Monday, February 3, 2014

PQ Blows Its Chance

As the Charter of Values hearings drone on in Quebec City, the repetitive and adversarial exchanges have drained Quebecers of their energy and patience.
Although punctuated by some amusing 'redneck' testimony that has offered a bit of comic relief, the melodrama has become a painful affair that Quebecers seem ready to be done with.
I doubt if any of you out there haven't yet made up your mind as to where you stand on the issue and I'm pretty sure that the rest of Quebecers who care, have also made up their mind by now.
Enough already!

I don't know how the Charter of Values bill will fare, whether or not it will be passed, but the debate over the issue is essentially done and further discussion moot.
Yet on and on it goes, the painful and endless debate is like a nagging toothache which reminds us that the situation cannot get better with time, only worse, until the inevitable date with the dreaded dentist.
I can't imagine what another hundred or so witnesses will contribute, except to further annoy and exasperate us, trying our patience and wearing us out mentally.

And so I am getting the sense that Quebecers have had quite enough of this debate and that if the PQ is planning to hold an election over the issue, they've badly over-played their hand by dragging this out to such painful lengths.

This week was a turning point in the media, after the incredible stupidity of the 'Zombie' testimony, people on both sides of the issue were left shaking their heads in disbelief, stunned where the debate has evolved.

ZOMBIE PANIC IN QUEBEC
I've reviewed  one of the websites that features a compendium of testimony at the Charter hearings and noticed that most of the clips have precious few views.
It's perhaps understandable, considering that much of the testimony is repetitive and boring and so most clips have under a couple of hundred views. Link

Compare that to the embarrassing 'Zombie Clip which I posted on Youtube (adding English subtitles) which has passed 100,000 views since last Friday and which has garnered over 700 comments.

Clearly we are fed up and so it may very well be that the PQ and Pauline Marois have badly miscalculated, the Charter of Values essentially  'jumping the shark.'

Last week, I noticed the Francophone newspapers and television news networks turning away from the Charter story to embrace the issue of the economy and the larger issue of Quebecers living beyond their means.
Despite the fact that Pauline and the PQ have successfully steered the debate towards the politics of division, there is only so much emotion that can be tapped before the people tire.

Le Journal de Montreal ran a series of articles entitled "Le Quebec dans le rouge" (Quebec in the red) which outlined in pretty gruesome detail, the fact that Quebec is living beyond its means.
"Tomorrow, the Journal will begin publishing a major series: Quebec in the red. It will raise a fundamental problem: Quebec spends more than it can afford, and this for a long time . Its debt is crushing, yet the needed reform of the state is delayed, even though everyone knows that the eternal postponement of deadlines may make even more difficult the inevitable business of improving public finances."
The articles sparked enormous reaction and it fell to PQ ministers to downplay and reject the scholarly work by economists at Quebec's most important business school, the HEC.
According to PQ minister, Stéphane Bédard Quebecers 'aren't living above their means,' a patently ridiculous assertion, perhaps as monumentally stupid as Bernard Drainville's opinion last week, that Bill 101 had no negative effect on the Quebec economy over the years.
"You know, long-term forecasts by economists say little about what will happen, but a lot about the person who says it," he opined. Struggling this year with an announced deficit of $2.5 billion, the President of the Treasury Board remains convinced that Quebec is not in a structural deficit. Link{fr}
Huh?
There's only so much fantasy you can weave because in the end the numbers don't lie.

And so the media has cottoned to a new story, the lamentable shape of the Quebec economy and the dire prospects that is attached to spending beyond ones means.

Last week, reports surfaced that the deficit for the month of October'13 (the last reporting period) exploded to $600 million in just one month, bringing the aggregate deficit total to $1.8 billion with five more months to go in the fiscal year.
To keep to the forecasted $2.5 billion deficit each monthly deficit in the five remaining months would have to drop to about $140 million and that is well nigh impossible to expect.

I caught an interview with  ex-politician and now journalist Jean Lapierre who told viewers that insiders are telling him that the numbers have collapsed and that government revenues are falling farther and farther behind projections.

And so Pauline will likely try to take a play out of Jean Charest's playbook by calling an election before the bad news hits (remember the Caisse de dépôt  affair in 2008?)
"By calling a vote for last December, Quebec Premier Jean Charest was able to campaign for re-election before the extent of losses suffered by his province’s pension fund was known. Link
I'm not sure Quebecers are going to fall for that old stunt. Fool me once, shame on you....

