Monday, September 3, 2012

When Government Teaches Hate

Hate & intolerance are everywhere, but this this Toronto's reaction.
Protecting the public from pesky minorities who disturb the peace and tranquility of a conformist majority with dangerous alternate views and beliefs, is something that we expect in uncivilized countries like Egypt, Pakistan, Nigeria and Iran, where Christians, (the Jews are long gone) are routinely attacked, stoned, killed and imprisoned for 'insulting' the majority.
What can we say or how can we describe a society where an eleven year old girl with Down Syndrome can be imprisoned for the blasphemy of insulting Islam.

I'm sure every separatist who is proposing a kinder and gentler version of the Pakistani blasphemy law, will tell you that what they propose is in no way the same.
They will tell you that the Quebec law is about projecting a neutral government attitude towards religion, but like laws in Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan and other shit hole similar countries, there is no getting away from the fact that it is about legislating a majority view, and imposing it upon a minority.

As Henry Ford purportedly said, "Any customer can have a car painted any colour that he wants so long as it is black."

The Parti Quebecois' proposed Charter of Secularism may be a kinder and gentler version, but its intentions is the same, to make everybody adhere to the government's view of what a citizen must believe, how they may behave, and what they may look like.
The promises that the secular provision of the proposed law, the one that would ban 'ostentatious' religious regalia, would apply only to public and para-public employees is so ludicrous, that I hardly believe that the separatists believe it themselves.

Let me take you back forty-eight years ago when the United State passed the Civil Rights act of 1964.
The law was more than groundbreaking, it was perhaps the greatest piece of legislation enacted since the Magna Carta, written almost eight hundred years earlier and which for the very first time limited the power of the King of England.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 enshrined the principle of equality and provided that the government, the military, those involved in interstate trade, or any organization funded by the government would be bound by the terms that outlawed major forms of discrimination against racial, ethnic, national and religious minorities and women.

Let us review that again, the law as first written applied to the government itself. Sound familiar?

It was a hard sell at the time and faced enormous pressure by the bigots and racists, of which there were plenty at the time, but eventually its principles were embraced by all of American society, not just those parts controlled by the government.

After all, if the government couldn't pay women less than men, if they couldn't hire based on colour, race religion or gender, why would it be acceptable outside of what the government controls and how could discrimination be tolerated at General Motors but not the Commerce department?

The principles of the Civil Rights Act became the values and principles of American society and eventually became the bedrock societal principles shared by every western democracy in the world.

That is the power of a great law and a great government bound and determined to set the proper example.

Just as the Civil rights Act of 1964 acted as a catalyst for positive change the Quebec charter of Secularism will act as a catalyst of discrimination.

After all, if the Quebec government can ban the hijab, why shouldn't Provigo?

As separatist politicians and militant secularists take their cue from the government and ratchet up the anti-English, anti-immigrant and anti-religion rhetoric, it is inevitable that the intolerance practised by the government will spread throughout Quebec society in general and very sadly we are already seeing those seeds of hate sprouting across the province.

Many posts ago I told about a silverhaired senior citizen haranguing a young Muslim cashier in a Canadian Tire store over the fact that she was wearing a hijab, according to the lecturer, a symbol of enslavement and subjugation.
All this in the checkout line in Canadian Tire!

A one-off?  Hardly.

As the rhetoric of intolerance is ratcheted up by the PQ and language and secular militants, so too is the societal effect.

Speak French, this is Quebec!
Don't wear a Hijab, this is Quebec!
Don't wear a turban in public, this is Quebec!
Don't' you dare wear traditional dress in public, this is Quebec!

Here is an excerpt from a story about the subject that might interest you.

But the real story is a comment written in French under the story, read both;
"Where are Quebec’s progressives? Where are they when Marois suggests we completely overhaul our democracy to prevent people who don't speak the majority language from running for office? Where are they when Marois argues in favor of secularism for all — except those who practice the majority religion? Where is the progressive left when Saguenay mayor Jean Tremblay says:
"It's not the [secular] charter in and out of itself. It's having someone whose name I can't even pronounce come from Algeria, who doesn't understand our culture at all, but she's going to make the rules. And I know how soft Quebecers are — they'll all give in to her."
What is left when Marois backpedals because of pressure from some aboriginal rights groups, and somehow, remarkably, manages to be even more offensive, by singling out only newcomers to Quebec for her repressive, exclusionary legislation?
Imagine if Dalton McGuinty tried to pass a law saying only people proficient in English can run for office. Or worse, what if Harper tried to do the same? People would be losing their minds.
Didn't Jean Chrétien correctly state (in the context of the gay marriage debate), "The majority should never determine the rights of the minority"? The PQ completely ignores that fundamental ethical principle. She is promoting a Quebec where majority (mob) rules.
Marois and her party are unique political animals in Canada; parasitic, fear mongering, opportunistic chameleons whose favorite political weapon is inflaming the most base, carnal and grotesque instincts of the populace. Theirs is the politics of divine right, of L'Appel de la Race — the politics of who you are, not the more aspirational politics of where you want to go"
and now a translation of a comment left by reader Joanne Bonnici in French under the story.
As my first language is French, and many of my friends are "Quebecois de souche," I understand and feel as well as them, the love and pride for this beautiful language and cultural heritage. Moreover, I was delighted to produce several movies and music CDs  to present to my friends abroad. I thought the Quebecois culture and arts had greatly been refined in recent years and I'd feel great joy  bragging about my surroundings internationally. What made me even more proud of our society, was the cultural diversity that we know to Montreal, we had evolved to preserve the French culture while living in harmony with people of all kinds of origins. I was so in love with my city of Montreal that I convinced friends to immigrate. I told them that the people here were friendly, open and warm. Upon arrival here, I invited these friends to celebrate the national holiday. I was surprised to see that when they spoke a few words in English, they were immediately greeted with comments like: "We are here in Quebec, French is spoken!" My friends are people with excellent French skills, they have completed their doctorate in Paris. They also speak Spanish and English. So I do not understand where this hostile comment came from, it is not an offense to speak more than one language.

You may think that this is an exceptional situation. Unfortunately not. As I mentioned at the beginning, most of my friends are native French-speakers, but I also have many friends from different cultural backgrounds. Unfortunately, I witnessed
such an attitude many times. I will always remember the incident  concerning a friend from Australia who had decided to come and stay in Quebec. We were at a show and she told us something in her native language. A stranger turned and yelled at us  like we were rotten fish, because she spoke English. The reason she came to Quebec was to learn French because she had married a Parisian. After a few such incidents, she left this country, finding people here rather hostile.

When I lived in Japan, my friend from Scotland thought to come to Quebec to improve his French, once she completed the acquisition of Japanese. I was encouraged. When she spoke to other Scottish friends, they advised her against the idea,  explaining that Quebecers were hostile to the natives of the English language. I had to admit that this problem exists unfortunately.
The truth is that I really thought the Quebec mentality had changed. I thought cases like those I just mentioned were the exception. When I came back here after my many years abroad, I was shocked to find that the problem had not disappeared, it had transformed, ... blown up I expect,  over those dear 'reasonable accommodations." Link
Here is a video taken this weekend of a couple being accosted in the street for doing nothing else but speaking English.
Two francophones acting as a Quebec's version of the Iranian Basiji correct a couple for having the audacity of speaking English in the street.


It is chilling and it is here.

Welcome to Quebekistan.

I've never encouraged anyone to vote before, but will make an exception.
Vote for the Liberals or CAQ, even if you are in a lost cause riding, it's important to keep the popular vote up.

Did you know that if every anglo and ethnic voted, instead of the 55% level as in the last election, the PQ could not win.
Do your part!


ATTENTION READERS!! **********************************************************************************

I will be opening a special post tonight under which you can make comments in real time as the election progresses.
I know this is not a perfect chat room, you'll have to refresh, but it will give our community a place to interact just the same.
I will be moderating and jumping in from time to time. Starts  8:00 PM


**********************************************************************************

167 comments:

  1. Almost feel guilty about voting for Quebec Solidaire, but the Liberal in my riding even admitted to just being a candidat poteaux.

    Oh well, as planned, one less seat to prevent a PQ majority.

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    1. Don't feel guilty - I believe QS recognizes partitioning of Quebec if the end result is an independent Quebec. So for once, a communist party has some common sense.

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  2. Hot damn! Just watched that video, and though I've seen a few fanatics, that guy clearly is out to lunch. That is NOT cultural protection, it's a clear-cut case of having absolutely NOTHING in life and fire on the first target that offers relief for a mundane reality.

