Not Enough French in Vancouver? Separate!

It's a sad spectacle to see all the hard-line separatists fulminating in the press in mock-indignation, over the perceived lack of French at the Olympics.

For these people, the crocodile tears they shed belie their true feelings of joy and elation that the Olympics have in some small way become a French/English issue.

Let's face it, die-hard separatists view these Olympics as another sad reminder that Quebec is not a country and watching Francophone athletes perform proudly under the Maple Leaf is just about as  painful as it gets.
In blog after blog, ones reads about a mythical 'Francophone' team and how many medals they would win under the glorious Fleur-de-Lys. Lists of francophone athletes are compiled and fantasy teams created, one which even claims Roberto Luongo as a francophone!

Understandably, Anglos and the English press are annoyed that these nationalist whiners want to rain on Vancouver's parade (Vancouver's had just about all all the rain that they need!)

Chantal Hebert, a nationally syndicated columnist, takes aim at what she perceives as the 'racist' over-reaction of Anglos in reaction to the complaints over the lack of French at the Olympics. She cites several examples in the comments section of various national newspapers as proof. She included in her piece a sampling of what is being said across the country;

You can see all her 'examples' here or just read a small selection here;

"....Enough already !!!! There was too much French. French speaking people in Canada represent 25% of the population and they got their fair share......I’ve had it with the whining!!!"

"Give me me a break! The Olympics are a world event, being watched by the world. Most of the world speaks English, so get over yourselves...."

"....Of course it was quite predictable that the whining would start from those who are never satisfied."


"English speaking Canada has the French language rammed down our throats while French speaking Canada shuns English, even making it illegal in parts of Quebec."

Pauline Marois, leader of the separatist Parti Quebecois opposition party,  picked up on the theme and claimed that these comments were Quebec-bashing at it's worst.

"The PQ leader accused certain English newspapers of tolerating anonymous comments on their website "unimaginable, alarming and unacceptable" against Quebec and the French fact." Link

Now as hate goes, I wouldn't exactly put these missives as excessively racist. To me, they simply  express outrage and frustration that is justified in reaction to what radical separatists are saying in Quebec.
At any rate, you be the judge.

Let's hear what the French radicals in the Quebec media have to say on the subject. Remember, these aren't anonymous commentators, but leaders of the radical sovereignty movement that are widely published.

Pauline Marois, leader of the separtist Parti Quebecois Link

"Canada has shown its contempt for all Francophones Friday at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games"

Josee Legault, syndicated columnist LINK

"Luckily we French weren't asked to dress up as Indians to better make ourselves invisible and inaudible in a crappy show where French culture melted like snow in Vancouver's rain."

Louis Plamondon LINK

"If one wants to end once and for all the insults like that of February 12 in Vancouver, and all the other indignities past and future, there is a solution. This solution is that Quebec becomes a country, a real country, French language, with its own athletes and national teams at the Olympics."

 Mario Beaulieu president La Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste (SSJB) de Montréal   Link

"This only adds insult to the long tradition of discrimination against Quebec athletes by Canadians.....More and more Quebeckers must realize that we should  have nothing to do with this country. This farce has gone on long enough. There are one too many peoples living in this country."

Louise Prefontaine LINK

"Oh they were beautiful, the thousands of Canadians, waving their scarlet cloth, believing that for one night, Canada was something else other than the dissolute cancerous outgrowth of American-ness, having succeeded in getting rid of the culture of Latin French that sullies its divine land from coast to coast....

Oh weren't they adorable, these Quebec athletes, all dressed all in red, standing in the middle of the track as  embellishments for  the mercenaries paid to cite their tearful "I Believe" between ads for McDonalds and Purolator."

Richard Nadeau, spokesman of the Bloc Québécois

"The message that Canada sends us repeatedly is that the Quebec nation, a nation with a francophone majority has no place within the Canadian federation." 

  

Jean-Luc Proulx  Republique de bannes
This post is just about the most hateful thing I found. It's vitriolic attack on Canada and Anglos includes this nifty picture of a KKK cross burning which is somehow representative of Canada. 
The following quote is the mildest of what was written. Follow the link and translate the posting if necessary, (using Google) You're in for a festival of Anglo bashing like no other!

..."the only real option open to correct this historic injustice that has been reinforced by Vancouver's Olympic Games is, indeed, the outright independence of Quebec and nothing else

VIVE LE QUEBEC LIIIIIIIIIIBRE !!!!!!!

But not everyone thinks that French is under-represented in Vancouver. In an article reprinted in Le Droit written by  Nathalie Alonso for the foreign press agency,  Agence France-Presse, she gives an alternate perspective.

"Defenders of the French believe that the Games organizers in Vancouver have made real efforts to promote the French language, despite the criticism of Canadian politicians after the opening ceremony of the Games.
Vancouver is an English speaking city, where the second language is Mandarin, because of the very large Chinese community. But French, the official language in Canada and the Olympics is still very present during this fortnight of competition.

"It's very different from the Beijing Games," says Christine Sotteau, Director General of the Federation of Francophones of British Columbia (Vancouver area). "We as Canadians, are entitled to have a true representation of the French in the Olympics, not only because it is the official language of Olympicism."

The Olympics will not make Vancouver a French city, but French has indeed conquered the public arena since the start of the Games and not only on the signs.

