From the level of passion that I read in the comments section I can only be satisfied that in some small way I am fostering some level of the language debate from an Anglo point of view. There aren't many of us doing it.
If people shout, scream and call each other names in their post, all the better. It's a passionate subject and people have every right to express themselves and calling each other names is part of the venting process. Others may disagree with me, but hey, I control what is printed and will continue to publish as much is possible.
While I would hope that personal attacks be limited, I can't and won't stop them. Attacks of that same nature on myself will continue to be published in the interest of fairness.
I usually don't answer comments, even if I have an opinion or response. I'm not ignoring anyone, but I believe the comment section is for commenters.
For the record;
- You can comment in English or You can comment in French
- You can complain about people commenting in English or people commenting in French. If you don't understand the post, I would suggest GOOGLE TRANSLATE. It's good enough for the RCMP!
- While I don't appreciate gratuitous swearing, judicious use of expletives is okay.
- You can call people names, but you can't make stuff up or tell nasty lies about them.
- I respectfully suggest you avoid sarcasm, it doesn't go over well in print, but hey, maybe you're a better writer than I.
- Try to work on your post, be creative.
- I suggest you use a pseudonym. What good could possibly come of publishing your name?
- You can take a contrary view to mine or any other poster. There's no fun in having everyone agreeing.
- Run your stuff through a spell checker. There are online versions that work right in your browser and highlight erros as you type. Get the FIREFOX add-on here.
- I will not tolerate any post that uses ethnicity, religion or race as a pejorative.
- No advertising, but if you have a blog you can shill for it.
Perhaps Tyme Machine was prophetic when he predicted that there would be a well storm of criticism directed towards Eric Duhaime over his articles on Amir Khadir and that the criticism would take the form of 'shooting the messenger.'
That prediction turned out to be quite true as the Communist Party of Quebec launched a furious counter attack against Duhaime with a least three senior members writing rebuttals which were nothing more than foul personal attacks.
I too, tasted in small measure the same medicine, being accused of 'defaming' Mr. Khadir' and of cowardice for publishing anonymously.
Ironically, those who accuse me of this crime, do so anonymously as well. Hmm.....
"This is a lot of nonsense spewed by a paranoid right-winger. It is full of the typical assumptions and leading one-liners used by gutter, red-neck writers. The accusations are ridiculous at the very least. Who wrote this crap? It is unsigned and, presumably, nobody would want to take credit for ranting and whining about nothing." -Anonymous commentI'd like to offer a rebuttal, but there's isn't anything to rebut, it just a bunch of insults. I will say however, that I am not paranoid, even though I'm convinced people like this anonymous commenter are out to get me.
Finally, I 'd like to address the 'anonymous' issue, once and for all.
It's been over 165 years since a mob of English extremists attacked Parliament in old Montreal and burned it down. Since then, Anglos have generally preferred the pen, rather than the stick to further our opinions. The same cannot be said of a tiny minority of extremists who continue to this day to threaten violence against those with whom they disagree. RRQ, Jeunes Patriotes..etc.etc.
Now I know I'm going to get a bunch of comments about how Anglos violenced francophones throughout history, Acadians, General Amherst...blah...blah..blah.
But I'm talking about the here and now.
We are all familiar with the 'Galganov Effect" wherein the English rights proponent was literally driven out of the province by serious threats of violence.
I can assure those who are interested that I am not familiar to you politically or renowned in any manner. It doesn't matter who I am.
Without anonymity we'd never have benefited from 'Deep Throat,' the anonymous source who blew the cover off the Watergate Scandal in the Nixon era. More recently the importance of anonymous dissent is highlighted by the ongoing revelations about the war in Afghanistan by WikiLeaks. The Afghan War Diary is having the effect of profoundly changing the public's perception of the war.
If you don't like what I say, or what Eric Duhaime says, too bad for you. It's your prerogative to voice counter opinions and present facts that support an alternate view.
It's funny how Amir Khadir and company can argue for the right of Jaggi Singh to dissent, yet when we anglos do so, we are branded zealots and racists.
Enough. Let's lighten up!!!!
Just to prove that not all of we anglos are a blithering band of racists, let's enjoy this video prepared in response to the Anglo Society's campaign against the French language in New Brunswick.
Enjoy and Happy weekend!!
Bonne fin de semaine à tous!!!!!
Enjoy and Happy weekend!!
Bonne fin de semaine à tous!!!!!
Mississauga Guy here:
ReplyDeleteGalganov probably left more because he was getting attacked just has hard by the English press as by the French press. He was alienated by those he was fighting FOR as much as those he was fighting AGAINST! Would you want to stay where the people you're trying to help are fighting you?
Either take the garbage on your blog, or you can censor everything à la Gazette! The Gazette has become this mamby-pamby chronicle. It has just about always been a rag useful for catching turds at the bottom of bird cages and wiping windows. Its only shot at salvation was when the best writers from the now defunct Montreal Star came over to actually add an air of class, and they're all dead or retired now!
If I want censorship, I'll read the Gazette, thank you.
A gift for the "Je Me Souviens" crowd or as
ReplyDeletederteilzeitberliner said... :
"Et pour nos trolls fascistes":
Je me souviens
Que né sous le lys,
Je croîs sous la rose.
"Would you want to stay where the people you're trying to help are fighting you?"
ReplyDeleteQuoi! Avez-vous des symptômes schizophréniques ?
Author I like your style and your even handed approach to managing your blog. Good for you. Dissent is not hatred...you can't say that enough. For as long as I can remember the Franco nationalists have marginalized all Anglos dissenters by branding them as hateful zealots; such a sleazy ploy. Anyway, I know that Anglos in Quebec face an obstinate and unyielding enemy in the nationalist Quebecois. They will never compromise in an effort to find some equitable common ground that can work in the context of Canada. They are fueled by a long history anger and resentment, and are heartless in their selfish pursuit to re-conquer Quebec for their own gains. They have never cared about the lives they ruin, or the riches and opportunities they destroy along the way. They are like a corrosive pathogen to this county. So as futile as dissent may be, I’ll continue to take pleasure in being an agitator. I’ll be one of the people watching and telling all who will listen what is happening in this retarded self important province. I’ll be there to stick a pin in their hot air balloon. I’ll be there to return the verbal assaults. I’ll be there to spread the pain. I’ll be the pain in the ass that will never go away. They can trample Anglos rights, but they can never silence the dissenting Anglos. The nationalist new Nazis parties may one day achieve their dream of having their very own totalitarian state, but I’ll do whatever I can to make their insular self indulgent lives forever miserable or until they wake up and release us from the nightmare they have created. Thanks for providing a soapbox for disenfranchised Anglos. We must dissent no matter how futile, we owe that much to our ancestors, those who gave so much to this province, and are systematically ignored and dishonored by the black hearted Quebecois.
