Monday, March 31, 2014

Meet the Real Pierre-Karl Péladeau

 Early into his entry into the campaign as a PQ candidate Pierre-Karl Péladeau boasted to reporters that if he ran his companies the way the Liberal government ran the province, he would be bankrupt.
It was a cute line, one that had the throng of reporters eating out of his hand, but one that had me shaking my head in disbelief.

Not one reporter challenged PKP on his statement because his company did indeed go bankrupt and it was quite a spectacular bankruptcy at that.

There is a popular misconception in  Quebec and in the ROC that Pierre-Karl Péladeau is a local version of Warren Buffet or Ronald Perelman, a brilliant business visionary who made his fortune on talent, acumen and guile.

...Sorry readers,  I feel incumbent  to pop that balloon.
First things first, Péladeau is no brilliant entrepreneur, he made his money the old fashioned way....he inherited it!

When PKP's father, the irascible Pierre Péladeau died, he left Pierre the keys to a printing and newspaper empire. The Péladeau senior was a man who did indeed build a business empire from scratch and was the very embodiment of the stereotypical rough and tumble shark, a nasty antisemite, who was as hard on his family as he was on himself.

Pierre Péladeau was a miserly bastard and when I think of him, I always remember the television show on Quebec TV that played practical jokes on Quebec personalities.
On this particular episode, a fake tollbooth was set up on the exclusive road that led to his private estate and when Péladeau was stopped and informed that he'd forthwith have to pay a toll every time he came or left his home his reaction was priceless. The renowned cheapskate went absolutely ape shit at the idea and embarrassed himself royally on camera. How the episode ever made it to air is beyond me.

At any rate, the reality was that Quebecor was a failing business, the printing business going the way of the saddle at the turn of the last century or within my memory, telegrams, the typewriter,  the pager or for that matter, film in a camera and one-hour photo-finishing in the mall.....well, you get the picture.
The digital age has not rendered the printer business obsolete, but has drastically shrunk the market, where practically all the big players are closing or re-organizing.

With the handwriting on the wall, PKP got lucky, very, very, lucky.

It just so happens that the Government of Quebec was looking for a white knight, a Francophone White Knight, to save Videotron from being bought by ROGERS, the Ontario-based cable behemoth, seen in Quebec as a foreign entity and dangerous interloper.
Bernard Landry summed up neatly the attitude of the Quebec government at the time;
"Could you imagine how the British would react if Americans made a bid for the BBC?

It's happened before, an indignant Quebec government, panicked into an overpriced purchase of a company because of the fear that these enterprises would fall into the  hands of foreigners Anglo Canadian companies.

 Readers with long memories might remember what happened when Loblaws made an offer to purchase the Steinberg food chain back in 1988 for $1.5 billion. The Quebec government, fearful of another Ontario takeover, bought the company  for $1.8 billion  through Soconav, a Quebec company involved in shipping and with no experience in the food business.
Steinberg foundered and was eventually sold off piecemeal, another fine financial disaster.

Fast forward to 2000, where the Quebec government was again frightened by a potential Canadian takeover of another Quebec jewel, Rogers attempted takeover of Videotron, Quebec's largest cable distributor.

Teaming up with Quebecor, the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (Quebec's public retirement fund) purchased Videotron for $3.2 billion, the CDPQ taking back  45% in shares in Quebecor in exchange for the cash.

So single-minded and determined was the CDPQ to save Videotron that they failed to consider just how dim the prospects were for Quebecor and so invested heavily in a failing business.

Fast forward again to 2008 when Quebecor World, the major component of the Quebecor conglomerate went bankrupt, leaving Quebecor hobbled with Videotron now representing its most important asset, accounting for  70% of the companies profits.

It certainly was a precipitous turn of events for PKP, who was rescued by the CDPQ purchase, but not such a good deal for the CDPQ  and taxpayers.

In 2012 the CDPQ sold almost half of its shares in Videotron in frustration over the poor performance of the stock. The  $1.5 billion realized on the sale was almost exactly what it paid twelve years earlier, when one adds in dividend payments made along the way.
In other words they made nothing on the 12 year long investment.

Had the CDPQ put the money into bonds yielding 5%, it would have reaped a $2 billion dollar profit over the twelve years.
Better still, had the CDPQ not bought Quebecor and instead bought shares in ROGERS in 2000, the investment would be worth over six billion dollars today, over three billion more than they earned with the investment with Péladeau! Link{fr}

Still think Péladeau is a genius businessman?.....Well in certain respects he is, for himself, but for Quebec taxpayers, who are out 2-3 billion dollars in their dealings with PKP, its quite another story....

Over the years, Péladeau has proven in one respect to be a chip off the old block, he's got a mean streak a mile wide and is ruthless in his affairs, just like his father.
 Péladeau companies have been involved in twelve lockouts, the most famous involved the Journal de Montreal, in which he broke the back of the union by contracting out news gathering through a loophole in Quebec labour law.

When Pauline Marois announced Péladeau as the Messiah who would propel the PQ over the top, I was one of the few who offered the opinion that it might backfire badly.
"With the Quebec Liberals a lot closer in the polls than was predicted by the media of late, Péladeau will be the linchpin to an election win or loss for the PQ.
While Pauline sees Péladeau as a necessary component to election victory, she may be making a pact with the devil and the gambit could very well backfire. Link
 I said that because Quebecers, especially the PQ and leftist bloc have a deep aversion to Péladeau, he is in fact the antithesis of what they believe in. A union-buster and capitalist of the first order, the only thing that he brought to the table was his success in business and it now is clear that the negative far outweighed the positive.

And so Marois has relegated PKP to the back of the room, we've not heard anything of substance from him ever since his fist pump in favour of sovereignty, a move that quite clearly sent the PQ into a downward death spiral.
When he does speak out, its only to mouth vapid PQ platitudes, giving off the distinct appearance of the proverbial Emperor with no clothes, exposed as something a lot less formidable than we expected, a legend debunked.

