The Editor,
Re. "Price too high to help too few" (Face to Face, The Tri-City News, March 9).
In the latest Face to Face, columnist Andy Radia uses so-called research from the right-wing Fraser Institute to justify dropping bilingualism. That other languages "outpace" French outside of Quebec is a familiar argument, and it reflects a growing provincialism that signals the death of Canada's past.
Apart from indigenous peoples, now experiencing an increase in numbers, Canada was founded by two major cultures: the French and the English. If we do not recognize this duality, then we are among those who ignore our own history - to our peril.
The Fraser Institute, locked in a survival-of-the-fittest attitude derived from the industrial revolution (and Darwin), sees change as the only constant; its exclusively economic priorities work to undermine Canadian national identity.
What we have now is "present-day-ism," aided also by demographic shifts and technology, which can be somewhat deaf to our cultural heritage. Given that each province is responsible for education, the B.C. government tells us (while ignoring any past) that "Canada starts here," which is likely what P.E.I. schools do, too, perhaps with better justification.
If we fail to retain vital elements of our past, we will only cut ourselves adrift in any number of ways.
Bilingualism is a national memory device and we should pay heed.
Joerge Dyrkton, Anmore
