Friday, February 3, 2012

French versus English Volume 46

Star Académie -Too much English
"The popular reality-talent show was steaming along, with all the right heartstrings being pulled, and then the candidates starting singing, with many of them doing it in the language of Shakespeare...

Actually, out of the eight songs sung by the 'contestants in danger' (contestants who were vying for a spot on the opening roster of the show), four were in English and one was bilingual.
Later on in the show - after a soaring tribute to Gilles Vigneault - René Angélil, Céline Dion's manager/husband and the director of the Académie, picked up on the trend.
"They can sing in English if they want, but if they want to make it until the end, we think,  from prior experience, it's not the best option to sing in English. ... I think we should hear more French here," Angélil said. Read the rest of the article  Alternate Link
Read the story en Française

I must take exception to Celine Dion's hubby/manager, René Angélil who advised candidates to do as he says, not as he does.

It was Mr. Angélil who transformed Céline Dion from a local francophone singer with a unibrow, into an Anglophone artist who captured the world singing IN ENGLISH, doing her best imitation of an Anglophone.
It was Mr. Angélil who advised Céline to remove the accent from her name in order to become CEE-leen from SAY-lin.
Talk about two-faced.....

Then there is the Pierre-Karl Peledaeau's better half, Julie Snyder who I can't stand because she scores her gigs the old-fashioned way, via nepotism.
She couldn't resist throwing a zinger at Quebec Anglophones, by intimating that they cannot speak, a gratuitous lie.

“Congratulating one Ontario-born contestant on the live show for speaking French well, showbiz veteran Snyder added, with mock incredulity:
“How can that be? Us, we have Anglophones in Montreal who don’t speak a word of French, and they were raised in Quebec! They were born here!”

By the way, STAR ACADEMIE is modeled after a television show from France which is named rather ironically STAR ACADEMY (note the spelling)


Is this What Language Militants Want?

Flipping channels, I came across this, the logo for the locally produced French version of TPIR.
It's interesting because it's got that famous 'descriptor' that the OQLF demands, so it's 100% Kosher, but.....
Does it really help?

Huntington mayor continues to run hot?
Stéphane Gendron, the mayor of Huntington and host of a morning television newsmagazine, is not averse to ruffling feathers.
He went a bit too far when he ranted that Israel didn't have the right to exist and the fallout that ensued was so intense, that even he had to come off his high horse and apologize
You can view the apology here  LINK{Fr}

Readers will recall that the good mayor publicly announced that his town would remain bilingual, even if it didn't qualify under the strict interpretation of Bill 101 and therefore not authorized to offer English services to townsfolk.
Of course somebody complained and now the OQLF has announced that it is launching an investigation.
In reaction, the defiant mayor told the 'Ofeece' that he wouldn't knuckle under. In a stinging rebuke he told them that;
"Despite the laws, we have an ethical obligation and moral duty to serve a significant portion of our population in English. It's a question of history - the English founded this city - and of the dignity for our people and our seniors..."
"Leave us in peace, I have no use for the insecure and culturally impoverished who are tightly intertwined with the French language, who live their lives waiting for their disappearance in North America," he said. "To focus on this linguistic insecurity, Quebec has been diminished - Ontairio which said yes to immigration has passed us by. 
(Thanks for the story, Kevin)
Accent on Stupidity
You might remember Yves Michaud, the victim of a National Assembly unanimous condemnation back in 2000, for disparaging remarks he made about Jews not being good citizens because they all voted NO in the referendum.
Michaud was highly traumatized by the condemnation which essentially branded him as an antisemite and ever since, he and other militant sovereigntists have been laboring  to overturn that resolution, asking members who voted for the motion to recant.
In the meantime, Michaud remains an activist defender of shareholder rights, buying a few shares in public companies and then attending annual shareholder meetings to air his grievances.

This week he used the shareholders meeting for the giant Quebec food chain METRO, to complain, believe it or not, about the fact that an accent doesn't appear over the 'E' in 'Metro."
Again readers, I'm not making this up.
"Michaud says he's filed a complaint with the Office québécois de la langue française (OLF) saying the grocery chain is violating the French language charter because the word 'Metro' without the accent aigu on the 'e' doesn't exist in the French language. He says it's unacceptable to twist the name of a company that has its roots in Quebec, which serves a majority-francophone clientele and whose shareholders are mostly Quebeckers."  CJAD    CTV

By the way it seems that Quebecor, the pride of Quebec's Pierre-Karl Péladeau, is hearing Mr. Michaud's footsteps behind him.
The company announced that they are seriously looking at putting two accents on its corporate name, at least in Quebec.

How big a deal is an accent?
Well it doesn't seem to bother Parisians who omit the accent in question, on their stylish subway signs!

In another flight of incredible language stupidity, another French language supremacist,  Pierre Gauthier,  is furious that a Chicoutimi theatre is showing English movies one day a week.
It seems that the nearby Canadian Forces airbase at Bagotville has lost it's on-base theatre and has asked the local theater to fill in. The base, of course, is home to many English servicemen and their families.

Mr Gauthier has called the screening of English movies in public an 'accommodation' that should never have been allowed.
After all, the advertising of the movie will be in English and regular patrons, other than air force people are free to attend as well, a dreadful and dangerous situation that will surely lead the hitherto ever-pure Saguenéens down the evil path of Anglicization. Link{Fr}

I'm not really sure what this blowhard wants, can he be actually suggesting a public prohibition of movies in English?

In a letter to Le Devoir a reader complained bitterly that a lounge act in the Mont Tremblant casino was singing in English and talking to each other in English as well. Link{Fr} 

By the way, rumors flying around Quebec City has it that Madonna will perform at the famous summer music festival. The festival has always featured a lot of English acts, much to the chagrin of French language supremacists.
In the past they've even complained about Paul McCartney performing on the Plains of Abraham, so it's likely we'll hear from the usual suspects again.
If the Madonna concert is a go, it will likely play before largest concert audience ever assembled in Quebec. Oh my!

 Students go nuts
A student organization form UQAM is doing back flips to disavow itself from a pamphlet put out under its name .

"We have to hit very hard, harder than the student movement ever has: kidnapping, sabotage, destruction of property- and we haven't got many tries to succeed"

YIKES!
The author is lucky he doesn't live in the United States where Homeland security would have swept down faster than you can say the word 'terrorist.' Think I'm kidding.. Read this
In Quebec it's Ho Hum! Link{Fr}

Shafia case was affected by English-French snafu: officials
"When the Shafia girls went looking for help from youth-protection officials three years ago, their case was hampered by a uniquely Canadian bureaucratic snafu.
Some of their pleas were lost in translation. Or, more precisely, their different complaints were handled by separate English- and French-language agencies that failed to share case information.
Youth protection is divided by language in Montreal, with one agency handling English complaints and the other handling ones in French and other languages." Read More at CTV

Picture of the week
Nothing to do with F versus E, but I couldn't resist posting this photo.
There is a bit of controversy raging over the issue of 'smart' electric meters that Hydro-Quebec has started installing, over issues of electromagnetic emanations.
I've no idea whether this is a legitimate concern or another case of fear over reason, like Montreal's refusal to fluoridate water.

At any rate, this Boucherville resident took matters into his own hands and wrapped his meter in three layers of aluminum foil! Link{Fr}
 Perhaps Mr. Jean-Pierre Grauby, pictured above, should consider other 'suspect' emanations and protect himself whenever he goes out, like this guy pictured on the right!
(Thanks for the story, Sam.)

Suicide is Painless
Next week is Suicide Prevention Week, as good a reason as any to report on a story about the controversy between a couple of Quebec journalists and a talented blogger, in relation to Quebec's relatively high suicide rate, or relatively normal suicide rate, depending on who you believe.

Readers are familiar with Jean-François Lisée, who takes it upon himself to debunk federalist and right-wing 'myths' every now and then in his column.
Mr. Lisée is an expert at picking and choosing statistics to distort reality. According to Mr. Lisée, Quebec is financially secure, with no debt problem, outperforming almost every other economy and whose residents are much richer than Americans... I kid you not.

This week however his claim that Quebec's suicide rate is not that bad got the goat of fellow journalist Richard Martineau who wrote a stinging rebuttal. Since then, much ink has been spilled between the fellow Journal de Montreal columnists.

