Fearless Prediction --Bergeron Will Win Montreal Mayoralty Race

It's always easy to comment about why this one or that won an election after the fact. We all know the old chestnut about hindsight.

This week many people have asked me who will win the race and truthfully I wasn't sure until I saw the poll released this week that called the race to close to call.

Richard Bergeron had a stunning rise in support that turned the two horse race into a decidedly three-way affair.

Most Montrealers are sick over the choice between a separatist and an incompetent.
There is absolutely no justification for re-electing Mr. Tremblay, in consideration of the recent appalling revelations of corruption. But voting for a sovereignist is a cup of poison few federalists just can stomach.
A guest (I can't recall who) on Friday's Tommy Schnurmacher Show on Montreal's CJAD radio pointed out;"Between a mobster and a separatist, I'll go with the Mob!"

Richard Bergeron is a lefty new age candidate who is more known for his kooky conspiracy theories (he's a 9-1-1 Truther) than his political platform.

But recently, people are starting to make allowances. After all, our illustrious Prime Minister McKenzie King was nuttier than a fruitcake, holding séances and such not while ruling the country.

Mr. Bergeron has Judge Gomery on his side and nobody has a more honourable reputation for honesty than he, especially in Montreal. He also has a pretty good command of English. So what if he's kookoo.

People who were looking to reject Harel and Tremblay, needed a viable alternative. The latest poll will catapult those sitting on the fence over to Bergeron's side.

I therefore boldly predict that he will win the election with close to 40% of the vote and become Montreal's next mayor.

I can live with it.
The alternatives are worse.

By the way, if I'm wrong, I will make no apologies.

Have a good weekend!

Sylvie Roy Punked by Liberals?

When Sylvie Roy rose in Quebec Parliament and asked Premier Charest if he was aware that three of his members vacationed aboard Tony Accurso's yacht, it was particularly strange.

Not because the allegation was hard to believe, but rather at the way the question was put to the Premier and his reaction.

Ms. Roy had Parliamentary privilege and could have named the members, yet chose not to. Obviously she wasn't so sure of her information and was on a fishing expedition.

In response to questions by the press, she claimed that she had a source that refused to come forward out out fear of reprisals. Without naming the source publicly or having a secondary source to confirm the story, she obviously didn't feel that she was in a strong enough position to name names.

Strangely, Mr. Charest didn't seem overly perturbed by the potential bombshell that she dropped. He remained calm, collected and even challenged her to name names. When she didn't, Mr. Charest obligingly provided the names himself.

The next day Mr. Charest triumphantly announced that the allegations were false and all the members involved had denied ever being on Mr. Accurso's boat.
Every thing seemed to be playing out to the Premier's advantage and he was beaming.

It was all too neat. Ms. Roy had been set up.

Lucky for her that she hadn't named the names. Had she done so, immunity or not, she would be looking for a new job.

Many years ago I learned a valuable lesson in political disinformation from a friend who was working in politics.
He was an old hand at intrigue and described to me in detail how he salted false stories in newspapers or fed disinformation to neophyte politicians when it suited his purpose. It's simple, he told me; "When a politician or a political party is in trouble because of allegations of corruption (which is more often than not) it's useful to plant more stories of corruption which can then be proved to be untrue, thus tarnishing the veracity of the real allegations."
"And people really fall for it?" I asked incredulously.
His answer was succinct. "Everybody's on a deadline"

Over guffaws and a bottle of red, I asked him if he had ever worked for the KGB.

Over the years, I have seen this strategy employed a couple of times, but none as expertly as the lynching of Ms. Roy. It's as textbook case.

Still have doubts.
As they say in Latin 'Cui bono?', (Who benefits?) Madame Roy's source was obviously out to get someone, either her or the Liberal party. You decide.

The Liberals attempted to apply the coup de grace by invoking a motion to censure Madame Roy in the Assembly. It failed as it should have, but the Liberals are determined to keep up the pressure as a sideshow, to deflect calls for an inquiry into political donations and inflated contracts in the construction industry.

Sylvie Roy isn't out of the woods yet, she has been badly damaged in the court of public opinion. She'd better come out fighting if she wants to survive. She should tell the truth or out the informant.

This all could have been avoided if she had the courage to act honestly by asking a more adroit question in Parliament. It was a rookie mistake.

I can imagine the chuckles around Liberal party headquarters.

Stephen Harper Set to Deliver Another Painful Dose of Payback to Quebec

If Quebeckers thought that by sending separatist Bloc Quebecois members to Ottawa they would send a message to English Canada, they were right.

The message has finally been received loud and clear, albeit after many years.

No matter how accommodating, no matter how much money Ottawa ships to Quebec, no matter how many political concessions are made, Quebeckers will continue to thumb their noses at federalist parties.

It's a lesson that took both the Liberals and the Conservatives many years to comprehend, but the penny has finally dropped, at least on the Conservative side. Mr. Harper and the Conservative party have written off Quebec politically.

If ever there was a case of overplaying one's hand, this is it.

Ironically, Quebeckers remain blithely unaware that their flirtatious game is over.

While they continue to pull on the same old strings, Mr. Harper and the Conservatives have gone off in another direction.

In many ways Quebec's rejection of the Federal political parties in favour of the Bloc has set Mr. Harper free. No longer does he, nor his party harbour any illusions that indulging Quebec can translate into seats and so, he has been liberated to return to his natural base, a constituency that is decidedly anti-Quebec.

I recently wrote a post about Mr. Harper's plan to add seats in Parliament a move aimed to correct an imbalance and reflect the changing demographics of the Canadian reality. The seats to be added are all located outside of Quebec.

Should the proposed legislation go through, Quebec's proportion of seats in the Canadian Parliament will be reduced and the likelihood of forming a majority government without Quebec support, enhanced.

This proposal was met with expected fury in Quebec, but the threats of reprisals by Quebec voters rang hollow, there's not much to lose for the Conservatives in Quebec. Had Mr. Harper owned twenty or thirty seats in the province, he'd never have entertained such a move.

