|
Skillfull, sorry, but if you remove the politics of language, if you remove the threat of seperations from the picture, there is no valid reason why Montreal should be any worse off today than Toronto.
The numbers were similar up to the 70s... suddenly, things changed. That change lowered Montreal (and as a result all of quebec) into an economic cesspool that we are still not out of. Toronto grows and montreal debates, pontificates, and prepares yet again for a trip through the seperation grinder. Until the seperatists start accepting "no means no", there will always be an ax hanging over the head of the province... and business people will always be leery of coming near us (plus all the extra expense to translate materials to another language for such a small market - yes, small! You can get more potential customers for a product opening in New York, Los Angeles or many other american cities when compared to ALL of Quebec. You really think we are that important a market? Nope).
painintheass, honestly, people who like THAT rural in Quebec have chosen a lifestyle and shouldn't bitch when civilization isn't beating a path to their doors. It isn't economically feasable to go into the brush and tend to the needs of each individual who chooses to live alone. That is a lifestyle choice that seperation or lack theirof won't change, except that what money they get will be worth a bunch less, and the one poorer quebec government won't even have the money to pave that road. Remote and rural areas are LAST on the list... and when money is short, the list never makes it that far. Choosing to move to a list with less money is, well, suicide.
Alex
|