Quebec Reasonable Accommodation Hearings

The struggle between the French and English of Quebec has shaped the mindset of its inhabitants. Intolerance has become the legacy after winning the fight for French supremacy. Being a superior race breeds fear of losing this position. Everyone becomes a threat. This is at the heart of the reasonable accommodation debate. The question for the people of Quebec is will they choose to be like the White citizens in my small American southern town who will never accept anyone who is not just like them. Or will the people of Quebec continue to open their hearts to an immigrant population who are more than willing to abide by unbiased laws that are made after careful study and will stand the test of time. I believe that the beautiful people of Quebec will show through these reasonable accommodation hearings that the democratic process does work and future generations will be the beneficiaries of a land that will be a model to the world of freedom and justice for all. I LOVE MONTREAL On my first visit to Montreal, I fell in love. What a contrast from my small American southern town. It did not seem to matter to these Montreal natives that the color of my skin was black. I thought it was amazing that most people spoke two languages. I wished that my curriculum had required more than one semester of Spanish that I barely got a passing grade in. As I continued my love affair with Montreal, I realized that my lover had a big problem. The province of Quebec was in a battle to separate from Canada. I started asking questions of my newfound Quebec friends about their feelings regarding separation. My roommate’s boyfriend is a separatist and perfect gentleman. He even kissed my hand a few times. I asked him why he wanted to separate from Canada. He told me it was because separatists did not want the federal government telling Quebec how to run their province. They also wanted to preserve their language and culture. There had already been a few referendums that failed to give them the majority needed to form a new country. I then wanted to ask a friend who had voted “No” in the referendum. I talked to a beautiful and highly educated black lady who was born in Quebec and called herself a federalist. I asked about her feelings regarding Quebec forming a country. She told me that she believes that Quebec will suffer financially and become isolated from the rest of North America. Quebec would also be vulnerable to invasions and attacks from other countries. I wanted to get a historical view of Quebec so I researched information on the internet and read books and newspaper articles. I discovered that the battle between the French and English had gotten so bad until many English families were forced to move out of the province. I felt sorry for many of these English people because their historical roots were in Quebec. After learning about the province of Quebec, I understand the reasons why reasonable accommodation hearings are being held. My hope and prayer is that at the end of these hearings my beloved Montreal will remain a place where people like me can come and feel accepted.