Thursday, October 18, 2012

French versus English Volume 65

OQLF targets American companies

Radicals propose another laughable boycott.. Good Luck!!
A couple of months ago I told you that a lawsuit was brewing in regards to the OQLF demand that companies sporting English names be required to add a French descriptor.
As you all must know by now, that lawsuit has been  deposited with six very large retailers (Costco, Best Buy, Gap, Guess, Old Navy and Wal-Mart) banding together to defend their right to use their trademark to identify their business in the marketplace.  Link

When I first saw the list of stores, I was actually disappointed at how few decided to fight, but after closer consideration, a different picture emerged.

My ennui was caused by the absence of Canada's biggest powerhouse retailer "Canadian Tire" from among the group taking on the OQLF in court.

Why?
Because of any firm that has a chance to win its case in court, it is Canadian Tire, a Canadian company that has operated successfully across Quebec for over seventy-five years.
Unlike the upstarts suing the OQLF, it would be almost impossible to rule against a company that has been so firmly established in Quebec for so long and in fact even if the court ruled in favour of the OQLF in law, the principle of an acquired right would apply as surely as in the case where your neighbour asks you to move your thirty-year old fence because it encroaches a few feet on his land.
Ain't going to happen, ask any lawyer.

And so, if Canadian Tire was on the list, the case would be a slam dunk and that readers is exactly the point.

It appears that the OQLF has targeted American companies alone, perhaps making the decision that to take on Canadian icons would be suicidal.

Yup, it isn't a coincidence that there isn't one Canadian retailer on the list, no Brick, Canadian Tire, Roots, Smart Set, Scores ,Winners, Homesense, etc, etc.

Hmmm... I'm sure that when the U.S State Department gets wind that American companies are being singled-out, they will not be pleased. They clearly can intervene if they so choose to.
If you think the American government is unaware or uninterested as to what is going on here, I can assure that is not the case and this I speak of with direct personal knowledge.

Clearly the OQLF is picking its fight with American companies because in their estimation, they have less public support and more importantly, less judicial support, especially in the Supreme Court.

Now French language militants have been whinging for years that the Supreme Court has 'butchered' Bill 101, ruling unconstitutional, clause after clause, but it really isn't true.

In almost all cases, all the Supreme Court did was to confirm 'unfavourable' decisions that were decided in lower courts in Quebec and finally in the highest court in Quebec, the Court of Appeal.

If the six litigants win their case in the highest Court in Quebec and the OQLF decides to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada, before accepting to hear the case, the Supremos should consider saying 'No Thanks" leaving the Quebec government and militants with an unfavourable decision 'made exclusively in Quebec.'
What will the language militants say then?
Actually they have said it already, that is that the Quebec Court of Appeal is a federalist bastion, where separatists can never get a fair shake.
Boohoo!.......

Now readers, here is an interesting case study in the stupidities of descriptors;


Does the pictogram above representing APPLE need a descriptor?
It is not as stupid as it sounds.
Clearly the trademark represents an English word, nobody could pretend otherwise.
Maybe Apple will start a trend?
Can anybody guess the name of one Canadian retailer who may opt for the Apple solution if and when it is forced to adopt a French descriptor?

  

Charbonneau commision follies

Most of us don't have the time nor the inclination to devote hours and hours to watch the daily goings on at the Charbonneau commission and so we depend on summaries and commentaries offered by analysts in the media, whose summations and conclusions are usually pretty good....but not always.

Having been involved in the fundraising process, the revelations about illegal campaign contributions didn't surprise me much, but one part of Mr. Zambito's testimony did come as quite a surprise and shock.

It wasn't the fact that he claimed that he made a $30,000 cash contribution to the Liberal Party of
Quebec, what shocks me is how the payment was made.

Mr. Zambito claimed that he made the payoff directly to Pierre Bibeau, a Liberal party fundraiser and at the time, husband of Nathalie Normandeau, a member of Jean Charest's cabinet. Mr. Zambito made the alleged delivery of his 'brown envelope' in Mr. Bibeau's office in  the Loto-Quebec building in downtown Montreal, where Mr. Bibeau worked as a VP for the provincial lottery corporation.

Whaaat????
This is where my eyebrows were raised.

Only an idiot or an arrogant bastard would allow a transaction like that to take place at his office, especially at the Loto-Quebec building in downtown Montreal, where visitors are logged in and names recorded. If Zambito did in fact visit Bibeau's office, it is all in the record. I've visited the offices of Loto-Quebec and can confirm that you can't get in without an appointment. Visitors are issued a badge and in some cases escorted up the elevator.

What a fool!
Now everybody who I know in the fundraising business, understands that these types of meetings should never take place in your home or office.  
NEVER!!! NEVER!!
 
Why, because people in your office or at home are witnesses, they know you and probably who you are meeting.
Why on Earth put your employees or family in a position where they may have to confirm that a meeting took place to investigators?

In fact Mr. Zambito explained that all his other 'transactions' took place in public, as in fast food restaurants. This is how it is supposed to be.

Now after the revelation about the alleged meeting at the Loto-Quebec between Zambito and Bibeau, a panel on television were discussing the situation.
Quebec's media wunderkind, Mathieu Bock-Côté commented that it didn't seem too bright an idea to have meetings in public places like fast food restaurants, where money was to be exchanged and further commented that those criminals who did so, were stupid.

Readers, only an idiot comments on things he knows nothing about and believe me on this subject Mr. Côté is about as conversant as Judge Charbonneau, the head of the inquiry and another woefully uninformed, when it comes to these things.
I seriously doubt if either of them ever saw a stack of $10,000 in cash.

So let me help Mr. Côté understand and perhaps readers will appreciate a lesson in what I would call 'Bagman 101.'

Mr Côté couldn't be more wrong, a fast food restaurant is a perfect spot for an exchange of the infamous 'brown envelope'

It is called hiding in plain view.
The two parties involved in the transaction meet at a busy McDonalds at lunchtime where the place is full of hungry people each concentrating on their Big Macs, oblivious to who is seated beside them.
Both parties check out the restaurant for the fluke chance that someone there knows them, but the restaurant is usually chosen for its off the beaten track location.

The giver and the receiver sit down and consume a meal like any two colleagues out for a fast lunch.
The 'giver' has the brown envelope hidden between the pages of a Journal de Montreal which he places on the table and which he forgets when he leaves first. The 'receiver' leaves several minutes later, carefully scooping up the newspaper.
There is never any need to count money, the giver and the receiver both have a vested interest in making the transaction work.
The parties can choose a different restaurant each time, insuring that family, friends, employees and co-workers are ignorant of what transpired.
My God, Mr. Bock-Côté , don't you ever watch spy shows!

Now as I remember there were times when lengthy discussions had to take place, not necessarily transfers of money and in these cases, a quiet yet discreet location was required.
Nothing beats a Chinese restaurant in the afternoon, well after the lunch hour rush and well before the dinnertime crowd arrives. Chinatown in any major or medium-sized Canadian city is ideal and whether it is on Spadina, Sumerset or la Gauchetière, it is always pretty much the same.

