Monday, April 18, 2011

Too Many 'French' Stores in English Shopping Centre

I don't imagine a newspaper story with the above storyline, would go over big in the Montreal Gazette, wherein the writer complains that there are too many stores with French names in the Fairview Mall, in the decidedly English-speaking town of Pointe Claire, a suburb of Montreal.

I think it would be fair to say that the spectre of racism would be raised rather quickly by readers who would rightfully wonder as to what kind of twisted mind would write such a story and what rag of a newspaper would print it.
No, the Montreal Gazette would not print such a story, but transpose the word  'English' with 'French' and yesiree, the Journal de Montreal has no problem printing that very same story, written by Quebec's most renowned Anglophobe journalist Gilles Proulx. LINK 

"Walking through the Champlain Mall, the 2011 version, with a plethora of stores with English names, I've seen the Quebec of the future. And yes, Greater Montreal will end up a giant West Island (Montreal's anglophone bastion-ed.)
(En me promenant dans le Mail Champlain mouture 2011 avec sa pléthore de raisons sociales anglaises, j'ai vu le Québec de demain. Eh oui, le Grand Montréal finira par devenir un immense West Island.) LINK 
Ever since the death of Pierre Falardeau, Gilles Proulx acceded to the position as Quebec's most vocal Anglophobe, but unlike Mr. Falardeau, who in spite of his Anglophobia, was a likeable and talented artist, with a rakish sense of humour and an impish smile, Mr. Proulx has no such redeeming characteristics.
Proulx is a nasty sort, who on an ongoing basis, launches into  the most hysterical rants casting Francophones as the sad and unfortunate victims of the evil Anglo colonizers.

When Mr. Proulx gets into the subject of the English or Canada, his voice rises an octave or two, into a annoyingly high pitched screech that  mocks and denigrates, which he uses to underline his visceral hated of the English.

The facts are not particularly useful to Mr. Proulx, his sarcastic portrayal of Anglos is based on outdated stereotypes, false impressions interspersed with outright falsehoods.

In a recent rant on television, during which he used the perjoritive "Têtes carrée" to decribe the English  he  accused English high school students of being unable to carry on a conversation in French, an outrageous falsehood.

In a typical rant, Mr. Proulx complains that on a recent visit to a shopping mall in the the Montreal suburb of Brossard, he noticed that too many stores names had English names and concludes that Quebec is on the way to Anglicization.
"David's Tea, Jugo Juice, Foot Locker, USA, Only, Naturalizer,  Children's Place, President Stone, Foxy, Trade Secrets, Game Buzz, Style Exchange, Faces, Little Burgundy, Key West, Payless Shoe store, Access, Urban Planet,  D-tox, RW Co, Jones and Sweet Factory...
...And I'm not mentioning  Stokes, Starbucks' Coffee, Bentley, or all the other  Italian names followed by an 'S' . No doubt its no longer necessary to impose Bill 101."
What an utter crock!
Mr. Proulx complains he found about 50 examples of stores with English appellations.
According to the shopping centre's own website there are 137 and restaurants stores in the mall.
Here's a list, with the stores with clearly English names highlighted by myself.
1850   A&W   Access   Aldo  Amir   Amnesia   Archambault   Ardène   Atmosphère   Banque Scotia   Bell   Bentley   Bijouterie Sirène   Bikini Village   Bizou   Bleu Lavande    Bowring    Brûlerie St-Denis (Les Ailes)   Café Dépôt   Caleçons vos goûts  Calin Caline   Caroline Néron   Cazza Petite   Centre du Rasoir   Clair de Lune    Claire France    Mode 14+   Clinique Dentaire Champlain   Colori   Comneuf    Le fil Enchanté   D-Tox   Dans un Jardin   David's Tea   De Neuville Coiffure et Spa    Diamants Élinor    Doucet    Dynamite     Ecco    Emotions    Ernest   F.X. LaSalle    Faces  Fido  Foot Locker   Foxy   Freedom   Fruits & Passion   Gaby  Game Buzz    GNC Bien Vivre   Gourmet Santé   Greiche & Scaff    H&M   Hallmark   Hugo Boss   Jack & Jones    Jacob   Joshua Perets   Jugo Juice    Key West    Kojax    Koodo Mobile    La Baie  La Bonbonnière   La Capsule Sportive    La Crémière   La Forfaiterie    La Senza   La Source par Circuit City   La Vie en Rose   Laura Secord   Lavigueur   Le Château   Le Naturiste   Le Tambourin   Les Ailes de la Mode  Les Gaufres    Les Montres Ramnik   Limité   Little Burgundy  Locale   Loto Québec   Venise  Magenta Studio Photo   Manteaux Manteaux   Marie-Claire  Masako Sushi    Monaco   Naturalizer  Panda   Paris Coiffure Elle et Lui   Payless Shoesource    Pik Nik  Place Tevere  Polar Ice  President Stone RBC Banque Royale Reitmans    Restaurant L'Académie   Ribelle   Rinascimento   Roger Roy   Rogers Sans Fil   Rudsak  RW & Co.  SAQ Classique   Sears   Sirens    Sports Experts   Spring    Starbucks    Stokes   Stylexchange   Subway  Sul Posto   Suzy Shier   Swarovski  Tabagie Champlain    Taylor    Télus    Mobilité   Tendances Chaussures     Teriyaki   Terra Nostra    Thaï Express    The Children's Place  Zara   Tiki Ming   Toxik    Trade Secrets    Tristan     U.S.A.    Urban Planet  Van Houtte Café   Vidéotron    Virgin Mobile    XXI Forever  Yves Rocher 
All of a sudden the English predominance doesn't seem so high when compared to the total. Now by my count, there' only about 20-25 stores with English names, about half what Mr. Proulx claims.
Typical.
I haven't included proper names like Stokes or Bentley, as Mr. Proulx must have, to arrive at his figure. To do so is pure unadulterated racism. Under his scenario, F.X Lasalle and Van Houtte are kosher while Stokes and Bentley are offensive.  Bah!
By the way, a bunch of those stores with the offending English names are owned by Quebec francophones!

Now it would be easy to cite the current trend of globalization and the American retail invasion of Canada as an answer as to why there are more English stores, but that would be to admit that Mr.
Proulx's premise is true, which it is not.

Mr. Proulx intimates that the overall collective of stores is getting more and more English when in fact it is getting more and more French!


As an old retailer, I can tell you that forty years ago, there was hardly a French name in the retail game.
Mr. Proulx has either a very short or selective memory.

Eaton's, Morgan's, Direct Film, Fith Avenue, Sam the Record Man, Discus, Martinizing, Sweet Jeans, Steinberg, Dominion, A&P, Miracle Mart, Wise, to name just a very few.
There are literally dozens and dozens of English chains, big and small,  that have disappeared, to be replaced by up and coming francophone retailers.

Mr. Proulx uses the same false argument that says Montreal signage is becoming more bilingual. Hogwash.
When I was a kid, there wasn't a commercial, traffic or government sign that wasn't bilingual.

It's tired and false, but repeated often enough, well...............

