Sunday, May 25, 2014

French versus English Volume 106

Brent Tyler Challenges Bill 101 in Court

By Joel Goldenberg, May 21st, 2014
French is not vulnerable in Quebec in general and in Montreal, sociologist and demographer Calvin Veltman said in Quebec Court last Thursday via video hookup from Amsterdam.
Veltman, who used to work at the Université du Québec à Montréal, was providing expert testimony in rights lawyer Brent Tyler’s case challenging the constitutionality of Quebec’s sign laws and those regarding commercial websites. Tyler’s seven-day court case, involving 27 clients, is expected to be completed today. Judge Salvatore Mascia is presiding.
Veltman, along with the Association of Quebec demographers, strongly supported the “main elements” of Charter of the French Language (Bill 101) regarding the language of work and language of education based on past fears of vulnerability of the French language, coming from the reduced francophone birth rate and the “anglicization” of third language groups by the early 1970s.
But in 2014, with immigrants forced to send their children to French schools and most immigrants speaking French, the fear of vulnerability is no longer valid, Veltman added.
“Obviously, for a community that has added 336,000 people since 1971, it’s difficult to imagine that they’re more vulnerable now than in 1971,” he said. “It would be difficult to make that case... We need to understand that if there’s competition between languages in Montreal, it’s between English and French. It’s not between French and other languages.
Read more at The Suburban

Original judgment correct in English trademark case: Tyler


By Joel Goldenberg, May 14th, 2014
The Superior Court judge who ruled in favour of stores like Best Buy and Old Navy was correct in stating they do not have to add French descriptors to their names in Quebec, lawyer Brent Tyler said Friday.
According to media reports, the judge ruled that names like Best Buy are trademarks, as opposed to business names, and are not subject to Quebec’s language laws.The Office Québécois de la Langue Française had demanded that the French descriptors be added.
“Trademarks are an exclusively federal jurisdiction,” Tyler said. “What the government is saying is that the obligation to add a French descriptor applies to business names, and they’re saying because trademarks are also business names, it applies to trademarks, ignoring completely that trademarks have special protection, and this goes back to 1977,” when bill 101 was first passed.
“Without any legislative change, the OQLF, under the Charest Liberals, changed their interpretation of the law requiring a French descriptor to trademarks. As the judge in the Superior Court case rightly pointed out, in a French expression, ‘you can’t change the gun from the shoulder you normally have it on.’ And that’s what the government did here with its interpretation of the statute itself.”
Tyler explained that a business name is a name that is incorporated provincially or federally, registered in Quebec, and the “official name that counts is the French version, but you can have an English version.” A trademark is the name of a store that involves specific artwork and a visual image, he explained.
“The law is very clear, the right to use the trademark includes the right to use it alone,” the lawyer said. “I have an idea that the reason the government is appealing is that this case touches on the visage linguistique of Quebec. The central issue is the vulnerability of the French language — It all comes  down to that — and on what basis can it be considered vulnerable.
In Tyler’s own language cases, “we maintain it’s not vulnerable by any meaningful definition of the word.”
Read more at The Suburban

Harper travels with US style security

Rushing home from New York to catch Game two in the Rangers Canadiens series turned out to be somewhat of a disappointment, to say the least.

Half way during the first period my wife looked up and back and pointed out that Jacques Demers, the ex-Habs coach and now Conservative senator was in the house.

"Are you kidding me I answered, Jacques Demers? Look who he is sitting with, non other than Stephan Harper and not so recognizable cabinet minister Denis Lebel."

At any rate, Harper made the whole thing into a media event, taking pictures with fans between periods, even bringing along his own photographer for the occasion.

Now here's a picture of him doing the honours, which I snapped between periods, where I couldn't help but notice the massive security surrounding him that included to my eye, at least two different teams.
The last time I saw a PM at a sporting event was Paul Martin at a tennis match in Jarry Park and he had but three security agents placed at least fifty feet from him during the action.



I thought about adding some arrows to the above picture indicating just how many security guards were protecting our PM but thought better of it, I don't need any calls from the Prime Minister Protection Detail service, but suffice to say that there's been a big increase since Harper took office.
The budget for protecting our PM has shot up from 6 million in 2006 to about $20 million today.
Link
If you are a curious type, click on the above picture to enlarge it and see how many agents you can spot. Here's a hint, not all are wearing ties, but all are wearing jackets.

Pettiness surrounds extreme French language movement

It borders on the absurd, the obtuse pettiness of the extreme French language movement in Quebec where the basic truth that Quebec is a province in a country called Canada that is majorly English speaking is roundly ignored by language militants who fantasize that Quebec is an independent state.
First is the myth, oft repeated that French is the only official language of Quebec, which of course it is not, where not even the infamous Bill 101 dares say that it is exclusively so.

And so nut bar groups like Impératif français act as guardians of the faith,  sniffing out offending English whether it be legal or not with the evangelical zeal of the Jehovah's Witnesses.

The latest nonsense is the organization's outrage over the proposed name of the new hockey arena in  the Montreal suburb of Laval.....
The offensive name......"Place Bell"
Yup, according to IF, the name is an insult to all Quebecers, because it isn't proper French.

Now this story is hilarious for a couple of reasons, first and foremost because of the OQLF's decision not to  react to the silly complaint made by "ASSOCIATION POUR LE SOUTIEN ET L’USAGE DE LA LANGUE FRANÇAISE".

If you read French, read the delicious account of the whole affair through the eyes of the complainer.

My favourite part of the saga is the association's whinging that the OQLF responded anonymously to the complaint, not signing the letter of reply. Isn't that just deliciously ironic since the whole OQLF complaint system is based on anonymous complaints!  Link{fr}

Moving along, LE DEVOIR published a letter from a disgruntled fan who complains that O Canada should not be sung in any part in English because French is the only official language in Quebec and because French is omitted in other arenas. Link{fr}

First of all, the letter writer is wrong that French is never sung elsewhere, it is in Ottawa, every game and in many places when the Canadiens are the guests.
Here is Alanis Morissette singing a bilingual version before a Senators game  Link

In fact, many cities do offer O Canada in French, the problem is that RDS, the French broadcaster has a policy not to broadcast national anthems (unless it is Ginette Reno.)



Nothing and nobody beats the Chicago Blackhawks Jim Cornelison for pure talent and performance. Listen to a bit to his version of O Canada in French . Magnifique!



By the way, I've heard O Canada sung in French in other NHL cities, New Jersey coming to mind, off the bat.
I hate when newspapers publish nonsense because they are too lazy to check the facts. Shame on LE DEVOIR.

Speaking of hockey, Impératif français is also demanding that NHL referees announce their on ice decisions in French. Link{fr}
I'm surprised that they haven't demanded that English artists like Justin Bieber or Beyoncé sing in French when performing in Montreal.
Not everyone is prepared to indulge the nonsense that the IF spouts and the government of Quebec knows it, treading very lightly where it knows it cannot impose its will.

I remain surprised how out of touch unilingual francophones really are about the rest of Canada or the United States, with so many misconceptions based on a language handicap. It's the same misconception most have about Canadian culture, believing that there is none, just a pale imitation of America.
Even the editors of the French press have a poor understanding of English, with those purporting to be bilingual, nothing of the sort.

Here is something from La Presse that caught my eye a while back, Patrick Lagacé trying to be cute in English with disastrous results.
How on Earth did editors ever let the horrific English go to Press and embarrass the reporter and the newspaper as well?
One thing I learned in business is that it takes a native speaker to vet translations, a fact that the French media are oblivious to, with humiliating results.


 This is by no means atypical.