A little away from hustle and bustle of downtown, the Plaza de la Francophonie has over 100 performances by francophone artists, and broadcasts competitions in French in a bistro-like atmosphere.

And despite the criticisms made by Canadian politicians, including English, regretting the lack of French during the opening ceremony on February 12, Francophones in Vancouver and elsewhere are generally satisfied.

On a visit to Vancouver as part of his mission to bear witness for the Francophonie, Switzerland's Pascal Couchepin shared the  disappointment concerning the opening ceremony, but otherwise, the commitment towards French was successful on the ground, he said .
"Over the last couple of months, we resolved  those problems over bilingual announcements at Olympic venues, all are French and English, including bilingual volunteers," he noted.

Even Alexander Paulin, Montreal songwriter who describes himself as a "defender of the French language" was "surprised" by the presence of the language of Molière during the Games, both in the reception by volunteers and in the signage .
"Upon arriving in Vancouver, I expected to find myself in uncharted territory," says this artist who is present every day at Quebec House, representing 'La Belle Province' during the Olympics.

The controversy surrounding the opening ceremony denotes that the subject is touchy and that the defence of French is a thorny issue in a bilingual and multicultural Canada, highlighted by the weight of the Quebec separatists in the federal Parliament in Ottawa.

"It's good that it is the Canadians who are publicly highlighting the lack of French during the Olympics," said  Pascal Couchepin, former President of the Swiss Confederation, which has three official languages: "It's a problem in cultural policy. In Canada, French is a struggle everyday.

PQ Construction Inquiry Petition a Humiliating Flop

You may or may not be aware,(probably not) that the Parti Quebecois launched an online petition demanding that Premier Charest call a public inquiry into the nefarious graft, contract rigging, payoffs and tax-avoidance goings on in Quebec's construction industry.

Even if a million people signed the petition, Premier Charest would resist, to his death, any notion of a public inquiry. There are just too many skeletons to bare and even if the government would be found blameless (which it wouldn't) for the shenanigans, they would still pay the price come election time.
It's likely that the PQ is well aware of that fact and probably decided on the petition as a way to keep the controversy in the public eye.

For Mr Charest, the lesson of Prime Minister Martin, who's government was shot down over the sponsorship inquiry, which he foolishly himself launched, is not lost.

As Jean Chretien said, scoffing at the inept decision making of Martin, " Better to sweep the whole thing under the carpet, even if it makes a big bump!"

No amount of political heat compares to the damage that would be caused to the Liberal government of Mr. Charest had he gone ahead with the inquiry and after all, Mr. Charest's parents may have raised chubby boys, but not particularly stupid ones. He is the ultimate political boxer, knowing when and where to attack, but more importantly, when to duck and play rope-a-dope.

The petition is now closed and for the PQ, the issue will soon be mercifully forgotten. The project, which seemed like a good idea at the time, backfired badly, it's dismal performance actually serving as validation for Mr. Charest's strategy of 'Batten down the hatches.'

How bad did the petition do?.... Very bad.

Less than 1 out of every 120 Quebeckers signed.

The 60,000 signatures the petition garnered is humiliating when one considers that there are over 100,000 card carrying members of the Parti Quebecois party itself!

There's just no underestimating the apathy of the Quebec electorate. Perhaps if the PQ had included the ADQ as a sponsor of the petition, they'd have done better, but because they went it alone, it was seen as just another partisan, cynical political gambit.

I tried to get a copy of the petition and see who signed it. I'm convinced that it's roll is full of many 'Donald Ducks' and 'Capitaine Bonhommes', the petition is just to fat a target for pranksters to miss.

As you may recall, Quebec humorist Jean-René Dufort known as INFOMAN cast a vote via telephone in the ADQ leadership race last year. He voted under the name of OMAR BONGO, the recently deceased notorious dictator of Gabon, in Africa.
The eventual winner of the race, Gilles Taillon won by just two votes! The affair got many laughs and much publicity and so, I am sure that the PQ petition was subject to many such fraudulent signatures.

Unless the petition is actually delivered, which it has not been up to now, we'll never find out.

Everything related to the project has been an abject failure. When Bernard Drainville the PQ MNA attempted to create a photo-op by soliciting signatures in the Longueuil metro stations, he was filmed getting hassled by Metro cops who threatened him with a ticket for illegal soliciting. It was quite a humiliating scene.

Last year the PQ set up a web site where people could sign the petition, which included a blog which wrote about the activities of the petition. The web site has 42 blog entries going back to last May and generated a pitiful 31 comments in almost a year.

Yikes, even I do better than that!

Vancouver Needs to Fix Opening Ceremony Gaffe

English Canadians are mighty sore at the uproar coming out of Quebec over the lack of French at the opening ceremonies of Vancouver's Olympic games. The comments sections of most Canadian newspapers are replete with anti-Quebec harangues that reflect Canada's impatience with what they perceive as more whining and complaining emanating from a province that always seems to want more.

For those who read my column faithfully, you know that I'm the strongest of defenders of Anglo rights and someone who spends a great deal of time denouncing the pettiness and vindictiveness of Francophone extremists.

That being said, it doesn't mean that I dislike Francophones, the opposite is true, otherwise I wouldn't live here in Quebec and in the case of the Olympic opening ceremonies I am going to come down squarely on the side of the whiners who said that French culture was under-represented.