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    1. Harvey and fellow readers who watched the video: Didn't you notice that peon had a big mug of beer in his paw? Was it his fourth, sixth, tenth? There is nothing like inebriation to bring one's subconscious to the fore. Remember Mel Gibson's anti-Semitic rant when a highway patrolman pulled him over for DWI? Gibson spoke his true mind! Where did he learn such rabid anti-Semitism? The answer: His daddy! Hatred breeds hatred, and this is what has been happening since the PQ was elected in 1976.

      Bill 101 was about hatred. The original legislation, Bill 1, had to be taken off the table because the hatred was so visceral, and so anti-Constitutional that it would have been shot full of holes like Bonny and Clyde were. As it was, parts of Bill 101 had to be repealed due to being unconstitutional. Nevertheless, there was enough promulgation through the audio, video and written media it legitimized overt hatred against all those not of the majority's ilk.

      A PQ government may create a state akin to Northern Ireland, a cesspool of hatred and violence and destruction and death! Love it or leave it! I made my decision in anticipation of all this three decades ago.

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  3. Was that Michel Patrice in the video or one of his acolytes?

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    1. Peut importe who it is - Michel Patrice, S.R or whoever that kid is, those Asian guys exhibited far too much restrained. They should have just kicked the shit out of him.

      And that's an issue with the ignorance you encounter here - some Anglos and immigrants figure they actually have to explain themselves to these primates.

      And of course that sniveling little troll thinks this kind of harassment is hilarious.

      Can't wait until the same happens to him.

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    2. "Can't wait until the same happens to him."

      Vous n'avez jamais entendu l'expression : Speak white!

      Quoi?C'est du passé?...

      Hahahahahahaha!

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    3. that's the way it was in the seventy's and early eighty's only now it's a new generation.but it is very good for these incidents to be filmed and exposed the more the better...my Son can speak French with out an accent and over hears often on the CB on how blue berry's run down the anglo allo's down.just last week I was asked question in a challenging manner by a young man at lunch break that our French culture won't exist in 20 years.well I said Yann that would be your generations fault.with his perplexed look and frozen with no answer in front of 4 other Francophone's I said your not making enough babies to keep your culture alive ,you prefer to polish you mags rather than fuck pussy and an older French Quebecer in our crew jumped right in on the topic. that's right!! he says,the young have it easy

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  4. "My friends are people with excellent French skills..."

    Vraiment?

    MDR!

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  5. "So I do not understand where this hostile comment came from..."

    J'ai comme l'impression que cette femme ne connait absolument (plus) rien du Québec et qu'elle est complètement déconnectée de notre réalité.

    Cherche encore ma jolie et tu trouveras mais les réponses ne viendront évidemment pas de tes amis "jet setters".

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    1. "Cette femme ne connait absolument (plus) rien du Québec et qu'elle est complètement déconnectée de notre réalité"

      Notre réalité? Ta gueule!

      C'est vraiment pas notre faute que t'est unilingue et insécure.

      Petit peureux insignifiant.

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    2. Alors Harvey?Vous le prenez ce travail à 10.50$/Heure,oui ou merde?

      Ajoutez à celà,les pourboires,les boissons alcoolisées à volonté,les rencontres enrichissantes,accolade avec la toute première ministre du Québec et un tas de jolies filles présentes.

      Le salaire de base n'est pas très alléchant,j'en conviens mais il faut bien commencer à économiser quelque part.

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    3. S.R,

      If he worked at a job serving alcohol for minimum wage he would be contributing more to society than an unemployed parasite like yourself.

      Delete
  6. OMG - I just watched that video! WOW - THIS HAS TO STOP - Trying to get the point across to my son the other day about how important it is to vote, and especially this election, I was joking but told him that if these separatists keep on the way the are, one day we will be arrested in the street for speaking English! Not too far from the truth. Who do these people think they are? Start carrying pepper spray - next thing we will have to do.

    SR - go back to your cave and we don't bother us - you animals are not worth worrying about any longer - tourism in your new country should be really good bringing in a lot of hard-earned dollars for your restaurants, bars, shows, etc. You'll be broke so fast and I can't wait to see your ass down the toilet. Make sure you have those two in the video play the parts for your tourism posters asking people to visit!

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    1. N'oubliez pas d'aller voter Cutie et celà même si votre vote n'aura aucun poids,l'important c'est d'exprimer votre liberté de choix :)

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    2. sorry - now I'm feeding the resident troll - last time

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    3. Agreed Cutie. I feel bad for welshing on my pledge to not respond to him, but hey, how can regular people not be irked by a little jackass who`s clearly never done anything with his life and his deplorable outlook on people who've actually set out to accomplish something.

      BTW, what some people don't realize is that one of the people in that video is the boss at Brazzer's - a true Quebec success story. Quite the contrast hein?

      One Quebecois in that video has nothing going on and like a classic loser blames others, while another Quebecois focuses less on what others are doing and builds himself an empire.

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    4. Brazzer's?L'industrie pornographique en ligne?Cutie sera fière de vos références :D

      Comment se fait-il que vous soyez aussi déconnecté du Québec M.Dent?

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    5. Héhé...J'ai comme l'impression de traiter un patient souffrant de psychose.

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    6. I've had this kind of thing happen to me enough to know that they're not isolated incidents (3 times in the 2 years I've lived here). The first time was 6 months after we moved here. We were on work permits,and I was still in the middle of writing my thesis for my MA that I was finishing at a university in Ireland- just for the sake of justifying myself to our resident troll, I'll clarify that our move was not planned, but happened very swiftly after my husband was offered a job here, with neither of us speaking French at the time). I misdialled and asked in English if this was the music school on the West Island I was trying to reach and the woman on the other end said, in perfect English, with a French accent "Don't call this number if you don't speak French" and put the phone down on me. I was stunned, so, of course I pressed redial, just so that I could tell her not to make assumptions about people. I felt like giving her number out to all my friends who spoke French, so that they could each call her once and tell her what they thought of her, in French (as this seemed to be the requirement for calling her and I was sure she would appreciate having all these people calling to speak French to her ;-)

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    7. "We were on work permits,and I was still in the middle of writing my thesis for my MA that I was finishing at a university in Ireland-"

      Quel est le rapport avec les propos qui nous intéressent?Ça intéresse qui vous croyez?

      Ho!Comme Rina est intelligente et travaillante,ce qu'elle nous raconte est certainement intéressant et véridique...BlaBlaBla...Foutaises!

      Cette femme a eu de la patience avec vous car moi je raccroche le téléphone immédiatement,sans discuter.

      :D

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    8. Write in English we won't make fun of your typos

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    9. In other words, speak white.

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    10. I agree with you Cutie! We should all vote for the CAQ or the Liberals. Maybe they'll be able to enforce laws that will prevent fights between drunken dudes at 4 AM on St-Laurent street.

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    11. Da Giovanni, I am sure everyone is aware that one instance would not be representative for the overall state of things, however it is far more widespread than that.

      A few years back I went skiing up North at a rather well-known place and at lunch I went to the cafeteria and asked for "two hot dogs". The two guys in their early twenties (probably) looked at each other and pretended they don't understand. I asked then for "dö ot dos" and they prepared them. True story.

      I see two options here:

      1. they both were mentally-disabled people and the company employing them was part of some sort of 'hire a disabled-person' program
      2. they fully understood my request, but out of spite they pretended they don't understand

      What do you think it's the most likely scenario?

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    12. En passant,les hot-dogs et la bonne forme physique dont la pratique du ski fait partie ne font pas très bon ménage.De là l'expression faciale de nos deux jeunes sceptiques :)

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    13. S.R., no, the thesis comment wasn't to show how intelligent I am, but to make the point that I didn't have any time to learn any French for the first six months after we arrived here. Actually I wasn't working, but my husband had a work permit, so I got one too - we didn't have permanent residence :-) The point is that we didn't IMMIGRATE, the decision to come here was made very quickly after he was offered a job, with no time to prepare and learn French. But I suppose I thought you were intelligent enough to understand what I meant. Sorry about that.

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    14. BTW, on the one hand you imply I'm not telling the truth, and on the other, you say that you would have put the phone down on me (I'm assuming, correct me if I'm wrong here) without even saying anything. So what you are saying is that I'm basically telling the truth, that there are people even ruder than that woman here?

