Battlefield Re-enactment Getting Dangerous

Anglophones may not be aware, but a firestorm is brewing in the Quebec press about a plan by the National Battlefields Commission to re-enact the Battle of The Plains of Abraham to commemerate the 250th anniversary of the event. Created in 1908 the commission was set up by Ottawa to preserve the 108 hectare site in Quebec city where the battle between the French and the English was fought 1759. It seems that in their zeal, they have badly considered the consequences. The victory of General Wolfe over the defending General Montcalm is largely seen by Francophones as the turning point that marked the loss of the new world to the English.
Whether this is historically correct is beside the point, re-enacting the battle is a patently stupid idea and can only be seen as a provocation.
The controversy has legs and is growing. The nationalists see a popular issue that they can rally support around. They have promised a fight and I have no doubt they mean what they say.
Pierre Falardeau of Réseau de résistance du Québec (RRQ) says that the organization is gearing up for a battle of it's own and predicts a 'nightmare' should the event go on as planned.
Josee Verner, the minister responsible for the Quebec City region is defending the plan and advises those against the re-enactment to skip the event. If she's smart she'll distance herself from those type of remarks.

Someone in Ottawa will get the message, the event will be canceled, it is a matter of time. Let's hope it's sooner than later.
If the event goes on, at best, Quebec city will witness one large and nasty demonstration. Worst case, there could be a violent and bloody confrontation.
The Conservatives are playing with fire, failure to act in this matter would be political suicide.

Montrealers In a Panic!

It seems that Montrealers have had enough and are finally panicking in view of all the bad news around.
When surveyed as to what has finally sent them over the top the results weren't surprising.

1. Global War Warming -3%
2. Collapse of the Caisse de Depot - 1%
3. Cuts to Arts funding- 2%
4. World economic meltdown -7%

5. Canadiens lose 4 in a row- 87%

   
   

Montreal Cops Demand Respect

After having their demand that the public be fined for insulting police, laughed off by the media and practically every civic group, police brotherhood spokesman hinted that we may see a change in tactics.
"If we won't be respected, we won't be ignored"
It seems that their camouflage pants campaign hasn't had the desired effect of getting the public to respect them more, so it seems that the union will be ramping up the pressure.
After showing off the next level of protest dress, there were suitable oohs and aahs from the invited media.
Commented one overly refreshed reporter, "Boy, when the one on the left tells me to shove it, I'm certainly going to obey!"

It's Been a Cold January

I'm not a climatologist, but it looks like it's been a slightly cooler January than usual.
You can create your own customized graphs for Montreal and other Canadian cities over at the Environment Canada site.

Cote de Liesse Overpasses Unsafe?

After the fatal collapse of the de la Concorde overpass in Laval , the Ministry of Transport undertook a safety review of Quebec overpasses and ramps. A list of a 153 at risk overpasses and ramps was released, but has since been removed from the website. Notwithstanding, I'm pretty sure that the only installation on the Highway 520 (the Cote de liesse highway that links the airport to Decarie and the Metropolitain) was the overpass directly adjacent the airport. It was even closed for a short time as they shored it up.
Back then, I noticed that all the overpasses along the route to the airport (Cavendish, Montee de Liesse, Autoroute 13, 43rd Ave and 55th ave.) were reduced to one lane by means of temporary barriers. At that time I assumed it was a temporary measure, but just before this winter the barriers were replaced by permanent ones blocking one lane. These overpasses were never on the list and have never been classified as 'at risk'. The Ministry has never commented, nor announced whether they will be repaired or replaced.

The dishonesty is appalling.
Think about it as you drive under them.

MINSB (Montreal Is Not So Bad)

Concerned that we aren't enforcing tough enough construction standards? Do you look up when you cross under an overpass?
There are bigger idiots throughout the world. So for you edification, here is an actual ATM in Iran, courtesy oddee.com. Hope it brings a smile to your face.....

What's a few Flies in the Whiskey

A bar in east end Montreal, Chez Françoise was convicted of serving patrons from bottles of booze containing insects. The bar was closed for three months and fined $555. This seemed a bit harsh according to the owner who was quite miffed and cited a personal vendetta as the cause for his persecution.
"I can't understand the fuss. I mean they didn't say anything about the worms in the Tequila so what's the big deal about a couple of fruit flies!"

Language Zealots Racist

Quebecers are relentlessly reminded by language militants that French is under attack and in serious decline. Organizations, both public and private such as the Office québécois de la langue française and the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste churn out a steady diet of false and misleading statistics bolstering this precept.

The latest campaign focuses on the fact that French as the mother tongue, has fallen below the fifty percent level for residents of the island of Montreal, thus proving that the language needs additional protection.

This selective use of statistics and faulty conclusion should not go unchallenged.