First of all, the most virulent criticism coming out of Quebec came from people who already hate Canada, the ultra-nationalists, sovereignists and language extremists. These people want the games to fail and relish the fact that there was some English/French controversy. They'll do anything they can to inflame emotions and sow dissent. It is they who screamed the loudest using words like "contempt" and "humiliation. Unfortunately it is these people who get the news coverage and it's natural that Canadians react defensively in the face of cynical and cruel attacks.

But every time Canadians throw up their hands and say "To Hell with Quebec!" I get defensive.

I remind these Quebec bashers that in terms of numbers, there are more federalists residing in Quebec than there are in every single province in Canada, except Ontario!!!!
That's right!

In the last federal election 62% of Quebeckers voted for a federalist party and considering the size of it's population, versus every other province, Quebec cast more votes for federalism, than all but Ontario!

So when people write off Quebec because of what they hear from radicals, they are being disloyal to their fellow proud Canadians that reside in Quebec, both French and English and that includes myself.

The snub to Quebec at the opening ceremonies was hard to digest, not for extremists, who fed on it, but for loyal Francophone Canadians living in Quebec and across the country.

It's as though you go to a family function, a wedding, confirmation or Canada Day party and the host mentions all of the family except your branch of the family because you don't share the same language.

Was there a snub? Indeed there was, if you didn't see it, you are blind.

Quebeckers were every bit as excited as the rest of the country to host the Olympics, not one peep was heard about the Federal governments financial contribution and it's billion dollar security bill. The only ones complaining seemed to come out of the west coast.

Most Quebeckers didn't make a big deal of what happened, they wanted the games to succeed no matter what.

Quebec athletes are proud to put on the red and white and compete for a united team under the Canadian flag. Nobody can ever accuse our province of under performing when it comes to athletes and achievement.

If VANOC believed that the Olympic games belonged to Vancouver and British Columbia alone I could understand their actions, but they even failed on that account. If they wished to showcase their province alone, they excluded the Chinese and Indo-Canadian communities that far outweigh it's native population.

But from coast to coast, Canadians rightly believe these games are hosted by Canada and all it's regions and inhabitants. It was incumbent on the organizers to be inclusive and representative of all and on that account they failed miserably.

Instead of defending their actions for the debacle of the opening ceremonies, they should be re-tooling the closing ceremonies.

And a piece of advice to them.

Reduce the prominence of the Indians in the closing ceremonies, we've had enough of that farce.
Let's see the true face of Canada, which is 23% Francophone. Let us see and hear from Blacks, Browns, Chinese and Indo-Canadians as well.

Canada (and BC) is not just a country of English White Protestants and Natives, it is so much more.....
VANOC should show Canada for what it is, not what they wish it to be.

Another Post on Comments

I'm glad that this blog is starting to generate more and more comments.

I'm also thrilled that there are some who express themselves in French. Continuez !!!!

Because we are getting so much cross talk, I'd respectfully advise those who post, to use a psuedonom so that those who respond can direct their comments appropriately and that readers can follow conversations.

Don't use your real name, but start each post with a handle (fake name) that you have invented, like this;

"Ragdog  says;"  Blah, Blah, Blah......

My pseudonym is "NO DOGS"

That way, we can follow your train of thought and other posters can respond to you directly without actually identifying yourself.

If you don't agree, well just keep posting anonomously!

At any rate speak up!!! Your opinion contributes to the debate.

"Sleep Country Canada" Latest Victim of French Language Radicalism

Just as some in the French media are lambasting the Vancouver Olympics for it's lack of inclusion of French at it's opening ceremonies, other Quebeckers are massing to make an assault against a business for having the audacity to retain it's English corporate name in a Quebec location.

Jean-Paul Perreault, of Impératif français is organizing a coalition of French language militant groups to demonstrate their displeasure on February 27, in front of a location of a "SLEEP COUNTRY CANADA," a mattress store in Gatineau Quebec, in protest of it's Anglophone name. They are even organizing a bus from Montreal to bring in protesters.

If there's anything to rile this mob, it's the inclusion of the word 'Canada' in the moniker.

First a little background.

Sleep Country Canada is a successful Canadian retailer of mattresses operating throughout the country and one which entered the Quebec market a few years back via a buyout of a local competitor called "DORMEZ-VOUS?"

Further expansion in Quebec by the company used the "Dormez-Vous?' banner, but when the they opened a store store in Gatineau, right across the river from Ottawa, they chose to use the older 'Sleep Country Canada' name.

In an email sent to the militants a spokesman for Sleep Country, Penny Jerkovic explained the reasons for the company's decision.

She told them that Sleep Country Canada had been operating in the Ottawa area for many years and had cultivated a large clientèle on the Quebec side of the border, only a short drive away. The company had invested a lot of money in French language advertising, promoting the name 'Sleep Country Canada' in the Gatineau/Hull region and in order to maintain continuity and build on this legacy, they decided to retain the name in this region only. She underlined that the Hull and Gatineau stores were in compliance with the law and served customers in French.

She may as well have beaten her head against the wall. As you can imagine, the explanation fell on deaf ears.

There's no reasoning with this cabal of language militants. The fact that the company is well within it's rights to use the name, makes little difference to those who wish to drive any vestige of English out of the public eye.

And so, a rainbow coalition of Anglo haters, calling themselves the Coalition Québec français is planning to show it's displeasure in a demonstration later this month. This group includes unions (FTQ, the CSN,) as well as the regular cast of militant characters, the Impératif français, the SNQ, SSJB de Montréal, le Mouvement Montréal Français and the always threatening RRQ.