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

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  7. Editor, thanks for the link. For those who can read French, I suggest reading the whole of Joanne Bonnici's comment and not just the excerpt posted above. It's a very eloquent testimony to how heartbreakingly fucked Quebec is from someone who loves it passionately. As for the video, I wouldn't read too much into it. Some people are just dicks. Last year at around this time, I was astonished to witness a gang of young men, presumably McGill students living it up during Frosh Week, lean into a restaurant window on Sherbrooke and drunkenly heckle the clientele for speaking French. I distinctly heard at least one of them shout "Speak English!" I'm presuming these kids were not from town, but even if they were, does this mean all anglos want to go back to the halcyon days of "Speak white" (presuming that phrase was ever actually used)? I'm not saying there obviously aren't enough troglodytes around to get worked up by Marois' rhetoric; Bonnici's eloquent testament proves it. On the other hand, I don't believe we're at the point where every Jacques and Marie-Claire is going to drop their poutine and Joe Louis at the drop of a hat to go out and stone the 'tête carré' in the street.

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  8. The irony is that by "promoting" his language with such emotion and vigor, the angry guy in the video pretty much assured that these Asian guys won't ever say a word in French again (even though they probably can speak it).

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    1. Je souhaite que quelques ont dit en youtube, "il est soule et il ne represent pas les Quebecois"

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    2. Je préfére qu'il ou elle l'écrive sans erreurs : "Il est saoul et il ne représente pas la majorité des Québécois."

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    3. Garibaldi, Jean Guy your correct if your French or live in a box

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  9. How Quebec screws itself:

    Fom the September 3 editionof the Globe and Mail:

    With the two parties that are leading in the Quebec elections both saying they will raise capital gains taxes on high-income earners, look for more tax planning such as the unloading of almost a quarter-billion dollars of stock by Montreal's wealthy Saputo family.

    The Saputos announced a plan to sell $130-million of stock in Saputo Inc., the cheese maker that made the family's fortune. The sale of 3.1 million shares, led by National Bank Financial and BMO Nesbitt Burns, takes the family's stake from 35.3 per cent to 33.7 per cent. A note to potential buyers said that the purpose was “tax planning.”

    The family also sold on Aug. 23 about $150-million of shares in TransForce Inc., cutting its investment in the delivery company by about half. That deal was led by BMO and National Bank of Canada.

    The Parti Quebecois plans to raise capital gains taxes, leader Pauline Marois said on Wednesday. That matches a similar pledge by the Coalition Avenir Québec. The parties are No. 1 and No. 2 in the polls, ahead of the Liberal Party that is currently in power. The election is Monday.






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    1. That's not even the half of it. What concerns me most is the PQ's clueless take on the mineral/natural resources industry.

      They plan on starting that royalty tax at 5% on juniors in the exploratory stage and then jack the juice up to 30% as the operation becomes more profitable.

      There's a company I had every intention of picking up, Strike Graphite, which is a Canadian junior listed on the venture. Their main graphite plays are in Saskatchewan, but last fall they secured a huge deposit in Quebec.

      No word yet on how they'll react to the new PQ policies if they come into power.

      What sickens me most is how arrogant Bernard Drainville has been about it, trying to play up his pedigree in the LSE, yet appearing to be completely oblivious to what socialist government interference has led to around the world.

      Take Peru for example...it took just one company well over two years to FINALLY get their drill permits and even now, they're only going to be in the infancy stage.

      Point is this - running a company in the exploratory stage demands everything you have in you as it's an extremely risky proposition. 5% can knock an otherwise promising company into obscurity.

      30% will just put a halt to any interest in rolling the dice altogether.

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    2. Je vous rappelle M.Brazzer's que vous êtes hors sujet...Pour faire changement.

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    3. It is painfully obvious that they care not a hoot about economics (free education is a good example) not giving a second thought to the fact that we're already paying the highest taxes in North America. Someone has to pay for the free schooling that these kids want, and EXPECT FROM THIS LA-LA LAND PQ GOVT. The promise of a lobster in every pot, free education, don't work if you don't want to, world of spin, is swallowed by these separatists hook, line and sinker. I was reading a letter from one of the students saying that there is enough food produced in the world for everyone so why do they have to pay to go to school? Everyone's not sharing enough is his philosophy of life never thinking how he was going to get everyone else to produce the food and build the homes they need to live in. A can of maple syrup in exchange for.... but wait - who's going to make the maple syrup? They honestly believe this and the PQs let them live in this dream world. I can't wait until they go into business and find that it has to be conducted in English with the rest of North America. 350M people that don't understand French and are not interested in learning it for the sake of the 3.5-4M people that will be left isolated in a New Quebec. DUMB DUMB

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    4. Cutie,est-ce que vous connaissez l'entreprise Brazzer's?Et êtes-vous d'accord avec ce type d'industrie très lucrative?En passant,ils font des millions en exploitant sexuellement des femmes.

      Qu'en pensez-vous?

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    5. Cutie003 Make that over 510 million. That's how many non-francophones live in North America. A tiny nation of 4 million people at most, with restrictive language laws, is not going to be given a second thought in the real world. In modern society, business in English is necessary to be successful economically, just ask the Finns or the Japanese. French helps too, don't get me wrong, that's why most anglo-Quebecers can speak french, but when you restrict business to be run in French-only you significantly shrink the number of potential trading partners. An independent Quebec would have to learn this the hard way, I suppose.

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    6. S.R., how exactly are you familiar with brazzer's? are you a client?

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    7. @ SR how do you know this Brazzer company so much?

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    8. "...An independent Quebec..."

      Without money and a real economic plan? They will starve to death in 5 months...

      WA

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    9. In what respect would Quebec be independent

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    10. "how do you know this Brazzer company so much?"

      Wikipédia

      http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazzers

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    11. Sorry, I was being unclear. I was just saying that the idea of French being an economically viable language to do business in solely is ridiculous. If Quebec stopped getting equalisation funding from the government of Canada (which would happen if Quebec separated.) Quebec would be economically doomed. The damage they have done with their language laws has caused the province to go from one of Canada's richest to Canada's poorest in a relatively short amount of time, but it could take forever to recover, even if the restrictions were abolished. Once 1 more employee is added to 49, the company packs its bags and heads west, taking their tax dollars with them. "Tax the rich" economics only work if there are rich people in the province, and there won't be if the PQ has its way.

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    12. "In what respect would Quebec be independent"

      Independent from their brain, provided they have one...

      WA

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    13. If the crash test dummies in the PQ and CAQ raise the capital gains tax, they'll raise very little revenue and probably cause the likes of the Bronfmans, Desmarais, etc. to, if not leave Quebec, move their capital out of Quebec - probably leave. The crash test dummies are going to bite the hand that feeds them.

      Watch the outflow of capital from Quebec. Even the Péladeaus might surprise!

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  10. That video is one of the most upsetting things I have ever watched on the internet. I can't believe there's actually people like that in Montreal. I hope for humanity's sake that they were drunk or on drugs. Just a couple of oriental kids having a conversation in their home language is enough to set these people off! Unbelievable! You shouldn't be able to get away with acting like that!

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    1. Man that video made my heart pound I had that a lot in Pierrefond's drunk or sober the words are always the same.

      Everyday in Quebec a person is expressing outrage in a public forum when they hear words in English or people with a different culture.

      People who look perfectly normal spew hatred to all sorts of people who aren't "Native" to Quebec whatever that mean's

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    2. Believe it! It's only going to get worse with a PQ government because, as much as they legitimized the hatred in the 70s, they'll will do so all the more this time around. I don't have faith in the CAQ doing any better.

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  11. I hope many potential tourists see that video and change their minds about visiting Quebec.

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  12. @Durham

    Voici un de nos bons ambassadeurs pour le tourisme:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SD2HxJoCD54

    "Without Montreal,Canada would be nothing" - Anthony Bourdain

    Ouch!

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    1. Ah, yes... Anthony Bourdain, a former user of cocaine, heroin and LSD, an excellent reference

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    2. According to Bourdain a great stopover means getting pissed while riding around the streets of Montreal in the back of a pick-up while stopping to eat and puke.

      I guess SR missed the footage TE cut with the scrap over Queen Celine bwhahahaha

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    3. Without Montreal,Canada would be nothing

      Too bad that the likes of S.R. have been "hard at work" to erase Montreal from the map for over 40 years...

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  13. Replies
    1. "welcome aboard"

      Un anglo qui dit ça à un Acadiens dont les ancêtres ont été victimes des Brits lors de la déportation de 1855,me semble quelque peu déplacé.

