French versus English Volume 66

Census data has all of Quebec atwitter

Wildly different opinions

I don't know of any society in this world which is as obsessed with a population census as we are in Quebec.
It is probably because the census provides concrete evidence of the rise or decline of language groups in Canada and particularly in Quebec.

The information is pretty cut and dried, but is subject to various subjective interpretations and bare-faced feats of cherry-picking by those wishing to push a particular language agenda.

Perhaps we can use the line from a Broadway musical to best describe the census;

"Something for everyone-A comedy tonight!"

French media coverage overwhelmingly pushed the alarmist line that French is in dangerous decline;

Le français poursuit son déclin au Québec
(French continues its decline in Quebec)
Le français toujours en déclin sur l'île de Montréal
(French declining in Montreal) 
Recensement 2011 : Le début de la fin du Québec français?

(2011 Census-the Beginning of the end of French?) 

While over on the English side, journalists had an opposite take on the subject;

Census shows language laws working
French ‘in decline’? It’s your fault
Montreal’s language affairs are not in a ‘catastrophic’ state

Oh well......

The media stories are a stark reminder of the different perceptions between Anglophones and Francophones.

In a survey polling attitudes of Canadians living in the National Capital region, which includes Hull and Ottawa, it's startling to note the differences.
The survey included three distinct groups, Ontario Anglophones, Ontario Francophones and Quebec Francophones and asked a variety of language and patriotism questions.

Read the story about the poll in the Ottawa Citizen

How obsessed are Quebec journalists with language?
A Victoriaville newspaper actually devoted a newspaper column describing it's language situation in regards to the new census which indicates that French as the mother tongue of local citizens has collapsed from a high of 98.7% back in 2001 to a disturbing 97.2% in 2011, a dangerous tilt towards Anglicization, no doubt! Link{Fr}

For a review of how language is broken down in Canada's major cities, read this article in the Vancouver Sun

Race for UQAM rectorship absolutely fabulous

Ex-union president and militant separatist Gerald Larose is vying for the top  position of UQAM, otherwise known as Separatist U.

I must admit that Mr. Larose would be a perfect fit, he typifies exactly the schools ultra-left wing/separatist philosophy and is a supporter of big government, entitlements and higher taxes.
He would fit in perfectly with all the dreamers, under-performers, fantasists and student layabouts that are the hallmark of UQAM.

There is only one small problem.
In applying for the job, Mr. Larose seems to have fudged his curriculum vitæ in claiming that he occupied a 'chair' at the university.

"In the CV submitted to the selection committee, Mr. Larose claimed  that he is the Chair of the socio-economic integration of unemployed persons at UQAM.  
The catch? This chair does not exist."

Mr. Larose was called out on the apparent misstatement  oversight  deception  error  boo-boo during a debate organized between the competing candidates. Link{fr}

The whole issue is growing into a real controversy after a professor defended Larose, saying that there are no hard and fast rules defining what actually constitutes a 'chair.' Link{Fr}
But this opinion was hotly rejected by Mario Morin, dean of the Faculty of Sciences at UQAM, who told le Devoir that such is not the case and that there are clear and precise criteria defining what is a 'chair'

"As Dean, I want to emphasize that this strict oversight has resulted in exceptional contributions from the Research Chairs at UQAM."Link{Fr}

Pauline's intensive English lessons paying off

Who says you can't learn another language later in life?
This was her a few short months ago;

 and this is her now ;

Quelle Différence!!

English civil servants lag Francophones in learning second language

"Despite his efforts to become bilingual, Michael Ferguson, the Auditor General of Canada, is finding it difficult, as are many civil servants in "passing the language proficiency test."

A newspaper story, claims that Prime Minister Harper regrets having named a unilingual English speaker to the job of Auditor General. Link

Mr Ferguson got a serious dressing down from Lysane Blanchette-Lamothe a Ndp MP from Quebec, who was frustrated by Ferguson's pitiful French.

"Mr. Ferguson, I appreciate very much your effort to speak in French, but unfortunately I think the committee is not the place to practice and I think I deserve a quick and efficient answer as much as my colleagues," she snapped.
"Is it possible to ask you to answer in English." Link
Ouch!!

