Monday, March 12, 2012

Huntingdon Mayor Shows Up Gutless Anglo Community

When it comes to defending our own language rights, it's embarrassing to say that one gutsy Francophone, Stéphane Gendron, has more gumption than almost all our Anglo community.

An editorial piece in the Montreal Gazette last week typifies the defeatist attitude that permeates the Anglo community, where even those in leadership positions choose to give up rather than fight. 

"Gendron has proposed that municipalities with an anglophone population of 10 per cent or more be required to provide bilingual service. That’s asking a lot. A more reasonable proposal would be to require municipalities with 50 per cent or more anglo residents to provide bilingual service, and give other towns the option of doing so.
But the sad reality, as demonstrated by the all-party reaction to Gendron’s campaign, is that under present circumstances asking for any change in the language law that would benefit the province’s English-speaking minority is asking too much." Link
 Five years ago, on the thirtieth anniversary of Bill 101, the Gazette published this drivel.
Bill 101 paved way for peace
"A generation later, the language charter is widely accepted as an intrinsic part of Quebec’s social fabric. Both anglos and francophones of moderate persuasion say the law has engendered an unprecedented era of social peace and easing of language tensions and fostered a cross-cultural communication between English and French Quebecers that has served as an important bridge between the storied "two solitudes" of the bad old days." Link
Social peace...

The collective wisdom of our Anglo intelligentsia, spearheaded by the Montreal Gazette, Hubert Bauch and Anne Lagacé Dowson is that whatever rights we give up each day is a small price to pay for the peaceful coexistence we have achieved.
Put that way, it sounds pretty neat.

But if one considers that it is really no different from paying a weekly protection fee to the local street gang in order to 'insure' that the goons don't beat the crap out of us, it doesn't sound so noble, but that is what we have done, bargained away our rights in the name of security.

Those of us in the English community who advocate appeasement, conveniently forget that hundreds of thousands of our fellow Anglos were chased out of this province by language persecution. When reminded that this was the price of this so-called 'social peace,' they make the case that those who left were no better than Rhodesians, unwilling to downgrade their status to second class citizenship in the name of safety and expediency.

The appeasers have bought into the narrative that somehow the English, the Irish, the Scots and later the Ethnics are all evil anglicizers, exploiters and colonialists of the innocent and naïve Francophone nation, when reality tells us that proportionally, it is the industry of these minorities that actually made the greatest contribution to the building of the province.

Slowly over the last forty years Anglos went from being full and respected partners in Quebec society to an afterthought, a people whose rights as a founding nation were cast aside, replaced by the notion that we are a bother, interlopers who have overstayed our welcome and where our Francophone hosts begrudgingly tolerate us because they have to, not because they want to.
Like an unwanted longtime resident in a rent controlled apartment building our Francophone landlords wait rather impatiently for us to die off or leave, turning off the electricity every now and then or cutting off the heat in an effort to hurry up the process.

Like the proverbial frog in the pot of boiling water, our status and rights were incrementally chipped away until we became what we are today, a second class element of society along with the immigrants and ethnics, reminded on a daily basis that we are not what Quebec is supposed to be.

It's sadly amusing to read justifications in the press describing how necessary and reasonable provisions of Bill 101 are and that the restrictions and denial of civil liberties imposed on the English and ethnics are not that big a deal.
It's not surprising that the law is popular among Francophones, the price for defending the French language is paid by our community, not theirs.

The issue of bilingual status for towns is one of Bill 101's cruelest and most vindictive elements.
The law demands that a city or town have an outright majority of Anglophones before it can use the English publicly, alongside French, of course.
To Francophone militants this seems eminently generous, but the provision was actually put in place in an attempt to avoid a human rights outcry at the United Nations where the Quebec government would be obliged to explain how a town like Montreal West with 80% anglophone population would be barred from using English.

And so when it comes to rights, it seems that fairness is in the eye of the beholder.

Somehow it is fair that a town in Quebec with a 49% Anglophone population be denied the right to communicate with citizens in English, but an Air Canada flight with no French passengers aboard be obliged to have French speaking personnel to communicate and make announcements to passengers in both languages.

Each day, we are told that Francophones, as the church lady used to say on SNL are "Special" and as such deserve extended language rights in Canada which they deny their English citizens in Quebec.
Imagine if Air Canada or Via Rail were free to impose that same 50% threshold rule in their operations and so be required to offer French only in the case where there was a clear majority of Francophones aboard an airplane or train.
In cases where there weren't enough Francophones aboard, a passenger could still order a Seven-Up in French.
All she'd have to do is wait for the crew to finish serving everyone in English and then send a written request to the pilot requesting service in French. How convenient and fair!
Such is the stupidity of the argument made by French militants who tell us that English townsfolk can get English documentation, available on request!

Should the 50% rule be applied by Ontario and New Brunswick, Francophones in cities like Moncton (34% French) and Ottawa (21% French) would lose the right to receive French communication alongside English, from the city as a matter of course.
In fact just about every city or town in Canada outside Quebec would fall short of a Francophone majority and as such, would be ineligible for bilingual communication, a situation that would be described as unfair, by French language boosters.

To these French language defenders there is nothing discordant in supporting the requirement for bilingual personnel in a Cornwall hospital, while defending the principle that nobody be 'forced'  to speak English on the job in Quebec.

Incredibly, in Quebec, it remains public policy that minority rights are to be tolerated only in cases where the minority is the majority, a convoluted notion if ever there was one.
Again, perfect sense in this province....

The unmitigated effrontery of the double standard is maddening.
I could go on and on.... so could you.

And so that brings me back around to the likes of Stéphane Gendron, a man clearly tilting at windmills.

You know you've struck a nerve when the whole Quebec establishment, both sovereigntist and federalist attacks you.
That the Francophone community is furiously denouncing him in a vitriolic campaign of denigration is understandable.
The story has already spilled out across Canada and the fear remains that the story could spread to the United States with the province again subjected to ridicule and derision, perhaps by another '60 Minutes' fiasco.

But it is the reaction in the English media that is saddest, where Gendron is portrayed as a pitiful figure fighting a losing battle and discredited because he made some injudicious remarks about Israel (for which he later apologized for) therefore disqualifying him now from being taken seriously.
But as Jonathan Kay wrote in the National Post 'sometimes devils dance on the side of angels'

Like those merchants in the neighborhood who continue to pay the street gang protection money while rationalizing it as a good business decision, seeing somebody stand up to the hoodlums is embarrassing.

When he ultimately fails, the Anglo detractors will say 'I told you so' as if their chosen path of appeasement is validated.

History abounds with stories of heroic, yet futile resistance and those of shameless collaboration.
History judges the appeasers and collaborationists harshly, it is the resisters who we admire, whether those efforts are futile or not.

Stéphane Gendron is a hero very much because he is bound to lose his fight.

One thing remains indisputable, the longer he lasts on the battlefield, the more harm he does to the credibility of his opponents and like Rocky Balboa boxing against Apollo Creed, just standing on his feet for the full fifteen rounds, is victory in and of itself.

For those apologists who say his fight is useless, I tell them that they are wrong.

Everyday that Stéphane Gendron continues the fight and keeps the story in the news, the issue of minority English rights in Quebec remains unsettled and that so-called 'social peace' declared by appeasers, remains an illusion.

That is what the other side understands better than we, and that is why they hate Gendron so much.

Ultimately, it remains humiliating that a francophone is fighting a battle that we are too afraid to engage in ourselves.

All I can offer is this brief passage from one of my favorite poems;
"And you, my father, there on that sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light"

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It  has been pointed out in the comments section that perhaps Huntingdon is NOT breaking the law!
This according to a memo written by l'Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF) itself, in  1999.
Click Here for the original at the  OQLF website
"ALL of Quebec's municipalities can put out information in both languages and it wouldn't break the law. (nice research Steve) So the OQLF harassing him at all is ridiculous, even from their own text."

Thanks to Hugo  for pointing this out.

175 comments:

  1. I don't have any problem whatsoever with Stephane Gendron sending information in English.

    But here's my question: what percentage of the population is literate in French?

    And if it's not a substantial proportion then...why? Did they not learn enough French in school, or are they all from outside the province?

    It's not that I like Bill 101, but this is not the battle *I* would pick.

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    1. What "fight" would you pick Suzanne?

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    2. Suzanne, those arguments are the same served to us by anglos here in the ROC, and why would we want french services in a 20-40% french locale if we know english anyway?

      The answer is : that's not the point! It's a matter of curtesy, of providing the services desired by the local population where their numbers warrant it, plain and simple.

      It's ridiculous that Quebec requires a majority of anglophones to provide english services. I tend to argue against you in most cases, Editor, but in this case I'm 100% behind you.

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    3. The answer is : that's not the point! It's a matter of curtesy,

      So let's just waste taxpayers money to make people happy? No, don't believe in that.

      I think the bigger fight is allowing people to choose whatever education they want for their kids: English, French, bilingual, religious, secular, whatever.

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    4. Well, it's their money too, they get to vote and influence politics to see it spent the way they want to. Is that not the fundamental basis of democracy? It's not just "Majority hulk, majority smash!"

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    5. Suzanne,

      What your answer would be if I turned your question around for the francophone population in Ontario, particularly in the North and the East? Or for the population of St-Boniface in Winnipeg? The population that is currently receiving government services in French?

      "But here's my question: what percentage of the population is literate in English?

      And if it's not a substantial proportion then...why? Did they not learn enough English in school, or are they all from outside the province?"

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    6. By the same token, why not remove federal services in french? Since 80% of Canada's francophones can read english, why bother wasting taxpayer money on them? It's the song us francophones, especially ROC francophones, keep hearing.

      There are two assumptions that are made by such statements.

      1. Services in the minority language are only of use to unilingual speakers of that minority language.

      2. Services are taken for granted if they are of the majority language, while services in the minority language are "extra", funded entirely by the majority language speakers' taxes.