125 comments:

  1. Ahhhh...this gets more delicious by the day. Since Popo took shots at Philippe Couillard's integrity, I think the good doctor should now take the sharpest scalpel in hand and go for Popo's jugular, or certainly that of her husband and his antics à la Boss Hawg in Hazzard County or J.R. in Texas all those years ago.

    Talk about people casting stones who already live in glass houses!

    Editor: You also fail to mention (former Provigo boss) Pierre Lortie's debacle in doing whatever he could by hook or by crook to keep Loblaws out of Quebec altogether. In the end those notorious WASPy Westons burrowed their way into the Quebec supermarket scene, and they're doing well as ever, thank you very much.

    Actually, on the subject of supermarket successes FROM QUEBEC, I'd like to announce that Adonis, a successful chain of about a half-dozen supermarkets in the Montreal area, opened a rather large store in Mississauga (not Toronto), and they are doing a phenomenal business here, thank you very much. In addition to specializing in Mediterranean specialties fresh, frozen and packaged, they also have a butcher shop selling huge varieties of meats, plus prepared foods including an eating area to order felafel, shawarmas and a host of other Middle Eastern yummies, and they bake and package their own pitas right on the premises.

    A plenitude of my Middle Eastern colleagues go to that shop sadly to the detriment of a much smaller specialty shop nearby, but they're bringing in the product and the service and taking Mississauga by storm. I heartily commend and congratulate them on their success!

    But alas, they are not «Québécois pur laine». In all fairness, RONA has set up some building centres that seem to be succeeding after the Building Box (a.k.a. Reno Depôt) failed. Even then, it took the demise of Pascal's for RONA to finally fill that void. The only other success I see now in the GTA is Metro, a grocery store chain that bought out the Dominion stores left in the GTA, but more power to them. I remember Metro when it was a small independent chain that eventually amalgamated with Richelieu stores, another small independent.

    Independents in Quebec did better than the big chains for the longest time because the likes of Steinberg's and Dominion were prevented from selling beer in their stores while the independents could, until finally a court battle put the big chains on a level playing field. Metro-Richelieu finally had to completely amalgamate or get wiped out by the other large chains.

    Should Quebec separate, it better learn the meaning of free trade or die in the throes of its unfeasible protectionism. Québecor is living proof of how much protectionism has opportunistically cost Quebec!!!

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    1. From Metro web site:

      (Montreal, October 26, 2011) – Metro Inc. is pleased to announce that it has entered into a partnership agreement with Marché Adonis, a well established ethnic food retailer in the Montreal region specializing in fresh and Mediterranean products and prepared meals. Under this partnership, Metro now holds a 55% interest in Marché Adonis and in its distributor Phoenicia Products. The founders retain a 45% participation and continue to manage both companies.

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    2. Well then, it's a good marketing strategy and score one for them. I was not in any way aware of their association, but good work all around.

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    3. BEWARE PIERRE KARL PELADEAU AND STEPHEN HARPER ARE THE ONES THAT ALLOWED THE HACKERS, NSA, ANONYMOUS HACKERS, ILLUMINATIS, NEW WORLD ORDER GANG TO COME INTO CANADA AND HACK INTO US. THEY DID IT FOR PROFIT BECAUSE BY HACKING INTO PEOPLE WORKING IN THE FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS, LARGE ONES, HUGE ONES, THEY MADE QUADRILLIONS WITH THE ILLUMINATIS, BILDERBERGS, NEW WORLD ORDER GANG THEY ARE PART OF. BEWARE OF THE DICTATORS, THEY DO NOT WANT YOUR GOOD BUT RATHER TO BRING DOOM ON YOU. BEWARE. BEWARE

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  2. Replies
    1. If he hates the snow so much, why don't he just go back to France?

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    2. Yup, it's March 31st and even here in the Toronto area there is still snow on the ground, but it is melting nicely now at last, and only mounds where snow was piled up remain. It will be about 10º and sunny, so that should help hasten the cause and attack the mounds. We're expecting above-zero temps all week long, and even if it cools down to 5º, it's still warm enough to melt the snow. Nevertheless, I don't remember the last time there was this much snow at the end of March. A couple of times we'd have a storm in April, but the snow would melt pretty fast. Hopefully a warmer April awaits.

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    3. Fed up with snow? Get the fuck out of my country ;)

      -Kevin

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    4. Kevin, why are you chasing Mr. Sauga out of your country? The snow is not his fault. Ed

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    5. Well, Kevin...and WHO peed on YOUR breakfast this morning?

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    6. I'm pretty sure that this is what he was talking about: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3wO63ewDJE

      Pretty funny stuff considering the amount of snow we've gotten this year. CALISSE DE NEIGE DE TABARNAK!

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    7. @Mr. Sauga : Are you saying that Kevin is eating snow for breakfast

      .???

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    8. @John Johnson : It's unfortunate one can't buy a brain...

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    9. @Mohammed
      Still in the market for one eh?

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    10. Je préfère de loin mon cerveau trilingue au votre.

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    11. Do you folks not know what emoticons are, or is your vision so poor you don't see them?

      But to reiterate my point: This is CANADA. We are a winter country, and if you can't hack it it's time to find a ice floe and park your sorry asses on it :)

      --Kevin

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    12. Good for you mohammed you can not understand an insult in three languages! Lol

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  3. ".... Québecor is living proof of how much protectionism has opportunistically cost Quebec!!!"