The restaurant is usually deserted and so it's easy to secure a quiet table in an inauspicious back corner. The server, who is probably the only waiter covering the moribund afternoon shift, is usually an uninterested middle-aged Chinese who is more interested in the poker game going on in the kitchen than fussing over you.
It is easy to have an hour long meeting, completely private.

As a now deceased senator and mentor of mine explained to me, getting identified by the staff in a Chinese restaurant is almost impossible,
"To the Chinese, we white people all look alike" and on top of it, he continued,
"A Cop could show a Chinese waiter a picture of his own mother and he would deny knowing her nine times out of ten"

Ha! Ha! Ha!

Pay in cash, leave a decent tip, not too big or small to call attention and you are good to go.

Now how do politicians, who are recognizable have clandestine meetings (and yes they do.)

Hotel rooms, where a third party rents the room and the politicians meet in private.
Remember the story of Brian Mulroney meeting lobbyist Karl Heinz Schreiber in a hotel room in Mirabel?
Textbook.. Link

Pay attention and learn something, Mr. Mathieu Bock-Côté!

7 out of 10 PQ cabinet ministers send their children to private school

Reaction to Quebec education minister Marie Malavoy's attack on private schools was swift and furious, eliciting a firestorm of criticism in the press. In an altogether familiar refrain Premier Marois was forced once again to correct a minister publicly telling reporters that the government has no intention of cutting subsidies to private schools that require students to take entrance exams. Link{Fr}
Reporters couldn't resist and launched an investigation as to how many ministers in Pauline's cabinet with school age children, send them to private school;
"By sending his children to private school, the Minister of Higher Education, Pierre Duchesne, contradicts the principles defended publicly by the government of Pauline Marois.
During the election campaign Marois said this;
"I believe that the Minister of Health has the duty to be exemplary. As for me, a Minister of Education has the duty to be exemplary (and should) send their children to public school, "Pauline Marois said during the election campaign in August.
She was nastily referring to the portly ADQ candidate, Dr. Gaeten Barrete, whose girth, in her opinion, disqualified him for the position of Health minister.  Link
However, two of Pierre Duchesne's three children go to private school and the children of the Minister of Education, Marie Malavoy, also spent several years in a private school.
During the election campaign, Marois also attacked  François Legault for having sent his children to private school.

Oh the hypocrisy!

PQ would apply French-language laws to daycares

"Immigrants to Quebec who want to send their children to daycare will soon have to look into finding a French-language centre, the government said Wednesday, outlining the latest plank in its plan to overhaul the province's language laws.
The measure will be part of legislation to be tabled this fall that is aimed at toughening Bill 101, formally known as the French Language Charter, Families Minister Nicole Léger said.
"Bill 101 is going to be changed," Léger said in an interview. "I will have plenty of support as family minister to make sure it also extends to daycares."
Quebec has various types of child-care centres and it is not immediately clear whether the new legislation would apply to all of them — if the bill even passed in the legislature, where the Parti Québécois government has a minority. But it appears that the new rules would at least apply to children up to age five who attend publicly run or subsidized daycares and early-childhood centres."  LRead the rest of the story

Lost in all this is a conclusion that nobody in the mainstream media picked up.

Had the PQ intended to apply the Bill 101 to cegeps, it would have been included in this proposal and so it seems that idea is off the table.

Radio-Canada too Quebec-centric

"A long-standing complaint concerning Quebec navel-gazing by the CBC’s French-language news service has been revived as the national broadcast regulator considers Radio-Canada’s licence renewal. Sen. Pierre de Bane, a former Liberal cabinet minister under prime minister Pierre Trudeau, commissioned an exhaustive research study that suggests Quebec television viewers may be getting an “unrepresentative image of the Canadian reality.”
A scientifically vigorous sample of 2010 newscasts on Le Telejournal, taken by a Carleton University researcher, found that 42% of the coverage focused on Quebec, a third dealt with international news and just 20% covered Canadian “national” news.
Regional stories focusing on the other 11 provinces and territories comprised less than six per cent of Le Telejournal’s coverage over a month-long period.
By contrast, CBC’s The National focused 37% of its newscast on Canadian national news, 36% on international events and the remaining 27% on the provinces and territories." Read the rest of the story

Quebec continues to decline

Here is a chart prepared by DAVID, at republique de bananes, reflecting a sad decline in Quebec's relative weight in Canada. Read the original story in French

The red line is the demographic proportion of Quebec's population in Canada and the blue line, Quebec's portion of the Gross Domestic Product.


etc. etc.

David Hague: Time for some Anglo push-back in Quebec (good read)

Montreal engineer first to admit he took kickbacks

After furious French lobbying, CRTC blocks Bell bid to take over Astral

Quebec companies most heavily taxed

Budget cuts hurting bilingualism 

Canadian flag rally set for Quebec city


Attention readers:

I would have liked to offer a longer post for this weekend, however I was preoccupied and so cut things short.
On Thursday morning my son and daughter-in-law presented us with a little baby granddaughter and as you can imagine, our family is as excited as can be.

Since my son and his family are expats, we are hopping in the car to visit the newest addition to our family and so, I beg readers indulgence if posting  is disrupted over the beginning of next week.

Have a very good weekend, I'll know I will!!

110 comments:

  1. I hope Wal Mart slams her on the ass. Quebecs politics are a joke. They elect these radical morons to further in trench Quebec in the past and screw its chances of joining the 21 st Century. Of inclusion and multicultural acceptance.

    Nothing would please me more than to see this law overturned and the PQ screwed out of their nazi dream of a master race of hate

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  2. Would love to see that Canada flag rally turn into just a Canada rally. Fucking PQunt.

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  3. Congratulations Editor - Bet she's cute as a button!

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  4. "PQ would apply French-language laws to daycares"

    The Nazi project is very clear: every immigrant must erase his own mother tongue, his culture, his roots, forget hi origins and speak French only. They basically replaced the religion of God with the the religion of French (like in the French Revolution, the king's absolutism was replaced by the absolutism of the Reason).
    Read the racist, navel-gazing comments here http://www.ledevoir.com/politique/quebec/361853/loi-101-dans-les-garderies-quebec-recule

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  5. French in this part of the world is a language on life-support. And it doesn't take a genius to know that life support in any form costs money, which in this case is taxpayer money. Life-support, if it goes on and on, just bleeds money fruitlessly. Eventually one has to unplug the life support. Now, it's not like Anglos are anti-French and are trying to drive it into the ground. It's just the way of the world. Somewhere along the way English became the main language in North America and pretty much the language of business/entertainment in the world. So the narrow-minded PQers who are trying to create a French only society in North America, will fail. It's only a matter of time. And sadly, that time will cost us taxpayers a lot of money and us Anglos (and intelligent Francos, Allos) a lot of angst...

