tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7963035472241877292.post194258331123772635..comments2024-02-17T03:22:53.951-05:00Comments on No Dogs or Anglophones: French versus English Volume 20Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05699783315783642466noreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7963035472241877292.post-10545745857902112842011-01-24T12:52:38.311-05:002011-01-24T12:52:38.311-05:00"The idea of completely destroying Quebec thr..."The idea of completely destroying Quebec through some kind of vengeful and faux-cathartic 'cleaning of house'"<br /><br />Unfortunately, I personally do not have the power to be politically vindictive or to bring the house down. But after watching successive generations of Quebeckers thrive on the institutionalized hate that passes for a social program in this province, I'm happy to see the rotten hens come home to roost.<br /><br />Polite, quiet demonstrations in the back of a defunct English school are not going to change anything. It's time to fight this, not coddle it. I would encourage all the anger and vindictiveness that I can nurture - it's the only appropriate reaction to being culturally segregated and politically stifled and unrepresented, in my opinion.ethnicnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7963035472241877292.post-44235900555088078012011-01-24T11:31:18.192-05:002011-01-24T11:31:18.192-05:00And I challenge Apparatchik to take a walk in Mont...And I challenge Apparatchik to take a walk in Montreal Est, along the streets lined with “Le Quebec – un nouveau pays ” signs. I urge him to go up to the people who live there, and not necessarily the old “farts” who remember the times of the old, Anglo-ruled Montreal, but also their children. And I urge him to talk to them about unity. <br /><br />I wonder what they’ll say.<br /><br />And no, these aren’t just uneducated, backwards, welfare-collecting lowlifes. Because you then can go to UQAM and talk to the poli sci students, and they will sound exactly like the same.adskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04196014962059056067noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7963035472241877292.post-58900934886059931422011-01-24T10:33:27.907-05:002011-01-24T10:33:27.907-05:00In theory, I agree with Apparatchik (unity, cohesi...In theory, I agree with Apparatchik (unity, cohesion, integration, getting to know one another). In reality, being only human, I must admit I share the sentiments of the English Dude. Any time a business leaves Quebec, I’m happy. Anytime Quebec economy goes down the shitter, I’m happy. Anytime a star NHL player opts to stay of out Montreal, I’m happy. Any time a major company relocates its headquarters out of Quebec, I’m happy. If Quebec ever has its national hockey team – I’ll be happy, for there will be a team I can jeer, heckle, taunt, and goad. Conversely, when Quebec has recently managed to finalise the energy deal with Vermont, I was depressed for a couple of days. I hoped for the deal to fall through, but it didn’t.<br /><br />This is the way it goes. The State of Quebec has acted in a certain way for 5 decades now. It is very hard for a non-Francophone to take this place seriously, to muster up enough will to reach out, to feel part of the greater collective. Even if acts of kindness are met, and even if someone with a straight head posts something on some blog (or even in the newspaper), 10 other posts appear to drown out the lone voice of reason.<br /><br />One thing I must disagree with Apparatchik – it’s not only the politicians that are to blame. Yes, politicians do pray on people’s credulity and create conditions that let them get elected (and fear, fear of anything – an Anglo, an Ethnic, a terrorist, a loss of language and identity – is the most powerful motivator). But society consists of people, and in Quebec we have a couple of generations now raised on hate and mistrust. Yes, some people break through it, but majority of them haven’t, as of yet.adskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04196014962059056067noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7963035472241877292.post-47663240212450939502011-01-24T09:48:06.288-05:002011-01-24T09:48:06.288-05:00Apparatchik,
I need to call you out. Reading your...Apparatchik,<br /><br />I need to call you out. Reading your posts, I have the impression that you think that Toronto's surpassing Montreal in economy, population and social importance is just an inevitability. The separatist movement and Bill 101 have nothing to do with this situation. Please confirm that that is what you are saying.<br /><br />If that is the case, I need you to explain to me. Why Toronto population finally surpassed Montreal's right in early 1980s? Why did BMO, RBC and Sun Life move to T.O. right about the time after the implementation of Bill 101? Are you willing to concede that all are just coincidence?<br /><br />Now regarding Electrolux plan in Memphis. While there is indeed a sweet deal for them to relocate, we do not know the value. Besides, governments everywhere do it every time. If the loss from the deal can be offset by gain in employment (direct or indirect), then it is a success. Reading that article, these lines caught my attention:<br /><br />"If wages, taxes and regulatory costs were more competitive and the workforce was more productive, this wouldn’t be happening."<br /><br />"Quebec should be the kind of place that attracts employers because we have a relatively well-schooled and well-trained workforce. But we wind up shooting ourselves in the foot, with social policies that cost too much and with a tax system that’s uncompetitive."