89 comments:

  1. Dropped by the rally today... federalist Canadian apathy and local regional bigotted psychos. Too bad we don't have a huge oil reserve to lure the Marines and Apache choppers.

    Mississauga were you there? There was a guy next to me for a bit who sounded a lot like you (judging from your posts). If it was you, thanks for making the trip pal.

    ReplyDelete
  2. "Mr. Proulx uses the same false argument that says Montreal signage is becoming more bilingual."

    Decades of 101 and bigotted propaganda along with a subpar educational system have been all the fertilizer that self absorbed, regionalist demagogues like Proulx need to keep their egos and pockets full. In Quebec, success can grow on shit.

    Canadians send their boys to die in foreign lands to defend human rights (and corporate interests, of course :) ), but turn a blind eye on what's happening in their own country, and pump it with billions of their tax dollars to keep the beast quiet.
    Thank God for playoff hockey because I might otherwise be ashamed to be a Canadian at times.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Québec "pumps" 52 billions tax dollars TO Ottawa each year.
      What's your fking point?

      Ignorance goes with hatred and that's what will get you in the end.

      I'm ashamed to be (officially) Canadian, that's absolutely not my country, and never miss a chance to say where my true pride is.

      Delete
  3. Anonymous at 12:42:

    "Thank God for playoff hockey because I might otherwise be ashamed to be a Canadian at times."

    If I were a Torontonian, I would be ashamed every year the playoff season rolls in... :-)

    Go Habs!

    ReplyDelete
  4. @Anonymous 12:28 AM

    Yes it was me,the guy next to you with a 12 donuts box.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hey No Dogs, wasn't there a really big anti-bill 101 rally yesterday? Why isn't this front page news? We want to know all the glorious details of what must have been a trumphant blow in your fight for freedom! FREEEEEEEEEEEEEDOOOOOOOOM!!!!

    As for the article, I love how apparently Access, Bentley, Bowring, D-Tox, Faces, Foot Locker, Key West, Naturalizer, Sears, Starbucks, Stokes, Taylor etc. conveniently aren't english names anymore. Amusingly, our illustrious anonymous editor considers Bikini village, Fruits & Passion as typically english. Somebody neads a french lesson...

    It's not a big deal, and I think we have more pressing concerns as a society, but I think multinationals should be made aware that there is no brand recognition or positive impact on keeping a name such as "Payless Shoesource" or "The Children's place" in Québec. It's meaningless for a large part of the population, and without impact even for bilinguals.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There were about a dozen anglo-extremists at the "big" rally.
      Unfortunately, ridicule does NOT kill.

      Delete
  6. @ Messy at 8:45 AM,

    No, you were the loser with the pony tail and the army fatigues who was chomping on a May West and sucking back a pepsi.

    ReplyDelete
  7. English signs..Won't be a problem if these people (militants in the PQ) get their way. Go Louise and Pierre, go go go. Or is that Allez Allez Allez.

    http://www.ledevoir.com/politique/quebec/321404/affichage-unilingue-francais-pauline-marois-met-le-hola

    Incredible.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Gilles Proulx is a 100% pure racists, and he should be taken off the radio and TV for his racist and derogatory remarks.

    The issue is that no French Canadians stand up to any of this type of oppressive behaviour.

    Sometimes I really think about getting up and leaving, and logically it is the only way to get some piece and stability.

    Quebec/Montreal has terribly deteriorated from the city it was and the dream of what it was to become...

    Let's face it.., it's time to leave Quebec for greener pastures

    ReplyDelete
  9. Editor: “Proulx is a nasty sort, who on an ongoing basis, launches into the most hysterical rants casting Francophones as the sad and unfortunate victims of the evil Anglo colonizers.”

    Mr Proulx is forgetting two things. First is that historically both the English and the French were colonizers and one of these colonizers happened to prevail, but that fact alone does not negate that the other guy was a bad guy too. Losing does not turn a bad good into a good guy.

    The second thing he’s forgetting is that in this province Francophones are the majority AND that the ruling class is Francophone. So the Francophones exercise power and make all the rules, be it through the PLQ or the PQ.

    So in essence, according to Mr Proulx Quebeckers are an “oppressed ruling majority”.

    The concept of an “oppressed ruling majority” is something truly unique in history. Such contradictory bullshit can only sell in the brainwashed Quebecois nation.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ENGLAND AND ITS FUCKING CROWN SENT ITS TROOPS IN THE 1700s AND 1800s TO NOUVELLE-FRANCE (QUÉBEC) THEN CONTROLLED BY FRANCE, THEY CAME NOT ONLY TO MAKE WAR, BUT TO BURN FARMS, RAPE WOMEN AND EXECUTE INNOCENT CIVILIANS.
      PEOPLE, DON'T READ ENGLISH HISTORY BOOKS.

      WE WILL NEVER FORGET, WE WILL REMIND EVERYONE IN EVERY LANGUAGE POSSIBLE.

      CANADA WILL NEVER BE MY COUNTRY.
      It's not a country anyway.
      It's a bunch of whatever.
      Start learning Mandarin or put your white hat and robe back on.

      Delete
  10. "Messysauga said...
    @Anonymous 12:28 AM

    Yes it was me,the guy next to you with a 12 donuts box."

    I would just like to point out the individual that has so little of quality and value in his/her life and so little substance in the things he/she has to say that he/she has nothing better to do than to impersonate someone in order to get an 10-year-old's brand of insult on the internet.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Messysauga said...
    "@Anonymous 12:28 AM

    Yes it was me,the guy next to you with a 12 donuts box."

    Really? We thought you were the one dribbling poutine down your front.

    ReplyDelete
  12. "Yes it was me,the guy next to you with a 12 donuts box. "

    If you were there, I expect you were one of the guys with the used Canadian Army uniforms and Maglites attached to your belt (in case the sun blew out, I imagine). I especially enjoyed the flak jacket and berets.
    The media managed to gloss over the ugly face of the province that seeks to get its way through intimidation. If Canada ever becomes your counterpart you might actually see what a real army looks like.

    ReplyDelete
  13. @ Jason

    "The issue is that no French Canadians stand up to any of this type of oppressive behaviour."

    Funny how ignorant you people really are:
    In September 2005, he co-hosted a talk show on TQS, known as l'Avocat et le diable. During one episode, he made shocking remarks about a victim of a sexual assault, which led to a large amount of criticism in the media, and the suspension of the show.

    "Quebec/Montreal has terribly deteriorated from the city it was and the dream of what it was to become..."

    Certainly it's fallen far short of your dreams of a Québec Rhodesia.

    ReplyDelete
  14. @Anon @8:45
    I can understand on a certain level, complaining about Foot Locker, but complaining about "Sears" or "Stokes", which are proper names, definitely crosses the line into the racism. According to your logic, if you are born with a French name you can call your store by it, but not if you are English.
    BTW, international law protects companys' intellectual property and that includes their name and logo, which no government can force them to change.
    Last summer on a trip to southern France, I came upon, guess what, a FOOT LOCKER store.
    Are you telling us that is is legitimate to complain about English names as well as English words on store names?
    Soon it will be time to change all the street signs to purge them of English names too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. PROTECTING A LANGUAGE BY LAW HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH RACISM YOU STUPID PARANOIDS.