According to a report Francophone civil servants are doing much better than their English counterparts in acquiring the 'other' official language.

Here is a summary of pass rates for tests for civil servant learning...

Written expression...... French 58%  English 80%  (Levels A, B, C)
Written expression...... French 45%  English 74%  (advanced)
Written comprehension...... French 76%  English 93%  (Levels A, B, C)
Oral comprehension...... French 67%  English 81%  (Levels A, B, C)

These courses are mandatory for certain civil servants who are not fluent in the other official language but are required to be so as part of their job description.
The number of civil servants who are deficient fell from 1.7% to 1% over the last five years  Link{Fr}

In another bilingualism story, the federal government is set to waste spend tens of thousands of dollars to offer one-on-one language training, for up to a year, to an employee with a learning disability and who has extreme difficulty learning French.
The government is ready to blow a whopping $100,000 to provide a personal tutor for up to 1700 hours of French lessons. Read the story

Not enough French instruction in Shawville English school

"A group of anglophone Quebecers in the Pontiac are upset over a language restriction they feel has been forced upon them: They aren’t getting enough French. At issue is the curriculum of Dr. S.E. McDowell Elementary School in Shawville.
Five years ago, the school had 320 students; now it has 220. Parents say the reason for the decline is the fact that many families don’t think the school teaches enough French. Worried that their children won’t become bilingual, a growing number of those parents are choosing to bus their kids to more distant French-board schools" Read the rest of the story

Another Montreal metro ticket taker flies off the language handle

Last Thursday I made this prediction;

 "So get set to see more sandwich throwers, more refusals by paramedics, metro ticket takers and bus drivers to speak English, they are being encouraged to do so." Link

 That prediction, in light of the story below, may seem somewhat prescient, but before taking too much credit for my ability to look into a crystal ball, it wasn't much of a stretch.

When you feed some poor shlub liquor the whole night, give him his car keys and send him on his way, it isn't much of a stretch to anticipate trouble.
Responsibility for all  these incidents can be laid directly at the door of language hotheads.

"A Montreal woman said she wants charges pressed against a public transit worker who she says assaulted her and ordered her to 'go back to your country,' after a disagreement over a faulty automatic metro fare machine....
....She said the woman told her to speak French and said, 'Go back to your country.'
Barak said that remark left her furious, and she then used a nearby telephone to lodge a complaint....
"At that moment, she was knitting — and she was giving me the finger at the same time," Barak said. "I told her, 'I am going to make sure you lose your job for what you said to me.'"
She said the clerk dropped her knitting, emerged from the booth, put her in a headlock and started to punch her repeatedly.
She said three witnesses, other commuters, stepped in to separate the pair. Read more

Now readers, I'm not going to comment on the veracity of the story, we've only heard one side...but..

I am reminded of a story told to me concerning a road rage incident where an acquaintance admitted to playing chicken with another driver, who took serious offence, got out of the car at a red light and charged him with a makeshift weapon, a snow scraper he had lying in his car.

The man was subsequently arrested and appeared before a judge where he was convicted of assault. 

"Why only me, he asked the judge, what about the other guy?"

The judge looked down from the bench and told him sternly that he is solely responsible because it is he who got out of the car......Case closed!

I think the ticket taker is in real trouble, not only with her job, but in the eyes of the law, that is if she really left her booth.....and readers, there is almost certainly a video of the incident, but count on the STM to guard it with its life.

Lost in all this is the fact that when confronted, the ticket agent was calmly knitting in her booth. I can only imagine the arrogance, to be goldbricking in plain sight.
If she isn't fired for attacking a client, perhaps a supervisor can gently remind her to restrict her hobby to her own time.
But hey, this is the STM and Quebec, where unionized employees are as hard to get rid of as stubborn case of herpes.

By the way, when the ticket taker realized or was told what kind of trouble she looking at, she hightailed it to the hospital feigning injury in an attempt to showcase herself as a victim.
Well-played!

Here is a quote from the insufferable Marvin Rotrand, a Montreal politician and one of the faithful apologists at the STM. Mr. Rotrand must love the gig, he long ago sold out his soul;

“The STM does not compel employees to speak any language other than French.
The STM notes that under Bill 101, it is not allowed to require employees to know a language other than French. There can be exceptions to the rule, in cases where “the nature of the duties requires such knowledge.”
The STM will not look into the possibility of requiring front-line employees to speak English, Rotrand said.” Link

Hmmm....

