This week in Quebec Corruption
This week we heard about large payouts to the two disgraced ex-Mayors of Montreal and Laval.
"After seven months on the job, the ex-interim mayor of Laval Alexandre Duplessis will be walking away from his post with a severance package of $170,378.
The cheque was cut from the city Tuesday, with the 43-year-old Duplessis receiving a $134,975 “transition allowance” and a severance package of $35,403.
The severance was calculated using guidelines under a provincial law on remuneration of elected officials — the Loi sur le traitement des élus municipaux — said the city. The allowance is a payment some city workers get to help find other employment, and eligibility for the severance is normally determined by factoring in the years of service and the pay grade of the individual leaving office. Link
Applebaum resigned from office after being arrested in June on 14 charges including fraud and conspiracy.
He was selected as mayor by Montreal city council on Nov. 16, 2012, following the resignation of Gérald Tremblay amid allegations of corruption.
Applebaum's payout is over $50,000 more than his predecessor, who received a total of $216,000 after holding the mayor's office for more than a decade. Link
Up to now, the corruption scandals enveloping Quebec have implicated politicians and public servants, but now the police that are investigating these scandals have a whopper of its own.
"Three former high-ranking Quebec police officers are the subjects of an investigation into allegations of criminal activity.
 |
| Jean Audette, Steven Chabot and Richard Deschênes |
Chabot is retired, but Deschênes and Audette were both relieved of their duties when provincial police head Mario Laprise alerted Public Security Minister Stéphane Bergeron.
Bergeron told a news conference Wednesday that the allegations came to light when Laprise was doing a routine check of the accounting books, and discovered some unaccounted money.
According to the minister, the money was in a fund set up to discreetly pay police informants or cover the cost of drugs in undercover operations.
He said a high-ranking officer authorized the use of money from that fund to pay someone's retirement bonus. Bergeron would not name the individual who benefited from the alleged bonus." Link
In recent developments;
(translation) "According to information obtained by La Presse, it's because Denis Despelteau was planning to flee the country, the crown decided to rush his arrest by quickly filing charges against him. Sources revealed that there were no plans to make any arrests in the matter before September Link{fr}
Mr. Despelteau was an ex-cop turned consultant and has a suspicious and checkered past, twice declaring bankruptcy in the face of hundreds of thousands of dollars owed to the tax department.
Pauline reminds us just what a petty and nasty piece of work she really is.
This one story illustrates just what a nasty, public money-waster and utterly predictable idiot our Premier really is."Trust the Parti Québécois government to seize every opportunity to rain on a royal parade.Sadly the PQ actually has a good case, but so what?
It was in the hours after it was reported that Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, had gone into labour leading to Monday’s birth of a royal son that the Quebec government announced it will join in a constitutional challenge to a federal law amending the rules governing succession to the titular post of Canadian head of state.
The holder of that post also occupies the British throne, and the law in question, the Succession to the Throne Act, 2013, essentially gave Canadian consent to a British law that abolished the rule of male primogeniture in the royal line of succession.
It means that male children will no longer take precedence over their sisters, no matter what their age, as had been the case up to then. The revision also removed the age-old interdiction that an heir to the throne may not marry someone of the Catholic faith.
The constitutional challenge was mounted by a pair of busybody Université Laval law professors whose objection is not the change in the line of succession or the liberalization of a royal heir’s marriage prospects, but the fact that the Conservative government passed the law approving the change without seeking formal endorsement from provincial governments." Read more
If the challenge is successful, Ottawa will have to go back and ask for permission from each province to allow for a change in the rules for Royal succession.
If that is the case, even the PQ would be forced to give that consent, the public would not stand for the government opposing a law that guarantees equality of genders in the Royal succession.
It would appear really low to oppose such a consent.
End result..... Money-wasting gamesmanship that serves no purpose.
By the way, the case will take years to litigate and Marois and her gang will be long gone. Any new Quebec government will certainly withdraw the petition.
And let's not forget that the birth of the latest male heir to the British throne has placed the whole issue on the back burner, one that can be safely put off for thirty or forty years.
So what's a few more million down the drain?
After all Quebec taxpayers are a generous and docile lot....
The gift that keeps taking
If there is any symbol of the decline of Quebec it may very well be the disaster that is the Olympic Stadium. WikipediaA monumental disaster of design and engineering, the stadium is a painful reminder of failure.
The white elephant known unaffectionately as the 'Big Owe' wasn't even completed in time for the Olympic games and its unfinished tower, a humiliating reminder and symbol of Quebec incompetence, and corruption.
It's $1.6 billion price tag haunted Montrealers for decades, and it took until 2006, to pay off the monumental debt.
 |
| Roof collapse in 1999 |
By 1992 the roof was destined never to open again. The sad fiasco of the Kevlar roof has been an ongoing nightmare with one failure after another.
Today the government body that runs the stadium revealed that the roof is just about finished with a costly $200-$500 million rebuild an imperative. The way things go in Quebec that $rebuild will definitely be on the higher side of the estimate, all to preserve a venue that is substandard in every respect, primarily it's location out in East Montreal, far from those with the money to spend on tickets.
Read" Rips in Olympic Stadium roof scare away event organizers
Three years ago, we were warned about the impending disaster, but like usual, nothing is to be done, no decision taken, until a new disaster unfolds.
Let's be done with it. Major league baseball is never returning to Montreal and the stadium is just not needed. Even the Alouettes refuse to play there outside the playoffs and a Grey Cup every decade isn't enough to warrant the expense.
Ottawa-bashing ramped up by Quebec in Lac-Megantic tragedy
In Quebec, holding Ottawa responsible for every ill that strikes Quebec is a lugubrious and long-standing tradition and in the sad aftermath of the Lac-Mégantic tragedy the blame game shifted into high gear, with the responsibility for the accident placed squarely on the regulations and oversight of the federal regulators, with deregulation of the industry made out as the villain in the whole affair.The Ottawa-bashing was not exclusively a Quebec only affair, with the insufferable Tom Mulcair blaming Ottawa for the perceived failure of deregulation and its impact on the tragedy, without a shadow of evidence.
Now there's no doubt that regulations need to be tightened so that when humans fail, the consequences are not as disastrous as the experience of Lac-Mégantic, but truth be told, the disaster was caused by someone doing his job badly or irresponsibly.
The same happened in San Francisco as two pilots landed their aircraft short of the runway for no apparent good reason. Without passing premature judgement, if that was the case , there's not a lot the airline manufacturer or the FAA could do about it.
The rail disaster in Spain that took so many lives can probably be attributed once more, to human error or dereliction of duty, where clearly the train was speeding, causing it to derail.
Here is an amazing video, witnessing clearly that the train was travelling too fast.
I don't think the government had much to do with that disaster and while regulations and oversight can always be improved, you just can't eliminate accidents when humans are in involved.
The advantage pressed by Quebec nationalists over the incident is disrespectful to the dead and injured, a sad powerplay on the backs of a town which has become a pawn, in the never-ending political chess match that is Quebec/Ottawa relations.
If the Conservatives are responsible for the disaster, because of deregulation, as we are told over and over again in Le Devoir and vigile.net, should these mighty organs of truth logically congratulate the Conservatives for Canada's falling crime rate (announced Thursday) as a result of the Conservative's get tough on crime bill?
