Friday, September 23, 2011

Weekend Review - Volume 36

Separatists- Once more with Feeling

Hurray! Another separatist party is created in Quebec!
Independent MNA  Jean-Martin Aussant  who left the PQ to sit as an independent is starting up a new separatist party, the third to have a sitting member in the National Assembly.

Although not as yet formed the new party will operate under the 'Option nationale' banner and will push aggressively for the sovereignty option as well as Mr. Aussant's pet project, the defence of Quebec's mineral resources.
Good Luck!
I mean it sincerely, the more separatist parties the better to split votes!

Separatists- Looking for love in all the wrong places!
It seems to me that if a pre-K class in Langley British Columbia invited blowhard Mario Beaulieu president of the separatist Societe Saint-Jean-Baptiste (SSJB) as well as president of the  Mouvement Québec français (MQF) to address the little tykes about the merits of sovereignty, coupled with a healthy side order of running down Canada, he'd hop on the first plane, with bells on, to deliver a three hour monologue!

With talk of sovereignty not exactly a topic du jour in Quebec and with interviews on Quebec television fewer and farther between, Mr. Beaulieu went to Europe to seek out support from those who couldn't care less.

First stop was a conference in Val d'Aoste, Italy celebrating peoples whose language/culture is under attack. Judging by the photo, the exhibition held in some sort of a field, wasn't exactly a rousing success, with the Creole restaurant which was set up in an adjacent tent  to the Quebecers, appearing to be way more popular.

Then it was off to Paris, to celebrate the Fête de l'Humanité, a gathering organized  by France's dwindling Communist party, which enjoys less than 2% of popularity in France. To bolster Mr. Beaulieu's representation of Quebec as president of the SSJB and the MQF, was the Réseau de Résistance du Québécois.

 In an article in La Presse, Alain Dubuc, wonders if Mr. Beaulieu has lost sight of reality.
"How can we interpret this strange crusade? Two hypotheses come to mind. The first, rather uncharitable, is based on the well-known attraction of travel. The second, more troubling, describes some kind of activist who has lost touch with reality, strategies he developed in a vacuum where he just forget the real world and real issues. Where the key is to make gestures, even if they are unnecessary and ridiculous. LINK{Fr}
Surpise! Quebec politicians actually more popular than used-car salesmen.

When it comes to public confidence in Quebec, politicians rated just ahead, wait for it, used car salesmen! The politicians received a confidence rating of just 8% in a survey by Leger Marketing, saved from finishing on the bottom of the list, by 1%.

On top of the list;
Firemen                  97%
Ambulance Techs- 93%
Nurses-                   91%
Surgeons-               89%

On the bottom of the list;
Used car salesmen-  97%
Politicians-               93%
Lobbyists-                91%

Click on the picture to read the entire list in French.




From le magazine nagg

The most pathetic OQLF story of the year!

This story may just be the most pathetic Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF) story of the year.
A Montreal Gazette reader, Robert Wilkens wrote a depressing, yet hilarious article that describes  the Keystone Kops goings-on, on his little street in downtown Montreal.
It seems that when bureaucrats at the OQLF combine with the fools running the Montreal public works department, hilarity ensues. Don't skip this story. Click on the link!
"You see, a few years ago a city authority visited the modest corner in question – Guy/Paxton Park – and a team of several seemingly well-intentioned labourers proceeded to paint the backs of three long-neglected community benches. The seats themselves, which were in an equal state of disregard, were left totally untouched and remain so to this day. Every morning I am reminded of this bureaucratic absurdity.  LINK
The beat goes on  for French music, again!

This story is about another tedious march by French language militants demanding more French music on the radio. The Mouvement Montreal Francais (MMF) led by the, err.... ultra-famous Quebec actor Denis Trudel demanded that a Montreal radio station, CKOI and others, stop playing so much English music, more than their CRTC license provides for.
The stations are accused of using a clever trick to understate the amount of English music played by stringing together a bunch of English songs in a mashup or remix, thus counting that the resulting effort is just one song, in terms of accountability. VERY CLEVER!
The marchers protested such 'cheating' and bore placcards with the names of French artists that they wished to see replace the English music.
The issue of why people should be forced to listen to music that they don't want to hear, is definitely of course, strictly beside the point.   LINK{Fr}

After the march, demonstrators repaired to the local Valentine restaurant for dinner, but only after a very heated discussion about French content, that led them to modify the original plans that had the group scheduled to go to Harveys!

"Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves." - William Pitt

An inside view of Quebec corruption.

