Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Dear Friends,

I'll be taking a much needed vacation and will be returning July 4.


Happy Canada Day to all!!!..

53 comments:

  1. I am also off for a while. Spending my Fete Nationale in Maine. Then Canada Day in Muskoka.
    Have a good one.

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  2. Bonne Fête Nationale du Québec à tous, au plaisir de vous voir fêter notre créativité !

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  3. I'm so happy they're forecasting rain for tomorrow. Let it piss rain in the SJB parade.

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  4. Run for the hills and have a relaxing vaction. SJB Day is a depressing, infuriating day, with all the ethnocentric 'nationalistic' fervor on display; it makes me sick inside. Canada Day is even worse, with the Quebecois dishonouring and degrading the day by declaring it an 'official moving day'. Every year at this time, I am reminded just how arrogant, contemptuous, and belligerent the Quebecois have become.

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  5. Used to call it Dominion day. The Toronto guy.

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  6. National Day weekend in the Disney World and Canada Day weekend in Niagara Falls and Toronto for me.

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  7. I hope we get another, bigger earthquake on Johnny Baptist Day with the epicenter in Montreal!

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  8. So many nationalists on this blog, contemptuous and all

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  9. Vive le Québec,bonne Saint-Jean Baptiste ! On vous aime même si vous nous détestez ! Vive la loi 101, j'espère qu'elle soit renforcée ! Soyez fiers de parler votre langue, le français !

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  10. Even though in the past, the provincial government had declared July 1st as being a moving day to piss us off. This is no longer in effect. You can get a lease for any month. I for one have mine for Nov 1st. My neighbors is Sept. 1st. You just need to know to ask for it. Most people are still behaving as though all leases are to expire on July 1st. Don't let them bully you into it. July 1st is a Holiday to be celebrated by all Canadians. I have no intention of ruining my Holiday with moving. Stand up for your rights!

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  11. Yay! It's been a cloudy and overcast grey day, and now it's pouring rain! (as I type this at 3 pm). It pleases me so much to see the nationalist xenophobic French celebration day RUINED. I hope it rains every June 24th.

    Hopefully July 1st will be a bright, sunny and warm day!

    Ahh, there is a god afterall. :)

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  12. "Vive la loi 101, j'espère qu'elle soit renforcée !"

    The federal government should abolish Bill 101 and ban all separatist parties such as the PQ and the Bloc!

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  13. Soyez fiers de parler votre langue, le français !

    Being proud to speak French is one thing (and is normal), showing contempt towards the English language and those that speak it another thing. So go have yourself a great Johhny B day with the members of the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society, Mouvement de libération nationale du Québec, Jeunes Patriotes du Québec and all the other Franco-supremacist racists. I will celebrate my love of the province of Quebec, remembering my Anglos ancestors with quiet dignity far away from the jingoism.

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  14. ''The federal government should abolish Bill 101 and ban all separatist parties such as the PQ and the Bloc !''June 24, 2010 7:35 PM- UNE BELLE LEÇON DE DÉMOCRATIE ! Quand ça ne marche plus comme on veut, on met la démocratie aux poubelles ! Si l'indépendance est forte, c'est sûrement pas à cause des efforts de réintégration dans la FÉDÉRATION canadienne du reste du Canada ! Pas besoin de vous exclure, vous le faites vous mêmes, pauvres Rhodésiens ! C'est fini le temps ou on parlait white pour survivre !

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  15. Je n'ai rien contre la langue anglaise qui est utile dans les échanges à l'EXTÉRIEUR du Québec ! Depuis quand c'est à la majorité de parler la langue de la minorité ! Car dites-vous bien que ici la minorité n'est pas francophone ! Si l'indépendance c'est bon pour le Canada, pourquoi ce ne serait pas bon pour le Québec ? Sinon quand allons nous joindre les États-Unis et le Mexique et pourquoi pas tous les états d'Amérique centrale et du sud ?

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  16. ''I will celebrate my love of the province of Quebec, remembering my Anglos ancestors with quiet dignity far away from the jingoism'' Le bon temps, quoi ? Lorsque vous exploitiez tout le monde ? Avez toute la mauvaise presse faite aux francophones dans les médias anglos, vous devriez vous débarrasser de vos préjugés ! Les groupes comme Canada First Immigration Reform Committee (C-FIRC) et Canadian Heritage Alliance (CHA) ne sont pas québécois à ce que je sache ?

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  17. After spending some time reading it is obvious that prejudice is what fuels the conversations here.

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  18. "UNE BELLE LEÇON DE DÉMOCRATIE ! Quand ça ne marche plus comme on veut, on met la démocratie aux poubelles !"