ReplyDeleteMississauga, my city
ReplyDeleteMississauga, for a real fun !
ReplyDeleteMississauga, where culture is not only in the field
ReplyDeleteNos "ennemis" sont ces anglophones nés ici,vivant parmi nous et n'ayant jamais fait le simple effort de s'adresser a nous en Français comme en Afrique du Sud,entre autres.J'ai quelques bons ami(es) anglophones nés ici et d'autres provenant de l'extérieur qui eux-même ne comprennent pas cette attitude.Attitude qu'on peut facilement qualifier de méprisante.Nous n'avons aucun remord a les foutre dehors a grand coup de pieds au cul.Ce n'est même plus une que linguistique mais plutôt de respect.Nous mettons tout en oeuvre pour que les prochaines générations d'anglophones aient un comportement plus ''social'' et plus respectueux.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous said..@August 6, 2010 3:09 PM
ReplyDeleteSo a "respectful" English speaker is one who
(if born in Quebec) speaks French first? Why?
Who do you think you are!
Here's who you AREN'T:
Inuit
Abenakis
Algonquins
Attikameks
Crees
Wendat
Malecities
Micmacs
Mohawks
Innu
When you can "respectfully" address ANY of
the above in their language, you can talk
of respect.
After all YOU'RE just ANother IMMIGRANT.
Viva Mississauga
ReplyDeleteTo eyewitness August 6, 2010 5:40 PM : Concision la prochaine fois et prenez un valium, vous semblez énervé.
ReplyDeleteMississauga: And heaven is possible
ReplyDeleteAnonymous said...
ReplyDeleteTo eyewitness August 6, 2010 5:40 PM : Concision la prochaine fois et prenez un valium, vous semblez énervé.
Na, think I'll pass on your dismissive advice. I might end up like you, addled and boring. Keep the valium for yourself; you’ll need all you can get to cope with your financial and moral bankruptcy.
Wish all Canada look like Mississauga
ReplyDelete"When you can "respectfully" address ANY of
ReplyDeletethe above in their language, you can talk
of respect."
Et vous en croisé combien de micmacs par jour a Montréal?...Moron!
"Concision la prochaine fois et prenez un valium, vous semblez énervé."
ReplyDeleteJe suggère plutôt effexor (venlafaxine) très efficace car il semble vraiment agité et instable,vous remarquerez que le sujet entamme son texte de façon relativement calme pour se terminer dans une tempête d'insultes et de fiel a l'anglaise.Je propose de commencer le traitement avec 10mm au levée.
"I mean how can you tell if someone is a tourist or a local?"
ReplyDeleteLes touristes sont plus détendus et ne parlent pas automatiquement "english".Comment est-ce possible d'avoir des questions aussi stupides.
Vous devriez vous calmez un peu.Allez!une bonne repiration...
Take a look to all those places in the world where the majority vote a law to give protection to their common language- http://www.mef.qc.ca/protection.loi.htm
ReplyDeleteLa Loi 101, faudrait en revenir à un moment !
« Nous ne voulons pas être une province pas comme les autres, nous voulons être un pays comme les autres. » Pierre Bourgault
Anonymous said... @August 6, 2010 11:22 PM
ReplyDelete"Et vous en croisé combien de micmacs par jour a Montréal?...Moron!"
In Quebec, over 4,300 Micmacs live in Listuguj
(Restigouche), Gesgapegiag (Maria), and in the
Gaspé region. Over !5,000 natives currently
live in Montreal.
However, my point, and I'll slow it down for
your (obviously) limited intelligence, was
ALL of those natives were here BEFORE YOU.
If we were going to give legal protection to
a language/culture, ALL of those should come
BEFORE French.
As you live in Montreal, out of respect, you
must speak fluent Mohawk.
Thinking your culture is first is BIGOTED and
the mental midgets who think that way should be
ridiculed every chance we get.
Mississauga, my city, my life
ReplyDelete"Je suggère plutôt effexor (venlafaxine) très efficace car il semble vraiment agité et instable"
ReplyDeleteYou seem to have an insider's knowledge of psychiatric drugs. You must be taking them yourself.
"Les touristes sont plus détendus et ne parlent pas automatiquement "english"."
A friend of mine who lived in Montreal had parents visiting from New Jersey. They were touring the olympic stadium and some teenaged French girls yelled at them and spit at them because they were speaking English. Many English speaking visitors to Quebec face similar abuse, so they never return and take their valuable tourism dollars elsewhere.
"Nous ne voulons pas être une province pas comme les autres, nous voulons être un pays comme les autres. » Pierre Bourgault"
ReplyDeleteI see that our little Colombian immigrant is publishing quotations from his boyfriend, Pierre Bourgault, again.
To the smart aleck from 9:35PM: Mississauga Guy here. You SHOULD wish all Canada, ESPECIALLY QUEBEC, operated HALF as well as Mississauga. Our mayor, Hazel McCallion, born in Port Daniel, QC, in Gaspésie, has been in office 32 years now, will be turning 90 next February. She is running our city DEBT-FREE, and plans to run again for another four years in the election next year! How many of your May-West-eating-Pepsi-drinking idiots elected to run their respective villages (including Montreal) can say they're running their cities debt-free?
ReplyDeleteBTW, the population of Mississauga is now about ONE MILLION people. Our parks are kept immaculately compared to ANY park I have ever frequented in Montreal. The cleanest park I have seen in Quebec is Hampstead Park, and it's not part of the City of Montreal. The Centre de la Nature in Laval is nicely kept as well. Other parks in my old Chomedey neighbourhood are shadows of their former selves. PIG STYES!
A good buddy of mine in Montreal runs a baseball team. Most of the summer they play in Hampstead Park because their services are impeccable, equipment is provided without asking, and any complaints are acted upon immediately. The beginning of the season starts at a City of Montreal park. They want a cheque before they'll talk to you, their washrooms and equipment storage sheds are ALWAYS locked and inaccessible, the fields are shabby at best, no bases provided, no foul lines marked, no functioning drinking fountains, etc. etc. Ask them for something, they MIGHT get back to you if they don't tell you where to get off first!