Not likely....
If the Conservatives are responsible for the disaster, because of deregulation, as we are told over and over again in Le Devoir and vigile.net, should these mighty organs of truth logically congratulate the Conservatives for Canada's falling crime rate (announced Thursday) as a result of the Conservative's get tough on crime bill?
Not likely....
Young entrepreneur does a YouTube rant over the Quebec government's refusal to allow registration of an English business name.
"A Quebec-based startup is complaining after officials rejected his company based on its English name, Rob Lurie reports."
Watch the CTV news story in English HERE.
Here is the original YouTube rant in French;
Mouvement Québec français wants language to be central issue in Montreal election campaign
Beaulieu said he’s targetting the mayor’s race in Quebec’s largest city because more than 85 per cent of the 50,000 immigrants each year in Quebec settle there. According to him, Montreal is becoming more and more anglicized, and he denounces the fact that no municipal party has proposed solutions to counter this phenomenon." Read the rest of the story
Of course to Mr. Mario Blowhard, the issues of corruption, finances, unemployment and job opportunity, skyrocketing taxes and a collapsing infrastructure, are all small potatoes compared to language.
Vigile.net's most overt xenophobe outshines himself.
In a post that even astounds me, vigile.net's most overt and prolific xenophobe, Rejean LaBrie, delivered a beauty of a screed in which he rants against 'foreigners' playing for the Montreal Canadiens or the mythical Nordiques, who perhaps like the Phoneix, might one day rise again, to compete, according to Mr. LaBrie, without resorting to those nasty strangers.If you read French, go over there and see why vigile.net has been roundly condemned as a first class purveyor of hate.
Jusqu’où ira la négation des identités nationales dans le sport ?
For those without French, Mr. LaBrie first complains that the French national soccer team has too many
He offers this photo to prove his point that the team is unrepresentative of French society.
I suppose Mr. LaBrie would also advise the NBA to limit Black participation to 10%, the demographic percentage of Blacks in America.
The league would be eminently less talented, but no matter, according to Mr. LaBrie, it is worth the sacrifice to see more white faces!
Think I'm exaggerating his position? Here is a translated quote from the article.
"Furthermore, assuming that the Canadiens or the Nordiques finally returned to the fold, composed exclusively of native Quebecers, we would have to accept that the teams would probably occupy last in the league, but honorably, with the advantage of having valiantly competed with courage,....Readers, I can assure that this ultra xenophobia is extremely rare, so let's not generalize.
...At any rate, that may be better than a victory gained by outsiders, better than the glory gained by impersonation."
I think a reader in the comments section said it best;
"But to whom and what end, Mr. Labrie, do your posts on people of other ethnic groups than whites, actually serve.
I wonder if you do not purposely make we independentists and "vigiliens," out as a gang of racist or mental defectives, unable to accept people from different backgrounds on our TV!
Weekend Reading
YES side got illegal donations: engineer
(translation) “The Yes camp received illegal funding during the 1995 sovereignty referendum , according to testimony gathered by the police who investigated the alleged criminal network headed by the former mayor of Laval, Gilles Vaillancourt.An engineer, Claude Vallée, a former partner at Valley Lefebvre, provided the information found in the complaints. that led to the ongoing anti-corruption unit (UPAC) to conduct searches in Laval.
In 1980 and 1990, Vallée was involved in various political organizations in order to procure government contracts. He worked at the municipal and in the entourage of the Bloc Quebecois and the Parti Quebecois, we read in the papers.”"
He collected large sums of cash for the Parti Quebecois, mainly for the referendum, ," noted police following a meeting with Vallée.
These sums "were laundered by militants without anyone knowing the origin of the funds and there were no repercussions," it said. Link{fr}
English-speaking nannies hot property in France
“Don’t believe all that you hear about French people's resistance to English. The language police at the Académie Française might be against the invasion of anything Anglo but the same cannot be said for French parents.More and more of them appear to be waking up to the fact that their child’s future may depend on their grasp of English, which of course is good news for Anglophones looking for work in France.” Link
At Tour De France, Default Language Now Is English
“French is disappearing here,” said Pascale Schyns, the Tour’s official translator. “It wasn’t too long ago that we could say that French was the predominant language, but now there’s more English.” LinkEnglish terms the French want barred
“When it comes to fighting off the invasion of English words the French Resistance has had mixed fortunes over the years. Nevertheless the fight goes on. With the help of the Ministry of Culture here's a list of the latest English terms that French authorities want deported.The reality is the French language police have long been fighting an uphill battle to stem the invasion of English words into the language of Moliere.” Link to Story Link to see those Terms
Why French immersion should be in all schools – or none at all
“This streaming has lead some critics to suggest that French Immersion programs are less about educational benefits and more about providing school choice in Canadian public schools. They allege that parents enroll their children in French Immersion to ensure that they’re placed in classrooms with students from higher socioeconomic groups and with teachers that aren’t distracted by higher needs students.” LinkHave a laugh...
Composting in Montreal.
When a Montreal woman was told by a neighbor that her efforts at composting were going for naught, she decided to follow the composting truck to see if it was true.Here's a video that she shot showing the
The furious woman confronts the worker, who blows her off.
The video made quite an impression, with the city forced to admit the error, but responding as is usual in cases like these, that it was an isolated incident.... Hmmm...
Here's more municipal workers doing what they do, this time in Buckingham, Quebec.
And no need to have good French to understand this gaffe;
I wonder what the OQLF has to say about this FAIL;
And here is my favorite summer picture. BTW, it's Dustin Brown, of the Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings, taken year last ..
RE: Young entrepreneur does a YouTube rant over the Quebec government's refusal to allow registration of an English business name.
ReplyDeleteOMG, this francophone teenager has far more intelligence than that millionaire Pauline freaking Marois and her freaking bloody useless freaking PQ with their harmful policies for Quebec, with their knee-jerk reactions against anything remotely English.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEg32LQG1wQ
For everybody who is not francophone, here is my transcript of the video:
Pauline Marois: “The opposition parties have blocked a good number of our projects, which unfortunately prevents Quebec from advancing. I am thinking about the language law, and as far as I’m concerned, there is no compromise possible; it is a fundamental thing, particularly this law about language with regards to employment, this law for SMBs (small and medium businesses).”
Guixav3: The person you’ve just heard is Pauline Marois, and what she has just said is that she wishes to tighten the noose of Quebec’s Charter of the French Language on SMBs, mainly in the workplace. However, I’d like to send a message to the government because, seriously, I’m beginning to find the situation just a bit ridiculous. I’m not saying that the good intentions of Bill 101 are wrong, but I’m finding their methods are a bit idiotic.
Why do I find their methods rather stupid? I will give you a concrete example. Take me, for example. I’m 17 years old, I’m an engineer and I want to go into business. So, I registered my business with Quebec’s Business Registry under the name of “Well Arc”. However, Quebec refused my name, referring to the Charter of the French Language, under the pretext that my name was “too English”.
And then, on top of that refusal, there is Pauline, who tells me that I should be happy because the French language is being “protected” from bad old anglophone capitalists, such as myself. Really!
