More rich, the anglos? It is now a myth

Photo Dominic Scali
Cynthia Savard in his apartment in Longueuil. She has recently decided to take in hands and to integrate the labour market.

Dominique Scali

Sunday, 18 February 2018 19:06

UPDATE
Sunday, 18 February 2018 19:06

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The image of the English rich, who lives in a mansion on top of a hill no longer reflects the reality, if we rely on the most recent statistics. Anglophones are now more poor than the francophones in Quebec and the trend for many people concerned.

Cynthia Savard is a English-speaking of Longueuil that receives social assistance.

The 37 year old woman has not enough money to pay for an internet connection. She needs to go into a coffee shop near her home to browse the web.

It is far from being the only one in his situation. “In the past year, more than half of our customers were without employment or low income,” said Kevin Erskine-Henry of the South Shore Community Network, which offers services to the English of the South Shore.

Not all at Westmount

Lorraine O’donnell, a professor at Concordia, believes that there is a growing problem of poverty among anglophones, a fact often unknown to the French.

“Ah yes, we all live in Westmount,” quipped Michelle Eaton-Lusignan community Organization of anglophone Lanaudière, in reference to this part deemed to be easy in Montreal.

The average income of anglophones is higher than that of francophones because of a small minority of very wealthy who pulls the statistics up, says Jack Jedwab of the Association of canadian studies.

But in reality, the figures show that a larger proportion of anglophones than francophones living below the low income threshold and are unemployed.

In the Cantons-de-l’est, the houses of the architectural style imported from New England and associated with the elite, English-speaking, still exist.

“But today it is francophones that live in it,” observes Gerald Cutting of the Association des Townshippers.

Several reasons explain this reality. The Newspaper published a story yesterday on the English-speaking people who feel discriminated against in the job market. Many young university graduates are leaving so the province.

Situation ” critical “

Young anglophones who remain are often less educated and therefore have low incomes, ” says Michelle Eaton-Lusignan.

This “exodus” in order that the population of the small English-speaking communities in the region is aging.

These elderly often live away from their children, the latter having chosen to live in Toronto, Vancouver, or the United States.

“The situation is critical,” said Ms. Eaton. A lot of English speaking seniors is withering away more and more quickly as their children are away from them and cannot help them.

“The English do a lot of volunteering, but the age of volunteers increases. You might end up with a person 80 years of age who helps another 93-year-old ” shows-t-it.

PROPORTION LIVING BELOW THE POVERTY LINE (2016)

English : 13,6 %

Francophone : 8,3 %

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE (2011)

English : 9,4 %

French speaking : up to 6.9 %

Sources : Secretariat for relations with English-speaking Quebecers, canadian Heritage.

Aid programmes in French only

English-speakers are struggling to lift themselves out of poverty because they are unable to obtain the boost in government they would need in their language, say stakeholders.

Cynthia Savard, who can’t seem to find a therapy suited to his mental health problems in English.

She has never been diagnosed, but as she sees the letters reversed when she reads, she suspects that she is dyslexic. The school has never been easy for her, and even less the learning of a second language.

“I’ve not been able to learn French properly. I would have liked to be better, ” she laments.

Ms. Savard also suffers from anxiety. She is in search of a therapy group that focused on anger management, but all that seems to exist is in French, ” she said. “Should I go in private, and it’s expensive. “

Minority in the minority

The public programmes of support for adults who have disabilities or special needs are generally in French, says Kevin Erskine-Henry of the South Shore Community Partners Network.

“They are a minority within a minority. Often, the language is not their strong point “, he explains.

Less good in French, it is all the more difficult to find a job. “Because the same employment base as at Tim Hortons or Dollorama, it is necessary to be able to speak French,” he says.

Coming out of isolation

Cynthia Savard grew up in Greenfield Park in a home where we never spoke French. After its fifth high school, she quickly fell pregnant and was a mother and homemaker, like her mother.

She has never really held a job. But a month ago, she decided to take in hand, compose a CV. “I want to improve myself and develop myself. Have the feeling of being useful “, said the one who is already volunteering.

It would work well for a company of telemarketing in which the customers are located abroad, a job for which his lack of French language proficiency would not be a problem.

It is also hoped that the work will come out of its isolation, because it is now nearly a year that she has not seen his two daughters of 10 and 18 years, who reside with other members of the family for the moment.