Please pardon Optimensch for jumping in late to this thread - can someone post a link to any sort of announcement or news regarding this lab which is "on the block"? I think the original link in the first post was removed.
thanks!
on another note, as an anglo Quebecker and 2-time no-voting federalist (1980, 1995), Montreal born & raised optimensch, I would like to say that the "language police" is a bit of a sensationalist story. The Quebecois French majority are by and large very liberal and tolerant. I've personally never encountered a language-related spat. Occasionally something blows up in the media (an ignorant bus driver refuses to speak English eg). There are idiots in every culture, they are the exception. Quebeckers want to preserve their language/culture and have voted twice to remain in Canada, and that does not appear to be in jeopardy. Switzerland has how many different languages and regions?
Optimensch, if the rest of Canada had been voting on the same issues, instead of Quebec alone, would Quebec have been willing to risk that vote ?
Switzerland has four official languages and regions, Swiss German (a dialect) while writing is in real German, French, Italian and Romantsch (old roman language).
All official notices and signs in transportation for example, trains and buses that travel across Canton borders are in at least the first three languages. They all are Swiss first and regional citicens second, similar to the USA, and they all get along nice.
One big difference is that there, the more languages you master, the better you get paid and are worth. In Quebec your the best if you talk French only.
A Swiss will never loose his citicenship and I still have a Swiss passeport after having become a Canadian citizen a long time ago.
Hi Idispense,
I am not certain I get your question. If you mean should the rest of Canada go ahead and vote on whether Quebec should be kicked out of Canada, I suppose the folks who want to separate would be thrilled. Remember, when asked totally twisted and indirect questions, twice, Quebec voted to stay in Canada. The majority of Quebeckers are not separatists. The die-hard separatists are vocal, stubborn, and make a lot of noise, and carry plenty of weight in Quebec politics, particularly with the PQ in power. But they are a minority and I believe the movement is finished, for a generation anyway. The population is changing, many more immigrants, and a diluted base of people who would favor an independent Quebec. On a clear question - "Should Quebec separate from the rest of Canada", no chance.
Hello Chris,
In a sense I think you are better off in Quebec with average French skills and mother tongue English. With excellent English you are mobile, easy access and understanding of US, rest of Canada etc.. I know a number of Quebeckers who can't speak a work of English. Anecdotally, I would not say these people are better paid or better off. By not mastering English, these French=only Quebeckers have fewer options.
I live in Dorval a majority English suburb of Montreal.5 years ago I got a new neighbor with 2 kids 13 and 10 years old. They did not speak a word of English and today they talk it without any accent just by mixing with others.
My father was fully fluent in 5 languages, I only made it to 4 of them. My kids made it to three and the grand children to 2 so far.
However our provincial government is trying to limit small business to French only.
hijackers? topics no one is interested in? really. there is about 1 post every other day on this Canadian opticians subsection of OB. Sorry for the clutter. Wouldnt want to waste too much precious bandwidth here when there is obviously so much more interesting stuff going on.
Great idea! Au revoir.
keep up the great posts - hindsight, your 20/20 vision looking backwards must be your greatest asset. Looking forward you obviously need a white cane.
Establishing a successful business in Quebec may be entirely different and require a different ability than running the same successful business in another location. That is the relevance.
I suggest that everybody take a deep breath and stop the attacks on one another.
Could this not be a superb oportunity for somebody with funds or the connection to get them, to start another on-line optical ?
They are not selling equipment...................they are selling a full fledged lab with building and grounds
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