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    1. Life-support in a pre-death condition. If something is on life-support, it means its nature is weak, ergo the laws of nature prevail in this case: you must die to make room for something else.
      It happens with languages, humans, plants, animals and so on. It happened with Latin, now it's the turn of French. Things evolve and to evolve they must change.

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    2. @ Anonymous
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    4. A dead body needs burying, not venerating or imposing upon the others as an example of life and future.

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    5. Well I don`t agree that French is on life support, at least not in Quebec. It is alive and well and personally, I would not want it to die out. I know a lot of Anglos don`t want it to die either. Yes, we actually like the French in our city/province and are proud to speak more than one language. We just want to be left alone and not be beaten up in the street for the language we speak or be told that learning French is no longer enough, we now have to think in French, not to mention the constant attack on our institutions, the discrimination by our own government, and on and on.

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    6. "Well, thankfully it's not up to either of you two whether we let French in North America die.
      God, and they made fun of me for using the word "anglo-supremacist".

      Yes, Yannick, that's the problem: when a francophone insults, mistreats or discriminates "les autres", that's the highest level of democracy; when "les autres" speak up and refuse being insulted or berated, they are "anglo-supremacists", "anti-Quebec", "they hate us", "the want to ditch us". In other terms, crappy attitude (see my post below).

      As long as the attitude persists, there will not be improvements in the relationships between Francoas and "les autres"

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    7. Of course, you do: they don't suit your purposes. Of course my words are evil: by twisting them, eveything I say is 'anglo-supremacy'.

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    8. FRENCH IS FAR FROM DEAD, AND IT WON'T DIE IN THE LIFETIMES OF ANYONE BEING BORN AS I WRITE! In Quebec certainly, language legislation or no language legislation, if the society wants to keep speaking French, they will. I've previously discussed how Hebrew was strictly a scriptural language for over 2000 years before the State of Israel OPTED to resurrect Hebrew as the national language. THAT WAS NOT EASY! In 2000 years a lot of terminology had to be created because of the new items that came about from years BC to 1948 AD (5708 on the Hebrew calendar). Yiddish is a dying language, but as a Jew, I won't die if Yiddish becomes a catalogued language much the way Hebrew did for 2000 years.

      There are movements in various Jewish communities to resist the extinction of Yiddish, especially in protected gated communities in the U.S., and there are far fewer Yiddish speakers in the entire world than French speakers in Quebec (let alone France and other French speaking nations)!

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    9. Yannick: How did you come up with this "theory" (at best hypothesis)?

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    10. Yannick: I'll write this much: Why they chose Hebrew is beyond me. My best guess is they couldn't decide on which Western language to settle upon, or there would have been endless disputes over it. I figure Hebrew was the compromise because nobody spoke it! Anyway, the way I see it, if you speak two Western languages, you should be able to get by in Israel, but preferably one of those Western languages is English.

      Since about a third of the world's Jewish population is American, and they speak English (or is it American?), they make the largest number of emigrants to Israel. Every Israeli prime minister since its inception speaks English. The only place I see Hebrew as a must is in the Knesset (the Israeli parliament). Beyond that, English and French are two solid languages to have for a trip to Israel. French is the second language of Lebanon, Syria and Egypt, so naturally there is spillover into Israel. Anyway, we're here so it's really a moot point.

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  6. While reading about the Charbonneau inquiry, it got me wondering about Quebec Hydro's vast construction project. If projects around southern Quebec are rife with bribes, kickbacks and bid-rigging, what about the James Bay projects and some of the other hydro projects that have a cast of thousands and multi-billion dollar budgets. What are the odds that they're all squeaky-clean?

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  7. This is the most inept government ever in power so hopefully no Bills (or amendments to Bills) will be approved in the legislature during their time in power. The Big P is failing on so many levels that it is hard to pinpoint one that will bring them down but probably the budget if they ever get around to presenting one. We are so far in the hole I don't see how we'll ever get out but raising taxes, again, and/or taking on more government costs (such as policing day cares, for God's sake) sure isn't going to cut taxes. And if she has her way, she wants more responsibility from the Federal Government for areas of control which are already paid for by the ROC and, should she get her wish, she will duplicate government departments at the provincial level which will increase our taxes for no reason. NO MORE POWER TO QUEBEC.

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  8. FROM ED BROWN
    Diogenes (if you ever find that honest man let us know) Companies that are big enough to be in the stock exchange are usually clean. They have to give annual and sometimes quarterly reports to stockholders plus their books are open to government approval (read inspection).
    WA - I think we should be careful about calling French a dead language (Although I have done it myself)
    The separatists have got the Francos so tied in with language they are convinced that if the language dies they die with it. The word I used was decadent and got in a lot of trouble for it. Ed

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    1. It's not a dead language, it's a dying one, not because of English, but because of the general attitude Francos have. The project of imposing a language upon a child - which is a linguistic rape and a psychological trauma, as kids need continuity with their mother tongue, their first language, the language they were born with - is pushing more and more immigrants and Anglos to reject French, Francos and their crappy attitude. It happens on a daily basis: French, Francos and their crappy attitude are being rejected like fighting off a disease. People are fed up with being considered "foreigners" or "tourists" just because they are not part of the majority (=the truth-holders), a term Francos like using to deliberately exclude the others.

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    2. There is a difference between the two: in francophone schools immigrants are being brainwashed to join the separatist ideology against Canada. They use the language as a weapon. That's why they are 'linguistically raped'. They think to go to school and learn a language: the reality is that they go to school to be equipped to join the separatist ideology. That's a fact.

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    3. WA fait du flip-floping :)

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    4. Once again: when something does not suit Francos, either does not exist or is automatically evil unleashed by the Anglos.

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    5. What do you call changing history books to suit their purposes for separation? For heaven's sake Yannick, it is a truism.

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    6. No, it's never been put into writing but has been going on in the classrooms, perpetrated by separatist teachers and principals, for at least the last 20 years. Anyone who lives here knows that just by the way the children talk about the harsh treatment they have received from Canada and Anglophones. By the way, telling people what day care or CGEP they can use is AGAIN taking away the rights of Canadian citizens - another assault on our rights and freedoms in this province! We must let those go that want to go - this would halt all this hostility that is building between Anglo/Franco citizens and end this ongoing stalemate that occupies so much of our time and money.

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    7. For the most part what I heard from my Friends who like myself were allophones in French schools in the 1990s there were many teachers teaching about Quebec being hobbled by being in Canada and while I was not in French school there was ideological justifications in even French Immersion french textbooks justifying bill 101.

      Despite all this propaganda most of the allophones realize what it was and just ignored it. With the internet so entrenched it is impossible for the propaganda to work now. More then create ideal allophones that will be clones of Pur Laine pro bill 101, pro-sovereignty children, this attempt at indoctrination create the opposite effect. Thats why English CEGEPs are full of allophones and even and increasing number of francophones.

