Dear Friends,
I'll be taking a much needed vacation and will be returning July 4.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Wiliam 'Pit Bull' Johnson Tells It Like It Is
There' s an old adage that says that Truth is the first casualty of war and it certainly applies in the continuing saga of misinformation, twisted and misinterpreted facts and figures bandied about by national groups 'proving' that English is taking over Quebec and that the French language and Francophone culture is going the way of the Dodo bird. Back in May I wrote a piece about a newspaper story that reported on a study that put forward the fact that Francophones now made more money on average than Anglophones.
The story made little sense and seemed poorly researched, likely using questionable methodology. Read my piece about the problems I had with the research.
Now nationalists are hitting back with research of their own proving and complaining that the research was flawed. A mathematician, Charles Castonguay, in a story on vigile.net criticized the methodology of Jack Jedwab, executive director of the Association of Canadian Studies, a non-profit think tank.
I tend to agree that the study was junk and as a consequence it didn't do the Anglo community any good by stooping to the same dishonest methods used by nationalists to manipulate numbers.
At any rate I never trust these types of studies put out by partisan parties. Things like milk companies providing studies that show children who drink their product in the morning do better in school or tabacco companies providing data that second hand smoke is nothing to worry about. Sure.......
William Johnson has been an outstanding spokesman for the English community for several decades. His superbly researched articles are devastatingly to the point and exposes head on, the lies and half-truths promulgated by the the French nationalist movement. His tenacious attacks have led to his nickname - William "Pitt Bull" Johnson
His latest article appeared in The Montreal Gazette on June 14, 2009;
A simple fix for panic over threat to French: a reality checkThe government of Jean Charest is enacting a new law to further strangle English schooling in Quebec. But a coalition including the Parti Quebecois, the Bloc Quebecois, and the New Democratic Party denounced the bill last Monday on the grounds that it doesn't go far enough.They all signed a statement calling on the Quebec government to invoke the "notwithstanding" clause of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to override what the Supreme Court of Canada declared last October to be a constitutional right: to have access to English public schooling after demonstrating a serious commitment to the English language while attending an unsubsidized English school.Monday, NDP leader Jack Layton was asked during a scrum: "Is this merely the position of Mr. (Outremont MP Thomas) Mulcair or is it the party's?" Layton answered: "No, no, it's the position of the party."Under Jack Layton, the NDP increasingly aligns its policies on language and secession with those of the two separatist parties....
Monday, June 21, 2010
Holier-than-Thou Opposition Demands Israel Censure
A while back, Quebec opposition parties, led by the Iranian born Muslim separatist member of Quebec Parliament, Amir Khadir, demanded that the National Assembly table a motion condemning Israel for the attack on the Gaza bound flotilla which aimed to bust the Israeli embargo. As we all know, up to a dozen resisters were killed when they clashed with Israeli commandos who boarded their ship.
Now I'm not getting into a debate on the merits of the Israeli raid, but it seems to me that if Mr. Khadir is to condemn Israel, he should be an equal opportunity censurer. I don't recall Mr. Khadir demanding that North Korea be cited for killing 46 sailors in a recently unprovoked attack on a South Korean Navy boat sailing in international waters and I haven't heard the good doctor call for an official condemnation of the government of his own native homeland of Iran, for the killing of dozens and dozens of protesters who were demonstrating peacefully against a rigged presidential election.
Me wonders why?
Enough.. The Israeli attack is not the gist of this post, it is about the high and mighty attitude we take and the perception that we Quebeckers are somehow better than the 'barbaric' Israelis. This piece is not about Israel, it's about us.
Such things could never happen in Quebec, right?
We're too civilized, right?
We're too conciliatory and would never resort to violence, right?
I came across a video that is quite interesting which I'd like to share with you, but first some background.
Back in the summer of 1990 Mohawk Indians on a reservation in Oka near the town of St. Eustache got into a dispute over a land claim over an unoccupied tract of land of just nine acres, that the city was about to turn into a golf course.
As disputes go, I think you'll agree that it can't hold a candle to the disagreement between Palestinians and Israelis.
The Mohawks set up a roadblock blocking a crummy dirt construction road, that gave access to the site and a confrontation ensued when the arrogant mayor of the hick town of Oka asked the police to intervene.
Now the Indians weren't launching homemade missiles or sending suicide bombers into the local Tim Horton's. They simply barricaded a road. Those living near the reservation didn't have to build a safe room in the basements or walk in fear in the streets that death would rain down upon them from the sky.
But the confrontation escalated into a major fight with positions hardening on both sides. The police tried to storm the barricade and in the ensuing melee, an officer of the Surete de Quebec was killed.
The army was called in and the situation degenerated.
Sounds like a rather stupid fight over an empty field, in hindsight, right?
The Israeli's would laugh. They'd tell us to give the Indians the empty land, it 's no big deal. Nobody is trying to take over your country. Nobody is trying to kill you. One half of a lousy golf course is all it takes to defuse a situation that has already cost one life and is costing the country millions of dollars.
But no, for we Quebeckers, it was the principle of the thing and the sentiment of the day was not to give an inch.
As the debate grew nasty, the federal MP for Chateauguay observed that all the natives in Quebec should be shipped off to Labrador "if they wanted their own country so much". Radio hot lines hosts, including renowned Anglo hater Gilles Proulx, were spewing racial invective and some were demanding that the authorities attack the Indians. (Mohawks speak English and are viewed by Francophones as 'English' Indians.) Hatred spewed forth in forms unseen in living memory.
And so it seems that in the
If a road closure got us so steamed up I can only imagine what would be if a suicide bomber walked into Place St. Eustache and detonated a bomb killing ten to twenty people. What if rockets landed in the middle of a residential neighbourhood in Chateauguay on an ongoing basis? What if the Indians threatened more and more deadly attacks and what if they demanded that we give back all the land which they claim, was theirs to begin with.
Do you think we might ask the army to blockade the reserves and make sure no weapons got in? Do you think we might ask the police to patrol the river and stop and inspect all boats headed into the reservations? Maybe we'd launch our very own version of 'CAST LEAD"
Just asking......
But let's not daydream.
The natives didn't do any of that. All they wanted was their nine acres back and so - back to the story.
Mohawks of the Kahnawake, reservation on Montreal's south shore blocked the Mercier bridge in solidarity with Kanesatake, pissing off residents of Chateauguay.
Now things were getting serious. The bridge is a major link between the island of Montreal and the South shore, including the large community of Chateauguay. The closure meant an hour or two of extra commuting and in the summer heat, emotions exploded.
At the blocked bridge crowds spewed racial hatred at the natives and radio commentators urged military action. The crowd wanted blood and the atmosphere rivalled the bloodlust of the legendary Roman Coliseum.
When the bridge blockade was finally ended the natives made their way down from the bridge through the old Whiskey Trench, a stretch of sunken road so-named for the old Seagrams plant that sat alongside. As the natives made their way through, the locals attacked from above, not only with racial epitaphs but with rocks as well.
Watch the video;
And so Mr. Khadir wants to censure the Israelis.
My question is this, who's going to censure us?
It seems that the Israelis are capable of a lot more restraint than us. I know they wouldn't go to war over an empty lot.
We did.
How does the old saying go?
Let he without sin cast the.........
Friday, June 18, 2010
English School Boards Defend Promoting Quebec Nationalism
Making a collective gaffe is something that no organization is immune from, but when it happens, it's generally a shock to the upper management. Sometimes defending the indefensible seems like a better option than admitting the mistake quite publicly and working towards repairing the damage.
Every single organization is vulnerable to the big gaffe, it's bound to happen even with the best intentions. But how an organization deals with adversity, is what separates the good from the bad and today, our Quebec English school boards are demonstrating, how very, very, bad they are.
You might remember the disastrous launch of "New Coke" back in 1985, when the company replaced the old familiar taste of Americas favourite drink with a newer and supposedly 'younger' edition. As marketing strategies go, it couldn't have been a bigger fiasco. The public was so outraged that the company fiddled with a familiar friend that the pressure to return to the old product was unbearable.
The company had staked its future on the new product and had invested heavily. Initially trying to ride out the storm, the company finally realized that they'd have to do the unthinkable. Abandon ship.
On July 11, Coca-Cola withdrew New Coke from stores. “We did not understand the deep emotions of so many of our customers for Coca-Cola,” said company President Donald R. Keough.
A Montreal Gazette editorial on June 12, revealed that Grade ten students in English school boards were subjected to exam questions that would make the hair crawl on any bone fide Anglo Quebecker.
Of the four questions to be answered, the first question required the student to write a paragraph and to "make an observation about some vision as Quebec as a nation."
The second asks the student to "formulate three questions about some vision of Quebec as a nation."
The third question has a diagram that is to be completed by listing four examples of;
a) "What makes Quebec distinct?" and
b) "How can Quebec protect its distinct status?"
The exam's final issue is "Justify your opinion on protecting Quebec's distinct society," and requires the student to produce a two-page essay on: "Will the recognition of Quebec as a nation help protect Quebec's distinct society?"
Yikes!!!!!
If you are assuming that these questions were rammed down the throat of school boards by the government, you'd be wrong.
The questions were formulated by the English school boards themselves, if you can believe it.
There was a shit storm of controversy on the English language radio talk shows with parents and students themselves howling at the inappropriateness of the question.
On June 16th in a letter to the Montreal Gazette, a parent wondered;
How did the school boards react? By circling the wagons and defending the indefensible. Yup, they are trying to ride out the controversy, instead of admitting the blunder.
One official offered that the questions were based on the Prime Minster's recognition that Quebec is a distinct society.
An angry caller pointed out that the Prime Minister did nothing of the sort. He reminded listeners that the Prime Minister recognized Quebeckers as a distinct society, not the Province of Quebec.
Much fury on the radio hot lines ensued.
One mother was torn between telling her son to suck it up and just give the politically correct answer that will get him into Cegep, or to defy the authority by rejecting the very premises of the questions.
Tough call.
The school boards aren't making it easy by stupidly defending their indefensible position. It's no wonder our English school boards have a reputation for dysfunction.
Perhaps it's time for board members to to be reminded of the story of New Coke..
Every single organization is vulnerable to the big gaffe, it's bound to happen even with the best intentions. But how an organization deals with adversity, is what separates the good from the bad and today, our Quebec English school boards are demonstrating, how very, very, bad they are.
You might remember the disastrous launch of "New Coke" back in 1985, when the company replaced the old familiar taste of Americas favourite drink with a newer and supposedly 'younger' edition. As marketing strategies go, it couldn't have been a bigger fiasco. The public was so outraged that the company fiddled with a familiar friend that the pressure to return to the old product was unbearable.
The company had staked its future on the new product and had invested heavily. Initially trying to ride out the storm, the company finally realized that they'd have to do the unthinkable. Abandon ship.
On July 11, Coca-Cola withdrew New Coke from stores. “We did not understand the deep emotions of so many of our customers for Coca-Cola,” said company President Donald R. Keough.
A Montreal Gazette editorial on June 12, revealed that Grade ten students in English school boards were subjected to exam questions that would make the hair crawl on any bone fide Anglo Quebecker.
Of the four questions to be answered, the first question required the student to write a paragraph and to "make an observation about some vision as Quebec as a nation."
The second asks the student to "formulate three questions about some vision of Quebec as a nation."
The third question has a diagram that is to be completed by listing four examples of;
a) "What makes Quebec distinct?" and
b) "How can Quebec protect its distinct status?"
The exam's final issue is "Justify your opinion on protecting Quebec's distinct society," and requires the student to produce a two-page essay on: "Will the recognition of Quebec as a nation help protect Quebec's distinct society?"
Yikes!!!!!
If you are assuming that these questions were rammed down the throat of school boards by the government, you'd be wrong.
The questions were formulated by the English school boards themselves, if you can believe it.
There was a shit storm of controversy on the English language radio talk shows with parents and students themselves howling at the inappropriateness of the question.
On June 16th in a letter to the Montreal Gazette, a parent wondered;
"Will students fail the exam because they have the intelligence to answer the question logically? Will all English students who failed the exam be forced to attend summer school because they did not answer the questions according to the doctrine of the Quebec government? LINK
How did the school boards react? By circling the wagons and defending the indefensible. Yup, they are trying to ride out the controversy, instead of admitting the blunder.
One official offered that the questions were based on the Prime Minster's recognition that Quebec is a distinct society.