The bigger issue of whether Quebec is living above it means will become the dominant issue in the next election campaign.
Given that the PQ is spending like a drunken sailor to shore up the economy, they had no choice but to stake out the position that we are not over-spending,  boxing themselves into a pretty uncomfortable corner,.

Considering the manifest evidence to the contrary, evidence that even morons who can't balance their own chequebook can readily understand, the PQ find themselves  outside the majority opinion in relation to the 'living-above-our-means' debate.
For the PQ, defending the Quebec model, is a lose, lose, situation and I'm going to enjoy watching them squirm, like the Liberals have in the Charter debate.

In politics a week or a month can be an eternity and while the PQ could have played the Charter debate into a winning election strategy, that moment has passed.
In the election campaign to come, be it sooner or later, economic considerations will be the most important issues of the day. The Charter will remain a consideration for voters, but not the oveririding issue that the PQ counted on.

As the political issues change in Quebec, so does the momentum, the political pendulum now clearly on the back swing.

Pauline has always been cautious, and now seemingly over-cautious to a fault.

It was Winston Churchill who best summed up the failure to take advantage of a favourable situation back in World War Two when a wildly successful Allied beach assault in Italy went to naught when the commanding General cautiously delayed the advance to Rome (over what were undefended roads,) giving the Germans the precious time to bring up reinforcements and re-equip those few troops in place.
It gave rise to one of Churchill's great bon mots;

"I had hoped we were hurling a wildcat into the shore, but all we got was a stranded whale!"

It's my favourite idiom regarding someone who fails to act on an advantage, even though this familiar bromide says it much more succinctly:

She who hesitates is lost!

94 comments:

  1. I find it amusing that ever since the HEC Montreal report dropped, the PQ politicians have repeatedly been tweeting the same thing: applications from immigrants in the Maghreb have increased since September!

    I have to laugh because it's like they cannot conceive of any reason at all *other* than the Charter why applications would increase, such as civil wars going on, and never mention what it was before, if it had fallen, if any of those people will stay, etc...

    -Kevin

    ReplyDelete
  2. To tell you the truth, I was quite surprised that the Journal de Montreal was the paper that did the series on Quebec being in the red.

    That's something I moreover expected from La Presse.

    As for Bedard and Drainville, it still baffles me how some of these seps can look you right in the eye and tell you the exact opposite of the facts.

    I swear, it's as if they have Student as their PR advisor.

    "A lie told often enough becomes truth" - Vladimir Lenin

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "It's not a lie, if you believe it." George Costanza

      Delete
    2. Coward, Coward, Coward: Politicians live bold-faced lies and can easily look you in the eye while telling them to you. They do it so often they're experts and can easily pass a lie detector test!

      Delete
  3. I do agree with most of what is written here, but to say they've missed their chance is bit much. Depending which poll you believe they would have a majority Gov. if elections were held today. And since a week in politics can equal a lifetime, they still have lots of time to claw back from any mistake they've made due to the Charter Farce.

    Regardless... things will get uglier before they get any better...

    -Steve

    ReplyDelete
  4. If the PQ is deemed to be jumping the shark for dragging the polemic on the Charter affirming the values of State secularism and religious neutrality and the equality between women and men, and providing a framework for accommodation requests, the LPQ may lose its chance completely by sitting with their thumbs up their buttocks.

    What the LPQ and Philippe Couillard need to do know is take the momentum of the economic report. Make the strong stance on the Charter affirming the values of State secularism and religious neutrality and the equality between women and men, and providing a framework for accommodation requests issues and then leave the discussion. Steer the discussion on economy and growth. Do not come back on language and values issues.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. FROM ED 'Troy Dr. Couillard has already done that. He has declared where they wll go on the charter. He has declared
      equality for all citizens. This includes men and women. How many different ways does he need to say it. He has aklready stated that from here on in the message will be the economy. He has made it clear there will be no referendum or partition. (Sorry Cutie) If you have something he doesn't already know, I'm sure he'd be glad to hear it. Ed

      Delete
    2. As usual, Ed is putting words into the mouths of the liberals. He HAS NEVER SAID HE WILL MAKE ANYTHING EQUAL = HE SAID WE ARE ALL EQUAL - there is a whole world of difference in those two statements. Ed reads and hears what he wants to hear. He has never said anything about partition - show proof of that - and of course he would not promote a referendum for heaven's sake - he is supposedly a federalist! Not that we would ever know it!