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

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    3. You do realise that 1755 was over 250 years ago, do you? Lots of water under the bridge: if Yannick got over it (and he, at least, may have had some family reasons not to), surely so can you. Grow up.

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    4. Editor can you punt SR? Do you let him stay to show how antagonistic that group is?

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  14. That whole "speak white" bullshit is just another bloated artifact perpetuated by no one other than uneducated chumps like S.R and so many others like him whose only knowledge of life outside of Quebec is based on what their uneducated, factory-worker parents and grand-parents told them.

    Was there Anglo oppression back in the day? Of course...who's going to deny that?

    But things have changed - and that is what makes up the victim mentality.

    Saw the same thing in Scotland when I lived there - a bunch of 50-year-olds who've lived in the "schemes" their whole lives crying over the death of William Wallace and vowing to avenge his army.

    S.R is a perfect example to the sociopathic current that not only powers QC's sovereignist movement, but "socialist" sentiment in general.

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  15. Harvey, quebecois have an innate cult of victimhood (check this out: http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2012/06/14/dan-delmar-quebec-wallows-in-its-cult-of-victimhood/)...that's why they are stuck, for ever stuck...

    WA

    ReplyDelete
  16. Great video. I've had similar experiences on the metro and once on Ste Catherine st. Both times it was a White haired ,angry older Québécois man and both times I pointed at them and laughed. We live in a free country and the price of freedom should never be forgotten. There are too many dead Canadian soldiers buried in France who leaped at the chance to fight tyranny and oppression. Freedom means something. These language supremacists are an embarrassment to our country and the sooner they die off, the better we'll all be.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You shouldn't take that, laughing is not enough. People do act like that to their fellow human beings shouldn't get away with it.

      Delete
    2. "These language supremacists are an embarrassment to our country and the sooner they die off, the better we'll all be"

      Vous serez certainement très déçu par le résultat des élections de demain (CAQ ou PQ,même combat)

      Je mérite une médaille pour bravoure:

      Je suis seul à me battre contre une douzaine d'angryphones enragés.

      Delete
    3. "Everybody's an idiot but me" Homer Simpson, Trois-Rivières, 1996

      Delete
    4. Demographics is destiny. Les Québécois are not replicating fast enough to sustain their numbers even with the recent blip up of their birth rate. It doesn't help matters that half of Québécois men are too cowardly to get married and commit to a woman and the other half are Gay. Imagine if you will what Quebec will look like 100 years from now when every single Québécois alive now is dead and buried and their descendants form a minority? Will the English (or Spanish) speaking majority tolerate them? Will they be treated with respect or disdain like English speaking citizens here have been treated?

      Delete
    5. S.R,

      some call it 'battling', but most people with common sense call it 'making an ass out of oneself'. Bring logical arguments to the discussion and people will actually give you some credit.

      Delete
    6. "Je mérite une médaille pour bravoure:"

      Baveux, more like it.

      "Je suis seul à me battre contre une douzaine d'angryphones enragés."

      He's just alone, period. A few of us on this blog aren't even Anglophones, just level-headed individuals with open minds.

      Poor little S.R, yet another empty little shell who sees himself as the Braveheart of the Internet, a valiant warrior, when in fact he's an anonymous coward with nothing but insults and unsubstantiated claims to offer.

      Delete
    7. "A few of us on this blog aren't even Anglophones"

      Noooo...are you serious?

      "just level-headed individuals with open minds."

      Really?Lol

      Delete
  17. "But things have changed"

    TssTss..."Je me souviens" est notre devise Nationale,l'auriez-vous oubliez petit polisson?
    À moins que votre devise M.Dent soit plutôt "live free or die"? Ha ces minus libertariens,ils ont la vie dure au Québec.

    Si tu veux connaître ton avenir,regarde ton passé.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Ethnic vote, what's that? Can I be a brown franco or will I always remain ethnic!?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Apparently, If you are a brown franco and you vote in favour of separatism, you are a real Quebecer. If you are a brown franco and vote against separatism, you are "ethnic" and not worthy of the title of < < pur laine Québecois > >

      Delete
    2. According to the editor, you are either franco, anglo or ethnic.

      Delete
  19. FROM ED BROWN
    Have you noticed S.R. starts every post with a line copied from someone else's post. He doesn't have a thought of his own to offer so he takes someone else's idea and trashes it. If we don't bother to read his posts whatever he says won't anger us. Ed

    ReplyDelete
  20. So are the racists getting in tomorrow?

    ReplyDelete
  21. FROM ED BROWN
    I dont know. Are you? Ed

    ReplyDelete
  22. Méza spéaka da Frénch, Jér mér fare dé va zéé au la bîbîoréçréathéque. Mé, î d'çomé from za d'futuré, dis d'îs owé wé d'spéak da d'Québéç d'Frénçh în d'yéar 2024.



    What are these silly things? Go away silly squiggle things!!-->îé îéééîî

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

      Delete
  23. @Mère de S.R

    Talking to yourself seems like a fun thing to do...

    ReplyDelete
  24. FROM ED BROWN
    You've got to be taught
    To hate and fear,
    You've got to be taught
    From year to year,
    It's got to be drummed
    In your dear little ear
    You've got to be carefully taught.

    You've got to be taught to be afraid
    Of people whose eyes are oddly made,
    And people whose skin is a diff'rent shade,
    You've got to be carefully taught.

    You've got to be taught before it's too late,
    Before you are six or seven or eight,
    To hate all the people your relatives ha
    You've got to be carefully taught.
    From South Pacific Oscar Hammerstein

    ReplyDelete
  25. Let the fight begin all - are you ready? Letters, marches, etc. here we come.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. God I hate election day in this province - NO MORE POWER TO QUEBEC AND IT'S TIME TO LET THE AREAS GO THAT WANT TO GO. Enough referendums unless the next one is initiated by the Federalists to stake our claim to the areas that want to live under the CANADIAN CONSTITUTION. I can't wait for this to happen; I'm so sick of those that think they will be better off without us. We can only PROVE THIS TO THEM BY LETTING THEM SINK.

      Delete
    2. The results in this election will "tell" me if I'll start looking for a house here, or pack my bags and go east or west...it's not treason but the most important thing is that I cannot sit an my arse and let them tell what kind of education my kids will receive.

      I've emigrated here (Canada) with high hopes ...so I will not let them destroy my dreams. If I had known better about Quebec I would have chose anything but. My mistake but it's not to late; what's a couple more hundreds km on top of the 7000 km already made?

      Delete
    3. I can't wait till it's over and Harper(I'm not a fan) has to react, hopefully he has the balls to leave his signature, if not it will be administrative.

      Like what he's done with the Wild Rose ridings removing a benefit here, a project there, he has been covert.

      I think that's the scariest kind of government.

      Quebec will make or break him. Fascinating to analyze how Quebec's racists will get smacked down, they will, he's been planning it a long time.

      Delete
    4. Well Michael, if you came here with high hopes and you're willing to bust your ass to build yourself a high-quality standard of living, the QC isn't for you.

      I've already pointed out the following link to others, but I want to emphasize this point some more...while Québec is trying in vain to legislate its immigrants away...Ontario is snapping them up like gangbusters:

      http://www.yournextbigidea.ca/?elqPURLPage=135

      This ad is running in all the biggest tech mags around the world and the proof is in what you see in downtown Toronto: dozens upon dozens of cranes scattered across the downtown area.

      Also, be sure to keep in mind that by staying in Québec, you'll soon be condemning yourself to almost 30% in taxes. I don't think this province will dump it's social program mentality within our lifetime.

      Delete
    5. Dans le meilleur des cas pour vous : Le parti Québécois sera minoritaire et la CAQ dans l'opposition.

      Commencez tout de suite à faire vos bagages,vous sauverez du temps.

      Bonne chance tout de même avec vos rêves au canada!

      Delete
    6. I know HD ... I know. The salaries in Quebec are smaller than Ontario's, the live there was more expensive than in Quebec, but it's not anymore. 30% tax to support drunk ass monkeys who kills the tourism and OQLF who kills businesses...
      Like ED, I'm still optimistic in a QLP victory today and the fact that PQ will be destroyed like the Bloc. Maybe that could be a new start for Quebec.

      Will talk tomorrow :) and let's hope for the better.