<br /><br />Those comments were not originally made by Memphis Daily News, but by The Gazette.Troynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7963035472241877292.post-67426673781848458092011-01-24T02:05:34.819-05:002011-01-24T02:05:34.819-05:00As I said, it's very doubtful we will see Queb...As I said, it's very doubtful we will see Quebec healed in our life time. But wait a minute, there is NO HEALING going on, the province is still injuring and hurting itself with NO END IN SIGHT.<br /><br />It's only defeatist and irresponsible if you plan to stay and make it your home. Most anyone with common sense will LEAVE. I know I am.<br /><br />There is no hope for this province.Some English dudenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7963035472241877292.post-31680005661329871602011-01-24T00:17:58.196-05:002011-01-24T00:17:58.196-05:00I don't think the problem with your vision is ...I don't think the problem with your vision is pessimism. I think that it embodies the very kind of irresponsible defeatist attitude that's partly to blame for the mess we're in.<br /><br />Peoples' attitudes can and will change over time. People want to be free. And people want to be prosperous. The more we grant leave of our senses, duties, responsibilities, and control, the more others (extremists) will be glad to dominate us. Fight for your limitations and they'll be yours... or something like that.<br /><br />In the end, we'll have a place that is neither completely in the image of staunch separatists nor die-hard federalists.<br /><br />But the more things change, the more they stay the same. Half a century of tumult, and we're still a fundamentally bilingual city with polarized pockets of arrogant crazies.Apparatchiknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7963035472241877292.post-53641424878736369522011-01-23T23:00:20.596-05:002011-01-23T23:00:20.596-05:00Believe it or not, I live in Montreal.
You talk a...Believe it or not, I live in Montreal.<br /><br />You talk about what's really needed is to turn things around. Sorry, but the damage here is far too great at this point and it never will heal (certainly not in my lifetime, or that of anyone else reading this blog). <br /><br />I've come to realize even if by some overnight miracle: the PQ and BQ disbanded, an official declaration no-more-referendums-eve-again made. The language laws abolished. Quebec made officially bilingual, etc, etc. You still would have generations of people's minds who were poisoned and corrupted to hate "Les Autres". Business still wouldn't come running back in here, not for many, many years any way. <br /><br />This isn't a Disney fair tale however, NONE of that stuff is going to happen anyway. Sure, call me a pessimist, but there is no happy ending coming for Quebec...it's all downhill from here. So what else is there to do? Just take joy is seeing what's left of Quebec die, celebrate companies, businesses and sport franchises leaving. It's an entertaining show. It's kind of like Milliways, the Restaurant at the End of the Universe. Only instead of watching the universe end, I'm watching Quebec end. :)Some English Dudenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7963035472241877292.post-5411262045947482972011-01-23T22:07:16.055-05:002011-01-23T22:07:16.055-05:00With an attitude like that, I’m willing to bet you...With an attitude like that, I’m willing to bet you aren’t from around here.<br /><br />I fail to see how this thing you call “tough love” is going to fare better than the critical self-examination that is much more urgently needed. At the end of WWI, the Allies thought it would be a good idea to blame and punish Germany. Read the 1919 Treaty of Versailles for yourself, then come tell me WWII was a complete surprise…<br /><br />And truth be told, this discussion is really starting to get a little old.<br /><br />The problem was (and to an extent continues to be) about our communities not being sufficiently integrated with one another. Our province’s political culture already runs more on passion and persona than is good for us. If we knew each other better, the pseudo-intellectual hate- and fearmongers who have been hailed as leaders of this inglorious revolution wouldn’t have a leg to stand on. The stale product they continue to peddle wouldn’t have any market at all. If they were a computer company, they would have been long abandoned, admonished for pushing vaporware.<br /><br />The true enemy of Quebecers is the legislation that sanctions our continued (self) segregation. Couched in a culture that deliberately de-emphasizes its negative side effects, the “protection” of our language seems like a no-brainer to many Quebecers who have had little or no reason to integrate better within the dominant language and culture around them. Similarly, anglos who arrogantly believe it isn’t necessary or even worth it for them to integrate with the local community around them commit the same grievous mistake.<br /><br />Montreal has paid the heaviest price for the nationalists’ many caprices over the last decades. Our once-great and still-bilingual metropolis has suffered an important decline under the burden of such emotional flashpoints as linguistic supremacist pride. Yes, a decline might certainly have been underway by the time the nationalist lunatics took control of the provincial asylum. Their lunacy did nothing to stop the bleeding; rather, it slit the other wrist.<br /><br />You celebrate the departure of businesses and institutions, but you obviously don’t understand that all this does is cause the lunatics to celebrate even more. They don’t care about running a multicultural and bilingual Montreal to the ground because these are the very “problems” - antithetical to their cause - that they seek to eliminate. The very understandable “reconquest” of downtown boardrooms that was achieved in the 1970’s remains something that many francophones are ever mindful of seeing reversed. From that perspective, “linguistic security” trumps everything else.