An angry caller pointed out that the Prime Minister did nothing of the sort. He reminded listeners that the Prime Minister recognized Quebeckers as a distinct society, not the Province of Quebec.
Much fury on the radio hot lines ensued.
One mother was torn between telling her son to suck it up and just give the politically correct answer that will get him into Cegep, or to defy the authority by rejecting the very premises of the questions.
Tough call.
The school boards aren't making it easy by stupidly defending their indefensible position. It's no wonder our English school boards have a reputation for dysfunction.
Perhaps it's time for board members to to be reminded of the story of New Coke..
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Marc Bellemare Starting to look Unbalanced
A few days ago Marc Bellemare gave an interview on a French language all-news station telling all who would listen that he has no intention of testifying before the Bastarache Commission, looking into his express allegations that Premier Charest and the Liberal party exercised undo influence on the selection of judges while he was justice minister. Mr. Bellemare also stated that he would fight any subpoena, based on his opinion that the Commission is biased, a position that legal experts agree is un-winnable.
I've spoken to Liberal insiders, at the very highest levels who have told me that in no uncertain terms that Bellemare is off his rocker.
His allegations stunned the party and the Premier in particular who swears that the two left on good terms. That's their story.
But what prompted his outburst years later remains a mystery. Nobody, and Bellemare in particular has explained it.
When Bellemare first made his allegations the press embraced the story with open arms, after all, it was good press and fit in nicely with the ongoing controversy over ethics in the Premier's office.
But after the initial hoopla, certain members of the press did what they do best, investigate the veracity of what was being presented as fact.
Jeam Lapierre, one of Quebec's finest political analysts (he was a member of Paul Martins's cabinet, before quitting) was visibly perturbed with Bellemare's lack of forthrightness. He offered an on-air opinion that it was high time for the ex-justice minister to 'put up or shut up.'
Lapierre also took exception to the blistering attack that Bellemare made on Justice Michel Bastarache who is heading the commission.
Not even the Parti Quebecois would dare go so far as to call an ex-Supreme Court Justice unfit and it is looking more and more that Bellemare is getting cold feet.
Given the aggressiveness that Premier Charest is going after Bellemare, it seems that the Premier is absolutely convinced that Bellemare is either lying or unable to prove his allegations.
Mr. Bellemare is starting to look familiarly like Myriam BĂ©dard, the ex-Olympian that rocked the political world with her allegations that she was fired from her VIA Rail job because she raised objections concerning the corporation's dealings with a firm involved in the Sponsorship scandal. She became quite a personality and testified before Parliament making all sorts of allegations. The reaction from the brass at VIA rail was to depict her in various unflattering terms, an unwise decision which led to the sacking of then President of the crown corporation, Jean Pelletier.
But months later it became quite evident that Ms. BĂ©dard had several screws loose, as she continued to make statements that were bizarre, to say the least.
Her common law husband Nima Mazhari was also convicted in 2007 of fraud. A Quebec City judge described him as a "liar" and a "manipulator," and sent him to jail for six months for bilking an elderly artist out of $100,000 in paintings.
Jean Pelletier later sued the government for wrongful dismissal in relation to his firing in the BĂ©dard affair and won a $400,000 settlement.
We may just be witnessing another saga of similar proportions.
Who knows?
But a lot of people are starting to wonder about the sanity of Marc Bellemare.
I've spoken to Liberal insiders, at the very highest levels who have told me that in no uncertain terms that Bellemare is off his rocker.
His allegations stunned the party and the Premier in particular who swears that the two left on good terms. That's their story.
But what prompted his outburst years later remains a mystery. Nobody, and Bellemare in particular has explained it.
When Bellemare first made his allegations the press embraced the story with open arms, after all, it was good press and fit in nicely with the ongoing controversy over ethics in the Premier's office.
But after the initial hoopla, certain members of the press did what they do best, investigate the veracity of what was being presented as fact.
Jeam Lapierre, one of Quebec's finest political analysts (he was a member of Paul Martins's cabinet, before quitting) was visibly perturbed with Bellemare's lack of forthrightness. He offered an on-air opinion that it was high time for the ex-justice minister to 'put up or shut up.'
Lapierre also took exception to the blistering attack that Bellemare made on Justice Michel Bastarache who is heading the commission.
"I don't have confidence that Mr. Bastarache has the impartiality or the intellectual and moral liberty to go so far as to say that Mr. Charest lied, and if he doesn't have that capacity, in my opinion he is not impartial,"Bellemare then cast more aspirations on the commission head by pointing out that he is a member of a law firm closely linked to the government.
"If commissioner Bastarache says that Jean Charest lied, that means what? It means the end of the government, the end of Jean Charest's career. Do you think Mr. Bastarache has that intellectual liberty?" - Marc Bellemare
Not even the Parti Quebecois would dare go so far as to call an ex-Supreme Court Justice unfit and it is looking more and more that Bellemare is getting cold feet.
Given the aggressiveness that Premier Charest is going after Bellemare, it seems that the Premier is absolutely convinced that Bellemare is either lying or unable to prove his allegations.
Mr. Bellemare is starting to look familiarly like Myriam BĂ©dard, the ex-Olympian that rocked the political world with her allegations that she was fired from her VIA Rail job because she raised objections concerning the corporation's dealings with a firm involved in the Sponsorship scandal. She became quite a personality and testified before Parliament making all sorts of allegations. The reaction from the brass at VIA rail was to depict her in various unflattering terms, an unwise decision which led to the sacking of then President of the crown corporation, Jean Pelletier.
But months later it became quite evident that Ms. BĂ©dard had several screws loose, as she continued to make statements that were bizarre, to say the least.
"...she claimed that she had been told that Groupaction was involved in drug trafficking, that her partner Nima Mazhari had personally convinced Prime Minister Chrétien to keep Canada out of the war in Iraq, and that Québécois race car legend Jacques Villeneuve had been paid $12 million to wear a Canadian flag on his uniform." WikipediaIn 2007, she was found guilty of child abduction (for violation of a child custody agreement) when she took her child to Washington DC, without permission, where she was arrested by U.S Marshalls.
Her common law husband Nima Mazhari was also convicted in 2007 of fraud. A Quebec City judge described him as a "liar" and a "manipulator," and sent him to jail for six months for bilking an elderly artist out of $100,000 in paintings.
Jean Pelletier later sued the government for wrongful dismissal in relation to his firing in the BĂ©dard affair and won a $400,000 settlement.
We may just be witnessing another saga of similar proportions.
Who knows?
But a lot of people are starting to wonder about the sanity of Marc Bellemare.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
World Cup Soccer---Bah Humbug!
Having just witnessed another fantastic NHL hockey playoff come to an end, and now watching the hoopla surrounding the World Cup of Soccer in South Africa, I cannot escape the feeling that, well quite simply, soccer is one boring experience!
Much as I've tried over the years to get into the game of soccer, I just can't. The sad truth is that as a spectator sport, soccer plainly sucks.
Now before you get off on a rant and tell me that it's the most popular sport in the world, let me say that, in and of itself, that fact is wholly unimpressive.
Rice is the most popular food in the world, but I wouldn't sing its praises either.
Soccer is the most popular sport in the world simply because it appeals to the poor. That is why over one quarter of a billion people participate.
One ball and an open space is all it takes. As for rules, any idiot can catch on quickly, kick the ball into the net and score a point, most points wins. For most nations, soccer is the only recreational sport that the country can afford to support and so soccer balls are provided for recreation in refugee camps, slums, poor villages and neighbourhoods across the entire world. In fact if you're in Liberia, you can even kick around a human skull, failing a ball. It makes perfect sense that soccer has a world-wide appeal, but it doesn't make it a great game.
Soccer suffers from some very basic and fundamental flaws. First and foremost is its LACK OF SCORING. Last Friday's opening World Cup matches yielded a grand total of two goals between the two games - not very exciting.
Not only is the lack of scoring a problem, but the LACK OF SCORING OPPORTUNITIES make the game almost impossible to sit through. It's a rare game that has more than six or seven scoring chances that get fans out of their seats, compared to a hockey where an average of between thirty and forty shots are directed at the net, each game. The reality of all this is that fans have to get rip-roaring drunk to sit through the tedium of a soccer match. And so many drunken mobs of SOCCER HOOLIGANS roam the streets before and after matches with the stated goal of causing mayhem and destruction. Anything to make the soccer experience more exciting.
Soccer invented the the term 'NIL' to replace the word 'zero' to somehow denote that not scoring a goal is some sort of an achievement. An English fan once explained to me that soccer is a game of anticipation, not action. Arghhh....
Of course soccer has not come to grips with the fact that TIED GAMES (DRAWS) ARE A COLOSSAL BORE. Every other major sport in the world has figured out a tie-breaking formula and while soccer does use the 'Golden Goal" formula sometimes, the preliminary rounds have already provided the dreaded 'Kissing your sister' result all too often.
THE FIELD IS WAY TOO BIG, it takes so long to get to the opposing goal that almost all the time is wasted in the neutral field. For fans in the stands, it's a snooze-a-thon, players look like Lilliputians and even when an exciting play is executed, hardly anyone notices.
The large field leads to inept refereeing, the officials are almost always too far away to get the call right, leading to comically bad decisions that affect the outcome of the match all too often.
In fact referees are so far away from the action that players have perfected the sickening art of diving, or faking, to the point that the very integrity of the game is in jeopardy.
Sickening!
The reputation of professional soccer is set to take a stunning hit as allegations of widespread game-fixing are surfacing. Perhaps soccer with it's less than genius fan base can survive this type of scandal, but I can imagine the reaction in North America of the news that players of a professional team threw a game deliberately.
Even the slightest whiff of impropriety brings down the wrath of the league on any miscreant, just ask Pete Rose.
Investigative journalist Declan Hill, who authored The Fix: Soccer and Organized Crime, says match-ïŹxing in professional soccer is organized primarily through the multi-billion-dollar illegal Asian gambling market and is widespread. Ecchhh!. Link
Aside from all this, it boils down to the fact that soccer remains uninteresting to those not born into the game. Although easy enough to understand, soccer has little appeal to native born North Americans, who shun the game despite the best efforts of promoters to hawk the game.
North America's most important professional soccer league draws an average of just 16,000 per game and is heavily dependent on foreign immigrants as a fan base.
The world cup or "Mundial' is a time for North American immigrants to flaunt their national pride by flying flags on their cars and cheering for the home team in ethnic bars and restaurants. If you live in Toronto and Montreal or any city with a sizable immigrant population, you're now being treated to wildly enthusiastic display of support and adoration for the old country.
To all of you, I say, Enjoy!
Native Canadians will be sipping beer by the pool or cottage, contemplating the upcoming NHL free agent bonanza on July 1st and the NHL draft.
As for the world Cup of Soccer. zzzzzzzzzzzzz.
Much as I've tried over the years to get into the game of soccer, I just can't. The sad truth is that as a spectator sport, soccer plainly sucks.
Now before you get off on a rant and tell me that it's the most popular sport in the world, let me say that, in and of itself, that fact is wholly unimpressive.
Rice is the most popular food in the world, but I wouldn't sing its praises either.
Soccer is the most popular sport in the world simply because it appeals to the poor. That is why over one quarter of a billion people participate.
One ball and an open space is all it takes. As for rules, any idiot can catch on quickly, kick the ball into the net and score a point, most points wins. For most nations, soccer is the only recreational sport that the country can afford to support and so soccer balls are provided for recreation in refugee camps, slums, poor villages and neighbourhoods across the entire world. In fact if you're in Liberia, you can even kick around a human skull, failing a ball. It makes perfect sense that soccer has a world-wide appeal, but it doesn't make it a great game.
Soccer suffers from some very basic and fundamental flaws. First and foremost is its LACK OF SCORING. Last Friday's opening World Cup matches yielded a grand total of two goals between the two games - not very exciting.
Soccer invented the the term 'NIL' to replace the word 'zero' to somehow denote that not scoring a goal is some sort of an achievement. An English fan once explained to me that soccer is a game of anticipation, not action. Arghhh....
Of course soccer has not come to grips with the fact that TIED GAMES (DRAWS) ARE A COLOSSAL BORE. Every other major sport in the world has figured out a tie-breaking formula and while soccer does use the 'Golden Goal" formula sometimes, the preliminary rounds have already provided the dreaded 'Kissing your sister' result all too often.
