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 thecause with Ottawa.

Earlier this year,federal Heritage Minister wrote toCanadian Relations MinisterJean-MarcFournierrequestinginput on French services in Quebec.

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Fournier took the opportunityto underline his concerns about English-speaking Quebecersas well.

Muchlike Quebec's rural francophone communities,anglophone communities outside Montreal are also feeling the pinch of depopulation,Fournier said in the Januaryletter.

A combination of scattered geography, declining demographic weight andaging 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,"Founiersaid, 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 TownshippersAssociation 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 verypronouncedmarginalization," saidGeraldCutting, president of the group that representsEnglish-speakers in the EasternTownships.

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, butthe recognitionof 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 ofthat population, is really not adequate to address the needs," Cutting told CBC'sQuebec AM.

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

Liberal concerndisingenuous: PQ

ThePartiQubcois echoed the sentiment that the sudden attention to Anglo issues comes after years of neglect by the Liberalprovincialgovernment.

PQ LeaderJean-FranoisLise, aformer minister ofanglophone affairs, accused the Liberals of being disingenuous in its concern.

"[Premier] PhilippeCouillardis the one that took away control of the English community from its hospitals," Lise said.

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

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