Letters
      to
      the
      Editor
     
    
   
   
    
     
      Dear
      Editor,
     
    
   
   
    
     
      I
      recently
      went
      to
      Student
      Services
      looking
      for
      infor-
     
     
      mation
      on
      the
      other
      universities.
      I
      was
      disgusted
      at
     
     
      the
      lack
      of
      information
      available.
      I
      commented
      on
     
     
      this
      and
      was
      told
      there
      was
      more
      information
      in
      the
     
     
      library.
      This
      is
      due
      to
      the
      fact
      that
      Student
      Services
     
     
      is
      not
      given
      funding
      to
      stock
      such
      material,
      but
      it
      is
     
     
      included
      in
      the
      library’s
      budget.
     
    
   
   
    
     
      Ican’t
      understand
      why
      such
      material
      would
      be
      in
      the
     
     
      library
      rather
      than
      Student
      Services.
      It
      would
      make
     
     
      more
      sense
      to
      have
      financial
      aid,
      graduate
      exam
      and
     
     
      university
      information
      at
      one
      location.
      It
      would
      also
     
     
      be
      beneficial
      to
      have
      this
      guidance
      counsellors
      to
      help
     
     
      answer
      any
      questions
      students
      might
      have
      about
      the
     
     
      information.
     
    
   
   
    
     
      What
      is
      the
      problem
      of
      making
      this
      material
      more
     
     
      organized
      at
      one
      location,
      if
      funding
      is
      already
      pro-
     
     
      vided
      for
      the
      acquisition
      of
      this
      material?
      Would
     
     
      there
      be
      a
      monumental
      problem
      in
      making
      this
      loca-
     
     
      tion
      Student
      Services?
     
    
   
   
    
     
      Dianne
      Thompson
     
    
   
   
    
     
      Dear
      Editor:
     
    
   
   
    
     
      This
      letter
      is
      addressed
      to
      the
      person
      who
      signed
      her
     
     
      letter
      ‘‘Quebecoise
      in
      UPEI.’’
     
    
   
   
    
     
      I
      must
      confess
      to
      being
      introduced
      to
      your
      letter
      by
     
     
      your
      critics.
      Having
      read
      their
      responses
      in
      more
     
     
      recent
      issues
      of
      X-Press,
      I
      went
      back
      to
      the
      October
      3
     
     
      issue
      to
      see
      just
      what
      you
      had
      said--all
      the
      while
     
     
      expecting
      to
      find
      an
      incendiary
      polemic.
      Youcanbe
     
     
      sure
      I
      was
      as
      surprised
      at
      what
      you
      actually
      said
      as
     
    
   
   
    
     
      you
      must
      have
      been
      at
      some
      of
      the
      responses
      it
     
     
      evoked.
     
    
   
   
    
     
      Apart
      form
      its
      moderation,
      the
      surprising
      thing
      about
     
     
      your
      letter
      was,
      first,
      its
      very
      existence.
      How
      many
     
     
      of
      us
      Anglo
      phones
      would
      have
      the
      language
      compe-
     
     
      tence
      and
      the
      courage
      to
      speak
      our
      minds
      in
      a
      similar
     
     
      way:
      that
      is,
      in
      French,
      ina
      Quebec
      newspaper?
      The
     
     
      second
      surprise
      was
      the
      economy
      with
      which
      you
     
     
      summed
      up
      a
      central
      concern
      of
      your
      people:
      ‘‘We
     
    
   
   
    
     
      UPEI
      X-P
      RESS
     
    
   
   
    
     
        
     
     
       
     
    
   
   
    
     
      want
      to
      re-gain
      that
      pride
      and
      equality
      feeling
      towards
     
     
      you,
      and
      toward
      ourselves.’’
      You
      mentioned
      1763,
     
     
      the
      date
      of
      the
      treaty
      that
      handed
      Canada
      over
      to
     
     
      Britain;
      and
      you
      thereby
      implicitly
      reminded
      us
      that
     
     
      the
      motto
      on
      every
      Quebec
      car
      license
      plate--’’
      Je
      me
     
     
      souviens’’--is
      no
      accident.
      Conquered
      peoples
      have
     
     
      memories.
      And
      what
      could
      be
      more
      healthy
      and
     
    
   
   
    
     
      worthy
      of
      respect,
      after
      all,
      than
      a
      conquered
      people’s
     
     
      desire
      to
      regain
      its
      pride?
     
