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A thread below states that Montreal has a lot of harmony among different social groups. Can someone who is a LONGTIME RESIDENT talk about social changes in Quebec in the last 30 years?
I'm just curious what huge change could have taken place in the last 30 years to go from a very divided, even violent society to the harmony reported by visitors to Montreal in the other thread---or is it even true, if you look beneath the surface? I did read about greater contact between the Hassidic community and francophones, which surprised me. (I think this was WEST of Park Avenue rather than EAST, which are two very different Hassidic communities.)
backlash against large influx of Southeast Asians displaced by the war in Vietnam and Cambodia; )
This is literally the first time in my life I've ever heard of a backlash in Montreal or Quebec against Vietnamese or Cambodian people, in the 1980s or any time since then.
a; isolation of the Hassidic community.
(...) I did read about greater contact between the Hassidic community and francophones, which surprised me. (I think this was WEST of Park Avenue rather than EAST, which are two very different Hassidic communities.)
I don't know that anything has really changed regarding the Hassidim and their contacts with anyone non-Hassidim. They've always been fairly isolated and much of this seems to be the way they like things.
You can also watch the documentary on Netflix entitled "One of Us" about hasidim in NYC. Isolation is a chief concern of theirs, not so much the people surrounding them.
This is literally the first time in my life I've ever heard of a backlash in Montreal or Quebec against Vietnamese or Cambodian people, in the 1980s or any time since then.
Between 1975 and 1985 Canada received 100,000 immigrants fleeing from the turmoil in Southeast Asia. In Quebec, they entered a deeply divided society that wasn't prepared for such a large influx of nonfrancophone immigrants. There was conflict over whether their children would attend English or French schools. Prior to this wave, Canada's immigration laws were racially based, favoring "preferred" (= white anglo) countries of origin. The University of Montreal had an ethnic quota for admission to its medical school in the 1980s to reduce the number of Vietnamese students (just as McGill once had an official quota on Jews). The unemployment rate in Montreal was about 12% (incredibly high by US standards). With that much competition for jobs, there is resentment against newcomers and discrimination in hiring. So it would be unrealistic to think that the Southeast Asian immigrants would integrate smoothly into Quebec society.
This is one reason why I'm wondering about the claims that everyone gets along in Montreal today---because there is a history of tensions and, to be honest, racism. Also, there was a very long period of time when Quebec was an insular society, cause both by the policies of the British and the Catholic Church. Normally it takes generations to smooth out these social conflicts. If it has happened in Montreal, I'd like to know how it happened.
Between 1975 and 1985 Canada received 100,000 immigrants fleeing from the turmoil in Southeast Asia. In Quebec, they entered a deeply divided society that wasn't prepared for such a large influx of nonfrancophone immigrants. There was conflict over whether their children would attend English or French schools. Prior to this wave, Canada's immigration laws were racially based, favoring "preferred" (= white anglo) countries of origin. The University of Montreal had an ethnic quota for admission to its medical school in the 1980s to reduce the number of Vietnamese students (just as McGill once had an official quota on Jews). The unemployment rate in Montreal was about 12% (incredibly high by US standards).
First time ever that I hear this - and I am an avid consumer of news media since I was a child. Would you have any sources?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Last1Standing
With that much competition for jobs, there is resentment against newcomers and discrimination in hiring. So it would be unrealistic to think that the Southeast Asian immigrants would integrate smoothly into Quebec society.
Honestly, I never heard any resentment towards Vietnamese in Quebec. They integrated themselves quite well into the francophone society.
Again, this is the first time I have heard any specific focus on the Vietnamese community.
My memories of that era are primarily of French Canadian Catholic parishes (in Quebec and also outside of it - which is where I was living as a child at the time) sponsoring Vietnamese "boat people" families who had nothing but the clothes on their backs.
These were both urban and rural parishes, and in many instances Vietnamese refugees arrived in very small towns that were 100% francophone. Eventually most of those people and their kids moved on to larger cities but most were grateful for how they were welcomed and some even go back to visit these small towns.
I've mentioned before that I once met a Vietnamese guy in Montreal who spoke French with an Acadian accent. When I asked about that he said he learned his French in a tiny Acadian town in New Brunswick, where his family had been settled after fleeing Vietnam.
According to my native Montrealer friend who moved to Vancouver and returned, Montreal has evolved to be less friendly than a decade ago. But that's not saying much and doesn't prove anything.
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