    Democracy in Quebec? What a joke!
    Stripping entire groups of their rights is not democracy. As the late Premier Robert Bourassa said, "fundamental liberties have been suspended in Quebec."
    In both referendums, the PQ tried to trick people into voting "Yes" by asking vague, misleading questions.
    In the 1995 referendum, thousands of valid "No" votes were fraudulently rejected by the PQ overseers at the polling stations. Federalists wanted a recount despite winning the referendum because this would have exposed the fraud for the world to see. But the separatists fought against a recount tooth and nail and eventually succeeded in having the ballots destroyed.

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  19. "remembering my Anglos ancestors with quiet dignity far away from the jingoism'' Le bon temps, quoi ? Lorsque vous exploitiez tout le monde ?"

    The empire of France colonized and exploited many countries on several continents around the world. It was they who founded Quebec...on native territory.

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  20. "Vive la loi 101, j'espère qu'elle soit renforcée !"
    "UNE BELLE LEÇON DE DÉMOCRATIE ! Quand ça ne marche plus comme on veut, on met la démocratie aux poubelles !"

    Bill 101 is hardly a democratic law. It favours only one ethnic group and puts restrictions on others. It was declared discriminatory and unconstitutional by not only the Supreme Court of Canada but by THE TOP TWO COURTS IN QUEBEC.

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  21. ''The empire of France colonized and exploited many countries on several continents around the world. It was they who founded Quebec...on native territory. '' Je n'ai jamais prétendu le contraire, par contre, je ne suis pas contre une négociation avec les premières nations afin qu'ils obtiennent du territoire visant leur développement économique et politique.

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  22. ''Bill 101 is hardly a democratic law. It favours only one ethnic group and puts restrictions on others. It was declared discriminatory and unconstitutional by not only the Supreme Court of Canada but by THE TOP TWO COURTS IN QUEBEC. ''Le droit de commercer en anglais, d'exiger de se faire servir en anglais alors que plus de 80 % de la population est francophone, vous ne trouvez pas ça discriminatoire ? La clause dérogatoire, vous connaissez ? Sauf en cas d’exception, la langue de la majorité devient aussi celle du travail, de l’enseignement et de l’administration. Comme dans une société normale. Ce n'est pas de ma faute s'il est si difficile de respecter la langue française alors que le reste du Canada mène la vie dure aux Canadiens français !À ce propos, regardez ce reportage à propos de l'affichage à Moncton http://www.radio-canada.ca/regions/atlantique/2010/06/21/004-NB-bilinguisme-Moncton.shtml, dans la seule province BILINGUE du Canada !Une ville ou 35 % de la population est francophone !

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  23. Happy 20th anniversary of the failure of the Meech Lake Accord ! En route vers l'indépendance !

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  24. Jean Duceppe after the failure of the Meech Lake Accord :''Le Québec est notre seul pays, c'est le seul endroit au monde où nous puissions travailler à notre bonheur collectif dans la paix, loin, loin des marchandages mesquins, loin des ententes convenues dans le secret et la confusion. [...] L'avenir du Québec, à compter de maintenant, sera décidé au Québec par les Québécoises et les Québécois. Nos gouvernants, quels qu'ils soient, devront se rappeler cette grande vérité: le Québec sera décidé par les femmes et les hommes du Québec. Vive le Québec!»'' Je ne peux qu'appuyer !:)

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  25. Gilles Duceppe and that hag Pauline Marois are beating the referendum drums again. Perhaps they will ignore the Clarity Act and ask another misleading question in a future referendum. If that is the case and the separatists win, there is a good chance that Canada will not recognize the outcome. Then there is the potential for WAR. I can’t wait. As a former Montrealer living in exile, I will be one of the first to volunteer to take up arms against Quebec. It will be an easy victory for the federalists if the Quebecois behave like they did in both World Wars and hide in the woods instead of fighting.

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  26. An appeal: Can those individuals who provide commentary in French also provide an English translation. I would like to read what they write to garner their perspective. The Toronto guy.