      Delete
  15. "Sometimes I really think about getting up and leaving, and logically it is the only way to get some piece and stability."

    I'm starting to agree. The problem is that no matter where you go in this country, you will still be paying into the system that supports all the excess of Quebec.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Québec sends 53 billions$ tax money each year to CANADA.
      You ignorant moron.

      Delete
  16. "Access, Bentley, Bowring, D-Tox, Faces, Foot Locker, Key West, Naturalizer, Sears, Starbucks, Stokes, Taylor etc. conveniently aren't english names anymore. Amusingly, our illustrious anonymous editor considers Bikini village, Fruits & Passion as typically english. Somebody neads a french lesson"

    Here's a novel idea: if you don't like the name or the product feel free to do your shopping at the liberte store or anywhere else you chose to. You can even work on establishing industries that will replace the multinational products these stores sell with your own local branding. Since you are obviously not familiar with the concept of choice when it comes to politics or anthing else, this might at least stop your incessant whining and racist drivel.
    This is a doubtful outcome, since most livingroom revolutionaries only fanaticize themselves in the quest for an identity and justification for their personal failures by scapegoating the unfamiliar and shadow boxing with imaginary enemies. Not the type of personality to actually get up and do something other than complain and melt into a faceless mob.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Well well well! Seems I've developed a following! I could stand that, but I hope Editor doesn't feel threatened! (I doubt it!)

    To answer the first respondent, no, I did not come into Montreal to attend the rally. I would have loved to, believe you me, but I don't come into Montreal as often as I used to. Had my significant other not left Laval to move in with me here in beautiful Mississauga (she has zero desire to return to Quebec), I would have come in for the Passover week and would have attended that rally with bells on!

    As for Proulx the shrew, he is the typical toxic vegetation that grows out of the manure of the first PQ government that promoted and encouraged racist rhetoric and spewed it themselves like the spores of mold. Laying manure on the ground can be the beginning of a sweet smelling rose if that's what the gardiner chooses to cultivate. Unfortunately, the péquistes chose to cultivate vitriolic orchids, and Proulx the shrew is one of the worst seeds cultivated by the gardiner.

    BTW, before some language expert admonishes me for using the word shrew, the definition of a shrew is an impudently behaved female. Proulx the shrew takes on those very characteristics.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Editor, with respect to your post of a few minutes ago, the street signs little by little are being purged. You don't remember Maplewood Ave., in Snowdon, now known as Edouard mon P'tit? Dorchester Ave. now boul. René Lévesque?

    All those signs in TMR having to have the "street" or "road" or "drive" painted over the signs? What the hell is "Chemin Rockland"? IT'S ROCKLAND ROAD! Dover Drive in Chomedey is now "av Dover". I'm surprised it isn't "av. Dové"! Next thing they'll force Jewish families with names like Labow and Levine to become Lebeau and Lavigne. The Goldbergs can become Village d'Or and Silvermans l'Homme d'Argent! Where does the foolishness end? ...or does it?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Québec is a French country with French language laws.
      All your examples are just normal consequences, mind you, poor little thing.

      Delete
  19. > Decades of 101 and bigotted propaganda along with a subpar educational system have been all the fertilizer that self absorbed, regionalist demagogues like Proulx need to keep their egos and pockets full. In Quebec, success can grow on shit.

    Perhaps. And perhaps more pertinent would be the realization (sooner, rather than later, preferably) that the supreme francophone state (both literal and figurative) envisioned by some of our most fanatical militants does not – and can never – exist. There is a difference between wanting to have control over all the levers in our society and our society’s majority being manipulated by such a desire with a view to stripping individuals and minorities of their rights and freedoms.

    > Dropped by the rally today... federalist Canadian apathy and local regional bigotted psychos.

    Either we’re ambivalent, have gone soft, or civil liberties have come to mean little to us.

    If the rally was attended by fundamentalist crazies, that’s truly a shame. There is no greater threat to a democracy than the tyranny of the majority, claiming to be an oppressed minority, oppressing its own minority, for the benefit of the majority.

    > Canadians […] turn a blind eye on what's happening in their own country […]

    This culture war is designed never to be won – both within and without.

    Even if we became our own country, removed all the Anglophones and then expelled all vestiges of the English language from our vocabulary, signs, and lives, would that be enough? I’d think not; the nationalist train’s very momentum wouldn’t subside that easily. It wouldn’t take long for the men behind the curtain to up the ante and traumatize us about other threats to our linguistic purity and cultural survival, both real and apprehended. Taken to their extreme, militantism, ideological fundamentalism and racial/cultural uniformity are a cocktail that together produce large numbers of very slow but dangerous offspring…

    This is dangerously existential, in more ways than one.

    > As an old retailer, I can tell you that forty years ago, there was hardly a French name in the retail game. [...] Mr. Proulx uses the same false argument that says Montreal signage is becoming more bilingual. Hogwash. When I was a kid, there wasn't a commercial, traffic or government sign that wasn't bilingual.

    The “War on Anglophone Terror” needs to have deliberately opaque objectives in order to keep its chief demagogues in business and stay alive. It must remain unwinnable, for victory – if and when defined – would ultimately lead to its own risk and peril. Its focus therefore must shift with the vicissitudes of the ages and be coupled with a show of eternal vigilance to the masses

    (1)

    ReplyDelete
  20. > It's tired and false, but repeated often enough, well...............

    Here’s one for you:

    "What has French-Canadianism been denied? Nothing. It bars all it dislikes — it extorts all its demands — and it grows insolent over its victories."
    — George Brown, a father of Confederation

    One could certainly dismiss Proulx’s spiel for the pseudo-intellectual mainstream tabloid drivel that it clearly is. One might also wonder whether the "save-us-from-English-villainy" rant we hear today is indeed a case of 21st century francophones in Quebec being denied nothing, all while supporting (at least some of us) an ideology that jealously bars everything it dislikes, and extorts all it demands, all while growing insolent over its victories.

    George Brown was certainly not the greatest francophile (far from it!), even in his own time, and many of his other statements could be seen as far more offensive. At the same time, he couldn’t have been the worst francophobe either, all things considered (he teamed up with Cartier and Macdonald!).

    His very critical quote is an eerie harbinger of the prototypical ban-demand-extort-insolence pattern that has become standard protocol for our separatist (and many nationalist) politicians. The fact that he lived in a time when the when the situation for francophones (even in Quebec) was by all accounts less favorable causes me to wonder whether, despite his own bigotry, cheerlessness, and other shortcomings, he might have lucidly seen and denounced — very early on — a defining part of our political character that has continued to haunt us since.

    (2)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Denied nothing?
      Go ask Louis Riel.
      And the list could go on and on.
      WHICH anglo was hanged because of its language-culture?
      You mtfkr.

      Delete
  21. @ Editor

    As usual, you're laying it on pretty think with your racism. Nowhere did I say that what someone can or cannot do, only you implied such a thning.

