I will simply make one observation: if you carry around a visible chip on your shoulder and point to it on every possible occasion, don't be surprised if, sooner or later, somebody offers to knock it off for you.
Quebec was actually far better-off under the "sales Anglaises" than it ever was under the Lilies and, at one time, French-Canadians actually realised and understood that. We were well on our way to making ourselves into a single Nation. But then came interference from Europe in the form of Ultramontanism, a Church reaction against the secular power. In Italy, VOTING became a SIN and, by the time the Great War came around, the Germans had become God's instrument for punishing France for its treatment of Holy Church. There is much more to the entire issue than people wish to talk about. Some day it must be understood, for these influences are still pushing us apart. The rest of the country has tried pandering to Quebec for a full century now, attempting to bribe them into becoming good Canadians. It hasn't worked. Perhaps the time is at hand to try EQUALITY for a change.
One thing Quebec should try is to remove the reflexive "me" from those licence-plates and start thinking of more than just themselves. As far as the VanDoos are concerned, they can keep the "me" and they are more than welcome to it: they have a great and honourable history to look back upon, as do several other Quebec regiments and the many, many thousands of French-Canadians who have faithfully served OUR country.
Sorry for the sermon, but I am from a part of the country where we don't pick at a wound for 250 years, trying to keep it open and bleeding. We let it scab over, scar.... and eventually disappear.
NOW LET'S GET BACK TO THE MAIN ISSUE: 1914.
I am thinking that a German immigrant who came here after the age of 18 already would have been conscripted as a part of the Imperial German military service. He would thus have been a sworn servant of the Kaiser and of his local King already and to break faith with THEM would have been TREASON. And he would STILL BE A MEMBER OF THE RESERVES. On the other hand, he had chosen to become a Canadian..... and there was, as yet, NO such thing as Canadian Citizenship, would not be for another 35 years.
So he had a choice of fighting for the country he had LEFT or committing Treason in order to fight for the country he had CHOSEN. When I was a kid, I had neighbours who already had been here for 2 and 3 generations before the War even started. This included a family closely related to FM von Hindenberg and another family closely related to the General commanding German troops on Vimy Ridge. They were NOT trusted. It was manifestly unfair, of course, considering that Uncle Erle served 6-1/2 years in the Canadian Artillery...... and could not speak a word of German! No matter: his medals spoke volumes.
In the end, it all was worked out, but the end product was ugly and nasty and unfair, but it suited public opinion. Enemy aliens were registered, issued cards and many of their civil rights reduced. When I was driving cab, I had a trip every night from a local Motel, to take the cleaning-lady home. She spoke almost NO English, could not even give her address clearly. I had a BIT of Ukrainian by that time and was able to talk with her a bit. Turned out she still was MIGHTILY p*ssd at the Government of Canada because they had made her register for an Enemy Alien Card because her Passport said that she was AUSTRIAN (she was from the Austrian part of Galicia, today part of Ukraine) and she was on OUR SIDE.
Unfair, of course, but in the face of NO Oath of Citizenship, what else could be done?