      In reality minority-language people pay taxes too, and want services as well. Why should their money be spent exclusively on majority-language services? That's unfair, why would you expect them to agree with it?

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    7. What your answer would be if I turned your question around for the francophone population in Ontario, particularly in the North and the East? Or for the population of St-Boniface in Winnipeg? The population that is currently receiving government services in French?

      I live in a francophone part of Ottawa. Everyone is strictly bilingual here. The only francophones who are not bilingual are immigrants, believe it or not.

      Are people demanding services in another language because they *really need them* or is the state becoming the instrument of political propaganda?

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    8. Or maybe, they think they deserve them based on how many of them there are?

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  2. In a province where everyone's been spayed or neutered... Gendron has the balls of a bull!!!

    As I've sad before, it will take a French-Canadian to speak up to seriously shed light on these ridiculous issues.

    I would love to have him run in provincial politics, sadly, I read he will no run for re-election in Huntindon, so that he can concentrate on his TV career... :(

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    Replies
    1. "Gendron has the balls of a bull"

      Un taureau qui rêve depuis longtemps de foncer dans la foule et qui le fait avant de s'enfuir dans la nature.

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    2. Like Mario Dumont, I believe he'll get the message out better if he remains on TV.

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    3. Plus on parle d'anglicisation,plus les seppies sont populaires...Étrange non?

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    4. ah shut up oqlf, you are well aware that the separatist movement is still bound to die even though there is a little of bit of uprisings of "popularity" flaring up from time to time...

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    5. I was wondering the other day, how much of this 'popularity' is actually manufactured by what's her face and the likes.

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    6. The Separatist movement is bound to die because Quebeckers do not have enough kids and rely on immigrants to increase population.

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    7. @ Suzanne
      Nous avons plus d'enfants par année qu'il entre d'immigrants selon les stats du gouvernement (même en additionnant immigrants + bébés anglophones + bébés allophones il y a un nombre supérieur de bébés francophones) et c'est pas demain la veille que nous serons minoritaires au Québec alors nous disposons encore d'assez de temps pour voter oui en majorité. Le Québec c'est beaucoup plus que Montréal, faut le rappeller à certains qui vivent dans leur bulle montréalaise desfois.

      45% en faveur de l'indépendance, 48% contre, 7% ne sait pas dans un sondage récent de Léger Marketing.
      Considérant que le 20% de non-francophones est quasiment tout inclus dans le 48% contre, ça voudrait dire qu'au moment où j'écrit ceci les francophones en faveur de l'indépendance sont majoritaires. Suffit juste d'en convertir encore quelques pourcents d'indécis. Quelques années du gouvernement Harper suffiront pour nous mener à la victoire.

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    8. ...en supposant que Suzanne parle français.
      Y'a-t-il des Suzanne anglophones? D'habitude c'est plutôt Susan.

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    9. "Y'a-t-il des Suzanne anglophones? D'habitude c'est plutôt Susan."

      Oui. Aussi Susan Francos et Susane et Susanne etc.

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    10. to these three ano above...still 75% still think that Quebec WILL NEVER SEPARATE!!!

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    11. Doesn't matter what people believe will happen, only what will happen will matter. Never say never.

      Say you have 60% that would vote for independence (hey it's possible, in 1990 after the whole Meech thing it was 67% but unfortunately the liberals were in power at the time so no referendum right after that and many changed their minds later) but only half of those 60% who would vote yes think it's likely to happen, that doesn't mean only 30% yes, it still means 60% yes therefore all that is needed is a referendum as soon as possible.

      At least 45% would vote yes these days. That's why many still think it won't happen. They will vote for it to happen given the opportunity but it's because of that figure of 45% (which isn't enough of course) that they lack confidence and are pessimistic.

      The PQ is very likely to win a majority. All it would need is some unpopular move by the conservatives and the PQ could initiate a referendum and win. Then it won't matter what percentage believed it would happen, it will have happened.

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    12. I mean, it's obvious that if the PQ would have been in power back in 1990 right after the Meech failure we would be celebrating 22 years of Quebec independence this year. In 1989 the liberals had won a majority but then in 1994 the PQ took power and it was way stronger than it was in 1985 and 1989.

      By the way, back in 1985 when the PQ lost, the English Canadian media kept saying separatism was over and all that. Sounds familiar, with the Bloc and PQ not doing well in the polls last year just like the PQ was in bad shape in the late eighties and then it all changed.

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    13. Wait a minute, where's the 75% figure from? Got a source?
      And does that include the opinion of English Canadians (who are less likely to believe separation will happen)?

      Because in Quebec only it's 53% not 75% that don't believe independence will happen according to this:
      http://www.canoe.com/sections/medias3/sondage_qmi_12mars2012_4-1331548203.jpg

      They keep showing it on TV (LCN) and there's also this question (the 45% in favor of independence):
      http://www.canoe.com/sections/medias3/sondage_qmi_12mars2012_3-1331548130.jpg

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    14. "I mean, it's obvious that if the PQ would have been in power back in 1990 right after the Meech failure we would be celebrating 22 years of Quebec independence this year."

      The celebration might be muted because Quebec would have become a bankrupt, Third World banana republic by now with the same financial status as Greece.

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    15. Au commentateur anonyme à Mar. 12 7:30 pm

      Je suis native de la ville de Québec. C'est devenu une ville de vieux. On ne voit plus d'enfants jouer dans les parcs. Dans mon enfance, on voyait peu d'immigrants, surtout dans la banlieue. Aujourd'hui, les immigrants sont partout. Oui, il existe des immigrants séparatistes, mais la cause n'a pas autant de sens, parce que l'identité québécoise risque d'être diluée au point de ne plus être reconnaissable. Quand on est immigrant, on n'a pas les mêmes points de repères, et si les québécois n'ont pas assez d'enfants, l'identité québécois va se déstabiliser. Ça ne sera plus la tribu québécoise qu'on a connu dans mon enfance, qui a donné le sens à la cause séparatiste.

      Moi je suis fédéraliste, ça fait mon affaire. Mais, les séparatistes ne devraient pas se conter des histoires. Le manque d'enfants nuit à leur cause. Les immigrants prennent de la place dans les régions. Le Québéc purlaine disparaît.

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    16. À Anonymous Mar 12, 7:32

      Mon nom a toujours été Suzanne, c'est le nom sur mon certificat de naissance.

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    17. C'est pas plus une ville de vieux que les autres villes nord-américaines et oui y'en a plein des enfants dans les parcs et ailleurs. On voit encore peu d'immigrants, surtout dans la banlieue. Non les immigrants ne sont pas partout à Québec. C'est bien, bien pire à Ottawa (pourquoi trahir sa nation? vous aidez pas la cause en vous exilant) où vous semblez demeurer. L'identité diluée? Moi je pense que face à l'immigration et la ghéttoïsation des immigrants l'identité québécoise est renforcie, parce qu'on voit que la majorité des immigrants n'a rien à voir avec notre culture et nos valeurs. La tribu québécoise va continuer d'exister, elle est en train de se réveiller face au multiculturalisme et avec un changement de gouvernement, il pourrait y avoir un changement du niveau d'immigration.

      Notre taux de natalité est plus élevé que le Canada anglais selon les statistiques (et pourtant ils ont plus d'immigrants que nous, la majorité des bébés viennent de nous parce que la langue maternelle est notée). Les immigrants prennent de la place dans les régions? Il y en a vraiment pas beaucoup selon le dernier recensement, encore une fois, c'est bien pire dans les régions du Canada anglais, et aux États-Unis, et en France, etc. Si vous craignez pour le futur ici, imaginez dans les autres pays. C'est quand même pas demain la veille qu'ils vont y être majoritaires en région et même que plusieurs s'en vont des régions vers Montréal après quelques années. Ça fait longtemps que ça existe ce phénomène d'immigration en région et le taux qui s'établissent à Montréal demeure stable. Donc Montréal va servir d'exemple contre l'immigration incompatible (pas toute l'immigration) et les régions seront préservées à temps.

      Le Québec ne disparaît pas et ne disparaitra pas tant qu'il ne voudra pas disparaitre. Il y a dix ans j'aurais parler de mini-baby-boom et plusieurs m'aurait traité de fou et pourtant c'est arrivé depuis et ça continue d'augmenter, y'en manque pas gros pour atteindre le taux requis pour assurer le renouvellement de la population.

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    18. no, trust me, it will disappear with time!!!

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    19. We have a higher birth rate than Ontario says Statistics Canada and less visible minorities and immigrants.
      Therefore, white Ontario will disappear.

      That's the difference between Quebec and English Canada. The latter isn't worried about its language and relies on immigration to increase its population but you do realize most immigrants aren't white, right?

      If you don't mind Canada being mostly Pakistani in origin well then that's your problem. Oh of course, it doesn't matter because they will speak English, right? What about their different religion and values? You think they will treat non-muslims nicely once they become Ontario's majority?

      White Anglos are screwed and they don't even realize it or they won't admit it, they hide behind visible minorities but they will become the minority themselves.

      Look at your own situation before bashing Quebec.

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    20. It is precisely because of Quebec's language that it will eventually say no to immigration, liberals won't win the next election according to the polls and both the PQ and the CAQ have been talking against immigration to save the French language in Montreal.

      You think we'll just sit and watch minorities take over Quebec without doing anything about it?
      And if the federal government prevents us from stopping immigration, we'll have the best reason ever to vote Yes in a referendum.
      Plenty of federalists don't like immigrants, it will be easy to turn them into separatists.

      Anglo-America is screwed, they don't have the language excuse to bash immigrants in the media and immigrants prefer settling there because of the English language.

      No one has been able to take over Quebec in the last 400 years ever since we took over the Indians.
      Anglos failed.
      Allos will fail too.