The polemic revolves around Mr. Lisée's claim that Quebec's suicide rate is not that bad.
In his article entitled Québec : only 26th in world suicide ranking he says:

"Quebec ranks 26th, behind countries like Finland, Belgium, Switzerland, France and Austria."

I suppose that's true, but what Mr. Lisée omits to tell us is that there are 80 countries with lower suicide rates and that Canada ranks 40th on that list.
If one were to remove the Quebec component of that Canadian statistic and counted only the RoC, the ranking would certainly be much lower, because the Quebec suicide rate is almost double that of the RoC.

BUT IT IS NOT A PROBLEM according to Mr. Lisée.

By the way, in a wonderful rebuttal piece written by the very talented DAVID,  Mr. Lisée is soundly thrashed for his blatant disregard for reality.
In that piece, we are told that the suicide rate for adult males in Quebec is actually higher than that of US servicemen, active or retired!

Mr.  Lisée has published a book supposedly demolishing other anti-Quebec myths. This very same blogger has undertaken to counter these arguments and I'll report on that effort periodically.

Happy Birthday Judy!

Have a good weekend!

141 comments:

  1. Gendron is a national...errrr....provincial hero! Love this man!

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    1. For myself, Gendron first came to light in a clip this editor referenced in which Gendron has it out on live TV with Mario Beaulieu... racist supreme... I loved it!

      The guy has balls that`s for sure;
      - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxCJw-PWcKk

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    2. Here`s the initial link I was referring too...

      http://vtele.ca/videos/face-a-face/lundi-28-novembre-2011-cadres-unilingues-anglophones-une-raison-de-boycotter-partie-2_37525_37524.php

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    3. Jason,c'est avec l'argent de ses contribuables qu'ils paiera les contraventions,qui risquent d'être assez salées merci.Lorsqu'il devra payer de sa poche,il sera moins fanfaron devant les caméras.

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  2. Anyone remember the Celine Dion impersonation on SNL? Hilarious!

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  3. I'm glad the mayor of mayor of Huntington, Stephane Gendron is standing up to the OQLF. This nut job department is wasting tax payer money bulling people. Walk this way, talk this way.

    Meanwhile the insane complaints about the missing accent on Metro Grocery stores and a Cinema showing English movies shows how whacked out some people can be.

    As for the Star Academie show on TVA. Garbage in, Garbage out.

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  4. Editor,

    Well, not just the Editor but anyone who can answer me.

    My understanding of the Bill 101 is that gives rights to the population to have services in French. With the exception of the education part, does Bill 101 prohibit providing services in other language, after the obligation in French is fulfilled? In other word, if a public entity has completed its obligation of providing services to its population in French, is it prohibited to provide additional services in other language?

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    1. It's more like there is no obligation to provide services in other languages. The effect is largely the same, but there's a subtle distinction. So, how does this work in practice? In some areas, take health, for instance, the federal government requires that service be provided in both English and French, so if you call the provincial health authority, you can be served in English. In other areas, it becomes more dicey.

      For example, just about a year ago, that same health authority decided that while it was responsible for providing service in English to private citizens, it had no obligation to provide service in English to doctors themselves. This doesn't mean that an individual employee couldn't provide service in English (it's not prohibited) but they are told they are not obliged to so more often than not, they don't. Actually, this was the reason my 70 y.o., Anglophone doctor retired last year, believe it or not, and I've been without a family doctor ever since. Thanks, Quebec!

      This is true in other areas too. There is the infamous incident several years back when an international student boarded a bus and asked for the time in English. The bus driver said she did not speak English, he suggested that she did because she was answering in English and then she pushed the emergency button to call the police, stopped her bus and made all the passengers disembark.

      The long and short of it is that if there is no obligation to provide service in English or any other language, it likely will not happen.

      Now in some cases, it is actually prohibited to provide service in English. The current provincial government provides tax forms and tax advice to small business owners and they try to get around the fact that this is actually prohibited by saying that the English "translations" are not official, only for reference but if a separatist government is elected, this will end.

      Also, in the Eastern Townships, which used to have a large Anglophone majority and now has a significant elderly Anglophone population, hospitals were instructed to remove bilingual signs in favor of French-only signs. The reason being that only officially bilingual institutions are allowed to provide service in English. Under Quebec law, this is 51% non-Francophone population. So, if your town is only 49% English, then it's still supposed to be French and French only. This is the issue that the mayor of Huntingdon is dealing with; his town is English but not English enough.

      Hope that helps.

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    2. Ah, forgot to add that in the case of the above-referenced bus driver, she was not disciplined for her outrageous rudeness and over-reaction (she also instructed buses behind her not to pick up her passengers because of "an incident.") When the head of the Montreal transit authority was questioned on the subject, he said, basically, "we are looking into it but our employees are under no obligation to provide service in English, so..."

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    3. Anonymous at 05:42,

      You said, "The long and short of it is that if there is no obligation to provide service in English or any other language, it likely will not happen."

      I agree with you and this is what I thought Bill 101's mandate is.

      The question is, if the municipality of Huntingdon provides services in French adequately and dominantly, why does it become a problem for separatists that the municipality also provides services in English? Remember that the language of Bill 101 is to protect the rights (of French), not to eliminate other rights (English and other languages).

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    4. Bill 101 and Bill 22 - ERASED English as an Official Language in Quebec (an illegal act in itself) and the Quebec Politicians (nothwithstanding the grotesque OLF - Language POLICE that boot stomp all over the Greater Montreal area - threatening business owners with tens of thousands of dollars in "fines" if they DARE have ANY SIGNS with English on them - never mind the supposed "Prominent French claim listed in OLF regualtions etc.. "! 99% of English schools, businesses JOBS and MEDIA ERASED. 100% OF all English Titles from Government offices and websites ERASED. (5% of full text documentatiion to Provincial Laws, changes - bills, acts - proposals on Government and public sites ERASED!! Office of Human Rights in Quebec - DOES NOT ADDRESS ANY ENGLISH LANGUAGE DISCRIMINATION CASES - RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS ERASED!! And that's just for starters.... VOLUMES MORE EXAMPLES.. of ETHNIC CLEANSING - 40 years worth!

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    5. @Troy:

      Here's some source reading for you.
      In English, or en français.

      And since the way to apply laws is often spelled out in regulations, I figured I'd throw this in for you too.

      Delete
  5. On the subject of the Metro signs, I believe that the reason they don't have an accent in France is because (at least I was taught) that one never uses an accent on a capital letter regardless of whether it has one on the non-capitalized version unless, of course, the accent changes the meaning of the word. I see that the grocery store chain is also all-caps, so the same rule should apply. I'm guessing that Mr. Michaud doesn't know that rule (surprise!), so here we go.

    I'm not trying to be a troll in saying that I often see/hear the niceties of French being undone here in Quebec because of the need to seem to be more French than Plastic Betrand. I find ridiculous the words that are made up in Quebec to avoid using an English loan word, for example, but I realize it's not France and I can live with that.

    Much, much more annoying to me is that I have to basically instruct Francophones in Quebec on an almost daily basis how to spell/use/alphabetize my French last name. I realize that usage is often different in Quebec, but it irks me to no end to see the name that my father and grandfather carried with such pride mangled by people claiming to be fighting to preserve French.

    OK, rant over, thanks for listening. :-)

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    1. "On the subject of the Metro signs..."

      L'enseigne de Métro est maintenant en lettres minuscules,de là le problème...moron.

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    2. On the accent issue.

      I have much respect for M. Michaud. I think the MEDAC (Movement for the Education and Defence of Shareholders), which he leads, serves a very important and much needed purpose. He is also a hero of the french language, which he speaks and writes flawlessly and with great style.

      This being said, the accent thing is just ridiculous. C'mon, it's a logo.

      Anonymous just above is right when he says that capital letters aren't normally accentuated. Note the examples provided by Editor above. All in capitals. Formerly, the grocery store chain in question wrote its logo in capitals, thus "METRO", which is grammatically correct. However, it was recently changed to all minuscules, "metro", and no accent was included. Big deal. Logos should be able to play with grammar for esthetic reasons. The Université du Québec à Montréal does it, with its UQÀM logo (accentuated capitals).

      Besides, as METRO's CEO pointed out, a trademark is neither a french nor an english word, it's just a trademark, and as such, can be spelled in any way. They could spell it Mai-treau if they wanted. It just happens to sound like a french word.

      Anyway, there's no way the logos that were recently all changed will be modified again to become "métro".