THE FIELD IS WAY TOO BIG, it takes so long to get to the opposing goal that almost all the time is wasted in the neutral field. For fans in the stands, it's a snooze-a-thon, players look like Lilliputians and even when an exciting play is executed, hardly anyone notices.
The large field leads to inept refereeing, the officials are almost always too far away to get the call right, leading to comically bad decisions that affect the outcome of the match all too often.
In fact referees are so far away from the action that players have perfected the sickening art of diving, or faking, to the point that the very integrity of the game is in jeopardy.
Take a look at this video of soccer's finest, doing their thing.
Sickening!
How can any parent encourage their children to grow up and emulate a bunch of dishonest pansies, who flop around the field like beached whales, trying to cheat without any scruples or embarrassment.
When referees occasionally do catch someone diving, the player is given the ubiquitous yellow flag, or a warning, instead of being kicked off the field immediately. So diving pays.
Of course soccer refuses to use video replays to aid in making crucial decisions as compared to NHL hockey and American and Canadian football. The use of video review in sport has made the games infinitely fairer and yes, even more exciting.
Had any sort of video review been used, France would have had the most famous 'hand goal' reversed in its preliminary game with Ireland.
The reputation of professional soccer is set to take a stunning hit as allegations of widespread game-fixing are surfacing. Perhaps soccer with it's less than genius fan base can survive this type of scandal, but I can imagine the reaction in North America of the news that players of a professional team threw a game deliberately.
Even the slightest whiff of impropriety brings down the wrath of the league on any miscreant, just ask Pete Rose.
Investigative journalist Declan Hill, who authored The Fix: Soccer and Organized Crime, says match-ïŹxing in professional soccer is organized primarily through the multi-billion-dollar illegal Asian gambling market and is widespread. Ecchhh!. Link
Aside from all this, it boils down to the fact that soccer remains uninteresting to those not born into the game. Although easy enough to understand, soccer has little appeal to native born North Americans, who shun the game despite the best efforts of promoters to hawk the game.
North America's most important professional soccer league draws an average of just 16,000 per game and is heavily dependent on foreign immigrants as a fan base.
The world cup or "Mundial' is a time for North American immigrants to flaunt their national pride by flying flags on their cars and cheering for the home team in ethnic bars and restaurants. If you live in Toronto and Montreal or any city with a sizable immigrant population, you're now being treated to wildly enthusiastic display of support and adoration for the old country.
To all of you, I say, Enjoy!
Native Canadians will be sipping beer by the pool or cottage, contemplating the upcoming NHL free agent bonanza on July 1st and the NHL draft.
As for the world Cup of Soccer. zzzzzzzzzzzzz.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
She's Baaaaackkk...... and She's Out to Change your Religion
There's little doubt that Louise Beaudoin is the poster doll of French language militants who believe in the philosophy that the citizens exist to serve the state and that individual rights are subservient to perceived societal objectives.
Thirty-five years ago, she along with Camille Laurin, the father of Bill 101 were the two personalities that became notorious not only for their militancy, but for the absolute delight that they hardly masked in taking down the English community a peg.
Perhaps Terry Mosher (drawing under the pen named "AISLIN") the famed Montreal Gazette political cartoonist summed up the collective feeling of the English community's opinion of her in depicting the bogey-woman Beaudoin in a Nazi-like dominatrix outfit, ready to crack the whip on unrepentant Anglos. Incidentally, this caricature is considered one of the finest ever produced by a Canadian political cartoonist.
There is no political radical, religious fanatic or cultist, so dangerous as those who believe in their divine right to dictate their view on a captive community. Smug, arrogant and superior, these Quebec ideologues consider the great unwashed unworthy of making their own decisions and believe that there is a certain noble calling in forcing people to do the 'right thing.'
Now Madame Beaudoin is back, preaching more limits on personal freedom. The latest assault is the so-called 'Charter of Secularism', a project that would remove religion from public life and render the government officially neutral when it comes to all matters pertaining to the divine.
"We need to draw a line in the sand, that will separate politics and religion in order to have a totally secular Quebec" Louise Beaudoin
Madame Beaudoin and friends are using the debate over Bill 94 (outlawing the veil in various degrees) to push the Province towards a radical extreme, removing all religion from Quebec society.
Madame Beaudoin has been vocal in warning that she intends on pursuing an agenda that is much more serious than just banning the burqa. For that reason the Premier has back pedalled furiously and delayed hearings into the matter until the Fall. The hearings are fast looking to become a xenophobic repeat of the Bouchard/Taylor commission.
Beaudoin makes no bones about the fact that she is preparing a comprehensive and all-out assault on religion with the goal to removing all vestiges of religion from public life.
On the immediate agenda;
If you read French, here is one example of a bitter attack on organized religion. LINK
Louise Beaudoin is a radical secularist, as well as a radical separatist. She is showing her teeth again like the nasty old pit bull that she is.
The evil bitch is back ...... and she wants your God.
Thirty-five years ago, she along with Camille Laurin, the father of Bill 101 were the two personalities that became notorious not only for their militancy, but for the absolute delight that they hardly masked in taking down the English community a peg.
Perhaps Terry Mosher (drawing under the pen named "AISLIN") the famed Montreal Gazette political cartoonist summed up the collective feeling of the English community's opinion of her in depicting the bogey-woman Beaudoin in a Nazi-like dominatrix outfit, ready to crack the whip on unrepentant Anglos. Incidentally, this caricature is considered one of the finest ever produced by a Canadian political cartoonist.There is no political radical, religious fanatic or cultist, so dangerous as those who believe in their divine right to dictate their view on a captive community. Smug, arrogant and superior, these Quebec ideologues consider the great unwashed unworthy of making their own decisions and believe that there is a certain noble calling in forcing people to do the 'right thing.'
Now Madame Beaudoin is back, preaching more limits on personal freedom. The latest assault is the so-called 'Charter of Secularism', a project that would remove religion from public life and render the government officially neutral when it comes to all matters pertaining to the divine.
"We need to draw a line in the sand, that will separate politics and religion in order to have a totally secular Quebec" Louise Beaudoin
Madame Beaudoin and friends are using the debate over Bill 94 (outlawing the veil in various degrees) to push the Province towards a radical extreme, removing all religion from Quebec society.
Madame Beaudoin has been vocal in warning that she intends on pursuing an agenda that is much more serious than just banning the burqa. For that reason the Premier has back pedalled furiously and delayed hearings into the matter until the Fall. The hearings are fast looking to become a xenophobic repeat of the Bouchard/Taylor commission.
Beaudoin makes no bones about the fact that she is preparing a comprehensive and all-out assault on religion with the goal to removing all vestiges of religion from public life.
On the immediate agenda;
- the de-subsidization of private religious schools.
- the de-subsidization of religious day-care.
- the banning of any religious clothing or jewelry in any public institution, including schools, hospitals government offices and the courts by both employees and users.
- the banning of any type of religious accommodation at all.
- the total removal of religious affiliation in public institutions (think-Jewish General Hospital and its Kosher food)
- The banning of Kosher or Halal designations on widely distributed food. (Only specialty stores would be allowed to sell these items.
- Banning private religious schools.
- Banning private religious day-cares.
- Banning religious garb in public
- Banning private Sunday school classes
- Removing tax status of religious organizations
- Banning all religious clothing and medallions in public.
If you read French, here is one example of a bitter attack on organized religion. LINK
Louise Beaudoin is a radical secularist, as well as a radical separatist. She is showing her teeth again like the nasty old pit bull that she is.
The evil bitch is back ...... and she wants your God.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Lack of Representation Nothing New for Anglo Quebeckers
In light of recent events surrounding Bill 103, (the Quebec Liberal party's reaction to the rejection by the Supreme court of Bill 104, a law enacted by the separatist Parti Quebecois back in 2002 to ostensibly close a loophole where ineligible students could gain entry into English schools,) a lot of readers have fulminated (well a few, anyway) in the comment section over the sad fact that Anglophone Quebeckers, have virtually no influence in the Liberal party and that perhaps its time to give rebirth to an Anglo rights party again similar to the Equality Party of way back when.
The handful of Liberal MNAs who are English or Ethnic and who represent predominantly Anglo ridings appear to be co-opted to parrot the anti-English line that the Liberals, as well as all the other parties in the National Assembly adhere to. It's particularly galling to see them forced to bite their tongues on language issues like Bill 103 in order to keep their jobs.
Before I discuss the idea of a English rights party, lets review our Anglo and Ethnic talent in the National Assembly.
At first glance, it appears that Quebec is the only place in North America where not only bees, but WASPS are also endangered species, at least in Quebec's National Assembly.
By my count there is only one male and one female that can qualify as White, Anglo-Saxon, and Protestant, a situation that vastly under represents the 400,0000 Quebec citizens that can be classified as such.
Dividing Quebec's population by the 125 Parliamentary seats available yields approximately 70,000 people per constituency, notwithstanding that urban ridings contain more voters than suburban ones (this is how the PQ gets disproportionately more seats than votes.)
These numbers would indicate that in a perfect world Anglos would hold about 12 seats and Ethnics the same.
When it comes to overall representation it's clear that Anglos and ethnics are underrepresented across the board. With twenty percent of the population one would hope that Anglos and Ethnics would hold about 25 Parliamentary seats. Here's a rundown of the twelve that they do occupy. As it stands, Anglos hold just two seats and Ethnics ten. It can be argued that there is some crossover, but the basic facts remain.
It appears that when the Liberals designate someone to run in a safe English riding, the candidate is chosen using a formula whereby two birds can be killed with one stone. These 'safe' Anglo ridings are vehicles whereby ethnics who can double as Anglos are chosen.
An important element to Anglo/Ethnics Liberal representation in Parliament is the distinct lack of 'weight' that they bring. Only Sam Hadad can be said to exercise any real influence. The two Anglos rookies who were inserted into cabinet were unfortunately, mere tokens (and I hate to use the term) and represent nothing more than Jean Charest proxies, chosen for their docility and willingness to obey their master. Behind the scene, it's Jean Charest runs the Justice and Immigration departments using Yolande James and Kathleen Weil like a Charlie McCarthy marionette. As for Laurence Bergman, the designated Jew of the Assembly, it seems that with all that talent in Hebrew community, the Liberal opted for the nebbish. Perhaps Russel Copeman, one of the few competent Liberal Anglo politicians of late, read the writing on the wall and left politics.
It's painfully clear that when it comes to representing Anglos, no party is really interested and protecting Anglo rights is actually perceived as a drawback by all.
Even the conservative ADQ is publicly against any accommodation that would allow English schools any device that would allow them to pinch non-eligible students.
Tym Machine in his blog reminds us that Mario Dumont favours a mixed health care system, one where a private option augments the public health system.
Yet Dumont expresses outrage at the idea that several hundred families can 'buy' their children an English education.
Apparently it's fine to jump the queue and purchase a hip replacement operation, but buying an English education is an affront to every Quebecker.
So it isn't surprising that none of our political parties are at all interested in protecting or boosting access to English schools. It's just bad politics, so many frustrated Anglos are suggesting a return to the days of the Equality Party, where Anglos forgoe voting the traditional Liberal way and elect English rights activists.
I remember the last time this happened, back in 1989 when the Equality Party manged to get almost 5% of the Provincial vote and elected four members to the National Assembly. At that time Anglos were furious over the provisions of Bill 101. I guess nothing has changed....
But the sad reality was that the party was marginally competent, sadly dysfunctional and grossly ineffective.
I've known Robert Libman (the leader of the party) professionally and as a friend for many years and have nothing but the highest respect for his abilities, competence and honesty. That being said, the other members of the party could only be described as accidental politicians.
The late Gordon Atkinson was also a great friend of mine and a mentor and teacher. He was honourable and as refined a gentleman as you could find. As soldier by training, he viewed issues in black and white and as you can guess was ill-suited to politics. He never fit in at the National Assembly and quickly lost interest in the whole political thing.
Neil Cameron was a well meaning academic, but was also not prepared for life in the political fast lane. He also turned out to be a disappointing bust, his background made him wholly unsuitable for the rough and tumble world of politics.
As for the last member of the quartet, Richard Holden was the joker in the deck. Clearly unbalanced when elected, he was soon kicked out of the party and spited his former colleagues by crossing the floor and sitting as a member of the Parti Quebecois, something that sent his Westmount constituents into a state of apoplexy. After his defeat in the next election, he was rewarded with a patronage job by his separatist masters but remained seriously unbalanced and committed suicide by jumping out of his Atwater condo.
