Friday, January 25, 2019

50 years later Nastiness Remains the Hallmark of Nationalist Quebec

Fifty years ago my then girlfriend (today my wife) was taking the train from downtown Montreal after work to meet me in St. Eustache for dinner and a Friday night date.
She got off the train and told me of the rather unpleasant experience of being chastised by the Via Rail ticket vendor for having the audacity of requesting a ticket for the Two Mountains stop.
The enraged defender of the faith told her rather impolitely that there was no such station and that if she wanted to go to Deux-Montagnes, that she'd have to ask for the ticket as such.

Selling train and metro tickets is honest work, but not brain surgery, it doesn't even require a high school diploma, with rudimentary literacy and sums the only job real requirement.  It would seem that lecturing passengers isn't part of the job description, but somehow the apparent frustration and animosity towards 'Les Autres' wins out occasionally.

The ignoramus Montreal metro ticket booth operator who last year put up a sign in his booth warning passengers that life in  Quebec happens in French, failed to understand that those offenders he was targeting wouldn't really get the message insult conveyed in the unilingual French sign.
As for the ticket seller opposed to the description of 'Two Mountains,' I'd ask him to name that big country south of Canada and if he answered the 'Etats-Unis,'  I'd smirk rather self-satisfyingly at his double-standard ignorance.

Such is the pettiness that hasn't changed over the decades where even today uneducated shlubs selling tickets in a dreary Metro or train ticket cage deem themselves arbiters of public policy and self-proclaimed saviours of the French language, empowered by the political atmosphere served up by nasty politicians and journalists.

Sadly this petty and hateful attitude permeates the political and journalistic class, where a failed independence movement has spawned gratuitous and mean-spirited attacks at anglos and ethnics.
And sadly the attitude pervades the CAQ and especially the Premier's office.

Make no mistake, the recent demand that the Lachute hospital remove its English signs is not based on the protection of the French language, but rather the persecution of the Anglo minority, a vicious and cruel reminder to them as to who is the boss of this province.
The idiotic rule that in order for a town to be accepted as officially bilingual, fifty percent of the population must be English, makes a mockery of the definition of 'minority.'

At any rate, as the CAQ is pushing full-steam ahead on religious restrictions, the public reaction is what is most frightening and worrisome.
Like the idiot ticket-sellers and assorted low-brows who feel empowered to chastise Anglos over perceived language slights, the Ethnics in Quebec are in for a rocky ride.

Any law that prohibits religious garb will herald open season for idiots with grade-school education to confront mostly Muslim women who choose to wear hijabs in public, EVEN IF THE LAW DOES NOT EXPRESSLY DISALLOW IT.

The unintended consequence of any anti-religious garb legislation is that it will signal to the public that such attire is unacceptable in any manner and in any place.

And it won't be pretty when the inevitable incidents of hate will manifest. Politicians and the French media will quickly disavow any responsibility for the climate of hate that the legislation will surely engender. The hand-wringing and sanctimonious reminders that Quebecers are open and welcoming won't cut it as incidents start to pile up, as they inevitably will.

For those in the media and in the radical French language and culture cabals who can't wait to lower the boom on Muslims, I wonder if they realize the cost to benefit ratio.
Quebec nationalists firmly believe that they can legislate the faith out of Muslim immigrants and somehow force them to embrace pork, poutine and maple syrup while abandoning Allah and the hijab.
Here's news for them, it ain't gonna happen, regardless of the law, regardless of the public shaming.

The truth is that if Quebec doesn't like what Muslims are, they shouldn't encourage their immigration. It is a painful truth which they don't want to face.
To those language and culture zealots, I would sound a warning that they should be mindful of the old Chinese saying.
"Be careful what you wish for; you just might get it" 

Yesterday an Angus-Reid poll indicated that 53% of Canadians believe that Quebec gets extra advantages out of confederation.
Removing the Quebec element from the poll with some simple math deduces that the number of Canadians residing outside Quebec who believed that Quebec is advantaged is actually 62.7%.

I firmly believe that support for Quebec sovereignty is much higher in the rest of Canada than in Quebec and that put to a national referendum, Quebec would certainly be shown the door.
How's that for a kick in the butt!

In light of the poll, Aaron Rand of Montreal radio station CJAD polled his listeners as to what it is about Quebec that Canadians dislike and received a variety of answers, most of which were patently true.

