Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Despite Marois Bragging, PQ Slate Bereft of Talent

PQ candidates... a slate of losers and fantasists
In reacting to the announcement that the CAQ had scored Jacques Duchesneau as a star candidate, Pauline Marois was quick to point out that one man does not a political party make and that her Parti Quebecois team was more able and experienced.

That piqued my interest as is often the case when politicians make statements that the mainstream press don't challenge.

Is the Parti Quebecois team really deeper than the CAQ when it comes to talent or experience and are they really readier to lead effectively?

So for me, it was off to the keyboard for a little research session, yielding a result that frankly, stunned me.

In reviewing the sitting members and those likely to be elected, it is painfully obvious, just how bereft of talent the PQ really is.
If the Liberals are doubly talented, they still wouldn't be able to muster effective leadership and readers, such is sadly the case.

It's no wonder that the civil service really runs the province, with the government of the day a bothersome pest at best.

Anyways, back to Marois' vainglorious depiction of the PQ 'dream team.'

Most are political hacks, who have risen through the PQ ranks, working as political attachés, thus fulfilling the self-replication of mindless and clueless separatist drones.
Then there's the journalists, the artists, the two-bit lawyers, the teachers, the unionists, ex-mayors and councillors of hick towns, a ragtag collection if ever I saw one.
With outright idiots like Jean-François Lisée and Bernard Drainville, acting as the big guns, the PQ is one scary caucus.
Referendum or not, Heaven help Quebec if these clowns get into office.

In fact, of the whole PQ caucus, the only sitting members I respect are Martine Ouellet and Véronique Hivon.

There isn't anyone there who could run a depanneur and I say that with the deepest respect to depanneurs who are more attuned to the realities of running a real business where the idea is to make money efficiently, instead of spending money foolishly.

Now things may be better over at the Liberal Party, where the quality of the sitting members may be higher, but the caucus still yields few who could run any sort of enterprise in the real world.

Sitting as elected members are an ex-school bus driver, journalists, teachers and lawyers, etc., etc. In other words, the same gang of non-achievers as in the PQ, with the exception of just a few, including Clément Gignac, Raymond Bachand,  Henri-François Gautrin (who is a physicist AND a professor of mathematics!)
Then there's the highly educated Fatima Houda-Pepin, who has more degrees than I have Twitter followers and perhaps the only member of the Liberal caucus who knows what a business is and how to run one, Lise Thériault.

There is no doubt that in terms of quality, the Liberal party towers over the PQ in talent, but considering the bang-up job they've done running the province, that in and of itself is a scary thing.

The biggest disappointment in the Liberal caucus is the Anglo and ethnic component of the party, led by the most popular politician in terms of popular vote, but the most boring member in the National Assembly, Lawrence Bergman.
The half dozen are notorious lap dogs and never a cross word is heard or said in defence of our community.
 
As for the CAQ being of lesser quality than the PQ, as Marois stated, we need go no farther than Francois Legault, Dr. Gaétan Barrette (a heavyweight in every sense of the word!) and Jacques Duchesneau (Mr. Clean) to conclude that the CAQ outpaces the PQ in talent and capability.
Then there is the very passionate Sylvie Roy, who I respect immensely, ever since she got up and told the National Assembly that she'd vote to give up her sparsely populated riding, if it meant fairer distribution seats.

As for the rest of the CAQ candidates, I don't know much about them, but they certainly can be no worse than what the PQ is putting up.

One thing I can say, is that the CAQ is fielding the prettiest candidates of any party!


As for the PQ, well not so much....


It isn't really any wonder why the National Assembly attracts such poor candidates, the reality is that the pay is atrocious and the working conditions nasty.

The $87,000 salary is actually quite paltry and the requirement to remain in Quebec City for much of the week when the House is sitting, away from home, makes the whole experience unpalatable, especially for opposition members who just twiddle their thumbs.

Considering that the remuneration for high ranking civil servants, serving in less taxing jobs, is more than double what the backbenchers are making, it isn't any wonder we have the quality of politicians that we have.

It leads me to conclude, that the only decent politicians are those who have 'made it' in life and are cruising towards retirement in a second career.
Those who spend long years climbing the political ladder, regardless of party affiliation, are the most dangerous sorts, living in a political fantasy world that is divorced from realty.

At any rate, I promised to explore avenues where few in the mainstream press would venture, so here goes my first shot across the bow.

And if you think that I'd let friends in high places get off the hook, consider this....

How is it that Jacques Duchesneau's pension is not an issue?
He's collecting close to $100,000 as an ex-police chief of Montreal and has been double-dipping in various government jobs for the last decade.
If he's elected, will he give up his cop's pension?

I don't think so.
You'd think it would be a public issue, after all, fighting corruption while double-dipping may be legal, but is it ethical?
It's a fair question that nobody thinks or dares to ask.