After the Equality party imploded, it was a signal to the Anglo community that the 'independent' experiment was a bust.
Like the Bloc Quebecois of today, the influence of the Equality party was negligible and in fact made it easier for mainstream Quebeckers to ignore the constituency.
Sometimes there are no good options and sadly Anglos face the sad truth that they will never be adequately represented, no matter which route they pick.
For those wishing for an independent Anglo representation, it will never happen again and perhaps the only role of our Anglo and Ethnic members of the Liberal caucus is to remain, their presence a reminder that we persevere.
Sad....I know.....
The handful of Liberal MNAs who are English or Ethnic and who represent predominantly Anglo ridings appear to be co-opted to parrot the anti-English line that the Liberals, as well as all the other parties in the National Assembly adhere to. It's particularly galling to see them forced to bite their tongues on language issues like Bill 103 in order to keep their jobs.
Before I discuss the idea of a English rights party, lets review our Anglo and Ethnic talent in the National Assembly.
At first glance, it appears that Quebec is the only place in North America where not only bees, but WASPS are also endangered species, at least in Quebec's National Assembly.
By my count there is only one male and one female that can qualify as White, Anglo-Saxon, and Protestant, a situation that vastly under represents the 400,0000 Quebec citizens that can be classified as such.
Dividing Quebec's population by the 125 Parliamentary seats available yields approximately 70,000 people per constituency, notwithstanding that urban ridings contain more voters than suburban ones (this is how the PQ gets disproportionately more seats than votes.)
These numbers would indicate that in a perfect world Anglos would hold about 12 seats and Ethnics the same.
When it comes to overall representation it's clear that Anglos and ethnics are underrepresented across the board. With twenty percent of the population one would hope that Anglos and Ethnics would hold about 25 Parliamentary seats. Here's a rundown of the twelve that they do occupy. As it stands, Anglos hold just two seats and Ethnics ten. It can be argued that there is some crossover, but the basic facts remain.
It appears that when the Liberals designate someone to run in a safe English riding, the candidate is chosen using a formula whereby two birds can be killed with one stone. These 'safe' Anglo ridings are vehicles whereby ethnics who can double as Anglos are chosen.
An important element to Anglo/Ethnics Liberal representation in Parliament is the distinct lack of 'weight' that they bring. Only Sam Hadad can be said to exercise any real influence. The two Anglos rookies who were inserted into cabinet were unfortunately, mere tokens (and I hate to use the term) and represent nothing more than Jean Charest proxies, chosen for their docility and willingness to obey their master. Behind the scene, it's Jean Charest runs the Justice and Immigration departments using Yolande James and Kathleen Weil like a Charlie McCarthy marionette. As for Laurence Bergman, the designated Jew of the Assembly, it seems that with all that talent in Hebrew community, the Liberal opted for the nebbish. Perhaps Russel Copeman, one of the few competent Liberal Anglo politicians of late, read the writing on the wall and left politics.
It's painfully clear that when it comes to representing Anglos, no party is really interested and protecting Anglo rights is actually perceived as a drawback by all.
Even the conservative ADQ is publicly against any accommodation that would allow English schools any device that would allow them to pinch non-eligible students.
Tym Machine in his blog reminds us that Mario Dumont favours a mixed health care system, one where a private option augments the public health system.
Yet Dumont expresses outrage at the idea that several hundred families can 'buy' their children an English education.
Apparently it's fine to jump the queue and purchase a hip replacement operation, but buying an English education is an affront to every Quebecker.
So it isn't surprising that none of our political parties are at all interested in protecting or boosting access to English schools. It's just bad politics, so many frustrated Anglos are suggesting a return to the days of the Equality Party, where Anglos forgoe voting the traditional Liberal way and elect English rights activists.
I remember the last time this happened, back in 1989 when the Equality Party manged to get almost 5% of the Provincial vote and elected four members to the National Assembly. At that time Anglos were furious over the provisions of Bill 101. I guess nothing has changed....
But the sad reality was that the party was marginally competent, sadly dysfunctional and grossly ineffective.
I've known Robert Libman (the leader of the party) professionally and as a friend for many years and have nothing but the highest respect for his abilities, competence and honesty. That being said, the other members of the party could only be described as accidental politicians.
The late Gordon Atkinson was also a great friend of mine and a mentor and teacher. He was honourable and as refined a gentleman as you could find. As soldier by training, he viewed issues in black and white and as you can guess was ill-suited to politics. He never fit in at the National Assembly and quickly lost interest in the whole political thing.
Neil Cameron was a well meaning academic, but was also not prepared for life in the political fast lane. He also turned out to be a disappointing bust, his background made him wholly unsuitable for the rough and tumble world of politics.
As for the last member of the quartet, Richard Holden was the joker in the deck. Clearly unbalanced when elected, he was soon kicked out of the party and spited his former colleagues by crossing the floor and sitting as a member of the Parti Quebecois, something that sent his Westmount constituents into a state of apoplexy. After his defeat in the next election, he was rewarded with a patronage job by his separatist masters but remained seriously unbalanced and committed suicide by jumping out of his Atwater condo.
After the Equality party imploded, it was a signal to the Anglo community that the 'independent' experiment was a bust.
Like the Bloc Quebecois of today, the influence of the Equality party was negligible and in fact made it easier for mainstream Quebeckers to ignore the constituency.
Sometimes there are no good options and sadly Anglos face the sad truth that they will never be adequately represented, no matter which route they pick.
For those wishing for an independent Anglo representation, it will never happen again and perhaps the only role of our Anglo and Ethnic members of the Liberal caucus is to remain, their presence a reminder that we persevere.
Sad....I know.....
Friday, June 11, 2010
Bill 101- A Francophone Prison
But with all the glorious prose and good intentions of both those Charters, it isn't quite true.
You see, If you are an immigrant or are born to a Francophone family in Quebec, your rights differ from those of someone born to an Anglophone family.
That's right, Anglophones and others don't share equality before the law, not in Quebec, anyways.
If you are an Anglophone, you are born with the inherent right to receive a public education in either French or in English, your choice. For everyone else, it's tough nougies, French and French alone is your only education option, thanks to Bill 101 the language law passed by the separatist PQ government back in 1977.
In other words Francophones and Allophones are discriminated against because of language,there's really no other way to look at it, unless you're a constitutional lawyer.
Here's what the Quebec Charter of Rights says about all discrimination. Notice that language is specifically cited;
CHAPTER I.1Now I'm no lawyer, but clearly language may not be used to discriminate against anybody. Notice that there is no proviso that limits this protection, as there is the after the word 'age', which adds the proviso-"except as provided by law." It seems to me that this proviso needs to be added to the 'language' reference, if Bill 101 is to be legal.
RIGHT TO EQUAL RECOGNITION AND EXERCISE OF RIGHTS AND FREEDOMSDiscrimination forbidden.10. Every person has a right to full and equal recognition and exercise of his human rights and freedoms, without distinction, exclusion or preference based on race, colour, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, civil status, age except as provided by law, religion, political convictions, language, ethnic or national origin, social condition, a handicap or the use of any means to palliate a handicap.
No matter, the Supreme Court of Canada has already ruled in this matter at least three times and has come to the conclusion that language discrimination is permissible. So much for the concept that we have any real real Charter rights in Canada. At any rate, even if the Supreme Court found the practice illegal, there is an escape clause (Notwithstanding Clause) that permits provinces to bypass inconvenient decisions. How very Canadian!
As an Anglophone Quebecker, I don't think much about the Bill 101, it hardly affects me or my family.
We are the privileged class.
Aside from compulsory French signs in public, which don't offend me at all, the world turns nicely for me and my fellow Anglos.
We are educated in English, enjoy unlimited television, radio and press in our language and we can live in communities that are just about as English as we want. We can receive services from the government and our towns and cities in English and can be treated in hospitals run almost completely in English. English entertainment, be it movies, theater or music, is widely available, as is service in most stores and restaurants. Our children and their children are also guaranteed these same rights.
Like I said, life is good.
For Francophones, despite all the moaning and groaning by nationalists, life is also good, everything, but everything, in the Province is offered in French and one can easily get by speaking no English, which most Francophones don't..
But for some Francophones, it's not enough. Speaking French in Quebec is fine, but not so much when one leaves the province. Some parents want their children to become bilingual and that's where they come into conflict with their own government, which has a different view.
For the government and French language nationalists, bilingual Francophones are not in the best interest of the preservation of the French language and so Bill 101 was enacted not only to force ethnics into French schools, but to keep Francophones out of English schools. This, coupled with the fact that English language instruction in French schools is kept at the most rudimentary level, leaves Francophone students functionally unilingual. There is hardly a high school graduate from a Francophone institution who can order breakfast in Toronto.
Ever since Bill 101was enacted, Quebeckers have become less bilingual, a happy result for nationalists who wish to to impose the "barefoot and pregnant" syndrome, where people are deliberately starved of a skill in order to control them from leaving home.
Nationalists remind us that Quebec is surrounded by a sea of English and that French speakers make up just 2% of the North American population, yet just 35% of Quebeckers can carry on a conversation in English.
In Europe, where English is native only in Great Britain and Ireland, the rate of bilingualism reaches up to 90% in some countries.
A good comparison to Quebec, is the country of Denmark, whose 6 million inhabitants speak a language that is shared only in Greenland and one part of Germany. But the numbers are small, less than 100,000 speak Danish outside the country. If Quebeckers think French is in danger then Danish must be on its death bed.
But in Denmark English is embraced as the language of internationalism and schools teach the language early and successfully. 90% of Danes can speak English and they speak it very well.
Graduate school classes throughout the country teach business courses exclusively in English to prepare students for the real world. Danes don't seem to be particularly afraid of becoming Anglophones or having their culture destroyed by English.
The all-encompassing fear and the major argument among Quebec proponents of the ban on English is the premise that bilingualism leads to assimilation, a false assumption if you'd ask the Danes.
While the entire world sees the benefit of learning English, Quebec stands with countries like Islamist Somalia that forbid the teaching of English.
Not all Francophones in Quebec are pleased with being dictated to. Last week the leader of the small conservative party the Action démocratique (ADQ) demanded that English actually be taught in schools with the goal of getting students to become bilingual. Gérard Deltell, the leader, expressed his distress at the low rate of bilingualism among the young.
This brought out the traditional naysayers who actually used the excuse that making children bilingual was too expensive and that there is a profound lack of qualified teachers.
Switching an additional class or two into English from French has no added costs and as for teachers, here's some advice. Hire ANGLOPHONES! They are already bilingual. When I went to English high school in Montreal, most of my French teachers were Francophones who spoke almost no English!
How does the PQ react to all of this?
By announcing that they will extend the language ban to English Cegeps (junior college) where Francophones are enrolling after high school, in order to learn English.
And so the language nationalist propaganda machine drones on and on, repeating the message that English is dangerous and that bilingualism leads to assimilation.
After forty years of getting this message hammered home, most Quebeckers (but not all) accept it as Gospel.
Those who are brave enough to break out of the language prison are seen as having betrayed the 'collectivity.' Francophones in English colleges and universities make language nationalists ill.
Pauline Marois' quote this week, says it all.
"It is not acceptable to send this message, that it is possible to have free choice."
Do citizens have an obligation to serve to state, or does the state have the obligation to serve its citizens?
In banning free choice, it obvious what the answer is in Quebec.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
NDP -'Happy' Jack and 'Oncle' Thom Sell out Anglos
In politics, expediency trumps principles most of the time. All political parties face moral dilemmas between sticking to the values and principles that define their party or bending to public opinion in order to gain the votes that will keep them in business.
While no party is immune to public opinion (save the Greens,) there's no doubt that the NDP is the champion at selling out their ideals in the sad and often futile pursuit of votes. While the Liberals and the Conservatives flop around on occasion, at least they have some semblance of a cohesive national policy.
The NDP currently faces such a dilemma in relation to the scrapping of the long-gun registry. It would seem natural that ideologically the party would be in favour of keeping the registry going, but many of its elected members from rural ridings are going to vote with the Conservatives to scrap the registry. In fact the Liberals, who have nothing to protect in rural Canada and whose constituency clearly support the registry, are trying to humiliate the NDP for its unprincipled stance with a nasty poster campaign. LINK
So the NDP, remains all things to all people.
