Interim Mayor Michael Applebaum who replaced disgraced ex-mayor Gerald Tremblay
(forced to resign over the issue of corruption under his watch at city hall,) made the announcement to a generally favorable revues. Link
"Let me be clear, I remain firm, I will not change my mind," Montreal Mayor Michael Applebaum, who reiterated Tuesday that the engineering/consulting firms which admitted cheating Montrealers will not get a contract for five years.But it didn't play so well with the political class in Quebec city who fretted that if Dessau was banned, all the other major Quebec consulting/engineering firms would face a similar fate, because they too were involved and were as guilty as Dessau.
Friday, Michael Applebaum announced that the engineering and construction firm Dessau not be able to bid on any contract in the territory of the city for a period of five years.
"I do not accept to do business with companies that have stolen money. I will continue to defend the interests of citizens, said, a visibly annoyed Applebaum. I will not flinch and I'll go even further to defend the interests of my constituents. "
If the Applebaum rule holds firm, there's hardly a construction company in the Montreal area that is clean enough to qualify for the right to bid on city projects.
Hmmm..... What's the city to do if all the players are crooks and all the crooks are banned?
And so it fell to Pauline Marois to defend the delinquent firms with the zeal and ardor of a mother defending her rapist son. "Raping aside, He's really a good boy!"
(translation) The Marois government called on Mayor Michael Applebaum and elected officials in Montreal to exercise caution in their crusade against the colluding consulting engineering firms.As I've pointed out in previous posts, practically the entire cadre of engineering/consulting firms operating in Quebec, as well as the chief construction firms are implicated in various levels of malfeasance, where paying off politicians and political parties is de rigueur.
The recent decision by the City of Montreal to ban Dessau from bidding on public contracts for five years concerned the PQ, who feared the impact on the industry.
"We're still in a society of law and so there are possibilities of civil actions. (...) But just because a company testifies before the Charbonneau commission we shouldn't presume it is guilty, as is it was some sort of trial that took place," said Pauline Marois, yesterday when pressed by her CAQ opposite.
Minister Jean-François Lisée issued a warning to Mayor Applebaum. "I do not feel we are following the best course, so I am calling for a sober second thought. The decision for the five-year banning in a certain particular case, requires more thought, but I will not elaborate further than that, today," he said.
The head of the CAQ, François Legault, also invited Michael Applebaum to exercise caution, fearing that by removing several industry players, a necessary and healthy competition might be eliminated.
The Caquiste leader continues to call for civil actions against the collusionary firms in order to recover the money that was stolen from Quebecers. "We see the lack of leadership from Marois, she should immediately work with Mr. Applebaum to find a solution"
Other concerns;
The members of the National Assembly are not the only ones concerned about the approach of the mayor of Montreal.
The Order of Engineers of Quebec is worried that the decision by Mr. Applebaum discourages other witnesses from coming forward.
"For us, the concern is that it is helpful to air interesting stories, important stories," said the Journal of the College President, Daniel Lebel. According to him, we must not lose sight that "there remains major Québec expertise" among the consulting engineers which we are likely to forgo. Read the original story in French
So what's a government to do when it finds itself between a rock and a hard place?
Perhaps it's a case of just giving up and bending over and taking it.
And it isn't unprecedented.
 |
| Eric Holder-Wall St. to 'Big' to prosecute |
"Attorney General Eric Holder admitted to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday that banks are simply too big to prosecute.So what is the Quebec solution to all this?
The Justice Department has not brought a single criminal conviction against a Wall Street executive four years after a financial crisis proven to have been precipitated by fraudulent behavior. On Wednesday, Holder admitted that the vast size of major banks and the structural integration in the economy makes criminal prosecutions basically impossible.
“I am concerned that the size of some of these institutions becomes so large that it does become difficult for us to prosecute them when we are hit with indications that if you do prosecute, if you do bring a criminal charge, it will have a negative impact on the national economy, perhaps even the world economy,” Read more
In a word.....Re-branding.
It's a childish solution that fools only those that wish to be fooled, but the reality is that the government is looking to be fooled as a way out.
And so to paraphrase that famous opening line on 'Dragnet' "The names have been changed to protect the guilty."
It started in Mascouche where notorious construction boss, Normand Trudel, who is already indicted on corruption and collusion charges in relation to his company Transport et Excavation Mascouche,
which is implicated with the ex-mayor of the city, Richard Marcotte, also under indictment.
The company changed its name to Construction Axika and lo and behold,is under new owner, his son Simon Trudel. Link{fr}
Then there is Genivar, a giant engineering/construction firm, also allegedly deeply implicated in corruption.
"Quebec engineering firm Genivar Inc. is changing its name and adopting a new global corporate structure as it seeks to distance itself further from a corruption scandal rocking the construction industry in its home province.
Genivar said Wednesday it will ask for shareholder backing to rebrand the firm as WSP Global. Link
"The consortium that bought the construction empire once led by Tony Accurso says it expects to be eligible for government contracts despite the scandal-plagued history of its former owner and Quebec’s stringent anti-corruption laws.But the 'new' group that purchased Mr Accurso's assets includes some familiar faces, namely Mr. Accurso's two sons.....
Directors of Groupe Hexagone say the acquisition marks a clean start for the firms, including one that pleaded guilty to evading $4 million in taxes in 2010, and whose owner was arrested twice last year on charges of fraud and influence peddling. Link
But unlike the U.S government and Wall Street, the Quebec government actually does have a choice.
It can open up contracts to companies outside the province, and allow Ontario engineering firm and construction companies to bid on contracts. These companies could sub-contract to locals and most jobs would be preserved for Quebecers.
But is there any chance of that happening?
Not a one. The consensus amongst, the political class, as well as the media is that Quebec is better off with its own gang of thieves, rather than give the business away, with the caveat that the government just needs to do a better job of supervision.
It reminds me of the clamor that French language militants made when in Montreal's municipal election, anglo and ethnic voters preferred a corrupt administration led by Gerald Tremblay rather than one led by separatist Louise Harel.
Rick Blue (of Bowser and Blue fame) described the reasons for this in a hilarious piece for the West Island Gazette entitled Why Anglos prefer the Mafia to separatists?
- The Mafia only wants control over drugs, prostitution and construction. Separatists want control over everything
- The Mafia doesn’t force everyone to speak Italian
- The Mafia doesn’t depress housing prices
- The Mafia isn’t the reason our children move to Toronto and Calgary and Vancouver.
- You can reason with the Mafia.
And now the tables are turned rather neatly as francophones are overwhelmingly in favour of doing business with Quebec construction crooks rather than go outside the province.
I'm sure that Mr. Martineau subscribes to the current belief that it's better to deal with crooked Quebec companies than honest Ontario companies.
And as Alanis Morissette sang "Isn't it ironic ... don't you think?"
One of the reasons Mr. Holder knows it will be hard to prosecute "Wall Street" for the financial collapse of '08 is that it doesn't take much digging to find that the main culprit was not Wall Street or the banks (although I'm sure there are some bad apples there, as there is in any business).
ReplyDeleteNo, the main culprit was government and government regulations...and not the lack of regulations but too much regulations and laws.
Such as: The Community Reinvestment Act and regulations that required banks and investors to only use government sanctioned rating agencies which, for example, right up until they declared bankruptcy, continued to give AIG a Triple A rating.
Occupy Wall Street really should have been Occupy Government.
Tony, you can be sure the higher-ups in the ratings agency were getting graft for keeping those ratings misleadingly high, and the only reason I can see the Quebec government supporting the whole corruption scheme is because they too are continuing to live off the largesse of the bribes.
DeleteIn the end, if this is the attitude of the government, then the Charbonneau Commission is a complete and utter sham. You already have a cast of characters that is blatantly lying to the Commission and you have others who are coming clean thanks or no thanks to the immunity they have been granted. The liars are lying because they have other schemes in the works so if they confess, they jeopardize what is already in the works and in the future.
Perhaps Applebaum was wrong to start punishing before the Commission was finished, but no doubt rebranding will help the b.s. that makes Quebec go round. Other than that Applebaum could do what he intends to do, and rightfully so.