Which brings us to another separatist pipe dream;

"An organization called the Fondation Équipe-Québec is advocating for separate teams to represent the province at athletic competitions. But critics are saying this is a divisive move that would politicize sports" Link


The organization behind all this was funded by the late PQ government which asked Quebec sports advocate Bob Sirois to do a feasibility study, which I imagine is now being filed directly into the trash can along with the Ménard report on the student rebellion, by the new Liberal government.

At any rate, I pulled this quote off the CBC story and can't for the life of me figure it out.
Can anyone help?



Order of Engineers ripped apart by dishonesty

So many Quebec engineers are being investigated in relation to the Charbonneau Commission, that the professional order was forced to increase member fees to pay for the over 180 investigations into  misdeeds by its own members.
This isn't sitting well with some members who are in open revolt, with one member so incensed that he made some incendiary remarks on Linkedin, leading to a $700,000 defamation suit brought against him by the order.

Of all the guilty parties in the sad fiasco that is corruption in the construction industry, it is the engineering firms that perhaps are the most to blame, creating, coordinating and corrupting officials and politicians without a whiff of regret.
This includes just about every major engineering consulting firm in the province, with the level of dishonest practices utterly stunning.

When you think of Quebec corruption, think of the engineers and the engineering firms that put most of the criminal conspiracies together.

As yet nobody has gone to jail, and in the great tradition of Canadian justice it may be ten years before anyone sees the inside of a jail cell.
So boo-hoo for the professional organization which failed so miserably to police its own members who made a mockery of the concept of professional conduct.  Link

French newspaper falls for practical joke

It's a little out of the ordinary to have a obese corpulent health minister, but such is the case in Quebec with Dr. Gaetan Barrette who was until his election, the head of the specialist doctor's order. He was the person who negotiated a big increase in their salary scale with the government, something that as minister he'll have to try to undo.
Strange enough?

Well a mean-spirited petition has been launched online asking him to lose weight, with the French title roughly entitled "For a Health minister in good Health"

 Le Journaldemourreal is a satirical website that takes on the appearance of the Journal de Montreal, but publishes absurd articles in the style of The Onion.
 
Here is a bit of the satirical article translated;
"It is time to open our eyes: Quebec has become obese, "says the former president of the Federation of Medical Specialists of Quebec. "We must now, for the future of the province, find a drastic way to combat this scourge. We cannot continue to let our children become fat without doing anything. It is essential to put Quebec on ​​a diet! "

When confronted by our reporter on the fact that he himself suffers from being slight overweight, the radiologist made ​​a surprising promise where he formally committed himself to set an example, promising to lose more than 100 kilograms during his first term, if he was
elected. Link{fr}
The funny part wasn't so much the article, but the fact that it was picked up as legitimate by LE FIGARO in France which thought the story was somehow real. Link{fr}



I wonder if it's OK to refer to Barrette as a barrel of laughs, or is that a fat joke?

Incidentally, another great Quebec satire website is Le Navet.
Here's one of my favourite pieces entitled;
PQ Defeated: Millions of radical Islamists set to come to Quebec to impose their beliefs (translation) 
This website is particularly clever. 

Maxime Bernier speech rocks Quebec separatists

This is the text of the speech I delivered this morning in Montreal before an audience of the Regroupement des jeunes chambres de commerce du Québec.- Maxime Lapierrre

How to reclaim our place within Canada

Maxime Bernier, MP for Beauce
As was probably the case for many of you, when I reflected on the results of Quebec’s April 7 election, I got the sense that Quebec had reached a turning point in its history. Following a campaign haunted by the spectre of another referendum, the Parti québécois suffered its worst defeat since 1970 and the two federalist parties took home two thirds of the vote. Once again, Quebecers clearly rejected separation and embraced a stable future within the Canadian confederation.
Since the election, the media has devoted a lot of space to the uncertain future of the Parti québécois, and how it might bring young people back into the fold. But given the election results, there is a much more pressing and relevant matter to address, one that has received hardly any attention: How are we, as Quebecers, going to reclaim our place in Canada?
  Obviously, this question matters deeply to me, as a federal politician from Quebec. But I am here today, not as a member of the Canadian government, but as a Quebecer wondering what we can do to move our society forward.
The sovereignty issue has monopolized political debate in Quebec for decades. It’s a legitimate debate, but it’s one that just keeps going around in circles.
In the meantime, Quebec must continue to develop. We have serious problems that need fixing. Our public finances are in a sorry state. Ours is one of the most heavily taxed regions in North America, and one of the least wealthy. We need to make massive investments in our crumbling infrastructure. And as our population is aging quickly, we have particular challenges to face when it comes to integrating immigrants and keeping our social programs solvent.
If we are to meet these challenges, we need governments, both in Quebec City and in Ottawa, that are focused on the real issues at hand, not on identity crises, referendum dilemmas and constitutional debates that create uncertainty. What we needs is stability, and not just for the next four years, but for the long term.
As I see it, that stability hinges on three major changes in attitude, all of which are related to Quebec reclaiming its place in Canada.
First of all, we must come to terms with who and what we are, we Quebecers.
Throughout the election campaign, Parti québécois politicians kept repeating that we need to defend our identity and values. And they did this by playing on the fear of the other: fear of immigrants, fear of anglophones, and fear of the rest of Canada.
The truth is, they refuse to accept what Quebec is today. They have always been obsessed with changing it. They aren’t interested in defending OUR identity and OUR values. They want to defend THEIR very narrow view of what our identity and values SHOULD be. Read the rest of the speech

Further reading


Quebec language watchdog apologizes over Montreal bar sign mix-up, owner says



164 comments:

  1. If the language martyrs don’t like Place Bell, then they must hate Place Ville-Marie.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They don't. And neither do the linguists. See here.

      Delete
    2. There is also Place Versailles and Place Vertu. French supremacist language martyrs hate alot of things. Sucks to be them.

      Delete
  2. Good on Brent Tyler - it took long enough for this case to be brought to court but better late than never. I hope he walks away victorious from this case and I can't thank him enough for all his hard work on behalf of the anglophones in quebec. Great work Brent and keep on trucking! Time for this damn nonsense to stop and people to work together if they want to be bilingual!

    ReplyDelete
  3. TITRE I
    LE STATUT DE LA LANGUE FRANÇAISE

    CHAPITRE I
    LA LANGUE OFFICIELLE DU QUÉBEC

    1. Le français est la langue officielle du Québec.

    1977, c. 5, a. 1.


    The Law is clear: French is the official language, not the ONLY official language (struck down by the Supreme Court of Canada as you may not ban the other official language of the country, that is English). The document does not contain "LA SEULE" at all.

    Time to take out the garbage and take back our bilingual city!

    You don't like it? Easy: buy a ticket and go elsewhere. Bon voyage !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There is nothing to agree or disagree with -- it doesn't say "la SEULE langue officielle".

      I have brought this up in the comments section of a blog by Lise Ravary a while ago. My main interlocutor there, a fellow nicknamed OlivarP, seems rather quick to tell me that functionally there is no difference. You might be amused/bemused to have a look at the entire exchange yourself.

      Delete
  4. Of course, I should have realized. Le Bell du Place. it all makes sense now.

    ReplyDelete
  5. It is interesting to read the comments to Maxime Bernier's speech. One calls those who agree with it "des Quislig (sic) québécois". Presumably, he means Norwegian Vidkun Quisling, who delivered his country to the Nazis in 1940 and served as its puppet ruler.

    I wonder how this person reacts when separatists themselves are compared to Nazis.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. why would anyone compare separatists to nazis?!? i mean apart from the will to win godwin points of course.