We understand that, were I to call my company “Les Arcs du bonheur”, one wouldn’t have to be too smart to realise that, not only would I not necessarily make any more outside sales, but that Quebecers wouldn’t have any greater advantage, they wouldn’t know any better what product it is I am selling. So I don’t understand why Quebec is so determined to limit itself from such exchange opportunities.
OK, so we agree that I really don’t see what are the advantages for Quebecers to speak French in the workplace, if they don’t even have a workplace to go to. Because I was looking at the numbers from last April and March, and the unemployment rate was still at 7.4%-7.5% and it has never really gone below 7% for a very long time. In any event, the unemployment rate in Quebec hasn’t even been able to attain that of the whole of Canada, at 7%. On top of that, I don’t think I’m mistaken in saying that it’s even worse for those who are 15-24 years old, because their unemployment rate is around 13.5%.
I am trying to offer employment but I cannot because Quebec City has decided that my name sounds too English.
And then, there is Madame Marois, who has the gall to go on television for her end-of-term wrap-up and tell us that Quebec is doing better.
Pauline Marois: Nothing is perfect, of course, but things are going better in Quebec, and in many fields.
Guixav3: I don’t understand anything anymore! I find this completely stupid! Because it is by creating Quebec businesses that we Quebecers can be proud of our Quebec and that we can better promote our French abroad.
An example of this is simply the Cirque du Soleil and Guy Laliberté, to understand that they are doing a better job with the promotion of French in the rest of the world than our own ministers are. So if you agree with this message, give me a thumbs up; share this video with your friends; ‘cuz the greater the number of people who reason, the better governments we get.
Like! Answer! Subscribe!
If "Well Arc" is not an acceptable name for a Quebecois business, how long before "Eggsquis" has to change their name? Incidentally, when I visited Montreal a few years ago, I stayed at Greenfield Park and ate breakfast almost every day at "Eggsquis." Too bad the chain doesn't have any restaurants outside the province, let alone country.
DeleteP.S. Thank you, R.S. for the excellent translation!
Postscript: Quebec punishes ambition, rewards corruption
Deleteby Barry Wilson, CTV Montreal
Published Friday, July 26, 2013
Xavier Ménard of Gatineau is mad as hell. He is a 17-year-old high school student, a francophone youngster who wanted to start a business. So he submitted his name to the government for approval and the response he got was that the proposed name was just too English-sounding.
So what did he do? Well what a lot of kids these days too. He decided to take his message online. “I want to create jobs but can’t because Quebec has decided that my company name is too English and Madame Marois has the nerve to come on TV at the end of the parliamentary session to tell me that Quebec is going better,” he said in his video.
Xavier says that he is not against protecting French but he says the Quebec government is killing small business. And he finds the whole thing ridiculous saying the Cirque du Soleil does a better job promoting French internationally than any Quebec minister could ever do. All he wants to do is to set up a company with a name that would attract international business, and yet he is being told "no."
You know that when kids, when francophone kids, see that there is something wrong - when it's not just anglophones who notice - the house is burning. Then you can be pretty well assured that there is a problem.
Mayors cash in
Another disgraced former mayor is walking away with a big payday. Alexandre Duplessis of Laval came in to save the day after Gilles Vaillancourt quit after being charged with fraud and gangsterism but he then had to quit when he became involved in a prostitution scandal. Duplessis had pleaded his innocence until a text conversation came to light with sordid details of the arrangement and of his choice of intimate clothing. So his parting gift from the good people of Laval is $170,000, for a guy that served for seven months. Vaillancourt, by the way, got a quarter of a million dollars and Applebaum, $268,000. Perhaps if the government in Quebec City could concentrate less on language and less on figuring out ways to leave Canada it could get around to changing a really stupid law that rewards incompetency, dishonesty and failure.
A good week for royalty
It was hard to believe how so many people got whipped up into a frenzy this week over the royal baby. Breathless and giggling commentators were beside themselves with anticipation over such momentous and life changing occasion. The fact is that 361,000 other babies were born in the world the same day. But with all the bad news sometimes it's nice to talk about stuff that really doesn't matter. I'm not the biggest fan of the monarchy. It's a relic of another time of hierarchy and subservience and something a modern Canada can live without. But I have to admire how this whole thing was handled. The baby is worth is weight in gold to "the firm” as Prince Philip has called the Windsors. We wish them well. All in all, a very good week for the family business.
Editor: What happened to the last post re: the Prince?
ReplyDeleteCutie: Your question doesn't even make sense. If you think it does, as apparently you do, then you ought to have sent a personal email inquiry to the Editor rather than broadcast a useless message to everyone, the way that the trolls like to do.
DeleteI fail to see how asking about the disappearance of the previous post is considered "trolling" or why you say the question "doesn't make sense". I was interested in some of the comments made on the post and am merely asking why it has disappeared. Did you ever think perhaps I'm not the only one that is interested to know why the post disappeared? Perhaps the message is "useless" to you but not all of us.
DeleteIt's there Cutie : http://nodogsoranglophones.blogspot.ca/2013/07/canadas-value-for-money-monarchy.html
DeleteThank you - the Editor put it back up.
DeleteThat Guixav kid must be quebec`s enemy #1 in the trolls`eyes. He incarnates all things evil: he is capitalist, criticizes ma tante Pauline, is reactionary, independant thinker and has initiative. BTW all character traits to fail in a socialist quebekistan. This kid needs to be re-educated, right, S.R.?
ReplyDelete---------------------
Now I am not sure about that garbage/compost bit but in Calgary I witnessed some very similar situations of garbage being "accidentally" dropped on the street so it's not unique to Montreal.
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vigile.net is a nationalistic website.
This is the difference between patriotism and nationalism: a patriot loves his country whereas a nationalist hates the other country...
Going to Strasbourg for the weekend. Last time I went to France (last month) I had to talk real good french - like the folks on the radio of radio canada to be understood, as some french people switched to english when I talked with my Montreal french!!!
"This kid needs to be re-educated, right, S.R.?"
DeleteLaissons-le finir son cégep et tout devrait rentrer dans l'ordre avec quelques notions d'histoire du Québec.
Pauvre petit,il croit qu'un nom d'entreprise globish est synonyme de succès,err.
"Pauvre petit,il croit qu'un nom d'entreprise globish est synonyme de succès,err."
DeleteHeu oui, S.R. ton ado semble avoir un meilleur sens de l'histoire du quebec que toi.
L'entreprise quebecoise ayant le plus de succes est Bombardier. Outre le secteur aeronautique et de transport, cette entreprise est desormais connue sous l'abbreviation de BRP "Bombardier Recreational Products". Donc, oui, cuistre Bombardier se donne un nom globish pour connaitre plus de succes aux "states".
Reprends-toi avec un verre ou deux de Chardonnay:)
Un gars bien sympathique de Frankfort,
DeleteMinor clarification, the most successful company in Quebec is not Bombardier (it is number two), but Power Corporation.
Power Corporation?
DeleteOMG!!! ma tante Pauline & her hubby are chums with the Desmarais.
No surprises here that Paul wasn't made to switch names to "Entreprise du Pouvoir" with CSN and FTQ reps on the Board!!!!:)
@troy
Delete"the most successful company in Quebec is not Bombardier (it is number two), but Power Corporation."
what is success? market share in its sector? total profits per share? market value? number of employees? positive impact on society? please refine.
