be in having historic anglos tagged with an ‘A’ on their drivers’ licences or health-care cards, or having their homes dotted with an ‘A’ at the entrance…”

Read the full story: https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/brownstein-historic-quebec-anglos-making-statement-on-t-shirts

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/english-government-services-quebec-1.5348007

Buy a t-shirt to support the Gazette's charitable Christmas fund here: https://historicanglos.com

UPDATE 21 December 2019

Further update: 22 December 2019

1,000 T-shirts have now been sold at $20 with proceeds being donated to the Montreal Gazette's Christmas Fund, now in its 53rd year. Over the holiday period a $125 cheque will be given to hundreds of disadvantaged families: https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/lucinda-chodan-ten-thousand-reasons-to-love-historic-quebec-anglos-hint-think-christmas-fund

For further reading FIND THIS BOOK & READ IT:

Just had a quick look. Here are 3 of some very ancient poems about Quebec, after I left the province:

An Anglo in Quebec

Looking at a photo of the Confederation Fathers posing in 1867

is to invite snide politically incorrect commentary-

on beards  sideburns  gender inequity-

     funny looking top hats

     heavy dark suits   & bow-ties.

Looking recently at a pre-referendum video

of Rene Levesque from 1976

chain smoking   clutching the microphone

croakingly proclaiming a PQ victory

blue & white flags surging behind him

it all seemed suddenly & incredibly very very small- 

from here in Australia.

(2001)

Summer in NDG, 1972

1

wafts of diesel smoke spew

from the rears of idling City buses

& slowly ascend the 3 storied terraces on Girouard

2

in the late afternoon light

a gang of young men hang out on the steps

of McLeans   drinking Mountain Dew

     & talking baseball

3

in a back room

Big Larry cuts a block of hash

the size of a pound of butter

4

a Bonnyville 650 explodes into vision

from Upper Lachine Road

in a lethal trajectory

                          the pillion passenger grimacing

clutching the funny bar

as they lean into the corner

5

across the street     secretly

the cops have rented a bread shop

& are recording  the deals

through hidden cameras

6

an Atwater bus 

picks up an elderly couple

headed downtown for a meal

     & a movie

7

the Bonneville threads haphazardly

through the streets again

accelerating brutally-

       the harsh echo of the mechanical roar

       reverberating through the brick walls

              of the inner city scape

8

the fridge door of McLean’s

snaps shut in its characteristic clunk

     I swig at a cool drink

the guys boisterous  spurting in the

fluffy-haired/ growth of 

    boof-headed consciousness

9

the elderly couple

     leave the cinema

& in fast forward mode

visibly age. Die. There is

a solemn, quickly forgotten

   funeral

10

the Bonnyville circles 

again. The dark gleaming 

visors of the

              riders, a blurred

purple 

       bar of light.

first published in Another Toronto Quarterly 2004