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    8. If we assume that a significant component of "rape" is action against one's will, then in AB we have less rape, in QC we have more of it. Since kids in AB are forced into a system which their parents mostly accept, it's more like a consensual thing where one party insists (even pushes for it) and the other party does not say no because of interest and willingness involved.

      Sometimes, comparative approach does not reveal everything. Such approach often hides nuance. The nuance here is the reception of state coercion regarding the language of instruction. State coercion exists in both AB and QC, and propaganda is there too in the RoC schools (though more subtle and not as vulgar as in QC), but in AB coercion on the subject of language of instruction goes mostly unchallenged by immigrant parents, which is not the case in QC.

      None of it is accidental, the reasons for this dichotomy are there: the power of attraction of EN, the historical and physical presence of EN in QC which makes it harder to compare QC to Germany, Italy, Sweden, etc...the fear of vulgar propaganda in FR schools, the fear that FR schools will take EN language instruction less and less seriously leaving immigrant kids disadvantaged on the job market...). Which means that there are 2 ways looking at it, and 2 aspects to consider. One is simply power, something that Yannick concentrates on. QC, as AB, has powers which it has the right to apply, just like AB can apply them. There is no question about it, it is an absolutely correct claim. The other aspect however is whether the power is applied with acceptance of the parties affected, or against the wishes of all or a chunk of these parties. This second aspect is very important, because government which is consistent in applying power instead of focusing on incentive is not worth a dime.

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    9. I'll bet that if someone wanted to open up a daycare in Alberta that worked in French, there would not be one iota of interest in reporting that or, if reported, would not be written up as "an attempt of assimilation of Anglo children to the French ideology". Come on, this stuff only happens in Quebec; the ROC have things like budgets, health problems, better education, little stuff like that to worry about.

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    10. "I'll bet that if someone wanted to open up a daycare in Alberta that worked in French, there would not be one iota of interest in reporting that"

      In the same vain, until I see a consistent stream of reports on immigrant parents in the RoC protesting against being restricted from language systems alternative to English, only then will I take seriously comparisons between AB and QC on this issue. Just the fact that both provinces apply a no-choice policy does not paint the whole picture, if in one case the forcing more or less corresponds with the will of the forced, and in the other less so.

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    11. have a read the French language is far from being on life support http://m.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/french-schooling-en-bonne-sant-in-bc/article2439502/?service=mobile Vive le Quebec libre and do not read into it that is not there ,I want to be free.

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    12. Adski, in this instance there's no comparison between AB and QC. I could easily see a French-only daycare opening in either Calgary or Edmonton. The demand for French immersion in BC, Alberta and Saskatchewan continues (despite those who blithely remind us that French is a 'decadent' or 'dying' language) to go up and up - and this at the behest of parents who in Quebec would be labelled either Anglophones or Allophones. In other words, those who put their kids in French immersion these days are no longer just Francophones, even in the majority of cases. This was not the case when I was in Grade 6, back in 1989. We were presented with the option of going to a French-immersion junior high, but the only kids I remember taking up the offer were those with French-sounding last names, or those who had at least one French Canadian parent. These days, the Calgary Board of Education is begging for French teachers due to the demand being so high and the competent teachers being so few. A family acquaintance who recently completed an MA in French was allowed to name her terms when offered a job as French teacher at a private girls' school on Vancouver Island. I know people younger than me whose parents come from cultures where neither French nor English is a first language who went to French immersion from K - 12, basically. In other words, in the West knowing French is seen by a lot of people as a good thing. On the other hand, many immersion kids I know here in Montreal have made it clear that, once they've finished their university studies, they're getting out of this (*$#@ province. From what they tell me, their clearly fluent but equally clearly non-Quebec French is perceived as some sort of Fifth Column invasion from the ROC when they speak to the locals while at work. I'm sure the government concurs: If all these immersion kids from the ROC decided to settle here and work in both languages, rather than leave in disgust, one can only imagine how they might transform the economic and political landscape. Shame the feds don't do more to encourage it.

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    13. Geez Yannick - THEY ARE REMOVING RIGHTS OF CITIZENS TO MAKE THESE DECISIONS FOR THEMSELVES - DON'T YOU GET IT???????

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    14. Spencer the Spineless PorcupineFriday, October 19, 2012 at 4:28:00 PM EDT

      The proposed change to the history books may not have been implemented yet, but I'm pretty sure our current history textbooks have already had changes made to them. I remember my history teacher (high school) telling us to flat out ignore certain sections of our books because they were wrong or had been manipulated. I wish I could remember what the changes were now but it's been to long. Maybe if I can find my old history workbook I will scan it and put it online somewhere for all to see/examine.

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    15. @Yannick. Off the top of my head, here's an example of how even the English version of provincial history curriculum is biased toward a specific nationalistic viewpoint.

      http://www.westquebecers.com/?action=show&lid=4EI4E-PAETZ-PKHL6&comaction=view&id=8EKD2-AQ61E-QY2G8

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    16. And here's another (vintage) example of the francophone school system "encouraging" linguistic pride:
      http://www.scribd.com/fullscreen/27679920

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    17. That quiz is outrageous! Come on, let's admit that francophones are not being subjected to the same kind of nonsense that Quebec anglophones are in this day and age...

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    18. I mean that having to justify one's existence like in that quiz from 15 years ago, post-referendum. This year's L'Actualité article come to mind...

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    19. Very easy: they replaced the dogmas of the catholic religion (Church, God, Obedience) with the nastier dogmas of the separatist ideology (Nous, French, Bill 101). Once they were under the thumb of the Church, now they are under the heels of the separatists. In other terms, they aren't and will never be free.

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    20. Re the quiz: Just another propaganda chapter in the many volumes of propaganda that make up totalitarian dogma, and Quebec nationalism is nothing less than right wing totalitarianism, i.e., fascism.

      In light of WA's statement above, an atom cannot survive without a nucleus. The Roman Catholic church, an evil empire, was simply replaced with nationalism and language laws, the ingredients of another evil empire. Simply a change of nuclei, nothing more, nothing less, equally evil.

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  9. FROM ED BROWN
    Editor, The happiest years of my life are the years I spent raising my grandchildren. When my own were growing up I was busy earning a living for them but
    when the wife died I moved in with my son and family. Since both Mom and Dad were working I was chief baby sitter. A simple thing like watching TV with my granddaughter on my lap became a joy. We new all the 'Barney' songs and sung them. We enjoyed bike rides to 'old Montreal' with her brother (5 yrs. older) leading the way and me pulling her bike with a bungee cord so she could come too. I remember fondly the simple things like my grandson's expressions, "I'll take the ladders you can have the snakes" or "Leave it alone, I'LL take care of it." from a five year old. These years at the beginning are the ones you will remember most when you get old but I hope that like me you never do. Both kids have good jobs today but when I think about them I remember the warmth of holding them in my arms or the thankful look on their face when I changed a diaper. Ed

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  10. Received a "thank you for your support" letter from Staples. I hope all the stores involved have been told that we support them in their endeavours to retain their corporate names and they beat the PQ government down in the courts.

