In Brief... World News Review: Manitoba's Francophone Perspective on Quebec
Is French Canada's culture in danger?
French explorers once roamed the vast Canadian wilderness, setting up communities not only in Quebec but in villages scattered across Canada. None outside Quebec was more dynamic than the French-speaking enclave of St. Boniface. But bigotry, sometimes sanctioned by provincial officials, wreaked havoc on this Francophone community, and the example of what happened here is cited as a prime reason why some French Canadians believe Quebec should become an independent country.
Simply put, the fear is that Canada's English-speaking majority could eventually overwhelm the language and culture of Francophone Canadians. French-speaking Canadians who were pupils in St. Boniface in the 1940s And 1950s still vividly recall how their language was banned and how they were forced to hide their textbooks when provincial school inspectors came around to ensure that nobody was being taught French.
Today there are 4,400 students studying in French at 22 schools run by The Division Scolaire Franco-Manitobaine, but many French-speakers fear the modest gains they have made in the recent past could be wiped out if Quebec secedes.
The November election in Quebec is as much a vote of confidence in the Canadian dream of a bilingual nation from coast to coast as on whether to elect a government committed to holding another referendum on Quebec secession.
If Quebecers re-elect their secessionist government on November 30, they may soon be asked to cast their votes on the same issue put to them three years ago in a referendum that came within an ace of splitting Canada apart.
Although Manitoba was admitted into Canada as a bilingual province in 1870, the right to French-language education was not guaranteed and was abolished 20 years later. In Quebec, what is now known as the "Manitoba Schools Question" was seen as the most significant loss of French rights in non-Francophone Canada.
Some fear this could be repeated if Quebec separates. Many Franco-Manitobans such as Francine Martin take a more cautious view of their future in a Canada without Quebec. "I think French-language services will be the first thing to go including French language schools." ( Reuters News Agency)
An Article from:
World News and Prophecy: December 1998
Course Content
David Palmer
Born in Saskatchewan Canada, David Palmer was first introduced to the radio broadcast of the World Tomorrow during his career in broadcasting, when the program was aired during his on air shift. In 1965 his radio career took him to Vancouver British Columbia, where he was eventually baptized, and began attending Sabbath services. He was ordained to the ministry in 1983. Now retired from broadcasting David currently pastors congregations in Vancouver, and Vancouver Island. He is also a member of the UCG-Canada National Council, and serves on the Canadian Ministerial Services Team, as well as the Canadian Media Team
Fred Nance
Fred Nance is a pastor at the United Church of God and has a B.A. in History from Ambassador College. He is originally from Lansing Michigan having moved to Arkansas in September of 2009. His wife Lidia is originally from Argentina.
John Ross Schroeder
John died on March 8, 2014, in Oxford, England, four days after suffering cardiac arrest while returning home from a press event in London. John was 77 and still going strong.
Some of John's work for The Good News appeared under his byline, but much didn't. He wrote more than a thousand articles over the years, but also wrote the Questions and Answers section of the magazine, compiled our Letters From Our Readers, and wrote many of the items in the Current Events and Trends section. He also contributed greatly to a number of our study guides and Bible Study Course lessons. His writing has touched the lives of literally millions of people over the years.
John traveled widely over the years as an accredited journalist, especially in Europe. His knowledge of European and Middle East history added a great deal to his articles on history and Bible prophecy.
In his later years he also pastored congregations in Northern Ireland and East Sussex, and that experience added another dimension to his writing. He and his wife Jan were an effective team in our British Isles office near their home.
John was a humble servant who dedicated his life to sharing the gospel—the good news—of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God to all the world, and his work was known to readers in nearly every country of the world.