A society that has no one we can trust - no politicians, no police. Where do we go from here?
ReplyDeleteOne also has to wonder if a licence to operate a business elsewhere in Canada would be refused because the name sounded "too French" - can you imagine the uproar that would occur should that happen? Double standard again!
DeleteThe troll’s new icon is so ironic. He is highlighting how quickly he would have been absorbed and assimilated by the Americans (so fast that his eyes would still be spinning) as opposed to how he lucked out by being Canadian, whom he spits upon with hatred. He ought to be thanking his lucky stars that we have allowed him to continue to exist. Otherwise, he would have been long gone already, a faint, distant memory, if that.
ReplyDeleteWe won. He lost. Point final.
You're welcome.
"He ought to be thanking his lucky stars that we have allowed..."
DeleteVous êtes vraiment vieux.
You are totally right. If the U.K. had not conquered Quebec, France would have just sold them to the Americans, like Louisiana.
DeleteEt nous ferions partie d'un vrai pays.
DeleteEille, Y l'ont tu l'affaire les zamaricains !!!
DeleteHan, Linda!!!
Yannick,
DeleteOne prominent figure in Quebec history (for the life of me I can not recall his name) once wrote that the Treaty of Paris of 1763 that ceded New France to England in exchange of Martinique, Guadeloupe and St-Pierre & Miquelon was actually a blessing in disguise for French Canadians. He argued that should New France remained with France, Napoleon would have sold it anyway as part of Louisiana Purchase. Looking at the fate of the Cajuns compared to Quebecois and Acadians - in terms of the survival of French language - the Cajuns got the worse one.
Except, should New France remained with France, there would have been no increase of taxes in the American colonies, no Bill of Quebec, therefore a delayed or different american revolutionary war, France would not have bankrupt itself trying to support the Americans, and there would have been no French Revolution or Napoleon.
DeleteTherefore I respectfully disagree with your prominent figure of Quebec history.
Chances are there would have been an American Revolution whether taxes had been raised or not. The Americans were diverging from England and they wanted to be in control of their own affairs.
DeleteYannick,
DeleteIIRC the historical figure was Lionel Groulx. I am still trying to find where I read that opinion of his. In the mean time, please read this piece and let me know your opinion. Thank you in advance.
Looking at the fate of the Cajuns compared to Quebecois and Acadians - in terms of the survival of French language - the Cajuns got the worse one.
Delete@Troy. I do not believe that what language you speak should be the sole determinant over whether a group of people is "worse off" than another. This isn't well-known, but after our Civil War, there was a group of Confederates who emigrated to Brazil because they believed that they and their children had no future in America. For several generations, they--like Cajuns in Louisiana---preserved their English language, but today all the desecendants now speak Portuguese as their native language and if they learn English, it's as a second language. Should I be sobbing that they don't speak English? If Brazil is now their home, they SHOULD speak Portuguese. For all I know, those people may be better off in Brazil than the descendants of other Confederates who stayed in the U.S. I'm not going to look at the language they speak and assume they are worse off than me. This attitude is a major part of what is wrong with Quebec.
I will say that if Cajuns live in a country (and they themselves believe) that someone whose skin colour, religion, or ethnic background is different from theirs equally deserves the right to be called an American, than yes, Cajuns are far better off than pure-line Quebecois.
Mr. Cunningham,
DeleteI hope that you paid good enough attention to my note "in terms of the survival of French language". I did not touch on the general welfare of the Cajun people, or people in Louisiana in general, vis-a-vis Quebecers, particularly the French ones.
If you are willing to be honest, it is really the fact that French is dying in Louisiana, particularly in the big cities. Last time I went to New Orleans, I saw that people liked to put faux French phrases in their vernacular. However, none of those I met correctly spoke complete sentence of French.
So, while I agree with your comment: I do not believe that what language you speak should be the sole determinant over whether a group of people is "worse off" than another, I have to say that the livelihood of the French language is much better off in Quebec than it is in Louisiana.
@Edward: It is important to know that the reason the Cajun language has been extirpated from Louisiana has little to do with demographics and everything to do with the language being banned in the public education in the early 1900's. People can be stubborn for one, perhaps two generations, but not much longer. And therefore we went from a State which was about 25% francophone in 1920 to one that has almost no francophones remaining today.
DeleteThankfully, due to Trudeau this will never happen in Canada.
@Durham: Most assuredly, there might have been a revolution because as you note quite judiciously, Americans and British were diverging. However, the proximate cause of the war, that is the taxes raised by the British to help pay for the garrisoning of Canada, as well as the Quebec Act of 1774, would not have happened in a world where Canada had remained a French possession. Thereafter, all bets are off, and we enter the realm of speculation.
@Troy: The author makes a lot of good points, and a few bad ones. For instance it is idiotic to compare Canada to Haiti, because the latter was dominated (90%+) by African Slaves who spoke French as a second language, while Canada was dominated (and Quebec still is) by Francophone white settlers. Therefore, to use Guadeloupe and Haiti to explain why a French Canada would eventually speak English is nonsense.
For the same reason, equating the independence wars of Guadeloupe and Haiti to that of a hypothetical French Canada is also nonsense - the former were wars of slaves vs masters, they carry a subtext of class and economical warfare that was entirely absent of the wars of independence of the US or a hypothetical French Canada.
What is true is that in the long run, Canada's fate was sealed. Canada in 1760 had 60 000 inhabitants, New England had more than a million. That said, it took William Pitt's strategy of "Canada first", coupled with Louis XV's double-down on the continental fronts and subsequent defeat at sea at the battle of Quiberon Bay, as well as five years of grueling and frustrating warfare by the British to achieve the conquest of Canada. It certainly was not a walk in the park, and one can envision a world where a French Canada lasts long enough for Durham's inevitable independence war to occur.
My speculation is that in that case, the US would have expanded westward faster than a French Canada (sans Loyalists, remember) would have, and that while we today might see a French Canada with parts of Ontario and the west (connected by river supply better than the Americans), certainly not divided on the 49th parallel.
Yannick,
DeleteSo now you confuses me. Which one is it? If Montcalm did win on the Battle of the Plains of Abraham, do you see a thriving French-language country, in lieu of Canada today? Or, do you see a Quebec and Acadia that are stronger and more autonomous, or do you see that it would not matter anyway?
Looking at today's geopolitical map, I can say this. French Canada is the only French-language area outside of Europe that is rated very high in Human Development. And French Canada was developed under British systems, methods and traditions.
Yannick,
DeleteThere is no HDI data for St-Pierre & Miquelon as it is an overseas collectivity of France and its data is consolidated with France. So I can not really say if that territory is successful or not.
I believe it is that they were peopled by Europeans and supported by European countries, no matter which particular country.
Sorry, can not agree with this. Factually incorrect. Look at Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong.
In any way, you just support my position that I started some time ago (in an discussion with you, nonetheless) that France did mismanage of its exploration and its colonization activities and the British were simply better than them in exploring, colonizing and developing their realm.