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    3. À Anonyme qui vient de traiter l'autre Anonyme de moron:

      Tabarnak, c'est quoi votre problème ? C'est quoi le but, exactement, de lancer des insultes gratuites ? Vous êtes incapables de rectifier une erreur poliment ? J'imagine que de prendre le temps d'expliquer les choses est trop difficile ? Vous ne valez pas mieux que les racistes angryphones enragés qui hantent ce blogue.

      Continuez de vous battre dans la boue avec vos semblables si ça vous chante. Ayez au moins la décence de le faire sans éclabousser les êtres civilisés qui ont le malheur de croiser votre cirque.

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    4. To Anonymous 5.56AM

      Good point well made, except for one detail: Plastic Bertrand is Belgian...

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    5. "I'm guessing that Mr. Michaud doesn't know that rule (surprise!), so here we go."

      Je ne crois pas que Monsieur Michaud ne connaisse pas les règles rudimentaires du français.C'est le moron qui lance des insultes sans vérification préalable...Surprise!

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    6. Editor,

      Anonymous at 06:46 wrote, "L'enseigne de Métro est maintenant en lettres minuscules,de là le problème...moron."

      So ad hominem attack is now permitted?

      Delete
    7. @ Anonyme

      Soupçonner à tort qu'une personne ignore certaines règles de grammaire n'est pas une insulte. Traiter les gens de moron en est une.

      Aller, présentez vos excuses.

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    8. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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    9. All this fuss over an accent aigu reminds me of the fuss over a hyphen in the centuries-old name of Pointe Claire... yep, this is certainly what is going to protect the French language and culture in North America alright! Petty, petty, mesquin and petty...

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    10. > All this fuss over an accent aigu [...]

      It's gonna be so easy for the Chinese when they finally come and take us over....

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    11. "It's gonna be so easy for the Chinese when they finally come and take us over...."

      C'est déjà le cas pour les canadiens,non?

      Delete
  6. Off topic, Editor, but I just came across this: http://voir.ca/josee-legault/2012/02/02/1209/

    Shall we see you denounce this example of real, undisputable anti-french racist hunt with the same energy as you denounced the imaginary chasse à l'anglouille in the last few weeks ?

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    1. Ou peut-être encore ceci :http://www.radio-canada.ca/regions/atlantique/2011/02/21/009-revenu-canada-francais.shtml

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    2. "Des employés d'un bureau fédéral de Service Canada en Nouvelle-Écosse se seraient vu interdire jusqu'à tout récemment de parler en français avec les clients qui leur demandaient de l'aide dans cette langue."

      INCROYABLE!!!

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    3. Damien, are you trying to say that two wrongs make a right? What Galganov is saying and doing is despicable but it is essentially the same approach that French-language extremists take. In other words, extremists on both sides of this divide are the problem. How about I (an anglo) speak out against this asshole (Galganov) and you speak about against Pierre Curzi? Sounds fair?

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    4. Fighting the resolution of the Russel county is on the same principle as fighting Bill 101. Both 101 and Russel county essentially force French onto people (shop owners in this case). In ON it's done under the guise of "protecting the minority", in QC under the guise of "protecting the majority".

      I would disagree with Galganov if he supported some form of legislation that forcefully limited French in ON (i.e. an ON version of 101 targeting French). I would also oppose a legislation that forced English let's say in Abitibi (a QC equivalent of the Russel county ruling), under the excuse of protecting the dwindling Anglo population up north. The point is that there should be no language legislation, neither in favor of English nor French.

      There is also a hypocrisy aspect here. Legault wouldn't lift a finger in support of the Anglo minority in QC, but she's the first one to campaign for the Franco minority in ON. In fact, she favors the suppression of minority languages in QC, but she wants French promoted in the RoC. I grew out of this kind of hypocrisy when I was 10. She should grow up too.

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    5. ""Des employés d'un bureau fédéral de Service Canada en Nouvelle-Écosse se seraient vu interdire jusqu'à tout récemment de parler en français avec les clients qui leur demandaient de l'aide dans cette langue."

      There is one source for this story - a guy called Dean Snelling. There is a rule in journalism (American at least) that every allegation should have at least two sources before it's even printed.

      Then it goes on: "Les journalistes de Radio-Canada se sont rendus comme simples citoyens au bureau de Service Canada à Kentville. À micro caché, on leur a confirmé que jusqu'à tout récemment, les employés ne pouvaient pas utiliser le français pour répondre aux clients : « Il y a quelques mois passés, on ne pouvait pas. On était frappé sur les doigts si on parlait un quelconque français. Parce qu'on n'était pas un bureau bilingue »."


      So, the journalists went under cover, and got a confirmation, from whom? From unidentified sources, it appears.

      This story looks more like a political hack-job than investigative journalism. It looks like it's meant to incite, not to recount facts.

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    6. @adski

      In Québec, if you dare call out unilingual top bananas, you get called persecutive witch hunters in Gazette editorials.

      In Ontario, you got Galganov encouraging people to boycott stores on the basis of the mother tongue of their owners (!) and openly promote the extinction of french language and culture (!!), and what do you answer ? That Galganov is defending freedom of language !

      Complètement surréaliste !

      @Anonymous up there

      You want me to call out Curzi on what exactly ?

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    7. I do condemn Galganov's calls for a boycott of stores based on the background of the store owner.

      I do support his campaign against a law that forces many other owners to post in a language they wouldn't post in otherwise.

      We have to separate these two different aspects.

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    8. I wish there was no language regulation, period. It's fine to have an official language, and the language of law and government, but bringing it to the micro level of commerce and everyday communication is too much.

      But if we must have linguistic legislation, it should be symmetrical. So if the counties in ON force French onto the unconverted, then QC does the same vis-a-vis English. If Quebec chooses to cut English down to size, then ON does the same.

      The asymmetrical language legislation (compare the OLA and bill 101 for example) is unjust, unfair, and unethical. And it pisses off a lot of people. It certainly doesn't win Quebec any friends in the RoC.

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    9. "it should be symmetrical"

      Impossible!Car les deux masses en opposition sont totalement asymétriques quantitativement.

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    10. Shall we see you denounce this example of real, undisputable anti-french racist hunt with the same energy as you denounced the imaginary chasse à l'anglouille in the last few weeks ?

      This story is actually quite old. I wrote a piece about it last MAY and YES I did denounce him.

      "Its a bit sad to see Mr Galganov go off the rails so badly, the idea of a boycott based on language, race, religion or ethnicity should be even more objectionable to Mr. Galganov, considering that ancestors were subject to much the same treatment."

      Read the rest of the story here. Howard Galganov- The Empire Strikes Back!

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    11. "Shall we see you denounce this example of real, undisputable anti-french racist hunt with the same energy as you denounced the imaginary chasse à l'anglouille in the last few weeks ?"

      I forgot to mention that Galganov did not appreciate my piece blog one bit, calling me a 'leftist' and a 'yellow journalist' in a rebuttal.

      Read: Revenge of the Galganov!

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    12. Seppie, just because there is more of them and less of you doesn’t give you the right to go over there and demand they cater to you, while you fend them off right here. Numerical imbalance does not justify asymmetrical policy that defines Canada today. It just doesn't pan out on the ethical level when we prohibit this and impose that because the numbers aren't equal. Too many lives are affected for you to just say: we must do this because of the numbers. Being outnumbered doesn't entitle you to anything. Being outnumbered is not a tragedy. Being outnumbered is not a crime or injustice that needs to be corrected by coercive means. Being outnumbered is not a reason to interfere with other people's lives.

      Delete
  7. "chasse à l'anglouille"

    Quelle belle expression :D...J'adore!

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    1. ... The last and only way that a separatist could ever succeed in getting "anglo" and "OUI" in such close proximity.

      And as is the custom with everything the separatists do, it is necessary to resort to imagination, unicorns, glitter, and other puerile fiction for the byproduct to see the light of day.

      Provided, of course, that one doesn't ask too many tangible questions, for that would humiliate said separatist and require a complete reconfiguration of Quebec society just so that he no longer feels insecure. But that's okay because someone else will pay for it... until the separatists no longer matter... ;-)

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  8. Gendron hits the nail on the head when he brings ethics into the equation. Ethics should always supersede the law.

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    1. Agreed. Boycott the situation when it's unfair or just too damn hard to bend to it. It's been done when the English were bullying the French, and now it's time to apply it in areas where legislation bullies English-language opportunities in this province.