      Delete
    3. Mr. Brown,

      Are you serious? Dr. Couillard's move from "over my dead body" to "not all elements of the Charter is bad" is one of the weakest moves a politician can have. His losing his focus from economy to reacting to PQ's tune is pitiful. If not for the report from HEC, his defeat in the next election is almost guaranteed.

      Delete
    4. I agree Troy - he should have stuck to his guns - all he had to do was say the Canadian Charter and the Quebec Charter are fine as they are and do not need to be changed. If anything at all was to be changed, he should have made it clear from day one that full face covering was the only exception that he would make. Because he is a bright surgeon does not make him a good liar (politician in quebec) or a good orator. He's going to have to learn not to waffle if he intends to make a dent in the stupidity of the people in the backwoods of quebec. They'll believe anything (check out the most frequently asked questions for the new country of quebec where they assume they will get everything they want when they leave Canada) and people swallow it hook, line and sinker. Learn to lie and lie well Dr. Couillard and you will win against the other liars in this province. No one checks out facts; they just believe everything that they are told at face value. This whole political system is rotten to the core and filled with so much BS that it makes you want to vomit. Nothing surprises me anymore.

      Delete
    5. There you ALL go again overlooking the obvious: A politician's currency is not his views, it is not his beliefs and it is not his. In democratic policy there is one and ONLY one currency: VOTES!

      Delete
  5. Here you go Ed - they're on their way to the next referendum paid for with our tax money! God, partition this place as per the results of the next referendum. Final say for this stupid province! Suck it up seppies - agree to partition, negotiate your way out of Canada and leave us to hell alone! No more money or power to quebec!

    http://quebec.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/02/03/nouvelle-publicite-parti-quebecois-independance_n_4717104.html

    ReplyDelete
  6. Lise Ravary: Biting the hands that feed us in Quebec. National Post February 3, 2014

    http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2014/02/03/lise-ravary-biting-the-hands-that-feed-us-in-quebec/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What an excellent piece, and yet, a perfect echo of what many of us have cited.

      The Loony Left as Lise refers to them really have no clue what they want.

      Take S.R., for instance who one second will whine about how bad it would be to bring Quebec's oil reserves to the surface, yet on the other hand, say that he owns a van.

      Delete
    2. Quebec is looking to Venezuela and Bolivia for inspiration? Venezuela has $16 634 GDP / capita and Bolivia has $5099. I do hope Mme Ravary is wrong as the numbers suggest that those two countries are even worse than Quebec.

      Delete
    3. L'exploitation est de deux à trois fois plus polluante que prévu

      http://www.lapresse.ca/environnement/dossiers/les-sables-bitumineux/201402/03/01-4735199-lexploitation-est-de-deux-a-trois-fois-plus-polluante-que-prevu.php

      hmm

      Delete
    4. @troy

      "Quebec is looking to Venezuela and Bolivia for inspiration?"

      i don't think you should rely on lise ravary to help you forming opinions. she's very bad.

      Delete
    5. We need new rules
      on equalization, and the proof of it is in the Quebec model.

      Equalization is
      supposed to allow the six recipient provinces to provide "comparable services"
      to the four donor provinces.

      But Quebec, which received
      $8.3 billion or 60% of all equalization transfers in the last fiscal year,
      provides services as a have-not province that are nowhere available among the
      haves.

      This
      needs to be exposed ASAP. This would be bigger then any other scam this country
      has ever seen…no doubt about it.

      QUEBEC AS A SO CALLED "HAVE NOT" PROVINCE
      HAS RECEIVED OVER 168 BILLION DOLLARS
      OR FIFTY PERCENT(50.%) OF THE TOTAL EQUALIZATION PAYMENTS. Is anyone in this
      country willing to talk about this scam for Quebec???

      And how
      have they said thanks in french for all this money? Well try decades of
      anti-English language bigotry, racism, intolerance, hatred…a la bills 22, 178,
      101…while forcing the french language all over the country, yes the great
      bilingual french government jobs scam…nice eh? These are the facts folks, you
      may not like them but it’s the truth.

      Delete
    6. “Fake trolls, parroting failed PQ dogma and ad hominem attacks on reputable journalists… oh my!!” – Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz

      Delete
    7. @James Wolfe
      We don't need new rules on equalization. We need Alberta to wise up and spend more so Quebec gets less.

