French versus English Volume 69

PQ minster drummed out of office, humiliating Pauline in the process.

Bon débarras!

Back in September, when Pauline Marois first named her cabinet, I told you that Daniel Breton, the new environment minister was lying to the public in claiming that he had no association with a certain environmental group.

"In another case of skeletons in the closet, Minister of the Environment Daniel Breton denied being a member of the lobby group 'Sortons le Québec du nucléaire' despite his name being listed as being a member of the advisory board on the group's website.

Within hours of the controversy, his name was removed from the website, but not before I grabbed a Before/After screen shot." Read the post

At any rate, it seems that the little tidbit above, isn't the only thing Mr. Breton lied about, his past indiscretions were exposed by the media who did a little checking on their own, discovering a litany of past offences.

"According to newspaper reports Breton has a string of criminal convictions dating to 1988 for defrauding the unemployment insurance system, and as recently as 2007 was fined $400 by Revenue Quebec. La Presse also reported that Breton was convicted in 1997 for driving without a license.
Meanwhile TVA reported that Breton was evicted from his apartments in 2005 and 2009 for non-payment of rent. Photographs from his landlord show hundreds of empty bottles of wine left in the apartment Breton was forced to leave." Read the rest of the story

One of his speeding tickets was for driving 275 kph on Highway 401 in a Porsche, which is a bit strange for an environmentalist.
What I'd like to know, is what kind of person who can get his hands on a Porsche, lives in a $450 apartment and gets evicted for non-payment of rent?
By the way, he was also convicted of driving with a suspended license after losing it because of numerous driving infractions.
And lastly, what does it say about an Environment Minister who doesn't recycle 500 beer and wine bottles, leaving them to the landlord to deal with upon his eviction.
Come to think of it, what kind of pig accumulates 500 empty booze bottles in an apartment?

It didn't take long for Breton to become the butt of many a joke.

Ygrek.com

Mr. Breton's resignation sparked opposition charges of incompetence, after Pauline first defended Mr. Breton, her communications director assuring reporters that she was well aware of his past.

That changed the next day when Marois threw him under the bus, claiming that she really didn't know about his past.
When reporters asked about the contradiction between her statement and that of her communication director, Marois brushed it aside saying that her aide 'thought' Marois knew about the past. Ha!
Perhaps it was all a dream, like the reappearance of Bobby Ewing on 'Dallas'

Now questions are being raised over the vetting process, after all, candidates are supposed to be screened by the party before they are even allowed to run for office. Also on the hot seat is the provincial police, the SQ who are also supposed to vet potential cabinet ministers, lest they embarrass the government with past foibles.

One thing I can tell you, this could never happen in the Liberal party where potential candidates are given a thorough vetting, which includes voluntary disclosure about criminal convictions, lawsuits past and pending, unpaid debts, alimony payments, investments, etc. etc. The courts are also consulted for convictions and lawsuits and a credit check is performed.

As for Mr. Breton, the most cursory of investigations would indicate that he is defiantly R9 material, so don't be surprised if other stories emerge about other unpaid debts or obligations in the near future.
It's my experience that deadbeats cast a wide shadow. 

Quebec Crime Commission embarrasses itself

Joël Gauthier, reputation besmirched by crime commission

It seems that the Charbonneau Commission, charged with exposing crime in Quebec's construction industry has run up against a brick wall, out of witnesses and plagued by a spate of key resignations.

And so France Charbonneau put the commission on hiatus until the end of January in order to develop witnesses and lines of attack.

That being said, the last witness heard was a doozy, an investigator for the commission itself, whose testimony has brought down a  firestorm of criticism because it may have besmirched the reputation of some innocent people.

The commission investigator read into the record a bunch of names, people who had met at the hitherto hoity-toity and very private Club 357c in Montreal. The list of names was developed from the log book of the club, which notes the time, date and participants of anyone meeting or dining at the club.
Some of those meetings interested investigators, who suspected that the participants weren't discussing the Beef Wellington, but rather matters of corruption.
Certainly the majority of meetings, like that between city of Montreal employees and indicted construction magnate Frank Catania were suspect, but others not so much.

The main criterion for having a meeting flagged by investigators is that one of the participants be someone that the commission has strong feelings about and that the other be related to the construction industry or government.

Now this investigative method is a valid tool, but should never be entered as testimony unless the corruption link is confirmed with other evidence.

This was not the case and the commission in effect, read names into the record without having any other evidence as to the nature of those meetings.

Club 357c

Now one person so-named, Joël Gauthier, the ex-president of the AMT, a regional transportation agency was livid at the cavalier manner in which he was outed for his meeting with the infamous Frank Catania. Link{Fr}
Mr. Gauthier went on the offensive appearing on all the news channels to defend his good name and offer his side of the story.
Mr. Gauthier claimed that the meetings were 100% kosher, an effort to settle out of court, a case where Catania was suing the AMT, the agency he ran, over a piece of land.
The fact that no settlement was achieved and that the case proceeded, more or else proves Mr. Gauthier's contention that he wasn't being paid off.

An ex-minister in the Charest government,  Line Beauchamp, was so upset with being named by the commission that she was brought to tears in a radio interview, defending her honour.

    If you don't speak French scroll to the last 30 seconds of the interview where she breaks down and cries.   Read the story

After the list of names was read into the record, a bunch of politicians, from all parties, including Pauline Marois were quick to go public with the information that they too had meetings in the club.

It seems that the good will the commission fostered is gone with the media treating the Commission harshly for it's McCarthy-like 'guilt by association' tactics.