....and then.

Next June, Jean Charest will start collecting his $100,000 parliamentary pension, for his service in Ottawa, even if he is re-elected.

And if you think Pauline Marois will complain about it, there's not a chance!

Considering all the cronies in the Bloc collecting their pensions, perhaps she'll let the matter slide.
Oh yes, then there's the little matter of her husband, Claude Blanchet, who is collecting an $80,000 provincial pension for life after working just five years to earn it!

Ah, Quebec... You've gotta love it!

83 comments:

  1. Wow! A measly $87k for back-bacon...er...benchers? I'm sure that fat ass doctor will be collecting RREGOP or whatever is available as a pension to doctors (or can they get RREGOP?)

    I previously mentioned Charest's federal Freedom 55 coming up next year, so he'll be seeing some serious cha-ching...as if he didn't get ten years of that until he was busted collecting $75k per year from the PLQ for about ten years. Or is he still getting the PLQ's bonus? Best thing that could happen is Goldilocks loses his seat. He almost has the last two elections! ...as if that matters because he'll then collect his MNA/Premier's pension as well.

    Gee, editor, will there be a swimsuit competition with the she-CAQ candidates? The PQuistes represent a certain demographic--old bulldogs!

    As you mentioned, the PLQ Anglophone contingent is nothing but little whipped Quislings with no gonads whatsoever!

    Too bad the West Islanders don't get together and form some sort of minority coalition. The four seats Equality won back in 1989 was better than nothing! Such support, or hopefully more, may be the straw that breaks Goldilocks' back.

    Maybe Paradis will be able to pull a successful coup d'état à la Paul Martin and Brutus to Julius Caesar...as if that will bode well for the minorities anyway.

    Oh well, Quebec, take your pick: Crap, Crappier or Crappiest. You choose who's who in that crowd. Thank God for Ontario, and God bless Mississauga!

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  2. Editor,

    ...Dr. Gaétan Barrette (a heavyweight in every sense of the word!)...

    Touché! Ha... ha... ha...

    One thing I can say, is that the CAQ is fielding the prettiest candidates of any party!

    Strictly from physical point of view, I think Catherine Dorion of the Option nationale takes the prize. Too bad that she has a snowball's chance in the oven to win.

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    Replies
    1. Physical point of view or not, isn't an educated, talented racist still a racist?
      I din't know Hans Landa had a twin sister.

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  3. Yannick,

    Why do we not put thing into perspective? Look at the Quebec NDP rookie MPs. Some of them have not even finished their studies, yet they are now making 6-figure salary.

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  4. Let's not forget, Editor, that according to Jean-François Lisée, anyone earning $100K a year is considered rich. Yes, he really did say that. So I guess that means all MNAs are a hair away from qualifying as "rich."

    I've lived all over Canada, and, like Yannick mentioned, I can't believe how many QC ex-pats I've met who decided to leave the province simply to increase their net-worth at the exact same job they held here.

    And overall, that's part of the major problem here in Québec...the chain around our ankle is just the soveregnist one, it's also the "small potato" mentality. See, the separatists offer "hope" for an increased quality of life to their disenfranchised followers, yet none of these followers can figure out what really sets you free - thinking bigger.

    We've already discussed the pathetic mentality here that sees seps hate on the rich, but you know there's something terminally wrong when the plebes consider someone making $100K a year rich...especially with QC's lecherous tax structure.

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  5. As a side-note I thought I should add this link on how Québec's tax payers are actually punished for aspiring to a greater salary: http://www.radio-canada.ca/sujet/elections-quebec-2012/2012/08/08/002-impot-taxes-quebec-comparaison.shtml

    This is a province that actually promotes a set of lowered expectations and remaining marginal.

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    Replies
    1. Harvey Dent,

      Yikes! Quebec's income taxes are more than THREE times of those in BC and in Ontario. And our politicians (Marois is particular) said that increasing taxes in Quebec is okay since living cost here is cheaper. Well, while it may be true, it is immediately offset by the lower take-home income, is it not?

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    2. In being someone who's worked in Quebec and Ontario, I can attest to what we see in the RC report. But another factor we don't consider is how much more expensive Quebec is in terms of say renewing your driver's license. Here in QC it's like what, $100 a year, while in Ontario, it's $150 for five years.

      Getting a new car in Quebec? Plates will run you about $250. Not the same elsewhere. Plenty of little hidden costs like those. Or how about la taxe bienvenue...that's a nasty one.

      I wish that both the sovereignist and federalist leaders alike in this province kept a closer eye on attrition. They'd realize that too many francophones are leaving for other parts of Canada because they're sick of giving up so much of their salary.

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    3. Harvey Dent,

      Getting a new car in Quebec? Plates will run you about $250. Not the same elsewhere. Plenty of little hidden costs like those. Or how about la taxe bienvenue...that's a nasty one.