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  3. Please show your support for Gendron here: mairie@villehuntingdon.com
    or here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/St%C3%A9phane-Gendron-Maire-de-Huntingdon/114088312695?sk=wall

    And to support his justification to stand up to this department attempting to enforce institutionalised language discrimination:

    http://www.oqlf.gouv.qc.ca/english/infoguides/press_releases/municipalities.html

    "Bilingual status or not", a municipality must draw up and publish in French its public texts and documents and may provide these communications in both French and English or another language

    So as we can see, ALL of Quebec's municipalities can put out information in both languages and it wouldn't break the law.
    (nice research Steve)

    So the OQLF harassing him at all is ridiculous, even from thier own text. Here in TMR all is respectfully delivered bilingual, and we are less than 50%, so this threshold stuff is just another scare tactic to feed our Gouvernemama Anglophobe.

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    1. "At least french, other languages at the discretion of the town" sounds like it's fair. It's that the OQLF is not letting the towns exercice their discretion for the other languages.

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    2. UPDATE!!!!!
      I have added a copy of the memo from the OQLF to the story.

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    3. Great, this is thanks to a very smart Concoria student, Steven. I shall keep his last name confidential until he wants to reveal it.

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    4. Hugo and Editor,

      I assume that you have brought the fact that Bill 101 may not be violated to Mayor Gendron's attention?

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    5. I have been thinking about this for a while. Except for the education part, Bill 101 does not explicitly forbid anything. What it does is it puts instructions to promote the language and to specify the language rights of the population. CMIIW. The purpose is of course so that the law would not be perceived as a discriminatory law (even if it is) or a violation of rights by external observers.

      Therefore the Huntingdon affair got me confused. The city provides services in French completely. Therefore, it is in compliance with Bill 101. After that, it goes above and beyond and provides services in English too. I did not think that Bill 101 mentions any restriction NOT to provide services in other language, and I was right. If that was the case, Bill 101 would be such malicious and vindictive law.

      I suspect that in this case OQLF steps outside its boundary and put its own judgement beyond what is prescribed by the law. It is not the first time. Just remember boutique eletronique Future Shop affair. The questions are, first, does OQLF have the authority to do so? Second, is there any recourse for OQLF going beyond the laws? Third, do 'OQLF directives' hold any legal power?

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  4. Let's start with what Stéphane Gendron said during the Hezbollah war of 2006:

    "Les Israéliens, ce sont les nazis des temps modernes."

    Now, a quote from your essay above, Mr. Editor:

    "History abounds with stories of heroic, yet futile resistance and those of shameless collaboration.
    History judges the appeasers and collaborationists harshly, it is the resisters who we admire, whether those efforts are futile or not."

    Israelis being compared to Nazis? No sir, that is not, as you've put it, "injudicious". It is hateful and perverse.

    Likewise, your use of such Second World War terms as heroic resistance and shameless collaboration in the context of 21st century Quebec is hateful and perverse.

    I'm not surprised that you've allied yourself with the likes of a Gendron.

    Birds of a feather flock together.

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    Replies
    1. We are talking about Bill 101, not world War II.

      You may object to Mr. Gendron being taken seriously because of his anti-Israel remarks, that is your right.
      He admitted he was wrong, but obviously that's not good enough. So be it.
      Does it make his position on Anglo rights also illegitimate? Obviously it does in your opinion.

      Does agreeing with Mr. Gendron's opinion on anglo rights make me an anti-Israel basher?

      Sorry, you can't make that connection.

      If Mr. Gendron stated that he hated Israel and Thai food and should I agree that Thai food is bad, does that make me anti-Israel.

      Raise your level of criticism, please....

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    2. Mr Editor,

      You state, "we are talking about Bill 101, not World War II." Precisely. So, please, spare us the WWII language of shameful collaborators and heroic resisters.

      Problem is, Mr. Editor, you seem to have a bit of a rep when it comes to apologizing for your anti-Semitic hero, Stéphane Gendron. In an earlier post, did you not dismiss his hateful rhetoric about Israel as having "gone a bit too far". I asked you then, "how far is far enough?". You didn't care to respond.

      Using your logic, the next time I want to extoll the virtues of vegetarianism, I can freely offer this up without tainting my cause:

      "One may regret living at a period when it's impossible to form an idea of the shape the world of the future will assume. But there's one thing I can predict to eaters of meat: the world of the future will be vegetarian." Or, "The only thing of which I shall be incapable is to share the sheiks' mutton with them. I'm a vegetarian, and they must spare me from their meat."

      Granted, he didn't get a chance to apologize for some of the other stuff he's known for.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Hitler%27s_vegetarianism

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    3. @Anonymous Mar 12, 2012 12:38 PM

      Since when does mentioning collaborators and resisters apply solely to WWII?

      Your point about vegetarianism is plain old stupid.

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  5. Oubliez le bilinguisme à Huntingdon (forget it my anglo friends) si jamais ces sondages sont conformes à la réalité.

    http://tinyurl.com/7gs7bev

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    1. We want the PQ to get in. The sooner Canada separates from Kebec (minus Montreal, West Kebec, ALL military bases and ALL federal properties), the better for all! GO PQ GO!!!

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  6. @seppie

    Yeap a battle with CAQ, PQ and Quebec Solidaire means a divided seppie vote. Liberals might squeak down the middle and get a majority thanks to the division. Then we will get 4-5 until census 2016, where Montreal area demographics will change even more. Partition.

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    1. A liberal majority? You're in for a big disappointment.

      The great majority of ridings are almost totally francophone and the great majority of francophones won't vote for the liberals, polls have been confirming this for a while now, they have rarely been this unpopular if ever. With the current first-past-the-post system, it's pretty much impossible the liberals will win anything except a minority of safe Montreal ridings because they aren't the most popular party and even with Québec Solidaire getting some votes that could otherwise go to the PQ, the latter is still way more popular among francophones than the liberals so they will always finish 2nd or 3rd behind the CAQ. The PQ will get the most seats, the CAQ (which includes a lot of formerly-liberal federalists yet you speak of a divided seppie vote) will pick up the rest.

      77 seats for the PQ (out of 125) according to Forum Research, which is based in Toronto so it's not like they're pro-PQ.
      http://www.vigile.net/Pauline-Marois-a-39-et-77-comtes
      Might even gain more than that by the time there's an election but the liberals would need at least 63 ridings for a majority and francophones are a minority in only 16 ridings out of 125.

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  7. "Then we will get 4-5 until census 2016, where Montreal area demographics will change even more. Partition."

    Revenez sur terre cher ami,Charest est cuit!

    Better luck next time!

    Voulez-vous bien me dire quel est le produit (légal?) que mettent les allos dans leur café?

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  8. I agree with the main point of the article. The anglophone community can't seem to stand up and fight. It's as if they have accepted their end in Quebec. It's really only the new immigrants who merge into the anglophone community that have some fight in them.

    Gendron is a welcome voice. And all Quebecers should stand with him. At least somebody is standing up for some sense.

    As for the Montreal Gazette, this is the reason why I stopped my subscription. This paper can't defend the rights of its own readers even within a editorial. The Suburban does a much better job at defending it's readers. Shame on you Gazette.

    Also, please be aware that the RAMQ (Quebec Health Board) is transitioning people onto electronic health files. They sent out a communication in french only. If you don't want your health history to be viewable by electronic means, you need to opt out yourself.

    God knows how we can't even trust Quebec to protect our personnel info. They don't even bother communicating with us in English. What does that say already.

    Think about. If this is something you don't want to be a part of. This is especially important for anglophones and allophones who only received the info in french and may not have understood the communication.

    Here is a link to the english .pdf in order to opt out. I believe your opt out form has to get there before March 26. Which is a Sunday of course. No mail service. So, make sure it gets there before March 23rd.

    http://publications.msss.gouv.qc.ca/acrobat/f/documentation/2011/11-715-17A.pdf

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    1. The Anglophone community has been brainwashed to believe that they are a community, so the act like they need a hand out rather than taking charge as their forefathers did when they played the most crucial of roles in building this ungrateful country that has forgotten them!
      Community. Sounds so insignificant.
      Sad.

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    2. What would be even sadder is to see a few people strutting around acting like they're in charge while everyone around them ignores their antics.

      I wonder how the english health services in Quebec compare to the french services in Ontario, given the approximate equal number of Quebec anglophones and Ontario francophones (575 000 vs 500 000 respectively).

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    3. "Gendron is a welcome voice. And all Quebecers should stand with him..."

      À votre place,je ne compterais pas trop là dessus.Une autre preuve que vous ne connaissez pas les Québécois et ce qu'ils pensent de ce clown en fin de carrière.

      Delete
  9. "This is especially important for anglophones and allophones who only received the info in french and may not have understood the communication."

    Faites comme nous,apprenez-le.Vous verrez,avec un minimum d'intelligence,c'est presque aussi facile que l'anglais.

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    Replies
    1. Anon,

      I speak French well, but in matters of health, I prefer English. Everything concerning health matters in QC should be bilingual, at least in the areas that have a large anglophone community. And of course the website sand call service.

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    2. You get the mail in French, but it tells you on the envelope to go to their website for the English version. You can still get service from the RAMQ in English, you just have to tell them every year, but this is only for immigrants. Anyways, the info you received on your envelope is translated here
      http://www.dossierdesante.gouv.qc.ca/en_citoyens_DSQ_et_vous.phtml

      Delete
    3. Stop replying to anglophobics w3ho refuse to speak to you in your language. That is what we are fighting against.

      Delete
  10. As usual, you raise very good points. I just have a few things to mention

    The out migration of the anglo community is still ongoing, it's just not to the same extent as the 70s. Our retention rate is a puny 50%, this means that in a few generations, the anglo community will become nothing but a bunch of ex-pats, or students who are for university or college.