      Delete
    2. Bernier brings up several good points which need to work their way into Quebec psyche.
      We're still a ways away from that, I suspect.

      Delete
    3. @aparatchik

      please give "several" examples of "good points" contained in bernier's thing.

      Delete
    4. @Student

      The main “good point” Bernier made was, “Quebec is not some version of New France corrupted by the Anglo-Canadian presence that needs to be restored to its former purity.” As he said, “Quebec came to be what it is today over the course of those 250 years.” Those 250 years are part of the history of Quebec and what Quebec came to be - built by all its citizens - is something great (he didn’t make that point, but I will).

      Another good point was, “we need governments, both in Quebec City and in Ottawa, that are focused on the real issues at hand, not on identity crises, referendum dilemmas and constitutional debates that create uncertainty,”

      Now, of course, you agree with this idea that the uncertainty isn’t good but you see the only solution as an independent Quebec. It’s not.

      What you have to ask yourself is if it’s possible to make the lives of people in Quebec better by remaining within Canada, will you work for that? Or does independence trump everything, no matter the effects on lots of people?

      Delete
    5. Separation is student's religion, Student doesn't support it based on reasonable or rational arguments it is all based on faith with no actual plan as to how to bring about anything positive, nor what those positives would be.
      Step 1. Separate.
      Step 2. ?
      Step 3. Land of milk and honey.
      Student is not concerned with making the lives of the people of Quebec better, only that the Quebec government has more power, even if that means leading to the restriction of individuals rights and freedoms. Power for the sake of power is the only short sighted goal of this separatist. Increased power should only be given when 1. You've proven you can handle the power you already have and 2. When there are very good reasons for the need for more power, to have more power, is not one of those reasons.

      Pushing for nebulous panaceas will never improve the situation in Quebec, owning up to the problems and working hard to fix them will. Though it's easier to blame all your problems on others and saying if only we didn't have to deal with them everything would be fine. The sad truth is pretty much all of Quebec's problems are created here, separating will not fix them.

      Delete
    6. @whowhatzit

      "Separation is student's religion..."

      no it's not. it's rather a political concept that i think is well adapted to the french canadian nation and all quebec inhabitants. no god, nothing like that here mate. you're wrong.

      "Student doesn't support it based on reasonable or rational arguments..."

      of course i do. wrong again.

      "it is all based on faith with no actual plan as to how to bring about anything positive..."

      that's false. having a normal country would be positive. hey you wouldn't have to vote for a corrupted gang anymore.

      "Step 1. Separate.
      Step 2. ?
      Step 3. Land of milk and honey."

      i never mentioned a land of milk and honey, even though quebec is actually a leading milk producer. what i said would happen is a normal country.

      "Student is not concerned with making the lives of the people of Quebec better..."

      of course i am. how did you come up with this one, mate?!?

      "only that the Quebec government has more power..."

      not more power. all powers.

      "...even if that means leading to the restriction of individuals rights and freedoms."

      the right to what? you always forget to specify this essential bit.

      "Power for the sake of power is the only short sighted goal of this separatist."

      not at all. i'd say power to better steer quebec towards its destiny.

      "1. You've proven you can handle the power you already have..."

      check. quebec has proven this.

      "2. When there are very good reasons for the need for more power..."

      check. cultural distinction is a good reason.

      "to have more power, is not one of those reasons."

      i agree.

      "Pushing for nebulous panaceas will never improve the situation in Quebec..."

      i'm with you mate.

      "...owning up to the problems and working hard to fix them will."

      totally. your second paragraph is definitely better.

      "Though it's easier to blame all your problems on others..."

      you mean like you blaming the separatists all the time?

      "saying if only we didn't have to deal with them everything would be fine."

      you mean like you not wanting to deal with separatists?

      "The sad truth is pretty much all of Quebec's problems are created here, separating will not fix them."

      well separation will fix the lot that is created in ottawa. and having full control of its means will definitely help solving
      the others.

      please mate don't you ever try and smear me like this ever again. you're dragging all our community down when you do it.

      Delete
    7. @Editor

      Such long posts from this idiot is her way of defacing your blog...just sayin'.

      Delete
    8. Agreed. The constant double-spacing confirms it. It shows how easy it is to become a blog troll.

      At least my middle finger gets a good workout scrolling over the nonsense.

      Delete
    9. That's two muddled fingers, lolol.

      Delete
    10. *middle...lol.??autocorrect ...arggggg

      Delete
    11. @the cat

      i don't know how to avoid double spacing mate. how should i do it if i'm to reply to a comment bit by bit because it's low quality from beginning to end like whowhatzit's rant up there? apparatchik will be watching your suggestions cause he has the same issue when he rigorously tackles a comment.

      personnaly i think montreal ville état double comments with the second one containing corrections to the first is way worse as far as defacing the comments sections is concerned.

      Delete
    12. @student
      SHIFT
      +
      Enter

      AS
      EASY
      AS
      123

      Delete
  6. Julie Boulet flipped the bird to the PQ opposition in the #NatAss. Naughty, naughty. Where to send the champagne?

    http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Liberal+Julie+Boulet+flips+middle+finger+opposition/9878925/story.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A bird-flip is infinitely preferable to Drainville’s lying about having legal support for the charter in order for him to damage Quebec society.

      Delete
    2. @jesse pinkman

      "...Drainville’s lying about having legal support for the charter..."

      oh you missed this one mate. http://tinyurl.com/m37bk3w

      there was legal support.

      it's a pity that your favourite newspaper is so incomplete. or maybe you just decided to lie blatantly?

      but even if drainville had lied, how the hell can you think it's a good justification for boulet being vulgar?!?

      Delete
    3. No damage to society, unlike with the PQ.

      Delete
    4. @jesse pinkman

      ah? really? you don't think vulgarity damages society? for my part i think it does more harm than secularity. you have a funny opinion mate.

      Delete
    5. Stop lying @student.
      Drainvile and the PQ government never got any of the standard legal advice that any government creating legislation does before introducing said bill.
      Having members of the public who happen to be lawyers submitting critiques is not legal advice.
      Asking a fiction writer who used to be a lawyer to write some language is not legal advice.
      Asking the justice department to evaluate one clause of a bill is not proper legal advice.


      Yeesh, even Rene Levesque and Camille Laurin delayed Bill 101 because their legal advisors told them it needed work and would be heavily challenged if they submitted their original version (It was supposed to be Bill 1, dontcha know)

      Delete
    6. When the guy who you claim gave you a legal opinion is saying he didn't, you might want to stop selling that lie.

      Delete
    7. Ok student, as well as expecting more research, analysis and style from you, we'll also expect no vulgarity. If you ever start to execute on these points, we won't recognize you.

      Delete
    8. @diogenes

      ok mate. challenge accepted. i'm used to living up to high expectations.

      Delete
  7. Re the photo of Harper's security team.
    I count nine guards, the ones wearing the ties are easy to identify, but there is another team wearing jackets and light blue t-shirts.
    Can anyone do better?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "Can anyone do better?"

      of course. i count ten.

      Delete
  8. Re Language laws, the whole premise that French is in danger in Quebec is false. Its part of the paranoid mythology that carried over from the Roman Catholic church days. There has never been a SINGLE study ever done that stated that French was in danger in Quebec. Outside Montreal and a few pockets East and West, you'd be hard pressed to find any English speakers at all, its practically 99% White and Francophone. How much longer will Montreal have to carry this ball and chain that is Bill 101? All this just to appease the language Ayatollahs? Granting Montreal Special status is the first step to rid us of these job killing laws.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Right on, LD. This is the major reason I left almost 30 years ago. The Church caused a lot of brain damage to its parishioners.