There's been lot's of discussion lately about corruption in Quebec, with most people demanding a public inquiry to peel back the hidden layers of criminality.
Here's a glimpse of what would be discovered, courtesy of a story that wasn't picked up in any English media. It should have been and so I translated it as best I could. 
Regardless of how cynical you are, this story will have you shaking your head;
Presumed Bribery at Revenue Canada-millions spent at the casino
Francis Vailles
La Presse

The RCMP has discovered that a Revenue Canada manager spent $11.8 million in cash at a casino in the company of a known tax evader, Francesco Bruno, between 2006 and 2010.
  
This information comes from new documents filed in court in Montreal by the RCMP as part of its investigation into the alleged bribery of Revenue Canada officials. Seven tax auditors are believed to have received generous bribes from crooked taxpayers to help defraud Revenue Canada.
The Revenue Canada manager who purchased the millions of dollars in casino chips is Madan Kehar. Most of his purchases were made at the Montreal Casino in the presence of
Francesco Bruno, who also spent $ 1.4 million in cash on such occasions.
Francesco Bruno (left),  Alfredo Magalhães, in a box at the Bell Centre in 2005
Francesco Bruno is the president of BT ceramics, which was found guilty of tax fraud last spring. It was he who helped one of Tony Accurso's companys evade taxes of $4 million through an elaborate scheme of false invoices. According to the RCMP, Madan Kehar as well as two other Revenue Canada officials had intervened to prevent another auditor from delving more deeply into the issue of BT ceramics in the early 2000s.
New information from the RCMP was released as part of a subpoena  for documents, approved by a judge, directed at the Bell Centre, in late August. The police obtained Bell Centre invoices that proved that certain tax inspectors benefited from the largess of Francesco Bruno during a Canadiens hockey game in September 2007.
No tax at the Galeries Laval
In the new report from the RCMP, police made an astonishing discovery in the offices of BT ceramics in 2008. The safe of the company's CEO, Francesco Bruno, contained original documents belonging to Revenue Canada in relation to Galeries Laval, a shopping centre then owned by Tony Accurso.
Such forms never leave the offices of Revenue Canada, the investigators reported. According to them, "the fact that such forms disappeared from the Canada Revenue Agency benefits Galeries Laval, because the  information is no longer accessible to the Agency."One form, dated June 2004, noted that the latest official to have worked on the Galeries Laval file, questioned the fact that the mall never paid any tax.
In another form found hidden in the safe, suspicion was cast over of another Revenue Canada auditor concerning another Tony Accurso company, Louisbourg, over another bogus invoice scam.
Readers are reminded that Francesco Bruno, BT Ceramics, were located in a building belonging to mafia bosses Vito Rizutto and Paolo Renda.
Bahamas and Switzerland
In addition to the Revenue Canada official Madan Kehar, two key officials are also targeted by the RCMP investigation, Furgiele Adriano and Antonio Girardi. Furgiele is the cousin of Francesco Bruno.In its investigation, the RCMP discovered that Francesco Bruno opened a bank account in the Bahamas in 2006 with Revenue Canada officials Furgiele and Girardi. The account manager was Quebec's Martin Tremblay, later jailed for money laundering in another case. In July 2006, the Bahamas account was closed and the money, $816,278, was transferred to Switzerland
In addition, the RCMP also discovered that Furgiele received $150,000 from a taxpayer at the beginning of 2008 a few weeks after he received a tax refund of $2.3 million. According to police, Furgiele was at the heart of the scheme that enabled the taxpayer to save the taxes. That taxpayer in question, is Francesco Bertucci, his company, Thomson Tremblay. The police tried to talk to him, but his lawyer objected. The RCMP believes that Revenue Canada officials Nick Iammarrone, and Giuseppe Oliviero participated in the scam benefiting Bertucci.
Bell Centre
In order to get the approval of the judge in its application for a subpoena of the Bell Centre, the RCMP submitted photos of another night at the Bell Centre in 2005, which it seized in the home of Furgiele, which were filed with the Court. It shows nine officials of Revenue Canada drinking with Francesco Bruno in a box at the Bell Centre.Among the officers of Revenue Canada that were there, were team leaders Furgiele Adriano and Antonio Girardi, as well as agents Madan Kehar and Giuseppe Oliviero. As for taxpayers, in addition to Francesco Bruno, there were two other co-shareholders of BT ceramics, Alfredo and Rodolfo Magalhaes Palmerino.Officials suspected of wrongdoing were fired from Revenue Canada or have already retired. No charges were brought against them or against Francesco Bertucci.
If you want to believe that it's just the Italians involved, here's a story from yesterday's news..


and folks, it's just the tip of the iceberg.

Habs jersey sends TIFF atwitter

Actor Viggo Mortensen and Keira Knightly currently starring in 'A Dangerious Method' greeted journalists at the Toronto International Film festival wearing the dreaded Habs jerseys.
Moretensin is a huge Montreal Canadiens fan and previously pulled off the same stunt at the  2005 edition of the festival.
He admits that during filming of the Lord of the Rings, he wore the sweater under his costume.
Huh!
As they say on Global TV, "Whooda guessed?"