      Sad to say, but the Church made sure to keep us francophones ignorant and English-less for centuries while it lay in bed with the very same alleged enemy from which it claimed it needed to keep us pure. I'm glad this Gendron fellow has the balls to call it like he sees it. For all the crap spewed by Dutrizac, Proulx, and even Maisonneuve (on Radio-Canada), I figure at the very least he adds an missing tile to the quilt.

      As time goes by, and more francophones break out of a centuries-old pattern of self-victimization and vindictiveness, voices like his are only likely to grow louder.

      Chapeau.

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  9. "Gendron hits the nail on the head when he brings ethics into the equation."

    Attendez de voir quand il ajoutera le coût des contravations dans son équation...Ouch!

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  10. And some people wonder why we boycott the racist province of Kebec? Well you have just proved our point again. Good for you. Keep exposing these language Nazis for what they truly are. Anti-English language bigots, anti anything but french bigots. The province of kebec is getting exactly what it deserves. It is the laughing stock of Canada and elsewhere as we expose the language laws of Kebec daily all over the world. The KKK of Kebec where it is against the law folks for the English language to be equal, yes indeed decades of anti-English language laws…a la bills 22, 178, 101…keep it up bigots.

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    1. Since we are exposing the separatist special interest minority of this PROVINCE, I might as well repeat a truth long enough for it to be heard…

      Vive la Province Canadienne de Montréal !!

      The time has come to prove to the most institutionally racist part of North America that we no longer need or want the hate.

      We have more French, English, and Other CANADIANS in a few of our buildings in Montréal than PEI has population, so it would WORK perfectly fine!

      VIVE LA PROVINCE CANADIENNE DE MONTREAL !!

      Delete
    2. "The time has come to prove to the most institutionally racist part of North America..."

      Hmmmmm...Avez-vous réellement réfléchi avant d'écrire une telle affirmation?Ha!Je viens de voir l'heure de votre commentaire (23:27).Certains cerveaux sont plus performants après une longue nuit de sommeil.Je crois bien que c'est le cas du vôtre :)

      Delete
  11. it is becoming increasingly ridiculous and it is inconceivable to see that some morons in Quebec will actually start protesting and fussing over the fact that there is an absence of accent on top of a vowel...really, I am down to a point where I am extremely mind boggled, appalled,shocked and most of all, nauseated to see that a cooperation,which has a long history in Quebec, will be forced down to its knees and be subjected to payment(or waste) of 25 million dollars in an "accent expense" just to satisfy the convenience of a meaningless minority that doesn't even represent the majority and that keeps misleading its flock to the wrong direction. I mean, no one has ever cared nor made any big deal out of it up until recently, so why should it be the the case right now???

    on a side note, why are those big coorperations or multinationals so afraid of the OLFQ when they know they have power to control whatever they want and can take full advantage of the situation, and why can't the freaking Illuminati/free-masons put the freaking language bigots in their place or do something about it in order the make them obsolete from the picture ?

    to editor, you may think these two questions above, are silly or blown out of proportions, but Big Companies cowering before such a small establishment like the OQLF,frankly, that's way beyond my understanding. Normally, according to a logical standpoint, it should be the other way around!NO?!?

    ReplyDelete
  12. @anon 5:42

    I think the PQ changed the law again, when they were last in power. The 51% has to be historic anglophone population and not english as the 1st language as per statistics Canada.

    Montreal Island is probably already around 51% non Francophone.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I remember that a couple of days ago, some seppies were mocking me because I called them nazis...
    Well, take a look:

    http://www.vigile.net/Ex-administrateur-lie-au

    I'm not saying that all of them share this type of ideology ... i guess it depends on how strong is your joint.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's where you're mistaken.

      Nationalism is an ideology that is inherently about feeding an institutional lauding of "us" and loathing of "them".

      The version articulated by the separatists is precisely drawn from a loathing of anything that isn't like them and an institutionalization of measures meant to safeguard whatever arbitrary crap their movement's leaders deem worthy to protect or necessary to embargo.

      In Saudi Arabia, for instance, television was banned for a long time, and pictures of women in magazines are censored for all but the religious policemen with sharpies who it seems are sufficiently virtuous not to be corrupted by them. For comparable insanity with a religious twist, I suggest you read Muttawa. His entire blog is excellent, and I find the concept of his "Muslim Offense Level" meter rather amusing.

      I wonder if Editor would too.

      Delete
  14. Stéphane Gendron "went a bit too far when he ranted that Israel didn't have the right to exist".

    Mr. Editor, how far is far enough?

    ReplyDelete
  15. @ Damien,

    "In Ontario, you got Galganov encouraging people to boycott stores on the basis of the mother tongue of their owners (!) and openly promote the extinction of french language and culture (!!), and what do you answer ? That Galganov is defending freedom of language !"

    "Complètement surréaliste"

    Both Josee Legault and you are twisting things around. Galganov never promoted the extinction of the French language and culture in Ontario. His brochure simply stated that forced bilingualism on signs would contribute to their extinction. He has no problem with French-owned businesses posting signs in French only, but he is opposed to having the French language forced upon Anglophone businesses in eastern Ontario.

    Imagine the reaction in Quebec if a municipality tried to force all businesses in its jurisdiction to put English on their signs, even if it were half the size of French. There would be an uproar amongst the French language zealots.

    ReplyDelete
  16. @ Damien,

    "You want me to call out Curzi on what exactly ?"

    Why don't you start with his suggestion that Anglophones be stripped of their right to vote in a sovereign Quebec?

    Curzi is one of the most dangerous extremists in Quebec today.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My claims on Galganov being a racist are documented. Document yours and I will comment, and I'll call him out if what you claim is correct.

      Delete
    2. @ Damien,

      Here's a link to Pierre Curzi on Wikipedia. Look at the second paragraph under 'Politics'.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Curzi

      Now, why don't you provide some documentation backing your claim that Howard Galganov is "openly promoting the extinction of the French language and culture."

      Delete
    3. @ Anonymous (guys, get a nickname or something !)

      I had never heard of this story. A quick search shows that it was reported only in the Gazette, and I cannot find a link to the original quote (obviously in French). And that's all there is, an out of context translated quote:

      "We can't take away their right to vote because that is a right we cannot control because we are still a province within the federation. Obviously, the day when the country is there, we will control citizenship, which will have more teeth, if I can dare to say so." (http://www2.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=292b8f48-37af-4a1c-aefe-307d41537b86)

      I'd be curious to have more details. My understanding is that this was said (back in 2007) in the wake of the PQ's proposal for a provincial constitution for Québec and for a provincial citizenship. It was then proposed that newcomers would have to pass french tests to obtain citizenship (which isn't unreasonable, if you ask me). From what I read in the article, it isn't obvious to me that he was suggesting that West Island anglophones have their right to vote revoked. For all I know, he was referring to newcomers who would fail the test. More information is needed to make an informed jugement. BUT, if your interpretation is right, then I agree that it is wrong. Basing the right to vote on language is racist.

      I provided links above showing Galganov's documents. They say:

      "How to wipe out the franco-ontarian language and culture"

      and:

      "Boycott french-owned stores".

      Ce type est raciste, CQFD.

      Delete
    4. @ Damien,

      "From what I read in the article, it isn't obvious to me that he (Curzi) was suggesting that West Island anglophones have their right to vote revoked."

      From Wikipedia: "Curzi was forced to apologize and retract a statement he made in October 2007 during a radio interview that appeared to suggest that a sovereign Quebec would have "more teeth" and could potentially remove the voting rights of Quebec's English-speaking community living on Montreal's West Island."

      A few more gems from Pierre Curzi are his opposition to the Paul McCartney concert in Quebec City during the 400th anniversary celebrations because he was English, and his claim that the lack of Francophone players on the Montreal Canadiens team was a federalist plot.

      "I provided links above showing Galganov's documents. They say:
      How to wipe out the franco-ontarian language and culture"

      Did you read Galganov's document or just the front cover? He wasn't advocating for the "wiping out of the franco-ontarian language and culture." He said that forcing Francophone businesses to put English on their commercial signs (i.e. post bilingual signs) would wipe them out (I think this is an exaggeration). The document was related to Galganov's court challenge of Russell Townships' forced bilingual sign bylaw. A Franco-Ontarian named Jean-Serge Brisson joined Galganov in the court challenge of the law.

      "Boycott french-owned stores".