Quebec is a collectivity of unionized lazy asses, and that so-called manifesto released about five years ago by Lucien Bouchard and his minions says so. The civil service is about the most inefficient I have ever seen (and I worked for Revenu Québec one summer many years ago). My last three weeks were spent sitting around because the work was completed, but thanks to our having a contract for the whole summer, they had to pay us unless we chose to quit before the contract expiry date. The pay was too good to quit (about 65% over minimum wage)!
Somebody I used to work with (an Acadian) at another company formerly worked for Rev Québec as well (full time). This was during the PQ's first reign, and he remembers a fellow who was put on the payroll and spent all day staring at his credit card, first one side, and after about a half hour, he'd flip it over and look at the back, and then back to the front a half hour later. He used to be on welfare, then graduated to a better paying welfare! One of many, many reasons why Quebec's debt is #6 in the world!
So there, Mr. 9:35PM, I DO wish all of Canada was as debt-free as Mississauga. HEY! How about Alberta? Take a lesson, 9:35PM!
Yo, boyfriend of Pierre Boere-go (Mississauga Guy addressing you):
ReplyDeletePierre Boere-go and many of his minions, along with that ideology, is dead. It seems too many of your ilk don't want separation. If you did, you'd have won the 1995 Referendum. Trouble is, too many of you didn't want it badly enough.
Then again, that one-trick-pony of a leader, Parasite, lost and right away in his likely intoxicated state scapegoated "money and the ethnic vote" for HIS loss. Drat! His bid to become the first king of Quebec was defeated, quashed, and next thing you know his highness's power was usurped by the Lucien Bouchard.
Several weeks later, while on some political junket taking Parasite through Alberta (on the taxpayer's dollar), he specifically blamed the Jews, Greeks and Italians for his political beheading. I only wish I could have released the guillotine blade myself to sever his @#$%&!concrete head from his neck.
So here Quebec is in that same 15-year time frame since the last referendum and the one before that. Is another referendum on the horizon? Well, Boere-go lover, is it? If not, take another vallium and call us back in 2025!
Oh, BTW, a boere is an underclass farmer from South Africa. Boere is the Afrikaans term for farmer. Too, Mont-St-Hilaire from your fave organization of franco village idiots, racists and bigots didn't mention the AWB, a parody of I.F., that wanted to set up a sovereign "Orange-Free State" within South Africa's borders where Afrikaans would be the only language spoken and posted on signs, and its first class inhabitants would be Afrikaaners (the white-skinned Dutch descendants who came to South Africa hundreds of years ago). Apartheid would apply in the Orange-Free State.
Oh, and Latvia too is doing what it can to rid itself of ethnic Russians by legislating Latvian as their official language, including zero Russian on signs (Latvian only).
Sadly, it seems there are collectivities of vengeful, vindictive individuals who look for ways and means to get back at those they feel they were wronged by in the past...
Dites-moi Monsieur Mississipi oups!missisauga,votre très grande frustration ne découlerait simplement pas du fait que votre grand ami galganov va bientôt se faire expulser de l'Ontario,avec sa cagoule de KKK,s'il ne ferme pas bientôt sa grande gueule ?
ReplyDeleteThere is something deeply wrong with the Quebecois. They love themselves (too much) but they hate everyone around them. They hate Anglophones and Natives in Quebec, Canadians in other provinces, and Americans. The degenerate who is commenting on this blog in French only is a good example. But now these other people hate the Quebecois in turn.
ReplyDeleteI have visited Labrador and the island of Newfoundland several times. The Newfoundlanders are the friendliest and most welcoming people I have ever met, but they detest the Quebecois. Many young Newfoundlanders leave the province to work in Ontario or western Canada. They could drive through Quebec to get there but they avoid it and take another route through the north-eastern United States instead. They drive south to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia and take a ferry to Bar Harbor, Maine. Then they travel through Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and New York and re-enter Canada in Ontario. This alternate route involves a long ferry ride and two customs crossings, but the Newfoundlanders take it in order to bypass Quebec.
An Anglo friend of mine used to work at the Port of Montreal. One time he was talking to the first mate of a massive container ship at the port. The first mate asked him "what is wrong with these people?" He said that he had travelled to ports all over the world but the people he had the most difficulty dealing with were Francophones in general and the Quebecois in particular.
Connaissez-vous l'histoire du newfie qui voulait économiser du carburant sur la côte Est?Vous n'avez qu'a lire le commentaire précèdent...Finalement c'est pas un mythe,ils sont vraiment cons.LOL!
ReplyDeleteAugust 7, 2010 6:59 PM Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteThere is something deeply wrong with the Quebecois. They love themselves (too much) but they hate everyone around them. They hate Anglophones and Natives in Quebec, Canadians in other provinces, and Americans. The degenerate who is commenting on this blog in French only is a good example. But now these other people hate the Quebecois in turn.
August 7, 2010 9:29 PM
The dismissive attitude of the Solo-Franco Fascist, AKA “Quebekistanian” (August 5, 2010 5:06 PM ) is typical of a narcissist to negate opposing views. Smug in arrogance, intellect challenged, grandiose extremists are the squeaky wheels that speak the loudest, but in no way represent all Quebecers. The squeaky wheel gets the oil.
Why not try something different and instead, the squeaky wheel gets no oil (no attention, no money, no special status, no distinction, no special laws etc.) Pandering to the specialness of the Quebec people because of their pure laine “Frenchness” negates the multicultural reality that exists today. The reality today is diversity, no matter where you go. Trying to figure out a way to live together without killing one another is a global necessity. Hate exists, but we should not fuel its fire.
We have to wonder about the possible correlation of these extremists’ behaviors, views, hatred and provocations, as vulnerable individuals prone to a mental illness, in need of their special missions to fill their dull boring lives or narcissistic psychopaths’ hell bent on division, demolition and tyranny.
Are these people mentally ill with extreme views? Are they so frail in their self concept that they are threatened by any English? The chip on their shoulder is so huge that they overcompensate for their insecurities with grandiose delusions of grandeur? Or are they so arrogant and self deluded, that self entitlement as a Quebec nation, is their destiny; no matter how many people’s lives are harmed in the process, or the billions of dollars spent on trying to keep Quebec with in Canada? While these extremists claim they are strong, they are so easily threatened by a few English words. Is this strength or paranoia?