    Last night they had both Couillard and Marois on TLMEP and I was quite surprised at how they challenged Marois on The subject of PKP. Some people's memory is very long. One guy who sat next to Marois, who had not said a word (his name fails me, but looks like someone who lives in the Plateau), had said nothing all evening, hadn't peeped a word, was ALL OVER the inclusion do PKP in the PQ party, expressing his disappointment over what he thought and believed the PQ stood for ( giggle), and now felt it no longer represented that for him. I guess for him it's "QS here I comeeeeeeee"

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    1. Yep - that's where the union votes will go alright! Ms. David must be smiling over her morning coffee - communism on the rise in quebec yet again. Let's tax the higher income earners even more - like 75% - they will be falling all over themselves to establish businesses here (sarcasm) so everyone will earn the same amount of money and the bums will be guaranteed at least $1,000 to sit on their asses and contribute by playing the flute in the subway.

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    2. @Cutie

      It's like there is a discontentment over the PQ, you sense it in the air, and it is coming from directly their following. That's their REAL problem they face and to score points they are viciously attacking the Liberals, never mind that they were behind in the polls, but from shear hatred, so they ALL can feel good about that at least. So freakin' sad, this province has such low-level politicians. Well...to be fair, it doesn't seem to be better elsewhere either. There isn't one politician today, anywhere in the world that honours ideal of Leadership. I am sad for all of us.

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    3. Seems like at least some of the francophone separatists may be smarting up - probably those that are thinking of their kids for a change and not themselves. Let's hope for a liberal majority and a return to English language training for the kids - the fact that they will be bilingual will be invaluable in their life and there is no more denying it seppies considering the ones that troll on here seem to be bilingual but don't want the same for their counterparts:

      http://goo.gl/z6NrMx

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    4. should have read "smartening up"

      And yes these dirty attacks, for no reason, as one bunch is the same as the other, are unnecessary and don't add anything to what the parties have to offer to the population. Hard to figure out each platform as their goals are lost in the onslaught of personal attacks and "tagging" one another.

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  4. Marois and. Co. keep attacking the Good Doctor over some legal but moraly shady fiscal measures in the 90's while he was a neurosurgeon in Saudi Arabia.

    It baffles me how these liches have no shame wandering into someone's divorce papers to find such insignificant intel. The real matter here is not the bank.

    For QS it is the bank. But for PQ, note the emphasis on the words SAUDI ARABIA. Hiw low can they get?

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    1. One gets the impression that the "PQ party" ideal of yesteryear has faded into the background, and it's all about specific individuals at the PQ. It has become all about the 'players' of that Party and these people fighting to survive politically, at any cost. You see it a mile away, they are there for purely selfish reasons, stooping to the lowest depths possible, as long as they survive ..THEMSELVES politically. I suppose if they fail and don't get re-elected even as a minority gov, they have to go get a real job.

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    2. It’s a sign of their desperation in this late stage. Seppies are claiming that one should voluntarily pay *more* taxes than are required as some sort of moral obligation. Total desperation.

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    3. I have been thinking about what complicated said yesterday, and I really hope that Quebecers are better than that. I hope they understand, Couillard isn't really any different than they are, even if he carries the Liberal label. Perhaps...(and it is a big PERHAPS)... he will be a different type of Leader? The type that holds steadfast to ideals? I still think it took great courage to speak about bilingualism and endorse its value, for EVERYONE in Quebec, especially future generations. I hope people understand that bilingualism WILL NEVER replace the importance of French or its domination in this province or in Montréal should it go the route of a city state. French is far too engrained in us today, more than ever before. We must understand however that the shear fanaticism over it, has grievously hurt us. It is THAT fanaticism that I object to I am against and so should every one.

      I also think that the fear of French Language being compromised in any way, is a fear that the baby-boomer generation carries with it, once they are no more, Quebec will prosper and benefit from bilingualism, I am quite positive. But time will tell.

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    4. Mtl. Ville Etat, you see here the real COMPLICATED. he complains that politicians are not being honest with their promiises but when Dr.Couillard runs an open and honest campaign he critiizes and says Couillard should have lied. How much of a hypocrite can one man be? He takes the opposite track to whatever you say. Ed
      ckck Ed

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    5. "moraly shady fiscal measures"

      The fact that you think what he did was morally shady kind of shows the PQ slander is working. No person in their right mind would pay taxes to a country they don't live in, and are not required to pay taxes to. You might as well call everyone in Quebec who pays only the required amount of taxes morally shady, you got a deduction for charity donations? Morally shady, had an education credit? Morally shady, why are you trying to get out of paying as much tax as possible? Don't you love Quebec? You get the point.

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    6. Incidentally, at the meetings Dr .Couillard insisted on complete openess to the press and the people Ed.

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  5. Readers, I subtitled and uploaded to Youtube the Janette Bertrand speech on rich/ foreign/ McGill students . Hialarious!

    http://goo.gl/NbuLVQ

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    1. She is still presenting herself as a public figure, and so therefore her senility is of no consequence and she is fair game. She is an ultra-xenophobe and basically demented. I find it sad that any of my fellow Quebecers would heed her advice.

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    2. She re-enforces the seppie racism, pure and simple. What is highly disturbing but not surprising is Marois sticking by her, as she is sticking by all those in her party displaying overt bigotry. They, the PQ have given themselves permission to behave this way, since they only reflect the seppie status quo after all. Also, since there is no public outrage over the discriminatory things they publicly express, they are given further permission to perpetuate the racism. Utterly deplorable. As we say where I am from....Uno schifo.

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    3. The PQ really has no choice but to stick with Ms. Bertrand and her antics. PQ can not even defend her based on her age - and therefore senility. Ms. Bertrand is the namesake figure for Les Janettes, a group of women that support 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 vigorously. If Ms. Bertrand mental capacity is questioned, then her whole activities and movement will also be put in doubt.