    Second, the reason many of us stayed on is because we've been willing to accept the new realities of Quebec. You also have to consider the fact that English Quebeckers have never seen themselves as a minority, but rather, part of the majority in North America. The Quite Revolution, and subsequently Bill 101, has completely reversed the power dimensions in Quebec, with anglos becoming a real minority in status and in privilege. I'm not pro-Bill 101 or anything, but just saying that the anglo community can never return to what it was before the 60s--to a dominant minority

    Regarding the municipalities, there are about 70 towns with bilingual status and 93 that offer English services on demand. As well, there are municipalities that have less than 50% that have bilingual status, like TMR and St.Anne de Bellevue (both around 35%). Here's a list of of anglo-quebec communities
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Anglo-Quebecer_communities

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    Replies
    1. The Anglophone community has been brainwashed to believe that they are a community, so the act like they need a hand out rather than taking charge as their forefathers did when they played the most crucial of roles in building this ungrateful country that has forgotten them!
      Community. Sounds so insignificant.
      Sad!

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    2. Les déscendants (offspring) dont vous parlez ne représentent qu'environ 5%.Effectivement,ils sont une très petite minorité.

      Delete
  11. Oh, and I forgot to add this here
    http://www.journaldequebec.com/2012/03/11/plus-danglais-reclame

    Seems even Quebeckers are tired of French music...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. with star academie being aired on tva in the evening, I wouldn't be surprised.

      Delete
    2. Wanting more English music doesn't mean being tired of French music. You don't have to choose between one or the other. Just like in countries in Europe people listen to both local music in their language and American music. They just want more international stars to play in their city whereas there's already plenty of francophone artists that play in Quebec City (and there is a demand for that, it's not like people go seem them by force). It's not really about the English language lyrics (many unilingual francophones like music that they don't even understand the lyrics), it's because of the music and since there are way more Americans, of course there's a bigger offer of singers and bands.

      As for films, watching American movies (again, much bigger budgets and offer) isn't new so some people figure they might as well watch the same movies but in their original language simply to practice their English as a second language. It's not like people in Quebec City will assimilate to English in such a French environment or else French-speakers in Montreal would all speak English at home by now but that's not the case.
      Quebec films are doing great especially considering they have to compete against American films. Quebec films are way more watched than English Canadian films.

      Star Académie is hugely popular including among young people:
      http://fr.canoe.ca/divertissement/tele-medias/nouvelles/2012/03/07/19474186-qmi.html
      They sing in French most of the time and have even said on the show how important it is to do so.

      Who will assimilate and start speaking English at home because they heard English lyrics or saw a few movies? If that were the case, Sweden, the Netherlands, etc. would all speak English by now but they clearly don't speak it at home there. You have your local language and culture and then on top of that some sort of globalized Anglo-American culture but the latter doesn't remove the former. You can have both.

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    3. go see them by force, not go seem them by force, sorry

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    4. English Canadian films?

      je ne pourrais même pas nommer un film anglo-canayen,je ne savais même pas que les canadiens produisaient des films.

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    5. Bien y'a eu Paschendale... et Mambo Italiano je crois? Quoique Mambo Italiano a été fait plus ou moins bilingue..

      Delete
  12. "Seems even Quebeckers are tired of French music..."

    Ils n'ont qu'à changer de station :)

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  13. Great post Editor, you hit the nail on the head. Sadly francophone voices of reason (Bernier, Gendron) are few and far between. Sometimes it's best to look at the positives of living here. The Liberals are investing billions in English Montreal with the Super Hospital. Also, our exposure to Government is only a tiny minuscule portion of our daily lives. I for one try to do my part by denying Quebec as much tax revenu as I can. I pay cash as much as possible. I only vacation outside Quebec and I trek down to Plattsburgh from time to time to fill up on gas and groceries. I demand English service 100% of the time both in public and private enterprises. Aside from the ocassional unilingual French Dollarama cashier, I get served in English most of the time. My advice is the next time a politician knocks on your door during an election soliciting your vote, ask them if they support Bill 101 and it's discriminatory effects on our community. If the say yes tell them to F- OFF and that they will not get your vote.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. "I demand English service 100% of the time both in public and private enterprises. Aside from the ocassional unilingual French Dollarama cashier"

      Speaking of which, I came across the same situation at Concordia when I went to class. I asked the lady in english if there was going to be a tutorial class held at 4:00PM, then she replied and told me "excuser moi, je ne parle pas anglais!!Parlez-vous Francais??. So, there I was,standing there all mind-boggled about the fact that a Concordia emplouyee would not speaking a single word of English,then I just didn't bother,so I decided to switch to french just not to give her a hard time and piss her off.

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    2. Welcome to the situation of being a minority Anon 11:23, the rest of us have had to deal with that kind of indifference all our lives.

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    3. "Welcome to the situation of being a minority Anon 11:23, the rest of us have had to deal with that kind of indifference all our lives."

      J'ai remarqué que plusieurs anglos ont de la difficulté à accepter leur statut minoritaire au Québec.Heureusement,la majorité de ce groupe commencent à l'accepter.Sans vouloir offenser personne,j'oserais dire qu'il s'agit des bons anglos.

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    4. And the anglophobes want to us to be seen and not heard. Nicely done, neighbour. No wonder Kebec is a laughingstock and most Canadians can't wait to get out of there. Troll.

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    5. "J'ai remarqué que plusieurs anglos ont de la difficulté à accepter leur statut minoritaire au Québec.Heureusement,la majorité de ce groupe commencent à l'accepter.Sans vouloir offenser personne,j'oserais dire qu'il s'agit des bons anglos"

      and you fail to accept the fact that Montreal isn't as french as you would hope and never will be besides...the two minorities(anglos and allos) you keep bashing repeatedly, are in fact more predominant in the MTL area more than you'd like to imagine,thus making them the majority in this case...it's a harsh new reality for racist xenophobic separatist purlainers to face, but they will have to deal with it from this day forth continuously, till the day the day they die...sadly, for them.

      I have nothing against pure-lainers in general,(though I have to admit that have little to no tolerance with "seppies"). but ever since they took control over the provincial economy...I cannot deny the fact that it's been quite mediocre and poor, take Potholes for instance, it is one of the indirect results that spawned from the PQ and it is an actual reflection of the province's ugliness...

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    6. Anglos and Allos are a local minority if you take it in the provincial context, and a local majority if you take it in the context of their neighborhood. Sometimes they will be able to get english services, and sometimes not.

      Delete
    7. "laughingstock and most Canadians"

      Si vous voulez mon avis,c'est plutôt bon signe.Je ne voudrais pas être associé aux valeurs de harper.

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    8. "and you fail to accept the fact that Montreal isn't as french as you would hope and never will be besides...the two minorities"

      Aucun problème avec la quantité d'anglos,pourvu que ma ville s'affiche en français et soit reconnue à travers le monde pour cette qualité.

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    9. "Aucun problème avec la quantité d'anglos,pourvu que ma ville s'affiche en français et soit reconnue à travers le monde pour cette qualité."

      Exactly, for as long as there is still a strong presence of anglos, "your city"(which is a bit far fetched on your part to say) will not need to suffer the same fate as those located in a third-world country...You would've been more credible if you had referred your so called city to Quebec city instead, then I would've believed you

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    10. "...the two minorities(anglos and allos) you keep bashing repeatedly, are in fact more predominant in the MTL area more than you'd like to imagine"

      Oui mais c'est une masse difforme et molle et sans structure,un peu comme du Jell-O.Aucune substance.

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    11. at least they have a JELL-O right in between their two ears, unlike you, which it's completely hollow inside, just like a coconut!!!

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    12. I'm sorry, did some guy just say Quebec City is third-world?
      It's beautiful, safe, clean (nothing like the streets of Montreal), unemployment rate is low (doing way better than Montreal) and is popular with tourists from around the world all this despite being almost totally French-speaking.

      Perhaps that's not what you meant, though.

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    13. Et pratiquement pas d'immigrants (allos)...

      Delete
  14. "Sadly francophone voices of reason (Bernier, Gendron)..."

    Rien de mieux pour vous représenter?Ça va mal...

    Pour qui voterez-vous aux prochaines élections?Le seul espoir pour vous est d'engager "Pierre Poutine" afin d'orienter les Québécois vers les mauvais bureaux de scrutins.

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    Replies
    1. Does it matter? The corrupt Liberals will win again due to vote splitting by the PQ, QS and the CAQ.

      Delete
  15. Bonne nouvelle:

    http://quebec.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/03/12/le-bloc-qubcois-dloge-le-_n_1338502.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hold your horses tiger, there isn't a Federal election for another 4 years.

      Delete
  16. Seppie, as-tu pris connaissance du nouveau livre de Louis Préfontaine intitulé Apartheid universitaire ? Ce livre apporte "a bit of fresh air" comme disent les anglos.

    Monsieur Préfontaine démontre dans quelle mesure les institutions anglaises sont sur-financées et les institutions québécoises sont, par voie de conséquence, sous-financées.

    Souhaitons-nous d'être enfin une société mature et confiante, comme le demande de temps à autre The Gazette, pour imposer ce qui est la normalité partout dans le monde, soit un niveau de financement public des institutions anglaises proportionnel au poids démographique de cette minorité historique, soit 5,6 %. Ni plus, ni moins.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. you fail to realize that the reason they over-financed is mainly because they draw more people from the around the globe to their institutions rather than yours...Just face it and quit bitching,french universities just can't compete with McGill,Concordia and Bishop since they are not as prestigious in term of education and lack appealing features to gain public interest in order to obtain a surplus of enrollments, which BTW would definitely put them on the same track as these three mentioned above...and speaking of society..Buddy wake up, yours is still milestones away from becoming a mature and confident one, and the way it's going right now,I can actually tell that things aren't looking good at all to make it happen.You won't likely see that in your lifetime,neither in upcoming generations...

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    2. "I can actually tell that things aren't looking good at all to make it happen."

      Moi je crois tout à fait le contraire.Une question de perception,évidemment.

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    3. More Seperatist bullshit. While the English community was building their own institutions (Universities and Hospitals) what were Francophones building? Mammoth Churches all over Quebec under orders from their true masters, the Church! And you can toss out that 5.6% number, there are a Million English speaking people in Quebec. We pay taxes and demand service in our language.