      P.S. A small advice for anglos/allos who consider CAQ: don't think that if you reject the Libs there will be no more corruption or mafia. The old one will not be dismantled and the new gov will have it's own mafia. Politics means corruption !!! At nay level. So better stick with the devil you know until this wave of separatist get smaller and smaller.


      Delete
    7. The greater Toronto area is now home to around 6 million people and is on track to becoming a World mega city (I.e. Mexico City, New York, London Tokyo...). That was Montreal up until the 1970's when ethnic nationalism reared it's ugly head. It's a crying shame what they've done and continue to do to this great city of OURS. Language laws and racist secular charters are the antithesis of what people looking to immigrate and invest want. I sincerely hope the next Montreal mayoralty race includes a Montreal first party that will seek more autonomy from Quebec City.

      Delete
    8. You people in Montreal have to be a part of the partition movement that is coming, hopefully, in the very near future. You will be with Gatineau and the Pontiac to stay within Canada and let the rest that vote to go = go - I'm sure there will be a strong movement for partition of this province in the next little while and we have to get together to get rid of those that want out of Canada!

      Delete
    9. If I understand you correctly, you're an immigrant. Unless the mother of your children is Canadian-born and had her elementary education in English, the Quebec government has already dictated where your children WILL go: It's called FRENCH SCHOOL! You have ZERO choice! Read again: You have ZERO choice!

      In short, stop thinking and do yourself and your family a big favour: LEAVE! Unlike the song the Ventures played in the 1960s: RUN! DON'T WALK! (The song was called Walk, Don't Run!) Do you really want your children to grow up in such a cesspool? Come, Michael! It's a no-brainer!

      Delete
    10. Micheal: During an interview Sunday, the CAQ's Francois Legault actually said something that speaks the truth for once. He said, and I quote, "it’s mathematically impossible to have Mr. Charest in first or second place". I wholeheartedly agree, Charest will not even win his own seat back, the Liberals are just hours away from being totally decimated. The PLQ is toast.

      Have no doubt, tomorrow morning we will wake up with a Parti Quebecois in power with the CAQ (the unofficial extension of the PQ) by their side. There is even the strong possibility the PQ will form a majority government. Scary, isn't it?

      I think the time to leave Quebec has finally come for all us stragglers and hold outs. My mother's house, which has been in our family 40 years, is up for sale. Both my brother and his wife's career are in jeopardy (he works for the English school board which may soon disappear, and her company would be hit by the draconian 10-or-more-employees-company-MUST-operate-exclusively-in-French-bullshit). As for myself, I continually struggle to make a living and find employment because my vast years of experience and high level skills in the IT field are meaningless when I have an English last name and my French isn't perfect.

      I don't know about the rest of my family, but I am DONE with this cesspool of a province. I've already wasted close to half my life naively thinking things might improve or change. Yep, the time has come to leave. Mr. Sauga has it right, don't walk, run! There is nothing left to do except leave.

      (oh, and even if somehow, the PLQ or CAQ were to form a minority government, Quebec is still doomed to fail miserably. This is a no-win situation. The PQ just means a quicker end to this province, and that, I'm afraid, is what is coming).

      Delete
  26. Si tu veux connaître ton avenir,regarde ton passé

    yes: the past is Rhodesia, the future is Zimbabwe. Lucky you!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Un peu comme toi Yannick,tu ne sembles pas savoir sur quel pied danser:

    Un jour tu es pro anglo,le lendemain c'est l'inverse.Pas facile d'être un bicéphale culturel ou hybride,n'est-ce pas?

    Si tu ne bottes pas l'cul des anglos,c'est eux qui vont te l'botter.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Oh Michael -
    Don't buy a home here - this conflict will not be resolved for years yet -

    Mich - God I hope you're right about Harper - this is his chance to prove that he has a backbone and this time the leader is not from Quebec - He has to stand by the Constitution and tell them they have to abide by it also. It's about time someone told them - PLEASE LET IT HAPPEN WITHIN A MONTH OF ANY PQ Victory!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I will not for sure if PQ / CAQ are in majority or PQ min and CAQ the opposition. I would commit financial suicide !!!
      As I said, I'm still hopping for a QLP gov...

      Delete
    2. We're with you and financial suicide is what we're facing with a PQ majority - that's for sure - knock off at least 40% of the value of your home and our RRSPs will take a hit - All of you get out and vote for the liberals please!

      Delete
  29. I am a peaceful man & I speak both languages my family arrived from Scotland in 1956 and most if not all of my family has fought & and even sacrificed their lives
    against every fascist & socialist regime dating back to the Boer War , if anybody tells me what language I can or can't speak in public they can expect backlash beyond their expectations .I will not argue, I will swing, scratch bite & kick. Quebec is a Canadian province , and I a Canadian . Often the reaction of the oppressed is 10 fold to that of the oppressor .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. C'est exactement notre but et l'effet recherché.
      Bravo!Vous êtes très intelligent :)

      Delete
  30. I went out to walk my golden retriever this morning as usual and, for the first time in 60 years, I hesitated to speak to the people I met en-route after watching that video. Like you, I am a peaceful person but will get very angry if someone tells me what language to speak! As far as I'm concerned, it's none of their business what language I'm speaking in, what I'm saying, and I sure as hell will tell anyone that that comments on what I'm saying. If you don't want to speak to me, that's your right, but it's my right to talk to anyone I like in whatever language I like and I WILL CONTINUE TO DO SO.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cutie, have you seen the 'Être anglophone et vivre en français' campaign? It's an Impératif français campaign. The key word is "vivre". So now you can see why some fedora-waring douche gets so up in arms hearing people speaking English on the street. Oh, one ore thing, Impératf français is government-funded. This and the likes are where your taxes go.

      http://www.imperatif-francais.org/bienvenu/articles/2011/etre-anglophone-et-vivre-au-quebec.html

      Delete
    2. When I take out my gorgeous husky I meet lost of English speakers willing to talk to me: they stop, we chat and so on. Usually, quebequé neither talk nor greet, they just scowl or frown upon or walk away with a grimace on their face. So, why bother, Cutie?

      WA

      Delete
    3. Hilarious, TS, French as 'Langue internationale'... Fantasy, lunacy, pipe dream...

      WA

      Delete
    4. "When I take out my gorgeous husky I meet lost of English speakers willing to talk to me..."

      Faite l'expérience sans votre chien...Juste comme ça.

      Delete
    5. The best definition ever for you S.R...actually it's your biography!

      URBAN DICTIONARY
      Quebec Francophone with a limited intellect…
      Allez jeter un œil au site Urban Dictionnary à http://www.urbandictionary.com/products.php?term=pepper&defid=595336:
      Entre autres, on y vend des vêtements ou des objets sur lesquels sont imprimés des saloperies du genre :
      Un extrait de ce site Web :
      PEPPER
      A unilingual, militant Quebec Francophone with a limited intellect and a perpetual inferiority complex.
      See Asshat, Fucktard, Dipshit, Quebec
      Example :
      "Yeah," said Jeff, "so then that goddammed pepper started spouting his neo-fascist PQ bullshit at me. That's when I kicked him in the beanbag and told him to learn English like the rest of the civilized world." »

      WA

      Delete
    6. TS - on my way to vote and go out for lunch but will watch the video later. Here, the IF raise trouble all the time in our local newspaper and they seem to be everywhere with their hateful comments. Bunch of bigots of the worst kind.

      Anonymous - My gorgeous golden is friendly and loves to cuddle up to anyone he meets so I usually have to apologize to them for the "horse" as I call him pushing up against them. Never had a problem except once with a youngster, maybe 20 years old or so, with her own golden, telling me that I should speak to her in French. Told her I have lived here in peace for 60 years and not to tell me what language to speak. She huffed off and I've never seen her since. Shame of it is that her golden was friendly and knows more about life and tolerance than she does! Her loss - idiot. I lived her for many years before she was born and she has the nerve to tell me ANYTHING!

      Delete
    7. I'm sure at least a couple of you have spent time on a farm. Does that Imperatif Francais campaign remind you of a certain period of time on the farm?

      Delete
    8. I have never met anybody who had the nerve to tell which language I should speak, Cutie. They'll never dare as my I am pretty feisty and assertive by nature.
      Would you like to try S.R???

      WA

      Delete
    9. "I have never met anybody who had the nerve to tell which language I should speak..."

      Chanceux,nous les Québécois ça arrive régulièrement.

      Delete
    10. "Chanceux,nous les Québécois ça arrive régulièrement"

      Who does that, is an idiot...Speak whatever language you want without harassing the others.

