oh grow up...

Will the humiliations of the Quebecois nation never end? Having faced down such other existential threats such as bilingual signs, parents educating their children in the language of their choice and butter-coloured margarine, nationalist Quebecois are threatening to man the barricades against that most hated of Anglo symbols, Queen Elizabeth II herself. In response to a proposal that the Queen be invited to the 400th anniversary of the founding of Quebec City, prickly and insecure nationalists have put truth to their motto "je me souviens" by dragging up a solid four centuries of grievance with the crown:

A suggestion the Queen should be invited to Quebec City's 400th anniversary birthday bash next year has created an uproar in the province.

Open-line radio and television shows were swamped yesterday with calls opposing the idea, the majority of people saying it would be an insult to Quebeckers and put the “Quebec nation to shame.”

“Have we forgotten that England deported the Acadians, sent Louis Riel to the gallows and exploited francophones?” asked one caller to a TQS television show that dedicated a full hour to the news.

“This is shameful. The Queen has no business coming here. Quebec City is the cradle of French in America. Her presence will only fuel nationalist sentiments,” another caller said.

The Queen hasn't been to Quebec City since 1964, when she was met by a huge crowd of booing separatists who were violently dispersed by truncheon-wielding police.

Nationalist groups warned of major protests if she were to return in 2008.

“You can be sure that people will demonstrate in protest,” Mario Beaulieu, vice-president of Montreal's Société Saint-Jean Baptiste, said in an interview yesterday. “We are celebrating the foundation of New France, not its conquest. The monarchy remains a symbol of imperialism and colonialism [emphasis mine RCE]. Her presence will not be welcomed.”

God forbid that commemorating the establishment of the first permanent European settlement in North American be tarred by association with such concepts imperialism and colonialism. No sir, with the creation of New France, the Bourbon dynasty was actually striking a pre-emptive blow for progressive politics.

While every nation — and yes, the Quebecois are without a doubt a sociological nation — requires a certain amount of myth-making to bind it together and define identity, this never-ending narrative of Anglo perfidity leaves Quebec nationalism looking shallow and reactionary and goes far beyond the grudgingly acceptable level of historical cherry-picking that myth-making requires.

The English conquest of New France was certainly one of the most benign and gentle on record. Secondly, Royal iniatives such as the Quebec Act of 1774 provided explicit recognition to the religious and secular customs of the French settlers (who called themselves Canadiens in any event), setting the stage for Canada's continuing great success in yoking two very distinct traditions into one state. Like it or not, the history of Quebec is an English and a French story and should be remembered as such.

But then again, what would we do without convenient foreign scapegoats to blame for every ill, failiure and rainy day?