It is ironic that While the Bloc claims to defend Quebec's interest in Ottawa, it's presence has the opposite effect and serves to rob Quebec of any influence. Bloc members sit idly in opposition, twiddling their thumbs and hurling insults at the government.

Most Quebeckers would be shocked to see how little effect the Bloc really has in Ottawa. The high attrition rate of Bloc members is a testament to how they themselves view their effectiveness. The reality is that they are pointedly ignored by the other members of Parliaments. Some western MPs even pull out their translation ear piece when Bloc members rise in the house.

The announcement by the Tories that they will be seeking an opinion from the Supreme Court as to whether the formation of a national agency to regulate financial markets under Ottawa's auspices is legal, is but another signal that they no longer care what Quebec thinks.

If the court sides with the government, something likely to happen according to constitutional lawyers, it would spell another humiliating defeat for Quebec.

Quebec finance Minister Raymond Bachand was apoplectic in a speech delivered at an event organized by the AMF, Quebec's regulatory agency.

"The federal government has no right to legislate in this area that is under the jurisdiction of the province of Quebec!"

Without any strong voices in cabinet and without the weight of Parliamentary seats, Quebec is powerless to stop the assault on what the province perceives as an invasion on provincial rights.

How will the Quebec public react to this real loss of influence?

By voting for the Bloc Quebecois, of course. It is after all, Quebec.

Lawyer For Earl Jones Leads Reporters Around by the Nose

That reporters accept on face value, statements that are patently false or manipulative from people that they are interviewing is one of my pet peeves.

Last week Jeffrey Boro, Earl Jones' lawyer, made a statement that begged a combative response by an inquiring press.
He told reporters that Earl Jones was destitute, broke and living off his old age pension, unable to find work.

Pleeese!!!!!!!

Mr. Boro would have to go down to a farm if he wanted to fling more bullshit than that!

Not one reporter asked him, that in light of Mr Jones disastrous financial situation, how Mr. Boro's legal bills were being paid?

Of course, had he been asked, Mr. Boro would have declined to answer, claiming client/attorney privilege, but at least he'd be put on notice that his story that Mr. Jones is destitute, is purely fictional.

If Mr. Boro is working for free, than I apologize, but somehow I don't think so.

If Mr. Jones' family, or a mysterious benefactor, is paying his bills (not) wouldn't that same generous entity make sure that poor Earl was also taken care of?

The dirty little secret of most criminal lawyers is that their fees are usually paid out of the proceeds of crime, in many instances from the exact crime that their client is being tried for.

Getting paid in dirty money is a necessary part of the game and everybody in the legal game knows that it is true.
Whenever you see a defendant claiming poverty, look to his lawyer. If he's using a $400 an hour attorney, it isn't hard to come to another conclusion. Even Vincent Lacroix was smart enough to get a legal aid lawyer to keep up appearances.

At any rate, Earl Jones is wasting his money. He is going to get the max if he goes to trial, (which he is not) even if he hired Alan Dershowitz as defence council. Crown prosecutors are going to knock a year, possibly two off of the sentence in consideration of a guilty plea. Any legal aid lawyer could do the deal.
Mr. Jones should save his the money spent on expensive lawyers.

By the way, if Mr. Boro is so concerned about Mr. Jones not being able to find employment, perhaps he could offer him a job in his law firm's accounting department, where he can put his experience to good use!

Will the Real Louise Harel Please Stand Up.

Here's what Louise Harel is telling us today.

For those of you who don't have a clear recollection of who she really is , this is what Louise Harel was selling for 35 years.

This is what she really believes in;

Canada's Highest Court Not So Supreme

Imagine a criminal standing before a judge, immediately after having been convicted for stealing and asking the judge to stay the sentence.

"Your Honour, I know that I've been convicted of stealing but I'd like to appeal to a higher court and in the meantime, I'd ask you to hold off on the sentence."

"Why should I do that, you've been found guilty of stealing?" answered the judge. "On what point would you be appealing the conviction, anyway?"

"Your Honour, I have a very good excuse. I've been stealing these last five years because I have to provide for my family, they are very needy. If you punish me, my whole family will suffer and believe me it's a big family. I only steal from a couple of people and so on balance the greater good is achieved by letting me continue. It's an extenuating circumstance that I believe should be considered by a higher court."

"Hmmm..." answered the Judge. "I don't think you have a prayer of winning, but your logic of the greater good is at least grounds for an appeal and I feel for your family. I shall therefore grant your request!"

"Thank you, your Honour. errr..... I have just one more request. Does this ruling mean that I can continue stealing until my case is decided in the appeals court?"

"Hmmmm." answered the judge after some consideration. "I guess so, I wouldn't want your family to suffer."

And so the thief continues to steal for another two years until his appeal is heard in the Supreme Court of Canada.

His lawyer pleads his case and the government lawyers do the same. The judges listen carefully, retire and take the matter under advisement.

The thief asks his lawyer if he can continue stealing while his case is being studied by the judges.

"Of course. they didn't say you couldn't!"

Nine long months later the court releases it's judgment. It's not that shocking, the first judge accurately predicted the outcome.

The thief's conviction is upheld unanimously. The court rules that stealing is not permitted, even for good reasons.

The judgment orders the thief to stop stealing and directs him to find an honest way to support his family.
But the judges remain sympathetic to the plight of the family and in a ruling worthy of Solomon, tells the thief that the judgment will be delayed for a year so that he can figure out what to do.

"Does this mean I can steal for another year?" asks the thief to his lawyer?

"You bet," answers the lawyer, "and don't worry about a thing. In a year we'll figure out another con and hopefully it will take take another seven years to go through the system!"

Sound unbelievable?

It shouldn't;

In 2002 the separatist Parti Quebecois government decided to close what they viewed as a loophole, a practice whereby some immigrants and Francophones gained admission to English schools (which they were not permitted to attend under the infamous law, Bill 101) by attending a private English school for a short time.

You see, these private schools are not covered by the language law and anyone with money can attend. Once the student spends some time in the school, he or she could transfer to a public school claiming a right under Canada's Charter of Rights.

That right, Section 23 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees that if you've had some primary school education in either English or French you can demand to continue instruction in that language.