Quebec as a Bi-Polar Nation is in need of a little Lithium, a salt to fill the gaping wounds of the Franco psyche stuck in the past, to bring forth a reality check, that our destiny is fulfilled by our actions today and tomorrow, not by centuries of grievance & grudges. If you were so strong, you would not need our respect, you would not need to be so special. You would get on with your life and deal with the real tragedy of life, that life will come to an end for all of us. So stop wasting our valuable time, money and expense on the never ending Quebec saga. We are all immigrants or descendents of immigrants and we all have a right to be here. We all have a culture we are proud of and we are all Canadians.
MtlQCAngloFranco
Mississauga Guy here. Yes, 6:59PM, I too have taken a few business trips to NF and the people there were absolutely splendid. Years ago I was in St. John's over my birthday. My business associates, along with my boss, took me to a very nice restaurant downtown, put me through the "screeching in" ceremony and bought me nice gifts. A few days later at the weekly meeting, they made me a cake in my honor to share with the attendees. Very fun people.
ReplyDeleteI didn't realize the Newfies will cut through the New England states to avoid Quebec, but it's actually a shorter route to Ontario, and many of those smaller towns in Eastern Quebec are not very receptive of English speakers anyway.
As for your dock worker friend's experience with the ship worker, why doesn't his reaction of Franco Québécois surprise me?
@MtlQCAngloFranco
ReplyDeleteVoila le résultat d'une triste erreur historique.Soit de jumeler deux nations pour en creer une nouvelle.Votre discours métaphorique sur les lubrifiants est plus que douteux mais si ce genre d'image aide votre léctorat a comprendre la situation Canadienne,voici une petite expérience que vous pourrez réaliser vous-même a la maison : Prenez de l'huile (oil) et de l'eau,versez le tout dans un recipiant et essayez de creer un nouveau liquide homogène.
Le Canada n'est pas et ne sera jamais un pays,c'est triste suite d'expériences qui nous aura fait perdre un temps précieux a tous.
"...took me to a very nice restaurant downtown..." in Newfoundland? Hmmm....
ReplyDeleteBeing an American visitor (thus an outsider to the problems you deal with), it does seem odd that there isn't much of a protest when language laws are created and enforced. Maybe the response has been to just leave for a better and more accepting life? Do Quebecois who prefer the English language get marginalized?
ReplyDeleteMississauga, my proud, my life.
ReplyDeleteMississauga where having fun is a precious moment.
ReplyDeleteMississauga, where our liberty is like our lawn, when it's too long, we cut it !
ReplyDeleteMtlQcAngloFranco: “While these extremists claim they are strong, they are so easily threatened by a few English words. Is this strength or paranoia?”
ReplyDeleteThis is one of many contradictions that Quebec nationalists inundate us with. I once offered a clip of a speech Landry gave to a crowd of MMF zealots, in which he affirmed them (and himself) in the first 10 minutes that they are the majority and their language is the only language of Quebec, and then almost seamlessly switched gears and spent the rest fo the speech talking about how the French language and even the French “fact” are in grave danger of disappearance in North America. To a rational and critical observer, this speech would have been incoherent and illogical. To the MMF audience, it was ok, probably because it confimed their fears and insecurities as well as the contridictory feeling of being "les maitres du Quebec".
I suggest that No Dogs Editor does a piece on separatist contradictions. I can suggest a few:
1. Francophones – majority vs. minority in peril
2. French language – “official, the ONLY one in Quebec”, vs. “in danger of extinction”
3. Bill 101 – a great success (bravo Camille Laurin) vs. a failure (nothing changed since the 1970’s, English is back, we need to reinforce 101)
4. Immigrants – appreciate Quebec’s “openness” vs. always vote against us
5. English minority – 10% only, “historic” vs. always plotting against us, dangerous and subversive
6. Montreal – part of Quebec so is French only vs. a front line in the linguistic “war”
7. Multiculturalism is bad, it’s killing French vs. we’re open to other cultures
8. We’re for “linguistic diversity” vs. there was way too much Punjabi and Mandarin in the Vancouver Olympics, and not enough French
Missisauga Guy va bientôt publier son receuil d'anecdotes insipides canadiennes.Ostie!plus drabe que ça,tu crèves!Des textes en deux chapitres qui n'aboutissent sur rien...soyez donc plus concis Missisausage guy!
ReplyDelete@adski
ReplyDeletePourriez-vous être plus concis ,vos textes sont beaucoup trop long pour ce que vous avez a exprimer.
Merci!
Missisaugan way of life
ReplyDelete"...So there, Mr. 9:35PM, I DO wish all of Canada was as debt-free as Mississauga. HEY! How about Alberta? Take a lesson..."
ReplyDeleteAlberta,la province la plus verte et la plus respectueuse de l'environnemet? Non merci!
@ Anonymous at 12:09 PM
ReplyDelete"Pourriez-vous être plus concis ,vos textes sont beaucoup trop long pour ce que vous avez a exprimer."
Is that the best response that you can come up with to the lucid arguments that were recently posted? You're quite pathetic.
"...I might end up like you, addled and boring."
ReplyDeleteBref, Mississauga guy
"Alberta,la province la plus verte et la plus respectueuse de l'environnemet? Non merci!"
ReplyDeleteQuebecois are quick to condemn Alberta's dirty oil, but they hypocritically don't refuse the billions of dollars of equalization payments generated by this Albertan oil.
Moreover, Quebec doesn't have the best environmental record. It has destroyed pristine river systems and flooded vast tracts of land with its so-called 'clean' hydroelectric dams. It also exports poisonous, cancer-causing asbestos to countries around the world.
"Is that the best response that you can come up with to the lucid arguments that were recently posted? You're quite pathetic."
ReplyDeleteLe problème est que vous êtes redondants et impertinents avec votre liste d'énoncés aussi biaisées qu'insignifiantes . Vous n'aboutissez que sur du vide intellectuel.Comment pouvons-nous argumenter?
RE: August 8, 2010 10:59 AM, Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteAmerican visitor? "odd that there isn't much of a protest when language laws are created and enforced." "to just leave for a better and more accepting life?" Do Quebecois who prefer the English language get marginalized?