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

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

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    6. Gentlemen, you are on the wrong website.
      I suggest you take this conversation elsewhere.

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    7. using the word "gentlemen" while talking those two seppies is an insult to the definition of the word...ED, you should use the word KIDS the next time you talk to them!!!

      Delete
  17. Mr. Sauga, ex-Lavallois, securely from the English speaking worldMonday, March 12, 2012 at 1:45:00 PM EDT

    Dear Editor:

    Based on your editiorial, I perceive what you're saying, the Anglophone community in Quebec, what's left of it, is getting what they desrve? If I'm construing this correctly, this is EXACTLY what is happening!

    There WAS a crusader who unfortunately came into his own 20 years too late named Howard Galganov. He organized rallies, got himself a morning show on the radio and rallied the troops as best he could. Who were his detractors? The Quebec Government No. The French press To a limited extent. French TV? Hmmm...mayhbe also to a small degree.

    The truth of the matter is, Galganov's biggest detractors were the Gazette and CJAD. Imagine...the English language media were his biggest detractors, and my ex-Lavallois companion referred to him as a buffoon.

    Now Hugo Shebbeare can't muster more than a handful of protesters for his his anti-Bill 101, and I told you so! Yup, I'll say that until the end of time. Back in 1974 when Bill 22, legislated by the so-called federalist PLQ was passed into Law, while still in high school, my mind to leave was made up.

    I remember my late mother, MSRIP, stating how we shouldn't abandon Quebec, but stay and fight. Trouble is, every time I tried to rally my parents, they did NOTHING, and that proved to me they and their cohorts were all talk and no action. My solution: LEAVE! Finish my education, pack my bags, and LEAVE. Sure enough, the day after my convocation at Concordia U., I did just that. This is my 28th year in the GTA, and to this day I have zero desire to move back. After an 11-year long-distance relationship with my current partner, she moved in with me and on our trip back to Montreal & Laval last week, after over 40+ years in Chomedey, she doesn't miss Quebec one iota. Her daughter considers Ontario her Viagara! Her words, not mine.

    So here we are, 38 years past the hour Bill 22 and its fascist restrctions, and the Quebec I expected to unfold didn't disappoint my worst fears...too bad!

    The only thing left, as far as I'm concerned, is slashing equalitzation payments to Quebec. Despite one Franco smart ass who tried a few blogs ago who stated Ontario received $3.3 billion (really $337 million), Ontario was still the biggest NET contributor to equalization. I don't see why Quebec should get equalization at all. They have declared one of two of Canada's official language illegal, and persecute those who use it where they don't want sight or sound of it, they have total disdain for Canada, except where there is a buck in it for them. Otherwise, their motto is screw Canada, and screw it tofr all it's worth.

    My message to the Quebec Anglophone community: PUT UP AND SHUT UP! 300,000 of us have left. The fight that should have taken place almost 40 years ago didn't, thus, ergo and therefore, it's too little too late. You won't win, you can't win! If you want to bang your heads against a brick wall, all you'll end up with is a terrible headache. My solution: Throw Quebec out of Canada. No more language problems (French will lightening-fast lose its official status, and why not wiih Canada's French language reduced to less than 4% of the population), and the reduced costs of packaging, translation, etc. Quebec inevitably will become French-only, but it is THEY who will have to pay 100% for French packaging and media costs. Works for me! If Quebec wants to maintain the Canadian currency, be my guest, but that will only work for about five weeks, give or take a week, and the new currency would be worth about 50ø Canadian. While Quebec will definitely raise taxes to soak up the federal vacuum left over AND MORE because the $8 billion in equalization payments will be lost, and other federal goodies that will no longer exist. Failure to jack the taxes will result in an additional deficit and debt due to the shortfall. GO FOR IT!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mister Sauga, if ever Quebec separates, do you think France would be willing the carry them over their shoulders????

      Delete
    2. "...carry them over their shoulders????"

      Je vous ferai remarquer que c'est le canada qui est,plus que jamais,relié à l'Angleterre.Pas de mariage de dignitaires Français en vue dans les rues de Montréal.

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    3. Mr. Sauga, you echo the sentiments I have written in my magazine column (and now in blogs) for 20 years. I, too, have zero desire to move back (15 years in June) but that doesn't mean I hate the racist anglophobes for forcing me and my brethren from OUR HOMES in Kebec. YOur political suggestions are far too practical for most idiot politicians to take seriously, but NEVER FORGET the federal properties, jobs, military bases, and federalists areas (Montreal, west Kebec etc) who would be fiercely Canadian if given the choice, and the day CANADA votes Kebec out will be a national holiday. I pray it falls on June 24th, just to illustrate the loss of power of racist Kebec francophones. Enjoy your new province, Les Boys, and the glorious third-world status that comes with it! Salut!

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    4. You won't win, you can't win!

      They can if they want to, they just don't want to. Go along to get along, and all that.

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    5. To my first anonymous respondent: NOT A CHANCE! France is already annoyedand bogged down with its immigrants, 40+ consecutive years of deficits and a recent drop in their Standard and Poor's bond rating to worry one iota about hopeless, godforsaken, backward Quebec.

      To my second anonymous respondent: Dream on.

      Former Kebecker: I don't know about the military. In Quebec, they are very hostile towards their English speaking cohorts.

      My life partner figured there would be civil war if Quebec separated. I don't know how. Quebec and their conscription bulls**t would prevent there being a civil war. They would expect the Quebec government to fight the war for them! They already expect the Quebec government to do everything else for them!

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    6. "I don't know how. Quebec and their conscription bulls**t would prevent there being a civil war."

      A sign of wisdom if you ask me.

      "Le jour où personne ne reviendra d'une guerre, c'est qu'elle aura enfin été bien faite."

      [Boris Vian]

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  18. I find the denouncing of Stephane Gendron to be quite sad. He's a man who is standing up for what is right and his comments are spot on. The truth hurts, I guess. Its crazy that Quebecker's brains are so locked down that they are willing to vote for a racist who will further restrict their children's freedoms and further bankrupt the province. Its really sad, especially considering those unilingual voters would have no way out of here once Quebec melts down worse than Greece.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Greece survived the worst that hell on earth hit that paradise with. Greeks have been defending freedom for 4000 years. Rich or poor, they take care of their own, and they take care of others.
      If you think the EU thing will make cowards of them, you don't know what freedom is.

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    2. To the anonymous respondent above: Dream on

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    3. to the second respondant above, the Greeks of today are not the Greeks of 4000 thousand years ago since they lost they war-like attitude...Forget about Alexander the Great rising from the graveyard, he won't, he's dead and you need to snap out or your fantasy about ancient Greece, where you know...male soldiers use to ___________ with other male soldiers!!!

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    4. Yeah, I guess you're right. Nobody gives a damn about them, but what ever little that's left of them, it's a hell of a lot more than the racists who run this place.

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    5. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98y0DSzt7yY&feature=player_embedded

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  19. Just to remind everyone of another Canadian francophone "hero" who dared challenge not just the PQ but the federal government too for their timidity to challenge separatists during the 1995 referendum, Guy Bertrand. His name is barely mentioned anymore but it was primarily due to Guy Bertrand embarracing the federal government with his legal challenges in the mid 1990s that forced them to draft and ultimately pass the Clarity Act. I doubt this would have happened without Guy Bertrand's determination.

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    1. Québec's most famous "vire-capot". I heard about him a couple of years ago; he was writing essays on the benefits of Quebec separation.

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    2. Yeah, I remember Guy Bertrand well, thanks for bring that up JP!

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    3. I dunno about Guy Bertrand. I believe he had some kind of angle or agenda because he was at one time loyal to the separatist cause. Seems his boat lists to one side one day and the other the next.

      I think Richard le Hir's transformation was more interesting, but was he a converso because of economic considerations, or did he really develop this newfound love for Canada? Coming to Quebec from France, I can imagine romancing the idea of a French nation in North America, a sort of home away from home, but did he finally come to realize that life in North America is not the same as life in Europe? It is certainly possible for one to mature and change one's views based on living life, but with politicians, I can't help but conclude there is an angle.

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    4. Mr. Sauga,

      Interestingly enough, M. Le Hir is also back on the separatist boat. He appears to be entirely devoted to the cause as he wrote hundreds of articles in Vigile over the last couple of years (some of which provide interesting insights).

      But I do agree that Le Hir's case is more interesting than Bertrand's; as the former being much more of an "homme d'idées".

      Delete
  20. Anglos don't fight for anything because they've been brainwashed by Trudeau.

    Once they throw off their statist shackles, they *might* accomplish something.

    Doubt it.

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    Replies
    1. Statist shackles? Really, what evidence is there that Anglo-Quebeckers are for Gouvernemama - they hate this discriminatory Bill and have been ever since it was enacted, yet cannot do anything about it because the Feds have left them to be bullied by the PLQ Nationalista and PCul Clannista.

      We managed to have three small Anti-Bill 101 protests last year, and it is a start, as well as Maxime and Stephane's great work to expose the coercion and racism. Did you know the QC Milice patriotique leader was arrested? Trail date set end of March:
      http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/story/2011/05/17/que-militia-death-threats.html

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    2. Hugo, NO Anglophones are for the Bill, but one of few times in life my late mother, MSRIP, disappointed me was telling me a story about a Francophone in the small Eastern Townships town she grew up in. This particular fellow started in some factory in town as a floor sweeper and worked his way up through the ranks until finally, he was perceived as ready to join management. In the end, instead of promoting him to management, an English speaker from Montreal was brought in. I think it was that story that left my late mother with some kind of guilt complex and I don't think she was so gung-ho on fighting the bill despite her once expressing a desire to do so.

      There is no shortage of miscarriages of justice in the workplace, but I never grew up in that environment and I don't have too much sympathy for that case. I'm seeing them now happen to Anglophones on a regular basis, like a large imbalance of Anglophones in the Quebec Civil Service, i.e., the lack thereof.

