14:54 20Aug2001 RSF-Quebecers should have own citizenship - report

    By Marianne White
    QUEBEC CITY, Aug. 20 (Reuters) - In order to reaffirm the "precarious" status of French in North America, Quebecers should have their own citizenship, a provincial task force studying the status of the French language reported on Monday.
    But Quebecers would not get a new passport or be asked to choose between Quebec or Canadian citizenship, the report added.
    The goal is to make everyone, including new immigrants, English-speaking residents and native peoples, feel that they are part of Quebec, a French-speaking island in an English-dominated North America.
    "We want to do that in a way in which people know that linguistic policy is a fundamental characteristic of this society," said the chairman of the task force, Gerald Larose, a trade unionist who favors Quebec's separation from Canada.
    "As far as language is concerned, living in Quebec is not like living in Canada," Larose added.
    The Quebec government reacted with caution to the recommendation of Quebec citizenship, saying on Monday that it shared the ideals that underlie the recommendation.
    "We do need to have a welcoming ritual for immigrants in order to send a clear message," said Diane Lemieux, minister responsible for the French language, adding that the government would undertake an update of its language policy.
    The language task force, which crisscrossed the predominantly French-speaking province, which is three times the size of France, over the past 12 months, unveiled 149 recommendations on Monday.
    It urged the Quebec government to ask for full control over immigration to ensure new arrivals will learn French, a recommendation that is not likely to please the federal government which controls immigration in conjunction with provincial governments.
    The report also recommends a provincial exam for all new teachers to test their fluency in French, and says that if they fail they should not be hired. It also proposes increasing teaching hours for French, delaying the introduction of English teaching in schools by several years, and protecting the rights of Quebecers to work in French.
    About 82 percent of Quebec's six million people describe French is their mother tongue. French has been Quebec's official language since 1974 and by law must dominate commercial signs, although other languages may also appear. Quebec has 1.4 million people whose first language is not French.
    Language can be an emotional and divisive issue in Quebec, which has held two referendums on separating from Canada. In the last one, in 1995, Quebecers voted to remain in Canada only by a razor-thin margin.
    English and French have been Canada's two official languages since 1969, with both languages spoken widely throughout the nation's history
    (Marianne White, Reuters Quebec City Bureau, 418-648-6442, fax 418-648-8234, marianne.white@reuters.com)   
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