For Toronto Maple Leaf fans, who might be feeling a bit left out, I scoured the Internet for something similar, but all I could come up with is this photo of Brooke Mueller (Charlie Sheen's ex) wearing a nifty Leafs T-shirt. 

Hold on a sec......
Is that a foil crack pipe she's holding?  LINK
eeek!!

Speaking of hockey shirts in the media, who can tell me which famous movie this Habs jersey made a prominent appearance in?
What's the Montreal connection?



The stupidest stories of the week..
Finally, here's two stories that definitely had me shaking my head, I don't know which one is stupider. I'll let readers decide;

The first story details a female high school teacher who seduced a fifteen year old male student and carried on an affair in which they had sex between 200-300 times, everywhere you can think of including the high school itself.
The teacher is trying to get the case dropped because it has taken so long to come to trial.
She complained to the judge that her life has been ruined by the publicity.
Pontbriand, her slight body shaking with emotion, said the ordeal has zapped her of her energy and she finds it difficult to hide her tears from her children.
“The most precious time in a parent’s life is when the children are small - the giggles, the little fat tummies, the hugs and kisses,” said Pontbriand, 40. “There are times your child catches you crying and says, ‘It’s okay, mommy; I’ll kiss it better.’ ”
The teacher with 13 years’ experience has been unable to work, she said, because her case has appeared around the world on Internet and television. LINK
This  next story is of a Montreal borough Notre Dame de Grace, (NDG) which decided to engage graffiti artists in a contest, in order to reduce tagging around the neighbourhood.
The borough was to provide a workspace and guess what first prize was supposed to be.
100 cans of spray paint. .......yup!  LINK


FailQc.com.


At first I laughed at the misplaced footings for a sign for some sort of federal building in Quebec City.
But then the English translation on the sign had me feeling that the translation was performed in Bangkok.

Workshop Quebec City?

A 'workshop' is what you have in your basement, not a big government facility. It should read 'shop' or 'facility', or something else.

Is the start of an Inglish invasion.

36 comments:

  1. Fast times at Ridgemount high?

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  2. About Quebec being corrupted: it's unfair that, according to the average hateful basher, all the blame goes to the French-speaking majority (even though politicians are a small minority and the people in general distrust them) when in fact many ethnics are involved too, including but not only, English-speaking Italians, who are definitely overrepresented considering their proportion of the provincial population. Of course it's because they are on the English-speaking side. Hypocrites.

    Also, pretty much all scandals always involve the federalist Liberals. When the PQ was in power, English Canadian commentators would bash them for being separatists. Now after years of federalist governments, Quebec gets bashed for being corrupt. Isn't that what you wanted? A federalist government? What scandals involved the PQ again?

    Anglophones and Allophones will complain about corruption yet vote for the bad guys (oh but the separatists are always badder even when totally honest) and then act like they didn't play their part in this mess. It's not totally their fault but when the majority is divided, a minority block voting for just one side makes a big difference in the outcome. Same thing happened when Tremblay was re-elected mayor. Not wanting to vote for separatists is not a valid excuse because there are always federalist alternatives. In 2007, the ADQ could have won. I can't picture Dumont being anything like Charest. He seems like a honest guy and always speaks against corruption on TV show now. Next election, Legault's new party could win. Please don't vote for the Liberals and try something different for once.

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  3. The story that caught my eye among this melange is the one about the municipal workers. A whole construction season to repair simple pavement around manhole covers? Hey...it could have been stretched to two seasons, maybe three.

    The street in Chomedey where I grew up, was paved circa 1962. When I last traveled on it about a year ago, it was on that where-were-you-in-'62 asphalt. My life partner and I were staying at her parents then, and after 41 years, the water pipes were being replaced. My property here in Mississauga was built in 1974, and the water pipes were re-done after 30 years; in addition, three years ago the street was completely repaved, a little bridge on the next street going over a ravine that flows behind my property was completely face-lifted, and the sidewalks, during the street paving, were redone where the vertical rise meets the street with a new rain gutter system. All this in less than 20 years of living there, and Mississauga is debt-free!!!

    A buddy of mine still in Montreal years ago organized a softball team that raises funds for the clinic where he works. In May and June, he has to rent the grounds of a ball field in NDG because the field he takes at Hampstead Park in July and August is not available earlier. The supervisor in Hampstead is pleasant, and for years let them have the facility for free because of the clinic's commitment to the community. Financial strains, unfortunately, discontinued this practice; however, the for the NDG facility, run by the City of Montreal, wouldn't so much as talk to him until he first handed them a cheque. Worse yet, they didn't provide bases, chalk the foul lines, the washroom facilities were always locked up and inaccessible, and the drinking fountain never worked. Hampstead provided ALL the services the City of Montreal didn't, and of course dealing with Montreal was a jungle of red tape. Too the NDG field, especially in the spring, was in muddy, wretched shape. The Hampstead field was pristine! The parks in Mississauga, too, are maintained in pristine condition. My life partner couldn't get over how beautiful the parks were in debt-free Mississauga.

