[Scoundreller]

> I have a strong conviction that the reason Montreal housing is cheaper is in no small part because of the language barrier.

You can totally get by in Montreal speaking English only.

Here’s the CEO of Air Canada, Michael Rousseau, on how he’s managed to thrive in Montreal without knowing French working for a legislatively bilingual organization: https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/air-canada-ceo-1.6393063

> Even if you could work remotely, why would you move somewhere you don't speak the primary language

Immigrating to Quebec from outside of Canada is difficult since they have a system to keep non-French speakers from moving there.

[glouwbug]

Remember, kids, it's only racist if you're the majority /s

[seszett]

Most countries have language skills requirements for immigrants though, and language isn't an intrinsic part of a person but can be learned, so language skills requirements certainly aren't racist.

[glouwbug]

Canada is so heavily reliant on immigration that what's classified as barely passing English is enough to move to the suburbs of Vancouver and Toronto. There would be so much backlash in Vancouver if a bill like Quebec's Bill 96 passed to prevent first generation Hindi or Mandarin speakers from communicating to their doctors in anything but English. Quebec's actions are racist. They literally try to exit Canada with every federal election

[seszett]

Health services are not really affected by loi 96 and mandarin speakers have no issue talking to their doctors in my experience (specifically living with a mandarin speaker in Montreal in the past, with whom I'm still in contact).

However, doctors now have to be able to communicate in French and English along with any other language they wish.

Independence sentiment in a province annexed through war, even if it was long ago, and that has kept a different identity, has very little too do with racism it seems to me.

As someone who lived in Canada but isn't Canadian, there is so much disinformation regarding Québec in the rest of Canada, and not uncommonly outright hate, that the often heard claims of racism are very ironic.