      Delete
    2. Of course french is not in danger. Over 250 years since the British takeover and french is still around and dominant. This is all just a game. However, I think religion is making a come back. Many drivers in Montreal cross themselves and say a little prayer every time they enter a tunnel or cross a bridge.

      Delete
    3. @bob

      there wouldn't need to be a bill 101 if french canadians still had ten babies per family. your argument that french will thrive in the future just because it survived up to now is not good.

      Delete
    4. @Student

      Sure, but maybe la revanche des berceaux isn't necessary any more, so much has changed. There isn't likely to be any further Anglo immigration to Quebec (even from the maritimes or western Canada, which never made up very big numbers but it made up some) and new immigrants now learn French. And so many Anglo companies moved out and were replaced by Quebec companies so that's stable now.

      Really, you should be a lot more pleased with the current situation. And even the future will be, at best, no worse than it is now.

      It's not like English will ever be an official language in Quebec, no matter what happened over the last 250 years.

      Delete
    5. @jay

      i salute your optimism jay.

      Delete
    6. "there wouldn't need to be a bill 101 if french canadians still had ten babies per family. your argument that french will thrive in the future just because it survived up to now is not good."

      Well too fucking bad for you if you no longer have large families. The rest if us shouldn't have our Rights and Freedoms denied because you are lazy. YOUR language is YOUR responsibility.

      @LD Montreal needs to get out, we are being stuffed to death by a province who doesn't what WE need.

      Montreal pour une ville état. Montréal aux Montréalais.

      Delete
    7. *a province that doesn't understand what WE need

      Delete
    8. @Jay
      I'm happy to inform you that English always has been and always will be an official language of Quebec.

      Delete
    9. @Kevin

      But not an equally official language. Immigrants don't get to choose whichever official language they want to send their kids to school in, for example.

      Immigration raises some interesting questions. I notice on that map of languages spoken in each province Quebec is the only major province with more Arab speakers than Chinese. Why doesn't Quebec attract more Chinese immigrants? Will different immigration trends make Quebec even more different from Ontario, Alberta and BC?

      Delete
    10. @student

      Solution to increasing family size in Quebec. Put tons of Viagra in the water supply. Things will be looking up from then on.

      Delete
    11. @ Student
      "there wouldn't need to be a bill 101 if french canadians still had ten babies per family. your argument that french will thrive in the future just because it survived up to now is not good."

      Maybe we need a bill to make illegal condom usage for french Quebecker.

      Delete
    12. @anonymous

      if what you propose is too support policies that would boost natality amongst french canadians i agree mate. good comment. pick a name and fight obscurantism with me.

      Delete
    13. @Jay
      That map can be a little deceptive, because BC has huge numbers of immigrants from all Asian countries, and the subcontinent too, but that means lots of language ethnic/groups. Whereas Arabic is spread across a fairly large territory.

      As to why: Quebec gets to deal with immigrants on its own, and favours those who already speak French: hence, more Arabic and African immigrants, since France used to have colonies around the Mediterranean.

      Of course,that brings the scourge of Muslims wearing headscarves and then we end up with the Charter of dippity doo again.

      And as for language in school, heck, there are Quebecers whose roots go back 400 years who don't have that right :/

      Delete
  9. A couple of days ago student compared Quebec's financial situation with regard to Ottawa as "if i proposed to you that you give me half your income every year and i'll give you 10% more back in goods and services that i think you will like."
    With this, it is implied that 50% of Quebecers' income goes to Ottawa in return for an extra 10% being returned. These numbers should be corrected.

    The total of Quebec personal income is at least 193 billion, and likely much more. source: Statistics Canada
    The total money from Quebec that goes to Ottawa is 44.5 billion.
    The total money from Ottawa that is returned to Quebec is 60.8 billion. source: 16,3 milliards : le chiffre qui tue

    The amount taken by Ottawa is 44.5 / 193 = 23%.
    The extra returned to Quebec is (60.8 / 44.5) - 1 = 37%.

    student's figure of 50% is off by a factor of two, and the 10% is off by a factor of more than 3.5.
    Bad data leads to incorrect facts. Incorrect facts lead to bad arguments.

    ReplyDelete
  10. On the subject of the national anthem sung in French outside Quebec, I watched the game the Habs played in LA and whoever it was that sung O Canada, did so entirely in French. (Show-off!)

    ReplyDelete
  11. student,

    Why are you still here? Are you incapable of honoring your own words?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. what do you mean? where should i be?!?

      Delete
    2. Honor your word. Get on with our arrangement. Or are you have no honor, dignity and integrity?

      Delete
    3. Student .....you should be working your enormous university debt off or honing your bedroom skills to make babes

      Delete
    4. University debt? Do you seriously think that student goes / went to university?

      Delete
    5. @ Troy .......Well she said so her self and that she's far more educated then every one here.....un less she's a liar witch she's done before ..still think she has to hone the bed skills, then again she would have to shut up ...

      Delete
    6. @troy

      i'm sorry troy i have a moral problem. you are too different from me and i'm not confident enough to know what's good for you. i just can't. sorry mate. maybe canada should do likewise and stop pretending like it knows what quebec wants.

      Delete
    7. Well, it's not like all of Quebec wants the same things. One thing Canada knows very well is how to have many different kinds of people living within the same federation.

      Now, it's true, there are some parts of Quebec that are very homogenous. Maybe Quebec should split into two, it worked well for NWT and Nunavut.

      Delete
    8. @frank

      "she said so her self and that she's far more educated then every one here..."

      i don't know about everyone else frank. adski seems to have studied too, and yannick did brag about his phd. but for sure i'm ahead of you, cutie003 and liam combined.

      Delete
    9. You are ahead of no one, especially since you live 250yrs in the past. You should bottle your stupidity and sell it to other seppies, since they are as stupid as you,(if not more...which begs the question, is that even possible?), you'll make a mint!

      Delete
    10. @montreal ville état

      you insult i win.

      Delete
    11. "@montreal ville état

      you insult i win."

      Huh?.....who's insulting? I was just being honest.

      Delete
  12. "But in 2014, with immigrants forced to send their children to French schools and most immigrants speaking French, the fear of vulnerability is no longer valid, Veltman added." "Veltman, who used to work at the Université du Québec à Montréal, was providing expert testimony in rights lawyer Brent Tyler’s case challenging the constitutionality of Quebec’s sign laws and those regarding commercial websites. "

    Veltman's justification that QC's "culture" (largely a product of technocratic top-down engineering) is no longer "vulnerable" essentially amounts to advocating of putting an end to a social engineering project because we deem the project no longer "vulnerable". But about judging the project from the standpoint of the natural law? Yes, I know. Our laws and constitution do not care much about that. Tyler would be laughed out of the courtroom if he brought it up.

    Liberty/Equality/Fraternity, Class Equality, Democracy/Freedom, Global Free Market... Government-sponsored Protection of Language is just another example in the long list of attempts at scientific management of the society by the "experts", with a succession of laws and the never-ending war of attrition against the people who do not acquiesce to your scientifically designed society.

    But in the end what counts are not the slogans, but the actions towards others. Are the actions in accordance to, or in violation of the natural law? The rest is secondary.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Read Berniers' excellent speech. Shame he had to pollute it with the partisan political babble:

    "The Liberal Party of Canada has for decades been the party of centralization and of interference...blah"
    "The NDP is a socialist party that wants to centralize everything so it can intervene everywhere...blah blah" then
    :We, the Conservatives, have a different vision to offer: that of a more modest, less interventionist...more blah"

    Ah yes, the Conservative vision, what do they do differently? In the late '90s, our base currency was about 200 billion. By 2010 it has swelled to 900 billion!