In British Columbia they are a light imitation of the Greens, espousing a policy of environmentalism and sustainability. They appeal to the upper middle-class Yuppies, who are just a tad afraid of the radical greens.
In Ontario they are the union party, manning the barricades for the working man.
Between these two provinces lies the NDP constituency, the rest of the country provides a seat or two here and there but nothing sustainable. Most members outside the traditional power base have won their seats on the strength of their own candidacy or other quirks such as a constituency that is on the outs with both major parties.
Nothing hurts the credibility of the NDP as a national party as the almost complete lack of representation in the province of Quebec. And so back-stopping the NDP's lone member in Quebec, 'Oncle' Thomas Mulcair, in his Outremont riding remains of paramount importance.
Outremont is a strange riding that combines upper income Francophones with a hodgepodge of well-off English and ethnics including Canada's biggest congregation of Hasidic Jews. The riding has traditionally gone Liberal, but with the sponsorship scandal and the Liberals at the nadir of their popularity in 2007, Mulcair was able to eke out a protest vote victory, when Liberal Jean Lapierre abandoned politics in a huff. Within a year of his by-election win a federal election was called where he managed to hold onto his seat - barely.
He is by no means safe next time around, so tailoring a platform that appeals to the yuppie Francophones in the riding, who represent his major constituency is of critical importance to the NDP.
But more important than that, the NDP is now looking forward to a possible coalition with the Liberals in the next federal election. Layton and the NDP are carving out a position that will make them a popular second choice in Quebec, representing a suitable dancing partner for a coalition. Since the Bloc Quebcois has demonstrated itself wholly unacceptable to Canadians, it befalls the NDP to take up the mantle of Quebec radicalism.
That is why the NDP has become the second national Canadian political party to espouse an anti-English/pro-Quebec nationalist platform and have been front and center promoting a French nationalist agenda. It is a NDP member who proposed that Supreme Court judges be bilingual, a wildly popular concept in Quebec, not so much outside.
Uncle Thom and Happy Jack are careful to speak in French when denouncing Bill 103 and avoid any talk of language issues when talking to reporters in English. When the Francophone press appears, it's back to Anglo-bashing.
The latest outrage is the NDP lending its name and support to a rainbow coalition of Separatist, Nationalist and semi-violent radical organizations that have banded together to do battle against the 'nefarious' Bill 103.
Here's a press release put out by the Saint Jean Baptist Society, Quebec's leading separatist organization, who proudly welcome the NDP into its ranks of a coalation formed to fight Bill 103.
It is utterly unbelievable that the NDP's pandering to the Quebec radical movement goes unreported in English Canada. Try any Google search coupling 'Bill 103' and 'NDP' together and you'll get nothing in English. Do a French search using 'NPD' plus 'Loi 101' and you'll get a flood a flood of stories about the NDP joining forces with a coalition of radical French separatist organizations. Try it...
While no party is immune to public opinion (save the Greens,) there's no doubt that the NDP is the champion at selling out their ideals in the sad and often futile pursuit of votes. While the Liberals and the Conservatives flop around on occasion, at least they have some semblance of a cohesive national policy.
So the NDP, remains all things to all people.
In British Columbia they are a light imitation of the Greens, espousing a policy of environmentalism and sustainability. They appeal to the upper middle-class Yuppies, who are just a tad afraid of the radical greens.
In Ontario they are the union party, manning the barricades for the working man.
Between these two provinces lies the NDP constituency, the rest of the country provides a seat or two here and there but nothing sustainable. Most members outside the traditional power base have won their seats on the strength of their own candidacy or other quirks such as a constituency that is on the outs with both major parties.
Nothing hurts the credibility of the NDP as a national party as the almost complete lack of representation in the province of Quebec. And so back-stopping the NDP's lone member in Quebec, 'Oncle' Thomas Mulcair, in his Outremont riding remains of paramount importance.
Outremont is a strange riding that combines upper income Francophones with a hodgepodge of well-off English and ethnics including Canada's biggest congregation of Hasidic Jews. The riding has traditionally gone Liberal, but with the sponsorship scandal and the Liberals at the nadir of their popularity in 2007, Mulcair was able to eke out a protest vote victory, when Liberal Jean Lapierre abandoned politics in a huff. Within a year of his by-election win a federal election was called where he managed to hold onto his seat - barely.
He is by no means safe next time around, so tailoring a platform that appeals to the yuppie Francophones in the riding, who represent his major constituency is of critical importance to the NDP.
But more important than that, the NDP is now looking forward to a possible coalition with the Liberals in the next federal election. Layton and the NDP are carving out a position that will make them a popular second choice in Quebec, representing a suitable dancing partner for a coalition. Since the Bloc Quebcois has demonstrated itself wholly unacceptable to Canadians, it befalls the NDP to take up the mantle of Quebec radicalism.
That is why the NDP has become the second national Canadian political party to espouse an anti-English/pro-Quebec nationalist platform and have been front and center promoting a French nationalist agenda. It is a NDP member who proposed that Supreme Court judges be bilingual, a wildly popular concept in Quebec, not so much outside.
Uncle Thom and Happy Jack are careful to speak in French when denouncing Bill 103 and avoid any talk of language issues when talking to reporters in English. When the Francophone press appears, it's back to Anglo-bashing.
The latest outrage is the NDP lending its name and support to a rainbow coalition of Separatist, Nationalist and semi-violent radical organizations that have banded together to do battle against the 'nefarious' Bill 103.
Here's a press release put out by the Saint Jean Baptist Society, Quebec's leading separatist organization, who proudly welcome the NDP into its ranks of a coalation formed to fight Bill 103.
Des représentants de plusieurs autres organismes appuyant la Coalition seront présents. Ces organismes sont : Québec Solidaire, le Nouveau Parti démocratique, les syndicats FTQ, SFPQ et FAE, le Mouvement national des Québécoises et des Québécois (MNQ), le Mouvement Montréal français (MMF), le Mouvement Montérégie français, le Mouvement Laurentide français, Impératif français, le Réseau de Résistance québécoise (RRQ), le Rassemblement pour un pays souverain (RPS), les Jeunes Patriotes du Québec (JPQ) et le Mouvement Pacifique pour l'Indépendance du Québec (MPIQ) et plusieurs autres.Welcome aboard, boys, you're in good company!
It is utterly unbelievable that the NDP's pandering to the Quebec radical movement goes unreported in English Canada. Try any Google search coupling 'Bill 103' and 'NDP' together and you'll get nothing in English. Do a French search using 'NPD' plus 'Loi 101' and you'll get a flood a flood of stories about the NDP joining forces with a coalition of radical French separatist organizations. Try it...
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Bill 103- A Dog's Beakfast
If Premier Charest was trying to find some
sort of middle ground with Bill 103, it a pretty safe bet that he failed miserably. Perhaps I was right when I said a few days ago that it was a plan to create language controversy so that the heat could be taken off the corruption debate.
The new law replaces the old Bill 104, which was rejected by the Supreme Court, eliminating a loophole whereby children, not eligible for English schooling, could win that right by attending a private English school for as little as one year and then switching to a public English school.
The replacement law, Bill 103, is different from its predecessor in that it extends the required period of private English instruction to three years, as well as making students and their families jump through additional hoops to qualify for public English education.
Convoluted as it is, it might just pass muster with the Supreme Court.
The original law, Bill 104, passed by the separatist Parti Quebecois back in 2002, was enacted in reaction to the approximately 500 students a year that availed themselves of this 'secret passage' to get into English public school. The English school boards, desperate for students, turned a blind eye to what was and remains an underhanded way of getting around the law. Not only French language radicals, but the average Joe is displeased that these students are essentially buying their way into English school.
While polls indicate the majority of Quebeckers believe in free educational choice, the idea of rich people circumventing Bill 101 or any other law with money is unacceptable to almost everyone.
All of this wouldn't be necessary if the government had listened and reacted fairly to the English school boards complaint that falling birthrates coupled with the effects of Bill 101 have contributed to a precipitous decline in enrolment in English schools.
Quebeckers (both Anglophone and Francophone) don't produce enough babies to keep the population stable and so immigrants are required to stave off population decline.
But if all these immigrants are forced into French schools only, it means that English school enrolment is bound to decline. It doesn't take a genius to figure this out, despite of all the phony-baloney statistics produced to the contrary, by language extremists like Mario Beaulieu.
It is a simple and incontrovertible fact, something that even blockheads in government should be able to grasp.
Anglo school boards need more students or they will die, it's as simple as that. If the government is okay with that scenario, than the government should say so.
If the government believes that the English community has a right to a viable school system, it needs to provide a way to top up enrolment. Not drastically, just enough to maintain the system as it is.
The government could have avoided all this unpleasantness by negotiating a deal with the English school boards that would stop this back door practice voluntarily, in exchange for allowing other students to fill the void and keep the English student population stable.
It would have avoided a humiliating loss in the Supreme court.
One of the simplest and fairest ways to do this would be to give a Bill 101 exemption to all immigrant children who come from English-speaking countries like the USA, Great Britain, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and English speaking island nations of the Caribbean. These students already speak English as their first language and forcing them into French schools doesn't make much sense anyways. There aren't that many immigrants in this category to begin with, less than 400 English families immigrate to Quebec each year from these countries. They would probably produce roughly 500 potential students, a neat compromise! It might also open the door to more Anglos immigrating to Quebec. As of now Anglophones avoid Quebec as a destination of choice like the plague.
To French language militants this solution is likely less acceptable than drinking a glass of poison, but the majority of Quebeckers would probably see it as fair.
The new Bill 103 will probably cut the number of back door entries into the English school system by half, to less than 300, but for the militants, it is 300 too many. Get ready to see demonstrations and parades, as separatist and language militant leaders wax rhapsodic over the injustice and inhumanity of it all.
A general call to arms.... all over a paltry 300 students in a Province of almost eight million people.
Of course 'Uncle' Thom Mulcair and 'Smiling' Jack Layton of the NDP are front and center, joining a coalition composed of separatist and radical French groups formed to oppose the law. And so they are joining such ignoble groups as the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste, Conseil de la souveraineté, Parti québécois, Québec solidaire, Bloc québécois, Syndicalistes et progressistes pour un Québec libre plus the always threateningly popular Réseau de Résistance québécoise and Jeunes Patriotes du Québec.
'Smiling' Jack and 'Uncle' Thom have no interest in seeing the Quebec English school system remaining viable. Not enough votes in that, so better to join forces with the radical separatists and hope some votes will rub off. Ecch! LINK
Meanwhile, lost in all this, is the fact that at any given time there are over 10,000 students, eligible for English schooling, who are attending French schools voluntarily. Ahem.....
How ridiculous is Bill 103? Very....
The new law replaces the old Bill 104, which was rejected by the Supreme Court, eliminating a loophole whereby children, not eligible for English schooling, could win that right by attending a private English school for as little as one year and then switching to a public English school.
The replacement law, Bill 103, is different from its predecessor in that it extends the required period of private English instruction to three years, as well as making students and their families jump through additional hoops to qualify for public English education.
Convoluted as it is, it might just pass muster with the Supreme Court.
The original law, Bill 104, passed by the separatist Parti Quebecois back in 2002, was enacted in reaction to the approximately 500 students a year that availed themselves of this 'secret passage' to get into English public school. The English school boards, desperate for students, turned a blind eye to what was and remains an underhanded way of getting around the law. Not only French language radicals, but the average Joe is displeased that these students are essentially buying their way into English school.
While polls indicate the majority of Quebeckers believe in free educational choice, the idea of rich people circumventing Bill 101 or any other law with money is unacceptable to almost everyone.
All of this wouldn't be necessary if the government had listened and reacted fairly to the English school boards complaint that falling birthrates coupled with the effects of Bill 101 have contributed to a precipitous decline in enrolment in English schools.
Quebeckers (both Anglophone and Francophone) don't produce enough babies to keep the population stable and so immigrants are required to stave off population decline.
But if all these immigrants are forced into French schools only, it means that English school enrolment is bound to decline. It doesn't take a genius to figure this out, despite of all the phony-baloney statistics produced to the contrary, by language extremists like Mario Beaulieu.
It is a simple and incontrovertible fact, something that even blockheads in government should be able to grasp.
Anglo school boards need more students or they will die, it's as simple as that. If the government is okay with that scenario, than the government should say so.