Look, I am in no way have any sympathy to the colonial powers. My home country was colonized by Europeans and it found its independence through bloody struggle. I merely highlight the fact that historically the British did it better, the French did it worse.
That bit about the French Ministry of Culture trying to block the Top 10(12)examples of creeping anglicisms made me laugh -- after I got over the gratuitous remark on the first item:
ReplyDelete"Binge-drinking" has long been a part of Anglo Saxon culture..."
WTF is up with this "Anglo-Saxon" stuff? (Rolls eyes)
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThank you pointing out the error.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
DeleteThank you once again.... I'm on vacation and my concentration not up to the level that it should be. 1000 pardons.
DeleteBTW.... I've received 9 requests for the article on vigile.net by Rejean LaBrie to be translated.. Anybody game?
How much dough?
DeleteI'll put my hand up, but only after we get confirmation on whether someone has already started.
Delete[Edited for context] How far will the denial of national identities in sport?
DeleteWhether it's soccer, the Olympics or hockey
Réjean LABRIE
Tribune Free Vigil
Friday, July 19, 2013
The other day I came across the soccer matches of FIFA, but as I'm not a fan of this sport, I'm about to zap to greener pastures when I realize that the two African teams that I see change are not presented as such. Indeed, one is Ghana, while the other is ... France!
Yet among the twenty players on the field, I counted as two Caucasian. Is it Ghana versus France or Africa against Africa? Does this mean that if anyone is French, everyone is African?
I thought to myself that it was a little push away the French team definition and the concept of national team when she sees almost entirely of African or just foreigners. But what is the point all this? Call it the dummy game of national appearances.
Do you remember the famous incident of identity Sydney Olympics? The facts go something like this: an African wrestler arrives in British Columbia for a competition, he is persecuted and in grave danger and demand the spot for political asylum as a refugee (alleging that must fighting for his life), and some time later, he comes to the Olympics, and won a medal for Canada ...!
On this basis, the federalists now know the trick to apply to win the next referendum a week before election day, we brought in Quebec 4 million refugees who claim persecution and serious danger (wrestlers or not) and sends all vote No pronto with donut and coffee.
Now to hockey. A team called the "Montreal Canadiens" but does not contain any Canadian, no Montrealers, Quebecers no, either in the players or coaches.
Igoryvanevitchyraskolnikov Djostoiewskavwatronasilovetchy scored without help at 8:24." This will produce instant identification of a whole people, right? But in doing so, do we feel a certain nostalgia for the time when we heard the names of Maurice Richard, Jean Beliveau and Guy Lafleur of the past?
Furthermore, assuming that the Canadian or the Nordic finally returned to the fold are compounds that native Quebecers, we accept that they occupy honorably last in the league, but with the advantage of having been valiantly fighting and courage have measured stronger than itself? At that rate, it may be better that the victory gained by others, better than the glory spoofing ...
Réjean Labrie
On behalf of all readers, I thank you for the most illuminating translation
DeleteI follow this blog regularly and never comment, but I have some questions.
Delete(I don't speak or read French)
Is the translation above real?
If so, I cannot believe that any website in the western hemisphere would ever print such a xenophobic and hateful rant!
If true, what is being said in the comments below the post?
@uncle Samantha.
DeleteLearn french or use google translator. Getting real tired of morons...
I agree with Un gras. Unacceptable behavior on Uncle Samantha's part.
DeleteUncle Samantha, Rejean Labrie is a exemption. He doesn't reflect most quebeckers views. Also, Vigile isn't read by mainstream population and is rarely quoted a source by other news media. I don't read the comments because their are alot of radical quebeckers on that website. One guy believed Quebec should stop immigration and all Quebecoise should only marry other white Quebecois.
DeleteThank you for being cordial Liam - if the guy doesn't understand french, it's difficult to get the full meaning of the comments from Goggle translate. The guy may not even live in Canada let alone quebec and was only asking a civil question.
DeleteRegarding the spanish accident, it seems much more complicated than that.
ReplyDeleteThe story was on the spanish news before the accident, when the officials got scared in the same turn during its inauguration.
The high speed line was open for commercial service before it was completed because of political pressure. In fact, the last few kilometres of the line were not ready. That means that, temporarily, the train normally travelling at 200+ km/h had to slow down to 80 km/h for that turn. And there was no automatic safeguard to make sure that it does slow down, meaning that they were relying solely on the driver. So yes, it is a human error but the driver was put in the situation where an accident was waiting to happen.
And good chances are that the driver will be the one to pay.
Good-Bye cruel world, well just to Quebec. This is my last month is this tax grab province. Lived here for 50 years and 37 of those was hearing the constant whining of unilingual separatist, the never ending construction, bad roads,and taxes taxes taxes. Bye
ReplyDeleteWhere'd you go?
DeleteGood luck Steve.
DeleteMay I suggest Kingston or Calgary?
I'd also recommend Hamilton, Ontario.
DeleteYou could also look at Waterloo.
DeleteEnfin,je suis fier de vous Steve.
DeleteBon succès!Quels que soient vos projets.N'oubliez pas de nous écrire de temps à autres ;)
Join us! The city lights of TO beckon.
Delete@steve
Deletegood luck steve! maybe, as liam is proposing, that waterloo is better than montreal afterall. (!!!) i have a feeling that you'll miss quebec more than it will miss you. and if you want to know how to better cope with the nostalgia, don't ask sauga for tricks.
A quote from one of my favourite movies "Thanks folks and God bless"..Elvis Gratton
DeleteNo bilinguism for BC
ReplyDeletehttp://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/justice-et-affaires-criminelles/201307/26/01-4674411-c-b-le-francais-na-pas-sa-place-devant-les-tribunaux.php
Quelle surprise!Je suis sur le cul
Delete@S.R.
DeleteNo bilingualism for quebec
Pas surprenant! A rien d'etre sur le cul
All of you are incorrect. The article merely says that the Supreme Court has decided that French-only documents are not allowed in British Columbian courts and that documents must be bilingual. The three of you obviously all jumped on the bandwagon without even having read the article.
DeleteBilingualism in British Columbia, fancy that! How delightful.
How is this a win for Bilingualism? The documents always need to be at least English. English-only is accepted while French-only is not
DeletePerhaps because English has always been the most common language in B.C.? Just like French-only is accepted in Quebec? Who ever said that English and French must be exactly the same in every single instance and in every respect throughout Canada, without regard to the actual local and historical population?
DeleteI’ll tell you who it was: it was Camille Laurin. He went on a train trip to Toronto in the mid-70s and came back thinking “Montreal should be as French as Toronto in English”, no matter how much each city’s history differed from the other. He is the one who is responsible for starting péquistes on this destructive path that if French and English are not exactly equally the same everywhere, then Quebec must separate from Canada.
English-only is accepted in Quebec's courtrooms.
DeleteR.S,
DeleteThe correct answer is because of the convoluted history of Canada, court documents tabled in minority language alone is forbidden in British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador. In all other provinces and territories, they are allowed. The explanation is here.
Editor,
ReplyDeleteThe arrow on the road pointing to the left might actually be okay if the median is low enough to cross over with a vehicle, though it's difficult to determine from the photo.
The first arrow pointing left should be the correct one. It would be very dangerous to turn right if one is on the left lane. Beside knowing municipal worker in Gatineau I am not suprised they made such a stupid mistake.