    OUTRAGEOUS Canadian Base Currency Expansion - Mike Maloney

    Wholesale theft of our purchasing power ladies and gents! We are actually "printing" faster than the Americans (on a per capita basis), not that you'd ever know it with the "informed" reporting we get from our media.



    ReplyDelete
  14. Editor,

    I admit readily that neither English nor French is my first language, therefore I can not see the grammatical error of these two examples. Could you please enlighten?

    1. Place Bell.
    2. Are you always a racist, Ron MacLean?

    As for Harper, I have no idea what is the normal / acceptable size of protective detail for a Canadian Head of Government. However, I can say this. Mr. Harper seems to be keen on spectacle sports, and it is up to him to be so. What I can see from him is that each time he attends a sporting event - mostly hockey and football - he always sits on the stand, along with other spectators albeit he always gets the good seat. Compare that with American politicians / dignitaries who almost always sit in the sky box.

    ReplyDelete
  15. UN GARS BIEN SYMPATHIQUE DE FRANKFORTTuesday, May 27, 2014 at 4:56:00 PM EDT

    Patrick Lagace is a very average journalist along with a few of his peers over at La Presse. What comes from those guys is usually nothing to buy a subscription about...

    ReplyDelete
  16. There are language conventions that just are, even if it doesn't make sense.
    The phrase should be "Were you always an idiot?" not "Are you always an idiot:" Why? Dunnno, that just the way we talk.
    "Were you always this stupid?" not "Are you always this stupid?"
    "Were you always this thoughtful? not "Are you always this thoughtful?"
    As for Place Bell, it's a French thing, so I can't comment as to why it isn't Kosher. We've got Place Ville Marie as pointed out before and Place des Nations, Place de la Cité, Place Royale...I think that the objection is that Place should be used to denote a plaza or square, not exactly a building

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The objection over "Place Bell" makes no sense at all, IMO. Before its name changed into Canadian Tire Centre, the home of the Ottawa Senators was Scotiabank Place or in officially French Place Banque Scotia. Why was there no outrage?

      Delete
    2. "One thing I learned in business is that it takes a native speaker to vet translations [...]"

      En effet, les traducteurs traduisent le plus souvent d'une langue autre vers leur langue maternelle, rarement l'inverse. Au cours des dernières années, j'en suis arrivé à la conclusion que le vrai bilinguisme (ou le vrai multilinguisme) est une chose relativement rare et qu'on ne peut jamais vraiment maîtriser parfaitement une langue autre. On me répond souvent que, non, untel ou untel parle aussi bien telle langue que telle autre, que plein de gens sont bilingues, etc. Pourtant, les traducteurs, pour qui la langue est le métier, ne sont que très rarement aussi bons dans une langue autre que dans leur propre langue, ce que l'Editor confirme par son expérience.

      Ceci étant dit, Troy a raison, le titre de Lagacé est grammaticalement correct. C'est un aspect intéressant de l'anglais : l'anglais est truffé d'idiomes et de phrases toutes faites. À cause de la phrase "were you always a racist?", exprimer les idées "are you always a racist?" ou "will you always be a racist?" semble fautif, pourtant c'est grammaticalement correct, mais il y a comme une espèce de convention que nous ignorions et que les initiés connaissent, mais n'allez pas dire que l'anglais est une langue difficile. Quelle hérésie.

      L'Editor nous dit que l'anglophone typique ne parle pas de cette façon, c'est tout. Le paradoxe est que, si on y pense bien, Troy et moi sommes les vrais anglophones typiques : il y a trois ou quatre fois plus de gens qui ont l'anglais pour langue seconde que d'anglophones de langue maternelle ; pour le "typical english speaker", l'anglais n'est pas la langue maternelle et l'anglais est de moins en moins la langue des anglophones de langue maternelle. Juste un paradoxe de même.

      Delete
    3. M. Patrice,

      As you are a native French speaker, please explain to me the French part of my question. Why was "Place Bell" unacceptable for an arena / amphitheater while "Place Banque Scotia" was completely acceptable?

      Delete
    4. @troy

      it seems that french things have less importance in ontario troy. there are many examples of things that are acceptable in ontario and are unacceptable in quebec. cultural difference is the concept to consider here troy. didn't you expect ontario population to put less importance on the quality of french language displays troy? let's hope quebec never becomes that lousy troy.

      Delete
    5. Troy,

      Are you suggesting that Impératif Français arbitrarily nitpicks about random trivial things?

      Delete
    6. @michel

      what i think troy is suggesting is impératif francais should be more active in ontario as he noticed an assault on french language in the name of an ottawa popular venue.

      Delete
    7. To be honest, I think the Editor overstated the grammatical mistake. I too did not understand the mistake until the Editor pointed out his objection, which I think hardly makes it “horrific” or “embarrassing”. I think neither form is incorrect, merely indicating a nuance, and suspect that Lagacé’s actual intention was to mean “Have you always been a racist, Ron MacLean?”.

      Delete
    8. M. Patrice,

      Read this and please tell me honestly if this is not arbitrary, trivial and random.

      Delete
    9. I thought that my comment made it obvious that I find this whole Place Bell thing to be arbitrary random nitpicking about trivial things that I have little interest in. Simply put, des enfantillages.

      Delete
    10. M. Patrice,

      If you have little interest in the matter, why make comments?

      Delete
    11. I commented on Lagacé's title. You asked me about Place Bell.

      Delete
    12. "Troy,

      Are you suggesting that Impératif Français arbitrarily nitpicks about random trivial things?"

      ALL THE TIME.

      Seppies are trivial and plain petty...it's sickening...but mostly, it's embarrassing.

      Delete
    13. "The problem is that the OQLF has decreed that the word “place” (English: Place or Plaza) shall refer only to an uncovered space and is “inappropriate” to name a building.

      Case in point...or as I like to say...,Exhibit A

      Delete
    14. " I think neither form is incorrect, merely indicating a nuance, and suspect that Lagacé’s actual intention was to mean “Have you always been a racist, Ron MacLean?"

      Whatever the intention was...I wonder how they'd react if Ron MacLean asked them, "Have you always been racist, Quebec? (cough*Charter*cough....cough cough*pastagate*cough cough).

      They'd lamely tell him he's quebec bashing, when in fact, it is just an honest question.

      Delete
  17. Is it the word BELL that's offensive to them? ( being an English word? )
    How ridiculous that we have to have this conversation LOL

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. what's ridiculous is you're having a discussion without a clue about the arguments involved.

      Delete
    2. What ridiculous is someone who shamelessly makes nonsense even after being shown NOT to have any dignity.

      Delete
    3. no troy. what's ridiculous is a dude riling against imperatif francais without knowing what the proposed issue is about.

      Delete
    4. The problem is that the OQLF has decreed that the word “place” (English: Place or Plaza) shall refer only to an uncovered space and is “inappropriate” to name a building.

      Such pedantry is what they think will save the French language and culture in North America. Meanwhile, a significant part of the population is unable to spell very basic French properly. I was just reminded of this an hour ago, when I saw a sign at a government outlet stating “Imprimante à réparée”.

      Guess what the latest “threat” to French is? The Twitter term #hashtag. Yep, Twitter is threatening the survival of French. Last year, the French government decreed that #hashtag shall henceforth be known as #mot-dièse. The OQLF didn’t like that either because they had already decided that #hashtag shall be known as #mot-clic (who knew???). The OQLF chastised France for not being French enough because the angle of a musical sharp sign/dièse (♯) is at a slightly different angle from that of a pound sign/number sign/croisillon (#),which is technically correct.