    Is it any wonder I left Quebec? I mostly left due to the language fascism, but secondarily, the waste of taxpayer dollars proved to be a good reason to leave as well. In Chomedey, my neighbourhood park growing up was Kennedy Park, named after the late U.S. president. It used to have a sandbox, a concrete maze, a baseball field, tennis courts, an outdoor hockey rink, and a wading pool. Those facilities are all gone now--every damn one of them! The ball field and tennis courts have been replaced by two small soccer fields, and there is a fence along the perimeter, locked up at night. The sandbox and pool have been filled in and the maze torn down. Disgusting and downright pathetic! That's not the Quebec I grew up in, and for all the increasing taxes Quebec pays, you can have it!

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  4. Yo, Anon @ 4:17AM: Your post came through as I was writing. How would Mario have been different. He yaps like a loose canon on his show because he was in the game. Now the shoe is on the other foot. Like P.E. Trudeau said eons ago, good government makes for lousy TV, while lousy government makes for good TV. With the hands-on experience he has, Mario simply knows where to cast his line in the water! His favorite fodder anyway is the likes of Gilles Proulx. Those of his ilk don't know when to shut up, so with a minimal amount of direction (goading, really!), these numb-nuts fill the air time efficiently--80% more time for them to rant, 80% less work for Mario and those of HIS ilk as the drivel eats up the airtime.

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  5. Mario Dumont rode on the Seperatist "YES" bus in 1995. Je me souviens.

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  6. Also, pretty much all scandals always involve the federalist Liberals. When the PQ was in power, English Canadian commentators would bash them for being separatists. Now after years of federalist governments, Quebec gets bashed for being corrupt. Isn't that what you wanted? A federalist government? What scandals involved the PQ again?

    How about totally destroying our health and education systems? How about neglecting our infrastructures to the point where everything is crumbling now?

    Ah yes, all the money that went on the 1995 referendum, into the OLF, into laws to limit your freedoms, and into unions (best friends of the separatists), that was well spent! Nothing wrong there!

    Why don't you look into how Pauline Marois financed her leadership campaign. Then we'll talk.


    Anglophones and Allophones will complain about corruption yet vote for the bad guys (oh but the separatists are always badder even when totally honest)


    Haha, good one!
    Thanks, I got quite a laugh from that!
    "Honest separatists" xD
    Nothing about separatism is honest, from your propaganda to your financial justifications.

    - Quebecker of Tree Stump

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  7. I don't know, maybe it's just the fact I'm from Quebec City, but this sign works for me. A workshop is a place where you make stuff.

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  8. Just watched Fast times last week, had not seen it in 10 years. I was shocked when I saw the Habs jersey, so much so that I took a picture of the screen!


    Mr. Beaulieu is a facist, racist pig. He has clearly lost his marbles. If he believes reaching out to the French communist party is a good way to resolve language issues in Quebec he is clearly demented.

    The travel fiend argument actually sounds pretty plausible. Everyone, especially douchebags, like free vacations.

    Is the Quebec governement footing the bill of these fanciful excursions?

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  9. Damn I've never seen Fast Times...

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  10. ...to Anon @ 7:28AM

    You wrote: "Mario Dumont rode on the Seperatist "YES" bus in 1995. Je me souviens."

    What «Québécois pur laine» doesn't ride on that bus. True Québécois federalists are more rare than 4-leaf clovers! If Premier John James "Goldilocks" Charest was a true federalist, he would have applied the Great Charter of Charters to enable that boy on the South Shore to go to English school on the South Shore instead of Delaware!

    Premier John James "Goldilocks" Charest and the rest of his ilk are as kosher as bacon and lobster!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Editor, here's some good material:

    http://tva.canoe.ca/cgi-bin/player/player_preroll.pl?titre=Reportage+J.E.&emission=je&video=1178234034001&reseau=TVA&sectionlevel&sectionvaleur&player=43787007001&publisher=43787007001&width=480&height=306

    Congrats to TVA, a mainstream media of all, for this manipulative piece. (a little reminder to TVA: Winners, Best Buy, Home Sense aren’t in violation of the 101). At 04:35, the reporter straight out lies when she says that the law requires trademark names to be adjusted (”la loi oblige un commerçant à … ajouter un générique en français”). I also suspect that many examples of outdoor advertisements shown in this reportage weren’t even from Quebec

    It is really unfortunate that for some groups of people (politicians, parties, the media, “artists”), it is actually in their interest to create and stoke the tensions, even if it involves inventing things and manipulating reality. I suspect that people would get along so much better if those manipulative leeches weren’t there to turning people against people.