The answer is in fact quite simple,  Quebec's shameful and petty nastiness towards Canada, Anglos and Ethnics is what is so off-putting for Canadians.

Quebec politicians and the French media make it a point to shit all over Canada through oblique and overt slights and insults, typified by the pettiness of ignoring Canada Day and turning it into Quebec's 'moving day.'

 I wonder how the Quebec media would react if Anglo towns would create 'Garage Sale Day' on Quebec's Fete Nationale.

Quebec nationalists are a petty and nasty group of frustrated losers who spend their time slagging Canada in general and Quebec's ethnics and Anglos in particular.
They are practiced in biting the hand that feeds them and remain ungrateful fantasists who believe the utter nonsense that an independent Quebec would be more successful.

And so we are treated and will continue to be treated to a certain brand of anti-Canadian, anti Anglo/Ethnic nastiness that is what modern Quebec has evolved into.
What remains is a frustrated and sad society, too afraid to strike out on its own and thus relegated to sniping, griping and insulting in order to wallpaper its humiliation over its own cowardice over sovereignty.

Like a spouse who stays in a loveless relationship because the money is good and the option to leave inconvenient, bitterness, humiliation and frustration are is the price to be paid for cowardice.

Such is nationalist Quebec, nasty and frustrated ,where Anglos, Ethnics and Canada are the targets of its frustration, blamed as the object of its unhappiness when in fact the problem lies deep within.

19 comments:

  1. Well said..thats the sad sad truth isnt it? Its always someone elses fault..never the fault of les Quebecois..its always Ottawa, the anglos, the ethnics, and on and on. They gladly accept billions in money from the rest of Canada but then turn around and insult Canada every chance they get..then they wonder why Canadians are so hostile towards them.
    One day, payback will come..the rest of Canada will say enough is enough and stop treating Quebec with kid gloves..

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  2. "They gladly accept billions in money from the rest of Canada..."

    only half-assimilated quebec federalists do. Separatists want none of it and even softer nationalists like premier francois legault have repeated over and over than they want Quebec to stop receiving it, by making quebec richer of course. easier said than done i admit, but it still proves you wrong: nobody that matters is "glad" to "accept" this money. it's money owed to quebec and other non-petrol provinces by virtue of the canadian constitution. while proud people lead quebec out of this situation, you should see it as alberta and saskatchewan sharing canadian petrol revenue with all. seems fair to me.

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    1. Tough job accepting money you don't want, but somebody has to do it.

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    2. Really..I don't recall any separatist government ever refusing any equalization payments before. If they were really so principled then they would say no and they would take steps to truly increase the economy here. The reality is that the equalization program is a sham designed to keep poor provinces poor and dependant on the federal government.
      Whats most galling is that instead of showing gratitude for receiving these billions and billions of dollars instead like a spoiled child all we hear is "its never enough". Quebec needs more and more money and more control over its affairs even though it has more autonomy than any other province. On top of it Quebec shows little interest in co operating with any provinces..lets block the pipeline yet its ok to ship oil across the ocean from coutnries with horrible human rights records into the st lawrence river or ship oil in railway cars. What could wrong with oil in railway cars or in ships?? I mean pipelines are way way more dangerous somehow. If again many holier than thou quebecers dont want the pipeline then stop using oil..switch to solar and wind totally or hydro..do it. But of course that wont happen. So there is this constant hypocrisy on so many issues.

      Quebecs model is France which is a total disaster economically. I lived there for a year and all you hear is la crise. People on aide sociale, people who think you are an idiot to work as you earn more doing nothing because of generous social programs. Many neighborhoods look almost communist..all the houses and buildings look the same, same colour, the government is in everyones affairs and is horribly inefficient and arrogant. If you are in the bourgeoisie then life is great..most middle class all earn about the same..much lower salaries than in canada in general..they are taxed to death. The unions have total control over everything and are completely unreasonable which means that France will continue to decline until one day they will be effectively bankrupt.
      This is Quebec's model..why..because they speak french..not because of any other redeeming value or signs of good economic management.



