Below an excerpt from a speech given by Dennis Smith, GMCDI Chair, to launch an event held on Friday May 22nd.   

"What better place to begin a conversation about diversity than in Montreal, the most diverse community in Quebec and one of the most diverse in Canada and North America. Montreal’s English-speaking community has a longstanding tradition of embracing diversity and is considered by many to be a model of successful integration. 

While some individuals reluctantly accept the minority label, here in Quebec everyone belongs to a minority community and many are proud of that fact. The English-speaking community is a minority within a French-speaking majority that is also a minority. Ethnic groups are also minorities within those two groups. While we Quebecers have a lot in common, we do not always know how to address the issues we have in common as minority groups. We hope today's forum will help launch that important dialogue and we hope today’s conversation between Montreal’s diverse minorities is the first chat in a long lasting dialogue."

According to Mélanie Joly, co-founder of Génération d’idées, (La Presse, Montréal a besoin de nous, by Mélanie Joly, May 3, 2009, p. A14), Montreal is loosing some of its scope, integrity and talents. It no longer possesses the same cultural inspiration. Nonetheless, this downturn may create an opportunity for young ethnic, cultural and philanthropic organizations to contribute to the city with new strength. Ms. Joly thinks that in this case, the imminent priority for Montreal should focus on community engagement as a strategy to develop wide-ranging initiatives that would address key challenges such as environment and immigration. Citizens are at the heart of the city’s expansion and they should make sure that their voices are being heard.

So how does the English-speaking community participate? Immigration is an issue rarely discussed with relation to the English-speaking Quebec, but it is a great source of diversity and renewal for the English-speaking community. In order to develop deeper into this issue, the Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN) and the Greater Montreal Community Development Initiative (GMCDI) are working together with the Association for Canadian Studies and Concordia’s Quebec English-Speaking Community Research network (QUESCREN) to organize a forum on diversity at Atwater Library on May 22^nd.  Entitled “Understanding Diversity in English-speaking Montreal”, it will focus on demographics, employment, health and social services, education and the role that non-government organizations play in the integration process. (For more information please visit this site: http://www.acs-aec.ca/index.php?option=com_events&task=events&xlang=English&eventid=50)

While this article opens the door for minority groups and immigrants, notably, to contribute to the vitality of the city, there seems to be a lack of leadership and management at the municipal level.

Since Montrealers are getting ready to go to the polls on November 1^st to elect their municipal representative, how do you think diversity should be addressed to solve the challenges of the English-speaking community in Montreal and raise the city’s development plan at the same time?

Furthermore, what is the role of the community at large and non-government organizations in informing the municipal government of the issues and challenges the ESC faces?

What can the ESC contribution be in meeting the challenge that Ms. Joly gives us in defining a new inspiring vision for Montreal?

An article in the Montreal Gazette today entitled "United Church Converts - to French" explains that a congregation that had, for over 50 years been English-speaking, was forced to shut down English services due to a lack of attendance. This article is a clear example of the difficulties that the English-speaking community faces, particularly where its numbers are dwindling and where institutions and communities no longer have a relationship. Richard Bourhis, an expert researcher on language minorities states that "Institutional control is the dimension of vitality par excellence needed by language groups to maintain and assert their presence within state and private institutions such as education, the mass media, local government, health care, the judicial system, commerce and business. It is proposed that language groups need to achieve and maintain a favourable position on the institutional control front if they wish to survive as distinctive collective entities within multilingual states." (Bourhis, R.Y., Landry, R. (2008). Group Vitality, Cultural Autonomy and the Wellness of Language Minorities. InR.Y. Bourhis (Ed.) The Vitality of the English-Speaking Communities of Quebec: From Community Decline to Revival.Montreal, Quebec: CEETUM, Université de Montréal.)

What do you think?

What is the role of the community in sustaining its institutions? Is it a symbiotic relationship between the community and the institutions or is it one-way? Does the English speaking community need to demonstrate their support to other institutions - be they churches, hospitals, or schools - to ensure their survival?

Do "traditional" institutions have a role to play in sustaining and developing the community? Is it important? Are institutions an effective yardstick to measure the health of a community?

Are there new institutions that are supporting the sustainability of the English-speaking communities? If so, what are these new institutions?

Thanks for your thoughts and contributions!

An article in The Gazette on Sunday, entitled "Language panel wrangles over the use of anglicisms" brought up the similarities that the English speaking minority in Quebec has with its French speaking majority - something that is not always evident in the language debate.  The mixing of languages - where English speakers ask "Where is the nearest dep?" and French speakers say "C'est fun!" demonstrates the interconnectedness that both official languages have, especially in the Greater Montreal area. 

Most of all, the realization that a better knowledge of both languages will prove to be a competitive advantage for Quebec was an interesting conclusion from the event that was hosted by the Conseil superiur de la langue franciase.  The author of the article points out that "despite the squabble over anglicisms, a consensus did emerge on English:  As long as French is the dominant language in Quebec, English and other languages should no longer be seen as a threat, but rather as a necessary complement to French and a bridge to the larger world outside Quebec."  This gives Quebec the tools it needs to be a strong player in a global world. 

Another interesting event on the weekend was the launch of a new blog on Montreal called Metropolitan News. This blog promises to look at "Montreal events, news and personalities; highlight the city's vibrant online community, from bloggers to Twitterers to video posters; and tell you what is being said about our fair city in other parts of the blogosphere".   Hopefully this will give people an opportunity to comment, participate and be up to date on the issues that are affecting this great city. 