For Sleep Country there is no way to win.

I suggest they modify the name so as to read SLEEP COUNTRY CANADA/ DORMEZ-VOUS?
It sucks, but that's the price of doing business in Quebec, the radicals always win because people are too lazy too resist and businesses would always rather switch than fight.

That is also why so many companies just don't bother coming to Quebec.

I once had a conversation with a language inspector from the OQLF who was going through our office software to determine if we had French versions, I asked him why instead of hassling small fry for language infractions, they don't force big auto companies to add French to their car's dashboards.
While most of the warning lights and instructions on cars are pictograms, there remains a lot of purely English words on every dashboard.
He told me frankly that the car companies told the government that they would comply if ordered to, but it was quite a complicated affair and they would have to add several hundred dollars to the cost of each car sold in Quebec. Ouch!

Hmmmm.....I guess that the government felt that if Quebeckers had to pay more for a car than Ontarians, it wouldn't look so good and so they gave themselves their very own 'reasonable accommodation' and let the issue pass!

Lucien Bouchard sends Josée Legault into a Tizzy

 I've always maintained that the Montreal Gazette runs a column by separatist Josée Legault as an avant garde exercise in liberalism, wherein they publish opinions of those who hold views at odds with what the majority of their readers believe, in the guise of  'balance' and 'fairness'
It seems that not that many are interested in reading her drivel and few pay attention to what she actually says. Those like myself read it much as we are drawn to a gory car accident. Not even her editors were much interested in her last piece, they even didn't bother to correct a major typo in her banner.

I assume she meant to say that Lucien Bouchard, the ex- PQ Premier of Quebec  is "OUT of touch" with Quebeckers. Gazette editors were so embarrassed by their gaffe, theydidn't even bother making the correction in their online version. Maybe nobody complained, I wouldn't be surprised

In the article she rips into Lucien Bouchard in reaction to some painful remarks he made at a conference last week, wherein he tore a strip off sovereignists rather cruelly.

His remarks caused an uproar in PQ ranks because it touched on the fundamental raison d'etre of the Parti Quebecois- sovereignty.  Ms. Legault and other sovereignists, who are rabidly committed to the option, set out to destroy the messenger, rather than the message itself and so, the Internet and newspapers are rife with ad hominum attacks on Mr. Bouchard and his brother Gerald, who as you may know, represents 50% of the famous Bouchard/Taylor Commission on Reasonable Accommodations.

First let's summarize very briefly what Lucien Bouchard said. It isn't that complicated.

1. Forget about sovereignty, it's unattainable.
2. Shed your xenophobia and stop abusing immigrants over 'reasonable accommodations'
3. Concentrate on fixing up Quebec, especially in the areas of education and finances.

Those are fighting words for dedicated sovereignists and it was inevitable that the reaction was swift and furious.

To Ms Legault, because Mr. Bouchard's remarks don't reflect current popular Quebec thinking, he leaves himself open to becoming irrelevant and out of touch.

Now being in touch and pandering to the politics du jour is an ignoble and necessary trait for politicians that vie to remain in power.  For Ms. Legault's information, Mr. Bouchard no longer is an elected official and can reveal his true feelings without fear of alienating the electorate or his party.
For an intellectual, towing the line and parroting the mantra of conventional wisdom, is none to interesting and nothing more than a quick ticket to  ignominy.

If ever there was a role for 'intellectuals' like Mr. Bouchard, it is in doing exactly the opposite, confronting and challenging ingrained popular theories and beliefs that are in his opinion, flawed.

By Ms. Legault's estimation, Albert Einstein or Isaac Newton also risked being irrelevant and out of touch because they chose to challenge the scientific status quo.

Ms. Legault errs by holding to the theory that a majority opinion, by definition, is necessarily correct and those who attack it, are 'out of touch."

According to her, if 75% of Quebeckers believe that making 'reasonable accommodations' to immigrants is bad for Quebec, it must be true.

If that is so and 75% of Quebeckers believed that the Earth is flat, that too would make it true.
Like I said, drivel....

It takes a strong character like Mr. Bouchard to oppose this nonsense, someone who is impervious to  nasty personal attacks, launched by those who wish to discredit a contrary and inconvenient opinion.

A lot of PQ insiders are angry that Bouchard took a public swipe at them. They believe that it isn't  'cricket' for an ex-leader of the PQ to so publicly damage his own party. If he disagreed, they held, he should of just shut up.

But Bouchard didn't and the why he did it, is the question of the day.

Some believe that he seeks a return to the political arena and is looking to create a rainbow coalition of ex-PQ and ADQ members to form a nationalistic right of center party. There are oodles of talented intellectuals on all sides of the political spectrum who abandoned the political arena out of frustration.

But the truth is probably less glamorous.

Bouchard is said to be furious at the treatment his brother is receiving by French language and cultural militants, including senior members of the PQ.

Some opine that Bouchard's outburst is just payback for the abuse and mistreatment his brother received, who by nature is not political and too mild mannered to defend himself.

The most cruelest and most unflattering insult  compares his  brother Gerald to the fictional  character "ELVIS GRATION" created by uber-Canada hater and nasty separatist, Pierre Falardeau, a recently deceased Quebec filmmaker.