Oh, and Editor, the very idea that engineering firms outside Quebec bid on Quebec projects was a non-starter as soon as I read your words. If I recall, about 15-20 years ago, maybe more, there was a street or sidewalk in the former Aylmer (now part of the amalgamated city of Gatineau taking on the French name, of course, as opposed to Hull or Aylmer) that had to be torn up and redone because the materials used were from Ontario. The replacement materials were from Quebec. That was a colossal waste of time and money, yet this would never happen if Ontario used Quebec construction materials. As long as there is this kind of protectionism for the construction industry continues to go unchallenged, then the likes of the Charbonneau Commission are just as big a waste of time and money as the Bouchard-Taylor Commission or whatever you want to call it was over what those country bumpkins from Hérouxville started.
These commissions cost millions upon millions of dollars and solve sweet f---all!
At my place of employment we used to subscribe to S&P and DBRS (really the only Canadian bond rating agency) until 9 years ago when we cut them lose because we didn't trust their work. As a firm, we used to pay about $3000 /year. A company issuing a corporate bond might have to pay $40-50,000 to get the issue rated. How could we expect an unbiased opinion when their revenues were so skewed to the issuer side? No surprise to us that a lot of AAA rated bonds turned out to be junk. At one point about 10 years ago, one of the dealers was trying to market an Asset Backed Commercial Paper deal (ABCP, you know, the stuff that almost sank the Caisse back in 2008-9) and they offered to bring a rating agency rep along to help explain it to us. Apparently, we were the only ones to think that a rating agency helping to market a deal was a conflict of interest. I have no use for them.
DeleteTony ,
DeleteUp until 1980 when President Reagan deregulated the banks there was no problem with the banking system since the great depression. President Roosevelt's new deal outlined his plan to prevent the irresponsible actions of banksters .
Here is part of the act: The Act also restricted commercial bank securities activities, affiliations between commercial banks and securities firms, and speculative use of bank credit. Additionally, the act established the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which eliminated the risk of bank runs.
So as far as I can tell the problem began in 1980 when President Reagan removed the solution that FDR had implemented 40 years earlier.
Bernie is absolutely right. Expecting banks to self regulate was a recipe for disaster. Furthermore, the actual deed of ownership of homes for bank held mortgages are missing many cases. Many banks just created their own registry of ownerships rather then registering with the county or city. The very basis of mortgage backed securities were compromised.
DeleteYes deregulation caused a lot of trouble. Unfortunately greed corrupts and we have to be aware of it all the time when dealing with people be they banks or construction companies. I realize it's costly to have a lot of regulation but to leave it up to the "honesty" of people is a huge mistake.
DeleteBernie, Jarry, and Cutie:
DeleteI respectfully disagree.
What caused all the problems were the credit default swaps which were a sort of "insurance policy" for bundled mortgage investments. The CDSs were designed to protect the investor if homeowners (those with mortgages) defaulted on their mortgages.
But the sellers of the CDSs -- firms such as AIG -- did not have enough assets to pay their obligations on the CDSs when the market went south.
You can't blame either Wall Street or the bankers (investors in the bundles) for that...especially since government regulations required them to use only those rating agencies picked and chosen by the government.
Indeed, credit default swaps are wonderful financial instruments...if and only if they work. And they can't work if the issuing company has many trillions of dollars in obligations on the CDSs and they only have a net worth of a fraction of that.
So it really had nothing to do with deregulation by Reagan other than the fact that if the banks weren't allowed to be in that area of business in the first place (which Reagan started to allow and Clinton expanded and encouraged after Reagan) they couldn't have had the problem.
We would have been better off having no regulation in credit rating agencies in the first place. That would have forced banks to do a real and genuine "due diligence" in investing in mortgage bundles in the first place instead of relying upon the ratings done by rating agencies that were forced upon them. Of course, hindsight is 20/20, but I imagine if there was no officially-sanctioned rating on AIG and the investors were relying upon AIG's CDSs, they would have forced AIG to prove they could back them up.
Tony - The intimate ties between Wall Street and government are the real problem. Let me see..Treasury secretary Paulson..ex-ceo of Goldman Sachs..I think he is the one who led the charge to allow the investment banks to massively increase the leverage they were allowed to use. That worked out real well..and guess who sucked 800 billion dollars from the US taxpayer to bail out the wall street idiots..Mr.Paulson. How about Mr.Greenspan and Mr.Bernanke and Mr.Carney..the central bankers who have created bubble after bubble over the past 15 years by keeping interest rates artificially low. This is the real problem..if interest rates had been kept at normal values..then people would not have speculated like crazy on real estate. Just saw an interview with Mark Carney..what a pompous arrogant fool..good riddance and good luck England. Why people praise this man is beyond me..let me see..as far as I can see all he did was push interest rates down to near zero even though fundamentally there is no justification for it. He did it because the other central banker idiots in USA and Europe did the same and heaven forbid Canada acts on its own. These central bankers are creating an epic bubble in debt which will pop and it will make the great depression look like a picnic. We have record levels of government and personal debt in many countries..it will not end well. By the way..where did Mark Carney used to work..Goldman Sachs..amazing..funny how so many of these people end up in prominent government/central banker positions. Ask all the seniors how happy they are about near zero interest rates..its wreaking havoc on many of their pensions. Basically as Mark Carney put it..interest rates had to be pushed to zero otherwise the real estate market would implode and there would be mass unemployment. Maybe Mark Carney could explain to us why interest rates have been pushed to near zero for so many years..its because the central bankers have pushed themselves into a box because of their reckless policies..they are primarily responsible for the Nasdaq bubble and the property bubbles..their solution to everything is to lower interest rates. What they should have done is to increase interest rates more rapidly hence stopping the bubbles in the first place..now they are stuck. If they try to move interest rates to where they should be then the economy around the world blows up and we have a depression. But unfortunately thats the only way we can restart the economy.
DeleteMost people are too dumb to realize that these ultra-low interest rates are very damaging long term as it encourages people/companies/governments to borrow too much money..creares property bubbles..totally distorts the economy. Just have a look at all the condos being built across Canada now..even here in depressed Montreal..do you really think it makes any senses?? Why would we suddenly need thousands and thousands of condo units. This is pure stupid speculation..I bet in 2-3 years there will be many empty cheap condos all over this country and our real estate market will be in shambles. People will be whining for the government to do something even though most of these people have no one but themselves to blame.
My whole main point has been "its the economy stupid" and the PQ and the previous Liberals have totally mismanaged the economy. But then again the Quebec system is beyond repair..it needs to implode..no politician out there is going to do the right thing. I shudder thinking of Denis Coderre running Montreal..talk about a perfect example of a useless Liberal politican.
In fairness to Mark Carney, as long as the U.S. rates are at zero, he has little choice but to keep Canadian rates low, too. If he raised rates 2 percentage points, the Canadian dollar, currently near parity with the $US, would rise dramatically and probably wipe out what's left of our manufacturing base. The real question is why the U.S. is keeping their rates at "emergency levels" when the emergency is long past. Another question is why the Federal government didn't rein in the people at CMHC, who really allowed the housing boom to go out of control.
DeleteThe US fucked themselves when they repealed "Glass-Stegall" back in 1999.
Deletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass%E2%80%93Steagall_Act
Diogenes - There is no easy way out of the mess the central bankers have created. Instead of accepting recessions in the past they have chosen time in and time out to slash interest rates to avoid natural recessions. Now they have created the mother of all bubbles..a global debt bubble..countries and people are swimming in record amounts of debt. Hence interest rates need to stay near zero otherwise its KA-BOOM. But these zero interest rate policies are stealing money from the responsible people..the ones who saved..these people are getting nothing now so that we can prop up housing prices because many stupid people paid way too much for housing. So the central bankers are rewarding bad behaviour. And of course Wal Street and the whole global banking system is in on the Ponzi scheme. Notice where all these global bankers come from..the big investment banks. The biggest crooks out there..they make Quebec corruption look like a tea party.
DeleteSorry but Mark Carney..if he had some balls..then again no politican does either..would have increased interest rates a few years ago..it would have poppped the crazy real estate bubble in Canada..yes it would have been painful..it might have caused a recession. But now we are guaranteed to have a worse outcome as real estate prices have gone up even more..hosehold debt levels are at record levels in Canada and above the USA levels before they crashed. Basically our real estate market is waiting to implode..its already started in BC and things have slowed down everywhere. And isnt it interesting that Mark Carney is heading out of the country just before everything collapses..how convenient.
Nobody has wanted to take the medicine for the past 10-15 years..they expect the central banks..the governments to come to the rescue and borrow more money each time there is a problem. Well the next crisis will be a doosey as the central banks and governments are out of ammunition.