      Imagine Calgary, Edmonton and Fort McMurray with affordable housing and daycare. It'd cost a bundle -- and suddenly Quebec gets $10 billion less each year.


      -Kevin

      Delete
    8. Ontario should also have hung on to the equalization money - when it had it - instead of pouring it into Quebec. It could have invested in more infrastructure. For example, the city of Ottawa could have built a completely integrated subway and train system with some of that lost money.

      Delete
  7. "why are the anglos making a white guy (Beiroff, 19-2) a nigger in their remake"

    Un policier noir,c'est un peu comme un cuisinier italien qui serait chef dans un resto chinois,c'est possible mais...

    ReplyDelete
  8. "Un policier noir,c'est un peu comme un cuisinier italien qui serait chef dans un resto chinois,c'est possible mais"

    Or a quebecois having a job! its possible but...

    ReplyDelete
  9. I guess I'm the only one who noticed that Antoine Benz is playing THE SAME CHARACTER in French and English versions of 19-2.

    @S.R. is just typical of Quebecois who never meet a non-white-franco-lapsed Catholic until they are adults.

    I mean, here we have a city where fewer than half of residents are francophones (as continually bleated by JFLisee et al) and is this reflected in any Quebec-made cultural product?



    -Kevin

    ReplyDelete
  10. @S.R. I hope you're proud to be one of these rednecks I was talking about in par. 2.

    Seriously. You're making your case worse by opening your putrid mouth. Maybe if you let some Smart people on your side do the talking. Like Mr.Foglia, or Guy Mantel, I would take your argument more seriously.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Je n'ai absolument rien contre les noirs,ils sont des humains comme vous et moi,je faisais seulement référence à la perception générale.

    ReplyDelete
  12. In Montreal it took us a while to get used to the idea that English, Scottish and Irish were the same thing, no matter how different (and antagonistic) our histories. And we'e started to see it as progress - we're all in this together. So a black actor can play a part originally written for a white guy and an Italian can be a chef in a Chinese restaurant - these are things we should see as normal.


    - Jay

    ReplyDelete
  13. '@S.R. I hope you're proud to be one of these rednecks I was talking about in par. 2.' He is, he is related to them...

    ReplyDelete
  14. J'ai même parmi mes amis : 4 noirs,3 gais,2 qui sont handicapés et 1 fédéraliste.

    Alors,laissez tomber vos accusations.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Yesterday, I was reminded of the casual racism that is imbued in Quebec French when I overheard someone on the street downtown say “Ça sent la chinoise icitte!” (pronounced chinewèse).

    ReplyDelete
  16. "J'ai même parmi mes amis : 4 noirs,3 gais,2 qui sont handicapés et 1 fédéraliste.

    Alors,laissez tomber vos accusations."

    If S.R. really did have these "friends" I would love to see their reactions at what he writes here each day. ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  17. FROM ED
    EDITOR. The facts you've posted today make me think the PQ is frozen in time. They have come to a realization that they have boxed themselves in and can't find the exit. So they remain like a deer in the headlights waiting for a clue that would suggest their next move.
    Dr. Couillard can see this and is waiting for their next move so he can pounce on it. Any move he makes might make it easier for them Ed

    ReplyDelete
  18. He just hates Muslims, Sikhs and Jews but he's not racist because he has black friends.

    ReplyDelete
  19. http://fairviewboycott.wordpress.com/

    This blog is receiving 4,000+ hits/day because people are sharing it! Please SHARE as well!
    Fairview merchants are spitting in your face with the full cooperation of the Office Quebecois de la Langue Francaise (OQLF). Does that make you smile and feel warm all over?

    http://www.facebook.com/groups/BoycottFairview/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We need some "No dogs or Anglophones allowed" stickers to put on every door of Fairview. Like the old style "No Blacks" in the USA back in the day.

      Doesn;t need to be a website link on the sticker. that's just upside.

      The statement itself is valid. Take your business elsewhere you dirty unclean anglo's and immigrants.


      Delete
    2. Thank you Anonymous for sharing the blog. I was wondering why hits were coming from this site

      Delete
  20. @S.D.
    That means nothing...
    By feeding negative stereotypes you're legitimizing their existence as part of a normal creative process. Racism itself is unimportant. Bloody hell, considering the existence of race is racism. The real problem is Xenophobia, fear and hate of other ethnicities and races.
    I love stereotypes, they're hillarious when they're done right. Done right they're not offensive to the race/ethnicity they're mocking, they're offensive to Xenophobes.