      I don't agree with this tactic, but I have heard many times about boycotts, protests and complaints to the OQLF about stores in Quebec if they did something that pissed off the French language zealots.

      "Ce type est raciste, CQFD."

      So he's a racist because he's opposed to racist language laws?

      Delete
  17. your all gutless cowards... Galganov is a Hero!!!! Remember that when the Racist pigs cart you off to concentration camps.......

    ReplyDelete
  18. Since we are exposing the separatist special interest minority of this PROVINCE, I might as well repeat a truth long enough for it to be heard…

    Vive la Province Canadienne de Montréal !!

    The time has come to prove to the most institutionally racist part of North America that we no longer need or want the hate.

    We have more French, English, and Other CANADIANS in a few of our buildings in Montréal than PEI has population, so it would WORK perfectly fine!

    VIVE LA PROVINCE CANADIENNE DE MONTREAL !!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Le problème est que même si Montréal devenait 100% anglophone/allophone vous n'auriez pas plus de pouvoir...Niet!Et le canada n'y peut rien,vous ne pouvez rien changer à cette triste réalité.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "Le problème est que même si Montréal devenait 100% anglophone/allophone vous n'auriez pas plus de pouvoir...Niet!Et le canada n'y peut rien,vous ne pouvez rien changer à cette triste réalité."

      if Montreal became 100% anglophone, it would certainly make a referendum to assuredly separate itself from Quebec and make its own Province. it will likely happen in 50 years from now.

      Delete
    2. If Montreal, or the bilingual/anglophone/allophone part of Montreal (the West) decides to split from the rest of Quebec, I'll do whatever I can to help. I'm starting now by sowing the seed of the idea, hence my chosen name.

      Delete
    3. why not aim for the entire Island instead for only half of it...I mean,I can understand there is a predominant presence of french-speakers in the east-end, but that doesn't mean they would all disagree with the idea of joining in, particularly not those who own considerable businesses and those who live in st-Leonard, where the number of English speakers is quite significant as we all know. So,I say this would perhaps give rise to some hope and help the cause in order to make it happen.
      and maybe, I SAY MAYBE,if this ever comes true, Laval would probably tempted to annex itself to the Montreal island so an additional piece be added, which would certainly bring a surplus of strength to the newly-born province, thus tripling up territorial size.

      Delete
    4. > [...] and maybe, [...] if this ever comes true, Laval would probably tempted to annex itself to the Montreal island [...]

      An interesting development on Longueuil is discussed here.

      Very often in (this province's) political history, political changes and actions have had both an overt and covert component. The former serves as an official explanation, with the latter being the true and intended functional consequence.

      I haven't thought about this one much yet, and I wonder what the covert component is here.

      Delete
    5. Mr. Little Brother of room 101,

      The 401 will bring CANADIANS of all backgrounds into our beloved province, which is under siege by your hateful treasonous racist cult. These CANADIANS of all backgrounds will overrun your hate and bring mutual respect to our land. If you think this is about language, I can’t blame you. I attended French Separatist School too and I was fed the same BS as you were, but by the grace of god, I saw the Grand Canyon sized difference between the War Of 1812 Victorious Maple Leaf and the pre-Revolutionary Cross Dressing Louis 14th Monarch Banner.
      Look into why France purged that pre-Revolutionary Cross Dresser’s symbol in place of Le Bleu Blanc Rouge. Then tell us what “people” you think you are.
      Do you think that we all have yielded our French Heritage to your cult of HATE?

      Delete
    6. To Anonymous at 06:44PM

      I don't AIM for anything: I'm not in favour of doing this kind of thing over the people's head. I think every council should hold a vote, as they did for de-amalgamation, and then the outcome should be accepted. In fact, I base a lot of my expectations on the outcome of the various de-amalgamation votes. The parts of Montreal that are under Montreal City administration, I doubt they will be allowed a say independently of the rest, but places like Dorval, Dollard, WestMount etc. are not part of Montreal from an administrative point of view, and have more freedom to choose. And I know that this will likely leave my (tri-lingual) relatives in RDP and Laval on the wrong side of the divide (Laval being independent, but a large monolithical administration with a slight Franco majority), but it's going to be hard to argue that the various "arrondissements" be given the same rights as independent towns, so I'm open to compromise on that: politics is the art of the possible. For any further inroads, pressure must come from the people: right now I don't see any critical mass in most of the non-de-amalgamated arrondissements.
      As I never tire of saying: this is not about making Montreal anglo - there is no point in that - this is about finding an equitable solution that stops this lunacy once and for all and that does not trample on anyone's rights.
      Much as I'm frustrated at the pettiness and bigotry of the Nordiques, I still wish them no harm, just that the parts of Quebec that don't agree with them enjoy the same rights to carry out their lives in the way they see fit.

      Delete
  20. "VIVE LA PROVINCE CANADIENNE DE MONTREAL"

    Je trouve qu'il n'y a pas beaucoup de drapeaux canayens qui flottent sur cette ville canayenne :))

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Perhaps it doesn't have as many Canadian flags floating, but nevertheless, IT IS NOT A SEPARATIST CITY, NOR WILL IT EVER BE FOR THAT MATTER.

      for the record,Montreal and the ROQ are two worlds apart from each others.

      Delete
    2. "for the record,Montreal and the ROQ are two worlds apart from each others"

      Merci pour l'info Mr.Capslock

      Delete
    3. "IT IS NOT A SEPARATIST CITY..."

      Pourtant vous ou un de vos comparses seriez en faveur de la séparation de Montréal du Québec...Désolé,je ne comprend plus :P

      Delete
    4. Mr. Little Brother of room 101,

      The 401 will bring CANADIANS of all backgrounds into our beloved province, which is under siege by your hateful treasonous racist cult. These CANADIANS of all backgrounds will overrun your hate and bring mutual respect to our land. If you think this is about language, I can’t blame you. I attended French Separatist School too and I was fed the same BS as you were, but by the grace of god, I saw the Grand Canyon sized difference between the War Of 1812 Victorious Maple Leaf and the pre-Revolutionary Cross Dressing Louis the 14th Monarch Banner.
      Look into why France purged that pre-Revolutionary Cross Dresser’s symbol in place of Le Bleu Blanc Rouge. Then tell us what “people” you think you are.
      Do you think that we all have yielded our French Heritage to your cult of HATE?

      VIVE LA PROVINCE CANADIENNE DE MONTREAL !!!!

      Delete
  21. REWRITE

    I understand that this blog is not much into nuances, but I would like to comment on the suicide rate polemic.

    Lisée never said (or wrote) that the suicide rate in Québec was not a problem. He said that, since he reads every years in newspapers that our suicide rate is the worst in the world, he was surprised to find that it was not the case. (Comment Mettre la droite KO, page 11, 3rd paragraphe).

    He was surprised to learn that our suicide rate was 26th according to World Health Organization's figures, better that Finland's or Switzerland's.

    This observation of his leads him to wonder why the Québec right wing movement is driven by a hate of everything that Québec is and, since this right wing movement is also a part of Québec, driven by a strange self-hate. (page 16)

    Looking only at the part on suicide is overlooking the broader picture. His argument on the rate of suicide is not the essence of his reasonning, it is one element used to illustrate the essence of his idea that the right wing movement is driven by a strange hate of Québec (this the broader picture of his idea).


    I do not think that you are intellectualy dishonest, I simply think that you did not read Lisée's essay but only read about it on blogs such as Martineau's or David's.

    I would like to add that, to Lisée, everything is not perfectly fine in Québec, he writes : "... le fait est que le Québec, comme toutes les autres sociétés, a ses faiblesses, ses dysfontions, ses grippages. Et il vit aujourd'hui avec le cancer de la corruption dans la construction. (page 19) And he proposed changes, improvments and reforms in many other books, papers and blog posts.

    Some advocate that we should change because of everything that is wrong with us. Some others look at everything we did right and at all of our strenghts and advocate that, building on these strenghts, we should and could do better. I prefer this second philosophy.

    This reminds me of an interview with huron chief Ovide Mercredi. The interviewer was asking a question about social problems in reserves, drugs, alcool, poverty and so on. Mercredi cutted him and said : "Look, I know about all these issues, but, the natives, they are my brothers, they are my people. I love them." I remember thinking that I thought these were the words of a great leader and that it then reminded me of Montesquieu's “To accomplish great things, one must not be above men; but be with them.”