The character was a burlesque caricature of an Elvis impersonator, portrayed as a stupid, conservative, racist that the director linked to Quebec federalists.

It's hard to match analogies across language lines, but comparing the elegant, poised and highly intellectual Gearld Bouchard to Elivis Gratton is somewhat akin to comparing Christopher Hitchens to Homer Simpson.

In a quick opinion poll, gauging the reaction of Quebeckers to Mr. Bouchard's remarks, over 70% percent of Quebeckers agreed strongly or somewhat with what Bouchard said.

It must be true then. Right, Ms. Legault?

Olympic Dis-Inspiration

After one week of competition. 

Here are a few Olympic inspirational offerings for you armchair athletes;

...

.....and for the worst performance of the first week of the Olympics, a French skier.....

Should French Be Dropped From the Olympics?

Fearing that French would be under represented at the Vancouver Olympics, "La Francophonie " an organization that represents French speaking nations around the world, sent it's Secretary General Abdou Diou, to the Vancouver Olympic site to check on the state of affairs. Of course he was disappointed.

At the same time, President Sarkozy of France, sent his special envoy, Jean-Pierre Raffarin, to the United Nations to demand that French assume it's historic position at the international forum.

"The UN recognizes six official languages: English, Arabic, Chinese, Spanish, French and Russian. Of these, only English and French are the working languages. However, in daily practice, English dominates and remains unchallenged." AFP

There's little doubt that as a lingua franca (a third language used to communicate between persons not sharing a common mother tongue ) French is in rapid decline.

English has supplanted every other language as the one used to communicate between peoples of different linguistic backgrounds. Anyone who works internationally, be it in politics, trade, medicine, science, sport or entertainment and who can't speak English, find themselves with a serious handicap.
By international treaty, English is the only official language for aerial and maritime communications and this trend continues to grow in other domains.

France's very own higher education minister, Valerie Pecresse shocked her colleagues when she proclaimed to the press that she had no intention of speaking French when attending European meetings in Brussels, because, she said, it was quite obvious that English was now the easiest mode of communication. LINK

That is why other French language officials are so alarmed at what they consider linguistic imperialism, the de facto situation where French, although recognized officially internationally, is ignored in practice.

There was a time when France had an empire that stretched across the world from Vietnam to Africa,  the Caribbean, North America and across the Pacific Ocean to Polynesia. The French language was heard around the world.

Until the middle of the 20th century, international relations and diplomacy were mostly conducted in French and the language's influence and culture flourished throughout both the eastern and western world. The height of this linguistic force reigned until the mid 1960's, at which time France lost it's colonies in Asia and Africa.

Although French continues to be spoken in many countries to some degree, it has not been able to build a momentum or conserve it's position. While some form of French is spoken in Africa, Quebec and Haiti, it has in some cases, become incomprehensible to a Parisian. The decline is not only linguistic, but cultural too. There is little exchange in literature, music and cinema between countries in the Francophone world.

The English language, as well as it's culture has grown to dominate the world.
More people speak English as a second language than any other and it is growing exponentially. More people across the world are studying English as a second language, than all the other languages combined.
Today English is the lingua franca of the world. To deny it, is to live in a fantasy world.

For people who can't master English completely, there is always the abbreviated form of 'GLOBISH' (Global English,) a compendium of about 1,500 English words that when learned can get a non-speaker by quite nicely in an English world. See a video about how Globish is expanding the world of English.

And so the question begs asking; Should French be dropped from the Olympic movement, leaving only English and the host nation's own language as the only official languages of any future Games?

Is it reasonable to impose the expense and hardship of French, in the face of so little demand?

Vancouver may be the example that sparks the debate. It seems that Canada, an officially bilingual country cannot muster the necessary resources to give French it's authorized position as an equal.
There is so little demand for French, that the 15% of volunteers who speak French,  have almost nobody to speak to.

In a little publicized move, the Vancouver Olympic Committee, last summer, considered as a cost cutting measure, the elimination of French signage from 27 venues, citing lack of demand.
Ottawa was forced to cough up over $5 million to translate internal documents and technical manuals into French and another $1.5 million for the signs.

Getting enough referees, marshals and officials who speak French remains a challenge as well, considering that most international athletes have already learned to speak English.

Defenders of French will argue that the modern Olympic movement was born in France and as such, French should remain an official language.
That argument has seen it's day.

French is as pertinent to the Olympic movement as is Greek. Perhaps, as a compromise for dropping French, the team can march into the stadium right after the Greeks as a sign of respect.

As for speaking French at the Olympics, it should be history.

Quebec Language Nationalists Go Ballistic over Perceived Olympic Snub

It was with a certain smug satisfaction that I reviewed the scathing and venomous remarks by Quebec sovereignists and French language nationalists that have been burning through the press pages in reaction to the perceived snub of the French language at the Olympic opening ceremonies.
I don't know how serious these objections really are. You'd think that for nationalists and separatists, they'd be happy with any controversy that would tend to drive an emotional wedge between Quebec and the rest of Canada.

Here's some of the more interesting comments;

In a piece entitled "The Limits of Indecency" on Vigel.net, author Ivan Parent compares the organizers to Nazis;

"...and after watching on many occasions the opening ceremonies of these Olympic Games around the world, never have I seen a country, use these games for such crass politics...."