    @Joseph
    That's kinda funny because I remember when I was a kid I used to live in a shitty HLM with my mother and the corridors always smelled Chop Suey... It's kinda distinctive to the chinese diaspora of Montreal and even Longueuil and Laval. Probably the person who said that had no class but was refering to that distinctive smell which I personally like....
    By the Holy Timbits... General Tao's the first ''dish'' I learned to cook, and the first one I did on my own for my first home-romantic dinner... Heavy risks.. but the priiiiiiiiiize....

    ReplyDelete
  21. From The Rationalist:

    According to Wikipédiia (French language edition), Philippe Couillard entered medical school at 16, graduating at the age of 22. By the age of 28, he qualifies as a neurosurgeon and 4 years later is appointed chief of neurosurgery at Hôpital St-Luc. Hello! What's that about? At least he should get the vote of every Jewish mother in Montreal.

    It's weird this is not commonly known in Quebec.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. it is commonly known mate. what's also quite common is people wondering why he didn't stick with medicine.

      Delete
    2. Effectivement,pourquoi Couillard a-t-il dérapé ainsi ? Il aurait pu,au moins choisir,choisir un parti politique digne de ce nom.

      Delete
    3. FROM ED
      Dr. Couillard has an I Q of 145. Considered by mensa, genius capacity. Sorry Cutie, you asre not smarter than him. Ed

      Delete
    4. Still has nothing to do with him being a good orator. Who ever suggested I was smarter than him? I never suggested such a thing. God you are the most pig headed person I've ever dealt with in my life and I don't even know why I bother. You keep making excuses for the damn liberal party and the fall in the polls - why don't you stop and think just for a change? They have to change their strategy and start making some sense or they are going down - do you not see this? If you don't you are the only person in quebec that doesn't! And you wonder why people are thinking ahead and talking about partition! You're in a rut man and you don't even know it.

      Delete
    5. I'm afraid IQ isn't necessarily the hallmark of an apt leader.

      Take Stéphane Dion for instance.

      The man is remarkably intelligent and a very deep thinker. However, on the social level, he ranks more closely to the window-licker level.

      Not saying that to be mean, it's just that in an unperfect world, slimy half-wits who can muster charming or catchy soundbites can usurp greater thinkers such as Dion.

      Delete
    6. @cutie003

      "Still has nothing to do with him being a good orator."

      ah! that's what you're looking for in a politician. well no wonder you keep voting for loudmouth liars. change your criteria next time. look for honesty, intelligence, pride and vision next time. it's a better kit than "good orator".

      Delete
    7. "La loi 101 est une grande loi canadienne" - Stéphane Dion

      Delete
    8. @joseph

      but quebec is still part of canada right? or do you like to pretend it's already independant?

      Delete
  22. The PQ Lies: Quebec attractive to North African immigrants, demand increases.
    http://www.cjad.com/cjad-news/2014/02/03/quebec-sees-immigration-demand-increase-following-charter-debate

    The Real Story: North African immigrants face discrimination, are returning home.
    http://www.montrealgazette.com/life/Highly+qualified+Muslim+immigrants+face+employment+discrimination/9463890/story.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I can attest to that. I had a Bell Fibe technician in my house last month for half a day. He was telling me he was a trained engineer from Morocco but the best job he could find here was a cable installer. He felt discriminated against and is planning on moving back home. His qualifications meant nothing because he lacked ,"Quebec experience".

      Delete
    2. Theo,

      As someone who has the knowledge and experience of how Canadian immigration works - being an immigrant myself - and has the contact with recent and prospective immigrants, I know the reason why what Mme de Courcy explains happens.

      In 2013 the Federal Government froze the Skilled-Worker class immigration to Canada. All application filed between 2008 and 2013 were cancelled and returned back to the applicants. The number of applications returned was said to be around 300 000. However, as there was the Canada-Quebec Accord, immigration selection process to Quebec was handled separately and therefore was not affected by the freeze. The process is still separate and still run by Quebec semi-independently. Because of that, plenty of immigrants look into Quebec process as a backdoor to enter Canada. Also, the jump can be explained as those who otherwise would go to the Federal selection process.