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    4. The fact this nut job is given anytime on the airwaves is proof Quebec is a composite of ignoramuses and the rest of us should be embarrassed to even THINK of allowing ourselves to be associated with this element of common trash. She is only one of hundreds, if not thousands of these ignoramuses who spread the toxic gab that feeds on the ignorant in Lac-St-Jean, the Saguenay and enough of the other outlying regions.

      I think it's high time the RoC grabs the bull by the horns and gets rid of these lecherous ignoramuses.

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    5. I wouldn't want to share a pool with Janette Bertrand either....she's bloody repulsive. No amount of chlorine would be enough to make me get into the same water as her.

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    6. "The fact this nut job is given anytime on the airwaves is proof Quebec is a composite of ignoramuses and the rest of us should be embarrassed to even THINK of allowing ourselves to be associated with this element of common trash."

      Don Cherry?

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  6. The deal with Quebecor is important and yet I think it passes over most peoples’ heads (á la Steinberg’s). Similarly with Rogers and Videotron, everything keeps being usurped by… French, French, French, French, French, French, French, French, French.

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    1. Yes because while they distract with French French French French French....they carry out their dirty little deeds.

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    2. Misdirection....pure and simple. Time for REPATRIATION of ceded lands to QC by Canada & a halt to transfer payments to this mismanaged and embarrassing province.

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    3. Well, I seem to have a fan in mojo!

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  7. Here it is in black and white: a former PQ Cabinet Minister outlines the plan formulated by Pauline Marois, Pierre Karl Peladeau, and a host of PQ elite/ Journal de Montreal writers, to steer the PQ toward ethnic nationalism, to fan the flames of fear, and to convince Quebecers that they are in danger of losing their identity.

    A political party working hand in hand with the owner of the biggest media company in Quebec-- all to con Quebecers into voting in favour of separation before it's too late.

    http://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/201403/31/01-4752879-le-choc-la-charge-la-charte.php


    -Kevin

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    1. THAT'S what should be reviewed at the Charbonneau commission.

      How disgusting of them to think up such a thing. They've lost their moral campus. As citizens, we're no better than abused and exploited children.

      When will people ever learn?

      How pathetic.

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    2. I guess giving Videotron to PKP on the tax payers' Time was the PQ and Pauline's Husband's thank you for all the help.

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    3. You meant Dime...right? Lol

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    4. MVÉ: That people in Quebec have never learned is the reason I left Quebec. I refuse to argue with idiots anymore. Actually, I acquiesced to arguing with idiots decades ago. Better for the mind, blood pressure, etc.

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  8. Thank you, Editor. I enjoyed the subtitles, as my command of Quebec French isn't the best.
    What gets me is Bertrand's assertion that the two men were "disappointed that there are two women" in the pool. I've yet to learn exactly how this "disappointment" manifested itself, and shame on the media for not asking her. Did the two men scream at the women? I think not, as Bertrand would have mentioned that. Did the two men make demeaning gestures? Again, I suspect they didn't, or else she'd have made that known.
    It appears all they did was walk away. Maybe the two men didn't want to use the pool and possibly bother the two women, out of politeness? Naw, couldn't be that. Bertrand talks about "two men," then "foreigners," then "rich McGill students" -- the latter phrase I infer to be a code word for "Jews." Or maybe she simply meant your garden-variety English-speaker of any ethnic background. Either way, it appears she doesn't believe anyone but a pur-lainer can be considerate.
    What a silly old crackpot she is: "Let's imagine they go see the landlord. ..." Heck, if we're making up scenarios, here's one: "Let's imagine Janette Bertrand is insane and is carrying a pistol ..." Gosh, someone had better stop her before she destroys a fraction of Quebec society!
    I saw this lead paragraph on Graeme Hamilton's story in the National Post. I think it sums up the mindset of too many people in Quebec: "In a pluralistic society, you would expect someone who openly declared her intolerance toward a minority group to be relegated to the margins of public debate. In Quebec, though, such prejudice lands you a prime seat on Parti Québécois leader Pauline Marois' campaign bus."
    That's what's wrong with Quebec, in a nutshell.

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    1. "In a pluralistic society, you would expect someone who openly declared her intolerance toward a minority group to be relegated to the margins of public debate. In Quebec, though, such prejudice lands you a prime seat on Parti Québécois leader Pauline Marois' campaign bus. That's what's wrong with Quebec, in a nutshell"

      I hadn't even read the story in the National Post, but I made a similar comment earlier in another thread. Glad to see I am not the only one who thinks along the same lines. The biggest mistake I am afraid belongs to our Feds. I realize they don't give a crap about quebec and what goes on and if that is the case, they need to cut quebec loose, since it is highly irresponsible of them to have kept quiet this long about the emergence of this overt racism being perpetrated within Canadian borders.

      Harper has no bloody business going around judging Russia on what it is doing, when this kind of BS, taking place in quebec, is happening under his watch. If I were Putin I'd tell him to get lost and go resolve the shit happening in his own backyard rather than meddling in foreign affairs.

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  9. Anonymous Buster of Shit ArgumentsMonday, March 31, 2014 at 10:31:00 AM EDT

    The trolls have all vanished at the same time again.

    Perhaps they're hitting the phones trying to clean up this mess: http://bit.ly/1mEOOFT

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    1. They are waiting for new directions from PQ. loool

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    2. UN GARS BIEN SYMPATHIQUE DE FRANKFORTMonday, March 31, 2014 at 11:57:00 AM EDT

      Nah. The trolls budget drying up, it's the end of the fiscal year today. The trolls were on a workfare project financed with Ottawa funds to get some quebec citizens back to work just enough to be entitled for EI. They are probably in a Plateau blaze resto to party with remaining funds and to get their EI paperwork finalized in order to claim. I suspect they'll be back here tomorrow, hungover from too much Chardonnay;)

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    3. Anonymous Buster of Shit ArgumentsMonday, March 31, 2014 at 12:00:00 PM EDT

      Tomorrow's the 1st of the month - welfare day.