If the government believes that the English community has a right to a viable school system, it needs to provide a way to top up enrolment. Not drastically, just enough to maintain the system as it is.
The government could have avoided all this unpleasantness by negotiating a deal with the English school boards that would stop this back door practice voluntarily, in exchange for allowing other students to fill the void and keep the English student population stable.
It would have avoided a humiliating loss in the Supreme court.
One of the simplest and fairest ways to do this would be to give a Bill 101 exemption to all immigrant children who come from English-speaking countries like the USA, Great Britain, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and English speaking island nations of the Caribbean. These students already speak English as their first language and forcing them into French schools doesn't make much sense anyways. There aren't that many immigrants in this category to begin with, less than 400 English families immigrate to Quebec each year from these countries. They would probably produce roughly 500 potential students, a neat compromise! It might also open the door to more Anglos immigrating to Quebec. As of now Anglophones avoid Quebec as a destination of choice like the plague.
To French language militants this solution is likely less acceptable than drinking a glass of poison, but the majority of Quebeckers would probably see it as fair.
The new Bill 103 will probably cut the number of back door entries into the English school system by half, to less than 300, but for the militants, it is 300 too many. Get ready to see demonstrations and parades, as separatist and language militant leaders wax rhapsodic over the injustice and inhumanity of it all.
A general call to arms.... all over a paltry 300 students in a Province of almost eight million people.
Of course 'Uncle' Thom Mulcair and 'Smiling' Jack Layton of the NDP are front and center, joining a coalition composed of separatist and radical French groups formed to oppose the law. And so they are joining such ignoble groups as the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste, Conseil de la souveraineté, Parti québécois, Québec solidaire, Bloc québécois, Syndicalistes et progressistes pour un Québec libre plus the always threateningly popular Réseau de Résistance québécoise and Jeunes Patriotes du Québec.
'Smiling' Jack and 'Uncle' Thom have no interest in seeing the Quebec English school system remaining viable. Not enough votes in that, so better to join forces with the radical separatists and hope some votes will rub off. Ecch! LINK
Meanwhile, lost in all this, is the fact that at any given time there are over 10,000 students, eligible for English schooling, who are attending French schools voluntarily. Ahem.....
How ridiculous is Bill 103? Very....
As you may know the law creates a point system, with 15 as the minimum required to gain entry to English school.
A reader sent me an email detailing how the point system works. The document is in French and for those of you who can read it, have a go. It is as stupid as it looks. Check out the last pages even if you don't speak French. It lists point values. Argghhh!!!!!!!!!!
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Forget English- Quebeckers Should Learn Greek
Watching the sad financial fiasco occurring in Greece, one has to ask if it is a portent of things to come, here in Quebec. While Greece is Greece and Quebec is Quebec, there are certain parallels to be drawn, especially when it comes to the attitude of the public in regard to fiscal responsibility.
The Greeks are living the cruel repercussions of decades of financial mismanagement and overspending. Lavish entitlements, early retirement and widespread tax evasion has finally caught up with them as the country finally ran out of money and credit.
The EEC which backstops the Euro, is demanding corrective action in order to authorize a bailout.
If implemented, these measures represent a debilitating and painful cut in expenditures and an unprecedented increase in taxes. For the average Greek, it means a 30% drop in relative income.
Athens radio personality Georgios Trangasis is typical of Greek deniers, oblivious to the country's economic situation. For him, blame lies outside Greece, "What did European governments really know about Greece's indebtedness, and why did they allow it?"
And so the Greek financial crisis is the fault of the German and French banks as well as the IMF, controlled by the Americans. Hostility towards Germany for having the audacity to tell the Greeks that they have been living too high on the hog is particularly galling, with the deputy prime minister Theodoros Pangalos, telling Germany that it had no right to reproach Greece for anything, considering that it devastated the country under the Nazi occupation. (65 years ago.)
Quebec is not Greece, at least when it comes to tax compliance. Greece is a country where cheating the government out of taxes is a national sport. The attitude can best be highlighted by the revelation that 75 of the country's tax inspectors have never filed a personal tax return. Wealthy Athenians cover their swimming pools with camouflage, lest it be a signal to the tax inspectors that they are rich.
While there is a robust under the table economy in Quebec, it pales by comparison to the dishonesty that is pervasive in Greece, but when it comes to lavish government spending, the Greeks can learn a thing or two from Quebec.
Parental leave, universal subsidized daycare, ridiculously low education fees and generous welfare payments are the envy of citizens of every other province, even those who are substantially richer than Quebec. Finance ministers across the country cannot fathom how Quebec can continue to pay for these types of programs in good conscious and some have injudiciously voiced concern. Recently Alberta's finance Minister Ted Morton told university students;
The truth is that Quebec has been financing it all with smoke and mirrors Ă la Greque, paying for it all with a rising provincial debt, coupled with welfare payments (equalization) passed on from Ottawa, but paid for by wealthier provinces.
With the provincial debt load approaching dangerous levels, it seems that Quebec may be facing a Greek tragedy of its very own.
And so, Quebec Finance Minister Raymond Bachand's latest budget finally attempted to come to grips with reality (at least on the revenue side) and implemented increased taxes and user fees across the board.
Like the Greeks, these new measures went over like the proverbial lead balloon with the majority of Quebeckers protesting.
Most Quebeckers are fed up with being the most highly taxed citizens in all of North America, with the government now taxing and spending over 41% of the province's wealth. But over 40% of Quebeckers pay no provincial tax at all and strangely it is they who are complaining the loudest.
The new user fees, which are universal and hit all Quebeckers, has the freeloaders up in arms.
And so to the streets they take, to protest the
outrageous proposition that they help pay for the services they consume, with child-like remedies as highlighted in the placards above.
The signs above would be humorous enough would they not reflect the sentiments of a great deal of Quebeckers.
It is likely that these protesters are just about the last group in the entire world that believes public services can be provided for free. (even the Greeks have come to terms with that reality.)
According to Jean-Jacques Samson taxing the rich can't resolve the problem because in Quebec, there aren't that many rich people. In fact just 3% of the population make over $100,000 and they already contribute 25% of the personal taxes collected by the government.
The richest 20% of taxpayers contribute 70% of personal taxes, so there isn't much wiggle room.
Quebec is rapidly approaching the point where it cannot tax anymore. The only choice is to tax those who pay nothing already and user fees are the only means available.
At any rate, taxes will not solve the Quebec problem, the lavish social programs provided by the government are beyond the scope of taxpayers to handle.
The next battle in Quebec will come when governments realize that they cannot fund these programs anymore and that they are out of borrowing options.
At that point, programs will have to be re-jigged to be less generous and it is likely that Quebeckers will react as the Greeks.
Blame someone else......
The Greeks are living the cruel repercussions of decades of financial mismanagement and overspending. Lavish entitlements, early retirement and widespread tax evasion has finally caught up with them as the country finally ran out of money and credit.
The EEC which backstops the Euro, is demanding corrective action in order to authorize a bailout.
If implemented, these measures represent a debilitating and painful cut in expenditures and an unprecedented increase in taxes. For the average Greek, it means a 30% drop in relative income.
Athens radio personality Georgios Trangasis is typical of Greek deniers, oblivious to the country's economic situation. For him, blame lies outside Greece, "What did European governments really know about Greece's indebtedness, and why did they allow it?"
And so the Greek financial crisis is the fault of the German and French banks as well as the IMF, controlled by the Americans. Hostility towards Germany for having the audacity to tell the Greeks that they have been living too high on the hog is particularly galling, with the deputy prime minister Theodoros Pangalos, telling Germany that it had no right to reproach Greece for anything, considering that it devastated the country under the Nazi occupation. (65 years ago.)
Quebec is not Greece, at least when it comes to tax compliance. Greece is a country where cheating the government out of taxes is a national sport. The attitude can best be highlighted by the revelation that 75 of the country's tax inspectors have never filed a personal tax return. Wealthy Athenians cover their swimming pools with camouflage, lest it be a signal to the tax inspectors that they are rich.
While there is a robust under the table economy in Quebec, it pales by comparison to the dishonesty that is pervasive in Greece, but when it comes to lavish government spending, the Greeks can learn a thing or two from Quebec.
Parental leave, universal subsidized daycare, ridiculously low education fees and generous welfare payments are the envy of citizens of every other province, even those who are substantially richer than Quebec. Finance ministers across the country cannot fathom how Quebec can continue to pay for these types of programs in good conscious and some have injudiciously voiced concern. Recently Alberta's finance Minister Ted Morton told university students;
"You and your parents are spending a bunch of money to help Quebec, and they're paying half the tuition you are."
Not only do Quebecers pay less tuition, they also pay far less for electricity, drugs and daycare. Quebec offers a more generous parental leave program than elsewhere, and higher corporate subsidies. LINK
The truth is that Quebec has been financing it all with smoke and mirrors Ă la Greque, paying for it all with a rising provincial debt, coupled with welfare payments (equalization) passed on from Ottawa, but paid for by wealthier provinces.
With the provincial debt load approaching dangerous levels, it seems that Quebec may be facing a Greek tragedy of its very own.
And so, Quebec Finance Minister Raymond Bachand's latest budget finally attempted to come to grips with reality (at least on the revenue side) and implemented increased taxes and user fees across the board.
Like the Greeks, these new measures went over like the proverbial lead balloon with the majority of Quebeckers protesting.
Most Quebeckers are fed up with being the most highly taxed citizens in all of North America, with the government now taxing and spending over 41% of the province's wealth. But over 40% of Quebeckers pay no provincial tax at all and strangely it is they who are complaining the loudest.
The new user fees, which are universal and hit all Quebeckers, has the freeloaders up in arms.
 | ||||
| "Together for
Free- Quality- Universal Services!! " "Let Big Companies Pay!" |
The signs above would be humorous enough would they not reflect the sentiments of a great deal of Quebeckers.
It is likely that these protesters are just about the last group in the entire world that believes public services can be provided for free. (even the Greeks have come to terms with that reality.)
According to Jean-Jacques Samson taxing the rich can't resolve the problem because in Quebec, there aren't that many rich people. In fact just 3% of the population make over $100,000 and they already contribute 25% of the personal taxes collected by the government.
The richest 20% of taxpayers contribute 70% of personal taxes, so there isn't much wiggle room.
Quebec is rapidly approaching the point where it cannot tax anymore. The only choice is to tax those who pay nothing already and user fees are the only means available.
At any rate, taxes will not solve the Quebec problem, the lavish social programs provided by the government are beyond the scope of taxpayers to handle.
The next battle in Quebec will come when governments realize that they cannot fund these programs anymore and that they are out of borrowing options.
At that point, programs will have to be re-jigged to be less generous and it is likely that Quebeckers will react as the Greeks.
Blame someone else......
Monday, June 7, 2010
Does Going to French School Make You a Francophone?
One of the saddest aspects about Bill 101 is the effect it has on immigrant families that have a strong background in English, yet don't qualify for English public schooling for their children. Immigrants are all shuffled off to French schools, with very few exceptions, with proficiency in English being of no consequence. Even those immigrants from English-speaking countries, such as the United States or England who speak nothing but English, are barred from attending English public schools.
The rationale behind this policy is the theory that schooling will act as the great melting pot and will transform students of all stripes and backgrounds into Francophones by the time they leave high school.
That's the theory...
But the reality transcends the model and as much as French language militants wish it were so, the theory fails in practice. For an English family or one that adopts English as the lingua franca of the home, the children will become Anglophones, regardless of the educational path.
One day, I asked one of the women who worked there (in her late thirties,) how she came to speak such excellent English.
"What do you mean?" she answered quite indignantly "Sri Lanka may be a poor country, but everyone learns English in school!"
"Excuuussse me..." I answered sheepishly, "But where do your children go to school?"
"They go to French schools, where else? But we speak only English at home and they will speak both languages when they are finished high school. When they go to university, they will go to McGill!"
Hmmm....
My wife is a client of another enterprising self-employed immigrant, a Filipina who provides in-home foot spa treatments. It's a time to relax and discuss nonsense, much as men talk hockey with their barber.
Their conversations during treatments, about this or that television show or a certain movie demonstrates clearly that English is not only her language of choice, but her culture, as well. Although her children are forced to go to French school, there's no doubt as to which cultural group the family will assimilate to.