As I said in many posts before, all the STM has to do is designate a few people in each Metro station and bus drivers in the downtown area and the west end, as 'bilingual.'
Notwithstanding what Mr. Rotrand tells us, it is completely within the right of the transit authority to do so.
They could even give these designated bilinguals a small pay raise, it would make sense, and you'd think the money would probably satisfy the union.

You might think that but you'd be wrong!

The union is actually dead set against any such proposal because.....wait for it, it would punish unilingual employees and give an unfair advantage to those who are bilingual, something that violates the spirit of Bill 101.
I'm not making this up, I swear!

Readers, I don't think the STM can sweep this under the rug, especially if there is a video of an assault.

I fully expect the employee involved to declare a 'burnout' or stress-related condition, it's her best defence.
Maybe she should mount a defence based on diminished capacity as a result of depression or even go for it all with the infamous "Twinkie Defence"

By the way, the French media waited two full days after the English media reported the story to react.
This same thing happened with the incident of the sandwich thrower at the JGH.
Conspiracy?

Montreal Police continue their Keystone Kops escapades

What do the Montreal police do when they arrest the wrong person?

Police were looking for a black suspect in a hold-up and erroneously arrested the first black person they came upon.
Now if you are the Montreal police, you certainly don't apologize for the error, after all it is the victim's own fault for being Black and loitering so close to a crime scene involving a Black suspect.
And so in the spirit of the philosophy that the best defence is a good offence, you arrest the victim for resisting arrest!

This seems to have become standard operating procedure for Montreal police who screw up.
Arrest the victim as a measure of intimidation in the hope that they can trade away the arrest against a complaint or lawsuit.
Good for the police, not so good for the innocent victim, have a listen and tell me if you aren't outraged at the distress caused to this innocent family.
For shame!!!

 

Read a post I wrote a while back about police harassment of the Black community

Corruption inquiry witness claims former city politician guilty of fraud

The hits just keep coming at the Charbonneau commission, which is looking into fraud and corruption in Quebec's construction industry.
When Lino Zambito first made his blockbuster accusations that almost all the players....politicians, civil servants, outside consulting firms and construction industry bosses were crooked, it was almost too hard to believe.
But subsequent testimony seems to have confirmed that this is exactly the case.

This week another 'insider,' Elio Pagliarulo, a former cohort of construction magnate Frank Catania  (who is under indictment for corruption) spilled more beans, alleging  that Frank Zampino the former St. Leonard borough boss and Mayor Tremblay's number two man for many years, (he abruptly resigned his job at city hall to work for Tony Accurso, another controversial figure under indictment for corruption,) was as crooked as a barrel of fish hooks. Mr Zampino is also presently under indictment for corruption.

"The former chair of Montreal’s executive committee was “corrupted” by construction bosses attempting to cheat the city’s system for awarding public contracts, the Charbonneau Commission inquiry heard on Monday, and accepted cash payments and high-end kitchen renovations from at least one entrepreneur in exchange for political favours....

On top of the $300,000 kickback, the commission heard that Zampino got his kitchen remodelled courtesy of the Catanias, to the tune of $250,000.
Read the stunning account of  Pagliarulo's testimony story, a gripping saga worthy of any mafia crime novel. Link
Zampino's lawyer, Isabelle Schurman, was  quick to deny Pagliarulo's allegations. She told reporters that;

"Monday’s damning testimony about Frank Zampino before the Charbonneau Commission is “false, untrue and outrageous,” lawyer Isabelle Schurman claims." Link

Now if Zampino and his lawyer are serious about impeaching  Mr. Pagliarulo's testimony, they can do so rather easily.
How about a visit to the Zampino home for a tour of the kitchen?
It's pretty hard to hide a $250K re-model.
If reporters find IKEA cabinets and Kenmore appliances, I'll be the first to agree that the allegations are false, but if he's got Wolfe and SubZero appliances and perhaps Poggenpohl cabinets......well....