      I imagine they'll be back then.

      In the meantime, they have to scour the neighborhood garbage cans for empties so they can afford to eat today.

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  10. Anonymous Buster of Shit ArgumentsMonday, March 31, 2014 at 11:46:00 AM EDT

    This is what you call THE END: http://bit.ly/1iC9lak

    Elvis Blanchet just got his wife's defeat assured.

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    1. From you link above ABSA...see below:

      "Le bureau de Jean Charest a répondu dans un premier temps que ces déclarations n'avaient pas été déposées, et qu'elles n'étaient donc pas de nature publique. Devant l'insistance du Soleil, on a vérifié davantage pour expliquer que les fonctionnaires chargés de la sauvegarde de ces documents refusaient de les transmettre parce qu'ils n'avaient pas été déposés en bonne et due forme, dans le temps.

      Au cours des derniers jours, le bureau de Jean Charest avait changé de discours: on ne sait pas si ces documents existent. Les adjoints de Pauline Marois n'en savent pas davantage, et même les anciens adjoints de Bernard Landry ont été incapables de dire si les déclarations d'intérêts avaient été faites, et sinon, pourquoi."

      Interesting!

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  11. Charte des valeurs: Marois envisage la clause dérogatoire

    http://tinyurl.com/lke4c5g

    :)

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    1. Hmm weird the PQ swore up and down that the charter would be constitutional and they had legal opinions that said as much, weird that they now think they'll have to use the notwithstanding clause. Almost like they knew it was unconstitutional from the start, I mean if they didn't they probably should have know when the Quebec bar and the Quebec human rights commission told them it would be.

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    2. After reading the report in La Presse from the link above, one can see this was all planned as well as her march to separation. I have to wonder if they have read the new report out from the scientists on climate change and the damage that is coming - who will they cry to when they leave Canada? The politicians can get on the aircraft out of here but what about the rest of us that will have no backup or help when and if needed?

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    3. From THE GAZETTE:

      "TROIS-RIVIÈRES – Parti Québécois leader Pauline Marois said Monday she is willing to use the notwithstanding clause in the Canadian constitution to shelter her party’s proposed Charter of Quebec Values from legal challenge.

      Quebec’s human rights commission and the Bar association, representing lawyers in the province, have said the charter is unconstitutional because it violates human rights."

      THIS is what is wrong with Canada. Notwithstanding clauses that allow for unconstitutional legislation. Shameful.

      Do away with non-withstanding clause...IT IS Unconstitutional.

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    4. The Charter of Values will still violate international laws on freedom of religion if the notwithstanding clause is invoked and Quebec's reputation will continue to suffer worldwide.

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    5. If memory serves right, was there not someone from the PQ Government during the early days of 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 polemic said that the Government would not invoke the Notwithstanding Clause as the Government was confident with its constitutionality? I can not remember whether it was Drainville or Marois or anybody else.

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    6. I have been trying to locate this....I remember that too.

      Anyone?

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    7. Is anyone really surprised by this revelation? It's been part of her plan from Day 1. Part of her Sovereign Governance strategy to pick fights with Ottawa and use that division as a springboard for a raison d'être for a referendum on separation. Her problem is, everyone(French and English alike) is well aware of her chess moves way in advance, even the boys in Ottawa. Her other big problem is the proposed legislation itself. It wouldn't hold up in a Kangaroo Court, I really doubt Ottawa will even have to engage the PQ on this one. These are the juvenile tactics the Separatists have to resort to. Speaks volumes about their moribund movement.

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    8. And how long have I been saying that also AnecTOTE - Get rid of that damn "Notwithstanding Clause" so no province can abuse our constitution.

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    9. Yes it is true...you have.

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    10. @Presse 9
      Et avec une phrase, Mme. Marois concede que sa charte est ILLEGALE!. ;)
      En plus, elle admet que tous les plaintes des Quebecois n'ont aucun valeur en face des plaignants imaginaires et anonymes du ROC !

      -Kevin

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  12. http://tinyurl.com/ljw95y5

    Well the turn of events certainly make more sense in hindsight with PKP joing the PQ and Pauline.

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    1. @whowazit..... As a side note to PKP

      True story:

      Over the weekend, I drove my dad to the local Cora, he was meeting his old retired Union buddies for breakfast. When I asked if I could just come in and say hello, he said NO, then he relented and said I could come in as long as I said hello and left...you can well imagine..red rug to a bull! Lol . I went in and said hello, and then I said, "Well how about that Pierre-Karl Péladeau joining the PQ ranks?" (bear in mind, I was talking to seppies, lol). WELL, I won't tell you what that unleashed, suffice it to say, these seppies AREN'T voting PQ, lol......On the downside, my dad's not talking to me. Lol

      Delete
    2. Latest poll from the francophone community on CJAD. lol - the CAQ gaining at the expense of the PQ. Surprise but the union votes will still to the QS.

      Best leader so far: Dr. Couillard, then Legault, then Miss Piggy - she's really making an ass of herself even more than usual lately. Love it.

      http://goo.gl/rmh2kj

      You're dad'll get over it AnecTOTE. Separatism is like smoking - used to be fashionable but no longer.

      Delete
    3. @Cutie

      My dad has turned out to be more of an anarchist than anything else. When people grow old, they are overwhelmed with this idea they can do and say whatever they want, cause after all what have they to lose?

      It had not occurred to me till I spoke to these gents that...the QS will probably really amass A LOT of votes. Too many people disgruntled with PQ, running the other way. But we shall see.