Quebec, like all western societies, relies on immigration to maintain it’s population. Without immigration, Quebec would lose up to twenty-five percent of it’s population with each passing generation and as a result, would lose over half it’s population within sixty years. Accepting immigrants is not a case of generosity but rather an act of survival.

Now unless Quebec accepts these immigrants from France or Belgium exclusively, it is certain that the above-mentioned statistic related to French as a mother tongue will track downward, for a while anyway. However, there is nothing threatening in this fact. New immigrants are almost exclusively absorbed by the French majority and the fact that their children are forced into French schools invariably leads the resulting generations to adopt French as their mother tongue.

Today more people use French at work, at home, at school and at play then ever in the entire history of Quebec. The mantra that French is in decline is so ingrained, it is accepted as an unassailable fact, but it is not true.

The whole argument of mother tongue is plainly irrelevant and smacks of racism. What is undeniably true, is that the colour and complexion of those speaking French is changing. This fact may not sit well with language extremists, but it has nothing to do with the English influence, nor is there anything they can do to change it.

When language extremists complain about mother tongue it is simply code. What they are really complaining about is the black, brown and oriental faces on the streets of Montreal. They are complaining about Hijibs, Saris and Hassidic dress. That these people speak French at home and at work is not really the issue, the fact that they are not white and Catholic, is.

Quebec culture is evolving. It is changing to reflect the diverse elements that now come to make it up. The process is inexorable and irreversable and while frightening to some, it is exciting for others.

In accepting immigrants as a neccessary evil, Quebecers, especially language and cultural nationalists must accept that these people will change the face of society, all the while speaking French at home and at work.

Kathleen Weil is not an Anglophone

It seems our National Assembly member for NDG Kathleen Weil doesn't like to be referred to as an anglophone. In an fun article in the Montreal Gazette, Don MacPherson cuts her up badly.
According to another article in Le Devoir, she already prefers the French pronunciation of her second name and so may we suggest that she could further camouflage her English roots by asking everyone to use the French pronunciation of her first name- "Cat-leeen". She should refer to her husband as "Michel".
While she can change the way her name is pronounced she can't hide her past.
Some people when trying to impress potential employers, embellish their CV a little. In Weil's case she conveniently leaves out the time spent working for Alliance Quebec, an anglo rights group. Take a look at the whitewashed description of her past on the Liberal Party Website.

Et tu Katleen?

Loblaw's January Signs

This Loblaw's sign in their Upper Lachine road store caught my attention on two levels.
The English portion is so tiny that even French language purists must be laughing.
Secondly, is the absolutely misleading message on the sign. The price freeze, as is indicated in the small print, is for selected items only and so by logical extension doesn't apply to items where the price may be raised. Hmmm...

Vinnie Lecavalier an Anglophone

The French media is going apeshit about the possibility of Vincent Lecavalier coming to Montreal. I was always impressed with his accentless English, but never gave it a though until now. It seems that our Vinnie is an Anglophone, in spite of a French father. He attended Thorndale Elementary in Pierrefonds and then he went to John Rennie High School in Pointe-Claire, before transferring to Athol Murray College of Notre Dame in Saskatchewan at the tender age of fourteen.
I'm glad that the French media is so embracing of West Island Anglophones.

Publication Bans Impossible to Enforce

Exactly what is the judge protecting children from, when a publication ban is imposed in a divorce case? Are children of divorcing parents subject to scorn and ridicule? I think the judge has to get with the times and realize that not only is a ban a bad idea, but impossible to enforce.
American media, not subject to the ban, delight in publishing facts that our regular media may not.
The Montreal Gazette, as I reported, practically outed the Montreal defendant by referring him as a "Montreal Billionaire" and an American blog has picked up on it.
The ever popular drunkenstepfather blog revealed all in a January 23rd story and has included some libelous (if untrue) and deliciously salacious background information.

Gazette outs Billionaire Defendant

The Montreal Gazette continues to refer to the man being sued by a woman seeking to overturn the law that limits alimony to married people, as a Montreal billionaire. The judge imposed a ban on publication, but by revealing that the respondent is Montreal billionaire, The Gazette for all intents and purposes outed him. Other papers like the Globe and Mail, mentioned only that he was a multi-millionaire. According to Forbes magazine there are just four billionaires from Quebec. Since three of them are over 70 years old and married it doesn't take a genius to figure out who the mystery man is. At any rate, this trial has all the potential to turn into a real circus and before it's over I'm sure she'll have him jumping through hoops.

Red Bull Spits on Quebecers

Members of the Mouvement Montréal français (MMF) demonstrated on Friday in Montreal against the "Crashed Ice" event sponsored by Red Bull. Bone of contention is the fact that the event has an English name. Sponsor Red Bull explained that the event is called by the same name all over the world. "NOT GOOD ENOUGH!!" In a clever play of words an organizer pointed out that Red Bull was 'crashing' on Quebecers.
I post this story not because of it's banality but rather to congratulate the demonstrators on their determination to protect the French language.