Diogenes:
DeleteRe, your comment about the rating agencies. In the U.S., insurance is a state jurisdiction. On that level, the regulation works very well. Sure, insurance companies go bankrupt from time to time but the system is set up so that the people never lose their money (required reserves, etc.). Banking is federal jurisdiction and the federal government is so huge that, in my opinion, it simply cannot act efficiently. So my default is always "less regulation" and freer markets; however, when there must be regulation, more local is always better than more centralized.
Diogenes, what do you see as the solution?
Re, your comment about bubbles. When I do the math on the U.S. $17 trillion debt (soon to be $20 trillion) and see that the servicing on that debt is quite manageable at the low interest rates they have, I realize that they can have a $30 trillion debt and it won't make much of a dent. But the problem is once interest rates go up. 5% on $20 trillion is $1 trillion a year just in interest payments. With a current annual budget of $3.7 trillion,, that means $1 trillion will be taken away just on interest payments. If rates go up to 10%, that's $2 trillion a year in interest payments...which would be more than 50 cents on every dollar spent by the U.S. government going to service the debt.
This is a game changer. And I don't see any way out of it for them except to start printing even more money. That, of course, will lead to hyperinflation which will affect the whole world.
Complicated: Stop equalization to Quebec and watch it implode! MOOOOOB! (That stand for an implosion!)
Delete@sauga
Deletebut why would anyone stop equalization to quebec?!? why don't you put forward realistic hypothesis instead of your perverted fantasies?
Exactly, nothing will change, and a lot of people, lawyers, government scum bags… will be paid a lot of money and things will go back to the same way they were before. The system is corrupt and the top down and he bottom up and has been for decades. Ottawa is the same way…sad what this nation has become.
ReplyDelete"We don’t want the party to end, the “free” trips, expense accounts…perks, gold plated pensions, free this, free that…Yes indeed, see we in government, are all entitled to our entitlements folks and we can’t stop that, at least not until we retire. Our unions say so, it’s ours and we want it now...$$” Nice eh? See what working for government has become? Go look at all the debt mounting. Governments all across Canada, the US… have been on a hiring binge, a spending spree for decades now. Government = police, fire, hospitals, teachers, lawyers…= high salaries, bonuses, pensions, perks… all out of control for decades now = More and more debt…making the connection yet?
Decades of overspending…more and more debt, see what these people in goverenment are doing to future generations?
Solution? Well only one folks - We need a new party, a new leader willing to deal with the facts, the truth for a change. We need a real fiscally conservative, common sense leader/party…. Things need to be cut, reduced and eliminated in all government. Government is too big, intrusive, and they are accumulating too much debt, year after year after year. That’s right let’s get cutting non essential services, expensive waste, bilingualism, multiculturalism, phony rights departments…the charter, CBC, all this green nonsense, bring in a government salary cap, a hiring freeze, reduce pensions… all sorts of big government BS. The future is at stake here and no one is willing to deal with this, how sad, how pathetic, all of you clowns in government and mainstream media.
The real issue that no-one is talking about is the private sector versus government sector. Government hiring, spending and debt is out of control and has been for decades. This is the great divide in Canada and its getting worse yearly.
"If a law is unjust, a man is not only right to disobey it; he is obligated to do so."-Thomas Jefferson
When the whole field of civil engineering has become corrupt (driven that way by the politicians I should add who want political contributions in return for contracts - a very old game), and you want to clean it up, perhaps changing names helps do some necessary laundering, but its never a bad thing to make an example of a few of the worst offenders - keeps the other mindful of the consequences of a full return to old ways. If there are no consequences for any wrongdoers, its back to the status quo immediately. Not just Dessau but others will not want to be put out of business. Well done Mr. Appelbaum.
ReplyDeleteLordDorchester
ReplyDeleteI would make one change to the laws of Quebec and that would pretty much take the legs off most of the road construction related corruption we're hearing about. I'd remove the clause that states only companies that operate in French are allowed to bid on projects in Quebec. That would instantly open up bidding to companies from New Hampshire, Vermont, NY and Ontario. We'd finally see real competition flourish where the cream would rise to the top. There is a reason Quebec's roads degrade so quickly and need to be redone again and again in comparison to the roads in the Mountains of New England. I don't care what language the guy that rolls asphalt speaks, if he does a better job than the guy from here, he gets the job, period.
The seppies would never admit that it would be cost effective to let other provinces and/or states bid on these jobs. The companies in Ontario have been complaining about this for years because it's much harder for them to bid on jobs in this province that it is for quebec companies to bid on jobs in Ontario. Bidders have to have certain licences etc. that are only issued by quebec whereby a lot of quebec licences are accepted by Ontario. Another unfair practice of quebec who don't give one sweet shit about the money they would save or the quality of the work as long as they control the licences and the money behind the projects, the unions in quebec will run away with these jobs at the taxpayer's expense.
DeleteLord Dorchester, once again you show that Irish and intelligence don't fit in the same sentence. If the roads degrade quickly in Québec it's not because the lack of competition, it's because the government chose to pay less for roads. But things change. If you left your castle in the last two years, you would have seen that we have started to make concrete roads. Which are more expensive but more durable.
Delete@ Y.L. The corruption inquiry has clearly shown that there is no real competition in Quebec, companies don't compete on quality of work versus cost, it comes down to who can pay off the most officials. The government doesn't pay less for roads, if anything they pay way more for comparable road work elsewhere. The reason Quebec roads fall apart so quickly is because of cheap overpriced materials, terrible roadwork and repair, very cold winters and very hot summers and trucks being able to carry more weight on Quebec roads versus other provinces and the U.S. As to concrete I've only ever seen it on one test section of the 40 on the island of Montreal and even that has huge potholes in it.
DeleteLe point que je soulevais est que pour limiter les inconvénients lié au gel et au dégel ainsi qu'au trafic lourd, la solution est, entre autres, de construire les routes sur des bases plus solides. Ce qui nécessite, entre autres, de creuser davantage dans le sol afin d'assurer une meilleure assise. Ce qui est plus dispendieux.
DeleteThe Quebec govt wants low quality roads. That helps make sure the construction unions are kept happy with endless work.
DeleteConstruction unions in Quebec are the PQ voting block. Where else can you find so many overpaid undereducated workers in one large group?
Yet another racist remark but this time about the Irish - no one escapes the wrath of these bigots except their own crooked pur laine francophones. It's the Jews, it's the Italians, it's the anglophones, it's the Scots, it's the Irish, everybody - nothing to do with them and their crooked politicians all of which brag about being pur laine francophones.
DeleteBeing Irish has nothing to do with the subject. This is another cheap political shot by a seppie that has no coherent line of logic and is reduced to attacking another group.
DeleteMarois knows the culture of Quebec is fraud and corruption. If she lets these companies be shut down they might be replaced by competent outside firms that arn;t owned and controlled by her friends.
ReplyDeleteIt's as simple as that.
Maybe this is why the Liberals didn't want to have a public inquiry in the first place.
ReplyDeleteBut I guess everyone wanted to spend millions of dollars to find out exactly who is (and will continue) stealing from us, not that it changes anything.
Still waiting on all that evidence showing Liberal Corruption...
The Marois government is even going to help SNC Lavalin, who aren't happy about being banned by the World Bank from bidding on any projects for the next 10 years.
http://tvanouvelles.ca/lcn/economie/archives/2013/04/20130426-201107.html
Surprised we haven't heard the term "Quebec Bashing" yet.
DeleteOMG - now we're to HELP these companies - just f---ing unbelievable! Why the hell are we helping them and not putting them in jail? Marois wants to help them "clean up" their companies as if this is all an accident or something. How can you separatists live with yourselves when you see the outright crooks ripping you off and your own government "helping" them do it? I'm beginning to think you're all more than a little retarded. You must get out of Canada and fast - you're all sick.
DeleteI agree with Charest, we need to get the police after those crooks. If the SQ can't handle the task, bring the RCMP. This is unacceptable, and all Marois achieved with her commission was grant immunity to crooks. The guy that said the money was in Casino was lying. Heck, subpoena his bank record and go for his money. But then again the SQ can't handle reality. Bring in the RCMP. We need to go after the money since crooks are thinking Quebec isn't tough on crime. Charest UPAC was a good start but fell to the usual politics attack.
DeleteLiam: AS IF! Then the gonifs will start bribing the cops, as if that hasn't been happening all along.