Yes, the Quebecois who prefer the English language do get marginalized. Most are bi-lingual and there is a culture of silence to keep the peace. Due to the lack of support from the Canadian government and years and years of fighting, we are resigned to go with the flow to just live our lives as peacefully as possible. This linguistic B.S. drags on for decades. It is draining, to constantly deal with the language crap. Not all Quebecers are obsessed with the language situation. There are many wonderful Quebecers, who are more flexible and open minded and receptive to the outside world. It is the extreme separatist zealots, who ruin the reputation of all Quebecers by association with these bigots. The zealots speak the loudest because they are the only ones with time on their hands collecting welfare checks, searching the internet and scratching their ass, while the hard working Quebecers work to pay the high taxes to support the welfare system that the zealots have become accustomed to. Most are proud Quebecers supporting their families living in a province, where the people in power are no different than those you would find in a penitentiary or insane asylum. We are one big dysfunctional family walking on egg shells, to avoid taunting the linguistic beast below the surface. It is not that we do not protest. Our protests fall on deaf ears. Battle fatigue Quebecers just live in the here and now, enjoying the many good things that Quebec has to offer. Montreal is a vibrant cosmopolitan artistic community. The good outweighs the bad, but when you have to live amongst the separatist zealots, there are days they get on your last nerve and you have to speak up and confront the idiocy that persists and does not represent all Quebecers. It is no different than living in the US with the right wing conservatives. Do the tea party zealots represent all Americans?
MtlQCAngloFranco
Mississauga: Where we think we have the right way to think and live.
ReplyDelete''McCallion has overseen the growth of Mississauga from a small collection of towns and villages to one of Canada’s largest cities. This dynamic growth of the Toronto area occurred after the 1976 election of René Lévesque's Parti Québécois government sparked an exodus of Anglophones and corporations from Montreal to Toronto.As Toronto grew in national standing, Mississauga politicians worked to define their community beyond a bedroom community of Toronto.'' Mississauga: where we think we are important because our business come directly from Montréal that was the Metropolis of Canada until the Election of Parti Québécois in 1976 ! We use to think that independance is good for Canada but not for Québec ! Pauvres anglophones, vous faites vraiment pitié, j'aimerais que vous puissiez vous impliquer avec les autres minorités du Canada. Elles n'ont plus n'ont pas la vie facile...
ReplyDelete«Nous indépendantistes, nous aspirons à l’internationalisme mais nos adversaires annoncent qu’ils veulent nous provincialiser de plus en plus. » - 1965 Pierre Bourgault
ReplyDeleteDoes Englishs Zealots exist ? How anglophones called them ? I think the Québec autorities have less problem to sanction than the anglos extremists !
ReplyDelete''Montreal is a vibrant cosmopolitan artistic community''. Are you sure ? But if you read the Canada's most cultured cities in the Great Macleans magazine http://www2.macleans.ca/2009/05/28/canadas-most-cultured-cities/, Montréal is after for sure Toronto, Calgary, Regina, St-John's, Charlottetown, Ottawa and why not Mississauga ? It's funny how Québec is after all those... That's not my anglos friends tell me after come from the deep Canada !
ReplyDeleteEffectivement Pierre Bourgault était un grand visionnaire.Un homme qui a prédit le bourbier multiculturaliste canadien.Sortons vite de ce "pays" avant qu'il ne soit trop tard,avant que nous devenions une culture parmi tant d'autres dans ce pays sans saveur et sans identité.A nous maintenant de sensibiliser nos frères et soeurs Québécois indécis afin d'atteindre notre plus grand rêve.
ReplyDelete«Celui qui sert une révolution laboure la mer.»
ReplyDelete[ Simon Bolivar ]
Langue Française: Ottawa vient en aide. Par Radio-Canada, www.radio-canada.ca, Mis à jour le: 8 août 2010 12:28
ReplyDelete"The degenerate who is commenting on this blog in French only is a good example."
ReplyDeleteYou have just to learn French...Fucking morron!
Canada is a bilingual country.Where are you from?Texas?Faites-vite car vous allez bientôt vous faire passer un Chinois.Le mandarin est beaucoup plus difficile a apprendre surtout pour un attardé de votre espèce.
Pauvres anglophones, vous faites vraiment pitié, j'aimerais que vous puissiez vous impliquer avec les autres minorités du Canada. Elles n'ont plus n'ont pas la vie facile...
ReplyDeleteYou fit the profile; your words and thoughts are invariably filled with contempt, and seethe with open hostility towards others and suppressed insecurities regarding your place in the world. You might want to take more care, and show some measure of respect in these matters; one taunts and infuriates their enemies at their own peril.
Does Englishs Zealots exist ?
Fuck ya, they’re the ones that want to see Franco-zealots like you hanged, drawn, and quartered. But they don’t represent the majority, who simply want the Franco-zealots to check their belligerent ambitions and back off, before they provoke a regrettable and irreversible event.
On s'excite le poil des jambes ? Mississauga here I am.
ReplyDeleteThe guy that comment the conditions of Natives: can he explain to me what the federal state doing for giving them a better future ?
ReplyDelete"The degenerate who is commenting on this blog in French only is a good example."
ReplyDelete"You have just to learn French..."
You misunderstood what I was saying. The content of what you write identifies you as a degenerate. It doesn't matter which language you use.
"Effectivement Pierre Bourgault était un grand visionnaire."
ReplyDeletePierre Bourgault was a cocksucker.
I suggest that No Dogs Editor does a piece on separatist contradictions.
ReplyDeleteLove the suggestion and the list, which nicely sums up the sociopolitical madness that percolates in Quebec. It would make a great addition to a Quebec tourist brochure. The seppies’ contradictions splayed sanity long ago; all reason flew out the window when hell spawned that brood, and they inflicted their corrosive dogma on the unsuspecting and vulnerable Quebecois.
Monsieur eyeWithness vous me décevez.Seriez-vous par hasard un de ces fameux anglo-zealots.Ne soyez pas si agressif,vous allez voir on s'habitue assez rapidement a faire partie d'une minorité et puis on n'est pas si méchant envers vous.Vous pouvez parler anglais entre vous,aller au cinéma,etc.Pourquoi être si méchant et parler de gestes regrettables?Vous nous faites peur Monsieur eyeWhitness,vous êtes méchants et non reconnaissant.