      Delete
    4. I just want to see the liberals come in with a majority so perhaps, just perhaps, we can turn a corner in this place. Wouldn't that be nice? If the francophone support comes along with it, and I hope a lot of it does, then we have that 30% that still want separation at any cost and that is the sad part. Those people will never, ever be happy but even unhappier if quebec were to separate. The party would last about 3 months and then reality would set in. Bilingualism, with all it's benefits for all quebecers! How great would that be at long last?

      Delete
    5. @Cutie

      I am not so sure, and we are buying time again, which personally I am sick of. Sincerely, I would like to see Montreal "uncouple" itself from Quebec, I think this would be for its own good as quebec has become completely toxic for it. When something brings nothing to your Life, but takes away from it, you just gotta lose it.

      Regarding Independence, quebec has never produced a real balance sheet showing citizens, on paper, the real numbers and thus how we'd gain from it.It's pretext for independence been has pure unadulterated revenge and spite for the abuses the seppies feel they suffered at the hands of the mean old English. It is not rooted in Logic of any kind and that is why we cannot get behind they just want vindication against Canada for what happened on the plains of Abraham. No thank you. Also the fact that we are entitled to such a great amount of transfer payments should indicate how poor we are. We can't afford it, and those with any brains know this.

      But if I were Alberta........I often wonder why it doesn't consider the idea of separation for the province from Canada, and why it allows parasites like quebec ...spunge off it.

      Delete
    6. I hope that Dr. Couillard is not just buying time the way Charest did or I, like you and many thousand others, will be ready to fight for partition of Montreal and the Pontiac at the very least.

      Delete
    7. I just want to see the Parti Quebecois come in with a majority so perhaps, just perhaps, we can turn a corner in this place. Wouldn't that be nice?

      Delete
    8. If that means Montreal can go off and become a city-state, sure let's turn the corner.

      Delete
  13. Anonymous Buster of Shit Arguments, whowhatzit,

    While your links are good, they are from some time ago and may not have any bearings to the campaign. Unless somebody from within the campaign or from the media bring it up to the voters' attention, those news just as good as if they never happen.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Not so fast Troy.....we're bringing them up here aren't we? You'd be surprised how many people tune in...so those older items have just been ..dusted off, lol

      Delete
    2. "may not have any bearings to the campaign"

      The old articles have become extremely relevant considering the new information that has come to light, makes the older happenings seem extremely suspect in hindsight and they have bearing on the campaign, as the players are the same and we can see they've had shady dealings and relationships with each other for a long time, which are most likely still ongoing. The more they're brought up the more likely they'll be talked about in the media. The new information gives second life to the stories, a much darker second life at that.

      Delete
  14. "Better still, had the CDPQ not bought Quebecor and instead bought shares in ROGERS in 2000, the investment would be worth over six billion dollars today, over three billion more than they earned with the investment with Péladeau!"
    Editor, are you crazy! Investing in Toronto-based business. They must speak english!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Well how about this:

    http://www.montrealgazette.com/opinion/Letter+inconvenient+political+truth+about+bilingualism/9678810/story.html

    Merci Monsieur Drolet de Repentigny

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And again:

      http://www.montrealgazette.com/opinion/Letter+Couillard+bravely+stated+obvious/9678809/story.html

      Nice to see intelligent people thinking along the same lines.

      Delete
    2. You are wrong s.r. I will have you know that, when I state that French is ingrained in us, I am talking about people like me. It is a reflex reaction, when Francophones speak to me in English it is a knee jerk reaction I answer in French, and I have been reproached about it. I don't speak anything other than French in public EVEN when I make a mental note to speak English, I cannot explain it, but I am sure other people will concur. We are done with feeling insecure about the French Language. Forty years of medicating, we are cured from the illness. We just need to stop taking the meds for it.

      Delete
    3. Shows they can't get their act together at all. What a bunch and they want to run this province let alone a country. Idiots the whole lot of them.

      http://goo.gl/QYGvwy

      Delete
    4. @Cutie,

      Thanks for that link, it was totally enjoyable, fake Tom Hagen got his ass fried and handed to him, lol.

      Delete
  16. Well.well..well..what did I tell you all yesterday..the CAQ is up 9 points!!! The Libs down 1 and the PQ down 4..

    http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/new-quebec-poll-points-to-shift-among-francophone-voters/article17736217/

    We could see something similar to the orange wave that swept quebec in the last federal election. Francophones are finally waking up to the fact that BOTH main parties have mismanaged this province for decades and its time for a real change.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. @Complicated

      Before you go off celebrating, down a point for the Libs isn't earth-shattering. Nice to see CAQ gain momentum, but they won't win, for better or worst.

      What will be interesting to watch is the PQ vote flee to QS, I call front seat for that one. Lol

      Delete
    2. Geez we don't want the CAQ - for Bill 14 and the charter with minor revisions! Yuck! Down a point I'm not worried about after the bilingualism announcement (which I'm glad he did rather than ignore one of the main economic problems we have here). And damn, they're still separatist so all that will happen is these goofs will change parties to get what they want. QS, separatist but at least not for the charter, will attract a lot of these unhappy francophones. It ain't over and the fat lady hasn't sung as yet - let's hear the tune Miss Piggy!

      Delete
    3. I will take the CAQ any day over the same old tired out Libs and PQ. The Libs who added 60 billion to the debt in 9 years..the Libs who were in power while absolutely mind blowing corruption was ongoing..the Libs who ignore the anglophone community yet gladly take our vote. You do like getting abused dont you cutie.
      The momentum has clearly swung to the CAQ because of Legaults superb performance and honest portrayal of the two leading parties. Francophones are waking up..sad to say the anglos are still stuck int he 1970s voting for the corrupt, incompetent and dishonest Liberals..oh but they are federalist so we can ignore all their other glaring faults..

