Project Alberta

The colonial status of many provinces in Canada is not discussed but can be seen through Canadian Language laws. These laws are not just a vestige of past colonization but an active tool of current colonization practices.

Historically the Canadian colonial status of Western provinces is clear. From Manitoba whose population agreed to join Canada under conditions that they would keep their farmland, only to see it assigned, given or sold to Canadian immigrants to British Columbia who asked for a railway only to see it flood their market with cheap Eastern goods, the Western provinces were colonies joining or being created for Canada.

But colonial status is not just a historical fact, it is a modern reality for many Canadian provinces. That they have face unequal, often heavy, taxation with limited or no effective representation in their top level of government would reflect that status. Yet that isn’t what most Canadians feel or see.

What they do see, what they cannot avoid seeing, is the colonial language and culture laws that have been forced upon them.

The languages of the Mother Country are not just the language of choice for legal and administration purposes but the law of the land forced on all citizens, all taxpayers. The cost is seen, at best, as a waste, at worst, oppressive. This is most notable in the requirements to use French and supply French services even when there is no significant French population to be served.

Harder yet to ignore is the onerous cost of language laws on business. In a global environment the Canadian language laws create an expensive impediment to the free and fair flow of goods and trade.

The costs are particularly high for small business who must, often manually, re-label every single individual item they import. The extra costs of designing and printing the labels is clear, less obvious is the administration, storing, handling, and shipping most of which generates jobs and wealth in the Mother Country, not in the province of the citizen bearing the cost.

There are many more costs that are rarely if ever reported by a national media tightly controlled and behooved to the powers controlling and administering Canadian colonies. A recent example is seen in the actions of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. A powerful enforcement agency whose concern extends far beyond ensuring Canada and its colonies has safe food to eat. So thorough has been their intimidation and control of business and commerce that few companies ever step so far out of line as to incur their wrath.

But recently a small business owner in BC did just that and felt the powerlessness of living in a colony. Their business was shut down, all their stock taken and now they face legal fees that could run into the thousands.

They are up against a colonial “Food” agency spending thousands upon thousands of dollars, and hundreds of man-hours, with threat of many more to come after seizing 108 food items from a small BC store. The reason? Because the items lacked the required French labeling.

Less than 1.5% of BCs population is French, and most of those are immigrants from the Mother Country, Canada. Yet full French services are available at all federal offices. There are French Radio, TV, and Cable Stations, French Marine Broadcasts, French signs, even French translation services in most government agencies, including provincial agencies. With so many jobs reserved for French speakers one wonders what the natural population of French would be if those jobs and services where removed.

English is the dominate language in BC, 75% have listed English as their mother tongue so if there is to be an official language it should be English. Cantonese would be the natural second official language if one was required, after that would be a number of other languages. French would be behind Punjabi, German and others.

These language laws are also used by Canada to limit colonial representation in the top political and administration systems. Such top positions are reserved for or preferentially given to residents from the original Canada (Ont/Que) or those fluent in the minor minority language French even as Western population and power increases.

Fear of the rising political power of Western Canada and the possibility that they may challenge colonial laws in the Canadian Supreme Court was recently placated by a bill, introduced and passed by the house, requiring all Supreme Court Judges to be fluent in French legal language.

This will and is meant to effectively freeze out most, if not all, graduates of Western Canadian Universities for even being considered for Supreme Court positions.

That the bill passed without significant resistance from the democratically elected “representatives” also exposes the sham that is a federal system claiming to represent all Canadians. A full 98.5% of BC was not being represented when it was determined that only those fluent in the nuances of the French legal language should be allowed to rule on fundamental Constitutional issues effecting BC.

The colonial status of Western Canadian provinces is not just a fact from their founding or a fact from history. It is a current status that all Canadians and in particular Western Canadians should be reminded of when they see a French label, service or sign in an area where French is one of the smallest minority languages.