    TVA is one of the stations I used to go to for the 7pm news on occasion. I will not make this mistake again.

    --------

    The merchant at 01:55 is spot on. I doubt however that he got through to this reporter. Sadly, common sense is not a virtue of Quebec’s Bill-101 generation.

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  12. "I doubt however that he got through to this reporter. Sadly, common sense is not a virtue of Quebec’s Bill-101 generation."

    Le bon sens et la logique voudraient aussi que nous puissions passer sur un feu rouge quand il n'y a pas de voiture sur la voie transversale.

    Malheureusement,nous serons dans l'obligation de sévir si les anglos continuent de défier les lois.

    La loi,c'est la loi,point à la ligne!

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  13. Press 9 : Shut the hell up! Your "nous vs eux" is getting old.

    ReplyDelete
  14. @ Editor: your video doesn't load

    @ adski: I seriously hope you were surprised to see TVA piece showing pro-seppie alarmism. I only wonder what the reporter's answer to the merchant at 01:55 was.

    ReplyDelete
  15. @ Press 9:

    Pourquoi un anglo devrait-il être deux fois plus près de l'affiche pour savoir le genre de commerce dont il s'agit?

    ReplyDelete
  16. Thank you Adski
    I've already download the piece and will add subtitles and post this week.

    Let's leave the discussion til then!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Here's how bad it is:

    You can't decide how much to pay your employees based on their skills and performance.

    "OLF To Investigate 45 cent bonus for bilingualism given to Gatineau city employees"

    http://www.ledevoir.com/societe/actualites-en-societe/331023/prime-au-bilinguisme-a-gatineau-l-oqlf-enquetera

    http://www.vigile.net/L-OQLF-enquetera

    Remember that kids from Quebec, knowing other languages is BAD! VERY BAD!

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  18. "Pourquoi un anglo devrait-il être deux fois plus près de l'affiche pour savoir le genre de commerce dont il s'agit?"

    Pourquoi ce même anglo (supposons qu'il vit au Québec) ne sache pas lire le français,langue officielle de cette province?

    ReplyDelete
  19. @ Press 9: Que notre anglo hypothétique vive au Québec ou y soit simplement de passage, pour quelle raison éthique et fonctionnelle le commerçant qui ne se gênerait pas de servir ce client anglo en anglais devrait-il se gêner de s'afficher tant en français qu'en anglais?

    Ce n'est pas comme si le commerçant refuserait (ou s'abstiendrait) de servir un client francophone en français. En autant qu'un francophone puisse être servi dans sa langue, et qu'un anglo (quelle que soit sa provenance) aussi - et ce dans le même établissement - je ne vois vraiment pas quelle fonction "protectrice" la disposition du règlement dans sa rédaction actuelle joue ou assure.

    Même l'argument (le châtiment?) de connaitre ou non la langue officielle d'un lieu perd son sens lorsqu'on constate que tels échanges sont avant tout commerciaux et motivés par un but lucratif auquel consentent le consommateur et le commerçant. Tel échange n'a pas pour objet (premier?) le cautionnement d'une simple loi de l'ère Lévesque. Surtout lorsque le commerçant et bon nombre de ses clients considèrent que la loi en question revêt des motivations - voire des orientations politiques - qu'il vaut remettre en question.

    Les échauffourées linguistiques sont de moins en moins nécessaires et pertinentes dans notre société qui se veut plus tolérante et moins divisée qu'elle ne l'était fin années 1970. C'est vrai, la population montréalaise, tant du côté franco... qu'anglo... qu'allo est plus multilingue qu'elle ne l'ait jamais été. Nos immigrants absorbent deux nouvelles langues en plus de garder leurs propres langues et cultures d'origine plus longtemps - de quoi faire l'envie de bon nombre de sociétés occidentales.

    Si l'heure est réellement à la sauvegarde et à la promotion des cultures, le triomphalisme d'une langue au profit de toutes les autres doit lui aussi céder devant la nouvelle réalité égalitaire de la pensée des nouvelles générations.

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  20. Press 9 ,"Pourquoi ce même anglo (supposons qu'il vit au Québec) ne sache pas lire le français,langue officielle de cette province?"
    You want to know why? Because we live in a free country with two official languages, that's why. Go to France and visit the graves of the dead Canadian boys there that fought to free France and for your right to speak your language. Ask yourself why they speak French in Paris today and not Deutsch. And then thank those dead Canadians. You Separatists really really need to learn to mind your own business and to let others live, think, speak as they wish. They always think they know what's best for others yet their own house is a mess.