As for the exclusive 357c club itself, it's likely to become a lot more exclusive in the future, after all, what public figure or businessperson of good reputation, would want to be caught dead in it.
Perhaps Mr Catania will resign his membership, advising the club of his decision using the old Groucho Marx quotation;

“ "PLEASE ACCEPT MY RESIGNATION. I DON'T WANT TO BELONG TO ANY CLUB THAT WILL ACCEPT ME AS A MEMBER.” 

At any rate, what is glaringly obvious is that the Commission has not made any headway in linking the former Premier Charest's government with corruption.
Perhaps there is no headway to be had.

It isn't a case of saving the best for last, the commission has admitted that its cupboard is bare.
Perhaps it's time to pack it in?

PQ backs off election promises

Fearing a parliamentary debacle, the PQ is backing off almost every election promise it made.
First it was the Health tax that was off and then back on again and now we are hearing that the PQ will shelve plans to increase mining royalties.

As for applying Bill 101 to cegeps and daycare, thus barring allophones from attending, both those projects are off the table.

Concerning Pauline's plan to use the Caisse de dépôt  (Quebec's public  pension fund manager) for political purposes;

"As Premier Pauline Marois was setting out an ambitious blueprint for Quebec's economy Friday, two major bond-rating agencies issued a warning over one of her election promises.

 As outlined in its election platform, the newly-elected Parti Quebecois government may seek to broaden the Caisse's mandate to further contribute to the development of Quebec's economy and enterprises, which could test the independence of the Caisse."
Link 

I guess that plan is also out the window.

The PQ government has also backtracked on the proposal to withdraw funding for private schools if they fail to accept an increased amount of students with learning difficulties.

And of course its plan to remove the Canadian flag from Parliament also fell by the wayside.

So far the PQ has actually achieved nothing, except bringing in a budget that raised taxes. Well-done!

The company you keep

Another contest eligibility rules for "The BARE The Adventure Contest"
Take a look at the company we keep... sheesh!

"ELIGIBILITY: The Contest is open only to individuals who are eighteen (18) years or older at time of entry and scuba certified (must provide copy of certification card). Excluding residents of Cuba, Iran, North Korea, the province of Quebec, Sudan, Syria, and any other jurisdiction where this contest is prohibited.  Employees of Bonnier Corporation and its parent companies, subsidiaries or agents, their immediate families (defined as parents, children, siblings, spouse and grandparents) and those domiciled with any of the foregoing are not eligible." Link   (thanks to David for the link)

French dominates at small companies

"New studies on the language of work in Quebec suggest a Parti Québécois proposal to extend francisation rules to businesses with less than 50 employees, to protect Quebec’s official language, might be unnecessary.
A study based on polling of 4,357 Quebec residents from January to May 2010 by Léger Marketing found that companies with less than 50 employees “generally operate exclusively in French.”
The study found that for companies with 50 employees or more, which are required to have a francisation certificate attesting they operate in French, 86 per cent used French most of the time; while at companies with fewer than 50 employees, not regulated by Bill 101, 88 per cent spoke French most of the time." Link

Bits'n Pieces

The OQLF doesn't like the term"Vélo boulevard" because it is a direct translation of "Bicycle Boulevard" used widely in the USA.
It wants a new Quebec-made French term... Link{Fr}

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"Adam van Koeverden found himself up a creek without a paddle after overreacting to his McMaster Marauders getting spanked on the football field.
Everyone who uses social media has posted, Tweeted something regrettable. Like a lot of people in Southern Ontario, the four-time Olympic kayak medallist got swept up in cheering for McMaster, his alma mater, to defend its Vanier Cup title against the colossus Laval Rouge et Or. " Link

Here's another picture, shot at that same football championship game.

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Gilles Duceppe was cleared of any legal responsibility by the House of Commons after an investigation was launched over paying his Bloc  Quebecois political staff out of his office budget.

While the committee found his behaviour unethical, there was nothing in the rules against the practice, which will henceforth be banned.

 

A beaming Duceppe told a reporter in an interview that "everything that is not illegal, is legal!"
Talk about "Two Solitudes," look how the French media and the English media covered the story

"Former Bloc leader misused House resources, secretive Commons board says"  Globe and Mail

"Gilles Duceppe blanchi"  Journal de Quebec

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Here is what a Quebec 'Subway" shop claims, (as the sign says)  is a "HEALTHY BREAKFAST" 

FailQc.com

"Un poutine avec ça, Madame?" 

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IT seems that TVA, Quebec's most popular TV network has climbed on the bandwagon in claiming that proper names that sound English, are illegal without descriptors. For Shame!

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Talk about irony,  Eric Lindros married a francophone Quebecer and had the wedding ceremony in Montreal.

"Lindros is probably the most hated athlete in Quebec City after refusing to play for the Nordiques after they selected him with the No. 1 overall pick at the 1991 NHL entry draft."  Link .

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SCOOP!

You heard it here first.

Remember the story of Officer 728, who was suspended after a video was released showing her abusing a couple of musicians in the Plateau neighbourhood in Montreal,  a short while back?  Link

Well, the police never dropped the phoney-baloney charges against them, no doubt to hold it over them in exchange for not suing the heck out of the Montreal police.

The intimidation didn't work and the four have secured the services of one of Montreal's best and most expensive criminal lawyers, who is none too amused by the police shenanigans.

He is planning a major attack against the police case next week, I was promised a blockbuster announcement.

Have a very good weekend !
Bon fin de semaine!