      Too many of my parents' cohorts supported their precious Trudeau, and perhaps I answered against Suzanne F. in a previous comment. Perhaps Trudeau did a more effective job of keeping the Anglophone Quebeckers in line than I can bring myself to give him credit for. Even if that was Trudeau's unterior motive, did he do Canada as a whole any favours? It certainly enabled Quebec to run roughshod over the English speaking community what with making English illegal in several places and circumstances, and even trying to instill the shame in using English.

      Be that as it may, I KNOW the federal Liberals HAVE BEEN and ARE grooming Jr. Trudeau for the mantle of leadership. They have been covertly doing so for the last 20 years and his electoral victory was where it became overt. Yes, Jr. Trudeau has stated he won't be seeking the mantle of leadership for sometime to come, but it WILL come, it is as inevitable as death and taxes, barring a serious family or personal health issue to derail those plans.

      Personally, I consider ONE Prime Minister Trudeau enough for this country, and I can see him being as much a Quebec interventionist as much as his father was. A Justin Trudeau-led campaign will NEV-VER...EV-VER get MY vote.

      Hugo, I do encourage you continue the anti-Bill 101 protests if for no other reason than it being therapeutic (i.e., getting the frustrations of it all off your chest), but I also caution you not to get too disappointed when it leads to nowhere.

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    3. Mr. Sauga writes:

      Perhaps Trudeau did a more effective job of keeping the Anglophone Quebeckers in line than I can bring myself to give him credit for. Even if that was Trudeau's ulterior motive, did he do Canada as a whole any favours?

      No, he didn't...and I contend that the francophones outside of Quebec were his biggest victims.

      The policy up to now by the Feds has always been what I call the "Lowest Common Denominator" factor; whenever Quebec anglos complained about abrogation of their rights and freedoms, the response was always: well, compared to what francophones outside Quebec have, you have a lot. So shut up and appreciate what you have.

      Comparison between the rights and freedoms enjoyed by the two communities has always been a measuring rod used to mete out rights.

      Just imagine what could be visited upon the francophones outside Quebec if, instead, the "Highest Common Denominator" factor was the rule of the day; that is, throw every possible right and freedom at the anglos of Quebec! That way, when the inevitable comparison is made between francophones outside Quebec and anglos in Quebec, the francophones outside of Quebec will be naturally dragged in an upward direction...and the rights and freedoms that they could have will always be measured against the highest possible standard, not one crimped by Bill 101.

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    4. Mr. Sauga writes:

      Personally, I consider ONE Prime Minister Trudeau enough for this country, and I can see (Justin) being as much a Quebec interventionist as much as his father was.

      Mr. Sauga, I hold to the principal of never visiting the sins of the father unto the son.

      However, in this instance, we don't have to. Justin is such a nobody, such a nincompoop that his reputation will, despite his name, die on its own accord.

      Peter Worthington just wrote a piece on Justin in response to his "separatist" comments in which he calls him more his mother's son than his father's. I think that's even more true for the other idiot son of Trudeau's, Alexandre, who is even more goofy -- if that's possible! -- than Justin. To wit: Alexandre's insistence upon republishing a few years ago an updated version of what has to be the very worst book ever published in the history of Canada: his father's and Jacques Hebert's "Two Innocents in Red China". This is a diary of Trudeau's and Hebert's little frolic in Red China around 1960 during which the greatest genocide in the history of mankind is taking place right under their feet (the Great Leap Forward)...and Trudeau doesn't even notice! Indeed, he acts as an apologist for the regime and his book is more interested in detailing the sumptuous feasts he attends than the 30-80 million people dying. Margaret and Pierre created a really nutty gene pool.

      Deborah Coyne's daughter, Elizabeth, I think her name is, is more her father's son than either of those two schmucks are. Elizabeth is going to the Wharton School in Pennsylvania and with two parents as lawyers (instead of one parent a lawyer and the other a whacko), the daughter is probably going to be the one to watch.

      Delete
    5. Tony, sometimes two bulldogs make a beauty queen, but not always. I hope Elizabeth does well. I certainly wish her no harm for I don't know much about her.

      Actually, Justin is more his father's son than you may remember. Daddy Trudeau has called opposition MPs SOBs, and given the people of Salmon Arm, BC the finger. The "separatist" remarks he made didn't help, but nevertheless, don't be surprised if Trudeau Jr. runs for the PM job. Who do the Liberals have now? For now Bob Rae is the right guy for the job of interim leader; unfortunately for him, he's a big loser in Ontario with orange egg forever on his face ergo no prime ministership for him.

      Harper right now is enjoying what Jean Chrétien had for enough years - in impotent opposition. The left is now in disarray after the right was in that exact position through the 1990s. With any luck, Jr. Trudean will explode and that will be the end of the Trudeau era, likely for the rest of my life.

      As for Alexandre, Justin's little brother, I like to assume he's playing it safe as the moron who stays quiet rather than open his mouth and prove it. It's obvious he's going nowhere politically. Is he smarter than Justin? Maybe. Only time will tell.

      Delete
    6. Really, what evidence is there that Anglo-Quebeckers are for Gouvernemama

      They vote Liberal no matter what. They demand subsidies. They WANT the state involved in their affairs. I never met a conservative growing up in Anglo Quebec, with the possible exception of my economics teacher who was from out west. In Quebec, if you want lower taxes, but want to maintain government intervention in every field, including for the arts, broadcasting, business, etc, you can still pass for a conservative. In English Canada, that's called being Liberal.

      Delete
  21. I'm very pro-Israel but who the hell cares if he's a racist?

    Any time you stand for freedom and civil liberties, you risk finding yourself on the same side as some shady characters. Because freedom is for everyone, good and bad alike. If you don't grant freedom to shady characters, then it's not freedom.

    Besides the label "racist" is too easily thrown around these days.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Suzanne, in the case of your first comment: Trudeau, nothing. They couldn't be bothered fighting. I discussed my late mother, MSRIP above. What saddens me most in retrospect was how my late mother extolled the virtues of freedom and democracy, something her parents and our other Russian ascendants were deprived of. They were victimized by the Czar and would have been by the Bolsheviks had they not emmigrated Russia. My late mother had total disdain for the communists, but seemed at ease with the opposite end of the totalitarian spectrum: Fascism. In Quebec, you either vote for the PLQ, the PQ (i.e., Fascist Party @1, Fascist Party #2 or the wannabe third parties that have come and gone over the decades. Presently, it's the CAQers, a.k.a. Fascist Party du jour.

      I'm pro-Israel, and I DO care if that little maggot mayor is a racist, and you can play vollyball with the term "racist" for all I care. Sadly, with the likes of Lionel Groulx having been revered for all his nationalism and anti-Semitism by the French-speaking common herd, he's just another brain-dead follower.

      Delete
    2. Mississauga Guy,

      One thing that I can not accept is the notion that those who are not in agreement with the policies of the State of Israel are deemed to be against Jews, and therefore racist.

      I have many Jewish friends and colleagues. I respect them and they respect me. However, I am against the policies of Israel - Netanyahu in particular - as well as against the involvement of the United States and Canada to the Israeli affairs. Am I racist to you?

      Delete
    3. One of the craftiest stunts ever performed by the PR industry was to equate the criticism of the state of Israel with anti-antisemitism. It's not unlike the trick that the Quebec propaganda machine performed - to criticize the policies of Quebec equals being a francophonbe or a "Quebec-basher".

      The downside of this is that it cheapens the meaning of the phenomena like antisemitism or francophobia. If I'm an anti-Semite because I condemn the pacification of Ramallah, where scores of civilians are killed in "security operations", then every decent and critically thinking human being is an anti-Semite. The word antisemitism loses its meaning.

      The same thing with "francophobia". To me, that term has no meaning anymore. It could denote a real francophobe, but equally likely it could denote someone who makes a rational observation about the absurdity of language laws in QC.

      Delete
    4. "...but equally likely it could denote someone who makes a rational observation about the absurdity of language laws in QC."

      La majorité des Québécois seraient en faveur d'une loi absurde?Si cette loi n'avait jamais existé adski,seriez-vous en mesure de lire ce que j'écris ?

      Delete
    5. "La majorité des Québécois seraient en faveur d'une loi absurde?"

      Of course. It wouldn't be the first time in history where a "majority" supports something absurd. It happens quite consistently, all throughout the world.

      Delete
    6. "Of course. It wouldn't be the first time in history where a "majority" supports something absurd. It happens quite consistently, all throughout the world"

      Des exemples ?

      Delete
    7. There used to be a Quebec separatist magazine called Ici Québec that back in 1978 proclaimed that Zionism IS racism. So much for comparing Quebecism with Zionism.

      Adski and Troy, and I suppose Suzanne F.: Think again! Israel will practically stand with their hands behind their backs while dozens, sometimes hundreds of rockets are fired at Israel before the Israelis FINALLY retaliate. As soon as Israel FINALLY retaliates, they are immediately labelled by most media sources as the aggressor. It never fails. Consider yourselves well conditioned by an imbalanced, biased media. Case closed.

      Given my drathers, I certainly hope Israel

      Delete
    8. Sorry, forgot to finish my thought above: "Given my drathers, I certainly hope Israel" won't have a need to make a pre-emptive strike against Iran, but I fully and unconditionally support what Israel ends up doing in response. As sure as the sun will rise tomorrow and tomorrow after that, Israel will be blamed as the aggressor, you can bet your boots and bottom dollar on that. Mark my words. BTW, I'm NOT a Zionist, believe it or not, I simply acknowledge Israel's right to exist.

      Israel BOUGHT a lot of that land of sand dunes for top dollar, with money raised by the Jewish National Fund. On a per capita basis, Israel has more university graduates, doctors, engineers and other professionals than ANY AND EVERY OTHER COUNTRY IN THE ENTIRE WORLD!
      The Arab states are busy killing each other and destroying all they have built. Despite all that happened in 2011, there STILL isn't a single democracy in the Arabic world. Where the former long-time dictators are deposed, jailed or killed, the vacuum is just being filled with NEW dictators and despots.