      Going off on a tangent here...

      I always wonder why Quebec does not allow personalized license plate. In the whole Canada and the U.S., only in Quebec and in Newfoundland and Labrador that vanity plates are not available. Rumor has it that the powers to be in Quebec are concerned that there will be quite plenty of people expressing themselves in English.

      As for the Welcome Tax, the City of Montreal reimburses it back for first time home buyers.

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    4. Yannick,

      Well, my tax invoice from the city says differently. It is written in English as Welcome Tax. Also, you can see it here.

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    5. Yannick,

      I looked at your numbers and I think you are wrong. This is an actual income of someone (not me) in Quebec:

      Total income: $81 668.
      Quebec taxes and contributions: $7 675.
      Federal taxes and contributions: $6 415.
      Net of taxes: $67 578.

      I do not know how it translates in other provinces, but I just want to show you that the Quebec taxes ARE NOT lower than the Federal ones as you stated.

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  6. "One thing I can say, is that the CAQ is fielding the prettiest candidates of any party!"

    Looks can be deceiving though. From my experience working in a corporation, 80% of these young, pretty, business suit-clad women turn out to be complete airheads. The look often serves to compensate for other flaws, like brainlessness for example.

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  7. Le PQ est proposer des règles strictes sur langue. Ils vont modifier le loi de sorte que les persons Allophone ou Francais ne pourra pas aller aux les CEGEPS Anglais. Les slogans de le PQ est nos choisir, en realite est leur choix. Le PQ dit ils respect les Allophones et Anglophones et le Francophones. Question pour vous est simple. Est-ce la façon dont nous want pour traiter ceux que desir le droit à choisir ce qui le langue de edutaction collegial? Mon avis est il ya une meilleure façon de protéger le langue Francaise. Cette idee est stupide, il fera du Québec ressemble à la Corée du Nord.

    I posted the French version the PQ FB page....I bet I will get a lot of wingnuts posting on my FB page. HE he.

    The PQ is proposing strict rules about language. They will change the law so that persons Allophone or French can not go to English CEGEPs. The slogans of the PQ is our choice, in reality is their choice. The PQ says they respect the Allophones and Anglophones and Francophones. Question for you is simple. Is this how we want to treat those that desire the right to choose what the language of collegial edutaction? My opinion is there a better way to protect the French language. This idea is stupid, it will look like Quebec is similar to North Korea.

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    1. I went to a cegep that had a good amount of francophones and many of them went there to perfect their english. Of course I had a few secretly tell me they thought the entire french system was garbage.
      Point is they are overreaching telling young adults where they can or cannot study. Its just a sad attempt at further segregation.

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    2. On that same token, I'd love to hear a reporter ask Marois how a 16-year-old, according to her, should have the right to vote, but not the right to choose what language to study in.

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    3. I think the onus should be on those who attack the popular, well functioning, and socially productive institution to explain themselves, not on those who feel angry about. And it's irrelevant whether cegep is closer to high school and university, or if my chances of landing a good university are affected.

      When an existing institution is attacked, dig deep to find the reason for it. In most cases, the reasons are not benign. In many cases the policy is cloaked in a veneer of benevolence and well-meaning, but in reality has to do with less benign matters (power and privilege) and interests of some group that the targeted institution somehow threatens, even if in a minimal way. B.Landry, one of the main proponents of the extension of 101, admitted that it is a political decision, aimed at keeping potential apostates from the French system for an extra 2 years so as to try to recapture them. The cegep plan is to benefit a political option, not the teenager.

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    4. Not to mention its incredibly cynical that these racists go to private french school where they learn english, then go on to such places as the London School of Economics and travel the world. yet they want to prevent their own children from choosing to go to english cegep.

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    5. And I told you why. Micromanagement of people's lives. And it encroaching on more and more spheres of these lives.

      There are minor reasons too. Even if a choice of university were not affected (it could be), or if cegep were indeed closer to high school than university (it isn't), there would be other things affected. Like my desire to bring my English from the level of ok, to the level of perfect, for example. Now, while I'm still in my mid teens, not 2 or 3 years later.

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    6. I also suspect they don‘t like these young adults mixing with anglos in these institutions of learning.

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    7. Quebec should get rid of the CEGEP system and have students go directly from high school into university. Quebec is the only location in North America with this ridiculous system. It only complicates matters if students want to attend university in another jurisdiction. Perhaps that is the intention.

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    8. The CEGEPs were created to employ professors with philosophy degrees. If you abolish CEGEPs, you'd be forcing them to drive cabs or offering to "super size" those fries.

      Seriously, though it does make one wonder if dismantling the CEGEP would help in any way.

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    9. Having attended the QuébécoisSeparatistFactory "school" system, I think James John says it best;
      Segregation!