DeleteComplétement hors sujet mais tellement surprenant...De voir des anglos racistes.
ReplyDeleteGroup to petition Richmond, B.C., to police Chinese language signs in city
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/canada-politics/delegation-set-lobby-city-council-limit-chinese-language-072220279.html
Hmmm.... maybe they should start an English branch of the SSJB or Imperatif francais?
DeleteSo when people in the rest of Canada step on the linguistic rights of others they are racist, but when you and your separatist pals do so in Quebec you're perfectly justified? How crazy is that? The level of cognitive dissonance that must be going on in your head is astounding. Both of those groups are idiots and wrong but you SR, you out do them on every level of hypocrisy and lack of anything that could even remotely resemble logic.
DeleteYep Editor - I've advocated just that for a long time - we are too silent and too nice to these bigots - we do need a form of IF out there on behalf of the anglophone population that do nothing but pick the separatists apart on a daily basis - wouldn't be too difficult a job as there is plenty of proof that they are inept at everything they do if not straight out crooks. Our usual media let them get off too easily - they need to be dealt with much more harshly than they are by papers like the Gazette.
Delete@thatguy
DeleteVous connaissez ce qu'est un sarcasme n'est-ce-pas?
Est-ce que ces anglo-canadiens se font aussi traiter de racistes parce qu'ils veulent protéger leur langue ou seulement nous,Québécois,avons droit à ce traitement pour les mêmes raisons?
@Editor
Peut-être que ce sera la prochaine étape,on ne sait jamais.Le N-B a bien son "Anglo Society of New Brunswick".
"Est-ce que ces anglo-canadiens se font aussi traiter de racistes parce qu'ils veulent protéger leur langue ou seulement nous,Québécois,avons droit à ce traitement pour les mêmes raisons?"
DeleteHe'll never get it.
See, Old Glory, what you fail to understand is that those Anglos waging a linguistic war against the Chinese are just as big of douchebags as the separatists.
Trying to legislate someone's right to expression out of existence is plain wrong, no matter who does it.
And here's another clear fact that chronically eludes you - French and English are not indigenous to the land Canada was built on. The people who brought those languages here did so through violence and oppression.
Bottom line: Whether we're talking about scumbags like Mario Beaulieu or those honkies out in B.C, it's not a question of linguistic preservation...it's flat-out intolerance.
The movement remove Chinese out west is probably fronted by Quebecer's that moved out there.
DeleteAnybody should be able to put up whatever sign they want in whatever language they want and serve clients in any language they want. That;s called freedom.
Exactly like we want all Quebecers to be able to do.
"...and serve clients in any language they want."
DeleteComme Air canaya :)
Exactly SR. Now you are getting it.
DeleteLaws of economics will fix the rest.
If the local population arn;t happy and can;t speak Chinease then they don;t shop there.
Simple economic principles they teach in schools outside Quebec.
"Laws of economics will fix the rest."
DeleteÉvidemment...Mais voyez-vous,ici au Québec,nous préférons "fixer" les anglos nous-même.
Sans rancune j'espère :)
"...are just as big of douchebags as the separatists."
DeleteCe sont les libéraux qui ont instauré les différentes lois linguistiques au Québec.Robert Bourassa "spinerait" dans sa tombe si il vous entendait,Mister Résidu.
"La loi 101 est une grande loi canadienne." -S.Dion,le séparatiste
Uh-huh Gloryhole.
DeleteThat's the key difference between the two of us. You seek the validation of politicians and their actions...
...while the rest of us derive our arguments from the principles of Natural Law.
Vous expliquerez ça au policier lors de votre prochain passage sur un feu rouge :
Delete"La loi naturelle monsieur l'agent..."
"Voici un ticket de 350$ + les points de démérite...Naturellement"
Surprenant que nous n'ayons pas encore entendu cette expression à la commission Charbonneau.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
DeleteEditor,
DeleteWe know why you deleted that last comment, but you're going to have to play fair.
If referring to S.R by his chosen profession is considered slander, then you'll hereby have to delete any posts in which he uses "des petit noms" for his opponents.
Be it Toto, Jarret Street, Residu, Cuntie and all the other welfare-rate disses our favorite Bougon has up his sleeve.
Personally, I don't think anyone on this blog has ever cried themselves to sleep over S.R's infantile barbs, but all the same - you gotta zap them...out of the very reason we all oppose the seps - principle.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Delete"This comment has been removed by a blog administrator."
DeleteEditor, can I propose a possible change to policy?
See, a while back I ardently supported having S.R and the like banned from this blog.
However, when Cutie recently called for the same in regards to UN GARS, I clearly saw how important it is to preserve records.
S.R, Y.L, Student and on rare occasion, Jean Nimard post xenophobic, racist diatribes that clearly infringe on human rights and when it gets extreme, you delete their posts.
I see this as counter-productive.
Their diatribes should be permanently preserved as a testament to their nature.
And on the other hand, like I just posted, I don't see why deleting certain off-hand insults is necessary.
"Sans rancune j'espère :)"
DeletePendant 200 ans les Québécois étaient des citoyens de seconde classe sur leur propre terre. Maintenant qu'on a mis les Anglos dans une position de citoyens de seconde classe, permettez-nous de vous y maintenir, car sinon nous le redeviendrons. Sans rancune j'espère :)
"...infringe on human rights"
DeleteMoi qui croyait que vous étiez un disciple de "La loi naturelle".
Faudrait vous brancher M.Evil
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_law
DeleteY.L. You do realised that it was Premier Maurice Duplessis that was in power when the Quebec residents were second-class. Oh you must be another self deluded seperatist who thinks Maurice Duplessis was an anglophone. Sorry, my bad, I didn't know you twist the fact from your "educational" history class.
Delete"...exercised a profound influence on the development of English common law"
DeleteÇa part mal...Je préfère le code civile du Québec.
His butt still hurts because we conquered him... without rancour, I hope. :)
Delete@resident evil
Delete"Student(...) post xenophobic, racist diatribes that clearly infringe on human rights...)
you have a choice here, mate: you quote me or you apologize.
by the way i think it's childish to whine to a blog owner when he deletes your crap comments. just improve, mate. or is it too much to ask of you?
@M.Evil (vous permettez que je vous appelle ainsi?)
DeleteEst-ce que traiter un peuple de nazi est raciste ou simplement méprisant?
@liam
Delete"...another self deluded seperatist who thinks Maurice Duplessis was an anglophone."
some separatists believe that?!? or is it part of the fantasy you created to ease the denigrating?
S.R = "Est-ce que traiter un peuple de nazi est raciste ou simplement méprisant?"
DeleteCorrection: Le peuple Québécois ne figure pas comme séparatiste. Alors traiter les séparatistes comme des nazis est tout simplement la vérité.
Pinstripes: "you have a choice here, mate: you quote me or you apologize."
Why don't you start the apologies by telling me you're sorry for wasting my money on a movement so retarded even primates would shrug it off?
"by the way i think it's childish to whine to a blog owner when he deletes your crap comments. just improve, mate. or is it too much to ask of you?"
Wow...even coming from you.
Sans rancune aucune mademoiselle The Conquest, car mon coeur trépigne de joie à l'idée du troisième et dernier exode massif d'Anglos qui approche à grands pas.
DeleteJ'espère par contre que le gouvernement retiendra mon idée d'élaborer une politique de soutien financier qui permettra aux moins fortunés et aux moins intelligents parmi les Anglos de pouvoir quitter le Québec. Car les derniers tests internationaux PISA qui mesurent la performance des jeunes de 15 ans en lecture, en mathématique et en science sont vraiment gênants pour la communauté anglaise.
@resident evil
Delete"Why don't you start the apologies..."
still trying to peddle your contritions? lame.
"...wasting my money on a movement so retarded even primates would shrug it off?"
aren't you a primate too, mate?!? so what is this supposed to mean?
So, essentially what Y.L is saying is that seppie-nationalists are building a retrograde society. Boldly moving back down the civilization curve. At the forefront of this brave new world I see great minds like Y.L., knuckles dragging, looking for a friend to pick nits with. But not just any friend. It must be a fellow clansman from the Pur Laine tribe. Up ahead: having a dirt bath, is S.R. He'll do nicely.
Delete@Y.L
DeleteLe troisième et dernier exode massif d'Anglos?Je croyais que c'était le deuxième.De bonnes affaires en vue pour les déménageurs...C'est quelle date la fête du canada déjà?