      WA

      Delete
    11. Hi Anonymous: I'm pretty feisty myself and she was a kid - all I did was tell her off a bit and would do the same with anyone else. THIS IS MY HOME AS MUCH OR MORE THAN THEIRS AND I WON'T TAKE ANY MORE S--- FROM THESE SEPARATISTS WITHOUT A FIGHT. I'M SO SICK OF THE SAME GO-AROUND AS IF THEY'RE TREATED AS SECOND CLASS CITIZENS WHEN THEY ARE GIVEN MUCH MORE OPPORTUNITY IN JOBS AND EVERYDAY LIFE THAN WHITE, ANGLO-SAXON PEOPLE. ESPECIALLY BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT - THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF FEDERAL PUBLIC SERVANTS THAT ARE SEPARATISTS AND THEY DON'T EVEN BOTHER TO HIDE THE FACT FROM THEIR CO-WORKERS AND SENIOR MANAGEMENT. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH - You want out - get out- those jobs would be better filled by CANADIAN CITIZENS THAN SEPARATISTS.

      Delete
    12. Hi Cutie, this is WA...I know. You have to understand that Francophones here are taught and brought up with the following ideas:
      - This is OUR country and everybody else is a guest, a tourist or a temporary resident.
      - We are NOUS, the others are LES AUTRES.
      - We are entitled to everything while LES AUTRES have to work for it.
      - We MUST be unilingual to protect French while LES AUTRES MUST speak more than one language
      I don't know if you noticed it, but upon speaking, Francophones have the tendency to overgeneralize the subject NOUS (chez NOUS, avec NOUS..NOUS, NOUS, NOUS) like a mantra to keep their screwed-up emotions always at a high level so that, when they hear English, they are ready to overreact, thus nurturing their sense of victimhood they are so proud of.
      It's a question of mentality, that is, pure instinctive reactions, naked emotions taken advantage of by some politicians (PQ). There is nothing rational, processed through and by the intellect. If you add to that the past damages of the Catholic religion, the disastrous educational system and constant idea of being 'orphans of the world', the picture is pretty clear: they are hopeless, walking bodies with missing parts, damaged goods. Believe me: there is nothing we can do for them. The best thing for us Anglos and Allos is to stay together and work FOR us, but not AGAINST them.

      WA

      Delete
  31. The reason why, for all the disagreement, Yannick is a better man than you, S.R., is that he seems to care more about a solution that's fair for all parties concerned rather than nailing his colours to the mast. Besides, "My Country, right or wrong" is such an anglo (U.S. in particular) thing to say, I'm surprised you swallowed it, proud francophone that you are...

    ReplyDelete
  32. You guys missed your chance to join us yesterday, was a busy, loud and peaceful rally against this linguicism and xenophobia. See for yourselves:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ignksZmg7VY&list=UUimt29ab_GgYILUdMiuK7tA&index=0&feature=plcp

    Join us on Facebook to make a difference, and fight anglophobia in QC:
    https://www.facebook.com/groups/QuebecOfficeEnglishLanguage/

    Thank you,

    Hugo Shebbeare
    Spokesperson
    Quebec Office of the English Language
    OQLA.org

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Unfortunately, (well, fortunate really) I live six hours of pavement away, but the way I see it, your services were required around the time Howard Galganov was into his Quebec activism. It would have been better had you been around in 1974 when Bill 22 came about, but I don't know if you were around then, and if so, you were probably deciding which toy you wanted to play with.

      OK, so the population of the majority is going down, but how long will it take before they're reduced to a number that can be outnumbered? Let's face it: The ones who will see that time haven't been born yet! Unless and until every last Anglophone and Allophone gets out there and fights along with you, fageddaboudit!

      You strike me as a bright, ambitious and entrepreneurial type of guy. Why don't you just take your financial and cerebral capital to a place where it will be warmly welcomed and appreciated? If you want to be fairly close to Montreal, you have Ottawa, places along the St. Lawrence River, or even Kingston where the St. Lawrence meets Lake Ontario. My life partner and I went for a getaway to Kingston in May. It's really a pretty place and it's growing. You ought to see the cottages situated on the Thousand Islands. Some are genuine estates.

      In Kingston, you're almost equidistant between Montreal and Toronto. Eventually you're going to be zapped of your strength, and esp. if Marois wins, your battle will be that much more uphill, so the mystery will unfold just a few short hours from now.

      Delete
    2. "You strike me as a bright, ambitious and entrepreneurial type of guy. Why don't you just take your financial and cerebral capital to a place where it will be warmly welcomed and appreciated?"

      Plusieurs lui ont posé la question...Toujours pas de réponse.Il doit raffoler de la poutine.
      J'ai déjà vu un test sur des singes ou un des spécimen s'est littéralement défoncé le crâne sur vitre en verre blindé,essayant désespérément attrapper une banane.

      Delete
    3. Once again, our local anglo-haters-cleansers continue to treat us as barbarians in 'their civilised' society by using comparisons to animals (how quaint, how intellectual your bigotry) - well then I guess the Caisse de défauts is my banana - and it already split itself before I started telling everyone how bad it stinks:
      http://www.sqlservercentral.com/blogs/hugo/2012/08/02/quebec-human-rights-commission-ignores-racism-documented-by-crt-judge-civil-evidence-ignores-e-mail-evidence-amp-bungles-up-investigation/ (Anglos do not have human rights here, and the HR Commission is doing nothing to stop the discrimination in the Civil Service).

      Nobody tells me where to live Montreal is my home, fuddleduddle to the Losership here:
      http://dbhive.blogspot.ca/2012/04/top-twenty-reasons-why-bill-101-is.html

      Delete
    4. Mr. Sauga, no worries, we are used to climbing mountains in our family (4 attempts at Everest), even if it is not us who finally conquer it. Our role is to blaze the trail.
      This discrimination is just another mountain that must be climbed:
      http://www.mns.my/file_dir/6718454084cb40655d3440.pdf

      Delete
  33. Fellow readers and contributors: You're giving SR a wall for him to bounce his ball. STOP IT!

    Fellow readers and contributors: To quote a former U.S. president: Tear down that wall!

    ReplyDelete
  34. BTW, at 86,000 views, that video of the top-hat dude is officially viral.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Filme-toi quand tu vas chier et met le sur YT,tu en aura autant en 2 jours :)

      Delete
    2. 'met le sur YT,tu en aura autant en 2 jours :)'

      MetS-le...tu en auraS...You are doing everything to kill off the French language...

      WA

      Delete
    3. S.R. - here of Canada we are speak English. you must assimilate to the majority if wishing to live in Canada.

      i now translate you're text too English. please make sure when post use English in future, you are not being welcome in this country otherwise.

      "Filming yourself when you're shit and put it on YT, you will be as many as two days :)"

      Delete
    4. "we are speak English"

      Hmmmm...

      "if wishing to live in Canada."

      Non,merci!

      Delete
    5. A researcher who helps out with this blog has pinpointed exactly who it was in that video and tracked down his FB page.

      After consideration that almost all in the video were under the influence, I think I'll refrain from publishing the name....

      Delete
  35. You are to welcome in Canada you have an esteem shortage. In every job I've had in Alberta at least 2 of us spoke french. French is not rare in the rest of Canada

    ReplyDelete
  36. What I've been telling my Canadian friends (American here, living in Quebec for the past 5 years) is that what happens in Quebec is what (in a different context) we'd call a "hostile environment." The non-stop anti-other rhetoric from the political sphere creates an atmosphere in which it is therefore acceptable to badger, harass, ignore, be rude to non-Francophones. In the time that I've lived here, I've not only experienced it myself but have heard countless stories of this kind of thing. Two restauranteurs with whom I've become friendly (both Asian with some French but better English) have told me how they've been threatened by Francophones saying that they would report them to the OLF. One of them had "Loi 101" spray-painted on his door.

    There are several studies to suggest that when there is continued, unabated bashing of "others," it creates an environment in which it is acceptable not only to participate in this harassment but for it to escalate. Some of the best known are the Stanford Prison Experiment, or, even better "The Third Wave" experiment. Keep telling one segment of society that they're superior or that another segment of society is inferior and you shouldn't be surprised at what winds up happening.

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

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. John.. an excellent reference! I've seen the study and pointing it out is very apropos.
      Unfortunately, it is over most of the heads of the haters.