ReplyDeleteOf course, what a way to arrive to compromise, dear Mr Eyewitness. And to anonymous August 8, 2010 7:47 PM : We don't care what people doing in their private room ! Bourgault était bcp plus articulé que vous, c'est à n'en point douter. Giving you a willy, it's good for remove stress or agressivity.
ReplyDeleteMississauga, a new model for the world.
ReplyDeleteI suggest that No dogs Editor does a piece on federalist contraditions. Maybe you can show how the ROC is an example of no discussion.
ReplyDelete"You misunderstood what I was saying. The content of what you write identifies you as a degenerate. It doesn't matter which language you use."
ReplyDeleteDésolé.Je croyais que vous étiez un de ces culs terreux de l'Ouest canadien.Vous savez ceux qui arpentent la rue principale de leur village d'attardés cosanguins dans leur pick-up éco-énergétiques et un six pack sur le siège du passager.Merci d'avoir rectifié le tir.
On lâche pas,les zealots sortent de leurs trous et commencent a se déchaîner!
ReplyDeleteMany thanks to MtlQCAngloFranco
ReplyDeletefor your articulate comments.
Yes, Montreal- and all of Quebec- are great places to visit. Fortunately, I do speak French, though the welcomes have always been sincere.
With respect, I would not live there and thus choose to be a 4th class citizen. Yeah, we have plenty of crazies in the US (like the Tea-Party fad), but we do all understand each other and that helps keep the debate as transparent as possible. There's a lot to be said about huge places like NYC and Chicago, where just about every language under the sun is spoken, but there is a common language for schools and commerce. I wish you folks all the luck in the world, and hope the pendulum lands in the middle.
Mississauga: where fun is only at the television.
ReplyDeleteMississauga: A place where anglos zealots can have a name.
ReplyDeleteRe: August 8, 2010 6:03 PM ''Montreal is a vibrant cosmopolitan artistic community''. Are you sure ?
ReplyDeleteYes, I am sure. Montreal is a vibrant cosmopolitan city. I was not saying Montreal is the best or better than any other city. In my experience, Montreal has many good things to offer, as do many other cities. There are many great cities in Canada. A comment about something good about Montreal, should not always be taken in a militant manner. There are good and bad things in every city. Montreal is a great place to visit, but you wouldn’t want to live here. Montreal is not the shining star it was in the past, but there are still many good things to see and visit, as long as you don’t run into a separatist. The on-going Quebec drama has definitely affected the gradual deterioration of the city. Thanks for the article and link, I didn’t see this article before. It is enlightening and depressing for those of us, who still live here but count the days until we are able to move.
MtlQCAngloFranco
Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteDo Quebecois who prefer the English language get marginalized?
Thanks for your interest. Yes, it’s unofficially a government policy, and is institutionally and socially acceptable to do so. All you need to do is check out the comments on this post or any other on a similar topic. You can see for yourself. If you were to look at other blogs or website that deal with this subject matter, you would quickly learn that there is no shortage of predatory and abusive Franco-supremacist bent on ridiculing and dismissing all forms of Anglos dissent as fanatical. There are lots of militant Quebec separatist groups like the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society whose members actively target Anglos on the internet and elsewhere for ridicule and intimidation. Incidentally, it’s worth pointing out that the word ‘Quebecois’ is a racially charged term, which is generally defined to include only those individuals with the correct ‘pure laine’ ancestry. Pure lain refers to people having original French-Canadian ancestry, also known as ‘de souche’ or old stock Quebecois. Lots of Anglos don’t identify with the term. And yes it does seem odd that there isn't much of a protest when language laws are created and enforced. Simply put, our Federal government failed us, and let Quebec run roughshod over the linguistic and educational rights that all Canadians are supposed to have. You’re right; the response for many hundreds of thousand Anglos was to leave for places with a better and more accepting way of life.
Monsieur l'américain,saviez-vous que les canadiens sont des sujets de la reine Elizabeth?
ReplyDeleteMississauga don't go away,we love you!
ReplyDeletemtlanglofranco: “Not all Quebecers are obsessed with the language situation. There are many wonderful Quebecers, who are more flexible and open minded and receptive to the outside world.”
ReplyDeleteI don’t doubt it. The question is: where are they hiding? Why aren’t they speaking out in public against the extremists that pollute this society (and apparently this board as of late)? Why is it that guys like Beaulieu are invited to tv or radio programs as experts, and are interviewed as serious guests? Why aren’t there any critical articles written about them and the organizations they belong to? I recently listened to a radio interview with Gerald Larose – an SSJB extremist, a former member of the FLQ. There was not a single tough question, instead plenty of convenient questions that he could dream of, laid out for him so he could spread his gospel (some leading, like “what did you think of so many Anglophone bands at the last Quebec festival?”). And when someone in Quebec finally says something that makes sense (Deltell, Rozon), why are they all of a sudden hounded and disappear immediately after?
mtlanglofranco: “Yes, I am sure. Montreal is a vibrant cosmopolitan city.”
It depends on your definition of “cosmopolitan”. If you define it by the mere presence of many ethnicities, then yes. However, some define it in more stringent terms, not just by presence but also by acceptance. To me, London is a truly cosmopolitan city, as is New York, Amsterdam, and Paris (Paris, for example, has announcements in French, English, and Spanish in the metro). Montreal, with its MMF twits running around free and unabated, with Harel and her sidekicks in the city hall, still has a long way to go to catch up with those cities.
Mississauga Guy here once again!
ReplyDeleteTo the troll who is posting the one-line zingers, esp. about Mississauga, you've probably never been here, so let me educate you a little.
First of all, I grew up in Chomedey Laval. Until I started going to CEGEP and then university (in town), Chomedey was a fine place. I went to good schools, met many good people, and over time, there were more services available. I worked for the now-defunct Pascal hardware chain at Carrefour Laval, now Quebec's largest shopping center.
Here in Mississauga, like Laval, we're mostly a bedroom community, but there are industrial parks like in Laval, and the Square One Shopping Center, Ontario's largest shopping center.
I also work in Mississauga, and many members of my team speak French. Mayor Vaillancourt has done a good job developing Laval, but unlike Mississauga, Laval is NOT debt-free. Thankfully it's in better shape than Montreal, but part of your municipal taxes goes to servicing your debt.
Here in Mississauga, we have a mayor of 32 years who no longer has to campaign in elections--that's how good she is at her job. He is 89 years old and plans to run for another four years in next year's election. "Hurricane" Hazel McCallion was born in Gaspésie, and runs Mississauga DEBT-FREE! NO LONG-TERM BONDS OR OTHER LIABILITIES IN MISSISSAUGA!!! No municipality, BUT NO MUNICIPALITY IN QUEBEC can make that claim!