"Alors traiter les séparatistes comme des nazis est tout simplement la vérité."
DeleteDésolé,je croyais que les "nazis",selon votre échelle de valeur,étaient les Québécois qui supportent la loi 101.Ça change tous les jours sur ce blogue...
Il y aurait eu un premier exode au début des années 1830, soit avant les rébellions de 1837-1838. Mais je dois t'avouer que j'ai lu cette référence une seule fois dans un article sérieux. Mais bon, peut-être que ce ne fut pas le cas, mais ça paraît bien de dire qu'il y aura un troisième exode, car ça colle bien à la maxime « jamais deux sans trois ».
Delete@cebeuq : "The movement remove Chinese out west is probably fronted by Quebecer's that moved out there."
DeleteHow about you read the fucking article before making free accusations...
Kerry Starchuk and Ann Merdinyan — residents of the Vancouver suburb — will present a 1,000 signature petition to Richmond City Council, on Monday, asking them for rules that would require "a minimum amount of English on any signage, shops or advertising."
"J'espère par contre que le gouvernement retiendra mon idée d'élaborer une politique de soutien financier qui permettra aux moins fortunés et aux moins intelligents parmi les Anglos de pouvoir quitter le Québec. Car les derniers tests internationaux PISA qui mesurent la performance des jeunes de 15 ans en lecture, en mathématique et en science sont vraiment gênants pour la communauté anglaise"
DeleteYou have the highest dropout rate right here in Quebec, IN THE FRANCOPHONE Sector, compared to the rest of Canada. An undedicated populace is what you'll have left in this poor and desperate province. But then, that's exactly what those in power are hoping for.
Highest dropout rate=less educated= easily controlled..Suck on that
Serge, like 2 'anglo' names mean anything.
DeleteHow about all the scottish and irish last names you already "integrated" in Qeuebec.
Lots of idiot PQ in there too.
Last names mean nothing except prejudice.
While we are at it though, it's fucking hysterical to run into a totally joile speaking person with an Irish name that speaks not a single word of english in Quebec.
Jean-Luc Picard traverse les galaxies en anglais exclusivement.
DeleteYes, S.R. Starfleet operates in english
Delete@Cebeuq : Give it up Cebeuq. You don't have to slightest proof. Resident Evil already wrote : "those Anglos waging a linguistic war against the Chinese are just as big of douchebags as the separatists."
DeleteLike it or not, Anglos can also act dumb.
Has the anglos formed a political party to strip the chinese of their rights?
DeleteWhy is it so hard to accept that those people are Anglos?
Delete@Serge - I don't get it either.
DeleteIf we're here opposing the racism and xenophobia that is promoted by Quebec separatists, why aren't we taking Anglo racists to task for hating on the Chinese?
Bullshit.
40 years ago the Cliche commission named companies (criminal families really).
ReplyDeleteNow in 2013 we see the same companies (family names) again come up.
In 2013 as the EDITOR notes yet again see the same kind of crap in "restructuring", renaming etc. The "kids" of the corrupt construction people continue the tradition.
It's the same game. Nothing changes. Quebec doesn;t want change.
They would prefer to work with corrupt business people then allow any other company to get the chance to compete.
It's disgusting to see idiots like "Henry aubin" in the gazette prattle on about being mean to companies.
Lets revisit what happens in a free market.
Another business person (non criminal) goes out starts a new engineering company. He hires away all the SNC engineers etc that just lost their jobs because SNC can;t bid on building a fucking bird cage anymore.
There is nothing wrong with this EXCEPT the people at the top change.
Sure the PQ spin lies about how this hurts the regular employee. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
The employee will soon pop up in a proper company that exists on somethign except graft and corruption.
The problem of course is that the people in power change. This is a huge problem for the PQ/Liberals.
Companies operating without kicking back funds? Not allowed! How can the govt continue?
The politicians don;t want to punish their friends at Club 357. They are punishing themselves.
In another 40 years we will see the same companies charged with corruption. It will be all the same "last names" ie families as now. Just fast forward 40 years.
Corruption is the essence of Quebec business.
If people bought things purely based on regular competition business might go to anglo's or other undesirables that are not pure laine and kick back $$ to the right people.
The system of corruption continues. It can;t change in Quebec.
Corruption is a big part of Quebec business culture and it can;t be allowed to change for fear "anglo's" will own all business again.
So it's better for the PQ to give contruction to the mafia and corrupt business. At least they will speak french while they steal the money in the PQ thought process.
Man, the PQ just keeps making the Mafia look better and better:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.journaldemontreal.com/2013/05/06/quebec-devoile-son-nouveau-regime
Toutes les sociétés minières du Québec devront payer des redevances à l’État, --->>> qu’elles soient rentables ou non <<<---.
La redevance minimale s’établira à 1 % pour les premiers 80 millions $ de minerais extraits. Elle passera à 4 % pour la valeur de minerai excédant 80 millions $.
Now while I understand that $80 million sounds like a lot on paper, but a lot of that is owed money.
Talk about living in Bizarro world - I've never seen such an improvisational government.
It also represents yet ANOTHER broken election promise by the PQ improv crew.
Delete@resident evil
Deleteyou forgot to mention why you think the new scheme is bizarro.
I get the impression that the current PQ administration is starting to tire of the Carbonneau commission.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ledevoir.com/politique/quebec/377309/marois-met-le-feu-aux-poudres
The PQ, for all their high and mighty talk about being white as snow, didn’t want the Carbonneau commission established for the purposes of getting to the bottom of corruption in the Quebec construction industry. No the PQ wanted the Carbonneau commission for reasons of partisan self interest; they thought the commission was going to throw the QLP under the bus. When it comes down to brass tacks, Marois isn`t really interested in cleaning up the way Quebec does business, probably because she has no clue how that business is conducted as she`s spend her entire professional life as either a civil servant or as an elected official – essentially far removed from the day to day activities of private enterprise. Also, reforming the Quebec construction industry comes perilously close to bringing the whole “Quebec Model” into question. In my opinion Madame Marois and the PQ may have just been a little too smart for their own good...
Pauline Marois is a tactical lightweight compared to Jean Charest. When Charest finally established the commission he made sure to give them a mandate to go back at least fifteen (15) years. In other words to the previous PQ administration and their little pet projects such as the Cité du Multimedia and the Metro Laval. If you recall these two little projects both came in at something like 5X their original budget estimates. Mr. Charest is as tricky as they come, after all he was trained by the best namely old Brian (pass the envelope) Mulroney. I suspect Jean Charest used the two years of stonewalling before establishing the Carbonneau commission to shred a lot of paper.
As the link above demonstrates, even PQ friendly journalists are noticing the flagrant double standards of the PQ. The Quebec electorate, especially the Francophone electorate, are taking a second look at everything the government does. An example is a rash of appointments of obscure friends of the PQ to plum Governments postings – All of a sudden this act of rewarding your friends has and added level of complexity! No I suspect the old Pauline is starting to search for ways to bring the Commission under some sort of control.
Last week they started talking about Guy Chevrette, which obviously made the PQ uncomfortable:
Deletehttp://tvanouvelles.ca/lcn/infos/national/archives/2013/05/20130501-223812.html
Then all of a sudden, the very next day:
http://tvanouvelles.ca/lcn/infos/national/commissioncharbonneau/archives/2013/05/20130502-104530.html
@quebecker of tree stump
Deletewhat's wrong with calling for the commisson to be careful?!? do you think it should be reckless?!? or have you just made a habit of passing on the opposition's line of the day?
Silly seppie sheeple... they prefer to twist themselves into pretzels in order to believe that it was PURE COINCIDENCE that the morning after the PQ was implicated in corruption by the Charbonneau Commission, La Marois would suddenly find it was less funny and overstepped her bounds by imploring the independent commission to proceed with "caution" (or "prudence").
DeleteL'UPAC s'intéresse à Mme.Courchesne...Encore
Deletehttp://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/politique-quebecoise/201305/06/01-4648223-lupac-est-allee-au-ministere-de-leducation.php
@the cat
Deletewhat's funny is you getting worked up because a politician called for caution. what have you got against caution, mate?
Students right, I mean it's entirely possible that Marois is just so slow that it took her a year to call for caution of throwing people under the bus when their names come up at the commission, I mean she clearly can't make rational decisions, or keep promises so why would she be able to keep up current events? I mean sure she was more than willing to insinuate things about the Liberals when their names came up at the commission...but I 'm sure her change of heart now has nooothing to do with the PQ being named, as student said its probably just complete incompetence ;)
Delete@thatguy
Delete"Students right..."
thanks.