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    10. Among the rabid anti-English elements of the PQ, perhaps legislating that allophones and francophones cannot attend English-speaking CEGEPS may raise some hoorahs, but such proposed measures may not be quite so welcome amongst any allophones, nor those francophones who are interested to have the choice of themselves or their children etc being able to attend English speaking CEGEPS and having good English skills - unless of course that they are wealthy enough to send their kids to private schools to learn good English. This is not a measure to benefit francophones, quite the opposite, to keep those francophones and allophones who are poorer from having choice, a bit like how it was in francophone society prior to the Quiet Revolution.

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    11. While I will never ever support PQ, I support the idea of limiting English CEGEPs only to those graduating from English high schools.

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    12. Harvey Dent,

      Seriously, though it does make one wonder if dismantling the CEGEP would help in any way.

      At least for McGill and Concordia, CEGEP is not very important. Since those universities cater for plenty of out-of-province students, they do have year 0 program, that is the university year 1 outside of Quebec and CEGEP year 2 in Quebec.

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    13. @GensDenis - Had supper with my mom (who is in her 60s) and she told me that even growing up in Saint-Georges-de-Beauce in the 50s, the text books then were pretty nasty works of separatist indoctrination.

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    14. Troy,

      Why would you want to force a person, anglophone or francophone, who went to French high school to attend a French cegep if they preferred to attend an English cegep.

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    15. John Krug,

      For my own selfish interest. I explained it here.

      Delete
    16. Well Harvey,

      Your mom is correct. I remember even as late as in 1977, one of my friends telling us that his teacher told his class that the "FrenchSchool" system was becoming parallel to that of Nazi Germany's. This may sound harsh, but between what the Romania Chaushesku Communists taught the FLpQ and the hard study in National Socialism they enveloped themselves in, you can't dismiss the similarities. Besides, this new Québécois ethnic song for a race that does not exist isn't a creation of the separatist’s opponents. The separatists really believe in these racist ways.

      During the last reign of the political wing of the FLQ, many schools were under attack. One of them was on a top 10 best Canadian high schools list. The FLpQ Government decided to infiltrate the English High School by splitting it in to French And English. Immediately, the “government” saw that there was no real riff between French and English students so it was ordered that fences and other physical barriers be set up in the hallways and other parts of the school. It was further ordered that the French side students not use the library on the English side. At that time, the existing, though diminished, English side library had 27,000 French books while the NewRoom101 French side library boasted 2,900 books.

      This part of the Segregation project failed, because try as they did, the FLpQ was not able to keep the students from becoming brothers! Some official reason blaming the “unquébécoisables” was spewed and the School survived the invasion!

      My guess is that the new Québechlandlied song of racism will fall on yet another flat note, because you can’t legislate pride! The sooner these racists are seen by the population as the fringe special inters group that they are, the sooner we’ll be able to have competition among political parties with a slight degree of amelioration for the populous.

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    17. Well, there you have it. At the end of the day most people prefer to get along. When my parents moved us to Ontario, they placed us in a French school. Due to the proximity of our French school, our family lived close by to other Québécois families and guess what?

      That's right, we franco kids would play with all the anglo kids. No one ever called the other a "bloke" or a "frog" or any other silly shit.

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  8. BTW guys, this point was brought up on Twitter...since the argument that the sovereignists are behaving like Nazies, it was pointed out exactly how.

    The Parti Quebecois unveiled it's theme song:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-fbzzlZ2gY

    Well, them proud Nazis had a little rally-cry of their own:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deutschlandlied#Lyrics_and_translation

    And of course, let's not forget the commercial we were discussing yesterday.

    German version of said commercial (runs a little longer than the commercial):

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHs2coAzLJ8

    I think you can pretty much imagine the separatist reaction.

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    1. Oh my harvey, I believe we are crossing paths on twitter...

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    2. M.Tooth,que pensez-vous de l'extermination massive des francophones dans le canada anglais?

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    3. Évidemment,un assimilé volontaire n'est peut-être pas la meilleure référence pour ce genre de question.

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    4. There has never been a mass exodus of Francophones from English Canada to Quebec, so the situation can't be that bad. It's not comparable to the forced ethnic cleansing of hundreds of thousands of Anglophones from Quebec due to fascist language laws.

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    5. "...due to fascist language laws"

      Je vous conseille de vous habituer,sinon les prochaines s'annoncent très difficiles pour les angryphones.

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    6. Why bother answering a troll like S.R.

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    7. Durham,

      There has never been a mass exodus of Francophones from English Canada to Quebec, so the situation can't be that bad. It's not comparable to the forced ethnic cleansing of hundreds of thousands of Anglophones from Quebec due to fascist language laws.

      Not only that but there is a bit of brain drain from Quebec to other provinces. I know for fact that a number of young French Quebecers choose to move to Trawna to work particularly in the finance field. They know that there is just so much they can grow in Montreal / Quebec. I know them, they are my MBA classmates. Also, in the height of the high oil price, many Montrealers - anglo, franco, allo - moved to Alberta. Calgary for the higher level workers and Fort McMurray for the lower level ones.