      Delete
  37. Editor,
    I chose your weblog to follow for this election cycle over French language weblogs; it's the most interesting one with an interesting variety of commenters. You are a very interesting person with a cutting style, and beyond that, you definitely gave me pause to reconsider Jacques Parizeau when you asked who among us has not blurted out something regrettable when experiencing a crushing disappointment. I've liked your weblog and I'll stop by at interesting times in the future. Congratulations on a successful weblog.

    Ed B,
    Great excerpt from Rogers and Hammerstein; I didn't know this song till you shared these fine lyrics. Merci.

    Readers,
    I just love Quebec. It's the province I identify with the most, by far. The nationalism is too much for me; I feel it even stronger than when I'm in the United States. Thinking about Quebec, to me, feels like a special crush on a really cool person who's screwing up their life, and can't accept a discussion without pulling a, "By whose values?? It's my life!!!" routine (on both franco and anglo sides). I find myself agreeing with the analysis that it's all insecurity, and that makes me feel empathy, but I still wish I'd lived in Quebec a few decades ago.

    One thing that makes me sad is seeing a Poisoned Debate; where there's no new ideas or objectives, just recycling the same re-phrased thoughts around at the other side. There's a tired, restless, angry stalemate, and neither side holds great moral high ground. Today's anglophones and francophones are often exchanging the exact same points back and forth!

    Many commenters call for a new party formation. I humbly suggest a positive party that embraces multilingualism as an asset and a valuable tool, that embraces billingualism and its many tremendous benefits, and which celebrates French and English's modern-day ability to finally get along. It's sad how few anglophones in Montréal are interesting in a cool language like French. A party that represents unilingual anglophones is about as interesting as, oh, gee, a party like the PQ.

    Anyway, been an informative blast. Thanks to the Editor for all the hard work and interesting articles to read, and provoke debate. I hope today's election result will please you.

    A mes chers conlecteurs, merci d'avoir partagé quelques mots avec moi, ça a été vraiment un plaisir. J'étais très heureux a rencontrer les esprits cosmopolites d'Apparatchik et Adski, et je remercie Yannick pour toutes nos clavardages aussi. Je donnerai mon courriel au Rédacteur si on en a besoin.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You sound way to reasonable for the hardline pq'ers, that roughly thirty percent who always vote pq and want more language laws. And that is somewhat the point of a Montreal, anglo\allo or partition party. We need somebody on the other side who will be equally loud in defending us, our rights and the constitution.

      I have Italian, Irish and french heritage.. anybody telling me I don't have a right to be here or speak whatever language I like, is in for a fight. It's not fair, right or just in any way. Especially in a modern society.

      Delete
  38. Editor, your new message is flashing too fast so I can't read it. I would imagine others would be having this problem as well. Could you maybe change it so "ATTENTION READERS!!" flashes instead of the actual message? Sorry, sir. I hate to be a pain, I would just like to read what it says.

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    1. WHADDA MEAN You're a PAIN? NOT AT ALL!
      Thanks for the input.

      I've fixed the problem, I was just excited to get everyone's attention.

      Always, always contribute to this blog when things aren't right. This blog belongs to you too!
      many thanks....
      Hope you contribute togight, even if it turns to vinegar for us!

      Delete
  39. ***********ATTENTION READARS!!!***************
    I will be opening a special post tonight under which you can make comments in real time as the election progresses.
    I know this is not a perfect chat room, you'll have to refresh, but it will give our community a place to interact just the same.
    I will be moderating and jumping in from time to time. Starts 8:00 PM

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    1. Great idea! Unfortunately, I don't think I will be able to participate, but I will enjoy reading the discussion all the same.

      Delete
    2. TO THE EDITOR: As requested previously, is it OK if I mention this blog in a letter to my local newspaper = The Ottawa Citizen? Please let me know. Thank you.

      Delete
    3. Cool I'll be here! SR won't he'll be out partying because he won

      Delete
  40. Exactly, Yannick. Fighting for lingual supremacy is not the same as fighting for equality. If we want equality, we must say no to the separatists (That includes the CAQ).

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  41. I believe it is Yannick. Good luck with the next attempt and will we be seeing you tonight?

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  42. This post is somewhat inflammatory..that video is not at all representative of francophones in this province. The guy was totally drunk..4 am and we really dont know what happened between him and the other group. I have heard things just as bad or worse from english canadians towards quebecers..in fact just read the comments section in newspapers across the country..there are many many bigoted statements against Quebecois. So you have nutcases on both sides.
    To equate Quebec to what has happened in Iran or Nigeria or Egypt is ridiculous..the anglophone population still lives very well here considering its clearly a minority. There are two major english universities here..several english hospital even a jewish hospital..english schools english cegeps..many companies that still operate mainly in english. Anglophones are not being persecuted or shot or anything like that. Yes there is maybe 30 percent of the francophone population who are hard core seperatists and who would love it if no english was spoken here but most francophones are not in this camp. So stop with all the sensationalism and rhetoris and misinformation that will only increase tensions between the two groups.

    I am an anglophone from western canada and I think it will be a disaster when Marois takes over but mainly for economic reasons. The economy will suffer in a huge way..many people including francophones will lose their jobs..property values will drop..companies will shut down. That is the real problem and all us anglophones who chose to stay here will have to live with it. Many anglophones could have left over the past 5 years or so with good gains on their property but I guess they somehow didnt expect the pq to come into power..but the signs have been there for a long time that Charest would not win the next election.

    If many anglophones had supported the CAQ especially in montreal suburbs then maybe the pq could be stopped but I dont sense this has happened. So in the end if the PQ get a majority then it may be our own fault for being so narrow minded..

    Enough with the hate mongering..this wont help anyone..

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    1. @complicated - Everyone to his own opinion and THAT IS OUR WHOLE POINT. Should the PQ come into power, SHE IS PROPOSING TO TAKE AWAY EVEN MORE MINORITY RIGHTS FROM THE CANADIANS THAT RESIDE IN THIS PROVINCE. Forget the English schools, the English hospitals, the Jewish hospitals. Not just the businesses that would be affected. I have lived through 2 referendums and am entitled to just as much respect and rights as any separatist that resides in this province. What the PQ Government does is slowly create hate, mistrust and problems between two normally sensible linguist citizens of the COUNTRY OF CANADA. So perhaps you can be cool, calm and collected as your RIGHTS ARE SLOWLY TAKEN AWAY IN YOUR OWN COUNTRY, but many of us will no longer sit back and take the abuse silently! Time for the areas of Quebec to go that want to go and leave the rest of us in peace and tranquility.

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    2. But this hate mongering from the english side is not going to help anyone. This video is really a non issue..some drunk mouthing off and we equate that person to all francophones..come on. As I said there are equal assholes on the english side.

      Good luck with the partition idea..it aint gonna happen without a civil war. Do you really think francophones would accept to lose Montreal the biggest city in the province?? The reality is that seperation is unlikely unless the rest of Canada kicks Quebec out. This vote for the PQ is a protest against corruption with the Liberals. But what it does mean is more uncertainty..more restrictions on anglophones..lower property values..higher unemployment..which will be a real pain for many of us.

      What I dont get is why anglos are reacting now..I saw this coming a year or so ago with the Liberals trailing in the polls massively. It was clear they wouldnt be reelected..anglos could have left last year..now they are all going to freak out..not very smart imo..

      I

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  43. Way to go Yannick - You're better off without the anxiety.

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  44. complcated- is New School he has no idea where Quebec was and how much it lost.

    He doesn't have the war wounds many of us have as a result of the push and pull.

    When people say "OMG I have never had that happen!" I assume they socialize in a very tight little clique of people.

    If you have the money there are many places you can live in Quebec where you aren't interacting with the commoner's.

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    1. Obviously Quebec and Montreal have been in economic decline for decades..its quite sad really. Because this city should be on par with Toronto but because of politics and mismanagement it keeps shooting itself in the foot.

      But when I talk to francophones about how things were in the 1960s for them I understand why they revolted so much. There were many anglos living here in Quebec who didnt speak a word of french..stores who wouldnt serve customers in french..francophones who had to speak english at work or else..immigrants who arrived and only learned english and so on. Yet the francophones were the clear majority in the province..wouldnt you be somewhat ticked off if this happened to you. Imagine living in Ontario as an anglophone with a 20 percent francophone group who controlled everything. I blame the old anglo attitude back then for triggering such anger from the francophone community towards anglophones which still carries on today. And I still hear stories from francophones who cant get served in french right here in Quebec.