" Citizens of Canada of whom any child has received or is receiving primary or secondary school instruction in English or French in Canada, have the right to have all their children receive primary and secondary language instruction in the same language."

So by sending a child to an English primary school, even for a short time, a family gains the right to a public education in English for all it's children.

The Quebec government was furious at the work-around and drew up Bill 104 in response. The law, which banned the 'bridging practice,' blatantly ignored the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Every single constitutional lawyer in the province understood that what the Quebec government did was illegal but the separatist government didn't care. If the law was challenged it would suit them as well. It would be a French versus English battle and even if they lost in court (which they knew they would,) they would likely win in the street.

Let's compare the true story of Bill 104 with my fanciful story about the thief.

In 2002, the Quebec government wrote an illegal law, whose effect was to steal an English education from students legally entitled to one.

After five years of stealing, the Quebec Court of Appeal struck down the law based on the Section 23 of the Charter.

The Quebec government asked for and received a delay from the court for the implementation of the ruling, so that they could appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court.

Another two years went by and the government continued to implement the illegal law and continued to rob students the opportunity to go to English schools.

Finally the Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favour of the students, but again delayed the imposition of the decision for another year. Another year in which the Quebec government could enforce an illegal law.

Eight years after the illegal law was enacted it remains in force today, even after having been declared illegal by the highest court in Quebec and the Supreme Court of Canada. Students continue to be denied their legal rights under the Charter.

This isn't Wonderland, it is CANADA, which may be the only western democratic country in the world, where winning a case in the Supreme Court doesn't necessarily guarantee that you may enjoy the fruits of the victory.

Shame!!!......

Amateur French Langauge "Inspectors" Gone Wild

Bill 101, the Quebec law related to advertising among other things, is quite clear. French must be predominant in all public advertisements, including billboards, bus shelters, stores, public buildings, and within bus and metro cars and stations. The law is pretty comprehensive and even covers advertisements painted on vehicles. There are some exceptions, but the implementation of the law has had the effect of making almost all public advertising unilingually French, even though English is allowed in an inferior proportion. Most companies have completely abandoned any effort to serve English customers in their own language, even in areas where Anglophones make up over 70% of their customers.

The law makes for some pretty ridiculous situations. When the CTV television affiliate in Montreal advertises an English television show on a billboard, it must do so in French.
A theatre company advertising a play presented in English, must post in French.

The OQLF, the organization that is charged with applying the law in relation to the protection of the French language, has a somewhat strange policy. It only undertakes an investigation of an alleged offense when someone complains and so, it is dependent on the public to police any violations of the law.

The policy of asking citizens to squeal on each other is generally unpopular in Western society, but stooling suits the mentality of French language militants to a tee, they actually relish the opportunity to rat out the hated Anglos.
The OQLF makes it easy to complain, providing a simple form that can be downloaded online, complete with the promise of confidentiality, which is probably unnecessary considering that most voluntary language inspectors are proud to have their name connected with a complaint.

And so, a dedicated cabal of self-deputized private French language inspectors patrol the streets and highways, public transport, public spaces, web sites, stores and buildings in search of language law transgressions.
Every advertisement is scrutinized, every product instruction booklet studied for spelling errors and faulty use of French, every sign in every store whether on the street and or in a shopping mall is dissected ad nauseam.

Ask any chain store head office about the many complaints they receive each week over the smallest of errors.

If you think I'm overstating the truth I'd like to share two articles published this week.

The first one, submitted by Marc-Antoine Daneau was printed in vigile.net, where you can read the original French post.

Concordia - Rhodesian Arrogance

"I'd like to draw your attention to the recent advertisements placed by Concordia University in Montreal's Atwater Metro station.

What's remarkable about these ads is that they are entirely in English, and they show the greatest contempt for Quebeckers and especially Bill 101, which governs the display language in Quebec.
Concordia University cannot plead ignorance in this matter, nor the Société de transport de Montreal which has approved the ads. They deliberately ignore the will of the people surrounding commercial signs and are contributing to Anglicization and Canadianization in Quebec.

I ask all those who receive this email to do whatever is in their power to remove Concordia University's absurd English advertisements."

How about that headline!
Equating Concordia University with racist Rhodesia of the 1960's because they put up a English advertisement, it's a but much.

What's most interesting about this rant, aside from it's entertainment value, is the fact that Mr. Danneau doesn't really know what he's talking about. In fact, it is he who is ignorant of the law and not the University.

This post made the rounds of nationalists web sites, stirring up all sorts of outrage. Over at Le Quebecois, another ultra radical nationalist web-site, the story was re-printed with a comment attached that congratulated the writer on his article, but proceeded to correct him over a minor French error in the poster's text! (I told you so!)

Righteous indignation over Concordia's advertisements was the order of the day until someone pointed out that the ads were perfectly legal.

Yup, it seems educational institutions are exempt from the language law.
Hmmm...

Not to be discouraged, a new theme was launched, one that demanded that the law be changed. Okaaay!

This next item, originally posted in La Presse, also appeared in vigel.net.

Entitled "An English Advertisement Shocks Citizens," it complains about a bus shelter ad placed by the music retailer HMV. The complainer took issue with the English, as you can see in the picture to the right.
In response to the complaint, a spokeswoman for the company defended the ad by claiming that it represented a global advertising campaign and that the ad appears the same way in every country including France.

"The t-shirt on the poster is sold worldwide with the same English inscription," says Ms. Shankland. "In terms of the overlay 'Fashion Against AIDS', it is the trademark of the collection. It did not have to be translated. "

Grrr......

I guess this is what happens when ultra militant volunteers, untrained and uninformed as to the provisions of law, are set loose.
English bookstores are constantly assailed by French language militants for posting English signs, even though they too are covered by an exemption.

Over the years, my company has been the beneficiary of many complaints about products we sold that contravened the language law in one sense or another, even though almost all were produced by third parties.
The letters and emails complaining about the treatment of French almost always started out along the same lines.

"I'm shocked at the disrespect displayed by your company..blah...blah."

"Your company is insulting Francophones...blah...blah."

"I am humiliated that your company..blah...blah.."

"It's outrageous that your company...blah...blah.."