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    8. I can attest first hand to what Troy is saying. I was born and raised in Quebec City for the first part of my childhood, but also raised in the Mississauga / Brampton area...and I'll tell you this --> the number of francophones from Québec living in that area is HUGE.

      Why are they there?

      You guessed it - they want to go further in their careers and get more of the money they earn in their pockets. I mean who wants to invest shitloads of time, effort and money into their education to get a $90K/year job and pay the fucking Québec government $21K in taxes, when you can do the same job in Ontario and only pay $7K.

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    9. "I know them, they are my MBA classmates."

      Alors c'est quoi votre problème Troy?Moins intelligent que vos compagnons de classe?

      Il n'y a pas que le monde de la finance dans la vie,il y a aussi la culture et ce n'est pas à calgary que ça se passe...Ho que non!.

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    10. S.R,

      Sure, after all, the grapes are just sour, are they not?

      You do not know me, you numbnuts. I was not as young as my classmates who moved. I have a wife, a child and a property to take care. Besides, I am not a finance person. I am project management.

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    11. Troy, please, don't waste your time.

      As a project manager, you obviously have infinitely more going on in your life than S.R does.

      You own property, have a family and a career.

      S.R on the other hand, has to keep repeating the same thing day in, day out "Des frites avec ça?" then goes home, smokes what little weed he can afford, kills a few zombies on Resident Evil, makes love to an inflatable piece of plastic and then cries himself to sleep in the fetal position.

      So what I'm saying is he ain't worth it.

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    12. "You own property, have a family and a career."

      Et il ne cesse de critiquer le Québec à longueur de journée sur ce blogue et peut-être ailleurs.

      Certains ne sont vraiment pas fait pour le bonheur.

      Si vous saviez comme on s'"éclate" ma poupée gonflable et moi...

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    13. "Il n'y a pas que le monde de la finance dans la vie,il y a aussi la culture et ce n'est pas à calgary que ça se passe...Ho que non!."

      There is the western culture in Calgary, i.e. the Calgary Stampede. It's a culture that some Quebecois try to imitate - badly - with French versions of western festivals in sh*thole towns like St-Tite and St-Andre-Avellin.

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    14. il y a aussi la culture et ce n'est pas à calgary que ça se passe...Ho que non!."

      I honestly suspect this is basically just anti-Western snobbery; it's not a Montréal thing or a French thing or relative even to Quebec, it's just as present in Toronto/Ontario.

      The East is older and more developed and enjoys looking down on the younger West for not being as rooted and old and developed as the East is.

      You hear all the time how Vancouver is "nice, but....", and Calgary has "money, but...". Their nightlife sucks, no big shows, no prominent artists, no cool clubs, etc etc etc.
      I would have to peg it as eastern Canadian insecurity using the West's newness to re-inforce its ego.

      Of course the West doesn't have the culture in the same level as the East. How could it??? It's younger and still establishing. One day, it will be just as culturally prominent as any other area.

      If North America had been settled by Asians moving eastward, it would all be the same, in reverse; Vancouver and Calgary would be looking down on Toronto and Montréal, etc.

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  9. Harvey Dent needs a fly swatterWednesday, August 8, 2012 at 5:26:00 PM EDT

    Is it me or did a little sovereignist fly just liken the murder of over 6 million Jews to pre-bill 101 Québec?

    Hmmm...

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    1. That is typical separatist thinking, a product of an educational system reinforced by politicians, francophone media and leftists, who attempt to condition francophones to focus so much on themselves as a collectivity that everything they think of has as its frame of reference the collectivity, which leads to an indifference to the rights of anyone else.

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    2. Goes beyond education.

      As mentioned earlier in the thread, I was talking with my mother who grew up in 50s/60s Quebec and not only were her books in school very biased against "the evil Anglos," but to compound the modern-day separatist mentality we all know, the church told francophones that being rich is a sin.

      Today, even though Québec has turned its back on the church, the dogma remains. They may not kneel to God on Sunday mornings anymore, but they still believe that building a profitable business or pursuing a lucrative career is the equivalent to eating babies.

      That's why rebuilding Québec will first have to begin by abolishing the sovereignist movement, but also encourage all of our citizens to strive for more. I don't care what anyone says - there's absolutely NOTHING noble in being poor on this continent.

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    3. Pouvez-vous nous expliquer ce qui a de noble dans le fait d'être riche?Et pourquoi certains anglos critiquent tant les avoirs et le fait que Madame Marois soit riche?L'envie est aussi un grave pêché.

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  10. PQ would make language law tougher

    Another whopper from La Marois:

    "When someone arrives in Quebec, he will know what kind of society he'll be living in — a society based on equality, a society where the state is neutral, a society that will respect people's choices in their private lives."