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  27. To anonymous- June 28, 2010 10:01 PM : '' What kind of dangerous guy you are ?! Don't talk about war, you never knew it, if it happens, it will show the lack of democracy in Canada ! Espèce de goujat (boor)! Le Québec (anciennement Bas-Canada) a contribué à la création du Canada, rien ne nous empêche de désirer un autre type d'organisation politique ! It's not after Canada the end of the world ! Maybe something's better, like being independent and be the only one to decide for our future ? Jean Duceppe after the failure of the Meech Lake Accord :''Le Québec est notre seul pays, c'est le seul endroit au monde où nous puissions travailler à notre bonheur collectif dans la paix, loin, loin des marchandages mesquins, loin des ententes convenues dans le secret et la confusion. [...] L'avenir du Québec, à compter de maintenant, sera décidé au Québec par les Québécoises et les Québécois. Nos gouvernants, quels qu'ils soient, devront se rappeler cette grande vérité: le Québec sera décidé par les femmes et les hommes du Québec. Vive le Québec!»'' Je ne peux qu'appuyer !:)

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  28. Chevalier de Lévis

    « Nos espoirs sont élevés. Notre foi dans les gens est grande. Notre courage est fort. Et nos rêves pour ce magnifique pays ne mourront jamais. »

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  29. For those anglophones complaining that we have a law here protecting french in this french-majority province, might I remind you that you do NOT have to use a law to enforce english simply because it is the dominant language in North America right now.

    If your language was slowly replaced by another one (let's say chinese just for fun), you would consider having such a law for yourself in no time.

    This being said : je m'entends très bien avec mes voisins anglophones, shouldn't it be time to make peace and learn to live together?

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  30. Reply to anon at 10:01 PM:

    You are delusional. Once again you demonstrate that typical Quebec Anglophone tendency to assume the ROC is going to do something for you rather then act in its own best interests. Nobody is going to fight a war to keep Quebec in Canada. Putting aside the 'tolerant' (or permissive, weak-kneed) civic culture of Canada, just too many people are now aware of the costs and consequences of having Quebec stay in confederation. I can assure you that nobody in Alberta, for example, is going to fight to keep Quebec. As far as your other comment goes, why should French-Canadians have fought in the wars? It had no dog in the fight. Wilhelmine Germany was no threat to Canada. Why should Francophones (or other Canadians) have fought for the British empire? Canada had no more interest in the affair then Mexico did. As far as WW2 goes, the insane British pledge to Poland turned what would have been a Russo-German war into a global conflict. Once again Canada had no dog in the fight. Any claims to a "moral issue" are null and void. Canada's involvement cannot be shown to have saved any Jewish lives and when the west aligned itself with Josef Stalin, the greatest mass-murderer in history, it lost any claims of ethical superiority. Canada would have been vastly better off if it had stayed out of both wars.

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  31. Anonymous 8:21PM: “the ROC is going to do something for you rather then act in its own best interests. Nobody is going to fight a war to keep Quebec in Canada”

    Canada has the luxury of doing absolutely nothing. Canada already IS in Quebec (army, institutions, RCMP, bridges, federal buildings, federal employees, all the federalists concentrated in specific areas – Montreal, Eastern Townships, Outaouais). So if there is any fighting, it will have to be done by Quebec to get Canada out.

    The relevant question here is: “is Quebec prepared to fight?". Is it ready to rise up like Slovenia, Croatia, and Kosovo did in the 1990’s? Is it that committed? Not according to recent polls, it appears. After all, Canada is the 4th world’s best country to live in, according to the UN.

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  32. @ Enkidu's Palace,
    "For those anglophones complaining that we have a law here protecting french in this french-majority province, might I remind you that you do NOT have to use a law to enforce english simply because it is the dominant language in North America right now."

    The languages of the native people of Canada are infinitely more endangered than French is in Quebec. Why haven't they passed language laws on their reserves?

    I doubt that French was really ever in serious trouble. The Quebec nationalists just use that as an excuse to justify their oppressive laws.

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  33. Question: why does French need protection if it is the "language of the majority"? Logically, if you need protection from something, that something is a viable alternative. Hence, it appears that English is that alternative, and it is powerful enough to have the rules enacted to give advantage to French. Meaning that French is a weak language - a strong language would not need protection. Meaning that if I'm an allophone, what incentive do I have to adopt French? Why not go with the stronger alternative?

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  34. Anonymous said...

    An appeal: Can those individuals who provide commentary in French also provide an English translation. I would like to read what they write to garner their perspective. The Toronto guy.

    http://translate.google.com/#

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  35. Quebec Separatists/Nationalists (same thing because the end game is the same thing), have always wanted a "nous" country. And by that I mean, a certain group gets all the benefits, while other groups are targeted as threats. All the laws passed in Quebec are aiming to limit the power of anybody else that is not classified as "nous".

    Washington put an end to the old south in the 1960's. Canada has yet to muster enough guts to deal with it's own version called french-canada.

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  36. @ Anonymous:

    "The languages of the native people of Canada are infinitely more endangered than French is in Quebec. Why haven't they passed language laws on their reserves?"