    This being said, if you read behond the first seven paragraphs of Lisée's essay and undertake to counter his arguments, it will be interesting and much more substantive, more nuanced and more facts related than comments such as : "Galganov is a hero!!! Remember that when the Racist pigs cart you off to concentration camps."

    Michel Patrice

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Most of 'French versus English is not editorial,' but rather me reporting (and mostly quoting and linking) to issues related to the blog title.
      It wasn't me that objected to Mr. Lisée's observation about suicide (although I agree), but rather a fellow journalist at the JdeM.

      Notwithstanding your points, Quebec's suicide rate is almost twice that of the RoC and it is significant, although I cannot really say that it reflects poorly on Quebec society, it is what it is.
      I don't like to see suicide rated used as political fodder, it is unfair and serves no purpose, but that is just me.

      As for nuance, I cannot accept Mr.Lisée's rose-colored observation that Quebec's suicide rate is not that bad, it is.
      For him to claim otherwise, nuanced or not, is disingenuous.

      Spinning facts and selective statistics is Mr.Lisée's stock in trade

      Delete
    2. Thank you for taking some time to reply.

      "Most of 'French versus English is not editorial,' but rather me reporting (and mostly quoting and linking) to issues related to the blog title." I know and so I said that I did not think that you were intellectualy dishonaest, just that you did not read his essay.

      "...I cannot accept Mr.Lisée's rose-colored observation that Quebec's suicide rate is not that bad, it is." That's not his point as I explained earlier.

      (Nevertheless, Québec's high rate of suicide is puzzling. Finland's and Switzerland's rate are too, these countries being seen as very confortable societies. I remember a paper that reported (very long ago) that during wartime, there are very few suicides, this puzzles me too.)

      Delete
    3. Editor said:

      "Spinning facts and selective statistics is Mr.Lisée's stock in trade."

      Spinning facts and selective statistics is also Michel Patrice's stock in trade.

      Delete
  22. "...Remember that when the Racist pigs cart you off to concentration camps."

    Ça me rappelle la déportation de 1755...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. oh poor you, were you one of those who suffered from the massive deportation back then?

      Delete
    2. Évidemment non.Est-ce que celà excuse pour autant cette action totalement inhumaine?

      Delete
    3. No, but you seppies will side with them(acadians) hypocritically just to reinforce yourselves and pull whatever excuses that will justify your standpoints. And Then, once you're done with them, you will throw them away like old used rags.

      Delete
    4. Quebec nationalists complain more about the Acadian expulsion than the Acadians do themselves. The Acadians are not at all fond of the separatists in Quebec.

      Delete
    5. Pas de frère Acadiens sur ce blogues?

      Delete
    6. Seppie,

      Je suis d'ascendance acadienne du côté de mon père et de ma mère. Et je trouve les commentaires 7:42, 8:15 et 9:29 plutôt épais.

      Delete
    7. keep in mind that the seppies don't have anyone to befriend with beside their own shadows... they are hated, not only by anglophones, but also by francophones in and out of Quebec.

      Delete
    8. Et nous, en tant que Canadiens, Nous vous trouvons pas mal épais, vous deux, Michel Patrice et seppie… Vous êtes de loin, très pathétiques et stupides dans vos propos qui n’ont aucune crédibilité et validité… de plus, vous n’avez pas la moindre idée de ce que la définition du mot `raisonnement` est, en réalité. . Bande de pourris bon pour les chiens affamés, vous faites honte au peuple.

      Delete
  23. Je voulais seulement rappeler à votre ami survolté de se regarder dans un miroir avant de traiter les autres de "pigs" car peut-être a-t-il la queue en tire-bouchon lui-même :)

    ReplyDelete
  24. "Je suis d'ascendance acadienne (sic)"

    Vous vouliez certainement dire de déscendance acadienne.Beaucoup de Québécois sont aussi d'origine acadienne.Quel est votre point exactement?Vous n'êtes pas très clair dans vos propos.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Désolé Michel,mauvais post...
      Effectivement très épais comme commentaires...Que veux-tu dire par ascendance?

      Delete
    2. Ascendance : Ensemble des ascendants, des générations dont est issue une personne, ses origines. (Larousse)

      Ascendant : Parent dont quelqu'un est issu en ligne directe. (3em définition, Larousse)

      On dit "je fais partie de la descendance acadienne" mais on dit je suis d'ascendance acadienne comme on dit je suis de sang indien ou je suis de la maison de David.

      "Nous sommes d'ascendance acadienne", c'est de cette façon que j'ai toujours entendu mes parents, oncles, tantes et grands-parents nommer nos origines. C'est un mot qui est courant, je crois bien, dans le français acadien.

      Delete
    3. @ Michel Patrice,

      "Je suis d'ascendance acadienne du côté de mon père et de ma mère. Et je trouve les commentaires 7:42, 8:15 et 9:29 plutôt épais."

      In previous posts you said you could care less that Anglos were leaving Quebec and that English schools were closing down. So the Acadian expulsion 250 years ago was terrible but the soft ethnic cleansing of Anglophones from Quebec today is just fine and dandy? You're a hypocrite.

      Delete
    4. You are probably referring to my Taking to a Wall post (or maybe Moving On A Moving Documentary). I also wrote that I could understand the lasting resentment of anglos who felt that they had to leave.

      The english who left Québec left with the capital that they accumulated, they sold their land and houses and left with the money. None of them (to my knowledge) died on the way to Ontario. They left with their family and they chose their destination.

      Acadians left with their clothes on and some pieces of furniture, they left behind their land and houses (they did not sell them, they lost the value of their assets). Not only they did not chose where they were sent to, families were splitted and half of them died during the deportation.

      There is probably something wrong with me, but I can help thinking that both events are not exactely the same thing.

      Delete
    5. Sans compter Michel que souvent ils étaient transportés sur des rafiots pourris et les destinations plus qu'incertaines car plusieurs pays dont les É.U refusaient carrément de les accueillir.Plusieurs sont morts dans des conditions infectes dûes à la maladie et à la malnutrition,y compris vieillards,femmes et enfants.

      Delete
    6. > Acadians left with their clothes on [...] they left behind their land and houses (they did not sell them, they lost the value of their assets). Not only they did not chose where they were sent to, families were splitted and half of them died during the deportation. There is probably something wrong with me, but I can help thinking that both events are not exactely the same thing.

      Those who chose the 401 and English Canada in a post-colonial, post-imperial context rather than remain and learn French made a choice and have had to live with it.

      Playing devil's advocate for just a minute, might it not be said that the Acadians ultimately bore responsibility for their own expulsion, however brutal? Despite occurring in the context of a harsher time period with respect to human rights overall, this deportation was a direct and causal result of The Acadians' staunch refusal to swear unconditional allegiance to their new colonial overlords.

      From this perspective, one could argue that in both cases neither group really needed to leave had they focused more on adjusting to their new situation. But of course, nothing sells better than a martyrdom-ridden sob story, whether to an English- or French-speaking audience.

      Just flip the names of the good guys and bad guys around, add schmaltzy emotion, shake well, and serve. This manna feeds as many as are willing to eat.

      Delete
    7. Playing devil's advocate, you could indeed argue that acadians were responsible for their own deportation. But for what purpose? And to prove which point?

      I simply noted that comparing the deportation of acadians and the exodus of anglophones was far fetched.

      Delete
    8. > you could indeed argue that acadians were responsible for their own deportation. But for what purpose? And to prove which point?

      My point is that separatists often cite many recriminations toward the British/English in their takeover following the French takeover and subsequent founding of New France. My point is that such recriminations are deliberately and explicitly exploited by populist separatist politicians to drum up emotional support among French-Canadians in Quebec for a partisan cause, rather than having it be taught as an unfortunate necessary part of our country's history curriculum and leaving it at that. This unfortunate chapter in our history is also cited as about a dozen moral reasons out of the many thousands of motivators justifying separation (just search for "déportation" and/or "acadiens").

      What I'm getting at is that re-living past traumas over and over doesn't help us move on today. There's a time to mourn, but after that it's not right to keep re-hashing the same old sob stories.

      I realize you might not have been necessarily going in this direction when you initially cited your own Acadian roots; my observation was simply an observation specifically related to the discussion covering perceived separatist cherry-picking of various elements on the Great Upheaval to suit their own ends.

      Delete
    9. Apparatchik,

      True, separatists often cite many recriminations toward the British/English and personnaly, I don't like it since I think these arguments are weak.