    Therefore, forcing people who wish to attend English schools is apparently her definition of living in a society “where the state is neutral and respects people's choices in their private lives”…

    /facepalm/

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  11. Filature interrompue: Jean Charest nie être intervenu

    http://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/quebec-canada/politique-quebecoise/201208/08/01-4563464-filature-interrompue-jean-charest-nie-etre-intervenu.php

    /facepalm/

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  12. As for Yannick’s complaint about francos who learn English having it used against them by anglos against the OLA, anglos who learn French get the exact same thing in reverse from the PQ:

    From Is Jean Charest at risk of losing support of "insulted" Quebec anglophones?:

    The PQ language critic this week criticized Legault. His alleged transgression: tweeting in English.

    “To whom is the English part of your campaign addressed?” Yves-Francois Blanchet wrote on Twitter, in response to one of Legault’s messages.

    “Who in Quebec doesn’t understand French?”

    He suggested it would be a slippery slope for the French fact if Quebec politicians started sending the message that it’s normal to campaign in English.

    That exchange highlighted a political reality that Charest, and the Liberals, have long had to contend with.

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    1. How long before some intolerant PQunt call Legault an Elvis Gratton?

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    2. It sure feels crummy when the thanks you get for bothering to learn a second language is to be dismissed.

      Tell me about it; every time I visit Montréal, over half of francophones in the street or at a café or etc absolutely refuse to speak to me in French. And I can handle a 3 day long weekend in French; I'm not THAT bad!!! C'est pour ça, d'ailleurs, que j'apprécie tellement ta maniere d'échanger des idées avec moi en français, cher Yannick :-)

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    3. Although by and large, it may certainly well be a politeness thing when francophones switch to English (truthfully, it may also be because it simply hurts our ears to hear mangled French!), sometimes another situation also arises where anglos speak French to other anglos, which feels silly, making us feel like we don’t exist. Yet another situation I have encountered is that of Americans who move here for the French aspect and fall in lock, stock and barrel with separatist friends, adamant about making Quebec French-only, as if there hasn’t been an anglo-Quebec presence here for over 250 years. To those people, I insist on conversing in English no matter how much they try to respond in French, simply to show that we’re here and we exist.

      My suggestion: instead of trying to practice your French in Montreal, give Chicoutimi a try! ;-)

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    4. Strange but true... usually after having lived in Paris for a time and wanting to import their experience here, regardless of how different our history may be...

      Delete
  13. I think the biggest need to cut public service salaries (and reduce many, many positions to part-time) is the amount they have to pay out in RREGOP to the early retirees. There was a horde of government employees around age 55, even younger, retiring when they could get their full pensions this caused pressure on payouts hence reasons for changing the rules so that Freedom 55 is not so easy now; furthermore, part-timers either don't qualify for the benefits, or they will get reduced benefits (too, part-timers only work an average of five hours less per week than full timers and get far lesser benefits--Generation Screwed).

    I don't feel too sorry for the older set. 4 weeks vacation after one year's service, an extra week for administrators. My best job gave 3 weeks after a year, and you had to take the holidays during "winter" months or it was two weeks.

    Oh...and Quebec taxes are still the highest on the continent!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Gabriel Nadeau Dubois quits noCLASSE reportedly after La Marois told him, “you‘re making us look bad!“
    In other news, Ethan NoCox on suicide watch.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hahaha...

      Ethan NoCox saddened over his pet neoTerrorist being forced to quitby decree from QueenPaulineAntoinette.
      The LFpQ lead, Moe Tse Tung red square movement showing its cowardice colors.
      Is the media ever going to tell the world that it wasn't over $300 after all?

      Delete
  15. Those are some really funny jokes John James. LOL

    ReplyDelete
  16. Here's another way to look at it: Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois cited that he could no longer take attacks against him after five months in the field...

    ...meanwhile Jean Charest has endured NINE years of abuse and, the very evening our little Che quit, Charest is putting up his dukes against his umpteenth "Scandal" accusation.

    And on the subject of the Charest wire-tap, let's call it for what it is - a total smear job orchestrated by the separatist hive that is Radio-Canada. I simply can't trust anything anti-Liberal coming from this news source because all of its reporters are in bed with the PQ.

    Second, Charest is right...why did this come out in the midst of an election? Same reason that bullshit about Jack Layton visiting a massage parlor came up in the 2011 election...his opponents were just too weak to fight him toe-to-toe.

    Seems I'm not the only one that sees Matante Popo for the candidate she really is. While Charest and Legault keep setting the tone for election, Marois simply keeps mimicking their steps and flip-flopping shamelessly:

    Hey Anglos and immigrants - this is a French-only zone
    Hey federalists, Popo loves you...now give me your vote
    Hey students, be strong, remain united
    Hey kids, back to class and respect la loi 78

    Anyone else notice how Popo's new favorite word is "index?"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was not BS about Layton visiting a massage parlour. The BS was his version of the story.