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    Replies
    1. It's so sad to be so ignorant... there's this new thing called "Google", if one were genuinely interested to know...

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    2. Ok,c'est la copie américaine de nos Bureau en gros,merci Google!

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    3. It's so sad to be so obsessed with thinking that everything is a copy of something American, even when it's not.

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    4. For those that aren't blinkered by their paranoid obsessions:

      http://www.staples.ca/ENG/Static/static_pages.asp?pagename=corp_about
      http://www.staples.ca/ENG/Static/static_pages.asp?pagename=corp_history

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    5. It's funny SR thinks bureau en gross is quebecois.

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    6. Exactly! S.R's ignorance highlights the importance of keeping corporation trademarks intact globally. That’s why the PQ is so obsessed with the language on signs. Changing names just for the Quebec markets serves to reinforce the notion seppies have that Quebec is a special little bubble, as if it weren’t integrated economically with Canada and North America. S.R probably thinks Pharmaprix (Shoppers Drug Mart) is not a Canadian company either or that PFK is not really KFC for the insecure.

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  11. I was at the Canadian Tire across the street from Marche Centrale on L'Acadie(north of the met). When the store first opened maybe 4-5 years ago they had bilingual exterior signs predominately smaller then the French. But recently I went and saw they got rid of them as well. Not sure why they had done it. I was surprised when I 1st saw it having bilingual exterior signs when it 1st opened because I don't even remember the west Island Canadian tires having bilingual exterior signs. I don't know if it was change of Franchise owner or because of OQLF pressure.

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    Replies
    1. Reno Depot in Canadac added "Ici on commerce en francais" sticker. It wasn't there before, all of a sudden it's up.

      "Ici on commerce en francais" is an interesting statement. It's ambiguous enough to be explained away as "Here we also serve in French", i.e. as something directed to the francophone clientele and aiming at making them feel included. I'm perfectly fine with it if it is under this interpretation, and in downtown Montreal it actually makes sense, like in Banana Republic on McGill College and St-Catherine, where patrons and staff converse a lot in English, so there is nothing wrong with giving the francophone clientele some reassurance.

      "Ici on commerce en francais" also carries a more nasty interpretation, as in "Here we do business in French, so don't bring your stinking language here". In Reno Depot in Candiac, it can only mean that. The "also" interpretation would not make sense there, given that it is a francophone area, the staff is francophone only, the patrons are 90% francophone, so saying "we would like to reassure you that here we also serve in French" would be stating the obvious (like a sign saying "Le ciel est bleu").

      I was always curious about which interpretation applies, and what was the aim of the drafters of this phrase. I always leaned towards the second interpretation (sorry for my "negativity"), but when this thing went up in Reno Depot in Candiac, I am now sure it is meant as "here, we don't want to hear any other language".

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    2. If my Canadian Tire here in the Pontiac did not provide English signs as well as the French ones, I would e-mail them and tell them that I will not shop there until service is provided in English as well. Bill 101 does not prohibit English (yet - that'll be next if the seppies have their way) even if the lettering is smaller. This is the only way they will change their ways - lose business.

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    3. "I was always curious about which interpretation applies"

      Je dirais que c'est relatif au niveau de paranoia de l'individu.

      " am now sure it is meant as "here, we don't want to hear any other language"."

      Vous savez ce qu'il vous reste à faire?Allez acheter vos biens et services ailleurs,c'est ce que je fais quand un commerce m'accueuil "in english".

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    4. Since we are talking about signs, I would like to invite S.R to go on Bourque Boulevard at number 4787 in Sherbrooke and try to figure out what is that company selling. Because according to oqlf, quebeckers cannot figure out what a store sells unless its name contains a descriptor, the company I am referring to should add an identifying term. Yeah... we'll see how that works out.

      Moreover, companies with the name in French should also add a descriptor! I mean, take "La Vie en Rose". Do quebeckers intrinsically know what exactly are they selling? Is it life insurance? Roses? Construction material?

      All this harassment is a load of bullschlachen.

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    5. That is a very interesting observation about the stickers, Adski.

      Here on the south shore there are many of them, especially in stores in Les Promenades St-Bruno. Because there are relatively few anglophones in that area (it's further away from Brossard & GPK) the signs are clearly discriminatory, and refer to the "French only" interpretation. I have never heard anyone speak English there in the four years I worked in a store there when I was younger, apart from a few exceptions. Why are these stickers necessary? They're hardly needed to let the storegoers know that they can be served in French... rather, they are indicative of the owners'/management's hostility to all that is not "pure-laine".

      I completely agree with the stickers being interpreted differently in MTL: there are slightly more anglos and allos put together than there are francos, so it makes perfect sense to make francophone clients feel welcome by informing them that they are able to serve them in their mother tongue. It's a simple heads-up for the customer.

      In fact, through this one simple sticker, it's possible to glimpse the vast difference in attitude between anglo & franco Quebecers. On the south shore if I see one of these stickers, I am immediately offended by the blatant discrimination of whomever put it up, whereas in MTL I hardly even notice them.

      (I spend about half my time on the SS and half in MTL)

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    6. I seriously doubt that there are any businesses in Sherbrooke that greet customers in English anymore now that they have almost managed to assimilate the historical anglophone population that founded the area. Of course, this is considered a ghastly atrocity only when it occurs to poor, downtrodden francophones but not to Quebec anglophones, it goes without saying!

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    7. Excuse me... I forgot that when francophones do it, it's called "integration" as opposed to "assimilation"... silly me! What was I thinking?!?

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    8. YES YANNINK - Let's go the way NB has gone - A new bilingual province in our country for those that vote to stay - YES

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    9. And SR - I'm sure the Anglophones are quite happy that you go elsewhere to shop - you bigoted SOB

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    10. Yannick,

      In Edmundston do Francophones need to know English as they do in Moncton? I mean to get work or to live their day to day lives. Are there any Acadian towns that are similar to Edmondston?

      Delete
  12. Just to correct the editor, if by Chinatown on "Sumerset" you mean the one located in Ottawa, the street name, while pronounced like that, is written "Somerset", with an "o". Just a correction.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you. I know the Editor's editor is his wife but still, such simple mistakes like that irk me.

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    2. FROM ED BROWN
      Sorry Joe, We'll try to be 100% perfect so you wont be upset. Anonymous, amazing how you suddenly found a name. Ed

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    3. Oh my goodness - if the misspelling of a street name irks you, it's no wonder we can't get along in this country! Maybe they don't know the area of Ottawa that was referred to - I know it well but I would never think to correct the spelling. Geez - don't we have any real problems?