DeleteAny Anglo rights defender who I can vote for?
ReplyDeleteFrom "reddit"
ReplyDeleteA recurring joke in Futurama is that the French language is dead by the 31st century. In the French dub of the series, however, German is the dead language instead.
http://theinfosphere.org/German_language#Trivia
Can't handle the truth.
I agree with Yannick.
DeleteThe children series Dora the Explorer has the characters speak mainly in English with a number of Spanish phrases, sentences and expressions inserted. The French version, Dora l'exploratrice has the characters speak mainly in French with a number of English phrases, sentences and expressions inserted.
Sarcasm doesn't work......
ReplyDeleteHow is sarcastic?
DeleteMeant Who*
DeleteNothing works with the PQ Quebec mentality either. Doesn;t stop 30% of the population from belibing.
ReplyDeleteDenis Coderre is a good candidate, although I find him to be a bit of an attention seeker. I found him fairly bilingual as in this interview he did with CTV news Montreal:
ReplyDeletedenis-coderre-officially-announces-run-for-mayor
I haven't seen him say Montreal is a French only city and I think you will find all contenders for mayor say that they support Bill 101.
If I vote in the municipal elecction, I would definitely consider voting for him.
Blagues haineuses sur une page Facebook à propos des victimes de Lac-Mégantic
ReplyDeletehttp://www.journaldequebec.com/2013/07/25/blagues-haineuses-sur-les-victime
The Lac-Mégantic Train Disaster Was Hilarious et son auteur, un anglophone, y tient des propos haineux, notamment à l’endroit des 47 victimes en précisant que, puisqu’elles provenaient toutes du «Gaybec [Québec], rien de valeur n’a été perdu.
Bain, the guy who wanted to burn down the IGA, the people who wanted to see Pauline Marois dead and now this (at least 5 people liked his page by the way)...
ReplyDeleteJust a few isolated case I guess...
Yes, hate begets hate I'm afraid. When people read that disgusting hate published by Vigile and IF, anger ensues and people strike back anyway they can. The cases are isolated but they are there.
DeleteOn both sides of the debate, by the way so don't bother pretending that it's one sided trolls - we all know differently.
DeleteMy, my...
Deletehttps://www.facebook.com/DOWNWITHPAULINEMAROIS?fref=ts
ReplyDeletehttps://www.facebook.com/putbacktheflag
https://www.facebook.com/groups/QAC.CAQ/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/275962695828596/
,Etc.
Bravo S.R!
DeleteEnfin, tu as posté des liens pertinent :)
Finally, you have posted some relevant links!
Bon job!
Nothing of Value was Lost in the Lac Megantic Train Disaster...
ReplyDeletehttps://www.facebook.com/pages/Nothing-of-Value-was-Lost-in-the-Lac-Megantic-Train-Disaster/1399581043594593
...Except for the oil.Ever had deep-fried Frog?
@ S.R,
DeleteDon't be such a hypocrite. You joked about the massive flooding in Alberta you sick f*%k. You're just as bad or worse than the foul people you're trying to expose here.
You know it's always OK for them to spread and promote hate Durham but boy let the federalists fight back and the seppies bring up every little incident no matter how far and few between. Ever since the election, the emotions are running high and deep and they won't accept responsibility for any of it even though Bill 14 is what started all the trouble. They weren't happy enough with the discrimination in Bill 101, they had to introduce even more punitive discrimination measures against the anglophone community and wonder why everyone has had enough. Idiots and reprehensible politicians are quickly turning our own citizens against one another at an alarming rate and not one of them has the guts to stand up and say that doing so is a huge mistake. They can see what's coming and don't give a sweet shit as long as they can still fill their pockets with our tax money. Hopefully the francophone population will see through the manipulation and send them back into obscurity where they belong.
DeleteNothing of Value was Lost in the Lac Megantic Train Disaster
ReplyDeletehttps://www.facebook.com/pages/Nothing-of-Value-was-Lost-in-the-Lac-Megantic-Train-Disaster/1399581043594593
Sorry for the double post S.R. It's very scary indeed!
DeleteNo problemo
DeleteIl se trouve des imbeciles partout dans le monde. Separatistes ou anglais.
DeleteHate is bad. Hitler hated jews, see the results...
If some people make fun of the Lac-Megantic tragedy, they are jinxed and something bad will happen to them in their lives.
http://montreal.ctvnews.ca/postscript-quebec-punishes-ambition-rewards-corruption-1.1385073
ReplyDeleteNew group forming for a bilingual quebec. FB page still under construction.
Deletehttps://www.facebook.com/pages/Le-Mouvement-des-Bilingues-du-Qu%C3%A9bec-The-Bilingual-Movement-of-Qu%C3%A9bec/151455778275114
That fight can't be won. What is needed is a referendum on the partition of Quebec. If the provincial government will not comply, the federal government will have to order one. Pontiac is losing populations and closing schools, while it's neighbour in Ontario, Renfrew county, is seeing population growth. The bilingualism fight cannot be won and is merely a distraction at this stage, while the economic collapse of the province is unfolding
DeleteSuits me fine - the faster the better. Now to get a party to support it!
DeleteWhy Quebec needs independence
ReplyDeletehttp://whyquebecneedsindependence.blogspot.ca/2013/06/quebec-bashing-101.html
Very sad what we are becoming in this province:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.huffingtonpost.ca/diane-bederman/quebec-canada_b_3646036.html
Juliette Dubois
DeleteSo you can say that you guys in the ROC can speak a perfect french? Because I can say I speak a perfect English, a great Spanish or German, and a basic Arabic.
So keep your ''multiculturalism'', ''Trudeau-mania'' and good old RACIST judgement to yourself, and try to live on around here. You will see that all cultures merged way better than anywhere else, and that this has absolutely nothing to do with the existence of Canada.
Ethnical vote does not exist, it's called vote.
And vote, all together, seemed to think by half that Canada does not deserve Quebec. At least, last time I checked, not much of us wanted to stay stuck with good old Acidrainia, that cute little nickname Reagan gave to you.
Your country might be beautiful, or whatever, but your country sure ain't mine, and I happen to believe that an indian family, living in Montreal for two years, has way much of a Quebecker family than an Ontarian family can have.
Canadians and Quebeckers are completely appart nationalities, and that does not have anything to do with the ethnicity. That has to do with what's between our ears:
Canadians: Acid rain, gas, RELIGION (as much as you can have), Puritanism, American-wannabe-ism, hate, so-called-white-knighting-habilities
Quebeckers: brain. As the rest of animals on planet Earth.
Wow Juliette - What colour is the sky in your world? Quebecekers - brain? Do you ever read a newspaper or watch the news on TV or listen on the radio? This province is a cesspool of corruption and mafia and you quote "brain". Sad world no matter what colour the sky. And you think your soooooo much better than the ROC - lol, lol
DeleteWow!Merci Juliette pour votre commentaire,pour le moins qu'on puisse dire,très éloquent.
DeleteTon Roméo,pour toujours :)
Juliette, your "perfect English" is rather imperfect. You might want to look up the word 'perfect.
DeleteComparativement à votre français ou celui de peggy...C'est parfait.
