"I've been putting off the purchase of a house for years because of the fear of separation," Hagop Redjebian, an independent Montreal businessman originally from Lebanon, remarks.
Independence, or separation as it is sometimes called, has been at the forefront of the Quebec provincial agenda for over three decades. In the sixties, French-Canadian political organizations began demanding greater independence for the province and by 1976 the first separatist Quebec government was elected with a mandate to create an independent French-speaking nation.
"Thirty years ago French-Canadians complained about the Anglo business establishment, but today French-Canadian businessmen have themselves become the elite. The economy isn't nearly as prosperous as it once was and that upsets everyone," explains Hagop.
Montreal, the largest city in Quebec with a population over three million, was once the cultural and economic mecca of Canada-a fact that is no longer true. Since 1976, over 300,000 Quebecers and dozens of corporate headquarters have left for other Canadian cities or the United States. Those who left were predominantly young and English speaking. They left because of their uncertain economic futures and because they did not see themselves as part of the larger vision of an independent Quebec.
Four years ago, Arman Kuyumjian lived in Montreal and had just finished his B.A. at McGill University. He was faced with the decision of which law school to attend. It was not an easy choice but he chose an Ontario university instead of one in his home province of Quebec, "because it was a stepping stone to the equivalent of a Wall Street law firm job--in Canada that would be on Toronto's Bay Street. I could do that in Montreal but it would be more difficult." Today, Arman is a lawyer in Toronto and points out that he left Montreal for a combination of political and economic concerns. He explains, "I can't relate to the values of the ruling political elite in Quebec, including their agenda of separation and exclusion."
Arman attended a private French-Canadian high school in Montreal and remembers hanging out predominantly with other non-French-Canadian students, "We reacted against certain students' and teachers' xenophobic ideas by rejecting French-Canadian language and culture. In retrospect, it was a lost opportunity for everyone to learn about each other."
While the issue of Quebec independence directly effects the lives of the 25,000 strong Quebec-Armenian community, most remain detached from the issue seeing nothing to gain from choosing sides.
French-Canadians perceive Armenians as ethnic and therefore not French-Canadian, even though many are native French speakers. What compounds the problem is the Quebec government's identification of people according to their mother tongue. French speakers are commonly referred to as francophones, English speakers as anglophones, and individuals (including most Armenians) whose mother tongue is not English or French as allophones. Language in Quebec, more than any other factor, determines the neighborhood you live in, your political affiliations and the media you watch, read or listen to. In fact, research in 1989 revealed that the Armenian community supported a trilingual media.
Surprisingly, separatists are finding that they need to adapt to an evolving Montreal society where 50% are no longer of English or French origin and 30% are trilingual. It is a city of 90 different cultural communities and 110 languages. Ethnic Quebecers are the fastest growing demographic in the province. Separatists are well aware that they will need ethnic voters if they intend to win any future referendum on independence.
But separatist efforts at wooing ethnic voters were severely deterred after the 1995 Quebec independence referendum. After losing by a .58% margin, the separatist leader in his post-referendum speech announced that the vote was lost due to money and ethnic votes. While separatists say many have misinterpreted the comment, ethnic Quebecers were afraid that the comment revealed an underlying xenophobia present in Quebec politics for many years.
"I felt betrayed and frustrated as the Premier fanned the flames of Quebec nationalism." Hagop added, "As if only the French vote mattered and the non-French vote hindered their goal of independence."
Until that day, Hagop identified himself as a good Quebec and Canadian citizen. "After that remark, I was cautious and felt more comfortable evading political questions at work, but with an ethnic name I was perceived as an obstacle to independence. It was not a comfortable place to be at the time." Until that day, Hagop's involvement in his ethnic community was minimal, and overnight he began participating in Armenian activities and rediscovered his community.
On the other hand, Arman was not amazed,"It was not a surprise but a watershed moment." The leader's comment reaffirmed the undercurrent of ethnic exclusion that laced some French-Canadian nationalist rhetoric.
There was in fact no unified Armenian endorsement of Quebec independence, but some individuals in the community did publicly support self-determination prior to the 1995 referendum. The head of the Armenian Community Center in Laval (a Montreal suburb) and a well-respected musicologist both publicly declared their support for an independent Quebec.
But some, like Sylvie Vartian, a francophone Armenian who voted for independence, were angered by the separatist leader's comments. It made her a little more suspicious, "I had respect for the man and now I have a hard time listening to him or seeing his face on TV."
Sylvie was born in Montreal and French became the common language between her Armenian father and Belgian mother. She currently studies French literature at the French-language University of Quebec in Montreal. Sylvie knows that Montreal may be more open and accepting than the traditional Quebec countryside but she thinks ethnic Quebecers should also recognize that many in their own communities have a condescending attitude towards French-Canadian culture. She explains, "It is a trend for many immigrants, even immigrants from French-speaking countries, to despise and look down on Quebec culture."
It is precisely Quebec culture that is at the center of the debate for French-Canadians who continuously insist their unique way of life is endangered by an overwhelmingly English-speaking continent.
Luc Baronian, born in Montreal to an Armenian father and French-Canadian mother, also supports separation but sees the issue differently. "Many problems are created by politicians." Luc, who currently is completing his Ph.D. in Linguistics at Stanford University, thinks many things have actually improved in the past few decades, "I don't see more discrimination in Quebec than other places. Part of the problem arises from the English media's characterization of French-Canadians as racist and the French media's coverage of anglophones as a privileged minority. When I was young, English was the language spoken among Armenian kids in Montreal. Now more and more they grow up speaking French with no accent, and Quebec's language laws have ensured that Armenian children are exposed to French-Canadian society."
For many, Quebec's byzantine language laws are in fact part of the problem. A strict law, known as Bill 101, required that all public and retail signs be only in French. After decades of wrangling over constitutional legalities, English was temporarily allowed inside stores and finally bilingual exterior and interior signs were permitted as long as French was 'markedly predominant'. But some peculiarities remained, and to this day only French is allowed on billboards of 16 square meters or more, on moving vehicles, in the metro and in bus shelters.
Only Quebecers who can prove that one or more of their parents attended Quebec English schools are permitted to be educated at English-language schools in the province. As a result, all new immigrants (including Armenians) are given no alternative to schooling their children in French.
Questioning a senior member of the separatist Bloc Québécois, and Member of the Canadian Parliament Francine Lalonde, on why ethnic or allophone voters should support a referendum for independence, the answer was, "If they follow politics, they understand that Quebec and the rest of Canada would be better off spending time on building social programs instead of spending those resources on the fight for independence."
But most ethnic Quebecers are unconvinced. While the Quebec government generously funds ethnic schools that teach a provincially approved French curriculum, many in the ethnic communities proceed with caution. French-Canadian nationalists have proven that ethnic Quebecers are not immune to the language restrictions, and in 1997 a Jewish grave marker with a Hebrew sign and businessmen in Montreal's Chinatown were issued warnings that their signs violated provincial language laws. What threat Hebrew or Chinese poses to the survival of French is certainly unclear.
In service to Quebec-Armenians, separatist politicians can claim that Quebec, along with Ontario, was the first province to officially recognize and annually remember the Armenian Genocide. Also, the separatist Bloc Québécois is one of only two major political parties in Canada that continues to advocate the recognition of the Genocide in the Canadian Parliament. But the decisions facing Armenians and their future in a potentially independent Quebec remains uncertain.
For many Armenians, like Arman, who have already left the province, there are other lamentable realities to Quebec separation, "I regret I will not be able to build my life in the same place I grew up--something my grandparents who survived the Genocide and my parents who escaped the Lebanese civil war were also unable to do."
