The anglophones are Quebecers, as are the French, as are the new Quebecers.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
You know, now there is always half of the new Quebecers who are going to the English CEGEP. After that, often they are going to work in English. So for us, that is so important. We are a real minority in North America. Two per cent of the population are French-speaking. We have to protect this reality.
I can't think of this country without Quebec. Je parle francais. And when I think about being a Canadian, speaking French is part of it.
French are what they are without excusing themselves to be.
All of us in Quebec - and I mean all of us - have allowed language to become a preoccupation that works to the disadvantage of all of us - and I mean all of us.
In the province of Quebec where I come from, we speak French, and the only cosmopolitan city is Montreal. Every time we tackle the subject of immigration and racial tension, it's an issue that concerns Montreal.
You know, I would like to ask to the other parts of Canada to respect the minority of the French Canadians.
They call people who love London 'Anglophiles' and people who love France 'Francophiles.' I'd be the New York version of that.
People forget that there are villages and communities that are still speaking French all over Canada. I went to a bar and spoke with some French people there, and they were saying: 'I went to English school, but at home it was always French, and that's going to be the way it is for my kids.' It's important for them to keep that language alive.
I keep wondering who defends Quebec identity: who defends sovereignty, the right of the people to express themselves freely.
Make no mistake. Canada is not a bilingual country. In fact it is less bilingual today than it has ever been.