      Delete
    2. The point is that Layton lied. Layton's image is fabricated. His policies were financially unviable. But who the fuck cares about that, right?

      Delete
  17. Le conseiller stratégique de charessst doit avoir des sueurs froides ce matin.Le flegme de lulu frisette va-t-il avoir autant d'effet sur les non politisés.

    ReplyDelete
  18. While Charest and Legault keep setting the tone for election, Marois simply keeps mimicking their steps

    So far, without paying full, undivided attention, it looks like Legault is outpacing Marois easily and could outpace Charest. It will be an interesting outcome, Legault certainly has a new spin and take on local politics.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Actually, today Jean-Marc Leger of Leger Marketing said that the latest election poll was going to be published in tomorrow's Devoir. He seemed to tease that the CAQ had taken the lead, which wouldn't surprise me.

      With Québec being what it is, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see an NPD/ADQ quantum leap here.

      From my point of view it's looking more and more like Caq-Libs-PQ-Misc.

      Delete
  19. Hello Editor,

    So much for summer vacation, eh?
    Elections can be exciting and as fun as a vacation, though. :-)

    I don't know the talent rosters of each party as well as you do, but I do get the strong feeling that the PQ is moribund and lacking in vitality (same as the Liberals). The CAQ seems energized. Makes for an interesting show.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Its hard to see what the PQ offers other than a return to 1970s thinking. No new ideas other than independence. This has always been a party with a single goal; everything else is secondary. Unless there is a desire for a referendum, which in the current circumstances there is not, this party is empty of any real interest in governing, other than serving as a protest vote against the PLQ. With the CAQ appearing to be a serious contender, and being interested to govern, Quebec (not just pushing for a referendum) this could be a wipe out for the PQ. Even anglophones and allophones may vote heavily for the CAQ given the PLQs willingness to step up the harrassment of English speakers in order to remain popular with the anti-English-speaking constituency of Quebec. Legault may have been a PQ politician with a long term romantic interest for an independent Quebec, but he recognises that the PQ approach is dead in the water and is sufficiently savvy to realise an opportunity to attract the English-speaking vote given the way the PLQ has all too happily been willing to sacrifice their fundamental rights. I admire Charest on many levels, but fundamentally the PLQ have never been an attractive party to vote for and have only won the anglophone and allophone vote due to being the least worst option in comparison with the PQ. This may not be the case anymore.

    ReplyDelete
  21. La FPJQ Mauricie dénonce la discrimination pratiquée envers certains médias par Jean Charest et son équipe

    http://www.newswire.ca/fr/story/1019023/la-fpjq-mauricie-denonce-la-discrimination-pratiquee-envers-certains-medias-par-jean-charest-et-son-equipe

    Sacré Johnny boy!

    ReplyDelete
  22. FROM ED BROWN
    Marois is right about one thing, it takes more than one man to make a party. That's the way I see the CAQ. They have a few strong peoploe but the majority is young inexperienced newcomers. I can't help thinking of the NDP. Jack Layton was a powerfull man but the kids who got elected let it fall apart.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Editor; I used anonymous because your 'select profile' a basketcase. Anything I select tells me the URL or password is no good. I do not hide my passwords. When I look in 'tools' and 'security'
    they are all there the way the computer recorded them when I first used them. Unless my computer is stuoider than me, they have to be right. So I signed in as anonymous and ssigned my name. If this is no good telll me at edbrown@bell.net please

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. To ED BROWN
      Please don't feel frustrated with this whole commenting system.
      You are a valuable member of this blog and I will make an exception for you to comment as ANONYMOUS

      Please include your name, 'ED BROWN' somewhere in the body of your comment so that i will know it is you.
      Please keep contributing!

      Delete
    2. Ed,

      Please check your emails...

      Cheers

      Delete
  24. Here’s an interesting opinion piece that was published today by a new blogger at the Journal de Montréal. I’m linking the original article in French and providing an English translation below. There are a number of level-headed and idiotic responses alike at the link but there’s no room to translate all that here.

    Quelle place au Québec pour les Anglophones ?

    What place for Anglophones in Quebec?
    LISE RAVARY - AUGUST 9, 2012
    Here is the first of my weekly columns in the Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec. Happy reading!

    The refusal of Pauline Marois to take part in a leaders' debate in English has inflamed passions. Time to remind our dear Anglos that French is the only official language here “chez nous”, that they need only to learn it in order to know what is going on and if they are not happy, well then we will close McGill and the English hospitals. Pampered minority, your hole. (Sorry, I don’t know how to translate “ton trou”!)