" ....In the past, when we talked about propaganda, it was Nazi propaganda, communist propaganda, Soviet or Chinese and even Vietnamese. For what purpose? ... To convince their people that they lived in the greatest country in the world, instilling national pride..."

What's the problem? by Eric Tremblay, the leader of the most militant sovereignist political party in Quebec.

"Let us not ask on bended knees that Canadians respect French, in their country that is falsely bilingual.To ensure the sustainability of what we are, including our national language, French, there is only one solution: make Quebec a free and independent French country."

Paulin Marois the PQ separatist leader complained in Le Devoir that, Canada shows it's contempt.

"This showed that we don't even exist, that we are invisible, a negligible quantity. We are not important and ultimately, just a burden."

Gilles Rheame is a long established hater of Canada and has been described as a fascist admirer in a biography. He is now is spokesman for the organization that portends to fight discrimination against Francophones. He is so upset over the lack of French at the opening ceremonies, that he is making a complaint to the Official Language Commissioner in Ottawa, which is in itself unbelievably ironic. That he would even consider asking Canada, his hated oppressor, to intervene on his separatist organization's behalf is beyond the pale!

"...The level of French throughout the course of this momentous event,  projects a distorted image of the legal reality in Canada...."

(to Quebeckers) "...Keep voting NON and remain 'Drawers of waters". You're paying the price for your absurdity!"

...and finally La Presses' Rejean Tremblay, a sportswriter with a deep and abiding dislike for Anglos of any sort;

"...At any rate, they now realize that Quebeckers love to be mocked. I am so proud that the false sense of politeness is now history. No need to believe that they respect Quebeckers, they can rub it in our face and we say nothing. In Vancouver, they understand."

Hmmm.... Pardon me if I'm not particularly sympathetic to  these whiners. One thing Mr. Tremblay got right is that most Canadians don't give a rat's ass about their complaints.

These are the same people who take delight in torturing Quebec Anglos and who work dutifully, on a daily basis, to rid the province of any vestige of English. They talk about 'bilingualism' as if it is a four letter word when speaking about it here in the province of Quebec, but as a noble ideal when it applies to Canada.

Here's what Anglos put up with in signage in stores, even those located in Montreal suburbs that are 80% English. Talk about humiliation;

This is what Francophones got in Vancouver;

I wonder how they'd feel about this;



What do you think?

Does Bilingualism Pay?

If you're any sort of a Canadian, you probably know by now that Quebec's Alexandre Bilodeau won Canada's first gold medal at the Vancouver Winter Olympics.

You won't find a more fitting candidate for what Canadians across the country perceive as the epitome of a perfect athletic role model.
I'm sure you saw the medal ceremony and caught one of the numerous and obligatory interviews that he gave in both English and French.  It was hard not to feel wonderful for this attractive, humble, patriotic young man who's loyalty to his brother, struck by cerebral palsy, is inspiring.

As I watched the 22-year-old Rosemere native comfortably breeze through his interview in English, it occurred to me that marketing executives across the country must be salivating at the thought of having him represent whatever national interest they represent.

What an incredible package! Even his French accent was extremely pleasing to the Anglophone ear.

No doubt Canada would have been equally proud of his efforts had he had to speak through an interpertor, but he didn't.

Millions of dollars of endorsements lie before him. He will be as much in demand in Red Deer as he will be in Quebec City.

Lucrative speaking engagements, personal appearances, commercials and product endorsements await this young man. There's no doubt that speaking English well, will make a more attractive and valuable marketing product.

To Louise Harel, the Societe Saint-Jean-Baptiste and all those language nationalists who have been telling Quebeckers that while it's nice to speak a foreign language, it is not necessary, Alexandre is living proof that it is just not true.

For these nationalists it must have been agonizing to see him wearing the Canadian red maple leaf jacket with a gold medal hanging from his neck. His message didn't waver between English and French interviews. "I'm  proud to be a member of this Canadian team!"

What's a Canadian Gold Medal athlete worth in endorsement?

French speaking    = $$
English speaking   = $$$$$$
Bilingual                = $$$$$$$$$$$$$

Does bilingualism pay? Ask Alex in a couple of years, though it's obvious he already knows. His mastery of English proves it.

Vancouver's 'Negro-King' Olympics

'If one was to rely on the Vancouver Olympics Organizing Committee (VANOC) flawed depiction of Canada, you'd probably be left with the impression that Canada is half populated with merry bands of Indians, all dressed up in caveman attire, who enjoy banging drums and whooping it up, along with the other half of our nation, consisting of White, English speakers of Irish, Scottish and English heritage.

Both the opening ceremonies and the Olympic sites are dominated by native culture. In fact everything about the Olympics, including the famous Inukshuk symbol to the medals themselves are native inspired.

It's as if the organizing committee shopped for a theme, much as an eager mom would do, preparing for her daughter's sweet sixteen party.

If I were to ask you how many Indians actually live in British Columbia or in Canada, you could be forgiven in believing that number to be in the 20-30% range, considering their prominence at the Vancouver games. The truth is that the native population is only about 3% in Canada!

In British Columbia, natives make up just about 4% of the general population. Both the Chinese and Indo-Canadian communities make up a much larger proportion of BC's population, so why the the sudden embrace of native culture to the exclusion of others?

When I saw four native chiefs being accorded head-of-state status, by being seated on the reviewing stand alongside our Prime Minister, Governor General and other dignitaries, at the opening ceremonies, I began to smell a rat.