    Nevertheless, companies settling in Québec should be aware that names like Foot Locker, Payless shoestore or The Children's Place, Best Buy, Home Depot, to name just a few of the worst, is meaningless here and does nothing to further their marketing or to bring them more business.

    Some other english names, like Sports Experts, Radio Shack, or Future Shop actually sound pretty good in french. The worst english name I know is actually a Québec company with a pet store named Twit Palace...

    FYI, both Fruits & Passion and Bikini Village are Québec based companies run by francophones.

    ReplyDelete
  22. @ Mississauga Guy:

    Removing long established English names of streets and institutions is nothing less than infantile and childlike behavior of the Quebecois. I've seen it go as far as plastering over names inscribed on centuries old buildings to cover English. As an example, in St. Henri is a 100+ year old fire station, they went as far as to cover the inscribed in stone English lettering "Fire station house no. 51" (or something of that sort) with "Caserne de Pompiers" in a gaudy font. There's an old monument statue in the Place du Canada (originally Dominion Square) with an inspiration in English. The English inscription is rubbed out/sand blasted off, with a new French one placed just below it...I even took a photo to show friends who think I'm being paranoid when I talk of this kind of thing!

    I used to live in Chomedey, it's a bit upsetting to see the big sign in front of Western Laval (my old school) cemented over with a French name. I wonder if Kennedy Park where I used to play as a child (a few blocks from where I used to live) won't be renamed Parc Louise Beaudoin in the not too distant future. :P

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Those are inforcements of laws that were democratically adopted at the National Assembly in 74 (Bill 22) and 77 (Bill 101) according to the needs of the enormous MAJORITY.
      That's why Québec has one official language.
      There are no anglo signs in Russia either. Go complain to Poutin, WHINER.

      Delete
  23. > Nevertheless, companies settling in Québec should be aware that names like Foot Locker, Payless shoestore or The Children's Place, Best Buy, Home Depot, to name just a few of the worst, is meaningless here and does nothing to further their marketing or to bring them more business. […] Some other english names, like Sports Experts, Radio Shack, or Future Shop actually sound pretty good in french. The worst english name I know is actually a Québec company with a pet store named Twit Palace...

    Ours is one of dramatic overcompensation. We doth protest too fucking much, methinks. Some English names good, other English names bad? Limit our access to English school and signage but not access to English Canadian money? Employ a take-no-prisoners approach about language and when prisoners are taken, chalk it up to “how tolerant we are”?? This is truly ridiculous and trivializes the real challenge of genuinely ensuring the survival of French while living in a free and democratic society.

    Camille Laurin sought to make Quebec as French as Ontario is English. I think that was woefully nearsighted for many reasons.

    Peoples have been invaded countless times in the past. The natives here were invaded by the Europeans; Britain was invaded by various Germanic peoples, including the Normans. Gaul was invaded by Romans. Rome fell to Germanic invaders. Genghis Khan left his mark on Asia in more ways than one. Islam is native to Arabia yet is proudly practiced by Indonesians.

    Our job isn’t to relive humiliations of past conquests, it’s to live in the here and now with the toolset we have. I long for the day when all of Quebec will proudly embrace the treasures of our ENTIRE heritage and of that heritage within the greater context around it, rather than futilely deny, fear, and legislate against what is so clearly our birthright.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Fact is, anglos are frustrated (and jaleous) to see that their victory didn't last that long against a nation (Québec) that's got so much more CARACTER.

      Yet we do have anglos with strong caracter, such as MORDECAI RICHLER (omg good riddance when this extremist frustrated racist died).

      Delete
    2. According to the birthright notion, ME would own the Earth, on which I was born.

      Delete
  24. Anon 8:51AM: "but I think multinationals should be made aware that there is no brand recognition or positive impact on keeping a name such as "Payless Shoesource" or "The Children's place" in Québec"

    Yes, anon, they should be made aware, but the only factor that should bring this awareness to their attention is the market. So if their sales plummet, they get around a table in their corporate office and they decide to rename. But whatever they decide is up to them, and not up to the gouvernemaman.

    Any more apologies for the system today? Or is it time to get back on the master's lap and collect the treat?

    ReplyDelete
  25. "Funny how ignorant you people really are:
    In September 2005, he (Proulx) co-hosted a talk show on TQS, known as l'Avocat et le diable. During one episode, he made shocking remarks about a victim of a sexual assault, which led to a large amount of criticism in the media, and the suspension of the show."

    The Quebecois may have stood up for a victim of sexual assault, but they couldn't care less about attacks on linguistic minorities. In many cases they will actually applaud these transgressions.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. How many people "applauded" when they hanged Louis Riel for being a francophone?
      It's just an example i'm using.

      Delete
  26. Gilles Proulx is nothing but a Pimple on a Horse's ass who'll probably drop dead in the next 10 years. Who cares what he thinks and says. He's a loud mouth dinosaur with a chip on his shoulder, big deal. This generation doesn't connect with his words and ideas. Let him keep babbling as his paranoid dementia is clearly setting in.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "This generation doesn't connect"

      OMG you'd be suprised.
      Where do you live exactly?

      Delete
  27. Montreal is clearly becoming anglophone like the rest of the continent, so what's your worry?
    Is it the fact that only 13% of the planet knows English?

    Proulx and Falardeau are not anglophobes, they're francophiles.
    Not being with you doesn't mean being against you, unless your name is W. Bush.

    ReplyDelete
  28. @ Pilule,

    "Proulx and Falardeau are not anglophobes, they're francophiles."

    Just like the Parti Quebecois and Bill 101 are pro-French, not anti-English...give me a break!

    If Proulx is not Anglophobic, why did he repeatedly refer to Anglos as "square heads" on television?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "The Parti Quebecois and Bill 101 are pro-French, not anti-English"
      Exactly.

      "If Proulx is not Anglophobic, why did he repeatedly refer to Anglos as "square heads" on television?"
      A popular expression in response to insults such as "frogs".
      THERE'S ALWAYS TWO SIDES TO THE STORY.

      Delete
  29. @Anonymous

    "If Proulx is not Anglophobic, why did he repeatedly refer to Anglos as "square heads" on television?"

    Perhaps to mock anglos who call the frenchs "frogs pea soup"? Proulx is francophile much more than anglophobic. But we must admit in Canada frncos and anglos often don't like each other, that's because of 2-3 centuries of downright or hypocritical war.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Defending a language has nothing to do with race.
    It's about trying to keep a culture and language alive.
    I'm sur you understand that in Quebec, French is not disappearing because of, say, Spanish or Chinese.

    Your anger and fear are.. hem.. entertaining, at best, from our point of view.

    English people (10% of Quebec) is just about the best treated minority you can find.
    But they like to whine over a lost past...

    ReplyDelete
  31. @adski

    "according to Mr Proulx Quebeckers are an “oppressed ruling majority”.

    Not Quebeckers, rather the french minority nation in Canada.
    Oppression is working so well that this nation is well on its way to disappearance (Manitoba, maritimes, next Quebec).
    What exactly are you worrying and whining about?