Delete@Anonymous
Delete"It's not perfect because it's imperfect"... Your lack of vocabulary transpires through your comments. Also, you could use a bit more imagination and find yourself another username. Technically, you shouldn't even be able to comment with such pseudonym.
Thanks for the link, Cutie003. Diane Bederman has many of the same thoughts that I do, as anyone who is not a separatist and has lived in Quebec would have. It is only normal.
DeleteIs Quebec Good Enough for Canada?
The secular fundamentalism as practiced in the province of Quebec is destructive to the bi-lingual, multi-ethnic fabric of Canada.
Quebec's narrative of uni-lingualism, uni-culturalism and uni-ethnic absolutism is a throwback to tribalism that flourishes in parts of Africa and the Middle East.
Tribal societies are closed, intolerant of others, and implement laws which emphasize an aggressive nationalism and often racism.
Quebec has a history of tribalism. During both World Wars, Quebec opposed conscription. May 1917, Prime Minister Borden asked liberal leader, Wilfrid Laurier, to back conscription. Laurier feared losing Quebec and voted no. When conscription was
finally passed in August 1917, every French-speaking MP was opposed. There were protests in Quebec City against conscription that left five dead. French Canadians felt no loyalty to the British Empire. After all, the British had conquered the French in Canada.
That Quebec was part of Canada didn't seem to register.
In 1942 the Ligue pour la défense du Canada campaigned against conscription with 72.9% of Quebec residents saying "no." The rest of Canada voted "yes" by 80%. This time, the French Canadians felt a lack of connection to France; politically, culturally and
demographically on top of their lack of loyalty to the British. The Québecois, instead, turned inwards, away from any conflict in Europe, away from Canada.
During the reign of Nazi terror Canada effectively closed the doors to Jewish refugees because of the anti-Semitism promoted in Quebec by "journalists" in Le Devoir, La Nation, L'Action Nationale, L'Action Catholique; politicians like Wilfred LaCroix, C.H.
Leclerc, H.E. Brunelle and organizations like St. Jean Baptiste Society. Rather than lose Quebec, the sitting Liberals sacrificed the Jews.
The Quiet Revolution of the 1960s may have removed Catholicism but not the tribalism which is now called secularism. In 1976 talk of separation of the French tribe of Quebec from the rest of Canada elicited concern from all those not "native French-speaking
citizens," and fear from the Jewish community. They had experienced the tendency for "nationalism" to be exclusive and intolerant of others.
(1 of 2)
And then Parizeau put all their fears into words right after the referendum:
Delete"It's true, it's true that we have been defeated, but basically by what? By money and ethnic votes, essentially."
Subtext: Only the real French people belong in Quebec.
Here we are in the 21st century and not much has changed in Quebec -- except the language used to obfuscate the closed attitudeand lack of tolerance for others. In Spring, 2012, Quebec was in a tizzy. A chicken processing plant was certifying Halal chickens.
Apparently, killing chickens in a manner that makes them edible by Muslims is an infringement on secular living. Spring lamb from Australia also tends to be halal. Quebec seems to have a problem with kosher as well. Do the Québecois fear Muslims and Jews
are trying to convert them through the consumption of food?
In November 2012, Quebec radio talk-show host Jacques Fabi encouraged a woman to spew hate against the Jews. She compared Israelis to dogs and claimed that the Holocaust was "the most beautiful thing that happened in history." Not only did he not stop her, he commiserated with her about the Jews. One must "wear white gloves when talking about this nice Jewish
population of Montreal."
Today, we are faced with a province that employs words and phrases like "Quebec values," "reasonable accommodation" and "secularism" in order to spread fear and hate of others within their province. Laws against head-coverings for children in amateur sports.
Ticketing cars for illegal parking during Jewish, Muslim, Sikh or Hindu holy-days when it's never been a problem. And in Tuesday's National Post we read about La Ronde, a park owned by the American Six-Flags Entertainment Corporation, refusing to allow
Muslim and Jewish families to bring food into the park for the simple reason that the park doesn't provide food they can eat.
In Quebec it isn't reasonable to make room for these differences and we know this because 19,000 Quebecois signed an on-line petition demanding that "these people" not get special rights. None of the requests would have adversely affected secularists,unless the "secularists" come from Quebec.
It is Orwellian for Quebec to call its behaviour "reasonable accommodation." There's nothing reasonable behind the actions taken by this government and there's no accommodating those who are different, who aren't white, French-speaking citizens claiming to draw a line -- even a crooked one from their pure-laine ancestors to today.
Quebec's leadership is pushing the limits of democracy, slowly eating away at freedoms given to other citizens in Canada, verging on fascism. Tribalism in Quebec is no different than tribalism practiced anywhere else in the world. It is a closed society, one language, one religion, one race, one tribe, that encourages fear of the other, enabling it to make restrictive laws to the point that it incites hatred.
It's time to demand that Quebec follow the laws of the rest of Canada or we should hold a referendum to decide if Canada wants Quebec to remain in the Dominion.
You are quite right, but unilingual francophones are unlikely to even know what a term such as “Orwellian” even means, since it refers to a big, bad English author.
DeletePerhaps someone could ascertain without prejudice whether George Orwell’s “1984” is required reading in literature classes either at the UdeM or UQAM?
Since 1984 is a novel and not a colouring book, the answer is no.
Delete+10 - lol
DeleteDifficile de changer la vision d'un vieux singe de 70 ans,c'est pourquoi nous concentrons nos efforts sur les jeunes anglos.
Delete"1984"? Vraiment?Vous devriez mettre à jour vos références littéraires...Err
Hmmm...let's sum this up another way, shall we?
DeleteIf it was OK for Parizeau to blame his team's humiliating defeat in 1995 to immigrants and money it's only fair we examine why the oui side caved in like an old Halloween pumpkin, shall we?
1. The welfare vote: Ever visit places like Saguenay or the Eastern Townships? If you haven't, I'll sum it up nice and quick: Dukes of Hazard V.Q
We're talking about people who enter their cars by jumping through the windows, parents who dress their kids in potato sacks so they can save extra cigarette/lotto money and the land that built the Super C.
2. The artist vote: I don't care how you feel about acts like Justin Bieber, P Diddy or any of that other lame crap. Point is, it's what the people want and these artist's bank accounts reflect that.
Yet in Quebec, artists who produce work that only appeals to a marginal percentage of the population are supported by tax dollars because of the supposed "nobility" of what they "bring to our society."
Those are just two examples.
Let's move on to the inverse pyramid rule, shall we? It'll finally set the record straight on why the sovereignist movement is DEAD.
One, no matter how you feel about the top 1% to 5% holding the balance of power and how they got it, it makes sense for them to make up the peak of the pyramid. They're the smartest guys in the room.
Yet, if we were to flip the pyramid on its head (which is what the scenario would be if we let the separatists who make up the bottom rung of the pyramid rule), collapse would be inevitable.
Just look at the average patron who visits Chez Ben in the Eastern Townships. If someone is 300+ pounds overweight from poutine, they clearly don't take responsibility, and you can't have someone who refuses accountability to run the show.
70 ou 80 ans...Old chap?
DeleteMdr!