IT WAS MINUS 20 DEGREES!

New Battle of the Plains of Abraham

It seems that National Battlefield Commission is planning a re-enactment of the Battle of the Plains of Abraham next year to mark it's 250th anniversary. This doesn't seem like a very good idea and I find myself agreeing with Quebec nationalists who oppose the effort for obvious reasons. 'It's like the French celebrating their defeat at the hands of the Nazis', says one M. Parent in Saturday's La Presse.
The battle, where the English General Wolfe defeated the French, led by General Montcalm is viewed by nationalists as "La Conquete" or conquest and the beginning of the long and painful "Naaqba", the cruel domination of the Quebecois by the English that persists until today.
Trouble is that historians readily admit that this tiny skirmish involving a few thousand men on both sides had nothing to do with France losing Quebec to the English. The truth is rather less exciting. Quebec was ceded to England, in a package deal by virtue of the Treaty of Paris which ended the Seven Years War in 1763.

Blue Bonnets....er..Hyppodrome de Montreal, likely To Close for Good

It seems that casino gambling has just about put the last nail into the coffin of the west end race track that has graced it's Decarie location for over a hundred years. Racing has stopped and will probably not return. A few years ago, in an effort to belie it's English roots, the track changed it's wonderful name (Blue Bonnets) to the dreadful 'L'Hyppodrome de Montreal'. It's been downhill since.
The track was originally located in Montreal West where the Blue Bonnets regiment ran their horses in friendly competition. When the railroad came, back in 1907 and split the track in two, Blue Bonnets Raceway moved to it's present location.
Horse racing flourished up until the eighties and then tracked downward. I remember visiting the track in the age before cell phones. It was the only public space not to offer pay phones, in an effort to thwart bookies from getting timely results. Seems rather quaint now.

Jewish General Hospital Changes it's "Jewish" logo.

On a recent visit to the hospital I noticed that the logo has been changed. A big screen TV, heralding this change, described the emblem as a "Tree of Life", inclusive of all.
Gone is the Hebrew writing and the Star of David that adorned the old logo. It seems that the hospital is out to hide it's Jewish identity.
Or is it?
Upon closer inspection this supposed "Tree of Life" is nothing more than clever rendition of a traditional "Menorah", a candelabra used by Jews at Passover celebrations.
How deceivingly clever, those Kabbalists. Well played!
Now, those opposed to overt religious displays in public institutions won't feel the oppressive weight of being in a Jewish institution, while the Jews can smirk in silent satisfaction.

I did however, notice a disturbing lack of effort by the hospital in preserving it's Jewish identity.
As I waited by the operating theater, I noticed a lovely elderly Italian woman reacting to some good news from a surgeon. She crossed herself in an overt display of her Christian faith, in plain sight of a security guard, who did not intercede!
Tut! Tut!
Soon they'll be serving bacon and eggs!

PHARMAPRIX CAVES

For those of you who haven't heard, Quebec language laws allows English to appear in public signage only under the condition that it size is one third the size of the French lettering.
So what happen's when both the French and English word is identical?

This is a sign in the Pharmaprix in Westmount Square. The idiocy involved is sad.

1-800-GOT-FRENCH?

In a letter to the editor in Thursday's La Presse, a one very irate André Dumaine complained that the company 1-800-GOT-JUNK was an affront to the French language because of the very flamboyant signage on their truck. He takes the OLF to task for rejecting his complaint. It seems that the company is within it's rights, since it is displaying it's corporate trademark, which is allowed under the law. Not good enough, proclaims our vigilante! The law must be changed to eliminate such overt threats to the French landscape of Quebec!
Well, last year the OLF announced that due to budgetary constraints, their ability to make inspections was hampered. It got me to thinking that M. Dumaine and other like-minded defenders of the faith, could help out the Commission by acting as volunteer OLF inspectors. In fact, I'm sure there are thousands of others who would love the idea of bringing similar offending companies to justice.
Perhaps a month of training in the summer, a uniform and a contravention book is all that's needed to get this loyal and indispensable crew out into the field. I bet that they can even offer some useful suggestions to Frenchify those corporate names that contain English references.

May I get the ball rolling by suggesting,"1.800.COCHONNERIE" and perhaps these;

Apple = "POMME"
Tommy Hillfiger- "TOMMY COTELIGGER"
Microsoft "MICROMOLLE"
Burger King "ROI DU L'HAMBURGER"
Canadian Tire "PNEU CANADIEN"
Shell "COQUILLE"
Any other suggestions?