    ReplyDelete
  32. @Jason
    "it's time to leave Quebec for greener pastures."

    Please do! What's holding you?
    Go live with the chinese majority in Toronto or Vancouver, they'll love you.

    ReplyDelete
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  33. @ Pilule,

    "Perhaps to mock anglos who call the frenchs "frogs pea soup"?"

    Anglos haven't referred to Francophones with these derogatory terms on television. If they did so there would be a widespread uproar.


    "English people (10% of Quebec) is just about the best treated minority you can find."

    Hardly. This is a frequent statement of Quebec nationalists that has little basis in fact. Anglos in Quebec have had their language restricted or banned by racist laws and are openly discriminated against in the job market (especially government jobs). If Anglos are so well treated, why have hundreds of thousands of them moved out of Quebec in the past several decades? The Quebecois are actually the best treated minority in Canada.


    "Oppression is working so well that this nation is well on its way to disappearance (Manitoba, maritimes, next Quebec)."

    How are Francophones oppressed? Is their language restricted or banned anywhere in Canada, as has been done to English in Quebec? Back up your statements with some facts.


    "it's time to leave Quebec for greener pastures."

    "Please do! What's holding you?"

    Francophones are not the indigenous people of Quebec. Why don't you go back to France?


    "Go live with the chinese majority in Toronto or Vancouver, they'll love you."

    The Chinese are not the majority in these cities. Apparently you have a racist attitude towards them too.

    You should go take a "pilule."

    ReplyDelete
  34. @ Pilule,

    "Oppression is working so well that this nation is well on its way to disappearance (Manitoba, maritimes, next Quebec)."

    If Francophones in other Canadian provinces are so oppressed, why hasn't there been a mass migration of them to Quebec, as there has been of Anglophones out of Quebec?

    ReplyDelete
  35. @Anonymous "Why hasn't there been a mass migration of francos to Quebec"

    Good one.
    Perhaps then "assimilation" would be more proper than "oppression".
    Also, perhaps people prefer to stick with the majority.
    Yet there IS "some" hatred towards francos in anglo canada (reverse is also somewhat true in Quebec). It's a pancanadian fact.
    As for franco migrating to Quebec, I would have to check.
    One thing sure, no anglo has ever been HANGED in Quebec (i.e. Louis Riel in Manitoba).

    ReplyDelete
  36. @Anonymous

    "Anglos haven't referred to Francophones with derogatory terms on television"
    RE: Oh please! Ever heard of Don Cherry, Brent Tyler, etc.. Perhaps we don't watch the same televiesion.

    "racist laws"
    RE: From my point of view Bill 101 is not racist, it's legitimate defense to prevent complete assimilation.
    Moreover, it's a fact that anyone can LIVE in English in Quebec. Try living in French in Saskatoon (isn't Canada a "bilingual" country, what a joke).

    "Why have hundreds of thousands of them moved out of Quebec in the past several decades?"
    RE: Because they're attracted by being in the majority place?

    "The Quebecois are the best treated minority in Canada."
    TE: No, Chinese is.


    "Oppression is working so well that this nation is well on its way to disappearance (Manitoba, maritimes, next Quebec)."
    RE: Ok change "oppression" for "assimilation".

    "Is their language restricted or banned anywhere in Canada"
    RE: Recently in Nova Scotia, Services Canada has become English unilingual. Fuck the frenchs.

    "Please do! What's holding you?"

    "Francophones are not the indigenous people of Quebec. Why don't you go back to France?"
    RE: I might, eventually, I might. Yet one must understand that the Quebec indigenous (natives) were conquered by the French, and the French were conquered by the British 150 years later. Yet the french are still majority in Quebec. This is a great source of frustration for British conquereant's descendants.

    "The Chinese are not the majority in Toronto, BC..."
    RE: I was kidding. Anyway, racist or not, fact is if I'd want to live among Chinese, I'd go to China.

    You very much like the term "racist", as if it only existed in Quebec.
    The historic anglo war on francos in Canada in the past centuries IS racist. What's your point?

    ReplyDelete
  37. "If Anglos are so well treated, why have hundreds of thousands of them moved out of Quebec in the past several decades?"

    Parcequ'ils ne voulaient pas apprendre le Français,voila la principale raison.

    ReplyDelete
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  38. @Anonymous
    "Canadians pump with billions of their tax dollars to keep the beast quiet."
    Yet the beast if far from quiet. Perhaps because it send 55 billions$ each year to Canadians?

    ReplyDelete
  39. @Press 9

    "why have hundreds of thousands anglos moved out of Quebec?"

    "Parcequ'ils ne voulaient pas apprendre le Français,voila la principale raison."

    Oh so well said.
    Quebec is the most biligual province of Canada (even trilingal, check the figures), while the rest of this dysfunctional country is "racist" (to use their own term".

    ReplyDelete
  40. @ Pilule,
    (1 of 2)

    First you say that Francophones in other Canadian provinces haven't moved to Quebec in large numbers because "people prefer to stick with the majority." Then you say that thousands of Anglos have moved out of Quebec "because they're attracted by being in the majority place?" You don't make any sense. You're obviously contradicting yourself.

    Anglos were a minority in Quebec for many years but they didn't start to leave en masse until discriminatory laws were passed against them. And they weren't all "oppressors" as Quebec nationalists like to state. The Anglophone community contributed a great deal to the building of Quebec.

    -------------------------------------------------

    "One thing sure, no anglo has ever been HANGED in Quebec (i.e. Louis Riel in Manitoba)."

    You like living in the distant past don't you? Louis Riel died over 125 years ago. Societal norms have changed a great deal since then.

    -------------------------------------------------

    "Anglos haven't referred to Francophones with derogatory terms on television"
    "RE: Oh please! Ever heard of Don Cherry, Brent Tyler, etc.. Perhaps we don't watch the same televiesion."

    In sixty years of broadcasts, no one on English television has ever
    called Francophones "frogs" or "pea soups." Don Cherry referred to Francophone hockey players as "French guys." Oh, the horror! I wouldn't be insulted at all if someone called me an "English guy."

    -------------------------------------------------

    "From my point of view Bill 101 is not racist, it's legitimate defense to prevent complete assimilation."

    What a pile of bulls*&t. Bill 101 is RACIST because it benefits only one ethnic group and places restrictions on others. The Quebecois survived with their language and culture intact for over 200 years without Bill 101, and their proportion of the population has remained steady around 80% for a long time. They have never been even close to assimilation.

    -------------------------------------------------

    "Moreover, it's a fact that anyone can LIVE in English in Quebec. Try living in French in Saskatoon (isn't Canada a "bilingual" country, what a joke)."

    Can anyone live in English in the Saguenay or the Beauce regions (and many other areas) of Quebec? Hardly. Funny how QC nationalists only favour bilingualism when it is outside Quebec.

    -------------------------------------------------

    "The Quebecois are the best treated minority in Canada."
    "TE: No, Chinese is."
    "Anyway, racist or not, fact is if I'd want to live among Chinese, I'd go to China."