    Mmmmm, maybe because we Canadians (note my use of "we") did not grant them the right to create laws for themselves? Our treatment of native people (all of us Canadians, mind you) has been appalling, but this fact does not evaporate french fragile status in North America.

    "I doubt that French was really ever in serious trouble."

    That's because you're not a French-Canadian and have no idea of our situation. Period. Up to bill 101, a lot of us were forced to use english at work in our french-speaking province, working for the anglo boss. Ahhhhh, the gold ol' time, isn't it?

    @ Adski

    A "weak" language? where are you going with this? There's no such thing as a weak language, What are you, 14? That's teenager reasoning!

    With such logic, what is the strength of english in the parts of USA where spanish dominates? Is french "weak" in France, where it is the dominant language? Duh?

    Finally, I would point out to all of you anglo crybabies that I, a French-Canadian (Canadian, mind you), am using your language to talk to you... What more do you want?

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  37. Reply to Anon. June 28 at 8:21 PM:

    You neglected to mention that France was also allied with Poland at the beginning of the Second World War. And you are delusional if you believe that Nazi Germany would have limited its aggression to the Soviet Union if Britain and France hadn't entered the fray. Germany had already occupied Austria and Czechoslovakia before invading Poland. If Germany had beaten the Soviets, it likely would have set its sights elsewhere as well. There was also the Pacific theatre of the war, where the Americans and the Japanese fought tremendous battles.

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  38. @ the Toronto guy: "An appeal: Can those individuals who provide commentary in French also provide an English translation."

    You are dreaming in technicolor if you think some of these zealots will translate their drivel into English. They are from Quebec for God's sake!

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  39. @ adski: Canada has the luxury of doing absolutely nothing. Canada already IS in Quebec (army, institutions, RCMP, bridges, federal buildings, federal employees, all the federalists concentrated in specific areas – Montreal, Eastern Townships, Outaouais). So if there is any fighting, it will have to be done by Quebec to get Canada out."

    There are also the native people of Quebec, who are mostly federalist. The Quebec government was unable to control a small uprising by Mohawks on two reserves during the Oka Crisis. It had to call in the CANADIAN army. One can only imagine how the natives will react across the province if the separatists try to force them out of Canada. It will make Oka look like small fry.

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  40. Enkidu's Palace said...
    "A "weak" language? where are you going with this? There's no such thing as a weak language, What are you, 14? That's teenager reasoning!"

    Agree totally! Now why exactly does bill 101
    exist? When will you explain to the PQ/BQ
    members they act like 14 year olds?

    Enkidu's Palace said...
    "Up to bill 101, a lot of us were forced to use english at work"

    Imagine applying for a job and actually being
    able to speak the language of your future
    employer.

    Enkidu's Palace said...
    "in our french-speaking province"

    Sounds like you are one of the "French is in
    danger" crybabies.

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  41. @ (latest) Anonymous
    French is in a much better situation now than it was before the language laws, I never said otherwise. And I'm one of those suggesting we should find ways to encourage people to use french instead of simply forbidding english. But french was in a weak situation in North America, and still is to some extent,

    As for speaking the language of your boss, you really think this would be acceptable if, let's say, anglos in Ontario would be forced to use chinese, after Chinese nationals took over the economy? Really, you wouldn't protest and just start learning chinese?

    You know, this is all empty rethoric from your part : your are not in our shoes, you have no understanding of what we went through. I'm not the type of guy to complain all the time about the "evil anglos", I'm turning a leaf here, but denying something never happened doesn't make it so.

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  42. This blog reeks of conservatism and wankers.

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  43. @ Enkidu's Palace:
    "You know, this is all empty rethoric from your part : your are not in our shoes, you have no understanding of what we went through. I'm not the type of guy to complain all the time about the "evil anglos","

    Bill 101 is an evil law, but I don't regard all Francophones as evil. Anglophones may have held a position of power in Quebec in the past, but at least they didn't pass laws restricting the rights of Francophones. In fact, after the British captured Quebec, they treated the French inhabitants in a respectful manner that was unheard of at the time.
    By the way, you are not in the shoes of Anglos living in Quebec now and you don't understand what it is like to live under such a repressive regime (from their point of view).

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  44. For Enkidu's Palace who wrote:

    "As for speaking the language of your boss, you really think this would be acceptable if, let's say, anglos in Ontario would be forced to use chinese, after Chinese nationals took over the economy? Really, you wouldn't protest and just start learning chinese?"

    Really. That happens. I used to work in an oil company in Asia. The company is Total, it is French. It is the norm in the oil industry that everything is in English. After all, the capital of modern oil and gas business is Houston, TX.