      Delete
  13. FROM ED BROWN
    The term 'ici on parle Francais' actually started in Plattsburgh. In the fifties we used to see signs near the camp grounds to let French people know they could use french to shop there. There were very few French that couldn't speak English but it made them feel welcome. There was many names in the area at that time who were of French descent. Archambault hardware/ Dr. Boudreau/ Daoust the plumber and Sheriff Paul Guay who was totally bilingual.
    Yannich I remember in the early fifties my friends telling me how the Priest (School principal) told the boys don't play with the English. Stay here in the school yard and the Brother will get a game of scrub going. Unfortunately, the good Christian brother played with them and enjoyed hurting the boys.
    My friend John O'C. translated with me the page in his history book that clearly said the French in Quebec were being dominated by the British Canadians who stole their country from France in the Battle of Abraham. Ed

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  14. FROM ED BROWN
    Anonymous, whichever one you are; We don't correct each other's typos. We all have enough sense to know what the Editor meant and we ignore it. Ed

    ReplyDelete
  15. History has been changed. “Cette école, alors réservée aux garçons, est fréquentée par Émile Nelligan et Hubert Aquin. Elle a été détruite dans un incendie en 1966 et une photo saisissante commémore une messe célébrée dans la ruelle entre les rues Drolet et Henri-Julien à la suite de cet incendie”.
    http://www.histoireplateau.org/toponymie/vp/roy/roy.html
    NO mention that half this school was attended by les autres (boys and girls)Roman Catholics. I was denied admission to the French speaking side with several emigrant children. I attended this school from grade one to seven in the late 40s .

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  16. I'm happy if American corporations are being singled out by the OQLF. As much as I am anti-bill 101, the sooner we get these foreign, megalomaniacal big box retailers like Wal-Mart out of our province and country, the better. They treat their employees dirt, doing everything it takes to prevent unionisation. They also use legal loopholes to get away with making long, unpaid overtime a routine affair. They also have a devastating effect on the commerce sector of anywhere they set foot in. (Have you ever seen the city centre of Sault Sainte Marie nowadays?) If there's one positive aspect of having language police driving out businesses, it's their discriminating choice in targets.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. EDM,

      I wouldn't single out walmart as the villain. When Walmart came to Canada initially sometime in the early 1990s they bought all the locations of Woolco and actually hired every employee of woolco and I think they even kept the same payscale for each employee. I also don't shop at walmart for more then a few items at any one trip usually a few times a years literally. When I do go to Walmart, its never for grocery items and I actually look for products not made in China, if there is made in Canada item that is available for a little more I will buy that item. Since service is not available, you can't find anyone to usually help you in many of their depts like paint.

      Target that is coming to Canada soon will not even be automatically adding the Zellers employees to their payroll like Walmart did. I think some of the location that Walmart will be buying of Zellers will be taking on the former Zellers employees.

      Saying that, the problem is not the big box retailers but rather all the free trade agreements Canada has been getting into since the Canada - US free trade agreement. I personally think the Canada - US free trade agreement benefited Canada quite a bit, especially when our dollar was low and made the Canadian economy more competitive. While some factories closed many new ones opened up.

      NAFTA and GATT started the race to the bottom. It has decimated the Canadian Textiles which was concentrated in Montreal and really erased much of Canadas' manufacturing ability. When manufacturing was around the retail and restaurant sector had to compete with the relatively well paid manufacturing sector for low skill labour. Manufacturing also allowed many skilled trades to develop with a whole range of training and apprenticeship opportunities. Low skilled labour would get more skilled as time went on and would be able to evolve economically alot easier. You also had alot of the factories located in small towns and rural areas allowing residents there a chance to find work, trade and or career locally. It also allowed people in the urban areas wanting a move from the higher costs of the city to a lower cost rural area and a possibility to change ones lifestyle.


      Part 1 of 2(sorry for long post but wanted to explain in some detail)

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    2. PArt 2


      Just having a factory created so many spin off jobs. You had contractors, like plumbers, construction workers, various technicians, even accountants, IT specialists and other professionals or tradesman that would be needed onsite whether hired directly or called in as sub contractors. IF we still had these factories around, you would have so many jobs that couldn't be outsourced. These plants would even need for example, IT helpdesks for the office computers, inventory, quality control, and other departments. Unlike with companies like Bell or Telus, you would need to make sure your IT employees were actually at the plant as it would be essential for them to respond to the problem immediately.

      I know people would say things like products were more expensive at the time. Yes some of the lower end products cost a little more, but you had a better expectation of Quality when you saw Made in Canada. Especially from the name brands. There was alot less counterfeit electrical products like out lights and electrical power bars that are now a fire risk. Clothing sizes were standardized so you had alot better chance of getting a size 30 pants that were actually the same size across multiple stores. For the more expensive durable products made in China there hasn't been a corresponding price decrease, in fact we are paying the same price maybe more and even not getting the Quality we were previously assured. Just look at the imported appliances you get now compared to the majority of made in Canada appliances. I still have fridges that have are older then me, a microwave that works that was made in the 1980s and Made in Canada.

      With classifieds being more accessible like Kijiji imagine all the used goods and parts from broken products that could have been resold because there would still be value for the durable goods.


      Now that we import so many of the goods, the local governments are stuck with providing facilities to get rid of cheap disposable imported goods. Recycling and even landfills cost keep going up meaning higher property taxes. When goods are actually produced locally you have a easier chance of refurbishing and recycling the products due to integration with the production phase. Workers at a factory have taxes automatically deducted from the source and made up a large % of the contribution to income taxes, more so then many self employed, consultants and contractors that have a whole range of tax deductions available and possibility of simply hiding large % of their income more easily. Why do you think the Ontario and Canadian governments wanted to rescue GM and Chrysler. Those highly paid (some sarcastically say overpaid) workers contribute so much in taxes, especially when they do overtime. Even with automation, over time some jobs would be eliminated but you would still need technicians to watch over, maintain and overhaul the automation. You would need unskilled labour to actually move new production lines and changes to the robotics for new products and upgrades, the plants simply being local would still create and preserve jobs by just being here.

      SO more then retail giants that is effecting us, its the lack of manufacturing jobs that have been offshored thanks to the free trade agreements signed by politicians of all stripes. Which has created more competition for even jobs at places like Tim Hortons and walmart. Which causes more resentment towards immigrants as "job stealers" even though Canada needs them to keep demographic growth to minimize the effects of Baby boomer retiring on mass.

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    3. Actually, Sault Ste. Marie is a thousand kilometres away from Montreal so probably most people here have never seen their city centre. Is it any different from other smallish cities? Does Wal-Mart treat their big city employees any less like dirt than they do their small city employees? Do people in Quebec or Ontario choose to shop there any more or less depending on the city's size?

      Delete
    4. All of the above is true but NAFTA and GATT are here to stay as they are all over the world. Unless we want to fall further behind in this province, we have to live in the real world. This includes American big box stores. Price is always the end decision for most people and they will shop wherever they can get the cheapest price. That is not going to change especially here in Quebec when the government doesn't let us keep any of our money - they tax us to death.

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    5. Yannick - I don't like it much either but I don't know what we can do about it - people are people everywhere and money is what controls the mindset.