      Therefore, I think the comment Mme de Courcy made is intellectually dishonest as the increase really has nothing to do with whether the Charter affirming the values of State secularism and religious neutrality and the equality between women and men, and providing a framework for accommodation requests is there or not. It is even more dishonest as the Charter affirming the values of State secularism and religious neutrality and the equality between women and men, and providing a framework for accommodation requests was only tabled in November.

      Delete
    3. Thank you Troy - I didn't know that and I'm sure many others don't either. This is the type of de-bunking that the liberals should be jumping all over and proving what liars and manipulators the PQ are. But no one does it. So stupid.

      Delete
    4. FROM ED
      How mant times does he have to sya it? Dr.CVouillard has said several times that ffro now to the electionthere would be no more discussion of the treaty or language as he is concentrating on economy only. Every human being and intelligent poodle knows the PQ are liars. The Doc's had enough of small talk as have we all. He's movin' on. Ed

      Delete
    5. Jesus Ed that is concerning the economy! Boy! If every human being knew the PQ are liars, they would not be ahead in the polls! Christ man.

      Delete
    6. FROM ED '
      "Charter affirming the values of State secularism and religious neutrality and the equality between women and men, and providing a framework for accommodation requests is there or not. It is even more dishonest as the Charter affirming the values of State secularism and religious neutrality and the" equality between women and men, and providing a framework for accommodation requests was only tabled in November"
      How in the hell is this about the economy.?
      Dr.Couillard is attacking the PQ for the lack of funding to the health care. That is about the economy.
      It's the economy stupid.

      Delete
    7. @ed

      "Dr.Couillard is attacking the PQ for the lack of funding to the health care. That is about the economy."

      err...no. that's healthcare.

      Delete
    8. @lord dorchester

      "He felt discriminated against and is planning on moving back home. His qualifications meant nothing because he lacked ,"Quebec experience".

      am i to understand that you think all "engineers" from morocco should be given oiq membership as soon as they set foot in quebec? you think their engineering faculties are on par with mcgill engineering, for example? how can you claim such a thing with only the cable guy's emotional take on this issue? thanks for not blurting zero value comments in the future mate.

      Delete
    9. And this isn't about the economy Ed? "Because of that, plenty of immigrants look into Quebec process as a backdoor to enter Canada. " That's what Troy was talking about! IT IS THE ECONOMY STUPID! They come here, stay a couple of months, rent a dump, and leave and they are counted in the statistics that the PQ use to say the charter hasn't hurt the economy! AGAIN this is the stuff the liberals, if they were smart, would be debunking and all the other BS that is hurting the economy instead of just throwing numbers around that these numbskulls obviously don't give a shit about!

      Delete
    10. @ed

      from cutie003: "AGAIN this is the stuff the liberals, if they were smart, would be debunking and..."

      you're right ed. cutie003 thinks she's smarter than all lpq startegists put together. some contributors sport high pretenses don't they mate? it's funny to observe.

      Delete
    11. With that last statement (and the one involving Lise Ravary), we now have proof that Student is in fact a fake and simply an account operated by a separatist organization.

      Any of you "mates" care to guess why?

      Delete
    12. “The immigration ministry says it received 928 files from Arab North Africa between August and December of 2013.”

      “It is not clearly how much education candidates might have about Quebec's secularism charter.
      Diane De Courcy's office says the immigration ministry is not actively informing potential newcomers about the charter of secularism.”

      Coincidence?

      Delete
    13. I am surprised, really surprised. Not everyday that we can read student states a factually correct statement. Hell freezes over, I think. You see, as I wrote several times in this blog I am an immigrant. I have engineering degree from foreign university. I worked at McGill University. In that capacity I got to know the level of engineering education in Quebec. Not just at McGill but at other universities, members of CREPUQ.

      student wrote:

      you think their engineering faculties are on par with mcgill engineering, for example?

      It is right, 100%. The gap of quality of engineering education between McGill and universities in the Middle East is rather wide. North African-trained engineers are simply not as good as McGill graduates, mainly because the lack of hands-on experimentation and data modelling capabilities there.

      However, it is also true that if those engineers are compared to the graduates of UQAT or UQAR or UQAC, the gap in quality is not that wide. In fact, in some instances, the foreign graduates are better than those from those universities. Those universities I think suffer from lack of exposure to real-world problems and state-of-the-art solution.