What was going on? What made them worthy of all this honour and attention?

A little research determined that those four chiefs lead bands that total less than five thousand Indians between them. The smallest of them, having less members than a good sized curling club.

And then it hit me, the French phrase- "ROI-NÈGRES",  coined in 1958 by André Laurendeau, in a series of newspaper editorials blasting the then corrupt Quebec Premiere, Maurice Duplessis.

"Duplessis behaved like one of these Negro-kings that one found scattered throughout the British Empire. The British, he argued, always pragmatic, did not necessarily destroy and replace the existing political power in the colonies. In fact, they frequently accommodated themselves with local customs and rulers, as long as these petty rulers recognised the superior authority of the imperial power and protected its economic interests." Claude Bélanger, Marianopolis College

All these Indian bands, small as they are, have reservations that abut or lie under Olympic facilities, both in Vancouver and Whistler.

It seems that in preparing their bid, organizers had to figure out a way to neutralize any potential snag concerning 'native rights', so they came up with  a cockamamie plan to 'partner' with the Indians and 'co-host' the games.

They picked the four bands who represented the biggest threat (due to proximity) and co-opted them with cash and prizes. The hitherto pipsqueak 'Roi-Nègres' (Chiefs) were neutralized with promises of fame and fortune. (As we saw in the opening ceremonies.)

The four Native groups, the  Lil'wat (1,348) , Musqueam (1,100), Squamish (2,239) and Tsleil-Waututh. (423 members) formed a consortium which they named the Four Host First Nations Society.

"On November 24, 2004, the chiefs and councils of the Lil'wat, Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations entered into an historic Protocol Agreement in which they agreed to coordinate their collective efforts to host and support the 2010 Winter Games. As a result, the Four Host First Nations Society was formed."

"VANOC set a goal of unprecedented Aboriginal participation in the planning and hosting of the 2010 Winter Games, and is working with the Four Host First Nations and other partners to achieve this."

"The Nations recognized the significance of their involvement early on in the bid process and are proud to have played an integral role in formulating and mounting the successful campaign to bring the 2010 Winter Games to Vancouver and Whistler."

Not only did the four bands agree to 'co-host' the games, they became active promoters and attempted to lobby other native groups not to disrupt the games.

"The head of the Four Host First Nations, Tewanee Joseph, has been criss-crossing the country since 2003 selling the Olympics to first nations communities..... 

...."But despite his efforts, aboriginal groups are divided. No where is that more noticeable than here at home with the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, representing 80 of the 203 bands in the province, refusing to participate in the games." LINK

The natives are nothing more than cheap decoration for the cynical and calculating organizing committee that artfully killed two birds with one stone. In one bold move they achieved social peace, and created a popular Disneyland-type theme for their games. After all, Natives are the darlings of the current eco/enviro-movement craze. Perhaps VANOC should have name their facilities 'Adeventureland,' after all, it is just one giant fantasy.

If you think that it is only Quebeckers and Francophones who feel left out of the opening ceremonies, complaints have been heard from  British Columbia's Chinese and Indo-Canadian communities, who were completely shut out, an even larger insult, considering that they will be the ones paying for the games.

The Vancouver organizing committee may have brought social peace to their games, but at a humiliating price to Canadians.

While Natives are valued members of the Canadian experience, it was dead wrong and contemptuous to falsely portray the Canadian mosaic and leave so many Canadians unrepresented for the sake of expediency.

Did Canadian Cheating Lead To Luger's Death?

It's being repeated around the world, but not here. The Canadian media have too much invested in the Vancouver's Olympic Games to rain on the parade, notwithstanding that the weather is doing it anyways.

Around the world voices are being raised about the conduct of VANOC and the Canadian luge federation concerning the track and what is seen as an attempt by Canadian sliders to cheat their way to the podium.
If they are right, it cost young Nodar Kumaritashvili his life.

The track was built  to be very fast and very technical. It passed, just barely international standards.

It was also finished a full two years before the Olympics, so the world's lugers should have been familiar with it. But they weren't.

The story goes that Canada restricted wide access to the track in favour of Canadian sliders who were given carte blanche.

"Also in the run-up to the Games, the Canadians caused a minor scene when they seemingly reneged on a handshake deal with the USA Luge that would have allowed the American sliders the same access at the Whistler track that the Canadians had in 2002 at the Park City, Utah, track." Los Angeles Times

Worse still, the complicated and fast track proved to be even faster than what was planned. When designed on the computer, speeds were predicted to be no more 140 KPH, an acceptable but fast speed and one the athletes were accustomed to.

But when the track was built, the computer model somehow underpredicted the speeds that would be achieved by a whopping 15 kilometeres per hour, something the sliders were not prepared for, at least not without a lot of practice.
Canadian team members had the advantage of over 300 runs each on the track, while the foreign  sliders were allowed no more than 40 runs.

Read Ed Berliner's excellent post  in the Huffington Post, where he explains the whole debacle;

"No mistake. This was planned. We can only assume, in legal parlance, this was done to insure Canadian medals and give them an unfair advantage over the world"

 Canada is getting pummelled around the world.

MARTIN SAMUEL -THE DAILY MAIL  UK

"Canada wanted to Own The Podium at the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games. This morning they can put their maple leaf stamp on something more instantly tangible: the nondescript little box carrying the lifeless body of Nodar Kumaritashvili back to his home in Bakuriani, Georgia."