      "French-Canadians in Quebec" I like your creativity. :)

      "What I'm getting at is that re-living past traumas over and over doesn't help us move on today. There's a time to mourn, but after that it's not right to keep re-hashing the same old sob stories. "

      About acadians specifically, the history of the deportation is not just reliving past traumas. The deportation is THE founding event of their national identity, it is at the core of their identity as a people. It is complex, you don't have to understand it and I think that it should be respected.

      There is much more to say about instrumentalisation of history, but it is late.

      Nice talking with you, see you soon.

      Delete
    10. > personnaly, I don't like it since I think these arguments are weak.
      I'm glad at least some people on the other side of the fence see it this way too.

      > "French-Canadians in Quebec" I like your creativity. :)
      That might be an odd or awkward way to put it, perhaps, but deep down, I don't know why you find that creative or even amusing, frankly.

      I was referring to French-Canadians in Quebec as opposed to French-Canadians elsewhere in the country, since the history surrounding the Great Upheaval is unlikely to be successfully exploited by separatists in any province other than Quebec. Also, I explicitly meant to distinguish between Quebecers of French-Canadian stock from Quebecers of all other origins (and combinations, like myself).

      I suppose a part of me rejects using the "Quebecer" label as an exclusive identifier for one segment of our population. And if we're all Quebecers in this province, we better call the various groups we refer to by their real names. Being myself of partial pure laine background (ma laine n'étant finalement pas si pure), I see no shame in re-appropriating a label that was unwisely discarded in favor of "Québécois", especially as the proportion of founder population stock of this province will continue to decrease as we welcome more immigrants and their children among us, of which many are likely to be francophone without necessarily being of French-Canadian ethnic stock. In fact, I am proud to apply that label to myself, a post-Quiet Revolution, post-101-generation kid. If it's good enough for my grandparents, it's good enough for me.

      That is, unless "Québécois" ought to continue being code in certain circles for "Quebecer of French Canadian origin" with such terms as "les autres", and many less flattering names -- "maudits anglais/juifs/italiens/arabes/chinois", etc. -- applied to everyone else.

      > The deportation is THE founding event of their national identity, it is at the core of their identity as a people. It is complex, you don't have to understand it and I think that it should be respected.

      And respect it I do. But I also don't happen to believe that a person/people ought to self-define exclusively through remembered tragedies alone. For the record, I happen to think there's way more to being an English-speaking Quebecer (which I am as well) in 2012 than bemoaning the ravaging effect that recent decades of institutionalized French-Canadian nationalism have had on anglos' relative opportunities here.

      > There is much more to say about instrumentalisation of history, but it is late.
      Fair enough; I just figure if our motto is going to be about remembering, we ought to do ourselves justice by remembering the whole story and not just conveniently cherry-picked elements that benefit one party's revisionist narrative of who -- and what -- we are.

      Delete
  25. "...not only by anglophones, but also by francophones in and out of Quebec."

    Nous carburons à la haine,c'est notre leitmotiv,Plutôt bon signe que les anglouilles nous détestent.Les anglouilles aiment les Québécois lorsqu'ils son à genoux.

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  26. "Et nous, en tant que Canadiens"

    Néo-canayens je suppose.Il n'y a que les immigrants qui brandissent ce titre comme si la "nationalité" canayenne était une source de fierté.Ça fait dure...

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    1. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

      Delete
    2. To O Q L F or the backward F L Q Occupier,

      Your cult has brain-deaded you to renounce being French and being Canadian. The reason for that is to lobsterize you. To make you so racist that you forge, and force the non-existing Quebecois race.
      Well to quote General Maximus Decimus, “The time for honoring yourself will soon be at an end.”
      And your cult hate speech will have you loose the Great Canadian City of Montréal as it will be the 11th province of the best country on the planet!
      So keep up your hate speech that shames our French Canadian heritage by being the Quebecois that you think you are. Watch how insignificant you continue to be as the world passes you by...

      VIVE LA PROVINCE CANADIENNE DE MONTREAL !!

      Delete
  27. "...Anglos were leaving Quebec and that English schools were closing..."

    Ce n'est quand même pas les Québécois qui sont responsables de la fermeture des écoles anglophones.Je crois plutôt que c'est la baisse de fréquentation dû au fait que les jeunes fréquentent de plus en plus les écoles Québécoises.Écoles,quid'ailleurs,sont victimes de leur succès car on doit en reconstruire de nouvelles constamment.

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    1. VIVE LA PROVINCE CANADIENNE DE MONTREAL !!

      Delete
    2. OQLF,you certainly did not help the cause and you know it.

      and I LOVE to be the one to say this to you, but no your school system is not a success whatsoever, it is in fact an Epic failure of the worst kind and it's been proven with the tremendous high rate of dropouts that has been happening and also, with the kind of education that the students have been spoon-fed with for several decades . So please, would you quit breaking our ears with your poor assumptions that bear no credibility at all and knock it off with your refutable arguments full of "PIG" crap that can easily be stomped over.

      Perhaps, that failed education system has made you as mindless and pathetic as you are now. Plus, it is very obvious that you lack a lot in debate skills with all the stupidies you keep spewing daily on this blog. I hope one day the OQLF department will suffer a major blow and see its agents go unemployed just to see your reaction.

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    3. Dû à la demande croissante, nous devons recruter du personnel supplémentaire.Si un poste d'agent ($$$) vous intéresse,faites-nous parvenir votre C.V,il nous fera plaisir d'évaluer votre candidature.En passant,la maîtrise du français est obligatoire et le globish...Plutôt facultatif,voire inutile.

      Delete
    4. > Ce n'est quand même pas les Québécois qui sont responsables de la fermeture des écoles anglophones

      Une affirmation qui ne tient pas debout quand on considère qu'il a fallu l'adoption d'une loi extrémiste visant à interdire à tous sauf aux descendants d'anglophones Québécois existants l'accès aux écoles anglophones.

      Jusqu'à la fin des années 60, la majorité des nouveaux arrivés choisissaient ou étaient contraints par les administrateurs même de la CÉCM (section francophone) d'inscrire leurs enfants dans des écoles anglophones car l'idée d'une race pure était toujours au goût du jour.

      Alors, oui, tous les Québécois portent l'odieux de la disparition de l'anglais pourtant aussi légitime et natif à cette terre que le français, tout comme tous les Canadiens se doivent de s'avouer que leur propre ambivalence entraîne l'érosion de la population francophone au pays.

      Les deux situations mènent à des résultats tout aussi regrettables, à mon avis.

      J'ai toutefois honte de vivre dans une province où telle situation est renforcée non pas par des tendances assimilatrices naturelles, mais délibérées et nées d'une tragédie vieille de 250 ans.

      > [...] les jeunes fréquentent de plus en plus les écoles Québécoises. [...]
      AHAHAHAHAHA... pauvre con... toutes les écoles au Québec sont par définition des écoles québécoises. Et davantage de Québécois sont de moins en moins allergiques à l'anglais. C'est plutôt votre espèce myope, recroquevillée et insécure qui est en voie de disparition.

      Bon débarras.

      Delete
    5. 'Dû à la demande croissante, nous devons recruter du personnel supplémentaire.Si un poste d'agent ($$$) vous intéresse,faites-nous parvenir votre C.V,il nous fera plaisir d'évaluer votre candidature.En passant,la maîtrise du français est obligatoire et le globish...Plutôt facultatif,voire inutile.

      well you can count me in as on of the candidates, as you will see,I will "make sure to re-enforce" bill 101 and "re-assure" that french isn't threatened in any way...you can trust me on that!!!!!:) it is good to see that now you are hiring anglos.They will surely do the job very well.

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    6. "They will surely do the job very well."

      Évidemment,nous n'avons jamais eu aucun doute sur les compétences des anglophones.Nous sommes une Nation ouverte et nous sommes fiers de notre équipe d'agents provenant de cultures diverses.

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    7. "Et davantage de Québécois sont de moins en moins allergiques à l'anglais"

      Désolé de vous apprendre que c'est l'ensemble des professeurs au niveau primaire qui semble être allergique à l'anglais...Vous êtes mal barré.

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    8. > c'est l'ensemble des professeurs au niveau primaire qui semble être allergique à l'anglais
      Il était une fois, l'ensemble de notre société était allergique à la laïcité. Je ne m'en inquiète pas. Tout se fera en temps utile, et le Québec qui en résultera ressemblera davantage à moi qu'à vous.