When we advised the complainers that we would pass on their comments to the manufacturer and make sure that corrective action was undertaken in the future, it didn't seem to satisfy the them, some demanding that the products be pulled from shelves, sometimes because of a spelling mistake.
Finally, we stopped writing back.

The law respecting signage has already frightened the advertising agencies that control the bulk of public advertising in Quebec into eliminating English from public signs completely and so the voluntary French language inspectors are left to complain about nonsense.

The occasional handwritten "Help Wanted" or "Barmaid Wanted" sign in a local bar is what they are left to bitch about.

It's petty and it's sad and it is the Quebec reality.

NHL Francophone Conspiracy Theory

At the beginning of the week, a book written by Bob Sirois, entitled Le Québec mis en échec (Quebec Body-checked) was released, based on the dubious premise that Quebec francophone hockey players face discrimination in the NHL.

It's a theme that plays well among certain Francophone nationalists who embrace any theory that has Anglophones plotting against them. Those who believe these theories are not necessarily restricted to fringe elements. Montreal's leading Francophone sportswriter Réjean Tremblay ascribes to this idea and writes about it often. Here's a related post about it that I wrote a while back.
According to Mr. Sirois;

"Francophone Quebeckers are wrongly disparaged as too small, too lax on defence and not suited to the robust "Canadian" style of play.
Myths, prejudices, stereotypes and favouritism make up an integral part of every draft session in the National Hockey League."

Not all Quebeckers buy the theory and in the 'Comments' sections under the Internet news stories related the book, readers rejected the idea by a wide margin.
My favourite comment is this one;

"C'est du pleurnichage. (It's cry babying.)
PS:Je ne suis pas un anglais." (PS. I'm not English)

The use of selective statistics is an art form that Quebec nationalists have perfected better than anyone. They advance all sorts of statistics to support all manner of dubious theories.

Today language extremists promote selected statistics to 'prove' that Montreal is being anglicized and will eventually become as English as Toronto. This despite the fact that the number of Anglophones living in Montreal has remained neutral for the last three decades.

I recently read a blog piece where the writer used statistics to advance the theory that Quebec deserved more seats in Parliament than their actual population would dictate because a statistically higher percentage of Quebeckers vote. On and on.... Arggh....

Mr. Sirois provides plenty of just such faulty and selective statistics, charts, numbers, facts and figures to back up his claim that Anglophone teams in the NHL are racist and would rather have a poor team, than hire Francophones.

The idea is so absurd, one must wonder what kind of twisted mind could believe such a foolish notion. Persecution complex?

Here's a portion of a rebuttal article written in the star.com entitled NHL bias claim draws a backlash;

"The IIHF produced numbers of its own, showing the percentage of Quebec-born players in the NHL is almost identical to the overall number of participants in the province, while Ontarians are under-represented. The IIHF also points out how easily numbers can be manipulated, arguing Washington Capitals star Ovechkin's 14.8 per cent shooting percentage ranks him 100th in the NHL – and behind three Leafs."

The controversy over the lack of francophone players has engulfed the Montreal Canadiens with writers like Réjean Tremblay boldly accusing Bob Gainey of deliberately purging the team of Francophones.

I can imagine the scenario.
Bob Gainey sitting in his office with his two Quebec based scouts Michel Boucher and Denis Morel telling him excitedly about an incredible prospect from Lac-St.Jean.

• Morel: "We need to draft him boss, he's incredible!"
• Gainey: " Mmmm. No thanks boys, I think we'll pass."
• Morel "Whaaat!! Why???"
• Gainey: " We don't need no stinkin' Francophones on our team!!"
• Morel: "But that isn't fair and it makes no sense!!!"
• Gainey " We don't need a good team, we need an English team"
• Morel: "I don't understand.."
• Gainey " It's up to Anglos like me to preserve the English domination of the world. You wouldn't understand. It's about more than just hockey!!"

The "Savard" Doctrine
Mr. Sirois and many other francophone writers (including Réjean Tremblay) and commentators have advanced the 'Savard Doctrine,' the practice perfected by the ex-General Manager of the Habs, Serge Savard, that holds that when given a choice between two players of equal talent, the team should select the Francophone.

It seems to make sense, the team becomes a more attractive product for fans and yet preserves it's competitiveness. Perfect! Everybody is happy!

But wait a minute!
Let's consider the implications. If the Montreal Canadiens are encouraged to follow the 'Savard doctrine', should other teams do the same?
Should American teams hire Americans before Canadians, Europeans or Francophones? Should Canadian teams give priority to Anglophone players over Francophones, Americans and Europeans?

If all the teams practice what Mr. Sirois suggests, it doesn't auger well for Francophone players, considering 29 out of 30 teams are base in Anglophone cities. Hmmmmm.

So it comes down to this;
Mr. Sirois complains that Anglophone teams unfairly show favouritism towards Anglophones, but encourages the Montreal Canadiens to show favouritism towards Francophones.

When Francophones show favouritism towards Francophones, it's not discrimination.
When Anglophones show favouritism towards Anglophones, it is discrimination.

It all makes perfect sense... if you live in Quebec..

Who Shafted Benoit Labonté?

Montreal's mayoral race turned into a real farce with last week's revelation that Benoit Labonté, Louise Harel's right-hand man had in large part financed his run for his party leadership run with under the table money taken from members of the construction industry. The money is alleged to have been provided by the notorious Tony Accurso and at least 10 other players in the industry, who are accused of colluding on tenders in relation to City of Montreal's construction contracts. It has been speculated that because of this alleged collusion, city construction projects cost upwards of 35% more than necessary.

It's always disappointing when politicians who have staked their reputation on honesty turn out to be exactly what they accuse their enemies of being, à la Elliot Spitzer. When they do get caught, the fall from grace is never pretty and for Benoit Labonté, it means that his professional life is destroyed. In politics, perception is as important as reality and on both counts Labonté is damaged goods. He is going down the same path that Frank Zampino travelled a few short months ago, the road to obscurity.