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  21. I'm not sure why you guys are still trying to reason with Press9. It's like if you think logic and reasoning might actually work someday.

    These are people who DON'T want multiculturalism. In fact, they don't want more than one culture, which is that of their white french catholic grandparents.
    If you asked a separatist like Press9 what they'd think about removing all the immigrants and anglophones and allophones from the province, they might say "of course not" to appear politically correct, but that's actually what they want. Many of them won't even bother being politically correct, because racism by separatists is perfectly acceptable in this province.

    But of course with their Bienaide Social/Union Loving mentality, they expect all those people to leave the province, while leaving their money and their businesses. I think they imagine that all english owned businesses will magically become french property. "It worked with Hydro Quebec!" they will probably say..

    And where would this province be financially without english money? English people have no problem financing 100% of the Montreal Canadiens. When french people want a hockey team, they need the government to pay. Imagine an independant quebec...

    Ask Press9 if he wants the english gone from this province. If he dares to say no, I'll get the hundreds of lines he's posted on this site which show how much he dreams of a "quebecois de souche only" quebec.

    Then ask Press9 how his nazi-dream province would finance itself without Canadian money, and if all its citizens would live in castles on Ile Bizard, like their fearless leader, her majesty Pauline Marois.

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  22. @ Anonymous 11:51

    I'm sure Press 9 can (and likely will) speak for himself.

    But I think more importantly, non-hardcore separatists, federalists, and those who've already checked out of this debate need to both openly and subtly impress upon average, less obsessively dogmatic French-speaking Quebecers that the purpose of our continued existence as an integral part of Canada isn't wrong, and to prove that sustainable bilingualism isn't impossible, or threatening -- but rather a vital necessity.

    "What good will it be once we all speak both languages?" is an argument I hear from both sides - often to criticize the "folly" of bilingualism either as a slippery slope to assimilation (i.e. unilingualism) or as a pointless redundancy. Our European friends -- those in which multiple dialects continue to thrive alongside "standard" national variants, or our Indian friends (whose various states have speakers of multiple languages often from different groups) can serve as an excellent example of sustainable bilingualism.

    The "single official language of the majority" argument in regards to so many fields never made sense to me, either when made by French-speaking Quebecers arguing with anglos/allos, or when anglos/allos attempt to use it in reverse (in favor of English monolingualism) when arguing with French-speakers.

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  23. To Anon Post: September 24, 2011 11:51 PM
    < And where would this province be financially without english money? English people have no problem financing 100% of the Montreal Canadiens. When french people want a hockey team, they need the government to pay. Imagine an independant quebec... >

    To answer this lovely question. I would like to ask you the price HOW MUCH COST two (2) beers at the CANADIAN of Montréal?

    I know, 20,20$ So you need to break 2 Green Queen 20$ every two beers. Then you loose your money when jupping after some intelligent hockey players. Where they found and still find the MONEY? When the lights are close, after every FANS are gone away right on the floor.

    Do you know if the Canadian of Montréal are looking for a new Janitor? I clean well when I'm paid well. (Just kidding)

    Wait, since I'm a Québécois (not real english), lazy, a fan of *mass analphabétisme* so I should start cleaning my own house? Right? Double Right?

    HouseKeeper, Province of Québec

    FORWARD, UPWARD, ONWARD, TOGETHER
    REQUIRE A PUBLIC INQUIRY TO CLEAN THE HOUSE

    PLEASE, my nose is full of shit. I would like to breed some fresh air too.

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  24. @ Mr. Sauga: Going off on a tangent here, I couldn't help notice your mention of Kennedy Park. That park was walking distance from my old house in Chomedey and where I too used to play in my childhood (different era, this was during the mid to late 70's). We might've been neighbors on the same street for all I know. :)

    Remember G&G's and Maxie's corner stores? Chomedey Foods? Normandy pharmacy? Or let's see, that there was a Dairy Queen, A&W and Ponderosa near the corner of Cure Labelle and Souvenir? Or how about the flea market at the Recreatheque.

    Back on topic, about a year ago I went to revisit Kennedy Park and found there was really nothing left of it...just empty space mostly, as you describe. Pretty sad and pathetic, but no surprise.

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  25. ...to Apple IIGS: I think you're a little younger than me. I don't remember G&G, but I certainly remember Maxie's, Chomedey Foods and the pharmacy. Normandie changed to Mirapharm in the late 70s or early 80s, then it became a Uniprix sometime in the 90s. Maxie's became Harold's in the 80s, and is now owned by an East Asian couple.