      Delete
    14. How is it that immigrants like engineers or doctors are accepted to come to Quebec or Canada if they are not qualified enough to work here or not eligible for membership in the professional orders?

      Delete
    15. You folks need to meet some engineers before you open your mouths.

      It's easy to get qualified on paper. It's harder to actually learn stuff and do a good job.

      Head over to Bombardier or SNC and you'll find many guys who don't officially qualify as engineers but who know much more than the people with little rings and stamps -- and everyone knows it.

      Kevin

      Delete
    16. I'm a guy who knows many engineers at the above companies (and a few others) who will admit that a degree isn't worth as much as experience. Which is why some of those companies have non-engineers giving lectures about proper practices to engineers.

      -Kevin

      Delete
  23. The PQ Lies: Complaints about increasing use of English at UdeM.
    http://www.ledevoir.com/societe/education/398487/derive-vers-l-anglais-a-l-udem

    The Real Story: Two separatist students complain about English.
    http://www.montrealgazette.com/life/Macpherson+Galloping+anglicization+hardly+threat/9463410/story.html

    ReplyDelete
  24. Montreal office space for sublet doubles over two years. Montreal Gazette Feb 03 2014

    http://www.montrealgazette.com/touch/story.html?id=9464252

    http://www.montrealgazette.com/business/Montreal+office+space+sublet+doubles+over+years/9464252/story.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 51% of toothless ignorant francophones think that private business has a detrimental effect on society.

      Why would we need office space?

      Blue collar FTQ union types don;t work in offices. Quebec society has no use for "desk jobs" or other types of thinking careers.

      All that space can be used for social housing. Can covert downtown office buildings into squatters paradise.

      All the graffiti will be in French or the tenants will be kicked out.

      Perhaps the FTQ would like to buy all of us boats. If they buy me 51% of a massive multi million dollar boat I can support corrupt socialism as much as the next seppie.


      Delete
    2. Ça respire le bonheur chez vous adanac,vous devriez prendre quelques semaines de vacances à l'étranger,comme au canada par exemple.

      Delete
    3. It is a race to the bottom for Quebec. At some point, anglos/allo will have to step in and run the province as francos have proven to have many shortcomings. Amazing how Canada is so prosperous with the albatross (Quebec) draining the good, hardworking people of the rest of the country. Look at the French speaking world, they are all failed states: Morocco, Algeria, France etc. My own country France is essentially a failed state. fifth republic and all.

      Delete
    4. Shhhhhhhh Alain, you cannot write what everyone is thinking. You'll be outed by the Journal de Montreal and targeted by the SSJB as a Quebec basher

      Delete
    5. Highly qualified Muslim immigrants face employment discrimination. Mtl Gazette Feb04, 2014

      http://www.montrealgazette.com/opinion/Highly+qualified+Muslim+immigrants+face+employment/9463890/story.html

      Delete
    6. Monsieur Dubois,j'ai de forts doutes sur la véracité de vos propos concernant vos origines.Pourriez-vous m'expliquer,en une simple phrase,en quoi consiste la loi Toubon?Dans la langue de votre pays d'origine...Si possible.

      Merci

      Delete
    7. Mark Galardo

      You guys again - the average downtown sublease rate is 23.5% - and Montreal is 22%. The fear mongers are out

      Delete
    8. Mark, I challenge you to drive along the Trans Canada from Decarie to St Anne's and count the A Louer signs.

      Delete
    9. Nothing in our area is selling either - since the PQ came to power there have been thousands of homes put on the market and once in a blue moon you see a sold sign and I bet they gave them away! Stupid separatists don't care if their homes are worth nothing and they are paying property tax on false value assessments - just like the corruption and collusion here - they deliberately ignore what is staring them in the face each and every day. I don't get it.

      Had a friend tell me the other day that he was looking at chalets up in the backwoods of the province and the ones that are for sale were all below municipal evaluation. Really sad because that the only thing anyone is interested in buying here are places to go for a month a year or on weekends and they are still selling way below municipal evaluation. Shows what a ghost province this is going to be and the tax base gone for greener pastures. Then what happens to their unaffordable $7.00/day daycare and to our hospitals and schools? The seppies don't give that a second thought.

      Delete
    10. "I don't get it."

      Nul besoin de préciser :)

      Delete
    11. @cutie003

      "Then what happens to their unaffordable $7.00/day daycare..."

      i agree, they should bring it down to five dollars as it was. or less. right on cutie003. you're improving.

