1974 Canadianisation..........................

Living in Montreal was fine by me. Loved the place, at least in retrospect I did. Then came another surge of good old Quebec separatism. Seven years after the FLQ crisis, "they" were at it again. The stunned Pepsis wanting to go their own way, have their strange religion, questionable language and doubtful culture.

Before we knew what was happening, the provincial governemnt in Quebec City had passed Bills 22 and 101. The specifics have long since faded but the effects came fast enough.

In essence, the English language was outlawed. Suddenly we had some small sense of how the Jews must have felt in Germany in the 30's! The Royal Bank became Banque Royale, street names were frankified, restaurants (no matter what their nationality) had to display menus in French only. It went on and on; endless regulations appeared, large and small. The intention clear; to sweep away all but the French launguage, but most of all: outlaw English.

Then it seemed to get more personal. Service in stores, once easy in English, became complicated - clerks etc suddenly seemed to speak only French. Out of the blue we were told that our children would have to change schools if we wished them to continue to be educated in English. Every day a new and nasty wrinkle would appear.

'Landed immigrants' had always sounded a shade offensive to me. A sort of second class citizen somehow. Legally they had the same status as Canadian-born folk but ... and the "but" always gnawed at me. We were, after all, landed immigrants ourselves; it said so on the little yellow slips in our passports.

I reasoned, if we were to subject to the indignities of living in Quebec's bigotted environment, then mayhap we should do it as full Canadians.

So, we'd seek Canadian citizenship. AND ............. if we did, we'd damned well do it in Canada!

We drove to Ottawa!!! Out of Quebec and into Canada and there did we become Canadians.

"Screwez vous, Quebec!!!"

(The lady judge who performed the deed was in her fifties and about as frustrated with the Francophonic side of life as we. She made the process simple and quick. I think she waived the traditional quiz about Canadian geography and politics and history. We paid and signed and emerged with our certificates)

Soon after the above, a promotional bulletin for Halifax appeared on the notice boards of Air Canada. I bid on it and we struggled free of La Belle (dingaling) Province.

I was bitter then at being driven out as an undesirable. I'm quietly bitter still.