While claiming that the accident was strictly a case of a sliding error, the organisers have slowed down the track by moving the start line further down the track.

Ironically, this threw the Canadian slider's advantage right out the window, because the changed dynamics were new to everyone.

If you're a real Canadian, you can't be unhappy about that

Quebec English Only Web Sites-A Tempest in a Teapot.

It seems that the story about the Hudson watchmaker and his English only web site has created quite a stir amongst French language nationalists who have set off a full blown witch hunt aimed at outing companies that don't offer French web sites while operating in Quebec.

The truth is that despite all the braying, there's little to complain about.

Before I go on, I must go on record as saying that the practice of any large company operating retail establishments in Quebec and who don't offer a comparable web-site in French is just plain wrong and unfair (and stupid.)

That being said, small home-based business's that sell products overseas can be safely ignored.The truth be told, the Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF) has already sounded a conciliatory note in the affair of our friend, Darryl Lesser and at any rate,  I'm sure that with the OQLF's limited resources, there are bigger fish to fry.

It seems that the OQLF can't win no matter what. French language militants are absolutely furious that the OQLF tries to apply the language rules as humanely as possible. If you're an Anglo militant, you'd probably disagree, but it is a truth, and one that I must defend.

The Mouvement Montréal français(MMF,) in awarding lemon and laurel prizes to those who have, in their opinion, contributed or detracted from the protection of the French language in Quebec, discerned a Prix D'Autruche (ostrich) to France Boucher, president of the OQLF, for having deliberately concealed the state of the situation of the French language in Quebec( according to them.) 

According to these radicals the OQLF is not nearly aggressive enough in pursuing English 'offenders.' of Bill 101.


And so militant French language busy bees are doing the OQLF's work by scouring the Internet for English only websites. Unfortunately for them, other than home-based businesses, as in the case of our intrepid watchmaker, they are few and far between.

An article in La Presse  sounds a false alarm that the situation is wildly out of control. It cites the 350 complaints a year number that are directed to the OQLF, directly related to  English-only web-sites.

The article in question cited just two or three examples of offending companies and this, after what was surely a great deal of research. A reasonable person would conclude that the 'problem' is anything but widespread.

Most of the complaints sent to the watchdog agency are duplicates and the actual number of contraveners is actually quite minuscule.

Typically the OQLF is forced to take legal action in less than ten percent of the cases it opens. So this 'colossal' problem of English only websites shrinks to just a handful of cases in a province with tens of thousands of commercial web-sites.

Digging a little deeper into the problem, we find that most of the bigger companies who contravene the rule, are relatively new to the province and have a tiny presence in comparison to their other North American operations. Some are ignorant of the law and take remedial action as soon as they are contacted.

The newspaper article targets retailer URBAN OUTFITTERS as an example of a company not in compliance. The article states that the company operates a web site, urbanoutfitters.com, without a comparable French version and that in reaction to a warning letter from the OQLF, decided to block access to the English site for Quebec customers.

The web site directs Quebec customers away from the online boutique to a page that invites viewers to visit it's two Quebec retail stores. The effect of this, is to  deprive Quebec clients the option of shopping online.
If you live outside Quebec, you won't get the message shown in the picture, to the right.

Of course for those intent on shopping online, the block is not much of a barrier, as one can always surf anonymously and hide one's location by using an anonymous surfing portal such as HideMyAss .

Ironically, if Urban Outfitters didn't operate it's two locations in Quebec, they wouldn't fall under the jurisdiction of the Quebec government and shoppers from La Belle Province would be able to shop online to their hearts content, all in English!

In Urban Outfitters defence, the company doesn't even have a Canadian website and services their Canadian clients through a "North American" gateway, which is of course in English and run out of the USA.
Does it pay them to operate a French only site for Quebec Francophones? Probably not, or they would likely provide one, after all, they are a business.

The whole problem of English only websites has been greatly exaggerated and it's really just a tempest in a teapot, brewed by French language militants eager for the next big confrontation.

There are precious few large companies which don't offer a French web site. We shouldn't let the small fry get caught up in the crossfire.

When companies do contravene the rule, almost all are quick to take action. Sometimes as in the case of Urban Outfitters, the remedy is extremely humiliating to the Quebec government and to the OQLF. On the other hand Urban Outfitters will have to live with the fallout.

I'm afeared there's a boycott a'brewin.

Nikki Yanofsky Sings O Canada Amid Controversy.

Nikki Yanofsky's rendition of O Canada in Vancouver's opening ceromonies had stirred controversy from coast to coast.
Some take the jazzy version as an insult, while others applaud the effort.
It seems that the organizing committee is being heavy-handed and declared the performance  copyrighted (I hope that they don't claim O Canada as theirs as well.)

The video of the performance received 15,000 hits on YouTube in less than 24 hours and hundreds of comments both negative and positive before being pulled due a complaint about copyright.

I believe Canadians have a right to see the video of the performance and add to the debate in regards to it's suitability.
It is our national anthem and we have a right to critique it, invoking the doctrine of FAIR USE.

What's you opinion of the performance?

Don't be shy, sound off! Send in your comment!!!!

By the way, Ms. Yanofsky also sings the theme to CTV's Olympic theme for the 2010 games.
There doesn't seem to be any controversy over that one.,,.See it here!!!