"I mean sure she was more than willing to insinuate things about the Liberals when their names came up at the commission..."
what did she insinuate?
"as student said its probably just complete incompetence"
i never said that.
Regarding Richard Martineau’s article that cited Rick Blue’s article in its original English, it was funny to skim through the outraged comments by seppies who have difficulty even spelling simple French correctly (much like S.R with his “code civile” [sic] today). I almost snorted my drink through my nose reading this comment in particular:
ReplyDeleteCommentaire de: christiane hebert
Voulez vous traduire le texte en français SVP.Je suis une Québécoise de souche pas une vendu [sic] et je me foutte royalement ce que pense le West Island.
Poor baby! Irony appears to be beyond her purview.
And as if the West Island wasn’t full of proud, successful, bilingual Quebecers (anglo/franco/allo) not caught up in her unhappy seppie bullshit.
Irony is definitely not her strong suit.
DeleteAll successful Quebecers are bilingual, to my knowledge. I was surprised to hear Xavier Dolan’s perfect English recently; I guess I had assumed differently.
Are there any successful unilingual Quebecers? If so, which one would be the most successful?
Xavier Dolan a toujours été très habile avec sa langue,certaines personnes du jet set apprécient beaucoup.
DeleteHe's obviously speaking from experience... :)
DeleteGeorges St-Pierre barely speaks any English.
DeleteDave Santi,
DeleteGeorges St-Pierre barely speaks any English.
Excuse me, are you for real or simply ignorant? Have you ever watched UFC's interviews? Does this look like someone who "barely speaks any English"?
GSP is a real piece of work with his swastika fleur de lees on his right calf, and has walked out many times for a fight and flashed his mouth piece to the cameras with a flag of France on it, nice eh...what a hypocrite. Some Canadian he is…show me the money GSP. A typical phoney parasite from Quebec and his English is average at best.
DeleteBetter remain anonymous or you'll get your ass kicked
DeleteLD
ReplyDeleteFYI
MONTREAL Gazette May 06— Most Quebec immigrants feel attached to Canada, regardless of which language they speak, according to a poll for the Association for Canadian Studies.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Most+immigrants+Quebec+feel+attachment+Canada+poll/8345171/story.html
"I almost snorted my drink through my nose..."
DeleteJe suppose que vous avez soit un gros nez ou un sens de l'humour plutôt douteux :)
Seppies don’t seem to understand that few people have their “bibitte dans la tête” about having been conquered and colonized centuries ago (not to mention having been abandoned by colonialist France) and that their wishful “nationalist project” that is predicated upon hate and revenge does not resonate with most Quebecers and is doomed to always fail.
DeleteR.S you got it right. Seppies "think different".
DeleteThey spend all their time obsessing about "what if" they didn;t lose some battle hundreds of years ago. Totally useless fantasies that they use to justify their bizzare logic of colonization in 2013.
Stone age thinking.
Quebec seppies are unable to join the modern world. They behave like what we see in the Middle East. Constantly provoking and harassing their citizens over language, religion and ethnic background.
Seppies can;t be reasoned with, if they could understand logic they wouldn;t be seppies.
This comment has been removed by the author.
Delete@cebeuq
Deleteyou don't make sense, mate. you seem to consider a nation's will to decide on policies for themselves as unreasonable. come on now, pull yourself together cebeuq.
Trying to perpetuate the myth that Quebec is a Nation.
DeleteHa, an insular cult maybe. Nation, not a chance.
@cebeuq
Deletewhat definition of "nation" do you use, mate?
A "nation" can be more or less defined however you want it to be defined; this is the very reason why seppies cling to such a vague term with such vigour.
DeleteI used to be a part of the KISS Nation - to date neither Gene Simmons or Paul Stanley have confirmed this movement to be a country.
DeleteToo bad - the flag would be awesome.
Redefining words is standard seppie propaganda.
DeleteBoycott not a strike
"linguistic community" not a minority
Seppies have an amazingly poor sense of "fair play". Lies, harassment etc.
Quebec seppies don;t know how to build anything, only how to tear things down that others build.
@cebeuq
Deleteyou claimed at 10:40 that french canadians don't form a nation.
i repeat my important question: what is your definition of nation?
let's see if you try to avoid it once again.
Do you get a $1 bonus for your trolling if I answer?
DeleteWanna fess up you are a paid shill for the PQ yet?
@cebeuq
Deleteyou claimed at 10:40 that french canadians don't form a nation.
i repeat my important question: what is your definition of nation?
let's see if you try to avoid it once again.
They're a nation so much as the 20+ native nations, immigrant nations and anglo nations are in Quebec...good luck spliting that up ;)
DeleteI love how the seperatists always speak of the conquest and the evil English who colonized them, I really hate to break it to them but what do they think the original French Canadians were doing in New France? The New France part is kind of a hint, that's right they were over here colonizing and conquering North America. Sadly for them their narrative isn't quite the reality; two huge empires (one which they were a apart of) fought, theirs lost and they gave up Quebec instead of other holdings. There was no David versus Goliath story here.
Yet they don't recognize the irony of the colonist being colonized, and then complaining about colonization (look up the French colonization of Haiti for an interesting read).
They bemoan years of being treated as second class citizens, yet they turn around once in power and do exactly what they screamed was so unjust to others and still do not see the irony in it. This is partially why its so hard to take these people seriously, when one is motived by misguided revenge against those long dead; seeking government powers for the sake of power; or creating artificial strife between groups who have no real reason not to be able to live together amicably, you have very little justifiable reason for your existence.
Believing in justice and rights for only your group and not everyone is corruption pure and simple, and there is enough of that in Quebec as it is.
@thatguy
Delete"They're a nation so much as the 20+ native nations..."
thanks for supporting me.
cebeuq certainly won't agree with you, though. he thinks french canadians don't form a nation... i wonder what his definition is. must be quite original.
@cebeuq
Delete"Redefining words is standard seppie propaganda. Boycott not a strike"
dude you really gulped that shameful charest line like a dump sunfish didn't you? here's an advice: refer to dictionaries rather than crooked politicians for word meanings. here's what you missed:
strike: a temporary stoppage of activities in protest against an act or condition.
interesting how you amalgamate separatists and student strikers. it's easier this way, right? everyone you hate in the evil bag and that's it. after you're done with definitions try nuances. tougher but intellectually rewarding. trust me.
Everybody should check this out. A modern language map of North America.
ReplyDeletehttp://aschmann.net/AmEng/#LargeMap3Right
The funniest part? "yellow french" isn;t the biggest color in Quebec. (Good choice of color)
As we all know of course, Quebec isn't really a french only province nor has it ever been, nor will it ever be(until the little Marois 'hitler' chapter grows up).
The map is illegal in Quebec of course. Only "research" from second rate Quebec universities can be accurate.
Wow! Very impressive map. It captures a lot more of the complexity of reality than I would have expected.
DeleteMaybe the good job Mr Applebaum has been doing will ease franco voters' concerns about the idea of non-French-Canadian politicians in the province.
ReplyDeleteWhat good things has he done so far?
Delete“For me, Montreal is a francophone city and we respect that ” -Michael Applebaum
ReplyDeleteUn très bon anglo,selon mes critères d'évaluation.
EDM you just need to peer into the mind of the average PQ lowlife like SR and you see that this leap of faith is impossible.
DeleteL'absurdité québécoise en images:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.facebook.com/pages/Labsurdit%C3%A9-qu%C3%A9b%C3%A9coise-en-image/351024305016357
"Mme. Marois, vous ne protégez pas le français."
DeleteQuebec francophones uprising:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMsgwfadBXA
Pauline Marois, meet Marie-Ève Goulet:
Deletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcU9DzqBU6c
“For me, Montreal is a francophone city and we respect that ” -Michael Applebaum
ReplyDeleteHe needs to ensure he has a job once a new mayor is elected. I completely doubt he was being sincere when he made that dumb statement. Kinda glad he'll be on his merry little way, I think we have had enough of disingenuous politicians.
LD
ReplyDeleteMore international bad press for Quebec and its racist language laws. Watch the tourists and investors flock elsewhere now...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22408248
Parlez-en en bien,parlez-en en mal mais parlez-en!
DeleteLa meilleure pub gratuite pour l'industrie touristique du Québec...
