Dear Friends,I shall be off for a few days and will return next Friday, New Years Eve with a year-end "Dubious Distinctions of 2010" post, something you can read in bed while nursing the traditional hangover.Until then, feel free to comment on this piece or any other. I shall continue to read what you have to say.To all my friends and readers, please have a very Merry Christmas.To my Jewish friends, I know Christmas is particularly boring with just about everything closed. If you are young enough and are in a clubbing mood, you might want to Check out the Annual MatzoBall party being held tonight in Montreal (and other cities) at Club UN. For the older crowd, I guess you'll just have to order Chinese.....
Bilingual Quebec hospitals decline
In a blog piece last week I recounted how the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste and its president Mario Beaulieu were agitating to stop the Institut de readaptation Gingras-Lindsay de Montreal, a Montreal rehab center, from achieving bilingual status. LINK
The factually-challenged Beaulieu charged that;
Team Quebec suffers a setback
Quebec nationalists have long dreamt of having a hockey team made up exclusively of Quebec players that would compete at the Olympics or the World Hockey Championship. That isn't likely to happen, but the Canadian Amateur hockey Association did give Hockey Québec permission to hold a tournament pitting 'Francophone' nations against each other. The Quebec team would play under the guise of Hockey Canada, but just the same it is a thrilling concept for many.The only problem is the competition, there isn't any except perhaps for Switzerland, the other teams from France and Italy are strictly third rate.
Now word has come from the Swiss that they won't participate, sending organizers into a tailspin.
It remains to be seen which NHLers will play a tournament in the middle of summer against what amounts to sub-AHL talent.
This whole thing could possibly melt down.
LINK
Olympics not French enough
"Canada’s Official Languages Commissioner blamed the Vancouver Olympic committee for mismanaging bilingualism at the 2010 Winter Olympics. “Most of the difficulties encountered were due to VANOC officials having insufficient knowledge or a misunderstanding of the official languages requirements, to which they were bound by the multiparty agreement," said Graham Fraser" LINK
Hotel becomes"francoresponsible" & patents term
A Quebec City hotel, the prestigious Château Laurier is going 'francoresponsable' a word the hotel made up (and patented) to reflect its commitment to the French language.
The hotel is committed to providing service in at least four other languages including English, but hopes to offer clients a francophone experience.
What does this mean?
From now on, elevator music will be 100% French.
LINK
Language police gets new 'tougher' boss
Insiders say the government had difficulty in finding a replacement as not many wanted the job. Louise Marchand, was finally appointed to the job and she comes with good credentials. She was the president of the Pay Equity Commission, another government boondoggle.
LINK fr
Government launches 'offensive' to francize small business
In an effort to get Chinese depanneurs and Tamil greengrocers to speak more French, the government has launched a new website to carrefourfrancisation.com. In addition to this helpful website the government Will send a team of canvassers into the field to 'help' small merchants understand the importance in francizing their businesses. Can't wait......
LINK
Quebec's biggest complainer rewarded with a prize
Quebec's biggest language complainer, Marie-Thérèse Rioux, is being feted by nationalists groups for making over 200 complaints to the OQLF in regards to 'illegal' use of other languages in public signage. She was awarded a set of books by the Mouvement Montréal français for her industrious defence of the French language.How did she find so many infractions? In a word.....Pettiness.
Even the OQLF wrote her back on several occasions that her complaints were too minor to be dealt with. LINK fr
French radio stations play too much English music
Accusing Quebec radio stations of fiddling the books in regard to the amount of English music being played on air, ADISQ (francophone artists association) has gone to the CRTC to get the stations to play more French music. The stations are accused of using all sorts of tricks to contravene rules dictating the minimum amount of French musical content allowed. Stations are accused of making English 'mixes,' nothing more than stringing a bunch of English songs together and calling it one song for accounting purposes. The radio stations complain that English stations and satellite services have an unfair advantage, being allowed to play as much English music as they want, something that francophone consumers want.A clear case of the heart wanting, what the heart wants.