      I think Quebec spends far too much time copying Frances failed policies. For some reason, Quebec seems to think France is the

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    3. @complicated

      "I don't recall any separatist government ever refusing any equalization payments before."

      of course. separatits want to split from canada. they think canada is an obstacle to their development, economically, culturaly, you name it. so while they are still stuck in this federation, they consider equalization as a compensation for all they lose by being part of canada, that's why they won't refuse it. doing so would necessarily go with not sending sixty billions taxes over to ottawa. both money transfers go together. not accepting the money would go against the constitution of canada. do you really wich for a constitutional crisis? watch it you may get what you wish for complicated.

      "The reality is that the equalization program is a sham designed to keep poor provinces poor..."

      no it's not. it's actually a way to share wealth amongst all provinces. it's one country remember? alberta's oil is all canadian's oil. if you don't agree with this it means you are some kind of separatist.

      "all we hear is "its never enough"

      if this is really all you hear there is a simple thing you can do: diversify your sources of information.

      "Quebec needs more and more money and more control over its affairs even though it has more autonomy than any other province."

      what is so wierd about a nation wanting more autonomy and control over its affairs? doesn't canada looked for more autonomy from uk at some point in its history? why is it ok for canada to long for control and not for quebec?

      ".lets block the pipeline"

      yes itlooks like for quebekers clean water is more important than conveying oil. how wierd is that mate?



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    4. “Autonomy” as a code-word for regionalism is probably a good word, as independence for Quebec was never the objective. Regionalism within a North American superstate - the true objective - means allegiance to a new master with some managerial freedom locally but no strategic say in anything that matters globally.
      Quebec separatists were created as the avant-garde, within the Canadian context, of a globalist attack on sovereign states all over the world (just like Catalan separatists - the darlings of every major globalist power player - are in Spain) and they fulfilled their obligation to their masters very well by fostering mistrust and hatred within Canada that will probably never go away.

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    5. student

      There you go showing your poor math skills that most separatists seem to be afflicted with. The old Quebec sends 60 billion in taxes to Ottawa as if none of that money returns to Quebec..total hogwash.

      https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/of-course-alberta-is-getting-fleeced-by-ottawa-just-not-in-the-way-you-think

      This article sums up the real story. Quebec sends 50 billion in taxes but then then the federal govermnent returns 66 billion back to Quebec in expenditures on social programs, employees, purchases and so on. So Quebec is ahead by 16 billion wheras Alberta is the one who should be complaining as they spend also 50 billion in federal taxes but only get 27 billion back from the government.

      So again good luck in a seperate Quebec coming up with 16 billion in extra revenue without exploiting its natural resources such as oil and natural gas. Plus once many companies flee a seperate quebec they will likely need another 10-20 billion per year to pump up the economy. The equalization formula can be changed without it infringing on the constitution..why are hydro revenue excluded for instance but oil revenues are not..there are ways to make it much fairer. Why should an ungrateful and spiteful Quebec get a dime of money from the oil in Alberta?? Especially when go out of their way to anatagonize the hand thats feeding them. I think the oil money should be spread out to parts of Canada that are trying to be a helpful player in this country. But thats just simple good manners and logic..heaven forbid we bring that into the discussion.

      what is so wierd about a nation wanting more autonomy and control over its affairs? doesn't canada looked for more autonomy from uk at some point in its history? why is it ok for canada to long for control and not for quebec?

      The problem is that its never enough. Even though Quebec has more control over its affairs than any other province it still whines and complains. Even though it gets more money transferred into it from the rest of Canada than any other province it still whines and complains. Its the classic spoiled brat syndrome..you keep giving a kid candy to shut it up then it never ends and thats where we are.

      yes itlooks like for quebekers clean water is more important than conveying oil. how wierd is that mate?

      Ummm..please explain to me mate how its safer to transport oil across the ocean into the gulf of st lawrence and down the st lawrence river. Umm..I think there are events called oil spills that cause pretty horrific environmental damage and they do happe quite often from ships..more so than even pipelines.
      Oh and please explain to me how its safer to transport oil in railway cars that run through towns and cities. Umm..I think there was an event in Lac Megantic a few years ago..maybe you didnt hear about it..but transporting oil via trains is not safe either.

      So there is always a risk transporting the oil and gas but pipelines are a lot safer than railway or ships. I dont think quebecers are ready to give up on oil or gas anytime soon but a lot of them like sit on their high horse and lecture the rest of canada about thos evil pipeline yet accept even worse transportation options. Oh and how about buying oil from countries like Algeria and Saudi Arabia..funny that doesnt bother the tree huggers here in Quebec much either..more hypocrisy and simple minded thinking.






