by Richard Wills
Those in Pontiac County
who oppose Bill 178 now
have an organized group
to present their case to
elected officials.
On August 29th, 35 busi-
ness people from around
the Shawville community
met at Bob Smith’s Re-
staurant and formed the
Pontiac Rights Commit-
tee, whose purpose it is to
consolidate and articulate
the widespread objections
to Quebec’s sign law.
Aside from chosing
eight local merchants to
form their executive, those
in attendance also took
some quick measures to
assure that their message
reaches the public effec-
tively.
Between the time of the
meeting and the opening
of the Shawville Fair on
August 31st, a petition was
drawn up so that fair-
goers could express their
dissatisfaction with Bill
178. By the end of the Fair
on September 4th, approxi-
mately 1500 people had
signed.
Rally planned
The Committee also
made plans at their for
mative meeting to hold a
rally in Pontiac, “to get
the whole community in-
volved” in the protest
against Bill 178, which
forbids any language oth
er than French to appear
on an outdoor business
sign.
“We have to fight this on
our own,”said one mem-
ber, “we can’t depend on
Middlemiss.”
The rally is now set for
7:30 pm on September 13,
at the Shawville Commu-
nity Centre (Lions Hall).
Guest speaker will be Ter
ry Jabour, co-owner of
Wakefield’s Earle House
Restaurant. The Earle
House has received na-
tional attention for its
fight to post a small out-
door sign containing lan-
guages other than French.
The purpose of the Shaw-
ville rally is to spread the
message about opposition
to Bill 178 beyond the
small group of local mer-
chants who have already
received notice from the
Quebec government that
they face fines if they do
not remove English word-
ing from their storefronts.
Among those who must
be convinced of the un-
fairness of the law are the
francophones of Canada.
“We have to get it across
that we’re not down on the
French people,” said one
member.
“We’ve got to show the
government that they’re
taking away our rights
and we’re not going to
stand for it,” said anoth-
er. “We’ve got to rattle a
lot of chains.”
Non-aligned
For the current provin
cial election, it was decid
ed that the Committe
would not endorse any
party,” said another.
One executive member
reported that Quebec Edu-
cation Minister Claude
Ryan, in Hull earlier that
same day, had hinted that
his government might be
“lenient” with sign viola-
tors. But Ryan reportedly
also reiterated that it had
been a mistake for his
party to ever promise al-
lowances for bilingual
ism.
Such mixed signals
from the Liberal govern
ment have left Quebec’s
Anglophone community
guessing about what the
future holds for them in
their home province.
For the current provin
cial election, it was decid-
ed that the Committee
would not endorse any
party,” said another. On
the other hand, frustration
with the efforts of the in
cumbent Liberal MNA,
Robert Middlemiss, to se
cure special bilingual
status for Pontiac was unanimous.
“We have to get it across
that we’re not down on the
French people,” said one
member.
“We’ve got to show the
government that they’re
taking away our rights
and we’re not going to
stand for it,” said anoth-
er. “We’ve got to rattle a
lot of chains.”
One executive member
reported that Quebec Edu-
cation Minister Claude
Ryan, in Hull earlier that
same day, had hinted that
his government might be
“lenient” with sign viola-
tors. But Ryan reportedly
also reiterated that it had
been a mistake for his
party to ever promise al-
lowances for bilingual
ism.
Such mixed signals
from the Liberal govern
ment have left Quebec’s
Anglophone community
guessing about what the
future holds for them in
their home province.
willing to take matters
into their own hands to in-
sist that their own lan-
guage and culture must
not become illegal in their
own community.
