Identités et échanges

English · Première générale · BO : B1+ ; visée B2 vers C1

On the deck of a sailing ship, an old Highlander in a tartan plaid leans on the rail and looks back at the misty mountains. A young woman sits bent over a trunk, hiding her face; a black dog rests its head against her. A pot, a bucket and a red bundle lie on the deck. — John Watson Nicol (1856 to 1926), *Lochaber No More*, 1883. Oil on canvas, 108 × 83 cm. The Fleming Collection, London, FWAF/RF346. Public domain. Image: Art UK via Wikimedia Commons, not cropped or retouched.

Final task

You have travelled from a Highland quay in 1865 to the Immigration Levels Plan of 2027 to 2029. Now answer the question of the sequence:

Has Canada kept its promise of welcome, and what have newcomers and their host country given each other?

Choose Option A (written) or Option B (oral). Your teacher may ask for both.

Option A · Written test, bac style

Part 1 · Reading comprehension

Document A

“Those passengers, like millions of immigrants to Canada since, came seeking better lives for their families. Greater opportunities. A chance to contribute to their new home. Those passengers chose Canada. And when they arrived here, they were rejected.”Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Komagata Maru apology, House of Commons, 18 May 2016.

Document B

“Nine years later, in his most illustrious genre scene, which he titled Immigrants at Montreal (later changed to Behind Bonsecours Market, Montreal), he embellished his arrival by placing himself in the centre of a bustling yet harmonious market scene at the waterfront, clutching his hand-luggage in his right hand and his portfolio and his family’s ritual candelabrum in his left.”Dictionary of Canadian Biography, “Raphael, William”.

QuestionsCore

Document A: according to Trudeau, what did the passengers want to give Canada? Quote the text.
Document A: what is the contrast in the last two sentences?
Document B: what did Raphael bring with him, and what does it show about his identity?
Documents A and B: in what way do the two newcomers have opposite experiences?
Explain the word embellished in Document B. Why did Raphael embellish his arrival?

Answer key

“A chance to contribute to their new home”: their work and their lives.
They chose Canada, but Canada rejected them: a one-sided choice.
His luggage, his portfolio and his family’s candelabrum: he keeps his Jewish heritage and his art in his new life.
Raphael was welcomed and became a famous Canadian painter; the Komagata Maru passengers were refused entry.
He made it more beautiful than it was: he wanted to show a harmonious welcome and his own success.

Part 2 · Written expression (about 250 words)

Answer one subject.

Essay. “Has Canada kept its promise of welcome?” Use at least three examples from the sequence, from different periods.
Letter. You are a descendant of a Komagata Maru passenger. You were in the House of Commons on 18 May 2016. Write to a newspaper about what the apology means to you, and what newcomers have given Canada.

Option B · Oral: “Canada’s Welcome Report”

Present a five-minute report, then answer questions for five minutes. Choose one painting and two documents from the sequence, from two different periods.

Introduce the painting and what it shows.
Explain one moment of welcome and one moment of exclusion.
Say what the newcomers gave Canada and what they received.
Conclude with your answer to the question of the sequence.

Sentence starters

My report focuses on…

This painting is a good starting point because…

Whereas the Black Loyalists…, the war brides…

Canada has not always kept its promise; nevertheless…

To conclude, I would argue that…

Assessment grid

Criteria	What I must show	Points
Content	At least three accurate examples, dates and figures, from different periods	/6
Argument	A clear answer to the question, organised with connectors	/5
Language	Passive voice, past tenses, cause and consequence, nuance	/5
Vocabulary	Words from “Expanding your vocabulary”	/4
Total		/20