Le premier des multiples commentaires sur CNN travel:
"Karen Ruler • 5 days ago −
Paul Mahoney- After 2, 10 day visits to Quebec and Charlevoix nothing is further from the truth..they are welcoming and are most helpful with stubbling through the language issue. For once Americans need to meld into someone elses culture and that is refreshing and humbling. We found Quebecers to be a warm and kind people we cannot wait to go back!"
228 like!!
SR, where's the link? Thx
Deletehttp://www.cnn.com/2013/05/01/travel/quebec-11-things/index.html?iref=allsearch
DeleteAnd in the comments under the same article:
Delete"The reason the police officer was nice to you is precisely because you are a tourist. Anglophones living in Quebec do not get the same treatment. Anglophones in Quebec are expected to only speak French."
149 likes! American Site but the comments are mainly against quebec and only the separatists stand up for themselves again. What's new?
Les touristes américains ne semblent s'intéresser aux anglo-Québécois,ils veulent du dépaysement et du bon temps:
DeleteProfiter des plus beaux festivals,des meilleurs restos à l'Est du continent et d'un décor magnifique...Que demander de plus?
Sorry, Cutie, tourists are staying in Ottawa and Toronto. Why would they come in Quebec to pay high tax, drive bad roads, get annoyed by language police, students and socialist shutting down the streets.
DeleteSorry Liam - only brought up the quote due to troll's remark about the tourists being treated well in quebec. Wanted to point out that those of us that reside here are not treated well at all - in fact, we couldn't be treated worse except if IF had their way and made it illegal to speak English at all. Was never trying to imply that quebec attracts tourists - tourism in way, way down and will continue this way until we get rid of these reprobates. Those areas that vote to leave Canada must go on their way to give the rest of us the chance to live under the Canadian Constitution again and thrive as a province. Out with separatist areas of quebec!
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteEditor: Mon dernier extrait de la journée:
Delete"inimrepus @Sierra Montgomery • 5 days ago −
Amazing how when you go to another area, some people may not speak the same language as you."
122 likes!!
"...staying in Ottawa and Toronto"
DeleteDommage qu'il ne se passe absoluement rien dans ces 2 villes et c'est encore pire à ottawa,une ville pour les vieillards.
S.R. I will not comment on the stupid comment you just made.
DeleteGD - we did not "go to another area" prick - we've always lived here and have the same rights and freedoms as you do under the Canadian Constitution - because you people decide to break the law does not mean you're in the right. When are you going to get it through your head, quebec does not "belong" to you - it belongs to Canada!
Delete@cutie003
Delete"...because you people decide to break the law..."
who's breaking what law, mate? it's an important bit missing from your bad comment.
Out of topic, but I find an interesting trivia.
ReplyDeleteIn The Council of Confederation, all members - who are the Premiers of Canadian provinces and territories - are styled "Honorable". All except Pauline Marois. When Charest was there, he was also an "Honorable". What is up, Marois tries disguise herself as commoner or the Council feels that she is not "Honorable" enough?
You need to be a member of the Privy Council to be referred as Honourable. Madame Pauline Marois has declined the declined the invitation.
DeleteThank you Liam - did not know that but again, only quebec refuses to cooperate with the ROC in EVERYTHING - A--holes no less, no more.
DeleteLiam,
DeleteWhile your explanation sounds good, it is not accurate. Member of provincial Executive Council is entitled to the style while in office. In fact, none of the current 13 provincial / territorial Premiers is a member of the Queen's Privy Council of Canada.
Therefore, my question still remains. Why is Pauline Marois not "Honorable"?
Okay, while members of the executive council are not a member of the Privy Council (Sorry, for the mistake), the style is still associated with the Privy Council. Pauline Marois would never want to be associated with it. T
DeleteImportant information on packing up and leaving Quebec.
ReplyDeleteMake sure you sell your house first!
Make damn sure you don't pay taxes to Quebec.
We need to make sure the province goes bankrupt as fast as possible!
http://www.montrealgazette.com/business/your-business/Investing+Strategy+Leaving+Quebec+Sell+home/8347667/story.html
Lorsque vous aurez quitté,allez-vous changer votre pseudo pour "adanac" ?
DeleteHéhé!
Combien pour votre maison?
Well Troy she obviously calls herself "Prime Minister" of her own country - stupid witch - everyone else laughs at her and every premier because they are recognized as "Prime Minister" by their followers. More wishful thinking about their own country. Don't know why they don't adopt the term "President of Quebec". Would make more sense than adopting titles from England whom they hate.
DeleteCutie,
DeleteI have no problem with Marois calls herself a Prime Minister. As we know, Marois's English is not that good and Canadian French does not have the distinction between a Premier (leader of a province or territory) and Prime Minister (leader of a country).
And therefore in Canadian French there are le Premiere ministre du Canada, le Premiere ministre de l'Alberta and le Premier ministre du Québec.
Well Troy you may not have a problem and I totally understand that, but it's always bothered me to hear her and/or any minister of quebec be referred to as "Prime Minister" as Canada only has one and that is the leader of the country. To me, just another slight against Canada, that's all.
DeleteCutie003,
DeleteI give her the benefit of the doubt in this matter. It is a common mistake among native Canadian French speaker.
However, I still do not understand why she is not styled as "Honorable".
Seperatist view the Privy Council as an exclusively anglo-saxon institution. Also, it is the British Privy Council that ruled against Canada ( representing Quebec) and to give a portion of Labrador to the then independent Newfoundland. For a seperatist refusing admission to the Privy Council is a honorable thing to do. I think Levesque, Bouchard, and Parizeau did so to.
DeleteLiam,
DeleteI answered about you answer regarding the Privy Council above.
I can't believe Mr Applebaum said that. What an idiot. Montreal is more French than ever and yet these seps are crying about "anglicisation". Get real. My mum who grew up in Montreal in the 60s barely speaks a word of French. Not something to brag about, but that doesn't happen in a "French" city.
ReplyDeleteOpinion piece in La Presse. Montreal is a bilingual city, by Alain Dubuc. It is a very interesting read.
Deletehttp://www.lapresse.ca/debats/chroniques/alain-dubuc/201305/03/01-4647424-montreal-est-une-ville-bilingue.php
In regards to Montreal being bilingual, you gave me Michael Applebaum and Alain Dubuc, I give you Mario Beaulieu.
DeleteWhat does Applebaum have to lose? He's not running for city mayor this year, and CDN-NDG is already bilingual, isn't it? Why would voters there care if he made Montreal officially bilingual? I don't understand his viewpoint. It can't be that he actually believes that.
DeleteThe idea that some people like Mario Beaulieu actually believe that Montreal is a french city is something I find astonishing. Have they been living under a rock their whole lives? Montreal was always bilingual. If you said "Montreal is a french city" to someone in the 60s, they'd look at you like you were crazy, but all this asimilation that's been going on for forty years has clearly gotten to people's heads and convinced them that Montreal is no more English than Toronto is Mandarin. English is not a foreign language in Montreal. Montreal has two lingue franche, French AND English.
DeleteMontréal a déjà été bilingue (pendant quelques années) mais notre ville reprend son identité originale un peu plus chaque jour et c'est tant mieux.
DeleteYes, S.R. let's go back to the original Montreal, where the city was run by the church and when their was no electricity.
DeleteS.R,
DeleteMontreal's original identity? You certainly mean that we should start speaking Iroquoian just like it was originally in Hochelaga, do you not?
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteI do love the arrogance of SR with respect to Montreals original language..maybe the natives from Kahnawake and surrounding areas should demand that Quebec becomes an Iroquoian nation. Lets see..the first real french settlement in Montreal was in 1639. Ville Marie remained a french settlement until 1760 when the British took over. So the french were in control for 120 years and they think its their god given right to have Montreal and all the lands in Quebec..I think the Iroquois have a much more valid claim. But ignoring that imposssibility the french only have a century more of claim on this island which in historical terms is nothing.
DeleteLast time I checked the British won the war..normally that means they control Quebec..not quite sure how that got stripped away. Much of Montreal was built with english money and industry along with the irish and the scots..however the seperatists seem to think this was and will always be a french only city.
"Opinion piece in La Presse. Montreal is a bilingual city, by Alain Dubuc. It is a very interesting read."
DeleteIt is more than that, it is a Multicultural city! Everyday I take a walk up St. Catherine Street during lunch. All I hear are people all around me speaking Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, & Portuguese, along with French & English of course. And all I can say is, it is music to my ears!