      Israel has its s**t and brown gravy together. Don't pick on Israel because the others, the enemies, so insanely jealous of Israel's successes, don't.

      Delete
    9. Yeah, the reason why people have an issue with Israel is because they're too succesful. *snicker*

      Delete
    10. They do, so eat your heart out!

      Delete
    11. When all the other kids made fun of you as a kid, did your mom tell you that it was because they were jealous of you? If so, that might explain why you hold such a ridiculous belief.

      People dislike Israel because they lower themselves to the level of the terrorists in their fight against them, something people have a hard time accepting from a legitimate government. Assassinations, suppression of civil rights, that giant wall around Palestine, complete lack of empathy for civilian casualties when taking out opponents of the regime, etc..

      Not that people have much more sympathy for the terrorists, but terrorists are subject to much lower standards.

      Delete
  22. Ah Quebec, where it's leaders driving the province have both eyes fixed firmly on the rear view mirror. The rest of the world moves on but here in Quebec, we're still talking about what happened in the past. Bill 101 is a mean spirited discriminatory piece of legislation born in another century. It has cost Quebec billions of dollars in capital flight and missed opportunities. Was it really worth it? I think not.

    ReplyDelete
  23. "The rest of the world moves..."

    Dans quel sens ? :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dans le sens de la globalization (voire : américanisation), bien sûr.

      Delete
  24. This could be interesting !
    We have some students on St. Catherine ready to test this ;). See Youtube link bellow...
    Just joking

    But this is a sign: do you really think that the fact that "we want" something matters to "them"? The games are set, we don't have free will anymore ! You want a free Quebec? Never gonna happen, because the interests are so high ( resources ). And if you somehow manage to remove yourself from Canada, be sure that something is wrong and Quebec will be in deep shit; means that Quebec has no importance for them hence it presents no economic future !!! Just think about it.

    You want small tuition for school? It's not decided by the students in the street. The decision is already there.

    And for the Seppie, who's special word is "parano" ...it's called reality! Unfortunately for us, we are just puppets and even if we can do nothing it's better to realize than to believe that "our voice matters".

    The same thing with polls: 45% supports the independence of Quebec...really, if this poll was done only in Quebec city maybe this was true.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzG4oEutPbA&feature=player_embedded

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. D'après votre bafouille je ne suis pas certain que votre pseudo soit approprié...C'est Mathieu ou matthew ?

      Delete
    2. C'est Mathieu. Je suis un franco-canadien. But I'm bilingual, I work only in english, and I use both languages equally.
      Even is i'm a "franco", I'm still a canadian, also a quebecker and a montrealer ...

      That is the separatists and Mme. Marois fail to understand: not all franco-canadians want a free Quebec.

      Delete
    3. Un peu trop confus pour moi.Pourriez-vous être un peu plus clair au sujet de votre identité.Merci.

      Delete
    4. I'm canadian ! Wtf is so hard to understand ?!?

      Delete
    5. Pas une raison pour vous mettre en colère,vous n'êtes pas le seul,du calme.

      Delete
    6. Mathieu: "The same thing with polls: 45% supports the independence of Quebec...really, if this poll was done only in Quebec city maybe this was true. "

      You must be referring to the latest poll conducted by Léger Marketing and shown on TVA.

      http://tvanouvelles.ca/lcn/infos/national/archives/2012/03/20120312-044747.html

      You know how I know that this poll is bs? Because it says that 75% of Canadians in the RoC prefer Quebec to stay in Canada (reste dans le Canada). 3 in 4 of ordinary Canadians would say they want Quebec to stay...this is so NOT the sentiment out in the RoC. It is the sentiment of the ruling class in Ottawa maybe, but not of ordinary people, who are for the most part fed up with the games Quebec is playing. The most common opinion in the RoC is: if they want to go, let them go, we've had it with them.

      I guess the point of these polls is not only to showcase the "support" for "sovereignty" in order to lean on the rest of the country. It's also to stroke the egos of Quebeckers, who think that despite all the crap their governments pulled on their behalf, the Canadians still really, really, really want Quebec to stay. Why would Canadians want Quebec to stay? Well, because the Quebecois are just so unique, and without them Canada would just be another US state, according to the official theory...

      It's all sounds nice and neat, but it is just not what Canadians believe. Most Canadians are tired of it all, and now most of them see right through the charade.

      Delete
    7. "C'est Mathieu. Je suis un franco-canadien. But I'm bilingual, I work only in english, and I use both languages equally.
      Even is i'm a "franco", I'm still a canadian, also a quebecker and a montrealer ..."

      Très beau cas exemplaire d'assimilation.Pouvons-nous emprunter votre description pour une étude sur le processus d'assimilation des francophones en amérique du Nord?

      Delete
    8. adski : You must be a special case of delusional to know unquestioningly, based on your own annecdotal evidence and confirmation bias experiences, what the majority of Canadians from 9 different provinces think in spite of statistical data to the contrary.

      You remind me of the people who are convinced that Harper was going down 2 May last year, because they "knew" the polls were wrong and that "all Canadians were fed up with him".

      Lunacy. Cheer lunacy.

      Delete
    9. Instead of working like a normal human being, you choose to waste time on studies...
      Like somebody wrote before me, study this: 40 years of Bill 101 - no result. PQ in power - no result. Quebec almost bankrupt, that should be an interesting study.

      My god, there is no hope for you guys. Nobody will assimilate you ! NOBODY ! You tried and keep trying to assimilate immigrants and anglos...this kind of push worked 200 years ago, but know, when there is access to information, you cannot force somebody to assimilate.
      Quebec is a french province, that's OK and will remain french...what's the harm of having a bilingual town ( Montreal )?

      Delete
    10. Anonymous Mar 13, 2012 08:23 AM

      Right back at you. You must be one of those delusional Quebeckers who believe that ordinary Canadians like Quebec and are dying to keep it in Canada. Because you've been told countless of times that Quebeckers are "unique", "distinct" , and "special", that they give Canada that unique flavor that differentiates it from the US. Also because you remember the 1995 "unity" rally in Montreal, failing to realize that the fed govt bussed these people to Montreal and used them in a PR stunt. Most of these AB and ON teenagers and mommies don't speak a word of French, have no interest in French or Quebec, and don't have the slightest interest in you or your province.

      One other note about the "distinctiveness" of QC: I go to the US from time to time, and other than language, I don't see any uniqueness here in QC. Materialistic and consumerist society, junk food eating fatsos, driving the same cars to the same types of strip malls and shopping malls, ignorant of anything going on beyond their backyard, and uninterested in anything beyond a sporting event - here the event showcasing a bunch of twits skating around an ice rink chasing a rubber puck. So trust me - you are not that unique. And Canada does NOT gain in "uniqueness factor" by having you in the federation.

      Delete
    11. My reply was to Anon 9AM, not 8:23AM.

      Delete
    12. "...that's OK and will remain french..."

      Nous faisons tout ce qui est en notre pouvoir pour le réaliser.Merci pour votre remarquable contribution.

      Delete
    13. "Nobody will assimilate you ! NOBODY !"

      L'image qui me vient à l'esprit: Obélix qui dit : Qui est gros?Je ne suis pas gros!!!...MDR

      I'm not talking to you in English bro!!!I'm a French Canadian...

      Delete
    14. Adski : That's an impressive picture you draw there, with your two-paragraph rambling. It's a shame all of it is wrong.

      What I do think is that 75% of the people polled said they would rather not Quebec seperate, and that you are delusional for thinking your annecdotes trump actual data solely on the fact that it doesen't confirm your bias. Like I said, lunacy.

      But it's ok, keep living in your little world where no one has anything better to do than pray for Quebec's seperation.

      Delete
    15. @Seppie

      French or english,your posts don't provide interest so don't bother...

      Delete
  25. "Mr Sauga, in the Real World"

    Hmmmm...Faites-vous référence à Mississauga le Donut land à l'ombre de la tour du CN?Le vrai monde?Vraiment?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. At least CN tower does not crumble like half of Montreal buildings and roads. Yup, Mississauga could be real world ... in the meantime, go back to your poutine and BS envelope.
      Oh Seppie, you're so funny when you show us everyday how small-minded you can be.
      Better explain us how, after 40 years of stupid laws you still don;t have a playground of your own ! Can't you see that you smell like incompetence no matter what you do? Or is that spoiled poutine? Could be Labbat?

      Your actions speak for themselves: protest in front of a dep in Verdun. Oh yeah baby ! Now you changed everything ! LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL

      Delete
    2. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

      Delete
    3. Editor,

      Hmmmm...Faites-vous référence à Mississauga le Donut land à l'ombre de la tour du CN?Le vrai monde?Vraiment?

      Really? This is acceptable?

      Delete
    4. "Yup, Mississauga could be real world ..."

      Ho misère.

      Delete
    5. For both Anons referring to donuts and poutine, anglo vs franco :

      You fail miserably, both of you.

      Delete
    6. "Ho misère."

      Keep dreaming Seppie...for now Mississauga is WAAAAAAAAAY more prosperous than whole province of Quebec. Who's unrealistic now?

      Delete
    7. "Keep dreaming Seppie...for now Mississauga is WAAAAAAAAAY more prosperous than whole province of Quebec."

      Tant d'immigrants qui font fausse route vers Montréal...Et dire que le paradis est à deux pas.

      Delete
    8. Listen, everybody. That "Mississauga Donut" malarky is so old and stale that the mental midget who goes on like a broken record now holds a doughnut from Mississauga that has become so stale, it's harder than the hockey puck above his neck and between his ears.

      By constantly responding to "Mississauga Donut" you give him a wall to bounce his ball.

      Solution: Don't give him to wall to bounce his ball. When you see comments about "Mississauga Donuts", please ignore them. Don't even acknowledge they exist. It's ignorant, boring and redundant.