    You have a real problem with Chinese people don't you? No wonder you support Bill 101. Mandarin and Cantonese are not official languages of Canada, like French is. And the Chinese don't have their very own province where they can strip away the rights of others with bigotted laws, as is the case with Quebec.

    ReplyDelete
  41. @ Pilule,
    (2 of 2)

    "Oppression is working so well that this nation is well on its way to disappearance (Manitoba, maritimes, next Quebec)."
    "RE: Ok change "oppression" for "assimilation".”

    There is a French Language Services Act in Ontario that protects the rights of Francophones, despite the fact that they make up less than 5% of the population.

    One third of the population of New Brunswick (a maritime province) are French speaking Acadians and the province is officially bilingual. How are they being oppressed or assimilated?

    -------

    "Is their language restricted or banned anywhere in Canada"
    "RE: Recently in Nova Scotia, Services Canada has become English unilingual. Fuck the frenchs."

    There was only one incident of a Service Canada outlet being unilingual English in Nova Scotia, and complaints were made about it. Not exactly a widespread occurrence. You are really grasping at straws, aren't you?

    -------

    "You very much like the term "racist", as if it only existed in Quebec."

    Racism occurs all over Canada, but only in Quebec are there racist language laws which are backed up by the government.

    -------
    "The historic anglo war on francos in Canada in the past centuries IS racist. What's your point?"

    The war ended on the Plains of Abraham 250 years ago. While there may have been injustices against the Quebecois in the past, they are the only people who are behaving like assholes NOW.

    ReplyDelete
  42. @ Press 9,

    "If Anglos are so well treated, why have hundreds of thousands of them moved out of Quebec in the past several decades?"

    "Parcequ'ils ne voulaient pas apprendre le Français,voila la principale raison."

    There are a lot of Anglos who have left Quebec who can speak French.

    ReplyDelete
  43. @ Pilule,

    "Canadians pump with billions of their tax dollars to keep the beast quiet."
    "Yet the beast if far from quiet. Perhaps because it send 55 billions$ each year to Canadians?"

    Christ, are you ignorant. Quebec may send 55 billion dollars to the federal government each year, but it receives at least an additional 8.5 billion dollars MORE in transfer payments from the wealthy English speaking provinces. Quebec has been getting back much more than it sends to Ottawa in taxes every year for decades.

    ReplyDelete
  44. "The historic anglo war on francos in Canada in the past centuries IS racist."

    So you're saying that it is okay for the Quebecois to act like pricks now because some of their ancestors were mistreated?

    We don't hear Jews constantly complaining about the Holocaust and advocating for the extermination of Germans, or holding all new generations of Germans responsible for what happened.

    Blacks in the U.S. don't whine ad infinitum about slavery, lynchings and the Jim Crow laws, and say the same should be done to whites.

    The Quebecois are a childish and neurotic bunch.

    ReplyDelete
  45. "So you're saying that it is okay for the Quebecois to act like pricks now because some of their ancestors were mistreated?"

    Yeap!

    ReplyDelete
  46. "We don't hear Jews constantly complaining about the Holocaust and advocating for the extermination of Germans..."

    Ils le feraient surement si les Allemands représentaient toujours une menace pour eux,comme c'est le cas pour nous Québécois,aujourd'hui vis-a-vis les anglouilles.

    ReplyDelete
  47. @Anonymous
    "you're saying that it is okay for the Quebecois to act like pricks now because some of their ancestors were mistreated?"

    It's ok for them to defend their language and culture, knowing the rest of the country has tried so hard to destroy it. For people of your kind, THIS is acting like pricks, but who are you.

    And yes, Québec's motto is "Je me souviens", and you damn right we will remember and make sure some things are not forgotten.

    ReplyDelete
  48. "We don't hear Jews constantly complaining about the Holocaust and advocating for the extermination of Germans."

    1. Yes we DO hear them. From what planet are you from?

    2. Oh how interesting that you compare Nazis to anglo canadians.

    ReplyDelete
  49. "There are a lot of Anglos who have left Quebec who can speak French."

    You'd want us to believe that anglos left Quebec because they were MISTREATED? You're a clown; a whining clown.

    Most of them left because
    1. They were afraid they'd have to live in French, but mostly because
    2. They felt they had lost their position of dominating minority (especially after Parti Québécois took power in 1976). And by jove, they were right on that one.

    They should get over it.
    There are 59 anglo states left in north america.
    Stop whining and be happy.

    ReplyDelete
  50. @ Pilule,

    "It's ok for them to defend their language and culture, knowing the rest of the country has tried so hard to destroy it. For people of your kind, THIS is acting like pricks, but who are you."

    I wouldn't have a problem with reasonable efforts to "defend your language and culture," if it was really threatened, but it isn't. Instead, you are trying to wipe out the existence of other languages and cultures within Quebec and make it into a monoculture. Bill 101 goes way too far.

    The Quebecois language and culture survived BECAUSE it was part of Canada. Just look at what happened to the Francophones who moved to the U.S. Very few speak French anymore.

    The languages of the Native people of North America are infinitely more threatened than French, but they haven't passed restrictive language legislation on their reserves and territories.

    "And yes, Québec's motto is "Je me souviens", and you damn right we will remember and make sure some things are not forgotten."

    But you are very selective about your history. You don't like to remember that you stole Native land.

    You ignore all of the positive influences that Anglos (and Allos) have had on Quebec, and only focus on the negative.

    In 2009, battlefield re-enactors were threated with violence when they were going to re-enact the Battle of the Plains of Abraham - a painful memory for your kind but nevertheless a part of your history. Civil war re-enactors from southern American states relive battles all the time, even though they lost the war.

    ReplyDelete
  51. @ Pilule,

    "We don't hear Jews constantly complaining about the Holocaust and advocating for the extermination of Germans."

    "1. Yes we DO hear them. From what planet are you from?"

    Where do Jews say that Germans should be exterminated?

    "Oh how interesting that you compare Nazis to anglo canadians."

    You have a talent for twisting things around. The Quebecois share more in common with the Nazis because they are extremely nationalistic and are obsessed with the politics of race.

    "You'd want us to believe that anglos left Quebec because they were MISTREATED?"

    Absolutely. Their language was restricted or banned and they had French shoved down their throats. Schools closed down. Many Anglos faced discrimination at their workplace and were forced out of their jobs. All they heard from the seppies were additional threats to remove more of their rights.

    Anglos in Quebec are citizens of Canada and they speak one of the official languages of the country. They should be free to live and work in English as they choose.

    "You're a clown; a whining clown."

    You should go join the Cirque de Soleil. You would fit right in.

    "Stop whining and be happy."

    Stop whining about the past and stop whining about Canada.

    ReplyDelete
  52. @ Anonymous

    "Where do Jews say that Germans should be exterminated?"
    RE: Where do Quebecers say that anglos should be exterminated?

    "The Quebecois share more in common with the Nazis because they are extremely nationalistic and are obsessed with the politics of race."
    RE: I wonder what kind of life would a Black francophone have, say, in Alberta. OMG.