      Thank goodness that Quebec is there to protect France from the French!!!

      http://www2.macleans.ca/2013/01/31/france-attempts-to-ban-the-word-hashtag-replace-it-with-mot-diese/

      Delete
    5. @the cat

      "The problem is that the OQLF has decreed that the word “place” (English: Place or Plaza) shall refer only to an uncovered space and is “inappropriate” to name a building."

      it's not a "decree" mate, it's a definition. can you handle this nuance? if you do you should agree with oqlf and impératif francais. of course a dude who posts a sign with a big mistake like the one you report here is shameful. but a public building that does the same is way worse.

      can you repeat with a straight face that institutionalized french bastardizations are not threats to the health of the french language in north america?

      Delete
    6. The Cat,

      I need to ask this question one more time since nobody seems to answer it, in all seriousness.

      Why was it then "Place Bell" unacceptable for an arena / amphitheater while "Place Banque Scotia" was completely acceptable? I never heard or read any complaint about "Place Banque Scotia" for the seven years that name was in effect.

      Delete
    7. It's because "Place Bell" is in Quebec and "Place Banque Scotia" is in Ontario.

      Quebec has a few hyper-ventilating language purists while Ontario recognizes languages as they are actually used.

      Even in Quebec, there's never been any complaint about "Place Ville-Marie" in over 50 years, nor "Place Vertu" nor "Place Versailles". It's only some Quebec language martyrs that complain, apparently preferring to be pedants rather than acknowledging common usage, all because of something the OQLF decreed in 1980. Remember when they tried to tell us that a hamburger is actually a “hambourgeois”?

      “Place” is a cognate of “plaza”, “piazza” and “praça”, none of which would cause a kerfuffle anyplace else in the world… but you know, French purity from Quebec language purists… they even instruct France how to speak French properly.

      Delete
    8. @the cat

      interesting. you are arguing that quebec should continue to do something wrong just because it has been doing it wrong for a long time. bad argument, but i find it interesting nonetheless. a good one for my how low can one go archive.

      Delete
    9. Fascinating, then, that completely incorrect forms such as “Tu vas-tu…” and “Il est-tu…” are completely accepted...

      Delete
    10. The Cat,

      Interesting observation. Yet nobody makes any claim against "C'est ça que j'm".

      Delete
    11. @the cat

      yes the quebec flavour of the french language is facinating. that's why it needs to be preserved.

      Delete
    12. Quebec flavour such as "Place Bell" therefore needs to be preserved.

      Delete
    13. @the cat

      well no. as place means an open public place, not a building. you should learn french, it's a neat skill to have when cruising around quebec province.

      Delete
    14. Interesting too how "Il me fait plaisir de..." is completely wrong but very widely accepted.

      Delete
    15. Languages are not static. they change and evolve, and the efforts of any group, whether the Academie or IF or the OQLF to preserve a language in amber are futile.
      Haters gonna hate, players gonna play.
      Pas temps d'niasier

      Delete
    16. "Fascinating, then, that completely incorrect forms such as “Tu vas-tu…” and “Il est-tu…” are completely accepted..."

      Juste un commentaire à propos de ce "tu". Ce "tu" n'est pas le pronom "tu" de la deuxième personne du singulier, c'est une particule interrogative qui vient du vieux français du nord de la France d'où était originaire la majorité des colons de la Nouvelle-France. C'était quelque chose comme le "ti" de "ça va ti?" qui est devenu ici "tu" avec le temps.

      C'est une trace dans notre langue du vieux français. Moi, j'aime bien ce "tu".

      Delete
    17. @ Michel Patrice

      "C'est une trace dans notre langue du vieux français. Moi, j'aime bien ce "tu"."

      I hope one day, we graduate from this type of hillbilly French.




      Delete
  18. Editor said: "I'm surprised that they (Imperatif francais) haven't demanded that English artists like Justin Bieber or Beyoncé sing in French when performing in Montreal."

    Imperatif francais doesn't want acts performing in English in Quebec....period. They have already complained that there are too many English acts performing at the Gatineau casino.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. haha. it's funny, impératif francais claimed there are "too many english acts" in gatineau. the only other way of saying it is they want less english acts. of course you go overboard and stupidly claim they don't want any at all, period. there could be a few good points you could make for you cause durham but you blow them all with dung like this. please write another comment.

      Delete
    2. @student: you complain about others being vulgar, then you go scatological. 2 poids...

      Delete
    3. @confused in quebec

      sure. so in your humble opinion giving the finger in the parliement and calling a bad argument dung on an internet blog should draw the same outrage?!?

      Delete
    4. @students: You've already discarded your endeavor to avoid vulgarity. link So sad.

      Delete
  19. #GoHabsGo #TrustInDustin

    Link 1. Link 2.

    So Mr. Berlach, did you throw your hat to the ice tonight?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. why don't you send a private message to the editor troy, for personal enquiries that have nothing to do with anything that matters?

      Delete
    2. UN GARS BIEN SYMPATHIQUE DE FRANKFORTWednesday, May 28, 2014 at 6:47:00 AM EDT

      @student:
      Pourrais-tu nous expliquer pourquoi tu te portes volontaire afin de supporter la cause de la separation du quebec sur ce site lorsque la majorite des quebecois sont contre? Pourquoi supportes-tu une cause perdante?
      Aussi, au moins S.R. a tout compris et a retourne sur vigile.net Je t'invite a en faire la meme chose. Merci.

      Delete
    3. @un gars bs de frankfort

      you claim i should think like the majority of quebeckers and you claim i should leave this blog and hang out with like-minded folks.

      what you're telling us here mate is you adhere to sheep mentality and you enjoy a good ol' circle jerk. are you certain it was the message you hoped to convey to our community?

      Delete
    4. UN GARS BIEN SYMPATHIQUE DE FRANKFORTWednesday, May 28, 2014 at 12:47:00 PM EDT

      @student

      Il n'y a rien qui fait de plus colonise, chiant et insultant qu'un quebecois comme toi pour converser en anglais avec un autre quebecois. En passant tu as l'air obsede par les circle jerks. Essaies apres quelques verres de Chardonnay avec tes camarades du plateau :)
      TRIPLE FAIL pour toi, "mate".

      Delete
    5. @un gars bs de frankfort

      "Il n'y a rien qui fait de plus colonise, chiant et insultant qu'un quebecois comme toi pour converser en anglais avec un autre quebecois."

      are you a quebecker?!? you don't sound like one.

      "En passant tu as l'air obsede par les circle jerks."

      but you're the one calling for one. who's obsessed?!?

      "Essaies apres quelques verres de Chardonnay avec tes camarades du plateau :)"

      ??? i don't get that one mate.

      Delete
    6. Getting back to Troy’s comment, Bourque is sure on a roll. He scored 9 goals in 63 regular season games… and now 8 in the playoffs. According to Sporting News (which has a bunch of GIFs and tweets about last night’s crazy game you might like), that was the first playoff hat trick by a Canadian team in an elimination game since Maurice Richard did it in 1945.

      Delete
    7. "what you're telling us here mate is you adhere to sheep mentality and you enjoy a good ol' circle jerk. are you certain it was the message you hoped to convey to our community?"

      In that case we must conclude that those congregating on virgile.net enjoy 'The Mother' of all circle jerks!

