French versus English - Volume 27

Canadian Sale on 'Patriotes' holiday irks Separatists

Years ago the PQ government changed the Fête de Dollard, (which had been changed from Victoria Day) to the Journée nationale des patriotes, ostensibly to commemorate the so-called 'Patriots' of the
Lower Canada Rebellion in 1837.
The holiday which coincides with Victoria Day in the rest of Canada fast became Quebec's unofficial separatist holiday.
Imagine the rage in the sovereignist camp when an American chain store, operating in Canada, adopted the U.S tradition of naming a sale after the holiday and used a big red Maple Leaf to announce the  "Fête des patriotes Sale" 
Of course Mario Beaulieu, the head of the militant Societe Saint-Jean-Baptiste, hit the roof and waded in with his usual indignation; 

"Already, the name of the company, 'The Children's Place, 'shows that there is no great respect for Quebec and its common language."  
After a couple of calls to the New Jersey Head-office, the signs were removed. LINK{FR}

Phony Poll by SSJB

Speaking of the Devil, Mr. Beaulieu, was in fine form again, manipulating  the truth to inflate his sovereignist agenda. A while back, in an opinion poll, just 38% of Quebeckers agreed that Bill 101 language restrictions should be applied to cegep (college). Link
Mr. Beaulieu took great offense claiming that the question was rigged and in response ran his own poll with a rigged question of his own;

"Unlimited access to colleges for English allophones, immigrants and francophones threatens the future of French in Quebec. Should the admission criteria of Bill 101 for English schools  also apply to CEGEP " Link

When you put it like that, I'd imagine everyone would answer positively, but no, just 57% agreed with the loaded question.
By the way, there's a name for the practice of  asking dishonest polling questions that are meant to influence public opinion, rather than to sample it. It's called Push-polling

Radio Stations

Claiming that there is plenty of good French music to go around, the Mouvement Montréal français held a small rally with a few dozen people to protest certain practices of Montreal radio stations. The group was complaining about the fact that the stations were violating the spirit of the law that mandates a minimum level of French music to be played on air. Apparently the stations don't agree that French music is as commercial as English music and is using a bunch of tactics to skirt the law. The stations have been playing the less popular French music in non-peak hours and also have been playing long mashups combining many English songs strung together and counting them as one. Very ingenious! LINK

Anglo appointed to the OQLF

It's hard to understand why Premier Charest appointed an anglophone to the Board of Directors of l'Office québécois de la langue française, the agency that enforces Bill 101.
Perhaps stranger, is why Gordon Bernstein would want the job.
That's it. Nothing more to say on the subject except that, here's what the separatists think of the appointment.  LINK

Lady Gaga

Lotto Quebec is chastised for spending $300,000 to license the 'Poker Face' song from Lady Gaga for promotional purposes, instead of spending the money on a Quebec Quebecois francophone artist.  LINK
  

English performers forced to sing in French

"When the news release came out announcing the lineup for the official Fête Nationale concert next month in Montreal, it appeared there had been a momentous breakthrough.

There on the program, alongside such francophone stars as Robert Charlebois and Éric Lapointe, were brother and sister Rufus and Martha Wainwright, two Quebec stars who have built international careers singing in English.

Had the concert organizers finally relaxed their no-English rule, which made a mockery of their expressed desire to include all Quebecers in the celebrations? Well, no, they hadn't.

The Wainwrights had been informed they could join in the June 24 party as long as they chose songs in French. "This is the Nation Québécoise; you sing in French," the concert's emcee, sovereignist TV host Guy A. Lepage, told The Gazette. "If you take the job, you accept the rules, and on the 24th, it's singing in French."

Mario Beaulieu, president of both the Société Saint Jean Baptiste and head of the committee organizing the outdoor concert, said the Wainwrights were happy to comply with the requirement that they sing in French.

"Considering that French is the common language, the national language of Quebec, the concert is in French," he said in an interview. "We invite Quebecers of all backgrounds, all languages, to come and sing in French." Read the rest of the NATIONAL POST story

Bilingual Supremos Bill to Die in the Senate

Last year, the Conservative minority government couldn't stop an NDP motion from passing in Parliament, one that would make it a requirement for Supreme Court judges to be bilingual. The three opposition parties all supported Bill C-232 and it was sent upstairs to the Senate for ratification where the Conservative members have kept the Bill from being debated for almost eight months.
Now that the Conservatives have an outright majority in the Senate, MP Yvon Godin from New Brunswick, the Ndp godfather of the bill, fears it's curtains for the Bill C-232.

"In a partisan manner, the Senate has decided to support the Prime Minister in a minority government and I think it's dangerous for democracy in our country." The NDP is campaigning for the abolition of the Senate, considering that it is not the role of the unelected Senate to cancel laws passed by elected MPs."

Perhaps Mr. Godin should take heed of Pierre Boivin, who admitted after he left as General Manger of the Canadiens, that bilingualism hurts quality.

"Pierre Boivin, the outgoing president of the Montreal Canadiens, has some advice for the federal New Democratic Party.

He didn't put it that way. But the NDP, which proposes to require that all judges of the Supreme Court of Canada be bilingual, should take note of something Boivin said in his interview with Dave Stubbs of The Gazette, published on Wednesday.

While English is the working language in the front offices and dressing rooms of the National Hockey League, the general manager and the coach of the Canadiens must be able to explain themselves to the team's fans in French as well.

This bilingualism requirement means the Canadiens "are severely competitively disadvantaged," Boivin said.

Another NHL team needing a new general manager can choose from "a pool of 90, (even if) not all are good or are available. We have a pool of three, four, five maybe? Sometimes none? It's the same thing with coaches."

In effect, this makes bilingualism not only a requirement for the job of general manager or coach of the Canadiens, but the most important one."  Read more in the Montreal Gazette

New sovereignist group off to inauspicious start

"Sovereigntist groups in Quebec have banded together to form a coalition that will permanently campaign for the province's independence.Close to 20 groups have united under the title "Cap sur l'independance," or "Heading for Independence," in order to help advance the cause of separatism." Link

The only problem is that at it the news conference announcing its founding, only 20 or so people showed up as well as only six reporters.
Hmmm..... not much of a start.

Further Reading:

French versus English - Volume 26