    "Their language was restricted or banned and they had French shoved down their throats."
    RE: Exactly what minority anglos did to MAJORITY francos in Quebec for 2 centuries. Then one day Quebecers stood up. Many anglos miss the good ol' times don't they.

    "Many Anglos faced discrimination at their workplace and were forced out of their jobs."
    RE: See my precedent RE.

    "Anglos should be free to live and work in English as they choose."
    RE: French is Quebec official national language. Yet you can live en English in Quebec, not live in French in Canada.

    "Stop whining about Canada."
    RE: Actually my battle is not whining about Canada like anglos whine about Quebec. Our battle is to free Quebec. I'm not against Canada, I'm pro Quebec. Every nation should be free, not infeodated.

    ReplyDelete
  53. @ Anonymous

    " if it was really threatened, but it isn't."
    RE: From 50% to 23% in Canada, and from 85% to about 78% in Quebec. It is disappearing.

    "Bill 101 goes way too far."
    RE: Then hang on, cause we'll push it even further (after Supreme Court of Canada tore it to shreds in the last 20 years).

    "Just look at what happened to the Francophones who moved to the U.S. Very few speak French anymore."
    RE: Like the francos who moved to Canada.

    "The languages of the Native people of North America are infinitely more threatened than French, but they haven't passed restrictive language legislation."
    RE: Only because they don't have the political power to do so.

    "But you are very selective about your history. You don't like to remember that you stole Native land."
    RE: French conquered the natives, then British conquered the French. Only thing, French were much more resistant that expected.

    "You ignore all of the positive influences that Anglos (and Allos) have had on Quebec."
    RE: No I'm aware of that, I just want the rights of the majority to be respected.
    And are the anglo canadians aware of what the French (first founders of modern Canada) did for that contry?

    "In 2009, battlefield re-enactors were threated with violence when they were going to re-enact the Battle of the Plains of Abraham"
    RE: Because the official program was only meant to glorify the British conquerants.

    ReplyDelete
  54. @ Anonymous

    "Racism occurs all over Canada, but only in Quebec are there racist language laws which are backed up by the government."
    RE: Bill 101 is about language and culture, not about RACE you idiot.

    "The war ended on the Plains of Abraham 250 years ago"
    RE: The military part has ended but they're still at war because we haven't completely disappeared yet, which bothers them very much.

    ReplyDelete
  55. @ Pilule,

    "RE: Where do Quebecers say that anglos should be exterminated?"

    They don't say that Anglos should be exterminated, but many Quebecois (including yourself) wholeheartedly support their ethnic cleansing from Quebec. The end result is the same.

    "RE: I wonder what kind of life would a Black francophone have, say, in Alberta. OMG."

    Black Francophones have a difficult enough time in Quebec because they are not "pur laine." A frequent commentor on this blog stated that a lot of Haitians have moved to (English) Toronto from Quebec because they were mistreated in QC.

    "Just look at what happened to the Francophones who moved to the U.S. Very few speak French anymore."
    "RE: Like the francos who moved to Canada."

    Yeah right. Hundreds of thousands of Francophones in other Canadian provinces still speak French. Try travelling to the northeastern United States and see how many Franco-Americans speak the language.

    "Their language was restricted or banned and they had French shoved down their throats."
    RE: Exactly what minority anglos did to MAJORITY francos in Quebec for 2 centuries. Then one day Quebecers stood up."

    What laws ever restricted or banned French in Quebec?

    "Anglos should be free to live and work in English as they choose."
    "RE: French is Quebec official national language. Yet you can live en English in Quebec, not live in French in Canada."

    English is an official language of Canada, and Quebec is STILL just a Canadian province. There are plenty of people living in French in other provinces. You really like to bend the truth don't you?

    "I'm not against Canada, I'm pro Quebec."

    More bullshit...you hate Canada. Your recent posts show that you are full of hatred - of Anglos and Allos - especially the Chinese. You hate everyone not of your pur laine ilk.

    "Bill 101 goes way too far."
    "RE: Then hang on, cause we'll push it even further (after Supreme Court of Canada tore it to shreds in the last 20 years)."

    Bill 101 was torn to shreds because it deserved to be. It was even attacked as discriminatory by the United Nations. If you push too far you might end up getting your asses kicked again.

    ReplyDelete
  56. @ Pilule,

    "The languages of the Native people of North America are infinitely more threatened than French, but they haven't passed restrictive language legislation."
    "RE: Only because they don't have the political power to do so."

    The Inuit of Nunavut have their own territory and pass their own laws. There are far fewer of them than the Quebecois, but they haven't introduced discriminatory language legislation.


    "But you are very selective about your history. You don't like to remember that you stole Native land."
    "RE: French conquered the natives, then British conquered the French. Only thing, French were much more resistant that expected."

    The British also gave the French they defeated many more rights, including the right to retain their language, religion and legal system.


    "You ignore all of the positive influences that Anglos (and Allos) have had on Quebec."
    "RE: No I'm aware of that, I just want the rights of the majority to be respected."

    Minorities have rights too, but Quebec has chosen to ignore this fact. Quebec is a minority within Canada, but it has "tons" of rights.


    "In 2009, battlefield re-enactors were threated with violence when they were going to re-enact the Battle of the Plains of Abraham"
    "RE: Because the official program was only meant to glorify the British conquerants."

    The re-enactment would have been rejected no matter how much it respected the losing side.


    "Racism occurs all over Canada, but only in Quebec are there racist language laws which are backed up by the government."
    "RE: Bill 101 is about language and culture, not about RACE you idiot."

    It has EVERYTHING to do with RACE you dumb fu*k. If you are not a white, pur laine Francophone in Quebec, then you are a second class citizen - one of "les autres" - or a lousy "ethnic" who cost the Quebecois their country, as Jacques Parizeau infamously said.

    ReplyDelete
  57. @ Anonymous

    "They don't say that Anglos should be exterminated, but many Quebecois support their ethnic cleansing from Quebec."
    RE: There you go with you nazis paranoia again. We just ask anglos to respect the majority, but for MANY of them that's still too much to ask.

    "Black Francophones have a difficult enough time in Quebec"
    RE: At least most of them speak the majority's national language.

    "A lot of Haitians have moved to (English) Toronto from Quebec because they were mistreated in QC."
    RE: Bull...

    "Hundreds of thousands of Francophones in other Canadian provinces still speak French."
    RE: Perhaps, at home, secretly. Anyway I'd like to see the figures.

    "What laws ever restricted or banned French in Quebec?"
    RE: I don't know about all past laws, but certainly about the BEHAVIOR of the once leading anglo minority, i.e. strong discrimation in work and public spheres.

    "English is an official language of Canada, and Quebec is STILL just a Canadian province."
    RE: Yet Québec has promulgated that French is the national language. Get over it.

    "You hate Canada and Anglos and Allos"
    RE: I surely don't identify myself with canadians. And I sure don't like those who don't respect the language of this nation's majority.

    "Bill 101 was torn to shreds because it deserved to be."
    RE: Your point of view, not ours.