Also, some half-witted troll made a crack about nice restaurants in St. John's, NF. Yes, troll, there ARE nice restaurants in Newfoundland and there are affluent people as well to frequent these high-end establishments. Don't speak lowly of places you don't know and have probably never visited. You show your ignorance.
Anonymous said...@August 8, 2010 7:41 PM
ReplyDelete"The guy that comment the conditions of Natives:
can he explain to me what the federal state doing for giving them a better future ?"
Not the point. To presume ones culture deserves
special treatment under law is to decide ones
culture is (more important) supreme. This is
RACIST.
To actually craft laws specifically
designed to ethnically cleanse (your) society
of other (less) important cultures is (nazi) sick.
Bill 101 was never about protecting the French
language (you do that through education) it was
designed to eliminate other languages (English)
from Quebec.
As Quebec becomes (more) unilingual dissent
will disappear and the people will become
easier to control (the goal).
Silence is Acquiescence
To adski August 9, 2010 12:41 AM :''To me, London is a truly cosmopolitan city'' Have you been to London recently ? I've been there this year, i found it was really english ! All was in english ! I don't find that bad ! In Montréal, it's the same, you can speak the language you want in your personnal life but when there's a reject of the common language, the one of the majority and the first reflex is english, there's a problem ! It's funny, nobody speak me in french in London ! Maybe you must review your definition of cosmopolitain or put Montréal in it ? Your choice... Suivant votre définition, Mississauga est une ville cosmopolite !
ReplyDeleteVous êtes vraiment obsédés par les termes ''laws'', ''rights'', vous décidez de vous mettre de côté de la société, ne blâmez que vous-mêmes. De notre côté, la vie continue... en français.
ReplyDeleteMississauga Guy August 9, 2010 4:11 AM ''Ontario's largest shopping center'' Oh my god ! Mississauga here I come ! Mississauga: a suburb like the other one.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous said... @August 9, 2010 8:42 AM
ReplyDelete"Vous êtes vraiment obsédés par les termes
''laws'', ''rights'', vous décidez de vous mettre
de côté de la société, ne blâmez que vous-mêmes.
De notre côté, la vie continue... en français."
Of course we're concerned, without laws we
becomes little more than noisy animals and
without "individual" rights, we resort to
mob rule.
And do continue to enjoy your life in your
language, just quit trying to tell "les autres"
(everybody else) how to live theirs, agreed?
"And do continue to enjoy your life in your
ReplyDeletelanguage, just quit trying to tell "les autres"
(everybody else) how to live theirs, agreed?"
Vous ne serez plus "les autres" lorsque vous vivrez avec nous dans la langue commune du Québec,le Français.Avez-vous de la difficulté a comprendre l'état des choses ou êtes-vous simplement maso?
"Also, some half-witted troll made a crack about nice restaurants in St. John's, NF"
ReplyDeletePourriez-vous nous en recommander quelques uns car cela pourrait-être un argument décicif pour le choix de notre prochaine destination.En quelques mots si possible.
Merci!
"Who do you think you are?"
ReplyDeleteMaîtres chez-nous.
Mettez moins de mots dans vos textes et plus d'idées...si possible.Je me répète mais les anglos semblent avoir de la difficulté avec la concision.
Anonymous said...August 9, 2010 11:45 AM
ReplyDelete"Vous ne serez plus "les autres" lorsque vous vivrez avec nous dans la langue commune du Québec,le Français."
Pure bullshit! Do we really need to put up a
list of (French) Quebecrs who've be told they
aren't "real Quebecers" because of their
POLITICAL views?
Avez-vous de la difficulté a comprendre l'état des choses ou êtes-vous simplement maso?
No, I just understand right from wrong.
"No, I just understand right from wrong."
ReplyDeleteAlors bonne chance avec votre problème de rejet.
Nous continuerons a vivre avec ou sans vous.
"and some teenaged French girls yelled at them and spit at them because they were speaking English."
ReplyDeleteAnd...Where's the problem?
Anglo Bashers: "They were touring the olympic stadium and some teenaged French girls yelled at them and spit at them because they were speaking English. Many English speaking visitors to Quebec face similar abuse, so they never return and take their valuable tourism dollars elsewhere. "
ReplyDeleteYet the PQ has the gull to blame the Charest government for the decline in tourism - despite the fact that Quebec tourism suffers primarily because of the local attitudes that the PQ helped foster since its inception in the mid 1970's.
http://pq.org/actualite/communiques/declin_du_tourisme_au_quebec_ou_sen_va_le_gouvernement_charest
adski said...
ReplyDeleteThe question is: where are they hiding? Why aren’t they speaking out in public against the extremists that pollute this society?
There is a conspiracy of silence about speaking out against the language issue. The newspaper only prints the letters to the editor that are pure superficial fluff. Web blogs censure posts. The government both Federal and Provincial claim there is no problem and we are having a period of linguistic peace. They strategically shove everything under the rug or spin language Bills in the courts for decades with no resolution. There is no peace, if you read many of the posts on the internet. The tension is palpable. For the Anglophones, who speak up, we are outnumbered, suffer battle fatigue and are fed up with the lack of support from the Canadian government. No one will listen or address the Anglophones concerns. Our children are the sacrificial lambs to appease the French Gods to keep the peace. There is no organized effort to protest or confront the tyranny. The English organizations, MNAs that are suppose to speak up for Anglophone, francophone, & immigrants basic human rights, as Canadian citizens are in cahoots with the government. They will say enough to placate the people and then it is back to the same old manipulative-spin snake oil politics. It never changes. Our rights have been taken away for over 40+ years. If you try to say something in the work environment, you are ostracized by the separatist few, who create a hostile work environment. It is not easy to speak up for our rights, but unless we do. Quebec will continue to take our rights away to the detriment of our children’s future. When the enlightened francophone’s start speaking up and demanding their rights for their oppressed children, then things will change. The government will continue to ignore the language issue and human right violations until hell freezes over or the shit hits the fan, whichever comes first. Until then, we try to stay optimistic, drink a little wine and pack for the big move.