French radio station fights back- plays English Christmas music
A Quebec city radio station has pushed back against an assault by francophone musical artists from Montreal who are demanding that the Quebec Summer Festival use more Francophone artists instead of highlighting English headliners. Radio morning man Sylvain 'Butch' Bouchard, of FM 93, launched 'Opération Merry Christmas' and has played only English Christmas songs on his radio show, much to the chagrin of language purists.Surprise! 'Plat-Oh' hates Mordechai Richler
While I wouldn't go so far as to believe that not one solitary person is so inclined, I do agree with the Projet Montreal hack that the separatists, granolas and
If Mr. Norris left bad-enough alone, his remarks would be acceptable as a fair representation of the local 'gogauche' mindset. However, he went on to say that naming streets after people was reminiscent of a “Soviet mindset…to be renaming streets after figures,” Huh? Link
Perhaps we should name streets after pets? What say you Mr. Councillor?
Norris then went on to blame 'outside influences' (read: Jewish supporters of Richler?) for causing the kerfuffle.
Meanwhile, his partner in social engineering, the insufferable Fernandez sent a letter to Loto-
Quebec, demanding in no uncertain terms that any plans to increase the amount of VLTs in the Republique du Plateau be cancelled, based on the unhealthy effect the machines have on the poor.
An enraged spokesperson for the Loto-Quebec accused the 'dear leader' of tilting at windmills, since there are no plans to add machines and in fact the agency has reduced the number of machines in the Republique by 38% since 2009!
What's the next thing to be banned in the Plat-oh?
Hamburgers? Poutine? Journal du Montreal? Coca-Cola? Hudson's Bay blankets, Smoked meat, Fur coats? Leather Gloves? The Montreal Gazette?
Perhaps local bookstores will be enjoined from selling Barney's Version or worse still, The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz.
To the Barricades!
I wonder how many of the bilingual hospitals hire francophone staff for executive positions, that don't have any commitment or even despise the community they were meant to serve. I wonder what hand it played in the merger of Lindsay Rehabilitation institute. If they really cared about their anglophone and allophone clients. They should talk about demerging the institute.
ReplyDeleteThe bilingual hospitals and institutions were actually English funded and created for the english speaking communities, redesignated bilingual for a pur laine Quebec government.
Good morning, Editor!
ReplyDeleteHappy Christmas.
Sincerely, from the deep of my heart, I hope that all these unhappy, downtrodden creatures-the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste and its president Mario Beaulieu, France Boucher, Pauline Marois, Marie-Thérèse Rioux, Alex Norris and the Plateau Mont-Royal-will find peace in their unhappy, war-torn hearts and rediscover any valuable meaning in life.
Allophone++
@Allophone++
ReplyDeleteThat's enough Utopia-brand eggnog for you, my friend. :)
Seriously though i echo your sentiments hoping 2011 brings us all less stress, more harmony, less pettiness, and a Stanley Cup!
Nah another grey cup would be great :)
ReplyDeleteJust to set the record straight, I never once claimed that "not one person in the whole borough is interested in honouring Mordecai Richler." Of course there are people here who see merit in the idea of honouring him. What I did say is that not a single person on the Plateau had contacted me or any other member of our borough council to express support for Marvin Rotrand's idea of renaming a street, park or building in our community after Richler, ie: there is no groundswell of support for this idea in Mile End, much as Marvin might wish it to be otherwise. Anyone even remotely acquainted with our community will understand why: in the aftermath of the Park Avenue fiasco (in which Mayor Tremblay was forced by a massive public backlash to back down from his ill-considered plan to change the name of Park Avenue to honour the late premier Robert Bourassa), there appears to be little appetite in Mile End for name changes imposed on our public places by municipal politicians -- no matter how well-intentioned the initiative or how eminent or important the person being honoured.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing: I don't mind your calling me an "infernal apologist" and "lap dog" (and I got a good chuckle out of your photomontage of me with a tinfoil hat) but I do take some offense at your insinuation that anti-Semitism has something to do with our position on this issue. ("Norris then went on to blame 'outside influences' (read: Jewish supporters of Richler?) for causing the kerfuffle.") Our objection to renaming a street after Richler is simply based on the observation that people here are already deeply attached to existing place names; that read of the situation is driven as much by anti-Semitism as our objection to renaming Park Avenue for Robert Bourassa was motivated by francophobia, ie: not at all.