"I'll sum it up nice and quick: Dukes of Hazard V.Q"
DeleteVous pouvez aussi visiter le canaya entre le Québec et la C.B.
"Quebeckers: brain. As the rest of animals on planet Earth"
DeleteYes, just about the same level as competence as "a bird brain".
He Juliette, you should get out a bit and quite hanging with you friends from the SSJB.
Might expand "your animal" brain.
@Westerner
DeleteNever mind her - she has to wait four more days for her welfare check and is grumpy because she's sick of having to smoke the cigarette butts she's been picking from smoke break area in the back alley of La Belle Province.
She's probably extra grouch because while she's picking the ciggie butts left behind by the Belle Pro workers, she can smell all that poutine she can't afford.
"Canadians: Acid rain, gas, RELIGION (as much as you can have), Puritanism, American-wannabe-ism, hate, so-called-white-knighting-habilities "
DeleteAccording to the Government of Quebec: "Since the end of the 1980s, Québec has managed to lower its SO2 emissions by more than 60% with respect to 1980 levels. While Ontario has reached a similar goal" http://www.mddefp.gouv.qc.ca/air/pre_acid/index-en.htm Both Governments have lowered the acid gaz emission, this is not just a Canadian reality. I knew many Quebecker that believed in religion and are puritans, How is this a bad thing? " American wannabe-ism "? Do you have some sort of deep hatred towards the USA. Many of my friends are americans, and I am pretty much disgusted by this remark. Do you have a problem with americans? Or maybe immigrants in general?
@r.s
Delete"Perhaps someone could ascertain without prejudice whether George Orwell’s “1984” is required reading in literature classes either at the UdeM or UQAM?"
quebec students often read 1984 (or animal farm) as part of the high school or cegep english course.
there's no english literature at uqam, so they probably skip your favourite little book.
as for udem, here's the cursus for études anglaises. they probably mange to squeeze some orwellian stuff in there.
http://www.progcours.umontreal.ca/programme/index_fiche_prog/113510_struc.html
hope this help. if your objectiave was to rant, it sure won't. but in this case only higher quality relationships will.
Regarding the compass tattoo, if it is referring to a star chart rather than a land map, then it isn't a mistake at all.
ReplyDeleteBe that as it may, that tattoo is quite obviously referring to the cardinal points of a land map.
DeleteAnd just for fun, with this most bizarre of recent trends, I submit:
http://wtftattoos.com/
It is not just the educated and ambitious anglophones and allophones that are leaving Quebec. It is also the smart bilingual francophones that are leaving, such as Lise (of the J de M) Ravary's daughter.
ReplyDeleteLise Ravary's blog (F)
And yet, the separatist haunting this blog don't understand that.
DeleteI've had countless franco friends tell me the same...
"If Quebec were to ever separate from Canada, I'm moving to Toronto/Ottawa."
Our little seppie friends might just want to take a look-see at the chart found in this link:
http://www.ofa.gov.on.ca/en/franco-census-2011.html
Oh and they may also want to check their alarmist poop at the door as far as the whole "invasion" thing goes:
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/121024/dq121024a-eng.htm
"I've had countless franco friends tell me the same..."
DeleteFranco friends (sic) = fédérastes = Vendus
@roger rabbit
Deleteif lise ravary's daughter was raised by lise ravary i'm nor sure if it's such a loss. but then, there's nothing wrong with a franco quebecker that gets a job in toronto. what would be wrong is if there was an exodus, and i don't think it's the case.
Devinez qui signe le chèques de paie de l'extra large Ravary?
DeleteLac-Mégantic: le gouverneur du Maine en colère
ReplyDeletehttp://www.lapresse.ca/le-soleil/actualites/societe/201307/27/01-4674766-lac-megantic-le-gouverneur-du-maine-en-colere.php
Quand les Américains ont plus d'affinités avec les Québécois que les canayens...Y'a un problème.
Is This The Most Embarrassing Interview Fox News Has Ever Done?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.buzzfeed.com/andrewkaczynski/is-this-the-most-embarrassing-interview-fox-news-has-ever-do
La "culture" Fox/Sun
http://www.lapresse.ca/le-droit/actualites/ville-dottawa/201307/27/01-4674714-le-bilinguisme-priorite-invisible.php
ReplyDeleteLe bilinguisme, priorité invisible
Issshhh...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wi1DEEkhUTA
ReplyDeleteNot a peep from franco media over Vigile.net's article. Imagine for a sec. the same had been written/uttered by Don Cherry?
ReplyDeleteNot a peep from the anglo media over the "Nothing of Value was Lost in the Lac Megantic Train Disaster" facebook page.
DeleteWhat Frank and Sébâtard don't realize is that both offenders are marginal (at best) and therefore neither warrants attention from the mainstream media.
Delete@frank
Delete"Imagine for a sec. the same had been written/uttered by Don Cherry?"
he don cherry ever says there's not enough french canadiens in the montreal team, i agree it would create a stir.
@Sébastien, of course you'd bring that up. And then i'd bring up the FB page from the bozos of QC Français and MMF and so on. The point being if this was an anglo making similar comments as LaBrie, the FR media would have a field day demonizing *all* anglos as JDM loves to do.
Delete@Anon Coward yet Cherry gets a volley of insults, threats lobbed at him for his commentary (not saying he's right) from the likes of Lagacé, Marissal, and the ever PKP ass-kissing Stephane Laporte but when similar crap is spewed from a FR zealot "ç'tun cas isolé"
Passed on from the Unity Group on FB:
ReplyDeleteAttention all English and multi-ethnic people:
Seriously consider informing our Prime Minister as to what it's like living as a minority in Quebec with Bill 101 and what it will soon be like, with Bill 14 hanging over our heads. Tell him about yourselves, your families, your jobs or lack of them, the way you are often treated, how you feel walking into a shop or restaurant and finding everything written in French only. Tell him about the problems in education if they affect you, the way you are treated by the public transportation system, etc...
Tell him that if he allows Bill 14 to pass without veto, it will result in massive closure and or bankruptcy of both small and big business, as well as up to 100,000 or more people emigrating from the province. Tell him about your ties to Quebec, the generations of family who worked so hard to make the province flourish and how devastated you would be to give it all up.
Please share this post with your friends.
Thank you!
Norman Simon - executive, The Unity Group
http://www.pm.gc.ca/eng/contact.asp?featureId=10
Contact the Prime Minister - Prime Minister of Canada
www.pm.gc.ca
Stephen Harper / Prime Minister
"Seriously consider informing our Prime Minister"
DeleteJe crois qu'il connait déjà très bien votre situation mais qu'il s'en crisse,comme le reste du Québec d'ailleurs :)
@cutie003
Delete"Attention all English and multi-ethnic people..."
it is addresses to all except french canadians. is this a racist group cutie003?
Good call student! People who are part of only one ethnicity also feel excluded.
Delete@roger rabbit
ReplyDelete"Denis Coderre is a good candidate..."
haha. funniest bit yet on this thread.
a pro politician that got entangled in the sponsorship scandal and has always been financed and elected in a mafia riding. the only thing he did in the last five years is a gazillion meaningless tweets. and to top it off he's a french canadian federalist... totally incoherent. i'm sorry mate this is not a good candidate.