      Delete
    4. @complicated

      For the record, I am not a huge fan myself of Clifford L....but here goes nothin'

      http://www.montrealgazette.com/business/Opinion+François+Legault+political+maxim+year/9682545/story.html

      Delete
    5. @Cutie
      A CAQ government would never have introduced the Charter of values.
      But since it did come up in a minority government, Legault was quick to lay down the terms necessary to have it passed in order to move on and work on real business.

      Of course the PQ had no interest in any real business...

      -Kevin

      Delete
  17. Anonymous Buster of Shit ArgumentsMonday, March 31, 2014 at 5:28:00 PM EDT

    Oooohhhhhh!!!!

    Bang & Re-bang!

    http://bit.ly/1hcyV1k

    Claude Blanchet aurait sollicité deux dirigeants de firmes de génie-conseil en 2007 et en 2008 pour financer les campagnes politiques de sa femme Pauline Marois. Certains de ces dons ont été faits par des prêtes-noms.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Just yesterday on TLMEP she said hoe she swears by her ethics!

      Delete
    2. Apologies, hoe=how....I SWEAR

      Delete
    3. JUST ANNOUNCED ON FB:

      Jean Pierre on CJAD just dropped a bomb. Someone who wrote a check to help fund Marois campaign (illegal contribution) has spoken under oath. It involved her hubby and confirms per JP what has been rumored Oh lala !!!!!!!!

      I love this - if the election were in three weeks instead of next week, she would have left town! What a joke these people are - bring it on Miss Piggy!

      Delete
    4. This is kind of good. It now depends on the other three to go for the jugular and bury PQ's campaign once and for all.

      Delete
    5. Last one was only what I wrote but here's the scope just out! Gotta tell each day just gets better and better!

      http://goo.gl/xKcSPD

      Delete
    6. Darn: ABBA beat me to it! Spread the word everyone and my apologies ABBA! Just want to giggle and have a few drinks!

      Delete
    7. And I like your music too - lol - ABSA

      Delete
    8. My old computer won't work the link. WHAT IS IT ABOUT< PLEASE>?Ed

      Delete
    9. From the Gazette Ed:

      Blanchet solicited $25,000 from engineering firm for Marois's campaigns: report

      Parti Quebecois Leader Pauline Marois and her husband Claude Blanchet in Beaupre, Que., September 4, 2012. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot
      Pauline Marois’s husband solicited thousands of dollars from a Quebec engineering firm for his wife’s political campaigns, Radio Canada reported Monday.

      The report said that Marois’s husband, Claude Blanchet, visited a Montreal businessman in the spring of 2007 and asked him to raise $25,000 from different donors in the firm. At the time, the maximum donation was $3,000.

      The businessman, whom Radio Canada has not identified, said he met with Blanchet a few weeks later and handed Blanchet an envelope with cheques totalling $25,000.

      He said he hoped the donation would give him “privileged access to Madame Marois.”

      Blanchet denied the report in a telephone call with Alain Gravel, the Radio Canada reporter who broke the story.

      The businessman, who says he has known Blanchet for 15 years, signed an affidavit stating that his statement is accurate.


      © Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette







      Delete
    10. Cutie,

      How does this matter?

      They are both pure blood francophones and beliebers.

      Alz you gotta do is go before Charbonneau and nobody can touch you.

      Sometimes mistakes are made in the fight for the motherland. Everybody has been much better at covering his tracks.

      They are defending Quebec and by definition French. Anybody defending French can commit any 2 other crimes at the same time and get off without charges.

      It's the new law coming in.

      Delete
  18. Well, well, we'll....

    http://www.montrealgazette.com/opinion/editorials/Editorial+integrity+issue+answer/9664836/story.html

    "None of this speaks highly in terms of integrity in the broadest sense of the word. Yes, the Liberals have been caught out in their fundraising methods. But then the PQ has been found to have resorted to illegal financing tricks as well, as attested by a 2006 judicial report that said the PQ had turned a blind eye to violations of financing laws in previous years.

    In any case, the activities for which Marois reproaches the Liberals took place in previous years, and nothing untoward has been proven against Couillard. Meanwhile, Couillard has offered to fully disclose his family finances, while Marois has refused to follow suit. Quebecers should reasonably wonder what she wants to keep hidden from them."

    ReplyDelete
  19. To be fair, this is the denial from Claude Blanchet's camp.

    ReplyDelete
  20. http://www.montrealgazette.com/opinion/Targeting+minorities+voting/9682548/story.html

    Rocket Scientist ...he is not....

    Q: When oh when will we be ready to hold another referendum so we can finally separate? WHEN?
    A: When you grow up and realize you have to pay off your $250+ Billion dollar debt, so you can afford it.

    Seriously, A MINISTER isn't capable of figuring that out.

    We want, we want, we want, we want....(kick it, it's stuck.. for 40yrs now). Lol

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnecTOTE,

      Look at it from different angle. This interview is not about current campaign. It is Lisee's bid for the leadership of Parti Quebecois.

      Delete
    2. Ohhhhhhhh yeah...u got that right. Give the man a cigar!

      I wonder how it will work out since PKP will want the leadership for himself, no way he will play second fiddle to fake Tom Hagen. Lol

      Delete
  21. @tvanouvelles 8 h
    RT @poirieryvesTVA a appris que Boisbriand vient de recevoir un chèque de 1,75 M$ des juifs hassidiques dans le conflit de la taxe d'eau

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh Mohammed you must have gotten lost, the blog for municipal back tax law suits is on the other side of the internet.

      Delete
    2. Are you trying to regulate the Internet?

      RS posted a video of a guy destroying a shovel and I had no issue with it.

      Delete
    3. Regulate the Internet? No, you're thinking of the OQLF. I'm just trying to enlighten you about what this blog is about, you seem to be confused. Rs link was in context of a discussion yours was pointless and random to say the least, unless you'd like to give some insight as to why you posted it?