      For the record pinstripes, you are not part of this community. Perhaps if you stop trolling and grow up you may have a shot. You are nothing but a two-bit imposter nobody gives a crap about. You cling to this blog in the hopes of rehabilitating the unsalvageable quebec brand, which has become a bloody punchline. I an in the Midwest getting an earful how the quebec brand is broken. AN EARFUL. Montreal would be wise to cut itself loose..NOW...we can do and accomplish so much more without the ball-and-chain quebec has become for us. We need to realize this and get with the program...no one wants to invest in the current quebec climate...Cloudy with a chance of an impending black hole...that's the message I'm getting...and the future looks bleak...

      Montréal pour une ville état

      Delete
    8. Ha ha! Even Rene Bourque’s parents’ house in Lac La Biche, Alberta, had their front lawn strewn with hats.

      http://www.nhl.com/ice/blogpost.htm?id=29686

      Delete
    9. By the way, Rene Bourque is of Metis heritage and doesn’t speak French, but some French purists will insist on spelling his name with an accent (the same as they mistakenly do with Eugenie Bouchard). Meanwhile, they will name their own children “Steeve”…

      The mother who was recently a victim of a baby abduction in Trois-Rivières (previously known as Three Rivers), Mélissa McMahon, was completely unable to speak her heritage language, English, to the national press but as usual we don’t hear much complaining about anglo-Quebecers who have lost their heritage and been assimilated by French Quebec, especially not from those who complain about French assimilation.

      http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/baby-victoria-s-parents-thank-quebecers-for-finding-their-abducted-newborn-1.2656166

      Delete
    10. @montreal ville état

      "we must conclude that those congregating on virgile.net enjoy 'The Mother' of all circle jerks!"

      please post a link to an example of a vigile.net circle jerk. i didn't find any.

      "you are not part of this community."

      of course i am. you need to check the definition of community mate. and try inclusiveness. it's trending up; don't be left behind again.

      "You are nothing but a two-bit imposter nobody gives a crap about."

      except for you, troy, whowhatzit, the cat, parratchik, un gars bien sdf and all others who reply to me, obviously.

      "AN EARFUL."

      woah. capital letters. check carefully there might be a banana in your ear.

      "We need to realize this and get with the program..."

      what program?

      "no one wants to invest in the current quebec climate..."

      you're wrong: http://tinyurl.com/n8ntnpf .

      are you a liar or an ignorant?

      "that's the message I'm getting.."

      update your sources mate. someone's playing with you.

      Delete
    11. Keep playing dumb...your quebec brand is broke....it's in the toilet...denial won't help the rescue process....YOU'VE been played. You should crawl out of that bubble before someone runs you over for being totally clueless.

      Ps...we DON'T give a crap about you. You will not be allowed to perpetuate lies regarding the quebec brand....you can't rescue it unless you do away with dumb restrictive legislation which discourages Industry. Montreal deserves better than to be associated with the broke-ass quebec brand...we have to get out NOW.

      Delete
    12. @montreal ville état

      "...unless you do away with dumb restrictive legislation..."

      oh, bill 101 again? you seem to long for that one day when you'll be allowed to disrespect most of your customers and post a shop sign in english only. weird stuff.

      Delete
    13. "The mother who was recently a victim of a baby abduction in Trois-Rivières (previously known as Three Rivers), Mélissa McMahon, was completely unable to speak her heritage language, English, to the national press but as usual we don’t hear much complaining about anglo-Quebecers who have lost their heritage and been assimilated by French Quebec, especially not from those who complain about French assimilation."

      Last names don't always tell the whole story... Maybe she's only 1/4 (or less) Irish...

      Delete
    14. @student
      Why do you need 101? if a customer is not getting the service that he/she deserves then shop elsewhere, if enough customers do it the place of business will accommodate if not they will go out of business. Also it opens opportunity for a competitor that will meet the needs of the customer.

      Delete
    15. There was once a lot of English spoken in Three Rivers. It was once a diverse place, in fact, Three Rivers elected the first Jewish member of parliament in Canada.

      Quebec has lost so much of its Anglo heritage and what's left is being assimilated. I don't think the majority ever complains about minorities being assimilated into the larger group. The Quebecois are no different in this regard. As always, we have far more in common with one another than we have differences but it is the differences that we let define us.

      Delete
  20. Well done student. Your 'no vulgarity' resolution lasted a little over 12 hours. I knew it would hard for you to let go of "circle jerk", a term you've adopted as your own, but I thought you'd make it a couple of days.
    Fail again.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. @diogenes

      so what's a more noble term to use instead of circle jerk? when un gars bs de frankfort longs for a circle jerk how are we supposed to refer to his favourite activity? sometimes a vulgar word is apt to describe a vulgar activity. isn't it correct to call a circle jerk a circle jerk in such circumstances mate?

      Delete
    2. UN GARS BIEN SYMPATHIQUE DE FRANKFORTWednesday, May 28, 2014 at 9:05:00 PM EDT

      We all know who's fantasizing about circle jerks. It's student. Pretty obvious...
      ------------------------------
      BTW calling me "Un gars bs" is not a very clever insult... it shows you are limited intellectually.
      Nothing "bs" about me as I had to leave quebekistan to get employment. On the other side the whole province was referred to as "bs" by one of quebec's most successful businessman today.
      BTW I suspect "student" don't work much, hey mate?

      Delete
    3. @un gars bs de frankfort

      "We all know who's fantasizing about circle jerks. It's student."

      no it's you. you called for one by suggesting i should stay at vigile.net.

      "calling me "Un gars bs" is not a very clever insult..."

      your name is too long mate. i had to shorten it as best i could. i'm sorry would you prefer un gars bien sdf?

      "Nothing "bs" about me as I had to leave quebekistan to get employment."

      you must be very low skill then cause unemployment rate in quebec is quite low.

      "On the other side the whole province was referred to as "bs" by one of quebec's most successful businessman today."

      yes he said that. he'd like for quebec to be rid of equalization. i would like that too.

      "I suspect "student" don't work much, hey mate?"

      and i suspect you don't. are we even?


      Delete
    4. UN GARS BIEN SYMPATHIQUE DE FRANKFORTThursday, May 29, 2014 at 6:03:00 AM EDT

      The difference between you and me is that you choose to openly insult other posters here. The funny thing is that - as a quebecois - you must be big time suffering from an inferiority complex to address other quebecois here not only in English but by also using words or terms that were cool or catchy 15 years ago. I feel both saddened and perplexed by your mental outlook, mate. Seek help or stop the immature & dishonest rhetoric here.
      BTW this will be the last time that I argue with idiots (meaning you).

      Delete
    5. @un gar bien sdf

      "you must be big time suffering from an inferiority complex to address other quebecois here not only in English..."

      assuming your are a québécois, and assuming you think i am too, this has to be the most obvious contradiction or the most humble coming out of this page mate.

      Delete
    6. student, the fact that you're in love with the term 'circle jerk', using it no fewer than 4 times in your 5:47 post, certainly makes it seem more like you'd like to participate in it than Un Gars. The disparaging use of the term is homophobic as, in real life, the only people likely to engage in the activity are gay men.

      Delete
    7. @diogenes

      that was an infantile comment mate. please up your game for our community's benefit.

      Delete
  21. Some time ago, members of "imperatif francais " where having a breakfast meeting at a large hotel. All of a sudden in the middle of eating, they all started to gag and choke on the food. " Waiter, what is this! ", yelled one of the members. The waiter replied, " Monsieur, it is an English muffin". The member replied, " Well, no wonder! ".


    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. hey we needed a resident comedian. montreal ville état tried to do it but failed. he wasn't funny. but you seem more talented bob. the english muffin! haha! hilarious mate.

      Delete
    2. Spilled my drink (pepsi) all over my computer screen!

      Good one Bob!