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  3. In the '80s, I had a job that required me to travel, by car, to Ontario, the four Maritime provinces, Vermont, and Maine. I had to go to individuals' homes.
    I soon learned to park in such a way that my prospective clients couldn't see my Quebec license plate. Why? Because once they saw that I was from Quebec, I would inevitably get an earful of negative stories about how they -- one time and never again! -- traveled through the province and were mistreated by francophones. It was a dislike bordering on actual hatred...and it was time after time after time.
    I suspect the Quebec tourism board (whatever it is called) or the government must know this. Certainly, at some point in the last 40 years, they have done studies of Americans' and bordering provinces' opinions about Quebec, Quebecers, and traveling in the province. It can't be just me who witnessed this. Some enterprising journalist should do an access to information request to the appropriate government agency to see if any such study exists.

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    1. " It can't be just me who witnessed this."

      i agree. you're not the only angryphone out there mate.

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  4. I have no doubt that 62.7% of those of us living outside Quebec share the sentiments per the Angus-Reid poll:

    Hé Quebec: WE...DON'T...WANT YOU.........WE...DON'T...NEED YOU!

    I'm very confident that Quebec would indeed be shown the door if it tries to ruffle its feathers. I'd be more than glad to lead the charge. If Montreal was to separate from Quebec, I think it could remain part of Canada, but if this didn't happen before a Canadian referendum to throw Quebec out took place before Montreal separated, all bets are off and Montreal would sink with Quebec vs swim with Canada.

    A separate Quebec would get what it deserves. Incidentally, with a federal election now in view on the horizon, I'll be shocked if CAQ doesn't put pressure on Gorgeous for whatever monies it can squeeze out of his federal liberal party.

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    1. Particularly since Quebec is going to be deciding the next Prime Minister. The Gorgeous One is definitely not going to dare stand up to Legault as he sees fit to Ford.

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    2. Mel, your observation is obvious, although he can't afford to snub Ford either. With 121 seats in Ontario, that's nearly 36% of the vote with Ford vehemently against "green" taxes. Like the Dike (defeated premier Kathleen Wynne) before Trudope (a new nickname for the head numpty in parliament I learned recently), we had the relentlessly tax-and-spend Dike.

      Trudope's primary advisor is a fellow named Gerald Butts whose aunt was a former senator. She was that guy's in into federal politics. Read up on that guy. He's dangerous to our health!

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  5. I am pretty sure The Montreal metro ticket booth operator who put up a sign in his booth warning passengers that life in Quebec happens in French at 2012 or 2013. Not last year

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    1. yes but why let the facts get in the way of a good story?

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    2. What diff does it make when the sign was put up? Too, can you prove when that image was taken? Substantiate or exculpate!

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  6. I am pretty sure there are still like minded people still minding the booths of the metro. Its funny how in Paris there are announcements in english all the time and even other languages yet heaven forbid we do that in Montreal even though we do receive tons of tourists from all over the world. Paris gets it like many international cities..instead here we have petty minded people in charge.

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    1. France, Germany and most other European countries have STOP signs, not HALT in Germany and other languages. Quebec is the only French language jurisdiction in the world to have ARRÊT signs, and that, of course, is to cut of its nose to spite its face. «l'anglais est une langue étrangère» according to former education minister Diane Decourcy when that last fanatical bunch of PQ fascists won that election with about 37% of the vote.

      The anonymous contributor above might be right about when that sign was posted (but not for sure), only because that minority legislature of hateful fascists promoted and encouraged bringing out the worst in like minded people, much like the orange creature ruling over our southern border is doing.

      The base of the orange creature is naïve white men, and in Quebec it's Old Stock Québécois. Ignorance for the ignoramuses. Scarily, the orange creature has a good chance of winning another four years late next year.

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  7. The FLQ manifesto is almost complete. Canada has effectively been removed from Quebec, English has been mostly eradicated making it at least look like a homogeneous society; the ban of religious symbols also adds to this perfect lie. The isolation of Quebec from Canada and North America is almost complete. Even while on paper still part of Canada,in reality we have more autonomy than any other Canadian jurisdiction. We are the tail that wags the dog.

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    1. Diversity is our strength and budgets balance themselves

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