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Photo courtesy of waferboard's Flickr page - Canadian flag: https://www.flickr.com/photos/waferboard/5653240459
Photo courtesy of Kyle MacDonald - Quebec_flag: https://www.flickr.com/photos/kylemacdonald/66650789/in/photolist-6TAXx-6PByUt-o8KnGq-4qPhBC-5ayiie-dCfaHU-4YWgTR-6PBuWD-6PBv3k-8874k4-36C9nK-4Z1xFE-7VsSSh-5CVqmf-qnS9jk-3nYz4N-5uNoVP-8bGnfH-cqskgq-5pjedd-dfMmsL-4UK1Et-9t8Dvq-6ZxwKV-brZuEu-6zaCBc-5iPhim-9Qpwe1-4q3mX4-5Crg5U-3Da8ic-4sAr6C-8f6xSg-5hF28N-6BXydy-5huVVF-wwDQK-fwsa8H-5H9Tr5-5aCvVE-5ayg9T-5aCvBs-6Qskwq-cGmdvJ-4zYTWw-bDn7n-4qLneS-3bx179-ajGUD1-8acMDC
Creative Commons License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/
Over the past few days, I have posted a few blog entries about the more positive aspects of Canada in general, and the province of Québec especially.
However, there are some things that are far less than perfect in Québec, just like everywhere else in the world. Over the years, I have learned some things about the province that are worth criticizing, and these are not the complaints that many Anglos have of this place (and almost every other French-speaking place in the world), either, because those tend to be overblown and heavily influenced by silly stereotypes.
Now, to be sure, some citizens of Québec can indeed be criticized for this kind of insularity. I was not there for this, but my brother and father told me about one trip that they took together, many years ago. on the Île d'Orléans (a rural enclave near Québec City). They were interested in going to a restaurant, but arrived just as two American or English Canadian tourists were being told that the restaurant was filled, and had no open tables for them. My father asked (in French) just to confirm, but suddenly, the guy told him that it as fine, that there were tables for him. Clearly, this restaurant favored French speakers, and were prejudiced towards English speakers. Frankly, during the peak tourist season, it seems to me a bad business model to reject tourists at all, let alone as large a contingent as the inevitable English tourists that flock to Québec province. Also, many of these tourists tend to be more open-minded than the prejudice Anglos who have their beliefs about French speaking people virtually carved in stone.
There are some people in French Canada who boast of being pure laine, a term which can be translated to meaning "pure wool," but which is a reference to pure French Canadian ancestry. The people who boast about this are obviously not the most open-minded when it comes to other cultures coming into Québec.
Sticking with the language issue, although shifting gears nevertheless, I have learned about how many other French speakers in Canada outside of the province of Québec complain that they are looked down on by Québecois.
All of this seems so ridiculous as to be petty, but there is nowhere in the world where you can escape the influence of petty, narrow-minded people.
Now, I ran into this article which points out another imperfection about Québec. The province is heavily influenced politically by Europe, more so than the rest of Canada, and so it kind of has pushed Canada in a distinct political direction that I have heard compared to the influence that the South has on the United States (although the generally progressive ideology that Québec has on Canada is very, very different than the very conservative ideology that the South has on the United States!).
One thing that this leads to often times are higher taxes, and apparently, the only predominately French speaking province in Canada has the highest taxes in the country.
Be that as it may, as an American, I would be more than willing to pay for higher taxes if it meant enjoying the benefits of a universal, affordable healthcare system like the one Canadians enjoy, or enjoying better infrastructure and government programs that actually benefit the people, and not just some corporate welfare system, like the one that exists in the United States.
In any case, this seemed worth mentioning as a criticism, to put some balance on the otherwise largely glowing reviews that I have posted of Québec, so take a look at this article about how taxes here are higher than anywhere else in Canada.
It's Official, Quebec Ranked #1 For Highest Taxes In All Of Canada
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