      Delete
    3. @dj habs

      just what i think too. english muffin!! isn't that punch line gold mate? haha. please bob keep going you're on a roll.

      Delete
  22. Say what you want to say about Claude Blanchet, but he is a loving husband. He purchased his wife Pauline Marois a brand new red Ferrari as a consolation gift following her crushing defeat at the provincial election of 07 April.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. so? how is this of any interest to our community troy?

      Delete
    2. It’s interesting to see how the PQ is sliding further and further away from its social-democratic, working-class labour roots. With a Ferrari-driving (former) leader and a union-busting billionaire MNA who inherited his fortune, it’s unsurprising that their traditional supporters are looking elsewhere. It’s fascinating to witness the decline of the PQ.

      Delete
    3. Someone is not happy their sh*t is being disclosed ???I wonder why? Lol

      Delete
    4. @the cat

      you are easily distracted by superficial stuff mate. i think you should steer your focus to the policies supported by the pq if you want to know if it's "sliding away" from anything. don't you agree the cat?

      Delete
    5. It's part and parcel of why the PQ's support has evaporated. They're Champange Socialists that are disconnected from the people and the people saw right through them.

      Delete
  23. Le Québec est sur le «BS» et dépense trop, selon le PDG de Couche-Tard. LaPresse May 28, 2014

    http://tinyurl.com/qakaxhv

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Does that qualify as Quebec bashing if it's said by a Pur Laine Québécois?

      Delete
    2. Only anglos can be accused of “Quebec-bashing”, Anonymous. When francos mention anything remotely negative about Quebec, then you must use “vendu”, “assimilé” or “colonisé”.

      Delete
    3. @anonymous

      yes a pur laine québécois can qualify as a quebec basher. un gras b sdf does it all the time. now is the dépanneur guy a vendu assimilé colonisé? could be. but what he said is he'd like to see quebec not depend on equalization no more. so maybe he's just another separatist.

      Delete
    4. Money is just a way to enslave us

      Delete
    5. From the article: «C'est un minimum, a-t-il dit. Ma fille de 13 ans me demande des choses sur l'économie (...), comment ça se fait qu'ils ne montrent pas ça à l'école. Ça n'a pas de bon sens qu'on n'ait pas un minimum (d'économie) au secondaire, ça n'a juste pas de sens.»

      The general population not understanding anything about economics explains a lot of what's wrong with the province.

      Delete
    6. @Student

      Yes, he may be a separatist but he does most of his business outside Quebec and he certainly hasn't let being a Canadian stop him from accomplishing what he wants to do. And he just named an (English speaking) American as the new CEO of the company.

      And today Brian Mulrony is being named as the new CEO of Québécor. I don't think this is e return of colonialism, just the standard globalization we!re all dealing with.

      It's too bad we can't present more of a unified front against the more negative aspects of globalization.

      Delete
    7. "And today Brian Mulrony is being named as the new CEO of Québécor. I don't think this is e return of colonialism, just the standard globalization we!re all dealing with."

      Good thing that Anglos start running things again after all the failures by the Francos in the past decades

      Delete
  24. For those who think that English is an easy language to learn, I recommend this test… most especially for the smartasses like me who think that it should be simple. They say that 90% fail the test and I believe it.

    http://m.tickld.com/x/90-of-people-cant-pronounce-this-whole-poem

    And then just think that the website http://theeasiestlanguagetolearn.com/ nevertheless ranks English as being easier to learn than French… or Italian… but Spanish is the easiest. The hardest one is Korean.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    2. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    3. Meanwhile, French is considered “Easy” among world languages for English-speakers to learn, according to experienced travellers.

      http://abroadee.com/2013/04/17/what-are-the-hardest-and-easiest-languages-to-learn/

      Delete
    4. Well, at least English and French have the same alphabet and a large number of similar words are used in both languages.

      Delete
    5. I can understand that English can be a difficult language to learn. Words such as " there", "their", and " they're ", all have the same sound but different meaning. It's enough to send some french running to visit their therapist. I always found french difficult and still have a terrible time.

      Delete
  25. Following pequiste Drainville’s example, the STM has admitted that it has never sought a legal opinion about providing the Montreal public with bilingual public transport service:

    http://www.montrealgazette.com/life/legal+opinion+English+admits/9885681/story.html

    http://www.cjad.com/cjad-news/2014/05/29/stm-has-no-legal-opinion-on-making-employees-speak-english

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Further proof we're being ruled by incompetent, vindictive assholes. Rather than provide good service to the public they went out of their way to make sure they didn't have to. Providing bilingual service makes sense in Montreal especially in the downtown core and visitor hotspots. And the Quebec tourist industry wonders why Americans have stopped coming here to visit.

      Delete
    2. @LD

      They can no longer hide the wrongdoing...social media has ensured they are exposed for the "incompetent, vindictive assholes" they are. Pastagate has had long tentacles.....very long. I cannot tell you how many times I have been asked about it this week as I have traveled through Midwest.

      Delete
    3. Funny you know. I always thought that cities provided necessary services to those citizens who pay taxes. I assume anglos pay taxes, and there is still a large community. So, why not services in English? Is there a possibility as remote as it may seem that the government doesn't care for anglos?

      Also, thousands of Americans are planning visits to Quebec. They are at this moment in french classes all across the US getting prepared. Parisian french of course. This ought to be interesting.

      Delete
    4. Where do you draw the line, though, Bob? That map of languages in Canada is interesting. It lists 599,225 English speakers in Quebec, the largest number after French. In Ontario it shows 500,375 Chinese speakers, the largest number after English. And yet, you can get government services in French in Ontario, not in Chinese (well, that's not true, you can get many government services in many languages. The TTC, for example, offers directions in 140 languages).

      So simply going by the numbers isn't enough. There is also, as you point out, tourism and other business considerations and then, probably the biggest issue - history.

      Delete
    5. Jay, there are a million English speakers in Quebec according to Government figures. Most of whom live in the Montreal area.

      Delete
    6. @Jay

      Good point. Maybe I should not have based it on taxes, but rather on basic common courtesy. The Quebec anglo community is large and well established who used to have signs and services in English until bill 101. Canada has two official languages, French and English, at least at this point in time. Being bilingual never hurt anyone. If I saw a french person needing assistance , I would try my best even in my broken french to help them.
      As to other languages, we can try, but we cannot be all things to all people. They should at least have a basic understanding of one of the official languages.

      Delete
    7. @ld

      "there are a million English speakers"

      there are way way more than that many english speakers if you consider all the bilingual french canadians. but mother tongue english speakers number around 600000 according to wikipedia. i think your information source is low quality mate. you should switch to mine.

      Delete
    8. Phillip Couillard is my source. He stated repeatedly during his leadership campaign and the general election that he would be the premier of All Quebecers including the MILLION English speaking citizens of Quebec. Again, another strike out by the clueless student.

      Delete
  26. What is a Pur Laine Québécois?

    A mix of native, french and/or Scottish, English and/or Irish…French my butt…lolllllllllllllllll

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They're a master race with the curse of bad eyesight. For they require their language to be twice as big as any other language on any signs within the Province of Quebec.

      Delete
    2. anyone residing in quebec and claiming to be a québécois is a pure laine québécois. you probably want to know what's a pure laine french canadian, right? well it's a french canadian who's parents are also french canadians. a french family name is often a good clue.

      Delete
    3. @ Anonymous

      It's kind of like when those welfare separatists wave their Patriote flag and don't understand what the green, white, and red represent.

      Delete
  27. "The Canadiens' season is over. The New York Rangers defeated the Canadiens 1-0"

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdOPBP9vuZA

    ReplyDelete