To say that Mr. Labonté was surprised by the revelations is an understatement, he was in fact, completely blindsided by the accusations and actually tried to brazen it out for a few days, until he realized the case against him was unassailable.
It must have been quite a shock for him to realize that he had been betrayed and that there was a Judas among his closest of confidants.

The only question that remains is, who shafted Benoit Labonte?

I don't have any good contacts in Vision Montreal or among his staff. Labonté and I, are not on the same wavelength and run in different circles and so I can only speculate.

There is however, overwhelming evidence that he was betrayed by one of his closest advisers.

First of all, you can dismiss any notion that this story was the result of good investigative reporting, the information uncovered is just too good and too detailed. Labonté was served up.

"Deep Gorge," as I shall call the informant, had intimate knowledge of the secret meetings that Labonté held with Tony Accurso in the Old Montreal restaurants. Either he attended the meetings or set up the meetings, or was made privy to the meetings and that made him someone very close to Labonté.

Deep Gorge knew about the contents of the 'brown envelopes,' and had intimate knowledge of the dollar figures involved, so he either handled the envelopes, was apprised of their contents or actually handled or spent the money.

The most telling clue comes from the fact that the reporters had records of Mr Labonté's telephone calls, which indeed revealed that he had talked to Mr. Accurso on at least two occasions.

Mr. Labonté was served up like a Christmas turkey with all the trimmings, no wonder reporters didn't back down when Labonté started making denials.

Deep Gorge knew just about every detail of Labonté's relationship with Accurso and the other construction industry players.
He knew first hand about the under the table payments.
He knew how many payments were received and who made them and the exact dollar amount of each. He also knew that Labonté spoke to Accurso by telephone and was able to photocopy cellular bills or had a password to get access to the online records.
Because of the range of information, the informant couldn't be a low level secretary or campaign worker. It can't be the police because although they could tap phone calls and bug rooms, they couldn't have the detailed information about the contents of the brown paper bags. Obviously it had to be someone big and there aren't that many players in Labonté's entourage.

I'm not going to speculate, but to me, it's likely that Deep Gorge was among his closest advisors.

Will we ever find out who he or she is?

"cui bono?" Latin for "who benefits?"

We should watch the members of Labonte's former entourage to see where they land. Other than a confession, it's just speculation and it may be a long time before we find out the truth.

Remember "Deep Throat."

Revisiting Hérouxville

Hérouxville is the small rural village in central Quebec that garnered world-wide attention when it published a 'Code of Life', a document directed at immigrants and meant to teach then how to integrate.

The town has become became the poster boy of Quebec racism and has been the subject of scornful derision by liberal, urban Quebeckers, who have lampooned the town mercilessly.
Here are two examples, videos to which I've added subtitles, followed by the translated version of the 'Code of Life'
ENJOY!

This cartoon features a tradition Quebec folkloric song style and parodies André Drouin, the Hérouxville city councillor who spearheaded the campaign and helped promote the 'Code of Ethics'

Hérouxville "Code of Life"

• People vote with their face uncovered.
• A woman may divorce her husband.
• A divorced woman can have custody of her children.
• A divorced woman is entitled to an equal division of accumulated property.
• All students must take compulsory art courses.
• All students must take compulsory music courses.
• A woman may play a musical instrument.
• All students must take compulsory science courses.
• A girl cannot be married before reaching the age of 16.
• A girl cannot be forced to marry a man.
• A girl may not suffer any genital mutilation.
• A woman disobeying her husband cannot be killed.
• Females may not suffer abuse for failing to maintain a religion.
• Women may wear trousers.
• No public building may offer rooms for religious rituals or prayers
• A taxi driver may not refuse to carry a passenger accompanied by a dog.
• A taxi driver may not refuse to carry a passenger who is transporting alcohol.
• Where the law requires the wearing of a safety hat, there will be no exceptions.
• When the practice of a sport requires protective clothing, there will be no exceptions
  
• The food served to prisoners does not have to meet any religious criteria.
• The food served in schools does not have to meet any religious criteria.
• The food served in our hospitals does not have to meet any religious criteria.
• Men and women swim together in public.
• Women do not swim fully dressed in public places.
• At school, a girl may sit next to a boy.
• Girls and boys are to travel in the same school bus.
• Towards the end of the year, people may wish others Merry Christmas.
• Towards the end of the year, people can put up Christmas trees.
• At work or elsewhere, a woman can read a letter written by a man.
• At work or elsewhere, a man can read a letter written by a woman.
• A doctor or nurse may care for men.
• A doctor or nurse may care for women.
• At the hospital a nurse may be alone in a room of a man.
• At the hospital a woman patient speaks directly to her doctor.
• At the hospital, the sick can receive a blood transfusion.
• In the hospital patients wear the required clothing.
  
• In the hospital, staff wear the required clothing.
• An employer may require its employees to dress in a uniform.
  
• Schools may require that their students wear uniforms.
• Men accompany their wives to prenatal classes.
• At any time, a woman may offer aid to a man.
• On every occasion, a man may rescue a woman.
• A woman may teach male persons.
• At the swimming pool, a woman can lifeguard male persons.
• A policewoman may scold a man.
• A woman can show her hair without fear of being raped.
• A police officer may scold a woman.
• An employee may work after sunset.
• A worker may be required to work on Sunday.
• A female ambulance attendant may transport and treat a man.
• Employees receive all the same legal holidays.
• Employees respect the same work schedule.
• Children are not allowed to fast during the school periods.
• All schoolchildren must respect school hours.
• Girls are required to attend school.
  
• Workers must eat to accomplish their tasks.
• The same schedule of school exams is respected by all.
• The same schedule of sports in schools is respected by all.
• Men and women may participate in sporting events together.
  
• The schedule of events for amateur sports is respected by all.
• In our schools, children do not carry weapons or fake weapons.
• At work, employees do not carry weapons or fake weapons.
• A woman must take school exams unaccompanied.
• A woman can correct tests of a man.
• A woman can teach a man.
• Men and women can practice sports together.
  
• The food we consume does no have to be approved by various religions.
• In-store displays don't have to be approved by various religions.
  