    The eateries on Curé Labelle are all long gone. You forgot the Dragon Room, the first Chinese restaurant in Chomedey. There is a La Belle Province there now. Ponderosa, mercifully, is long gone (went from marginal to awful), and I believe where the A&W drive-in was, it's now a Chez Lien (Vietnamese) or Armenian restaurant. Johnny Jellybean, a kid's entertainer on CFCF came to that A&W location, the show's biggest sponsor. The actor who played JJ was Ted Ziegler, who then moved on to performing in comedy night clubs, and was a regular on the Sonny and Cher Show in the 70s. I also saw him on a M*A*S*H episode, specifically the episode where the B.J. Hunnicutt character was introduced.

    The flea market at the Rec is long gone. It's a shadow of its former self, so is the St-Martin Shopping Centre. It's now a dead mall with constantly empty storefronts. The only good store there now is an Entrepôt Provigo that is a lot like Costco, and you don't pay for the privilege of entering their store. Unlike Costco, it's mostly food, but they have some good deals, esp. if you buy in bulk. I stock up on Sugar Twin packets when I'm in town. $10 buys you 1,000 packets, a little cheaper for Sweet 'n' Low.

    One little known fact about the Recréathèque is it started off circa 1962 as a department store called Mon Mart. The celebrity actress at its inauguration was the late Jane Mansfield, Mariska Hargitay's mother. Hargitay is famous for her role on Law & Order SVU as Det. Olivia Benson. Mon Mart failed, and in 1966, before becoming the Rec, it was the year before Expo, and so it was turned into a public warehouse to sell Expo souvenirs, and it was known as Expo Mart. BTW, do you remember what the McDonald's next to the Rec was before it was built? An Esso Station!

    Good times!

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  26. About the good old times, I was watching this video
    Michael Jacksoon - Monkey Busy ness

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOmFLzC_ZHU&feature=fvst

    I love music, but not so much aspartam...

    Missunderstand

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  27. "le triomphalisme d'une langue au profit de toutes les autres doit lui aussi céder devant la nouvelle réalité égalitaire de la pensée des nouvelles générations."

    le triomphalisme de l'anglais au profit des autres langues?Peut-être ais-je mal saisi?

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  28. > le triomphalisme de l'anglais au profit des autres langues?Peut-être ais-je mal saisi?

    Peut être. Avec un taux de bilinguisme plus élevé que par le passé, l'enjeux linguistique est perçu comme étant de moins en moins urgent pour les jeunes d'aujourd'hui, beaucoup moins qu'il ne l'ait été par leurs grands-parents par le passé. Et ça c'est de plus en plus vrai que l'on soit de souche, anglo, ou allo.

    L'unilinguisme anglo ailleurs au pays devrait céder à un bilinguisme égalitaire, surtout là où il y a des populations francophones.

    Le fait de privilégier la langue française sur des affiches en rendant moins visibles les autres langues au Québec surtout là où il y des populations anglophones, c'est tout aussi repréhensible, sinon plus, car ici cette "atténuation de visibilité" est sanctionnée par un règlement. Et à mon avis, ce règlement ne fait rien pour sauvegarder l'usage du français. Ça ne fait que dire "haha ma langue est plus forte en vertu d'une disposition législative"... ce qui finalement en dit long sur la force réelle de cette langue... et des locuteurs qui sont toujours en faveur de cette disposition réglementaire.

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  29. -Les anglophones n'ont pas assez de visibilité?

    Nous devrions faire pression au près de tous les médias (radios,télés,web.imprimé,etc) afin de mettre fin à ces injustices.

    -Les francophones ont trop de visibilité?

    Réduisons leur nombre en amérique et imposons des quotas sur leurs produits culturels afin de rééquilibrer les forces.

    Dites-moi,sur quel continent vivez-vous ou plutôt,sur quelle planète où la logique des nombres est inversée?

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  30. @Press 9

    actually English is an official language of Quebec. Thats why even laws like Bill 101 have to be written in English. Despite the Quebec Liberals abolishing English as an official language in 1974 of quebec. In the end the only way to deal with chauvanists like yourself is to quietly pretend to live under bill 101 and fight it whenever we can and to let anglo and allo numbers grow. Once we are the majority in a corridor from Montreal to the Ontario Border, we can hold our own referendums and threaten seperation from Quebec. Despite Quebec immigration quotas for French speaking immigrants, the very same franco immigrants to Quebec get treated like dirt. Then they start despising the chauvanists as well and vote federalist. I've met some haitians, sengalese, belgians, French (france) in Toronto that got no good words for the Quebecois. They said Montreal was a fun place but that for economic survival and evolution they had to go to english canada despite French being their first language.
    In the regions its even worst. As a non pur lainer your very lucky if you can economically intergrate.

    Watch the next census. Montreal demographics will suprise you. Also the democraphic bridge has been crossed in Quebec. The pur laine chauvanists can pass all the laws they want but the demographic bridge that will eventually nullify those laws has already been crossed.