To those who sing a different tune insisting that Montreal is uniquely Francophone, I'm afraid it isn't. The reality and the truth is: Multiculturalism is in Montreal's DNA. This is proven to me each and every day. THAT is what distinguished Montreal as a truly unique city in North America. That is why it is so admired.
"In regards to Montreal being bilingual, you gave me Michael Applebaum and Alain Dubuc, I give you Mario Beaulieu."
DeleteHim you can keep..
@anectote
Delete"Multiculturalism is in Montreal's DNA. (...) THAT is what distinguished Montreal as a truly unique city in North America."
false. montreal is not more multicultural than toronto, vancouver, new york, miami, etc. what makes it unique is it's mainly french. if you want montreal to remain unique you should resist against its anglicization.
Montreal has been a bilingual city since 1760, though has remained majority French speaking since with the exception of a period between approximately 1830 to 1860 when it was a majority English speaking city. Confederation, which made Montreal the commercial and manufacturing centre of Canada, led to a huge influx of francophones into the city from the farms of Quebec to work in the new factories, resulting in the city becoming francophone majority again, which it has been ever since, irrespective of Bill 101.
DeleteSince the late 19thC there has been large scale immigration of people from the whole of Europe, and since WW2, immigrants have come to the city from much of the rest of the world, particularly after the 1960s when immigration rules were changed. Montreal has lots of languages today - it is multilingual - thats' Montreal's reality. Its the mix that makes Montreal special, gives it a vibe, an edge, colour, texture, enabling it to be creative. Is it a coincidence that the most mixed neighbourhoods of Montreal are its most vibrant, such as the Plateau? Take away that mix, and you have a large version of Quebec City. Is that really what most Montrealers want, including francophones?
This comment has been removed by the author.
Deletestudent,
Deletefalse. montreal is not more multicultural than toronto, vancouver, new york, miami, etc. what makes it unique is it's mainly french.
Basing on your logic, why there is no Movimiento Miami Español? Hispanophones make up the majority of the residents of Miami.
"All I hear are people all around me speaking Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, & Portuguese, along with French & English of course. And all I can say is, it is music to my ears!"
DeleteExcept when we hear joual
@troy
Delete"why there is no Movimiento Miami Español?"
you ask them, but spanish being on the rise might be a good lead.
"Except when we hear joual"
DeleteOh my, we really did hit a nerve with that one, didn't we? ..it's really amusing actually, how 2 days later, we still can't let go of it...LOL But please don't let my opinion tie you up in knots for the next 250 years....lololololol...hahahaha...i gotta laugh...LOL LOL
Ou le slang,c'est selon...
Delete"false. montreal is not more multicultural than toronto, vancouver, new york, miami, etc. what makes it unique is it's mainly french. if you want montreal to remain unique you should resist against its anglicization."
DeleteWrong again Pinstripes. It is the only truly bilingual city in North America, French by itself, doesn't make it unique. The fact that almost everyone living on the island speaks a minimum of 2 languages, if not 3, with complete ease...IS what puts it in a class of its own.
Me and my wife don't speak much French but at least we try. However when I hear incomprehensible joual, I just give up. If they don't make any effort to be understood, why should I?
Delete"The fact that almost everyone living on the island speaks a minimum of 2 languages, if not 3, with complete ease"
DeleteMais incapable de demander leur ticket* de métro en français...Hmmm
*Pour les incultes,le mot ticket est accepté en français
And the PQ improv Gong Show continues: http://www.journaldemontreal.com/2013/05/07/plan-nord-20
ReplyDeleteBen Dumett, Canadian reporter for the Wall Street Journal, condemns Quebec new mining taxes
ReplyDeletehttp://blogs.wsj.com/canadarealtime/2013/05/07/mining-firms-in-quebec-facing-higher-taxes/
@Liam...
DeleteThe author of your piece stole my exact response:
"The Quebec government faces a formidable juggling act as it plans to impose higher taxes on the province’s mining industry without hindering the sector’s growth and killing potential jobs and investment."
It's kinda like thinking you'll get laid more if you advertise the fact that you have an STD.
Another great term to describe Quebec business.
ReplyDeleteOriginally a "world bank" term to describe failed sates...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_capture
State capture is a type of political corruption in which private interests significantly influence a state's decision-making processes to their own advantage through illicit and unobvious channels. The influence may be through a range of state institutions, including the legislature, executive, ministries and the judiciary. It is thus similar to regulatory capture but differs through the wider variety of bodies through which it may be exercised and because, unlike regulatory capture, the influence is never overt.
ATTENTION READERS
ReplyDeleteThere's been an awful good buch of links to interesting French versus English stories published in the comments section.
I'd like to share these with the general readership on Friday, but am loath not credit those who dug up the story.
PLEASE send me a link via email when you find a story. Anglomontreal@gmail.com so that I can give you credit for the story.
If you don't care about credit , be advised that I do...
Remember many readers don't go throught the comments section, especially when there are hundreds of comments.
Hey guys,
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to point out an article in http://canadianimmigrant.ca magazine.
Unfortunately, they haven't posted the online equivalent, but the latest issue has a great feature, "What Makes a Good Immigrant."
I found it to be a very balanced look at how both sides need to work together, but there are also some very disturbing statistics included too.
I will try to find the article online to share with No Dogs readers.
Time to eat a final goat roti.
@resident evil
Delete"Time to eat a final goat roti."
hahaha! are you really informing the world about what you're having for dinner?!?
ok here's a difficult one for you: who cares?
"who cares?"
DeleteProbably the same amount of reader who care about even your most well-thought out argument: NO ONE.
Life's painful, isn't it?
Je veux pas savoir comment M.Evil a expédié cette chèvre dans l'au delà.
Delete@resident evil
Deleteisn't it disrespectful for the editor to publish, on his board, crap that even you know is not interesting??
"isn't it disrespectful for the editor to publish"
DeleteActually, the Editor didn't publish my comment - I did.
Can you make an effort to use proper English?
@resident evil
Deletefair enough. let me try again.
isn't it disrespectful to the editor for you to publish, on his board, crap that you know is not interesting?
(your latest meal is a good example of aforementioned crap if you need one)
Like I said before..no one on this board gives a shit what I eat...
Delete...just like they don't give a shit about your medieval points of view happen to be.
I don't know why you keep visiting this site...after all it's for the truly progressive-minded...not retrograde bigots who belong on vigile.net.
Don't speak for the Editor - he allows your pointless "contribution" as a
mere courtesy.
Thanks for coming out.
@resident evil
Delete"no one on this board gives a shit what I eat..."
we had already agreed on this, mate.
what still remains fuzzy is why you published it? on your blog why not, but on someone else's?!?
"I don't know why you keep visiting this site..."
it's because you (and others) haven't improved yet.
"...this site...after all it's for the truly progressive-minded"
DeleteEst-ce que peggy est admise dans votre cercle réduit de progressistes?
@resident evil
Delete"Don't speak for the Editor - he allows your pointless "contribution" as a
mere courtesy."
nice paradox, mate.
I love ethnic food like goat roti, too bad for them that there's a long history of racism in the separatist community, as proven by the late Mordecai Richler in his book, Oh, Canada! Oh, Quebec!, they're missing out on so many delicious meals because of their discrimination. Sure, they'll order a matzo soup or a pasta e fagioli, but not without Yehezkel or Giovanni horking a little something "extra" on their meal when they overhear their rants about the jews, the blacks, the italians, the irish and "les ethniques". Our little racist commentator (whom I need not name) here on this blog is living proof of what goes through these peoples' heads on a daily basis. In their minds we all should bow down to our pure laine masters and kiss their feet for blessing us with the privilege of living in "their" province.
ReplyDelete"...they're missing out on so many delicious meals because of their discrimination."
ReplyDeleteAvez-vous déjà mangé un bon rôti de porc typiquement québécois et apprêté dans les règles de l'art? Avez-vous déjà visité le restaurant Le pied de cochon,une des meilleures tables de Montréal sinon du Québec?
FROM ED
ReplyDeleteLiam, Montreal had electricity from 1927 when the company "Montreal Light Heat And Power was born"
The Catholic church never ran the city. The city was controlled by Anglos businesses and money. The Church controlled French people but Montreal was an English city when the Church had power. Bus drivers, taxis night clubs all were English. Most francophones spoke some English. Ed