So by all means let's honour Richler but let's do it in a way that enjoys broad-based community support. We see no evidence a street, park or building name change would enjoy such broad-based grassroots support in Mile End.
Finally, concerning the "Soviet" reference, it was a remark made more in jest than a formal expression of our position. What I meant is: do we really want all of our streets to carry the names of departed historic figures? Can't we keep a few streets with names like Fairmount and Park Avenue?
The Plateau is a densely populated historic neighbourhood; all of our streets and parks and libraries already have names. Let's respect that history and find other ways of honouring Richler and our many other departed artistic and literary figures.
Royal Victoria is an English Hospital, they won't refuse French nor English, but their mother tongue is English. So, respect the others.
ReplyDeleteHere in ONtario, nobody speaks French. Toronto is a zone which should be bilingual, not even the College of Doctors and Surgeons have an appropriate French language to report abuse of your doctor. (on person from New Brunswich speak French, in such a way it is not comprehensive at all)
Here we are again in the no-fun zone !
ReplyDeleteTHE SITE OF THE IMBECILES
THE SITE OF THE COUNTRY HIGHJACKERS
no dogs, only anglo with no telephones:
The French are always blame for their language, their money, the way they spend it, or the way they have fun, the way they shouldn't be represented when they contribute to the Olympics, etc..
Without the French the English would have too much time in their hands ! nobody to be cruel with! They will have to invent a new hygienic paper, really !!!
I just heard the UNILINGUAL Queen, also Harper IN A TERRIBLE FRENCH. At the end of his message he pronounced something next to the word "shit" he reads and put no sentiment in his speacH, it is barely making sense....
I just heard the unilingual Sport message of the Queen, Nothing but sports!
The English have very LITTLE their head!
Oui, les Anglais sont vraiment incultes ! et se croient le nombril du monde.
ReplyDeleteAnon 12:54,
ReplyDeleteEven though french speakers in Toronto are not even 5% of the population, you have so much more services then that percentage of the population. The bilingual services available(provincial government) are based on Toronto being ontario's capital. Also unlike manitoba and Quebec. Ontario was never designated a Bilingual province by the BNA act of 1867.
The city of Toronto itself is not bilingual and there is no justification for it be so based on less then 5% of population being French speakers. On the other hand cities like Montreal and Hull which have over 25% of the population that are English speakers (offially, because last census showed that there are more english speakers then are aknowledged by provincial government.) and yet these cities are denied bilingual status. Quebec city has almost nothing that is bilingual despite being Quebecs' provincial capital.
The municipalities that are bilingual in Ontario are mostly in North East Ontario and Eastern Ontario.
Mr caps strikes again, angry and so far from the truth, it is comical, as usual mist seppies knowledge of the ROC dates back from 1895, it stop taking new info since then, it's like a time warp.
ReplyDelete@ ALL CAPS LADY
ReplyDeleteYou really shouldn't be talking. The Quebecois have been very cruel to non-Jouallophone minorities in the past 50 years. No one buys your self-victimization crap anymore and no one feels sorry for you anymore. It's game over. The Quebecois bigots will never be happy until Canada becomes a French only speaking country, but they I hope they're smart enough to know it will never happen in a billion years.
And why the fuck are you shocked that the Queen is unilingual? She's British for fuck's sake. Get a life!
Anglo Montrealer
The Queen has nothing else to do but speaking other languages. She used to speak French to Montrealers you were not even born. "why the fuck"
ReplyDeletefuck yourself on your credit card for Xmas.
Again this theory of dividing the French between and betweex themselves. What do you really know about them ? Go to Ontario, that lousy place, to shit and go, Ontaria ri a rio... a good song.
LITTLE PEOPLE; LITTLE MIND, LITTLE PEOPLE WITH NO MIND.
ReplyDeleteMississauga Guy's at work for Christmaaaaas...you can count on meeeeeee....