      The reality is that we live in a province which is majority francophone and maybe we need to listen a bit more. I was surprised how many english institutions there are in a city where only 20 percent of the population is english..there are two english universities..english schools..english hospitals..english radio tv newspapers..english cegeps..and so on. The childrens hospital is more english than french for gods sake...

      My point is dont expect francophones to forget easily how poorly they were treated not that long ago..especially when they still hear english all over the place in the biggest city in the province..

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    2. 'My point is dont expect francophones to forget easily how poorly they were treated not that long ago..especially when they still hear english all over the place in the biggest city in the province.."

      No, complicated, it's their crappy attitude causing them so many problems, in the past, in the present and in the future. Nothing to do with English: they must blame themselves for their own problems. The Latins used to say "imputet sibi" (=let it be imputed to himself as the consequence of his own act—let him blame himself). Too easy to sling mud at the Anglos to erase your responsibility...

      WA

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  45. FROM ED BROWN
    Let me inform COMPLICATED about Quebec. Before teh PQ and Rene Levesque Montreal was the industrial capital of North America. We had the head office of every important company or utility and transport right here. The jobs were so abundant that wherever I went to deliver I was asked do you want to come work for us? The harbour was full from April to November. All 102 berths were full and there were ships waiting at anchor in the river to get in and load and unload. The forwarding alone of goods from Europe and other areas to be sent by rail to parts of North America gave 100 thousand jobs here in Quebec. Seps will saqy it's because of the seaway. The seaway had been there since the
    50"s but ships found it quicker to unload in Montreal and get back up the river. But the French translation demanded by the P.Q. and the power they gave the unions added up to disaster.
    Unions wanted 16 men to unload a ship even if with containers only four were needed. Twelve sat arouns and got paid high union wages. We lost 50 thousand high paying jobs of people who had no choice but to move to keep their job.
    We lost the taxes these companies and utilities paid. The PQ don't even know that anything was wrong. They actually want to do it again. Ed

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    1. I have no arguments about the disastrous economic effects of the PQ. Its clear that they cost this city dearly in jobs and prestige..countless head offices left for Toronto..I know that. But the anglos who were here in power at the time have to take some responsibility for being insensitive to the dominant francophone culture..to the point that the francophones revolted and unfortunately went too far to the other extreme.

      If the anglos back then were more accomodating and sensitive to francophones and tried to speak the language more I think we could have avoided all the uprising and nastiness with regards to the whole seperation movement.

      Delete
    2. 'he anglos who were here in power at the time have to take some responsibility for being insensitive to the dominant francophone culture..'

      The fact that you use such a powerful adjective as DOMINANT troubles me a lot. In Europe, we stopped using that word in the '50, after the disaster caused by Hitler. By saying dominant, you presume a certain superiority of Francophones towards the others.
      You should study some history before using words whose meaning you completely ignore...

      WA

      Delete
  46. FROM ED BROWN
    COMPLICATED is as hard headed as the PQ. There is nothing wrong with people speaking their own language. We were born with it and are proud of it because it serves us best.
    The reason English have schools and hospitals is because we built them. We worked hard and got wealthy so that today our 20% pays 40% of the taxes. Don't throw these institutions up in my face. I helped to build them. My grandfather sold school bonds in Verdun to help us get a school.Myself and my freinds worked volunteer in our spare time to build playgrounds and today the French resent us using them And we built these places and when the French took them over we stepped aside and let them enjoy what we had created. Even the Salvation Army today has been taken over by the French. Don't tell me we're lucky. What we've got didn't happen by luck. We've got them because they are ours. Just like any house you built belongs to you, these institutions are ours because we built them with bloody hard labour.

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    1. Except there are fewer anglophones here now than before. I dont doubt the anglophones built a lot of these institutions although I am sure that french labour was used in the process. But again you cant deny that the minority anglo population had a priviliged status here in Montreal before the 1970s. When you cant even go to a store and get served in your language when you are in the majoirty then thats just not right..same goes with work..these are facts..countless francophones have told me this. There werent even some government services available in french..weather forecasts were only in english until the early 70s.

      Why the heck couldnt the anglos back then just be a little more sensitive to the majority francophone population? It would have gone a long ways towards reducing the resentment that built up over the years. There has always been a certain arrogance within the english community in refusing to speak in french..it seems anglophones often expect the francophones to address them in english..I still see that all the time. The anglos here need to accept some of the blame for the mess we are in and I just dont see it.

      Delete
    2. Complicated, you are legitimizing revenge.

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    3. 'It would have gone a long ways towards reducing the resentment that built up over the years'

      This is called brainwashing, stirring up somebody's emotions to fulfill your own purposes. Negative emotions anyway bar you from being happy. You have to be responsible for your negative emotions.

      'There has always been a certain arrogance within the english community in refusing to speak in french'

      Again: myth spread by frustrated dying off separatists.

      'It seems anglophones often expect the francophones to address them in english..I still see that all the time'

      Again: projection of your own insecurity. Blame yourself, not the Anglos if you cannot deal with your emotions.

      WA

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    4. Wow Complicated, you've really been tippling on the Kool-Aid haven't you? Don't you think that in 1930's Nazi Germany there were Jews who said "If we don't annoy them, they're stop harassing us and leave us alone."? The problem is always the same: they see they're getting their way and decide to keep demanding more and more. If there's no line in the sand, pretty soon YOU don't have any sand. People arguing for draconian limits on freedom of speech are either thugs or what Soviets used to refer to as "useful idiots". Choose the group where you feel most at home.

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  47. Ed is right - anglos didn't ruin Quebec = the unions have ruined Quebec and as I've said before, you pay just about the same pay to house painters as you do to doctor's and nurses and wonder why the children don't stay in school, get trained as nurses through CGEP and move to Ontario where they earn $10,000 more per annum than they would if they stayed in Quebec. The population of Quebec have to learn to stop blaming Anglophones for every wrong thing in this province and in the country. I can't continue to bear the blame for what my parents did or didn't do in 1960 for heaven's sake - they have the power to change things now and if they're bilingual they have a million opportunities for great jobs if they're properly trained.

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  48. FROM ED BROWN
    COMPLICATED
    I don't know what Francophones you talked to but I can tell you it's bullshit. In the 50's and 60"s we were all getting along. There was no bad feelings. We partied, worked and laughed together using both languages. The ENGLISH NEVER HATED THE FRENCH. Where did yuou get such an idea. This is PQ ideology who have people believing it. Next time talk to people who were actually there in the sixties and not PQers.
    We lived on a street where we walked in and out of each others houses like we were all one family.
    This is reality.

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

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    2. Well I am sure the english and french didnt hate each other everywhere. But I have heard from many francophones who told me that it was difficult to be served in their own language here in Montreal. You are not adressing that fact..its know that there were stores in downtown Montreal in which people only spoke english. In my opinion all stores and businesses should have been bilingual and they clearly were not. Many anglophones did not even bother learning french expecting the french to speak english to them. I still see it now..if there are more francophones than anglos in a group then invariably everyone starts speaking english..not always but the majority of the time.

      The problem with the people on this blog is that you are unwilling to accept ANY of the blame for the tensions between the french and the english. If you all think thats its ONLY the french who are to blame then good luck with living in harmony here. I am somewhat of an outsider having arrived here 10 years ago from the west and I see both sides are the problem. There is a group of radical francophones who are out of touch with reality and demonize the english all they can..but there is also a signficant number of anglophones who spew hatred about the french also and it seems that many frequent this blog. If you cant accept any part of the blame for the problems that exist in Quebec then you continue to be part of the problem..

      Delete
  49. FROM ED BROWN
    It's no use COMPLICATED is as hard headed as a PQ. Trying to tell us there were no government services available from A totally French speaking government Quebec governments have been on French since the days of Edward Taschereau.
    It's like they say in Newfoundland:- " Them that know does, them that doesn't tries to teach. Ed

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    1. No, he is not stubborn: he is just emotionally irresponsible.

      WA

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  50. FROM ED BROWN
    Yannick, I remember before the 76 election a young protester freind of mine said, " Vous Angais, vous allez voir." After the election he was asking what happened to my job. I tried to explain why the companies moved but he was convinced somehow it was the fault of the English that his job was gone.
    The same way Hitler blamed it on the Jews. The PQ won because Levesque rallied them and convinced them they were being robbed. The numbers did the rest.

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  51. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/video/video-what-does-the-quebec-election-mean-for-investors/article4517514/?from=4518488

    Watch that...

    WA

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