      Delete
    12. @ld

      the number of a louer signs on the highway is another issue. maybe you can bring forward numbers about it since you pretend to know what you're writing about, or do you? thing is your general impression is probable the least reliable source of information one can hope for mate.

      the false scandal you brought up only concerns downtown montreal. mark busted you pretty good on it didn't he?

      Delete
    13. I work in the West Island and can confirm to anybody that more than 50% of the buildings on the Trans Canada highway are empty, including the large Merck building.

      Delete
    14. @mtl1973

      my cousin went trough there the other day and he said there were very few empty buildings. so who should we trust? my cousin of course, but even better would be official reports.

      Delete
    15. @cebeuq

      "51% of toothless ignorant francophones think that private business has a detrimental effect on society."

      an insult and a made-up statistic. now that's genuine quebec bashing. keep it pure cebeuq.

      Delete
    16. The sudden and wide spread appearance of "A Louer" signs have become synonymous with a Parti Quebecois government. Anywhere I look in Montreal, I see vacant buildings, papered up windows and A Louer on every street corner, even in my own neighborhood! It's starting to look like it did post 1995, after the last referendum.

      It's not just businesses, I'm seeing decades old restaurants folding, major hotels closing, and even popular tourist areas turning into slums and ghost towns (read last week's Gazette article on Prince Arthur Street, or better yet, just look at the picture to get an idea what it's become!).

      I wouldn't want to own property in this province, not just because of plummeting values, but Quebec is not a place you want to be tied down to...not with what's brewing. I take it a lot of people are feeling that way and getting out now rather than wait for later.

      Delete
    17. UN GARS BIEN SYMPATHIQUE DE FRANKFORTWednesday, February 5, 2014 at 6:53:00 AM EST

      Student wrote:
      " they should bring it down to five dollars as it was. or less. right on cutie003. you're improving."

      With what money exactly student? Do you have a money tree at the PQ?
      Typical socialist thinking. Let's all live beyond our means.
      Actually since I want quebekistan ruined, yes - let's all adopt student's philosophy.
      Daycare at $5 or cheaper.... what are the kids gonna do all day? weave carpets, stupid?

      Delete
    18. According to student's cousin, "A Louer" is actually a franchise company that wearhouses stale air. So no, business is doing just fine in Montreal under the current PQ regieme, it's actually booming.

      Delete
    19. @student
      The stat from @cebeuq was lifted from a poll indicating half of Quebecers think businesses offer no benefit to Quebec Society.
      I found this one from Nov. 8, 2013, (which has the naysayers at 44%) but last week at the Charter Hearings the Conseil Du Patronat said it's poll showed the stat that @cebeuq is mentioning.


      https://www.cogeco.ca/export/sites/cogeco/corporate/files/press_releases_en/2014/CROP_Economic_Solidarity_in_Quebec_-_Cogeco.pdf

      So, the only real bashing he's doing is calling Quebecers toothless, and really that's just a practice which seems to have fallen out of fashion. http://indigo.uic.edu/bitstream/handle/10027/8596/npsD11A.pdf?sequence=1



      -Kevin

      Delete
  25. Greenfield Park residents upset by eroding bilingualism

    http://www.montrealgazette.com/life/Greenfield+Park+residents+upset+eroding+bilingualism/9468944/story.html

    Il y a toujours des unilingues anglophones qui vivent au Québec ?

    ReplyDelete
  26. Just get with the program and learn English. There is no sense in fighting the inevitable S.R. Soon less than half on Montreal will be francophone and once you lose Montreal you will have lost the fight once again just like Plains of Abraham. A simple thank you for letting you keep your language and culture would be sufficient.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. @Robert
      We've had fewer than 50% francophones on the island of Montreal for years. As soon as the francophones discovered they, too, could houses in suburbs off they went.

      Now just be magnanimous and stop pushing his buttons.

      -Kevin

      Delete
    2. FROM ED
      Robert, S.R. speaks and writes perfect English. He switched to French only when Editor asked people to post in English if they are able. He is able but stupid. Ed

      Delete
  27. The Language Nazis are harassing a company with 1.5 employees.

    http://www.cjad.com/cjad-news/2014/02/05/cjads-dan-delmar-gets-a-letter-from-the-oqlf

    ReplyDelete
  28. Jean Lappiere on CTV News at noon saying she is definitely going to call an election soon.

    ReplyDelete