Quebec's sudden interest in rural Anglos comes after years of negative policies, group says

After years of accusing the Quebec government of contributing to the "marginalization" of rural Anglos, the Townshippers Association was surprised to learn this week that the province was taking up the cause with Ottawa.

Earlier this year, federal Heritage Minister wrote to Canadian Relations Minister Jean-Marc Fournier requesting input on French services in Quebec.

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Fournier took the opportunity to underline his concerns about English-speaking Quebecers as well.

Much like Quebec's rural francophone communities, anglophone communities outside Montreal are also feeling the pinch of depopulation, Fournier said in the January letter.

A combination of scattered geography, declining demographic weight and aging populations are causing acute problems for their long-term vitality, reads the letter, which was shared with several media outlets on Tuesday.

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"There's this rural exodus, so that reality creates problems," Founier said, speaking about the letter's contents.

"The contribution of the English-speaking community to Quebec, historically and today, is very important. We want to keep this element of strength in Quebec."

Talk the talk, but walk the walk?

While the head of the Townshippers Association was delighted to hear about Fournier's concerns, he also said provincial government policies are partly to blame for the predicament that rural Anglos find themselves in.  

"It's been ongoing in terms of policies, laws or procedures that have been put in place, which has led to this very pronounced marginalization," said Gerald Cutting, president of the group that represents English-speakers in the Eastern Townships.

In Fournier's letter, Quebec asks Ottawa for more funding and a "new and better defined" federal-provincial collaboration to deal with the problems of rural Anglos.

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The talk is good, said Cutting, but the recognition of Anglo problems by the province needs to be the start of something more concrete.

"The amount of funding that goes to dealing with the English-speaking minority in Quebec, especially the rural portion of that population, is really not adequate to address the needs," Cutting told CBC's Quebec AM.

Without action, communities will face chronic health and unemployment problems that could become a burden to Quebec's majority population, he added.

Liberal concern disingenuous: PQ 

The Parti Québécois echoed the sentiment that the sudden attention to Anglo issues comes after years of neglect by the Liberal provincial government.

PQ Leader Jean-François Lisée, a former minister of anglophone affairs, accused the Liberals of being disingenuous in its concern. 

"[Premier] Philippe Couillard is the one that took away control of the English community from its hospitals," Lisée said.

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"Philippe Couillard is the one who tried to take away control over the school boards. Philippe Couillard is the one who refuses to have a minister responsible for Anglos."

Fournier's letter will be used to help formulate a new federal official languages policy, which should be ready by the end of the year.