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  31. "Once we are the majority in a corridor from Montreal to the Ontario Border, we can hold our own referendums and threaten seperation from Quebec"



    Selon notre système démocratique,il vous faut:

    1.Bâtir un parti politique représentant votre minorité anglo et allo.

    2.Vous faire élire en tant que parti officiel sur une base (idéalement) de partition territoriale.

    3.Proposer un référendum (après approbation du dit parti) sur la question (clé) à l'ensemble de la population Québécoise.

    4.Obtenir un oui majoritaire...Disons 50%+1

    Bonne chance! ;)

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  32. Who said anything about winning a referendum. Equality party was able to get 4 provincial seats despite its disorganization. The political part will be easy. Who said anything about winning the referendum, just the threat of partitioning would manipulate Quebec into abolishing its language restrictions as they would not be able to enforce it on a population that would just ignore it.

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  33. "Once we are the majority in a corridor from Montreal to the Ontario Border, we can hold our own referendums and threaten seperation from Quebec."

    The land that borders Ontario and also includes the island of Île Perrot (which is about 3/4 French), west of the West Island, is all part of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaudreuil-Soulanges_Regional_County_Municipality

    Vaudreuil-Soulanges
    Total population 119,470
    English only 24,760
    French only 85,565
    English and French 1,515
    Other language(s) 7,625
    Source:
    http://www12.statcan.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/prof/92-591/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CD&Code1=2471&Geo2=PR&Code2=24&Data=Count&SearchText=Vaudreuil-Soulanges&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=24&B1=Language&Custom=1000

    Where is your English majority? The only city with an English majority is Hudson it seems but, too bad for you, it doesn't border Ontario:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hudson,_Quebec

    West of it is Rigaud and it has a clear French majority. Will Anglos move in by the thousands in a few years? I doubt it. Keep in mind Francophones can move to places too and have a higher birth rate, are younger on average and far less likely to leave Quebec than Anglophones, who are still leaving the province:
    http://www12.statcan.ca/census-recensement/2006/as-sa/97-555/table/t13-eng.cfm
    All other towns touching the Ontario border are predominantly French too.

    "Watch the next census. Montreal demographics will suprise you."
    Oh yes I will but this isn't exactly Montreal demographics. Few recent immigrants move in that partly suburban, partly rural western area because it's not a diverse big city. You can't count on them to boost your numbers.

    I have been checking the 1996 and 2001 census data for that area and it appears the English population isn't exactly growing overall. They have been there for quite some time, it's not like it's something new. You will need many, many thousands more to create your corridor. Good luck.

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  34. To answer this lovely question. I would like to ask you the price HOW MUCH COST two (2) beers at the CANADIAN of Montréal?

    So.. I say that english people were able to entirely finance a sports arena + hockey team, while french people need the government to pay, and your reply is:
    "english people charge too much for beer"?

    Really?
    That sure fits well with the french quebec mentality...
    God forbid you should start a business and charge just as much (thus making your own money), NO! Let's just complain and force them to charge us french people less, so that it's fair!

    Ah yes, the french Quebec mentality...

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  35. I do not know if readers still read this post, but indeed Mario Beaulieu seems like he lost it. Read his piece here:

    http://www.ssjb.com/contenu/lassimilation-des-francophones-par-le-canada-anglais-denoncee-au-festival-des-peuples

    He blames everything to everyone perceived to be 'English'. Federal and provincial governments, media, English Canadians, Americans... The thing that he never sees is the fact that perhaps majority of French Canadian population prefers things this way.

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  36. Wow Troy, nice article..

    My favourite parts:

    le jugement de la Cour suprême affaiblissant la Charte de la langue française en 2010, la répression contre le français
    (Yeah, it has nothing to do with protecting people's rights)

    La Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste entend utiliser toutes les tribunes à sa disposition pour contrer la propagande anti-francophone menée par les médias canadiens-anglais
    This made my day.. English medias and their damn anti-french propaganda!!!
    The french separatists are the *masters* of anti-english propaganda. English medias outside this province don't care about french...

    Par la suite, les politiques de bilinguisme officiel du gouvernement fédéral se sont avérés n’être qu’une chimère puisqu’elles ont résulté en une accélération de l’assimilation des francophones.
    And they claim the english people are spreading propaganda..

    La disparition du fait français en Amérique du Nord serait une perte pour l’humanité et un gain pour l’hégémonie anglo-américaine à l’échelle internationale.
    The english are committing a humanitarian crime! (by wanting people to have freedom of language)

    Il n’est pas question que nous laissions l’hypocrisie canadienne-anglaise sans riposte politique.
    Hahaha

    On va les avoir les maudits anglais sales!

    - Quebeckers of Tree Stump

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