French versus English Volume 18

CSST -no longer providing English service to business

Many readers contacted me concerning the new policy of the Quebec's workman's compensation board, known as the CSST, which announced it will no longer offer service in English to business owners who are English. LINK

Ironically the commission will provide English assistance to business' which have head offices outside Quebec. The commission is funded 100% by employers , many of them English.

It seems that the CSST is being strong armed by the government's OQLF, the French language police, to drop the service.

The CSST was quite clear on it's website  that the decision to drop English was based on a requirement to obey the OQLF.

 Thanks to Anglo Montrealer, Mitch and others for the tip....

Councillors Give up on Richler Street

It seems that Marvin Rotrand and Michael Applebaum have thrown in the towel with respect to naming a Montreal city street after controversial author Mordechai Richler.
A firestorm of criticism was raised against the idea by those who saw Richler as an anti-Quebecois racist.
Ironically a Facebook group entitled "Non à une rue Mordecai-Richler ! Non au racisme anti-québécois"  (No to Mordecai-Richler Street! No to anti-Quebecois Racism) is full of racism itself.

"Marvin Rotrand is the same person that I wrote to almost  twenty years ago because he wanted to remove the crucifix from the city hall ... I told him that in that case it would be necessary to remove all the Stars of David from in front of Jewish places of worship, or companies and kosher restaurants" Denise Groulx

Listen

Read phonetically

Laval University bilingual football program

On November 13th 2010 at the PEPS stadium in Quebec, in front of 16,635 fans, Laval’s Rouge et Or football team won it’s record eighth straight Dunsmore Cup. But the game was interesting for another reason, at least to me.
The referee made his announcements to the crowd, bilingually. (Even the  Alouettes or Canadiens can't muster that.) The music that blared in the stadium during breaks was decidedly English and perhaps La Presse columnist Rejean Tremblay will take on a new cause celebre. I overheard the team's coach Glen Constantine shouting instructions  to a player in English and at the end of the game, the team took a victorious photo shouting "ALL THE WAY!  ALL THE WAY!"

On top of it, rumour has it that the university is exploring switching its football program to an American football conference in the Northeast United States. Ouch!

I'm sure that French language purists were wincing in pain.

Luc Plamondon Trashes English to hawk his album

Like a movie star who makes an appearance on Leno or Letterman to shill for a recently released film, Luc Plamondon chose to seek publicity by slagging English music, in order to promote his newly released album. See my Post
Complaining sanctimoniously about creeping Anglicisms in French music, his new album includes the word 'Star' front and center! The album, according to him, is divided into four sections, 'rock', 'pop,' 'groove' and ballades, more Anglicisms!  In a newspaper interview he deplored the fact that radio stations play 'crossover' music. Ha! Ha!  LINK 
Mr. Plamondon has now taken up the cause of opposing the federal governments Bill C-32. Quebec artists are demanding payment for illegal downloading and want, among other thing, a tax to be placed on IPod devices to compensate them.
Mr. Plamondon certainly doesn't need the money, publicity is more his thing. As for fairness towards artists, he's not the best example of virtue. Mr. Plamondon moved to Ireland, where artists were exempted from paying taxes. When Ireland amended that law, he fled to another tax haven, Switzerland!

Tim Hortons removes Maple Leaf in Quebec

"Tim Hortons has released its festive holiday mugs, but there's something missing in the Quebec version -- the Maple Leaf.

It's been replaced by a snowflake, in the latest example of Canadian companies specializing their products for Quebec culture....

Tim Hortons may have gone a step further. All pan-Canadian images, from the Rocky Mountains to the CN Tower, are removed from its holiday mugs on sale in la belle province.

The coffee chain says it has nothing to do with politics." LINK 

Sure......

Other companies are just as guilty. It seems that Molson-Coors is hiding the Molson Canadian brand in Quebec. Some say the beer can be found if you try hard enough, but if that's the case and it is available in the province, the company is in violation of the Quebec language law by offering an English-only website.
All Molson-Coors brands have their own bilingual website except CANADIAN, which can perhaps be explained by it's marketing plan which plays up Canadian patriotism. Molson Canadian website

All you can eat in French
 The Association des restaurateurs
du Québec (ARQ) has come up with another moronic poster campaign to encourage restaurants to serve people in French.

I'm sure restaurants will fall over themselves to display the sign that encourages a French only eating experience, especially in the downtown core of Montreal and parts west.

I'm also sure that English and minority restaurateurs that contribute financially to the industry group are thrilled to see their money wasted on the project.

Don't look for too many restaurants in Montreal to display the sign, risking offending its anglo and ethnic clientèle.

The campaign is based on a similarly unsuccessful effort by the government to encourage stores to post signs stating that in this establishment "HERE, We Shop In French"

Quebec teachers complain about religion

When I was a kid, like most anglos (and francophones) who were not Catholic, I attended a public school run by the Protestant School board of Greater Montreal.
Although the school taught a fair amount of religion, (we sang hymns each morning,)  not all the students were Christian including a fair amount of Jews.
To celebrate their holidays, Jews were allowed a couple of days off from school each year and I remember a fair bit of jealously on behalf of the rest of the class who claimed it an unfair advantage. Hey, we were kids.

It seems that several Montreal teachers working at the école secondaire Saint-Luc in Montreal aren't more mature, complaining that Muslim, and Jewish teachers are being unfairly rewarded with a couple of days off;

"The problem we want to raise is one of justice and fairness. Indeed, the number of working days per year for teachers is 200 days. Therefore, staff members wishing to be absent to observe a religious ritual are working fewer days than most other teachers, that is to say 197 days." LINK fr

The teachers seem very concerned that the government is wasting money.

Perhaps they are missing the simplest of solutions- eliminate all holidays including Christmas and Easter!

Anglo-basher wants to run for mayor of Montreal

The thoroughly detestable Michel Brûlé who wrote "ANGLAID" a book that childishly attacks the English language now wants to run for mayor of Montreal. Read my post about the book.
Claiming that he needs support only from francophone Montrealers to win, perhaps he should ask Louise Harel how that worked out for her.
In an interview, he told La Presse that he wants to get rid of the English influence in Montreal and make Montreal open to the world. Link fr
Huh?
His best idea for the city, is that as mayor, he would encourage beer-drinking in public.
He's presently writing another book 25 mesures pour améliorer le Québec (25 ideas to improve Quebec) 

I can't wait!
(Thanks to Frank P. for the tip)

Late Breaking...Anglos refused Xmas baskets

Anglophones seeking a Christmas basket were turned away from a Montreal suburban Church in St. Lambert and were told they were not eligible because they were English. They were told to go to an English church. The policy as explained, was to eliminate double-dipping.
The local Anglican church said that this was hogwash and nobody is turned away because of language.

For more;

French versus English Volume 17      

French versus English Volume 16 

French versus English Volume 15