Illegal Refugees Complain About Housing In Montreal

“IIRC a good number of those entering Quebec are Haitians...who speak a form of French.It's my understanding that all that matters in Quebec is what language you speak.One time in Montreal I was flummoxed by their parking meters and,standing on the sidewalk,I asked a passerby (in English) for help.She looked at me like I had cooties and kept walking. “

Many if not most of French Canadians along the border regions with the US, along the ST. Lawrence and Ontario are fluent to functional in English if that is their hometown area so to speak. As you go north though, English fluency becomes less common extending to nonexistent.

You're not in Kansas any more so have to roll with it. No guarantees English will be available. Pretty much all substantial or tourist businesses will be bilingual. Mom and pop businesses or passers by on the street, less likely to be bilingual. When I lived in Ottawa, I spent many weekends May to September camping in Quebec. Courtesy and politeness goes a long way in interacting with folks even when the language barrier is there.

WRT to the Haitian illegal aliens crossing the border to Quebec... Haitians speak a Creole French that is not particularly understandable by French Canadians so there is not really any common language. In addition, Haiti's revolution against the French aristocracy was pretty much a terroristic genocide against the French and any other European that didn't run fast enough. I doubt if there is much fraternity there with the grass root French Canadians.

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