Like my Tamil grocer family, her children to will grow up become bilingual Anglophones.
The coercive efforts of a government attempting to mold people into what they do not want to be, can only go so far.
A year or two ago, there was a great flap in one of the French schools as children were admonished for speaking English during recess and play. Tut! Tut!
It's as if the government and the schools wish to reach into the brain of every child and lobotomize the English portion.
But the heart wants, what the heart wants. That's just the way it is.
Immigrant parents who arrive in Quebec with some English, invariably make the choice to align themselves with the Anglophone community. They seek out employment where English can be spoken and adopt the language and culture in the home, believing firmly that giving their children the gift of English is the most important thing that they can do as parents. Forcing the children of these families into French schools will make them bilingual, but will not create Francophones.
This is the essential element that is misunderstood by language militants. French schooling does not necessarily turn children into Francophones.
The same can be said for Francophone families that send their children to English schools. The children don't transform themselves into Anglophones, but rather become bilingual Francophones. (That is the subject of future post)
A couple of months ago, I caught Sugar Sammy, Montreal's hottest comedian on the French language talk-show, Tout le Monde en Parle. Shifting effortlessly between English and French, he demonstrated the very best of what bilingual Montrealers are. Of Indian immigrant stock, he was forced to attend French school, but like the families I described above, English was spoken at home.
Despite his long years in the French eduction system, his accent-less English remains much better than his French. He is as thorough an Anglo Quebecker as I, who was born here and enjoyed a complete and comprehensive education in English .
Watch him perform in French and then do an interview in English or even in Punjabi. Amazing language skills!
Regardless of language however, his shtick is clearly from an Anglophone/Ethnic perspective. If you haven't seen his act, you are missing a treat, a comedian who will have you rolling in the aisles. If you are an Anglo, Ethnic or Francophone with a good sense of humour, don't miss it.
If you are a committed sovereignist or sourpuss language militant, stay far away. His opening joke in French, at the Just For Laughs Festival is an example of his of what his background is.
The propensity of immigrants who arrive to Quebec with some level of English, to adopt the Anglophone community as their own, is not lost on Quebec's immigration department. For many years they have prioritized French speaking immigrants in order to stem the flow of immigrants flowing into the Anglo community.
That is why, of all the newly arrived immigrants to Quebec, over 30% come from France, Morocco, Algeria, Lebanon and Tunisia.
Of the immigrants who came to Quebec between 2003 and 2007, (aside from their native tongue,) they also spoke;
French only....................... 23%
English only........................ 18%
French & English .................34%
No French or English..............25%
These figure are quite startling.
With all the government's effort to favour French speaking immigrants, the difference between those who come to Quebec with French only as compared to English only is not that large.
For the 18% of immigrants who come to Quebec each year who speak some English but no French, the chances that their children will become Francophones because of a forced French education is almost zilch.
The children of these families will attend French school and will likely become perfectly bilingual, but Francophones, they will not become.
If ever the saying "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink" applies, it is in the Quebec language debate.
The rationale behind this policy is the theory that schooling will act as the great melting pot and will transform students of all stripes and backgrounds into Francophones by the time they leave high school.
That's the theory...
But the reality transcends the model and as much as French language militants wish it were so, the theory fails in practice. For an English family or one that adopts English as the lingua franca of the home, the children will become Anglophones, regardless of the educational path.
********************
I'm a regular customer at a local fruit and vegetable store run by an extended Tamil family in the Notre-Dame-de Grace (NDG) district, an Anglo stronghold in western Montreal. The proprietors of the shop are model immigrants, a credit to themselves and to our collective decision to allow them join us as citizens of this country. Hard working and ambitious, they work long hours for little pay, striving to achieve the Canadian dream. One day, I asked one of the women who worked there (in her late thirties,) how she came to speak such excellent English.
"What do you mean?" she answered quite indignantly "Sri Lanka may be a poor country, but everyone learns English in school!"
"Excuuussse me..." I answered sheepishly, "But where do your children go to school?"
"They go to French schools, where else? But we speak only English at home and they will speak both languages when they are finished high school. When they go to university, they will go to McGill!"
Hmmm....
My wife is a client of another enterprising self-employed immigrant, a Filipina who provides in-home foot spa treatments. It's a time to relax and discuss nonsense, much as men talk hockey with their barber.
Their conversations during treatments, about this or that television show or a certain movie demonstrates clearly that English is not only her language of choice, but her culture, as well. Although her children are forced to go to French school, there's no doubt as to which cultural group the family will assimilate to.
Like my Tamil grocer family, her children to will grow up become bilingual Anglophones.
The coercive efforts of a government attempting to mold people into what they do not want to be, can only go so far.
A year or two ago, there was a great flap in one of the French schools as children were admonished for speaking English during recess and play. Tut! Tut!
It's as if the government and the schools wish to reach into the brain of every child and lobotomize the English portion.
But the heart wants, what the heart wants. That's just the way it is.
Immigrant parents who arrive in Quebec with some English, invariably make the choice to align themselves with the Anglophone community. They seek out employment where English can be spoken and adopt the language and culture in the home, believing firmly that giving their children the gift of English is the most important thing that they can do as parents. Forcing the children of these families into French schools will make them bilingual, but will not create Francophones.
This is the essential element that is misunderstood by language militants. French schooling does not necessarily turn children into Francophones.
The same can be said for Francophone families that send their children to English schools. The children don't transform themselves into Anglophones, but rather become bilingual Francophones. (That is the subject of future post)
A couple of months ago, I caught Sugar Sammy, Montreal's hottest comedian on the French language talk-show, Tout le Monde en Parle. Shifting effortlessly between English and French, he demonstrated the very best of what bilingual Montrealers are. Of Indian immigrant stock, he was forced to attend French school, but like the families I described above, English was spoken at home.
Despite his long years in the French eduction system, his accent-less English remains much better than his French. He is as thorough an Anglo Quebecker as I, who was born here and enjoyed a complete and comprehensive education in English .
Watch him perform in French and then do an interview in English or even in Punjabi. Amazing language skills!
Regardless of language however, his shtick is clearly from an Anglophone/Ethnic perspective. If you haven't seen his act, you are missing a treat, a comedian who will have you rolling in the aisles. If you are an Anglo, Ethnic or Francophone with a good sense of humour, don't miss it.
If you are a committed sovereignist or sourpuss language militant, stay far away. His opening joke in French, at the Just For Laughs Festival is an example of his of what his background is.
"There's two types of Quebeckers-- There are those Quebekers who are educated, cultivated and well brought up..........and then there's those who voted YES!"YIKKESS!!!!
The propensity of immigrants who arrive to Quebec with some level of English, to adopt the Anglophone community as their own, is not lost on Quebec's immigration department. For many years they have prioritized French speaking immigrants in order to stem the flow of immigrants flowing into the Anglo community.
That is why, of all the newly arrived immigrants to Quebec, over 30% come from France, Morocco, Algeria, Lebanon and Tunisia.
Of the immigrants who came to Quebec between 2003 and 2007, (aside from their native tongue,) they also spoke;
French only....................... 23%
English only........................ 18%
French & English .................34%
No French or English..............25%
These figure are quite startling.
With all the government's effort to favour French speaking immigrants, the difference between those who come to Quebec with French only as compared to English only is not that large.
For the 18% of immigrants who come to Quebec each year who speak some English but no French, the chances that their children will become Francophones because of a forced French education is almost zilch.
The children of these families will attend French school and will likely become perfectly bilingual, but Francophones, they will not become.
If ever the saying "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink" applies, it is in the Quebec language debate.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Bill 103- For French Language Militants and Premier Charest, Manna From Heaven!
For French language militants, the Liberal government's presentation of Bill 103 in the National Assembly was the best news that they've had in months and given the immediate reaction, an unexpected gift that they couldn't have hoped for in their wildest dreams.
And so Christmas comes early, the proposed law promising months and months of language controversy, the mother's milk of the sovereignty/language movement.
Mario Beaulieu, president of the Société St-Jean-Baptiste has already waded in, ominously warning Quebeckers, à la croquemitaine, that nothing less than the future of the French language is at stake. Already dozens and dozens of scathing articles are populating the sovereignist web sites as well as the mainstream press. I caught Mongrain this morning where Brent Tyler was given quite a rough ride.
For those of you from out of the province, let me bring you up to date;
The Quebec government finally came up with it's response to the ruling by the Supreme Court that Quebec's Bill 104 was illegal.
That law closed a 'loophole' whereby children, ineligible to attend English school by virtue of the infamous Bill 101, could circumvent the measure by attending an unsubsidized English private school for as little as one year. They then could transfer over to the publicly run English system, claiming a 'history' of English education, one of the pathways into public English education.
Bill 104 made that practice illegal, but the law was struck down by the Supreme Court, calling it overly restrictive.The Court did however, delay the judgment for a year, giving the Quebec government time to draft a more acceptable law.
The proposed law that does so, is Bill 103 (only in Quebec, can a Bill 103 replace a Bill 104) and in many respects is even more convoluted then its predecessor, harking back to the early days in the 1970's of language restrictions brought in by Premier Robert Bourassa , where five and six year-olds (mostly Italian) were tested for English proficiency by government inspectors.
I'll give the proposed law a thorough analysis next week, but my first reaction was to ask myself what in the world Premier Charest was thinking about in making such a controversial proposal.
He could have invoked the "Notwithstanding Clause (Canada's version of a "Get out of Jail Free Card") to override the Supreme Court ruling, something that would have engendered a week or two of controversy and then would be over and done with.
But seeing the reaction in Parliament and on the talk-show circuit, his presentation of Bill 103 may just be the most brilliant political manoeuvre that he has ever pulled off.
Listening to Pauline Marois' blistering attack on the proposed bill in the National Assembly and Mr. Charest's spirited defence, it occurs to me that the PQ has fallen for another political trick.
And so the construction industry and corruption debate is shelved. The PQ, who were holding all the aces in that debate, stupidly asked for and received from a willing Charest, a re-shuffle and re-deal of the issues before the public.
The issue of the defence of the French language is so powerfully attractive to the PQ, that the separatist Parliamentarians displayed a reaction akin to that of a drug addict being shown a vial of heroin.
The grin on Mr. Charest's face yesterday morning in the Assembly, as he defended his language position, should have been a signal to the PQ that they should back off and continue to press the fight on corruption, but Madame Marois and her party cannot resist.
Like I said.....heroin language controversy.
The language debate is one where the Liberals can not only hold their own, but can actually win, with over 60% of Quebeckers opting for free choice in education in a recent opinion poll.
If the public debate returns to language and sovereignty, the PQ will find themselves back where they were when they lost the last general election.
The public has indicated that they are over 80% in favour of a public inquiry into corruption. Why the PQ would choose to veer away from an issue where they were absolutely destroying the government is a testament to poor decision-making and inexperienced leadership.
That's the attraction of...heroin language controversy.
Madame Marois is squandering it all. Someone in her political coterie should have slapped her in the face, but the problem for the PQ, that as ideologues, they lack political judgment. Military commanders are trained to ignore a diversionary attack and are disciplined to keep their eye firmly on mission objectives.
With only five more days until the summer recess, you can be sure that Bill 103 will occupy the Assembly for the balance of the term, a dream come true for Charest. It will lead to a summer of language debate and by the Fall who knows where we shall be politically. For Mr. Charest, anywhere else is better than where he was just days ago.
I'll say it again, Marois had Premier Charest down and out and instead of finishing him off by continuing to hammer away at him with punches to his weak side, she opted to go after his strength.
And so Premier Charest has a sneer of confidence on his face for the first time in months. His guilty-dog demeanour is gone and an aggressive and confident Charest has reappeared in the Assembly.
I can only imagine the words going through his mind......
"Language? Sovereignty? ----Bring it on, bitch!"
And so Christmas comes early, the proposed law promising months and months of language controversy, the mother's milk of the sovereignty/language movement.
Mario Beaulieu, president of the Société St-Jean-Baptiste has already waded in, ominously warning Quebeckers, à la croquemitaine, that nothing less than the future of the French language is at stake. Already dozens and dozens of scathing articles are populating the sovereignist web sites as well as the mainstream press. I caught Mongrain this morning where Brent Tyler was given quite a rough ride.
For those of you from out of the province, let me bring you up to date;
The Quebec government finally came up with it's response to the ruling by the Supreme Court that Quebec's Bill 104 was illegal.