    The malaise of "nous"/”us”

    By refusing this debate, by continuing to bang on the fictional nail of the anglicization of Quebec, on the absolute necessity of Bill 101 in CEGEP and to impose French on Aboriginals, Ms. Marois has made the “nous/us” of the PQ’s election slogan "It’s up to nous/us to choose" rather problematic.

    Which “nous”? Is it the “nous” of the Quebec nation, heir to the glorious French Canadians and the courageous settlers from France? A civic “nous” that includes all those who know their postal code by heart? Or the emotional “nous” that beats in the chest of sovereignists? There are as many answers as there are political options.

    Not to mention the hateful “nous” that the xenophobes brandish whenever they cross an immigrant who is the least bit swarthy. Or an Anglo who butchers French.

    Many anglophone Quebecers as well as mixed anglo/franco Quebecers who live in both languages believe they will never be part of this “nous”. Even if their French is impeccable, even if they live on the Plateau and even if they know all the lyrics to the songs of Marie Mai.

    Good Dr. Laurin’s Bill 101, in force for 35 years now, still has not managed to heal our paranoia towards our linguistic minority. The proof? The Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste is now worried that Quebecers continue to speak English at home. So when will we have the Office of the Maternal Language?

    ”Why not?”

    Why not have a debate in English? Ten per cent of Quebecers use English at home, or about 800,000 people. Even if young people are bilingual, this is not the case with older people who, they too, would love to hear what the party leaders have to say is in store for them.

    All parties recognize the right of the English community to exist, as well as its institutions.

    No law prohibits it.

    The leaders' debates in New Brunswick are bilingual.

    In the last Ontario election, there was a leaders' debate held in French only.

    Such a debate would also allow us to assess how our leaders would be able to negotiate loans in New York with the same ease as Jacques Parizeau or René Lévesque.

    And, damn it, we built modern Quebec together.

    Yet some politicians continue to treat Anglos as if they were forever to be plague victims. However, for 253 years, they have been not only our neighbours but also, for many, our husbands, our wives, our mothers, our fathers.

    If language, history and culture have divided us, we are also related by blood.

    To claim that Quebec does not interest them is false. But for them to assume all their responsibilities as citizens, and not only by paying taxes, we cannot continue to act as if Anglos were just an embarrassing historical addendum that should be gotten rid of one of these days.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. How RACIST do you have to be to create a new race?
      Not French, not Canadian!
      Québécois?

      Delete
    2. Les racistes sont ceux qui l'ont créé ou ceux qui essaient de la détruire?

      Delete
    3. Like those who tried to create an Aryan Race, would they be considered racist? Or would the racists be those that tried to destroy it?

      The only people trying to destroy anything are the ones like you who are afraid of anything that`s not French, White and Catholic.

      Delete
    4. Les Allemands sont toujours des Allemands pauvre Laurie.

      Delete
  25. FROM ED BROWN
    I was out to John Abbott in St.Anne's to help my 23 yr old grandson get bursaries. 3 yrs ago he agreed to go back and finish his education. In Nov.09 he applied for welfare help since my $1200. pension does not go far for two people. For two years they screwed him around demanding form after form. He had to send three birth certificates because they lost the first two.
    On the last conversation I had I was told that what was holding it up was because we had not sent in the form for parental support. I said, "Excuse me I have the form in my hand stamped by your people twice." Her answer stunned me , She said, "Oh well then , maybe it's best to just reapply." Start over for another two years. Furious, I turned for help to Henri
    Gautrin our Liberal member in Verdun. He told us he would look into it. 3 Mos. later my grandson and I were passing his office on Wellington as he and his assistant were going home at 5PM. His assistant asked if the problem was solved and I told him we had heard nothing. Mr.Gautrin
    blew up. He told his man come back to the office. They went up and two days later Dave had a check and an apology .
    The Liberals have many like Henri Gautrin. Their people come first which is why we need people like him in office. The payoff for this story is
    that he did not reaize that when the welfare form asks if there is a change in school it does
    not mean going to a different school so he kept collecting welfare until January. They cut him off and are now demanding he pay back $2800. dollars with no income. I have been speaking to a well known lawyer whose name everyone here would recognize. He suggested we sue thru the Quebec Human Rights Commission citing articlle
    45 which states that the Government makes monies available to all Quebecers who need them and it is the duty of the people controlling these monies to help people obtain them. He suggested we sue for the two years that he should have had help. I am in debt close to three thousand dollars the only income Dave had in four years was for six months. I've borrowed money from every friend I have to keep him in school and the people that should have done this want me to pay them $2800. The life of an old English Quebecer. You pequists tell me how proud
    you are of seperatists. This is not the fault of the Liberals, it's being done by the pur lain
    English hating civil servants s that Rene Levesque installed to rule over us.; Try to tell me Marois would be more fair and I will tell you to shove in french or in english. Ed Brown

    ReplyDelete