Province of Quebec, Canada: The two solitudes.

In our beautiful province of Quebec exists two major cultures: the Anglos and the French. A lot of French would like the independence of the province from the rest of Canada, creating a French speaking country. Of course, the Anglos want to remain with the rest of Canada at all cost. In the meantime, the major politic parties are exchanging language laws to keep all those people busy. An example is bill 101 which states: " French is the only language allowed on commercial signs in the province. With few exceptions, the use of English is banned. As for education English is restricted mostly to those already in the system, their siblings, those temporarily posted in Quebec, or children whose parents had received an English elementary education in the province. (Eventually that regulation was relaxed to allow children of people educated in English in Canada access to English schools.) Here we go! The ideas war is on between the French and the Anglos. Let's say you're a minister who wants to pass an unpopular bill. How to do it without making too many waves? Nothing is easier. Spread rumors that you will pass a law that will upset both parties and restart the language war, and while everybody's fighting, pass the original bill you wanted to pass. At the base, French and Anglos want the exact same thing: the best education for their children, an efficient health care system, a strong economy and live peacefully with a minimum of luxury. Do we have that? Surely not. The education system is pretty screwed up, the health care system which is public and free is slowly sliding to private, the economy follows the woes of the USA and our infrastructures are crumbling. Why is that if everybody wants the same things? Easy, they don't speak the same language and by making those two groups feel their culture is threatened by the other group, they fight one against the other instead of fighting together towards obtaining better fundamentals services from the government. DIVIDE AND CONQUER! The government understood it. People are overtaxed and get second class service when everybody is greasing their paws from the big public pot. Who cares if the Hospital sign is in French or English if you can't get decent care in a timely manner? Put your priority in the right place!!! Get educated in French or English; who cares? It's a free country! Is it? I guess not if you can't choose! Freedom, health care, education, economy are the base of a society. Culture is also important but doesn't mean much if you're oppressed, sick, dumb and poor. If you think it's more important to speak a certain language over freedom, health and being poor, than I guess you're pretty dumb. If you don't believe me, go to Montreal and look around you. A lot of immigrants were ready to leave their country behind and learn a new language to beneficiate from the freedom we have, the free health care, the free education inside one of the richest country in the world. Maybe we should wake up, put our differences of culture aside and fight to keep these principles that are making Quebec such a great province to live in. Otherwise, in a few decades, we might be the ones emigrating to another country in order to beneficiate from some principles and services we presently take for granted!