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    9. C'est Loooooooooooooooooooooong..........Vous êtes certainement quelqu'un de très patient.
      La France est laïque mais toujours française.

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    10. And yet, stop signs on French roads read: "STOP", KFC is called "KFC", whereas you can't even buy French cars in Quebec, but American and even British cars abound...
      Not to mention the fact that all French students have English taught as a foreign language for over ten years of their lives...

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    11. Quoi de neuf, Seppie? Chat a mangé ta langue?

      Delete
    12. 65 000 000 de Français dans un contexte Européen est une réalité fort différente de la nôtre.Permettez-moi de vous dire que votre jugement laisse à désirer.

      Delete
    13. 65,000,000 French say you sound American anyway (and, no, I doubt they'd be able to tell your accent apart from that of a French-speaking Texan...). So there's 350 million anglos at the door: is that a good reason to spend your lifetime staring at your bellybutton? Isn't it better business to engage? China can't feed its population without trading with the world (in English!), a small country (as Quebec would be) can afford it even less. And you've got a piggybank of 350million customers on your door and you just say non, merci?
      My judgement is that the French are (marginally) more relaxed about language issues, but more French in their ways, whereas you only have your language to tell yourselves apart from your hated Anglos and Americans. (You do, to your credit, allow production of cheese from fresh milk, though...)
      Btw, my wife drives a French car, and I might trade my (German made, but still a p.o.s.) Ford for a Renault too...

      Delete
  28. I enjoyed the picture of the week.

    What a great metaphor for the current separatist/language extremist movement in this province. Here's an old guy, who heard of a made up danger somewhere, doesn't really understand it himself and can't explain any part of it, but hey let's try to cover it up with something useless, that will surely fix the imaginary problem!
    Sounds familiar...

    But then again, there are crazies everywhere.

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    1. "Sounds familiar..."

      Les canadians qui essaient de masquer l'existance du Québec et des francophones du canada?

      Delete
  29. To O Q L F or the backward F L Q Occupier,

    Your cult has brain-deaded you to renounce being French and being Canadian. The reason for that is to lobsterize you. To make you so racist that you forge, and force the non-existing Quebecois race.
    Well to quote General Maximus Decimus, “The time for honoring yourself will soon be at an end.”
    And your cult hate speech will have you loose the Great Canadian City of Montréal as it will be the 11th province of the best country on the planet!
    So keep up your hate speech that shames our French Canadian heritage by being the Quebecois that you think you are. Watch how insignificant you continue to be as the world passes you by.

    Anonymous of Feb 4, 2012 04:56 PM is corect!

    VIVE LA PROVINCE CANADIENNE DE MONTREAL !!

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    1. Montreal is too far gone to save, let alone make into an 11th province. 40 years of poisoning, neglect, decay and people leaving the sinking ship for good, they're not coming back--ever. Furthermore the island of Montreal is surrounded by the diseased and sick nation of Quebec, would you want to make a new Canadian province in the middle of Haiti or Iran? Yeah, thought not.

      Look, you have about as much hope as re floating Montreal as the Costa Concordia. And there is about as much chance as people coming back to Montreal, as the passengers returning the Costa Concordia.

      Take the advice about Montreal I failed to tell my own passengers....abandon ship!!

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    2. You know, much as I am someone who left the old country, I do not disrespect those who stayed and tried to sort it out: I think you owe the same respect to the Montrealers who want their old Montreal back. Right now Montreal has as many, if not more, problems as the rest of Quebec and it's far from guaranteed that an amicable separation would leave the rest of Quebec worse off (unlike the current situation where jobs are leaving Montreal leaving Quebec with a ballooning welfare bill...). Then, again, that's not the point, nor the aim.
      The point is: why should people sever friendships, relationships and business ties and move hundreds of miles away from their land just because some fuckwit legislator has decided to make some laws that have as much sense as forcing everyone to wear polka-dot suits? Of course, those who like polka-dots will think it's right and proper: it's just that there is a lot - too many to be ignored - that would rather wear yellow or green (all colour references are to the Tour de France jerseys, if you're wondering)

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    3. VIVE LA PROVINCE CANADIENNE DE MONTREAL!

      This is not about partition or separation! It is about proving to the rest of Quebec that the separatists are a special interest group plastered in a xenophobe lie.

      I am originally Francophone. I went to French separatist school and was subjected to their cryptic, sinister social engineering. The only thing that rescued me from the hate that I was taught, was that my parents found a way to have me escape the single bannered (no Canadian Flag) dump of a Hate Speech School early enough for me to learn another language.

      Children learn other languages if they are exposed to them before the age of about 10. The separatists know this, and that is why bilingual education is banned here. The PROVINCIAL government needs to suppress an unsuspecting population by keeping them unilingual French since they almost totally control the QC French media. The important thing was that I was not ever going to be subject to the hateful lies the Quebec Separatist French media spews because through any other language I could hear L'autre côté de la médaille. Thus I learned that My Country is much bigger and better than the Seps tell us. I also learned that there are more French Canadians in this province who are willing to defend Our Canada than the entire population of some of our other provinces. This is important because it proves how few separatists there really are in Quebec.

      Don’t buy into the Separatist propaganda. Almost 95% of Francophones who speak a second language voted NON to that vile divisive 1995 referendum and more than 98% of those who voted OUI spoke only French. Of those yes voters more than 30% did not know they were voting to separate from their Country. The BS about 50.6% vs 49.2% result was another lie. Merci Mr. Dion for the Clarity Act!

      This brings me to LA PROVINCE CANADIENNE DE MONTREAL. Seps can visualize the deep black hole that is left in Quebec with Montréal as The 11th Province and perhaps some empathy can set in. They’ve been black mailing Canada with the same since the 60’s. With all that disgusting propaganda and all that social engineering and their trick referendum questions, they still have not been able to convince us to break up this Amazing Country.

      We don’t want to ask;

      Do you agree that Montréal should become a Province of Canada after having made a formal offer to Quebec for an economic and political partnership within the scope of the will defending the future of Montréal and the agreement of July 1, 1996? ,

      but we know we can do this more easily than the Seps because, unlike the cult of the PQ, BQ, ADQ and the CAQ want to do, it is not treason. It is asking for recognition and affirmation from Canada that Montréal remain Canadian.
      For those who argue that we should divide it on racial/linguistic lines. We say this is a territorial project.

      Hum.. Wonder where we’ve heard this kind of rhetoric!

      VIVE LA PROVINCE CANADIENNE DE MONTREAL!!

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    4. I think, it should become not only a province, but the once again business it was once or half of it, for the least.

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    5. I think, it should become not only a province but a country.We're English!!!Sky is the limit.Think BIG s'tie!!!

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  30. "oui, tous les Québécois portent l'odieux de la disparition de l'anglais"

    350 000 000 d'anglophones sur le continent :L'extinction totale approche (sarcasme).

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    1. Not sure how making smart-arse comedic, irrelevant put downs is going to mark you out as someone worth listening to, but I'm sure where you come from that sounds funny...

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  31. "Une affirmation qui ne tient pas debout quand on considère qu'il a fallu l'adoption d'une loi extrémiste"

    La fin justifie les moyens.Aux grands maux les grands remèdes. :)

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    1. What are you so desperate about?

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  32. @anon 11.25

    You i was thinking maybe the seppies wouldn't mind Montreal and points west becoming the 11th province of Canada. They are already seeing Montreal as suffering from gangrene like symptoms of
    having an anglo and allo majority and they see it as spreading to Laval, Vaudreuil, south shore. So uiif they get rid of the anglo and allo areas of Quebec they would be getting rid of a majority of who they didn't want around anyway. Then if the Montreal area was a successful province, economically. The seppie would get some more money out of that province through equalization.
    IF the seppies realize it they may encourage the amputation of their gangrene infected limb.

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  33. [...] les jeunes fréquentent de plus en plus les écoles Québécoises. [...]

    FAUX!Il existe des écoles canadiennes sur notre territoire.

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    1. Your territory is CANADIAN territory. Take a look at the name of the country on your money and your passport...that should remind you.

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  34. Do you agree that Montréal should become a Province of Canada after having made a formal offer to Quebec for an economic and political partnership within the scope of the will defending the future of Montréal and the agreement of July 1, 1996?

    ReplyDelete