ReplyDeleteOh, where to begin? Let's start with Anon @ 1:05PM. Actually, ignoramus who overuses upper case lettering, the Queen speaks excellent French, merci beaucoup, and so did her mother. When Jean Chrétien was still PM, he was invited to a state dinner while in the UK, I believe for a G8 Summit, and both the Queen Mother and Queen conducted their entire conversations with him in French.
The Queen does not record an Xmas message in French after the way Quebec has treated her over the past several decades. I think the last time she set foot on Quebec soil was in 1976 to inaugurate the Olympics in Montreal.
BTW, for the record, I am not a monarchist...quite the opposite. I want Canada to adopt a republic type of government where only indigenous Canadian citizens can become head of state and limited to two terms in office.
Also note I am not pro-American when it comes to their policies. Canada is a much more socially conscious society and in many categories we are the envy of the world. I think we can and should do even better.
Anyway, withoug additonal digression of topic, consider yourself lucky French is even spoken outside Quebec. The Government of Ontario offers ALL its services in French. I know because I've called and either I am answered bilingually by a live voice or a recorded message enables me to choose English or French.
If someone you know is having trouble with the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons, call the Ombudsman for the Government of Ontario (he's a francophone, André Marin, and last June he was appointed to the position for the second time), and I'm sure the office will be able to lend support.
> there appears to be little appetite in Mile End for name changes imposed on our public places by municipal politicians -- no matter how well-intentioned the initiative or how eminent or important the person being honoured.
ReplyDeleteI can’t help but sense a transparent and disingenuous attempt on the part of many politicians at conflating things that aren’t related and decoupling things that are. No appetite for name changes, but there IS an appetite (or an “urgent need”) for language changes? Political, including language policy opinions, are held by individuals who in many cases come to personify specific views.
The ruling class of Plateau-based, Franco-supremacist, self-proclaimed “social democrats” who were “liberated” following the Quiet Revolution, allied with a willing carrousel of mercenaries and profiteering, self-serving acolytes who kowtow to their whim, have sought to bring about their grand objective of transforming this still very bilingual city into a nationalist theme park. For all the recently hyped talk of back-room corruption on construction, the longstanding incestuous relationships that have existed between elected municipal officials, school board officials, and various militant separatist groups has gone unfettered, unchecked, and unhindered for decades. And despite recent politically motivated scare-exaggerations about shifting demographics, the Plateau (the eastern portion at least) has been and remains one of the most decidedly French-Canadian, working class, and separatist [http://www.flickr.com/photos/smurfmatic/3855235498/in/set-72157622018539345/] parts of the city.
Richard Bergeron is himself not exactly neutral on the delicate language/national unity front. His own responses to MMF’s questionnaire last year [http://www.montrealfrancais.info/node/1358] are exactly in line with the nauseating drivel that has become the trademark of populist franco-supremacist politicians. To what percentage of Montrealers is his particular brand of language politics palatable to?
> Our objection to renaming a street after Richler is simply based on the observation that people here are already deeply attached to existing place names; that read of the situation is driven as much by anti-Semitism as our objection to renaming Park Avenue for Robert Bourassa was motivated by francophobia, ie: not at all.
ReplyDeleteWhile it might have been very true in decades past, it isn’t blatantly obvious to me that some specifically anti-Semitic motivation exists nowadays. At the same time, I do believe that a (none too subtle) attempt to erode, erase, or otherwise marginalize a great deal of the presence, relevance, historic contributions, and original nomenclature associated with the Anglophone part of this city’s past and present is a by-product of the last several municipal administrations.
Our illustrious New France period and figures are celebrated and remembered, as well they should be. Sadly, the period between 1760 and 1960 now seems to be entirely glossed over. Marguerite Bourgeois, Jeanne Mance, and Chomedey, fare comparatively better in our common psyche than do, say, John Redpath, John Abbott, Edwin Atwater, not to mention Molson and McGill. How many area school kids know the latter were even Montrealers at all? As we say in French, ça ne prend pas la tête à Papineau (who, of course, is another necessarily revered figure)…
I’m not fan of renaming existing streets so that they bear the name of departed historic figures, but institutions bigger than me have made doing so a matter of political business. How respectful (or even aware) of history was this city’s renaming of Dorchester boulevard – named for the Irish-British Governor of Quebec who sought to avoid having England repeat in Canada and to the French-Canadians many of the follies it had tried in his native country one century earlier – in favor of René Lévesque?