• Our identity documents shall include our photo.
• Men talk to women receptionists.
• In our hospitals, men and women may share the same room.
• It is unlawful to smoke in public places.
• Contracts of divided property must be respected by all.
• Municipalities are not required to set aside any area to meet religions requests.
  
• Any person may be approached by a sniffer dog.
• No book can teach a man to beat his wife.
• No book can recommend hanging homosexuals in public.
• It is forbidden to physically attack people who do not think the same way.
  
• Nobody may burn a dead body in public.
• When a person dies, an autopsy may be requested.
• Hospital beds are not oriented to the prayers.
• Alcohol and gelatin based products are used in our hospitals.
• Alcoholic beverages are sold on campus.
• The state sells for profit, alcoholic beverages.
• Schoolchildren may read the book "The Three Little Pigs"
• People are free to believe or not believe in God.
• Everyone must obey municipal regulations.
• It is forbidden to disinter a corpse for a religious celebration.
  
• When conversing people must look each other in the eyes.
  
• In public people show their face openly.
• When greeting, women shake hands with men.
• People of different skin colours attend the same school.
• Working men and women rub shoulders.
  
• While waiting in line, men and women each wait their turn.
• When using public transport a woman sits where she wants.
  
• Polygamy is illegal and is punished.
• Universities, schools and hospitals may not provide places for prayer.
• Factories and other places of work may not provide places for prayer.
• Every employee must pay his union dues.

Hampstead's Unilingual Mayor

While Anglophones poke fun at Louise Harel for her lack of English and complain that it's an impediment to being an effective mayor, what can we say about William Steinberg, the last unilingually English mayor in the Province of Quebec?

The tiny town of Hampstead is nestled snugly between Cote Saint-Luc to the west and the Snowdon district of Montreal to the South and East.

The town, a bastion of rich anglos, is largely unknown amongst Francophone Montrealers and flies successfully under the radar as an Anglo foil for French radicals, whose usual target, the City of Westmount, is ironically more ethnically diverse than Hampstead. The city's only brush with French radicals was a passing mention in the famous FLQ manifesto.

The town remains one of Canada's wealthiest communities and it's mostly Jewish residents (85%) are closely aligned to the Anglo community. Even the town's Sephardic Jews, whose mother tongue is French, send their children to private English Hebrew schools.

The town's residents are highly successful and almost all are bilingual, but speaking French in Hampstead is not particularly important and certainly not relevant when it comes to civic affairs.

Town council meetings are decidedly English only affairs and for Mayor William Steinberg, it's a good thing, he doesn't speak a word of French!
It's likely that he can't even understand his own campaign literature.

No one can deny that William Steinberg, a descendant of the famous Montreal 'Steinbergs', the family that sold out it's eponymous grocery store chain for hundreds of millions of dollars isn't dedicated, he has turned the part time job into a full time obsession.

Being of independent means has it's advantages and during the last campaign Steinberg put in so much time electioneering, he claims to have rang every single doorbell of the 2500 homes in the town!

It's hard to fault him for effort, but the fact that he can't speak a word of French after living most of his life in the Province is a bit of a head scratcher.

Mr. Steinberg has blamed a hearing impediment for his inability to speak French and has been given a pass by the other candidates who don't want to be seen attacking an infirmity.

Although Mr. Steinberg is somewhat deaf, he speaks English just fine. The truth is that he has lived a sheltered life of privilege and has never bothered to learn French, simply because he never needed to. Mr Steinberg has invoked the 'infirmity' excuse as successfully as a university co-ed, claiming 'womens problems' in order to get out of a big test.

The question remains, infirmity or not, should someone who can't speak French be considered for a mayor's position in Quebec?

For Hampsteaders, the question isn't an issue and it seems that they agree with Mr. Steinberg that French is an unnecessary job requirement.

It's a bit two-faced, considering the Anglo position on Madame Harel.

Why Montreal is Better than Toronto

If you're an Anglo living in Quebec, you've probably been asked by other Canadians or Americans why you continue to live in Quebec given the language 'situation.'

It's never easy to answer, suffice to say that we stay because we want to. Those who aren't comfortable have already left, but those who remain, like it just fine.

Just for a hoot, I'd like to compare the livability index between Montreal and Toronto according to my own strictly subjective opinion.
I've graded each category out of ten and then applied a multiplier which weighs the category's overall importance.

Housing ---- Montreal 9/10 Toronto 4/10 x 10
A no-brainer. Montreal offers as varied a choice as Toronto and at about 35% cheaper than Toronto, it's a significant bargain. It's also possible to get homes with real lawns and back yards throughout the city with the exception of downtown. I once visited my cousin's home in Toronto and was shocked to find that there wasn't more than 3 feet that separated her home from her neighbour's. Freaky!

Health Care ---- Montreal 4/10 Toronto 6/10 x 10
While Quebec's health care system is clearly inferior to Ontario's, the gap is not as wide for Anglos in Montreal, who do a lot better then their Francophone counterparts, especially outside the major cities. The biggest problem remains the lack of family doctors and waiting lists.

Shopping ---- Montreal 5/10 Toronto 7/10 x 3
Montreal's biggest weakness is the lack of variety. Toronto boasts many American chain stores that haven't made the transition over to Quebec because of the French factor. (example-Williams-Sonoma). At the very high end, Toronto has a slew of expensive international stores that aren't represented in Montreal. Visit Bloor street in Yorkville to see what I mean.

Professional Sports ---- Montreal 5/10 Toronto 9/10 x 4
Toronto counts a pro baseball team and a pro basketball team, something missing in Montreal. The Toronto FC play in the premier professional soccer league, the MSL as compared to the minor league USL Impact. If Toronto had a NFL franchise, they'd be a perfect 10. The Buffalo Bills do however play some home games in Toronto, so it's a 9/10 for the city in terms of professional sports. While the Canadiens and the Allouettes are better organizations then the Leafs and the Argos, they can't make up the difference.