That law closed a 'loophole' whereby children, ineligible to attend English school by virtue of the infamous Bill 101, could circumvent the measure by attending an unsubsidized English private school for as little as one year. They then could transfer over to the publicly run English system, claiming a 'history' of English education, one of the pathways into public English education.
Bill 104 made that practice illegal, but the law was struck down by the Supreme Court, calling it overly restrictive.The Court did however, delay the judgment for a year, giving the Quebec government time to draft a more acceptable law.
The proposed law that does so, is Bill 103 (only in Quebec, can a Bill 103 replace a Bill 104) and in many respects is even more convoluted then its predecessor, harking back to the early days in the 1970's of language restrictions brought in by Premier Robert Bourassa , where five and six year-olds (mostly Italian) were tested for English proficiency by government inspectors.
I'll give the proposed law a thorough analysis next week, but my first reaction was to ask myself what in the world Premier Charest was thinking about in making such a controversial proposal.
He could have invoked the "Notwithstanding Clause (Canada's version of a "Get out of Jail Free Card") to override the Supreme Court ruling, something that would have engendered a week or two of controversy and then would be over and done with.
But seeing the reaction in Parliament and on the talk-show circuit, his presentation of Bill 103 may just be the most brilliant political manoeuvre that he has ever pulled off.
Listening to Pauline Marois' blistering attack on the proposed bill in the National Assembly and Mr. Charest's spirited defence, it occurs to me that the PQ has fallen for another political trick.
And so the construction industry and corruption debate is shelved. The PQ, who were holding all the aces in that debate, stupidly asked for and received from a willing Charest, a re-shuffle and re-deal of the issues before the public.
The issue of the defence of the French language is so powerfully attractive to the PQ, that the separatist Parliamentarians displayed a reaction akin to that of a drug addict being shown a vial of heroin.
The grin on Mr. Charest's face yesterday morning in the Assembly, as he defended his language position, should have been a signal to the PQ that they should back off and continue to press the fight on corruption, but Madame Marois and her party cannot resist.
Like I said.....
The language debate is one where the Liberals can not only hold their own, but can actually win, with over 60% of Quebeckers opting for free choice in education in a recent opinion poll.
If the public debate returns to language and sovereignty, the PQ will find themselves back where they were when they lost the last general election.
The public has indicated that they are over 80% in favour of a public inquiry into corruption. Why the PQ would choose to veer away from an issue where they were absolutely destroying the government is a testament to poor decision-making and inexperienced leadership.
That's the attraction of...
Madame Marois is squandering it all. Someone in her political coterie should have slapped her in the face, but the problem for the PQ, that as ideologues, they lack political judgment. Military commanders are trained to ignore a diversionary attack and are disciplined to keep their eye firmly on mission objectives.
With only five more days until the summer recess, you can be sure that Bill 103 will occupy the Assembly for the balance of the term, a dream come true for Charest. It will lead to a summer of language debate and by the Fall who knows where we shall be politically. For Mr. Charest, anywhere else is better than where he was just days ago.
I'll say it again, Marois had Premier Charest down and out and instead of finishing him off by continuing to hammer away at him with punches to his weak side, she opted to go after his strength.
And so Premier Charest has a sneer of confidence on his face for the first time in months. His guilty-dog demeanour is gone and an aggressive and confident Charest has reappeared in the Assembly.
I can only imagine the words going through his mind......
"Language? Sovereignty? ----Bring it on, bitch!"
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Montreal is Modern Riot Capital of North America
Montreal's tradition of rioting goes back a long, long way. In fact just four years earlier in 1849, a Montreal mob burned down Canada's Parliament which was then located in what is now Place D'Youville.
If watching the news reports about the looting of several downtown stores had you shaking your head and asking yourself what this world is coming to, you should know that this type of behaviour is nothing new. In fact looters can trace their roots all the way back to 1875 where a mob of workers demanding jobs or bread, started the fine tradition of taking what they want by force.
The "Bread Riot" of 1879 was the first reported instance of rioters stealing. They relieved a bread wagon of its contents and then attacked a beer wagon, chugging down its contents.
" a number were intoxicated ...many simply wanted to plunder..." NEW YORK TIMES-1879
Although Montreal is the modern riot capital of North America it owns a long tradition of rioting, too numerous to mention.
Here is a rundown of some of the more interesting riots over the sixty odd years. The list is by no means comprehensive.
Not surprisingly, hockey more specifically has been the center of four of Montreal's major riots.
The Rocket Richard Riot(1955)
One of the most famous riots in Canadian sports history occurred when the president of the league ill-advisedly showed up to a game played in the Montreal Forum, four days after suspending the Canadiens star Maurice Rocket Richard. Fans pelted him with debris and a riot spilled out into the street after someone threw a smoke bomb into the building.The crowd smashed windows, threw bricks and set fires. The riot lasted for seven hours.
1969 Sir George Williams University Computer Riot
Over 400 students occupied the university's computer lab which was sparked by the university's alleged mishandling of a racism allegation against a professor. Black students occupied the university computer lab and destroyed computer equipment. Eventually riot police were called in to quell the uprising.
The Murray-Hill riot in 1969 was the culmination of 16 hours of unrest during a Montreal police strike. The riot was triggered by taxi drivers who had lost their exclusive right to pick up passengers at the airport. Quebec provincial police were brought in to replacing striking police which led to a confrontation with Montreal police. Rioters took advantage of the lack of policing and looted and pillaged the downtown core for sixteen hours in what has become known as Montreal's night of terror
Stanley Cup Riots (1986) and (1993)
In 1986, 5,000 people stormed through downtown Montreal after the team's victory over the Calgary Flames. The police were ill-prepared to deal with the crowd and failed miserably to stem the destruction. Seven years later the police were better prepared to face the unruly crowd after the Canadiens won another Cup. close to 1,000 police officers, battled the crowd but it wasn't enough. Crowds invaded downtown and set fires, vandalized cars, and looted stores. The toll was heavy as many buses and police cars were destroyed. Over 200 were injured.
Hmmm.. can we really afford to win the Stanley Cup again?
The Boston Bruins Riot (2008) After defeating the Boston Bruins in a seventh game first round series, rioting erupted in the downtown core. People smashed store windows and looted ten stores.16 police cars were damaged, with at least five set on fire. Over one million dollars in damage was accrued.
The Montreal North riot in the summer of 2008 remains the freshest and perhaps most disturbing case of civil disobedience in modern Montreal history. The riot was ostensibly caused by a Montreal police officer's shooting of a street gang member, resulting in one death, but it may have just been an excuse by disaffected youth to get it on with the police.
The Pittsburgh Penguin
Riot (2010)
Montreal's latest riot occurred after the
Canadiens unexpectedly eliminated a superior Pittsburgh Penguin team.
Fans had been watching the game which took place in Pittsburgh on the
giant screens at the Bell Centre. After the game mayhem broke out and
looting occurred along Ste. Catherine Street. Police largely handled the
situation and for the first time video shot by the public was used to
arrest looters.Neeeext!!!!
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
La FĂȘte Nationale - 20% of Quebeckers Don't Count
The organizing committee of Montreal's FĂȘte St. Jean celebration held a news conference to announce it's plans for the big show in Maisonneuve Park and proudly and merrily let it be known that in no uncertain terms, English artists will be excluded.
There'll be no repeat of last year's fiasco where English artists were invited, dis-invited and then reinstated to perform at a local FĂȘte Nationale celebration in a Montreal district.
To wild applause, the ComitĂ© de la FĂȘte nationale de MontrĂ©al through it's spokesman Guy A. Lepage, proudly announced that the celebration in Maisonneuve park will be a French only affair.
Perhaps if he tries hard enough, Mr. Lepage can pretend that we don't exist, thus allowing him and his coterie of French language supremacists a one day fantasy where they can pretend that Quebec is a nation of White Catholic Francophones and where Anglos and Ethnics exist at the pleasure of the majority.
Mr Lepage is representative of the French language nationalists that have hijacked the annual Quebec 'national holiday' in an attempt to turn it into a jingoistic expression of separatist and French language chauvinism. Each year the government pays the Anglo-bashing St. Jean Baptiste Society to organize festivities across the entire province.
It seems that the government can sell, booze, electricity, organize hospitals and schools, but is incapable of organizing the annual event without calling on this unabashedly anti-English/ anti-Ethnic organization of language thugs.
It is unconscionable that a separatist organization be given the mandate to organize the province-wide celebration in the name of all Quebeckers and is being paid by a federalist government.
The sad part of it all, is that SSJB and the Guy A. Lepages of Quebec are not representative of mainstream Francophone society, who are much more tolerant and open to sharing the annual holiday with Quebeckers of all stripes.
Survey after survey will indicate that Quebeckers want all citizens to participate and that a smattering of English and ethnic music is not only fair, but desirable, making the celebration more inclusive.
Last year's organizers of a Montreal neighbourhood celebration in Rosemont, appropriately called "l'Autre St. Jean' (meaning- alternative) invited two English groups, Lake of Stew and Bloodshot Bill, to perform amid controversy. They are repeating their principled stand this year, by announcing that their show will include at least one English group, 'United Steel Workers of Montreal'.
An organiser for "L'Autre Saint-Jean" Jules HĂ©bert, defended the festival's position by asking the rhetorical question as to whether Anglos are Quebeckers as well.
Apparently not, according to the likes of Louis Préfontaine, a member Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste and infamous anti-Anglo blogger who was apoplectic over the decision to allow an English artist to perform;
Other French language supremacists suggest a boycott of the event's sponsors. Link
Me, I stick to my position that I outlined last year- June 24th is a good time to be out of town......
There'll be no repeat of last year's fiasco where English artists were invited, dis-invited and then reinstated to perform at a local FĂȘte Nationale celebration in a Montreal district.
To wild applause, the ComitĂ© de la FĂȘte nationale de MontrĂ©al through it's spokesman Guy A. Lepage, proudly announced that the celebration in Maisonneuve park will be a French only affair.
"We have a panoply of artists this year, which I think, is very representative of the Quebec we know..." Guy A. LepageMaybe Mr. Lepage doesn't know Quebec as well as he thinks. He ignores the fact that 20% of the population of Quebec is English or ethnic. Most of them live Montreal, pushing the percentage even higher in the city where this "French" only show will be held.
Perhaps if he tries hard enough, Mr. Lepage can pretend that we don't exist, thus allowing him and his coterie of French language supremacists a one day fantasy where they can pretend that Quebec is a nation of White Catholic Francophones and where Anglos and Ethnics exist at the pleasure of the majority.
Mr Lepage is representative of the French language nationalists that have hijacked the annual Quebec 'national holiday' in an attempt to turn it into a jingoistic expression of separatist and French language chauvinism. Each year the government pays the Anglo-bashing St. Jean Baptiste Society to organize festivities across the entire province.
It seems that the government can sell, booze, electricity, organize hospitals and schools, but is incapable of organizing the annual event without calling on this unabashedly anti-English/ anti-Ethnic organization of language thugs.
It is unconscionable that a separatist organization be given the mandate to organize the province-wide celebration in the name of all Quebeckers and is being paid by a federalist government.
The sad part of it all, is that SSJB and the Guy A. Lepages of Quebec are not representative of mainstream Francophone society, who are much more tolerant and open to sharing the annual holiday with Quebeckers of all stripes.
Survey after survey will indicate that Quebeckers want all citizens to participate and that a smattering of English and ethnic music is not only fair, but desirable, making the celebration more inclusive.
Last year's organizers of a Montreal neighbourhood celebration in Rosemont, appropriately called "l'Autre St. Jean' (meaning- alternative) invited two English groups, Lake of Stew and Bloodshot Bill, to perform amid controversy. They are repeating their principled stand this year, by announcing that their show will include at least one English group, 'United Steel Workers of Montreal'.
An organiser for "L'Autre Saint-Jean" Jules HĂ©bert, defended the festival's position by asking the rhetorical question as to whether Anglos are Quebeckers as well.
Apparently not, according to the likes of Louis Préfontaine, a member Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste and infamous anti-Anglo blogger who was apoplectic over the decision to allow an English artist to perform;
"It sickens me deeply. The traitors who organize this insulting shit
needs to be taught a good lesson"
Other French language supremacists suggest a boycott of the event's sponsors. Link
Me, I stick to my position that I outlined last year- June 24th is a good time to be out of town......
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