      Delete
  22. Well whatayaknow,

    http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/maroiss-husband-under-microscope-over-political-fundraising/article17751019/

    Lol s.r. Lol........it is no April fool joke babes...THIS is for real!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=1416566608597400

      Delete
    2. Great contribution Mohammed, were you unable to find a cat video to post instead? It'd have been just as relevant to the conversation as the one you did post.

      Delete
  23. Foreign ownership of media is frowned upon in the U.S. and there are very strict regulations regarding it. That is why Rupert Murdoch chose to become a U.S. citizen before he started Fox:

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2013/11/14/the-next-rupert-murdoch-wont-have-to-change-his-citizenship-to-rule-the-tv-biz/

    So let's not dump on Peladeau and the Quebec government so fast in this regard.

    ReplyDelete
  24. I haven’t seen this story posted yet so have fun reading about the PQ’s construction bidding auctions.
    Pauline Marois denies any knowledge of alleged bid-rigging scheme run by Parti Québécois

    In case you want to listen to Kathleen Levesque from La Presse explain how the construction contracts in different regions were “sold” to the highest bidders, all money going into the coffers of the PQ in the 1990s. The interview is in French.
    Ventes aux enchères

    Also, in case you haven't heard, we've lost Youpie to Toronto. Could it get any more depressing than that?

    ReplyDelete
  25. Well, well, well. What do you know. Remember during the Olympics Minister Pierre Duchesne - and S.R here - trying to make political point based on manipulated pictures of Dufour - Lapointe sisters? And I commented here that separatists like to argue based on false evidence? Now it turns out that the event that Janette Bertrand recalls as example to support 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 completely fictional.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Speaking of the lovely Dufour-Lapointe sisters, here is an interview with them on George Stroumboulopoulos, at 5min 20secs, he asks them about the manipulated pictures. Here is the confirmation (as we all knew) that they are proud Canadians: Interview Dufour-Lapointe sisters

      Delete
  26. Sums up separation perfectly...
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5N5GzYhY2dk#t=71

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Actually the "Québec woman" sounds like she has a French accent (from France).

      But...

      There's one sound...


      That no one knows!

      What does the fox say?

      Ring-ding-ding-ding-dingeringeding!
      Gering-ding-ding-ding-dingeringeding!
      Gering-ding-ding-ding-dingeringeding!

      What the fox say?

      Wa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pow!
      Wa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pow!
      Wa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pow!

      What the fox say?

      Hatee-hatee-hatee-ho!
      Hatee-hatee-hatee-ho!
      Hatee-hatee-hatee-ho!

      What the fox say?

      Delete
  27. Yes. And let's not forget to BOYCOTT his companies:
    Sun Media (newspapers) (includes the former Osprey Media)
    TVA Group (broadcasting, publishing & production)
    Vidéotron (cable television and internet service provider)
    Canoe Inc. (internet websites including Canoe.ca/Canoe.com portal and Archambault.ca)
    MediaPages (print and online directories)
    TVA Publishing Inc. (largest magazine publishing company in Quebec)
    Quebecor Media Book Group (book publishing companies)
    Archambault stores (books, music and video)
    Distribution Select (distributor of CDs and videos)
    Le SuperClub Vidéotron (Movie rental stores)
    Nurun Inc. (interactive agency)
    Gestion Studios Bloobuzz S. E. C (a video games publisher)

    And newspapers:
    Major urban daily newspapers: Calgary Sun, Edmonton Sun, London Free Press, Ottawa Sun, Toronto Sun, Winnipeg Sun, Le Journal de Montreal, Le Journal de Quebec.

    Free commuter daily newspapers: 24 Hours in Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, Vancouver; 24 Heures in Montreal, Ottawa.

    Daily newspapers: Barrie Examiner, Belleville Intelligencer, Chatham Daily News, Cobourg Daily Star, Cornwall Standard-Freeholder, Fort McMurray Today, Kingston Whig-Standard, Niagara Falls Review, North Bay Nugget, Orillia Packet and Times, Owen Sound Sun Times, Pembroke Daily Observer, Peterborough Examiner, Port Hope Evening News, Sarnia Observer, Sault Star, Simcoe Reformer, St. Catharines Standard, St. Thomas Times-Journal, Stratford Beacon Herald, Sudbury Star, Timmins Daily Press, The Daily Herald Tribune (Grande Prairie, Alta.), The Daily Graphic (Portage la Prairie, Mba.), The Daily Miner and News (Kenora, Ont.), The Recorder and Times (Brockville, Ont.), Welland Tribune, Woodstock Sentinel Review.

    Refs:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qu%C3%A9becor_M%C3%A9dia
    http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/list+daily+newspapers+owned+Quebecor+Media/9605214/story.html



    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. wingnut,

      First, Videotron has almost monopoly of cable TV distribution, mostly in Montreal. While Bell Fibe is chipping away its market, Videotron is still there, particularly if one lives in an apartment building. Therefore, it is rather hard to boycott Videotron. As well, Videotron Super Club is the only major DVD rentals still standing, now that Blockbuster bit the dust.

      For Impact fans, TVA Sports has majority of Impact games. Come October, TVA Sports will be the French-language national broadcaster of the Canadiens. That will make it almost impossible to boycott among francophone Canadien fans.

      Delete
    2. @Troy
      Fibe is in many apartment buildings and constantly expandings.
      RDS will be carrying more Canadiens games than TVA sports will.

      And when was the last time anyone rented a DVD?

      -Kevin

      Delete
  28. Foreign ownership of media is regulated in Canada, too, but Rogers and Québécor are both Canadian companies and both trade on the Toronto stock exchange.

    If PKP was to get elected and Quebec became independent would Bell become a foreign company and not allowed to operate in Quebec?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No, because it and many other companies would be hitting the 401 to stay in Canada.

      Delete