MtlQCAngloFranco
Je crois que vous seriez beaucoup plus heureux en Alberta.Est-ce un problème d'argent qui qui vous empêche de faire le "move"?Je suis partant pour la création d'un fond spécial afin de faciliter votre migration vers un endroit moins hostile.
ReplyDelete"Je suis partant pour la création d'un fond spécial afin de faciliter votre migration vers un endroit moins hostile."
ReplyDeleteQuebec has not money. They spent it all on social programs and of course they Caisse lost 40% of their assets due to their greedy and stupid pursuit of "toxic paper". Good luck with you defined benefits pension. Hopefuly Quebec will be gone before the ROC has to pay for this screw up. Quebec is nothing more than a parasitic province living on welfare provided by other provinces in Canada. The new invitro fertilization program is another faux pas. The health care people indicate clearly that there is not enough obstetricians and gyneacologists to hande the existing birth rate. I guess people will be having these IVF kids stuck in traffice on the Mercier or Champlaine. Stupid is as stupid does.
Sans nous vous n'êtes rien.Nous sommes le Canada.
ReplyDeleteMëme si vous êtes supérieurs
démographiquement,vous êtes inférieurs intellectuellement.
"Mëme si vous êtes supérieurs
ReplyDeletedémographiquement,vous êtes inférieurs intellectuellement."
This is hardly the case. Like I said in another post, the Quebecois have the lowest literacy rate and the highest high school drop-out rate in Canada. They also have authoritarian tendencies; one need only look at the language laws for proof.
"...one need only look at the language laws for proof.""
ReplyDeleteJe trouve votre jugement très radical.Vous réagissez exactement comme vos provocateurs veulent que vous réagissiez.C'est un devoir que nous avons de protéger les minorités.Nos lois sont pro-Françaises et non anti-Anglaises.J'espère que vous voyez la distinction.
"C'est un devoir que nous avons de protéger les minorités.Nos lois sont pro-Françaises et non anti-Anglaises."
ReplyDeleteIf your language laws are not anti-English, why has English been restricted or banned from public display?
Why has access to English schools been strangled? One would think that at least immigrants from Anglophone countries would be allowed into the English school system, so that these schools do not continue to close at an alarming rate.
Why is there always talk of "reasonable accomodation" of minorities in Quebec? There are more immigrants on a per capita basis in other provinces but they don't have such discussions.
Finally, if minorities are so well treated in Quebec, why has a massive exodus of hundreds of thousands of Anglophones and Allophones occurred during the past several decades?
L'état Québécois n'est aucunement responsable de vos enfants.C'est votre reponsabilité a vous et a vous seul.Vous voulez qu'ils soient anglos dans une majorité Francophone?Hé bien assumez-le!
ReplyDeleteVous avez décidé de les marginaliser vous-même.
Arrêtez de blâmer notre État Québécois pour vos propres erreurs.Ça suffit les jérémiades!Soyez donc logique et conséquent...Allez-donc vivre en Ontario.Le Québec ne sera jamais anglo,point a la ligne.
"L'état Québécois n'est aucunement responsable de vos enfants.C'est votre reponsabilité a vous et a vous seul."
ReplyDeleteThe Quebec government does have control over Anglophone children. It restricts access to their schools with racist language laws. It determines the curriculum they are taught in school, but harasses the children, their teachers and their parents by not providing English textbooks in many cases. Anglophones pay taxes in Quebec (they pay more taxes than Francophones do on a per capita basis). They should be treated with more respect.
"Soyez donc logique et conséquent...Allez-donc vivre en Ontario."
The Quebecois are not the indigenous people of Quebec. They have only been here for a few hundred years, which isn’t a very long time in the grand scheme of things. They are immigrants like almost everyone else. If the Quebecois are not happy with the current situation in Canada, they should move back to France. After the British defeated the French in Quebec in 1763, they deported the French administrators and other elite over concerns that these individuals might cause a future uprising. The British should have deported the entire French population of Quebec at the time, as they did with the Acadians a few years earlier. Then we would not be experiencing all of the problems we are having with Quebec today.
"If the Quebecois are not happy with the current situation in Canada"
ReplyDeleteSaviez-vous qu'il n'y a qu'une seule langue Officielle au Québec? S.V.P faites circuler ce liens chez vos amis canadiens.
http://www.olf.gouv.qc.ca/charte/charte/clflgoff.html
J'espère aussi que notre prochain gouvernement,qui a toutes les chances d'être Péquiste,soit plus clair au sujet de nos lois linguistiques.Certains d'entre-vous semblent croire que c'est un tout nouveau système pédagogique.
"The British should have deported the entire French population of Quebec at the time, as they did with the Acadians a few years earlier."
ReplyDeleteVous avez raison mais pour l'instant c'est nous qui avons ce pouvoir moins violent mais tout aussi efficace,de déportation.Désolé,parfois l'histoire fait bien les choses.De plus lorsque je lis ce genre de commentaire haineux,je serais en faveur de ne pas reproduire l'erreur que vous avez commis en 1755,c'est a dire de ne pas avoir déporté tout le monde sans exception...aucune.
"De plus lorsque je lis ce genre de commentaire haineux..."
ReplyDeleteAnd telling people to go live in Ontario is not hateful?...more hypocrisy! The expulsion of the Acadians occurred over 250 years ago, when social conventions were less evolved. The cleansing of minorities in Quebec is happening now. There is a backlash growing towards Quebec in the rest of Canada...one day you will pay dearly for your transgressions.
"one day you will pay dearly for your transgressions."
ReplyDeletePour l'instant c'est vous qui payez pour les grandes erreurs historiques de vos ancêtres.
La prochaine agression contre le Québec (en tant que province) sera la dernière...croyez-moi.
Bonne journée!Nous on retourne fêter le 20ième anniversaire de notre chef a la tête du Bloc Québécois...Allez!Allons nous amuser...
If there is a future conflict between Quebec and the rest of Canada, the Quebecois will display their true colors and back down. In both world wars, the Anglo-Canadians were considered to be some of the best soldiers. The Germans always deployed their elite troops against the Canadians. The Quebecois did everything possible to avoid fighting in these wars...many fled to the countryside.
ReplyDeleteI had an uncle who was a paratrooper in the Second World War. When he returned to Montreal afterwards, he went around picking fights with Francophones because he was angry about their lack of participation. He never lost a fight.
The leader of the Bloc Quebecois is a traitor who should be stripped of his Canadian citizenship and deported from the country.