Restaurants and Nightlife---- Montreal 8/10 Toronto 6/10 x 3
At the top end of the scale both cities have a wonderful selection of first class restaurants, but Toronto has more. That being said, the real difference between the cities is in the restaurants serving patrons who can't shell out $400 on a restaurant bill and here Montreal wins easily. While Torontonians are more prone to eat at American style chain restaurants (like TGI Friday's), Montrealers eat in neighbourhood bistros that are second to none in North America. Eating phenomenally well, at a reasonable price is what sets the cities apart. Montreal nightlife is more dynamic and bustling, mainly because a higher percentage of Montrealers hit the clubs to party. Toronto's last call at 2:00AM is a bit of a party-pooper. Montreal bar owners are lobbying to extend the 3:00AM closing time to 6:00AM so people can continue dancing and sober up. (no alcohol would be served after 3:00AM..hmm!)

Live Entertainment---- Montreal 4/10 Toronto 7/10 x 3
No doubt that Toronto wins this category. Live theatre is virtually non-existent in Montreal. Although all the major musics acts include Montreal on the national tours, there are some smaller acts that just don't make it into La Belle Province. At least Montreal's situation is better than Vancouver's, a city that is consistently skipped on national tours.

Traffic---- Montreal 5/10 Toronto 3/10 x 6
Traffic is a problem for both cities, with both road networks straining under the load. Both have too many cars during rush hour and gridlock is an unfortunate fact of life. But Toronto's traffic is worse and commuting distances are significantly longer than in Montreal, making for a much longer drive. Toronto's Don Valley Parkway and Montreal's Metropolitan Boulevard remain the most annoying roads in Canada.

Cottage Country---- Montreal 10/10 Toronto 6/10 x 7
Toronto cottage country consist of the three major destinations, the Muskoka, Kawartha and Haliburton areas. While all three offer magnificent natural settings of woods and lakes, they require two to three hours to get to.

Montreal has two distinct areas that serve as cottage country, "The Laurentians," north of the city and the "Eastern Townships" to the southwest. Both offer magnificent lakes and woods, but have an added feature that is sorely lacking in Toronto cottage country- real mountains.
Better still, the Laurentians are located just 45 minutes away from Montreal, while the Townships are a little farther at about an hour and ten minutes. Montreal's cottage country is also better than Toronto's because of it's accessibility. Both regions are served by a first class divided highway that cuts through the heart of the regions, making for quick access.

As for boating, both Toronto and Montreal cottage country offer everything a boater could want, but for sailing the 'Townships' Lake Memphremagog straddling the US/Canadian border is tops.

Both city's cottage districts offer an outstanding selection of cross-country skiing, but when it comes to downhill skiing, Montreal far outshines Toronto, which offers few choices, the best being Intrawest's Blue Mountain resort in Collingwood with it's paltry 750 ft vertical drop. It doesn't compare to it's sister property in Mont Tremblant which is three times as tall and a world class resort, complete with a casino and airport (In fact Porter Airlines flies directly to the resort from Toronto during the ski season!) The Laurentians, The Townships and Northern Vermont (with the fabulous Jay Peak, Stowe Mountain Resort and Killington Ski Resort) combine to offer dozens of first quality ski resorts.
Also worth mentioning is the 120 kilometre bike trail that runs between St. Jerome and Mont Laurier and offers restaurants, B+B's, inns and campgrounds along the way, a biker's paradise!

What makes Montreal's cottage country a perfect 10/10 is that it is a complete summer and winter paradise, available not only to cottagers, but to all Montrealers as a day trip. Fabulous!

Higher Education---- Montreal 10/10 Toronto 8/10 x 8
Montreal and Toronto both offer splendid opportunities for higher education. What's amazing is that Montreal Anglos (numbering less than 15% of Toronto's Anglos) have so many options to choose from. Montreal's 10/10 comes from having the finest English language University in Canada, (18th best in the world) an amazing achievement. Toronto has more great schools, but none with an international reputation.

Weather---- Montreal 3/10 Toronto 5/10 x 8
Toronto has a warmer climate than Montreal. Not exceptionally better, but enough to make a big difference, lifestyle-wise. Truth be told, Montreal is not a fun place to be in February.

Festivals---- Montreal 10/10 Toronto 6/10 x 4
With the return of the Grand Prix, Montreal runs three major International events including the Jazz Festival and the Just for Laughs Festivals. What's significant is the extent that the citizens embrace these events. Toronto has only one real international event, the Toronto International Film Festival, which pales by comparison to the happenings in Montreal.

Public Transportation-- Montreal 8/10 Toronto 7/10 x 7
Both cities offer both excellent subway and surface transportation. The only reason Montreal's score is higher is that trips are generally shorter.

Suburbs-- Montreal 10/10 Toronto 6/10 x 7
Both cities offer beautiful bedroom communities, but the the real mark of a suburb is how far it is from the city centre and Montreal's west island suburbs are a lot closer. Some of the morning and evening commutes in Toronto are brutal hour and a half plus affairs. Going downtown for an evening out is an option that many suburban Torontonians don't have, given the long drive in. Suburbanites in Montreal remain vitally connected to the city.

Parks Montreal 9/10 Toronto 7/10 x 4
Montreal's Mount Royal Park has been voted the 8th most important urban park in the world. 545 acres smack dad in the middle of the city makes it second only to Vancouver's Stanley Park as Canada's best. Toronto has the Toronto Islands Park, but you need a paid ferry ride and a up to 40 minutes to get there, and that's from downtown. Accessibility is the key.

Bicycle Friendly-- Montreal 10/10 Toronto 5/10 x 3
Montreal leads all cities in North America in integrating bicycles into the urban landscape. The completion of a bike path on Maisonneuve Boulevard running through the heart of the downtown core signals the city's commitment. The BIXI bike rental program has been wildly successful and is expanding this spring into more neighbourhoods. The program is the envy of North America with cities lining up to import the concept. Don't worry Toronto, I'm sure you'll copy BIXI soon.

Innovation-- Montreal 8/10 Toronto 6/10 x 3
Montreal has always been the innovator, while Toronto remains the executor. Like the Japanese, Toronto copies and improves just about every urban concept developed in Montreal. Montreal is first, Toronto is better.


Professional Life - Montreal 6/10 Toronto 9/10 x 8
There's more opportunity in Toronto for Anglos than in Montreal. That, more than language was the cause of the Anglo exodus from Quebec.