    "If you push too far you might end up getting your asses kicked again."
    RE: Ha ha. Just watch us, losers.

    ReplyDelete
  58. @ Anonymous

    I wonder why anglo canada had the right to perform "ethnic cleansing" and Quebec's majority would not (suppose it would)?

    ReplyDelete
  59. @ Anonymous

    "The Inuit of Nunavut have their own territory and pass their own laws. they haven't introduced discriminatory language legislation."
    RE: No comparison, they are a few thousands, Quebec is 8M. Also their language is not threatened there (I bet they mostly speak English), and if it were , and they don't take action, it's their problem.

    "The British also gave the French they defeated many more rights, including the right to retain their language, religion and legal system."
    RE: I mostly agree.

    "Quebec is a minority within Canada, but it has "tons" of rights."
    RE: Yet the franco minority is disappearing. It's self defense.

    "The re-enactment would have been rejected"
    RE: Speculation. We'll never know. We chose to be pro active.

    "It has EVERYTHING to do with RACE you dumb fu*k."
    RE: A vast majority of Quebecers are White. The problem is not color, but language.

    "If you are not a white, pur laine Francophone in Quebec, then you are a second class citizen"
    RE: I don't feel that, yet again I admit racism exists everywehere. What's your point? Look in the mirror then let's talk.
    Also perhaps one day Québécois de souche became fed up with being the second class MAJORITY.

    "a lousy "ethnic" who cost the Quebecois their country, as Jacques Parizeau infamously said."
    RE: Parizeau was partly right. The ethnics voted EN MASSE for No. Yet I say partly because it's also right that if just a few more "non etchnics" voted Yes, you'd be on your own now. But it's not finished.

    ReplyDelete
  60. You already "kicked our asses" before, yet we're still holding strong.
    Your childish frustration is a delight for us, already a victory.
    One day your victory may be complete. It will remain as an ugly one in history.

    ReplyDelete
  61. @ Pilule,

    If your so-called "magnificent" language and culture cannot survive without the assistance of artificial, draconian and discriminatory laws, then maybe it should go the way of the dodo.

    ReplyDelete
  62. @ Anonymous

    "If your so-called "magnificent" language and culture cannot survive without the assistance of artificial, draconian and discriminatory laws, then maybe it should go the way of the dodo."

    RE: Artificial? Don't think so.
    Discriminatory? Perhaps. If it is I think it's justified in order to protect a disappearing culture (which I didn't call "magnificent").

    Many places in the world such measures are justified to protect minority cultures.

    Discrimination is a canadian thing, where you have two leading cultures, one of them being much more strongly assimilationist than the other.

    Then again, yes, maybe it will go, or not, we'll see.

    ReplyDelete
  63. @ Anonymous

    "If your so-called "magnificent" language and culture cannot survive without the assistance of artificial, draconian and discriminatory laws, then maybe it should go the way of the dodo."

    ummm... right, its the french people that are all the racists, right? Gotcha..

    ReplyDelete
  64. "English is an official language of Canada, and Quebec is STILL just a Canadian province. There are plenty of people living in French in other provinces. You really like to bend the truth don't you?"

    - Ahhh... where? In Moncton? St. Paul, AB? Clearly hubs of economic importance.

    And by the way, if you want to talk about fairness to anglophones in Quebec, address first the discrimination that had been endemic francophones since the beginning of this country.

    ReplyDelete
  65. You just can't get it, can't you? There are 300 million + English-speakers in N. America, and yet YOU STILL SAY the emphasis should be on francophones to prove why there needs to be a law to protect french in Quebec. Well here is why - because we say so. You can't tell people who are gay that they shouldn't have the right be married, and if you do, you sound like a nincompoop, since clearly gay people aren't the hegemonic class in sexual orientation. Its a little like white americans saying that blacks are racist - at least without understandable reason.
    The same can be said of the situation in Quebec.
    Regardless of what you anglophones say, the fact still remains you colonized the french and the natives. Yes it happened a long time ago, but we live with the legacy today. And if you can't be progressive enough to understand the need to recognize their rights, where do you find the gall to ask for rights for English in a mere corner of a continent totally dominated by it. That is something i have yet to wrap my head around. But I know you'll have some sophistry to reply with saying that I'm the one who is racist and I'm the one who unreasonable. Hence, we will never come to any solution. Until we can see that there needs to be some compromise or recognition of the legitimacy of the other's position, this will continue.

    and BTW: the only reason you can say the things you say, is that English is the dominate force in Canada, with all the State and corporate apparatus and other trappings. French-speakers outside Quebec have to fight not just assimilation to English, we to have justify why our language be used instead of cantonese. On this view, the position of the anglophone Quebecers is actually quite enviable.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well... more like 250M, which is still quite a lot.
      Yet some experts predict that Spanish will eventually become the 2nd US official language (even the majority?) I will applaude to this.
      Spanish and French are cousin languages and both beautiful.
      And Canada? The same might happen but with Mandarin. lol

      Delete

    2. Here you lamenting over the threat of losing the French culture and language in Quebec, yet you relish the idea of Spanish replacing English in the United States. You are just a piece dog turd is what you are. Just like you don't care what happens to the English language, I don't care what happens to your pathetic language. By the way, the French keep telling us how beautiful their language is, I guess if you keep saying it often enough, people will believe it. I prefer English any day of the week, and my mother tongue is Italian, which by the way is the most beautiful language.

      Delete
    3. Oh, an italian, I see...

      french a "pathetic" language? lol

      Delete
  66. The French people living in Canada are perhaps the most fortunate people (another minority in Canada)

    think of the poor Francophones in France who for centuries dirtied their underwear while they had to raise their hands in surrender. to the German hordes...until the English World liberated them from German concentration camps...

    Thank goodness for Canada...Home of the brave (Anglos) ..land of the free- thanks to Anglo bravery....

    Every French Canadian and French national should not bite the hand that feeds them...Enough Please....Grow up. Thank your Anglo Saviours.
    Now it's up to Quebecois peoples to save themselves from their own " Leaders"...!

    Good Luck trying to make a silk-purse out of a sow's ear.....Plus que ca change, plus que ca reste le meme.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Your message is so ridiculously hainous I'm not sure you're serious or not.

      But if you are, well keep it up, the stronger we'll be and the faster Québec's independance.

      ANGLOS DID NOT SAVE, THEY MURDERED, EXECUTED INNOCENTS, BURNED FARMS, RAPED WOMEN.
      PEOPLE, DON'T READ ANGLO HISTORY BOOKS.

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    2. I am sure you are mature enough to realize that each side has always adjusted and trimmed the history narrative to suit their own propagandistic goals. It always has, it always will, all over the globe. Your side has done the same thing... has presented in victims of the anglos and saviours of the natives. Here's some food for thought: ALWAYS, the truth is in the middle.

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    3. I also know that the ones who chased, oppressed, executed (etc) the francos (well, the "others"), were the anglo-saxons. ("mainly" the anglo saxons if you prefer).
      That was true in QUébec, in Sask, Alberta, Manitoba, and in the maritimes provinces (Acady).
      I don't think the French could beat that.

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