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    6. Sounds like a good idea but when you mention paying more taxes, people will not go along with it. In Alberta, your taxes are no where near as outrageous as ours are in Quebec and I'll bet, even in Alberta, you mention taxing anything more and there will be outrage. No, I hope we don't sell any of our Alberta oil companies to China. We have to keep some of our natural resources for heaven's sake so let's hope that doesn't come to be.

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    7. Cutie, there is a way that NAFTA and GATT can be mitigated. Just withdraw from those deals. The talk about China and the rest of Asia being important trading partners to access the worlds biggest markets is just hype. China needs the west more then vice versa. Even if we withdrew from GATT or NAFTA the countries involved would still invest to try to access the Canadian market, as there is money to be made here. They would pay the tariffs or setup branch plants. If the US withdrew from GATT and/or NAFTA and we kept the Canada US Free trade agreement we would do even better.

      Even without reneging GATT or NAFTA there are some things that can be done to bring back some jobs back to Canada.

      The CRTC controls foreign competition into the Canadian market and regulates the Canadian telecoms, ISPs and Cable providers. All the CRTC had to do was pass a regulation that when a Customer demands service from a Canadian employee they have to be transferred to an employee in Canada and that the Telecom cannot hinder the process by making it difficult to do so. Another aspect is privacy, for example in the banking sector a Canadian customer should have the right that their financial information does not end up in a foreign database.

      Another regulation I would like to see is that all products sold in Canada must identify the country it is being imported from. Alot of importers don't want print "made in CHina" so either they write for example "imported by so and so Canada, 10 Canada Street, Quebec, Canada. Some importers just put a big Canadian flag and don't even say imported.

      Even if they don't repeal GATT or NAFTA there are ways to preserve and bring back jobs that were lost to countries like China. I don't want to mention some of those ideas that would work because publicizing them in a public forum would give time for foreign governments and importers to do countermeasures.

      Delete
  17. FROM ED BROWN
    So if they all leave and take 20,000 jobs with them, this is alright? Ed

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    Replies
    1. Are you sure about that? Most people are interested in the best price, regardless of the nationality of the parent company.

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  18. We will never get out of this mess of a deficit and the corruption in this province if we don't start clamping down on these unions. We are far too unionized in this province and they run everything.

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  19. Coming up next!

    http://ygreck.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341c5dd653ef017d3cd44fba970c

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    Replies
    1. You know, I wouldn't be surprised if that thought had actually crossed her mind...

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  20. Talking to a friend last night = she and her son, who is bilingual, went to see a brand new condo about two miles outside of Ottawa on the Quebec side of the Ottawa River. The real estate agent could not speak a word of English so her son translated for her as she does not speak French. First of all when she asked about taxes on a two bedroom condo, she was informed they were $6,000 p/a. The son told her that he has a 4,000 sq ft home in the west end of Ottawa and he didn't pay that much for taxes. Next, in French, the agent said not to worry about French as a lot of people from Ottawa were buying in the complex and they were all English. I don't know what to make of a real estate agent not being bilingual and trying to tell the English that it's OK to move here - being English is not a problem, which we all know is not true. I wish these seppies would make up their minds - they either want the English here or they don't - time to let those areas go that want to go and then the rest of us can have some peace. Bilingual new province for Canada. Of course, I told her to NEVER EVER BUY ANYTHING IN QUEBEC. We have to end this standoff.

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    Replies
    1. A real estate agent in Gatineau who doesn't speak a word of English?? Are you serious??? No matter how perfectly fluent one is in French, I would never give my business to such an agent. I hope you will tell your friend that her son that he should spend his money with people who respect us.

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    2. R.S.

      While I know what you are trying to say. Think about what you are saying. I mean do you want to become what you are fighting against. Not knowing English in Gatineau is no crime, just like not knowing French in Montreal or Gatineau. I have no problem if someone is unilingual. If I do my best to ascertain that the person is honest and will work in my interests I have no problem working with that person. What I do have a problem with is, someone trying to stop me from speaking, using and working in English because they would only like me communicating in French.

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    3. Well Jarry what I'm saying is that we can't have it both ways. I want a bilingual province and I have nothing against the fact that the agent didn't speak English (or refused to - whichever)- what I object to is that she doesn't care about the fact that she is recommending to a unilingual Anglophone that she moves here because being English is not a problem. When it comes to money, principles seem to go down the tube - that is what I'm saying. And, by the way, if she is making money on these deals, which I presume she is, why would the agency send someone to sell property that cannot speak the language of the person interested in buying? It works both ways - why would they send an Anglophone to sell property to a unilingual Francophone? It doesn't make sense either way.

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    4. @RS - I told her to NEVER, EVER BUY ANYTHING HERE- that's what I advise all my friends. Until the seppies leave us to live our lives as we wish to, I will never recommend anything to my friends to do with Quebec. Why should they be in the same misery as I am being attacked for my language all the time? I sincerely hope that this area goes to a bilingual National Capital Region - the quicker the better and I will work towards that end anyway I can.

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    5. Jarry... I totally agree with you that personally, it's OK if someone chooses to be unilingual. All I'm saying is that there's no shortage of real estate agents and I'm pretty sure that most are all honest and will work in your interest. However, you have a choice with who you choose to spend your money.

      What I do have a problem with is, someone trying to stop me from speaking, using and working in English because they would only like me communicating in French.

      This is implicit when dealing with a unilingual francophone working in the most bilingual area of the country. Your point is rather incoherent, sorry.

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    6. Cutie, the unilingual francophone agent is the perfect québécois citinzen. That's the goal of the PQ: everybody unilingual...in Canada, in 2012! How sick it can be?
      As the holy book of québécois drivels prescribes and orders, "c'est la fierté d'être unilingue".

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    7. That's exactly why we have to fight for a bilingual province and let those areas go that want to be unilingual! We need to get a movement underway that puts a stop to these language bigots so that we can live in peace and not create a civil war between two peoples that have lived in harmony for many, many years. People like the Saint John Baptiste Society and the Imperatife Francais are pushing our tolerance to the limits and they don't give a sweet damn if in ends in physical confrontation between us. The only way I know to halt this is to fight through our politicians and the media and say IT'S NOT ACCEPTABLE THAT ONE LANGUAGE BE SACRIFICED FOR ANOTHER. A NEW BILINGUAL PROVINCE FOR CANADA. THAT'S OUR AIM.