How apolitical was the francisation of numerous street names in this city (some examples: Park/du Parc, Mountain/de la Montagne, Pine/des Pins)? How well-intentioned was the wholesale French-only renaming of other roads (some examples: Craig/St Antoine, Maplewood/Édouard-Montpetit, Dorchester/René-Lévesque)?
Even a cursory observation is enough for a longtime resident to see insidious (and often blatantly separatist) nation-building at work in the renaming orgies that occur around here. Tell me these aren’t practically all fundamentally politically motivated and I’ll ask what you’re smoking.
> do we really want all of our streets to carry the names of departed historic figures? Can't we keep a few streets with names like Fairmount and Park Avenue?
ReplyDelete> The Plateau is a densely populated historic neighbourhood; all of our streets and parks and libraries already have names. Let's respect that history and find other ways of honouring Richler and our many other departed artistic and literary figures.
I agree with you and am for one very glad that we don’t have an “Avenue Robert-Bourassa”. However, I submit to you that the objection to renaming a street wouldn’t have generated nearly as much opposition had it been in favor of a notorious French-language and nationalist author. I also submit to you that with certain operatives occupying certain places, it’s only a matter of time until names like Fairmount themselves go the way that old “W. Fairmount Avenue” sign did recently.
And while Mordecai Richler’s years-long spat with the separatists might definitely have been a lightning rod, it certainly wasn’t the cause for the storm itself.
Mississauga Guy said...
ReplyDeleteNo, Richler himself is not the cause of the storm itself, but let's face it, English or non-French nationalist names are getting increasingly smitten by the plague of nationalism. There are fewer of the «minorité de souche» around to protest the changes, and this will continue to increase over time as the long-time resident minority population leaves Quebec or dies.
Quebec survived for 400 years. They didn't need the conquest to always bashed them.
ReplyDeleteYou are dreaming an armageddon which suits your pervert mind, but won't happened.
GET OUT OF CANADA, it seems to me you are thinking the others are out already. So go piss somewhere else in Canada, Mississauga asswhole.
Editor wrote:
ReplyDelete"In an effort to get Chinese depanneurs and Tamil greengrocers to speak more French, the government has launched a new website...the government will send a team of canvassers into the field to 'help' small merchants understand the importance in francizing their businesses."
This is reminscent of the 'aryanization' of Jewish businesses in Nazi Germany during the 1930's.
Mississauga Guy to the half wit response at 7:10PM...
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, have you ever heard the expression it's better to think like a moron than open your mouth and prove it? Obviously not!
Second of all, asshole is spelled without a "w".
Third of all, the correct term is "perverted mind" and "happen" not "happened". If I want to piss on YOUR land, I'll do so and just what are you going to do about it?
Happy New Year to you, half wit! Manges ta merde lentement et avec soin! At least I can write a sentence in French. Too bad you can't properly do the same in English. Salut bien!
To the 'ALLCAPS lady' at 7:10 PM,
ReplyDeleteYou still haven't responded to my question in the previous thread:
"How are the French suffering? What negative impacts are the Queen or the Canadian prime minister having on French Canadians? Please provide some examples to back up your statement and please deal in the present."
I suppose you cannot provide a reasonable answer.
Mississauga Guy to both "ALLCAPS" and the respondent last night @ 8:30PM...
ReplyDeleteAnon, I too am waiting for a response to that question. I fortifed your demand for an answer, but as you can see above, that half wit can shoot off his/her mouth and not be able to substantiate.
My motto is SUBSTANTIATE OR EXCULPATE, i.e., back up what you say, or don't say it. I think we're going to have a long, long wait!!!
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteNow they made uni-lingual the Institut de readaptation Gingras-Lindsay de Montreal, a Montreal rehab center. The Institute has an internationally renowned Research Center. They also ordered to take off the walls posters in English presented on international scientific meetings. Science in English is not allowed! It is appropriate to recall the known expression by Einstein - there are only too things in the world that are infinite - the universe and human stupidity.
ReplyDelete