LETTER: Aftermath of the Quebec referendum

From Mr W. H. Renwick

Sir: My daughter rang me from Montreal last night to say that she feels like an "unwanted intruder" and she and her husband are thinking of moving.

I know how she feels. Her great-great-great-great grandfather was the first settler on a farm not 30 miles from Montreal. Her great-great-great grandfather ran a sawmill in the local village and then became editor of a newspaper in Montreal. Her father lived for 67 of his 68 years in Montreal.

None of this matters; the policy of the governments of the Province of Quebec over the last few decades has been the ethnic cleansing (and I use the expression deliberately) of those whose mother tongue is English. A million or so have been driven out of the province. It is a tragedy unparalleled in Canadian history (excepting, of course, the history of the original inhabitants).

It is illegal to put up a sign in any language except French. Any immigrant who speaks English is forbidden to send his/her children to an English school. And there is much more.

My daughter's husband shares her bewilderment at the hatred generated by the politicians. The curious thing is his family first arrived in 1680. He is French Canadian.

Yours truly,

W. H. Renwick

Kent