Adding to the bizarre nature of the story, is Zampino's demand that the city actually pay for his legal defence, the very definition of chutzpah. Link

Marois' big plans

Pauline Marois bastardizes the Poppy, defacing it with a superimposed Fleur-de-lys

Facing the National Assembly Pauline Marois walked on eggshells as she tried to forge some sort of agenda that was acceptable to the opposition.
Of course she announced that she would be introducing an enhanced Bill 101, but downplayed or ignored other PQ promises like Quebec citizenship, a charter of secularism, etc. etc.

All of this is rote, the only surprise was her relative timidness and the whole subject not worthy of a blurb in this post.....except for this monumentally stupid pearl.

"A parliamentary commission will be created to study the relevance and impact of a law which would fix book prices. The Government wishes to support authors, publishers and booksellers from Quebec who can not compete against the big box stores that offer discounts from 25% to 30% off the suggested retail price of bestsellers." Link{Fr}

Ha!
I bet you weren't aware of that beauty!
It has inspired me to work on a post concerning the Quebec government's attitude (both Liberal & PQ) to interfere in the marketplace to the detriment of society.

An English mayor for Montreal?

Mayor Gerald Tremblay is taking a few days off to recover from the painful allegations that he was aware of corrupt fundraising practices of his Union Montreal political party.

"A witness at the Quebec corruption inquiry appears to have driven a dagger into the heart of Montreal Mayor Gérald Tremblay’s political career.
In the latest bombshell to rock the mayor’s office, a former organizer for Tremblay’s party told the Charbonneau commission that the mayor walked out of a meeting after being told about illegal contributions to his campaign.
“I don’t want to know about that,” Tremblay said, according to Martin Dumont, who testified at the inquiry Tuesday."  Link

"I don't want to know about that" 

Perhaps my caricature of Mayor Tremblay as Sergeant Shultz from Hogan's Heroes in a post a while back was more apropos than I thought.
Those of us old enough, remember the bumbling prison guard of Stalag 13 who turned a blind eye to prisoner escapades, spouting his infamous catchphrase, "I see nutink, I know nutink!"
Yup, sounds like our good mayor!

 In light of the revelations, 75% of Montrealers want him to resign immediately.

The media is abuzz with speculation as to his successor. La Presse did a poll and it was no surprise that Denis Coderre can have the mayoralty if he wants it.

Read the story in La Presse{Fr}

Gerald Tremblay is actually at 7% support, the lowest number I've ever seen a sitting politician garner.

Now for some fun!
If Gerald Tremblay resigns tomorrow, guess who will likely fill in as mayor......Michael Applebaum the second highest ranking politician and chairman of the city's executive council.
Mr. Applebaum is an anglo Jew from the west end of the city and it begs the question whether he would be acceptable.

Remember a while back we had some fun with a piece written by Rick Blue entitled "Why the Mafia is better than Separatists" in which he joked around that anglos should better vote for a mobster than a separatist Link
The question to ask our francophone friends is whether Applebaum is acceptable or is it better to stick with the alleged corrupt Mayor Tremblay?
If that happened, I'd love to see the look on Benoit Dutrizac's face? Link

Odds'n ends

Montreal one of the top 10 best cities in the world: Lonely Planet

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Road in front of Hospital to be named after alleged crook Arthur Porter

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Quebec companies pay 26 % more taxes than their competitors in Canada and twice as much as in the United States.  In French 

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Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois the smarmy ex-leader of the most radical of Quebec's students associations has been found guilty of inciting his followers to disobey a court injunction, something that judges frown upon.
The conviction shouldn't surprise anyone, pissing off the courts who are then going to render judgment on your behaviour is never a good idea.
Jail time?...depends how pissed off the judge was. Link

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Horrors! Toronto to get permanent Cirque du Soleil venue before Montreal 

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I hope you had a great Halloween, but does anyone recognize this zombie seen skulking around the National Assembly?

 Our Prime Minister opened up 24 Sussex Drive for a Halloween photo op.

Not to be insulting and no offence to the kids, but what parent would send their kids to the Prime Minister's home in the lamest costumes I ever seen, quite an embarrassment.

Let me leave you with a smile, wishing you all a great weekend! Bonne Fin de Semaine!......