Cost of Living - Montreal 8/10 Toronto 6/10 x 8
Housing, restaurants, entertainment all cost significantly more in Toronto.

Joie de Vivre -Montreal 8/10 Toronto 5/10 x 8
Torontonians are stay-at-homers. Montrealers live in the streets. There's an edginess in Montreal that exists nowhere else in Canada. Anglo Montrealers live in two cultures and enjoy it.

And so here is the final tally.

Final points--- Montreal 832- Toronto 692.

What do you think?

Maybe the Canadiens should Hire this 9-year-old

Nine year old Oliver Wahlstrom busts a move that is better than any seen at last year's the All-star game in Montreal!

Protectionism- Quebec Style

To our politicians, protectionism occurs when others (particularly America), shut us out of their markets in order to protect their local industry. However, according to them, it's not protectionism when we shut others out of our market to protect our own local economy.

Our newspapers, who parrot this concept, have been filled with stories of righteous indignation in regards to the "Buy American" provisions of the US stimulus package, rarely mentioning that we are in fact, bigger offenders in relation to free trade.

Quebec has always protected it's industry through an unpublished, but strict policy of buying locally. That coupled with a rigged bidding process for government contracts insures that Quebeckers pay more for just about anything that the government buys.

Quebec, however, is not the only culprit in Canada.

Robert Presser sums it up succinctly in The Metropolitain;

"According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Canada is a major hypocrite among OECD nations when it comes to protectionism. We ask for free trade with our US neighbor and cry about the Buy American provisions of the US stimulus package, but we protect our own provincial and municipal procurement system from US suppliers. The federal government is trying to work out a deal with the provinces on this issue, but progress is slow. There are over 100 trades and 50 professions that are covered by provincial regulation in Canada, which means that Canada does not have a mobile labour market and this creates financial and employment distortions across the country. Jean Charest is working to create a common labour market with France, and if he is successful a plumber from Lyon will have an easier time getting accredited in Quebec than one from Belleville, Ontario.

The OECD points out that Canada has significant restrictions on foreign direct investment in the telecommunications, transportation and broadcasting sectors and this hampers modernization, international competitiveness and creates higher structural costs for consumers – there is a price we are all paying for protecting the “Canadian” players in these industries"

In the midst of all the complaints of American protectionism, Quebec has launched a publicity campaign, encouraging people to shop locally for Quebec agricultural products. The campaign called "Acheter et manger québécois" is being run by the Quebec Ministry of Agriculture.
Claude Béchard, the Minister of Agriculture is quoted in a speech as saying;

"If each of us would replace $30 of foreign bought food with products bought in Quebec, it would mean that within five years, local sales would increase by a billion dollars."

The Government web site says it unabashedly;

"Whenever you choose a local food product in the grocery store, restaurant or market, you help to save jobs and grow the economy of Quebec, while supporting the people here. This growth is beneficial for all of us."

These types of ads, once popular have become verboten in a free-trade world.

Lucky for us, the Americans don't read French.

Reminders that identify local products are now appearing in our grocery stores.

I wonder if our Agriculture Minister would appreciate an American advertising campaign calling for the replacement of Quebec maple syrup with syrup produced in Vermont.

I wonder if members of the Quebec government would appreciate a snazzy commercial like the one above, created by the government of Washington State, imploring American airlines to buy Boeing airplanes instead of Bombardier, because it's good for the local economy.

It's a double-edged sword.

Arrrgghhhhhhh..................

Does the Mayor of Montreal Need to Speak English?

For those of you unfamiliar with the mayor of Quebec City, you should know that Régis Labeaume is quite the firecracker. He is perhaps, the second best mayor in all of Canada, bested only by the iconic "Hurricane" Hazel McCallion of Mississauga.

Régis Labeaume runs a tight ship and ever since taking over the mayor's office in 2007 has performed rather brilliantly, with solid management and dogged determination. He's unafraid to speak his mind and is sometimes politically incorrect. He infuriates his opponents by taking strong positions and defends them ferociously, as was the case in the Red Bull Crashed Ice event that was the target of the wrath of locals who were annoyed by the inconvenience it's staging would cause.
When the "Moulin à paroles" event planned for the Plains of Abraham, turned into a separatist love-fest, he pulled his support and cancelled his participation, much to the chagrin of organisers.

Quebeckers seem to enjoy his brashness. There's no doubt that Lebeaume is more popular than ever and even his enemies admit that he's effective. Polls predict that he'll garner over 80% of the vote in the coming election.

Lebeaume was born in the town of Roberval, located on the western shore of Lac St. Jean, in the heart of the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region. Of the city's 10,000 inhabitants it's likely that 9,900 are white, Catholic Francophones and the city remains a place where the only English spoken, comes from the mouths of tourists who stop for gas or food on their way up the road to the excellent zoo in St. Felicien. (I saw my first polar bear there.)
After graduating from Quebec City's Laval University, he embarked on a successful career in the mining industry. In 2003 Lebeaume became the director of an organization that promoted entrepreneurship in Quebec City and soon became interested in politics.

I'm recounting all this because everything in his past would indicate that he'd very likely be a unilingual Francophone.

But he's not. Regis Lebeaume found the time and made the effort to learn English.

Here's a video of Lebeaume hamming it up with Chicago Mayor Richard Daily. It seems that Mr. Lebeaume is quite comfortable conversing in English and seems to enjoy some pretty good connections south of the border. LINK

Last week he made his way down to New York to meet with the president of the NHL to lobby for a return of the Nordiques to Quebec. He, along with Marcel Aubut, the ex-owner of the team (who also speaks perfect English) made an impassioned plea and presented a cogent plan to bring back the NHL to Quebec. Mr. Bettman was impressed.

Does the mayor of Quebec, a city that is 95% Francophone need to speak English. I think so.
So does he.

When Louise Harel tells Montrealers that English isn't necessary for the job, perhaps someone should show her the above video and give her a copy of the news article detailing Mr. Lebeaume's exploits in New York.

It seems that the real tragedy is not that Louise Harel doesn't speak English, it's that Lebeaume is not running for the Mayor of Montreal.