      Delete
  26. A little bit out of topic.

    I browsed MQF site today and read an article about the bilingual hospital in Cornwall. Look at the comment wrote by Laurent Desbois. In that comment he wrote how bilingualism is good for one's health and how francophone community deserves services in French.

    All is good... except when will M. Desbois suggest that Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital be fully bilingual?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cornwall isn't a fully bilingual hospital, though. It's run in english, and they have a certain number of front-liners (nurses, receptionists) be bilingual. In 2011, 60% of new positions were designed bilingual, and only 40% of those (or 25% of all new jobs) were actually filled with bilingual applicants. This is still enough to be an affront against unilingual anglophones' entitlement to all of the jobs, though, hence the protests and defunding by their own city.

      Is this what you mean when you want Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital to be fully bilingual? What is the situation there presentely? Does Maisonneuve-Rosemont hire less than 25% bilingual staff?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous at 07:48,

      I readily admit that I do not know the hiring policy of Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital. I used it as an example as it is a major hospital deep in the East End of Montreal in an overwhelmingly francophone neighborhood.

      Let us take another example. The MUHC super hospital. The mere plan of it sent the separatist movements to outer space and back. Not a single one of them cite the goodness of bilingualism. This is after the fact that the ratio of English Quebecers is higher than French Ontarians.

      Delete
    3. Troy - Certainly French Ontarians can't expect french services in all of the provinces, only in certain parts of it. Local percentage rather than overall provincial ratios are what is important. That said, that would make the case for a bilingual MUHC super hospital even more convincing.

      I'm going to go on a bit of a tangent here. Some part of it may be because of a misunderstanding - both sides use the same word, but mean a different thing.

      To many francophones, when something is ran "bilingually", it's ran in english.

      Let me explain that for a second - many experiments of "bilingual" institutions go this way - people are hired regardless of their language proficiency, and they are allowed to use whatever language they want. In theory.

      In practice, since in Canada francos tend to know english but anglos tend to not know french, very quickly "bilingual" devolves to "english only". In order to have school boards, health boards & hospital actually deliver bilingual services in the ROC, you essentially have to run them in french. Doing anything else results in english-only (or english-mostly) services, such as the case of Cornwall's Hospital. The situation might be reversed in Quebec, though with the global appeal of english, I'm doubtful.

      (For the record - Cornwall's Hospital is the result of the merger of a french hospital and an english hospital in 1998. A mere 14 years later, it's too much to ask of the merged french/english hospital to have 25% of employees able to give services in french.)

      Montreal's situation is different - thanks to 40 years of Bill 101, anglos and allos tend to be more in fluent in their second language than their RoQ francophone counterparts, though less than their Montreal francophone counterparts. It's very possible that the seperatist movements are being paranoid in this case, if that's what they understand by making the MUHC "bilingual".

      I'm not too versed on how bilingual hospitals are ran in Quebec, though. If bilingual hospitals are analogous to Cornwall - ran in french but providing services in both languages, then the opposition by the Seperatists is callous and insensitive.

      If bilingual hospitals are identical to Cornwall - ran in english/"bilingually" but providing (nominally) services in both languages, then they may have concerns that you don't necessarily consider.

      After all, I think we can both agree that both anglophones and francophones should be able to receive medical services in Montreal. The question is how to set up the policies to deliver this.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous at 08:19,

      My philosophy is always live and let live. Like in the U.S. Declaration of Independence, each person has the unalienable rights of "Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness". As such, I believe in individual rights as long as those rights do not encroach those of others. Give the linguistic communities their due rights to work and to be served in the language of their choice as the situations warrant.

      What I can not stand is the active, oppressive actions towards one or the other. Examples:
      1. Huntingdon. The French community has every right to be served in French. But it crosses the line when the city is asked to stop providing service in English.
      2. Businesses. Businesses are profit-making endeavors. If the owners of the business choose not to entertain French clientele, at his own risk, why bother?
      3. Education. If members of the French community themselves choose to be educated in English, who are those other people to say otherwise?

      Delete
    5. I can sympathize with your point of view. That said, I don't agree with it. I don't agree with libertarianism, I don't think it's reprehensible for people to shape their society with policies which they vote for (through the intermediary of a party willing to implement said policy), so long as the minority isn't being oppressed by the majority.

      100% behind you for huntington.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous at 10:41,

      ...so long as the minority isn't being oppressed by the majority.

      And do you believe that it is not the case?

      Delete
    7. I won't deny that there are times where anglos are oppressed in Quebec (present Huntington issue a fine example).

      Nevertheless, that does not change my previous statement. Whereas you think the whole idea is lucridous, I merely think they go too far.

      Delete
  27. Bottom line. A person (Stéphane Gendron) who calls Israelis nazis is not a person I would EVER call a hero. And a mealy-mouthed apology extracted after a wave of protest does not wipe his slaight clean. The guy is an anti-Semite. That he's taken up the cause of Anglo rights does not make him heroic. He is an embarassment, and Editor, you've got some explaining to do.

    ReplyDelete
  28. "But as Jonathan Kay wrote in the National Post 'sometimes devils dance on the side of angels'"
    If you believe his remarks about Israel make him automatically ineligible to be heard (even after an apology) on the matter of anglo rights, so be it. That is your right.

    but even stopped clocks are right twice a day......

    I would have written a very nasty piece about his remarks towards Israel, except for the fact that is blog is about something else.....

    I do however appreciate your point of view.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Editor,

    I would have written a very nasty piece about his remarks towards Israel...

    Please do not. And thank you for not doing it.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Of particular concern was the following from the quote the Editor reproduced from the Gazette editorial:

    That’s asking a lot. A more reasonable proposal would be to require municipalities with 50 per cent or more anglo residents to provide bilingual service, and give other towns the option of doing so.

    I assume most people are aware that 50% is the threshold figure that is in Bill 101 right now.

    So the Gazette doesn't even want 10% or 20% or 30% or even 45% as the threshold but the Bill 101 status quo.

    This reminds me of what the Gazette did on the heals of what I believe was the most historical and most important poll ever conducted regarding Bill 101 and that was a poll they sponsored about two years ago regarding Quebec francophones' attitudes towards access to English publicly funded schools...by francophones!

    61% of francophones wanted freedom of choice in language of education for themselves!

    Now, the language of commercial signs is the part that most everyone thinks about when they think of Bill 101. But as far as I'm concerned, it's about 1% as important as the right to choose one's child's language of education. Anyway, why am I bringing this poll up? Because for the previous 20 years (at least! if not longer) the Gazette's Editorial position was the section 23.1.a position; that is, that Quebec should amend Bill 101 so that immigrants from English speaking countries whose first language learned could go to English schools. This was the first and most important recommendation of the Chambers Report of the early '90s (Gretta Chambers is long associated with the Gazette and is Charles Taylor's sister).

    Anyway, what does the Gazette do on the heels of the 61% poll? They called for only immigrants from the U.S. and England to have the right to go to English schools...and all other immigrants from English countries be damned! So, Jamaican immigrants, Ghanaian immigrants, and Australian immigrants, for example, all would still have to go to French schools while the British and American immigrants get the free pass.

    This is like negotiating in the Bizarro World, to coin a phrase from a "Seinfeld" episode. When your position has never, ever been stronger, ask for less than you've asked for for 20 years. Reposition yourself to appease even more.

    The Gazette has never, ever fairly represented what the anglo community wants and they've been trying to get away with their deception for nigh on 40 years. See English Community Does Want It All, And Why Not?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey Tony,

      I stayed out of this post because I don’t believe that a man who calls Israelis Nazis deserves more press. I find too much of this blogging goes by way of the slippery slope when race is so prominent. ie: That for “English” rights, a French person has to stand up for the English. And that the English are fighting for English rights rather than commonsensical rights. Can you see the pattern here?
      Race, race, race. Divide, divide, divide, even though we live in a pluralistic country where we pride ourselves in having mutual respect for each other.

      So I find your comment about the gazette is so right on, that I had to post. The gazette has been a terrible culprit not only to the English, but more importantly, by ignoring the 61% French parents’ wish, the gazette’s been a culprit to responsible journalism.

      Delete
    2. I recently posted the following on one of the Facebook group pages I participate on:

      "The essence of bigotry is denying others the same rights you claim for yourself" -- Thomas Sowell.

      That makes the Gazette the biggest bigot of all, doesn't it?

      Delete
  31. I f... hate students for their stupidity !

    ReplyDelete
  32. So... who's up to make a FB page in SUPPORT of Mr Gendron?

    ReplyDelete
  33. "GET OUT OF MY COMMUNITY!"

    http://www.cliqueduplateau.com/2012/03/13/get-out-of-my-community/#tous-les-reactions

    Les Juifs nous traite nazis...

    ReplyDelete
  34. Détails de l'histoire (Fr)

    http://fr.canoe.ca/infos/regional/montreal/archives/2012/03/20120313-135641.html

    ReplyDelete
  35. I am what *you* have created.

    -I was not at the Plains of Abraham.
    -I never worked at Eaton's in the 1950's.
    -I do not belong to some fictional social elite.
    -Quebec IS my home--no matter where your laws have sent me.
    -When I finished school, I could speak many languages--I could live in Quebec, Ontario, Alberta, New Brunswick, PEI, Nova Scotia, BC... anywhere in Canada or the United States.
    -I can conduct business with people all over the world. Others who do not judge me based on my family name.
    -You can blame me for all that you have created. You can write me out of our shared history. The federal and provincial governments can abandon me. You can spray paint the walls of my home, the store front of my business, try to intimidate me, protest all that I am, but...

    I have learned to have big shoulders, and it does not bother me, anymore. All that you have done has made me stronger.

    Yes, my Brother, you are free to continue to live in yesterday; I, however, have learned and will continue to live for today, and for tomorrow...

    I am a Maudit Anglais, and I am PROUD OF IT!

    ReplyDelete