An article entitled "Should I stay or should I go?" was published in The Gazette on Satruday March 28th, demonstrating the worldwide options that students from McGill's Faculty of Law have after they obtain their diploma.  This article is a perfect example of the benefits that can be obtained in a bilingual and biliterate city such as Montreal and it also exemplifies the retention issues that are prevalent in the English speakign community.  It also demonstrates one of the living legacies of the English speaking community to the city.  Thanks to the levels of bilingualism and diversity in the English-speaking community, it is easy to see why they could choose to move abroad. 

But the best part of the article is that it highlights the many graduates who choose to say in Motnreal because of the benefits of speaking two languages, learning about two legal systems and the quality of life that can be obtained in this city.  If there was a way to transpose the lessons learned in this faculty to others, it might be an interesting apporach to lowering the retention rates of English speaking graduates that leave the province at alarmingly high rates. 

What do you think?

A Changing Community: So I have a diploma, can I get a job?

The GMCDI is looking for a project director.  This exciting project promises to engage in some really interesting activities that promote the English-speaking community's vitality in the Greater Montreal area.  If this sounds interesting to you, please check out the posting at the following website: 

http://www.qcgn.ca/page.asp?intNodeID=18153

You will find it on the right hand side of the page under Calendar of Events. All necessary information will be in the document. 

If you know of anyone who might be interested in the position, please feel free to pass this info along. 

Thanks for your help!

A Changing Community: How do we navigate identity, accents and belonging?

Date: Wednesday, 4 March 2009

A recent article/interview with Dorothy Williams on CTV raised some good questions about the inclusiveness of the English speaking community of the Greater Montreal area. If you have not seen it yet, you are welcome to visit this link to the article.  While Ms. William's interview is specifically on the Black population of Montreal, this argument can be made for all the multicultural communities that make up the Montreal mosaic. 

How many generations does it take for a multicultural group to be considered as belonging to a community? 

Moreover, how do you create a sense of identity and belonging within a community and be as inclusive as possible?

What are your thoughts on this matter?

The Supreme Court of Canada is currently hearing arguments around Bill 104. (for further coverage please see the article in the Montreal Gazette by Elizabeth Thompson on December 14, 2008 entitled Charter, Quebec language laws square off in high court) This Bill proposes to close one of the avenues of access to education in the English language.  Until 2002 (when the Bill was proposed) students having attended one year of private English language schooling could gain access to public English schools. 

Is this a loophole that must be closed? Or is it the protection of a right guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms?

Does access to English languages schools in this way undermine the purpose of the langauge laws in Quebec?

Should parents have the freedom to choose what language their children are instructed in?

All these are questions that will be answered in some way or another when the verdict is given by the Supreme Court of Canada. What do you think about the issue?

In 2001, English-speakers in the Greater Montreal area had an unemployment rate of 9.2%, which means that they were 24 per cent more likely than their Francophone counterparts to be unemployed.  This statistic serves to dispel the myth that all English-speakers are all well-off in Westmount mansions.  As a matter of fact, many English-speakers are preferring to leave the province altogether.  Retention rates of highly educated English-speakers in the province as a whole is extremely low - with 73% of  English-speaking PhDs leaving the province altogether.  It is a fact that the government is one of the largest sources of employment in this province and the Greater Montreal area is no different.  Unfortunately, English-speakers have a chronically low level of representation in the public services industry in the Greater Montreal area.  Of the 65,000 people employed in such positions in 2001, English-speakeas accounted for only 9 per cent, despite the fact that they represent 25 per cent of hte labour force.  (for more information please visit our website and see the discussion paper on Economic Development and Employment)

An interesting article in The Gazette this weekend "Municipal job flow to increase steadily" by Stephaie Whittaker informs us that of the 80,000 Quebecers currently working in municipal administration, 16,000 will retire in the next five years, and half within the next 10 years.  The rest of the article goes on to explain the efforts being made by the municipalities to engage and encourage youth to consider a career in the municipal administration.

It would be interesting to know how much of that effort is being targetted to English-speakers and if it wouldn't be cost-effective to offer English-speakers increased access to jobs in order to stem the brain drain from the province, increase levels of employment and produce a public sector that is reflecting the reality of the mosaic that is Greater Montreal in 2008. 

What do you think about the issue of English-speakers finding employment in the public service of the Greater Montreal area? 

An article in the November 15th edition of The Gazette written by Mark Abley entitled "Montreal English grows even more distinct" highlights the links between language and identity that is debated quite often in the English-speaking community of the Greater Montreal area. As the author states, "the uniqueness of Montreal English may well be growing", demonstrating that the english-speaking community in Montreal is distinct from other Anglophones in Canada and the world, and yet the use of the language itself creates common linkages amongst all the English-speakers in the greater Montreal area.

Here are some of the major drivers of what makes Montreal English different than the English spoken elsewhere:

1. Most English speakers in Montreal are reasonably fluent in French, and this language has slowly begun to influence the vocabulary and syntax of English speakers (as mentioned in the Abley article)
   
2. The diversity of English speakers that exist in Montreal also has an effect on the type of English that is spoken, whether it be immigrants from the West Indies, from Latin America, from Europe or from Asia that bring their own vocabulary and influence to the language 
3. Lastly the openness and acceptance of the culture and people of Montreal that try to communicate despite potential language obstacles, and where conversations are commonly heard between a Francophone, an Allophone and an English-speaker leads us to greater interweaving of languages than in other places
   

Can you think of any others?

All this goes to show that a Montreal English speakers identify more easily with each other than with other Anglophones and constitute a distinct and unique group. This sense of uniqueness gives Montreal English speakers a wonderful opportunity to play a role in building bridges between the rest of Canada and Quebec in terms of cultural appreciation and understanding. Most of all, we are one of the most bicultural and bilingual groups in the country. It is undeniable that this is a competitive advantage in business, in international relations and in life in general.

What do you think about this issue? We invite you to share your thoughts on the matter in the comment boxes below!