    
   
   
    
     
      It
      is
      because
      of
      the
      particular
      historical
      circumstances
     
     
      of
      Quebec--the
      cohesiveness
      of
      its
      majority
      language
     
     
      group,
      its
      feeling
      of
      distinctness,
      its
      resistance
      to
     
     
      assimilation--that
      so
      many
      Quebecois
      have
      retained
      a
     
     
      consciousness
      of
      themselves
      as
      a
      conquered,
      humili-
     
     
      ated
      people.
      Many
      things
      have
      in
      Quebec
      in
      the
      last
     
     
      thirty
      years,
      yet
      you
      tell
      us
      the
      old
      feeling
      of
      being
     
    
   
   
    
     
      ‘‘losers,’’
      of
      needing
      to
      regain
      your
      self-respect,
      is
     
     
      still
      there.
     
    
   
   
    
     
       
     
    
   
   
    
     
      It
      is
      only
      those
      of
      us
      who
      deny
      or
      have
      forgot
      our
     
     
      own
      defeats
      who
      could
      fail
      to
      understand
      this--which
      |
     
     
      brings
      us
      to
      the
      point
      at
      last:
      namely,
      that
      the
      .
     
     
      Quebecois
      are
      not
      the
      only
      ““losers’’
      in
      Canada
      today,
      |
     
     
      if
      by
      ‘‘losers’’
      we
      mean
      people
      whose
      ancestors
      once
      |
     
     
      suffered
      defeat.
      One
      of
      the
      biggest
      such
      groups
     
     
      comprises
      a
      large
      part
      of
      the
      Anglophone
      population
     
     
      of
      the
      Maritimes,
      Quebec
      and
      Ontario,
      namely
      the
     
     
      descendants
      of
      the
      ‘‘
      United
      Empire
      Loyalists,”’
     
     
      known
      by
      their
      enemies
      as
      ‘*Tories,’”
      who
      came
      to
     
     
      Canada
      after
      theirdefeatinthe
      American
      Warof
     
     
      Independence..
      Another
      such
      group
      is
      my
      own
      people
     
     
      the
      Irish,
      descendants
      of
      those
      who
      came
      in
      their
      .
     
     
      hundreds
      of
      thousands,
      especially
      during
      the
      Great
     
     
      Hunger
      of
      the
      1840’s,
      after
      centuries
      of
      defeat
      and
     
     
      oppression
      in
      Ireland.
      One
      could
      go
      on
      and
      on,
     
     
      reciting
      a
      litany
      of
      such
      Canadian
      ‘‘losers.”’
     
    
   
   
    
     
      My
      point
      is
      that
      Quebec’s
      dominant
      language
      and
     
     
      culture
      are
      different
      all
      right,
      but
      that
      the
      old
     
     
      Quebecois
      defeat
      is
      not
      different
      at
      all;
      itis
      Canadiai
     
     
      As
      Isee
      it,
      we
      Canadians
      are
      something
      more
      than
     
     
      mere
      squatters
      on
      one
      ofthe
      finest
      piecesofreal
     
     
      estate
      on
      the
      planet:
      You
      and
      I
      and
      most
      of
      the
      othe
      |
     
     
      who
      live
      here
      with
      us
      are
      “‘losers,’’
      people
      whose
     
     
      ancestors
      were
      defeated
      and
      oppressed,
      but
      survived
     
     
      and
      endured
      and
      struggled
      and
      worked
      so
      that
      we,
     
     
      their
      children,
      could
      become,
      quite
      literally,
      the
      env
     
     
      of
      the
      world.
     
    

    
     
      What
      to
      do
      now?
      That
      is
      the
      question.
      It
      may
      be
      tk
     
     
      the
      Quebecois
      will
      choose
      to
      forma
      separate
      countr
     
    
   
   
    
     
      AR»
     
    
   
   
    
     
      MTOR
      Te
      Magee
      amg
      Te
     
    
   
   
    
     
      ce
     
    
   
   
    
     
       
     
    
   
   
    
     
      October
      24,
      1991
      Page