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  21. FROM ED BROWN
    Thank you Jarry. You have laid it out admirably. Quebec's success was in commerce, trade and forwarding. The harbour was a great advantage for business and employment. All 102 berths were filled with ships of every nation from April to November. We were ideal for forwarding with the rail here offices here and super highways to all parts of the continent. The forwarding alone created one hundred thousand jobs, eighty percent of them french. The forwarding went with the language law. Rene Levesque was actually a stupid man. When they tried to explain to him that lading lists, packing slips and bills for goods coming into Quebec would have to be translated to French and back to English to be forwarded on he shrugged and said "we'll try it it's a problem we'll look into it."
    By the time he woke up it was too late.
    Our trade died as you say with GATT and NAFTA. Mulroney and Reagan could not be convinced that the 'trickle down theory' does not work. The textile industry in Montreal was amazing. In large old buildings hundreds of thousands of sewing machines were at work creating quality and quantity. There was always ads in the press for sewing machine operators and punchpress operators. Punchpress was a job any kid could learn in five minutes. You put in a piece of metal, pulled a handle and out came an ashtray. The jobs for low educated all disappeared so we lost our trade.
    Most of the jobs left are in commerce and stores like Wal Mart are a blessing. It's basically all we've got left. They hire a lot and display things we can afford. Yet there are those
    who will propose getting rid of them. It this kind of thinking that got us in this mess. How much farther do we want to go. Ed

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    Replies
    1. Why should a hundred mum and pop stores be put out of business just so people can buy cheap chinese crap? Jobs for the unskilled are important, I agree, but I'd rather be working as a convienience store cashier than a door greeter at Wal - Mart. For every 2 jobs Wal - Mart creates, 3 are lost.

      Delete
  22. FROM ED BROWN
    For dealing with a unilingual french or English person I have no problem. We could work it out like we did when I was a kid. I f the store owner was French and we were English we tried different words until we found one that was in itself bilingual. Or else we pointed. Eventually we found the words that both sides could understand and worked in franglais.
    However that does not apply to big companies. You can't tell me they are unable to find someone who can speak English to an English person. That includes real estate agents. Ed

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  23. Especially real estate Ed - If they want business and not politics - that's the difference. I will have to ask my friend what real estate company was represented when the viewing took place. I will post it.

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  24. I miss the days when you could buy products made in canada or in the usa or england. I have toys from the early 1970s that were made in england that are still funtioning..they are scratched and beat up but the wheels still move. I have garden tools from the 1960s made in canada that still work..my handy shovel has been through hell and it has not broken. Yet I have purchased other tools which of course are all made in china and they break within 1 year. I gave up buying toy cars for my boys as they regularly broke within a week. There is this notion that products are cheap and that is good however in the end we are paying more because the quality is so poor that you need to buy many rather than just one.
    Having one country..China manufacture practically everything we buy is insane. I would love to spend more on a quality product but you cant find them!!! Every store sells the same junk from asia. We bought our appliances from Miele..they are 13 years old and not one problem so far..the washing machine is used daily. They are made in germany and built to last 20-30 years. Most appliances now are built to last 10 max.
    The only way Canada gets manufacturing back is to make quality. We cant compete on prices with china or vietnam..unless we lower our wages to a dollar per hour. I am sure there is a market out there for quality products made in north america but at a higher price. These companies also need to promote the quality perhaps with a multi year guarantee and the fact that they are made in north america. We are all to blame in the end as most consumers always go for the cheapest price..walmart is always packed..costco is always packed. If consumers started demanding quality and buying what few quality products there were then manufacturers would have to listen. So in the end I could care less about walmart and best buy getting prosecuted..these companies are a big part of the problem.

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  25. Bought a dishwasher, fridge and stove in July made by Frigidaire (ended up to be Electrolux that does the manufacturing) and used the dishwasher twice and it broke down. Had my other one for 30 years and finally couldn't get parts for it so it had to go. Anyway, it was a manufacturer's default and the whole element had to be replaced. What is so sad is that I had to pay twice in one months time to have it installed, uninstalled and re-installed. Cost me $100.00 and the company refuses to pay for it. They paid for the element but not for the installation and re-installation. Peed me off and I'm forwarding a complaint to the Better Business Bureau - I've never done so much writing in my life since I left work - between this blog and the letters to politicians, papers, now the dishwasher. Oh well, guess this is what's to come until we get recognition that we exist and with our rights in this province.

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  26. Ed it wasn't that Rene Levesque was a dumb man, it was that he saw his leadership of the Parti Quebecois as more important then the economic health of Quebec. Its also why he didn't stop Camille Laurin from be able to create legislation like Bill 101. In the end the same PQ he sacrificed his ethics for, threw him out.

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  27. The PQ and the seperatists have always put language as priority number one even if it means trashing the economy. Imagine what Montreal could have been if the two solitudes could have worked together..

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  28. FROM ED BROWN
    We did work together peacefully until The PQ sent the jobs away. To cover their tracks they blamed us. The camaraderie of working together on the water front was brotherly. French and English cracked jokes about each other and laughed at them together. These were men that were there to work. "Rush, rush, rush move it she's sailing in an hour." There was no time or room for animosity. Ed

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  29. I am sure some did work well together but obviously there were enough others who did not and both sides are at fault in the end..

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    Replies
    1. I‘ve never seen an anglophone that is so retarded they buy into the PQ‘s garbage that there was everyday strife in Montreal between the average person. No no no, it just couldn‘t be that the PQ manufactured and exaggerated this for political purprose.

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    2. I can understand Ed's frustration complicated - Good grief man, IT'S OVER - apologies are too late (if we ever needed to apologize which I never felt I did) - NOW IT'S TIME TO MOVE ON AND THINK OF HOW WE GET OUT OF THIS MESS WITH THE LEAST POSSIBLE DISRUPTION TO THE FRANCOPHONE, ALLOPHONE AND ANGLOPHONES THAT WANT TO REMAIN WITHIN CANADA! Please, please no more discussion as to whose at fault - it does absolutely no good. WE MUST MOVE ON TO MEANINGFUL DISCUSSIONS AS HOW TO CREATE A NEW BILINGUAL PROVINCE WITHIN CANADA - NOT KEEP REHASHING SAME OLD, SAME OLD! Please offer more construction opinions than whose fault all this is - it matters not a whip anymore!

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  31. Congratulations with such a reason for a short break, I hope!

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  32. FROM ED BROWN
    I AM SO WASTING MY TIME. THE ONLY ONES HERE USING THE SITE FOR WHAT I THOUGHT IT WAS INTENDED IS CUTIE AND MYSEELF. We are promoting help for English by writing letters and encouraging protest. The rest are just talking about it. Sorry Editor I have better things to do. You can have Complicated's bullshit, I'm gone. Cutie if I can help you I'm at edbrown@bell.net Ed

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    1. We are long past the point of no return on these language problems between French and English - the problems now lie with whether we are Canadian or not. We can fight against the language bigots by protesting but we must start looking for a way out of this because there is no end in sight. And by no end I'm talking about the removal of rights from both Francophones and Anglophones for political purposes by these language zealots. We have to fight for a bilingual province and those areas that don't want that should be allowed to go their own way for the sake of peace in this country. We need a new political movements towards letting those go that want to go - everything else has been tried and proven not to work so let's accept the inevitable and get out of this province before it destroys our whole us and our whole country!

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  33. 1) Congratulations on the new grandchild!

    2) I don't agree with the Quebeckie Office of Quebeckie on anything but "Costco" is obviously a made-up word, which I thought was allowed regardless.

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