    In that company even though English is the language of the norm, employees are strongly encouraged to speak French. So there I was, in South East Asia where nobody spoke French, in an industry where English was the working language, learning to speak French because my bosses were French.

    Nobody protested because we knew that it was their company and their investment. We just tried not to bite the hands that fed us.

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  45. ''We just tried not to bite the hands that fed us. '' I bite your hands zealot you are ! Ça n'a rien a voir et vous le savez bien ! Keep your charity, you give nothing to francophones you exploited the little working class !

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  46. To Anglo Bashers July 7, 2010 7:29 PM
    ''Bill 101 is an evil law, but I don't regard all Francophones as evil. Anglophones may have held a position of power in Quebec in the past, but at least they didn't pass laws restricting the rights of Francophones. In fact, after the British captured Quebec, they treated the French inhabitants in a respectful manner that was unheard of at the time.
    By the way, you are not in the shoes of Anglos living in Quebec now and you don't understand what it is like to live under such a repressive regime (from their point of view).'' I don't know if you read the history book but il faut être profondément colonisé pour penser que les Anglais ont traiter de façon respectueuse ? Qu'est-ce qui faut pas entendre !? On les a seulement mis de côté durant deux siècles même s'ils représentaient la majorité sur leur territoire ! Pour votre information, après la Bataille des Plaines d'Abraham et le Traité de Paris (1763), la grande majorité des soldats britanniques ont quittés le territoire. L'Angleterre se devait d'être conciliante sinon, il y aurait eu des risques de rébellions. Votre sois-disant humanité, vous pouvez la garder pour les autres ! Les États-Uniens sont en Irak pour aider les Irakiens ? La stratégie n'est pas votre force, je vois... Jean Duceppe after the failure of the Meech Lake Accord :''Le Québec est notre seul pays, c'est le seul endroit au monde où nous puissions travailler à notre bonheur collectif dans la paix, loin, loin des marchandages mesquins, loin des ententes convenues dans le secret et la confusion. [...] L'avenir du Québec, à compter de maintenant, sera décidé au Québec par les Québécoises et les Québécois. Nos gouvernants, quels qu'ils soient, devront se rappeler cette grande vérité: le Québec sera décidé par les femmes et les hommes du Québec. Vive le Québec!»'' Je ne peux qu'appuyer !:)

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  47. For Anonymous at 02:08 PM who wrote:

    "I bite your hands zealot you are ! Ça n'a rien a voir et vous le savez bien ! Keep your charity, you give nothing to francophones you exploited the little working class !"

    That is the thing. You keep on biting those hands and proud of that fact. You know, the headquarters of BMO moved, RBC moved, Sun Life moved. Bell Canada anad Air Canada still have their headquarters here, but majority of their operations are in Toronto. Montreal Exchange is now part of TSX.

    Economically, Montreal is getting less and less feasible. Quebec is still the second most populous province, that companies still maintain their operations here. However, Montreal's glory days as a North American metropolis have gone forever and will not come back.

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  48. @ Anonymous at 7:08 PM:

    Continue to think you are the center of the world ! Your life must be sad: living with the mind that the world stop to anglocentrism ! I'm back from the West Canada ! Hard to speak french there ! I'll speak english ! I suggest you to make the same in Québec ! Speak french and just review your history ! Si l'indépendance c'est bon pour le Canada, pourquoi ça ne serait pas bon pour le Québec ? Zealot !

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  49. @ Anonymous at 9:42 AM,

    If you speak English like you write it, you must have had an extremely difficult time communicating in western Canada.

    If Canada can be split up, then Quebec can be broken up as well. If Quebec separates, it should at the very least lose the northern territories that were given to it as a PROVINCE by the federal government after it joined confederation in 1867. This area was part of Rupert's Land and includes more than two thirds of the province. The federalist ridings in Montreal and native reserves could also remain part of Canada. Partition has occurred elsewhere (i.e. Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland) and it could happen in Quebec as well.

    "Zealot!"
    No, a zealot is someone like yourself who supports the banning of languages and who trolls websites attacking anyone that does not share his narrow minded views.

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  50. We here in Ontario just giggle and smile at our racist brothers and sisters in Quebec as they celebrate their fete national or whatever it is. The Quebecois are provincial bumpkins mired in yesterday ... backward and arrogant in their pompous ignorance. If they could only see how they look to the rest of Canada - cartoon characters. Immature, childish, spoiled cowards. Please leave.

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  51. TO THE arroagant ONTARIAN:
    Who is racist here ? Allow me to say WE were here first, 400 years ago.
    Narcissim has to hit you hard.France's colonie will not leave because you said it,
    FRENCH AND HAPPY TO BE FRENCH

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