<br /><br />So yeah, pull out, one company at a time, until we’re left with a handful of Quebec-based multinationals employing a few thousand of us, and a bunch of abandoned buildings and historic high unemployment for the rest. <br /><br />Some of us will rejoice. The rest of us – francophones, anglophones, allophones, and “rootless cosmopolitans” who didn’t sign up for any of this - will be stuck picking up the pieces or running for our lives. I hope you’ll be just as cavalier and energetic about absorbing us as economic refugees with open arms.<br /><br />If you aren’t, I say be careful what you wish for.Apparatchiknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7963035472241877292.post-16175214431721262402011-01-23T19:50:26.304-05:002011-01-23T19:50:26.304-05:00"And Quebec's language laws are not mean ..."And Quebec's language laws are not mean and vindictive? I agree with 'Ethnic' and I cheer whenever a business in Quebec closes down and Quebecois employees lose their jobs."<br /><br />Make that two of us, I also can't help but smirk and grin whenever another Quebec-based company moves its head office out west, or relocates the entire business to another province or the States. I also was happy to see the Quebec Nordiques and Montreal Expos leave--forever.<br /><br />It's a form of tough-love. The Quebecois don't understand what their doing or see anything wrong with their loathing hate of English-persons and ethnics. The only thing that may wake them up is where it hurts most...money, jobs and employment.<br /><br />I also don't think Quebec deserves national sport teams, or head offices or big businesses in general. If it wants to cut itself off from the rest of the world, then the WORLD SHOULD CUT ITSELF OFF FROM QUEBEC. Especially when it acts oppressive and takes away basic human rights and freedoms.<br /><br />Excuse my French, but FUCK QUEBEC! (at least so long as it continues the way it has since 1976)Some English dudenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7963035472241877292.post-9517756545278810362011-01-23T19:22:39.340-05:002011-01-23T19:22:39.340-05:00Lack of personal rigor combined with a populist mo...Lack of personal rigor combined with a populist movement that capitalizes on old grudges that refuse to give up the ghost are what is killing this province’s ability to do much better. <br /><br />I believe Quebec's language law, much like the underlying spirit of separatism that lies beneath it, is a deeply flawed means toward a deeply flawed end. But two wrongs don’t make a right, and you both need to learn this just as much as any rabid separatist does.<br /><br />I’m disheartened by the hateful anti-Quebecois rants I read here and elsewhere just as much as the equal and opposite hatred I read about Canada, federalists, and national unity on other blogs and sites. <br /><br />How about proactively telling those outside companies to play hardball with our government and some of its idiotic restrictions instead of denying (robbing?) all Quebecers the benefit and advantage of possible opportunities? <br /><br />Laws are made by humans to govern other humans. Everything is negotiable, from tax incentives, right down to the color of the walls. Operations and logistics can be too, with the right kind of persuasion.<br /><br />Exacerbating the disconnect between francophones and anglophones, or between Quebecers and (what some bigots won’t even call) newcomers will do little to bring us together. Wishing to bring all Quebecers to their knees, rather than wipe out the virulent virus that has been distracting us from our real challenges, is not the solution.<br /><br />Seriously people, this isn’t the Bible. Hoping for an exodus of federalists or an economic plague on nationalists isn’t the solution and everybody knows it.<br /><br />Any other (serious) ideas?Apparatchiknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7963035472241877292.post-45722512483902749582011-01-23T17:01:32.800-05:002011-01-23T17:01:32.800-05:00@ Apparatchik,
"I agree with bilingualism be...@ Apparatchik,<br /><br />"I agree with bilingualism being the solution and not the problem, but the remainder of your sentiments are both mean and vindictive."<br /><br />And Quebec's language laws are not mean and vindictive? I agree with 'Ethnic' and I cheer whenever a business in Quebec closes down and Quebecois employees lose their jobs. In fact, I have taken a proactive approach and have contacted companies in Canada and the U.S., urging them not to do business with the officially racist province of Quebec.Oppressed Anglonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7963035472241877292.post-69602076793461927982011-01-23T14:05:07.978-05:002011-01-23T14:05:07.978-05:00@ethnic 12:53:
I agree with bilingualism being th...@ethnic 12:53:<br /><br />I agree with bilingualism being the solution and not the problem, but the remainder of your sentiments are both mean and vindictive. <br /><br />The idea of completely destroying Quebec through some kind of vengeful and faux-cathartic 'cleaning of house' instead than attacking what is specifically wrong with the current situation does nothing to foster the communication that is so badly needed in this province and country, now more than ever.<br /><br />How do you think we'll ever achieve the normal and healthy integration we so desperately need if both you and the people whose attitude you presumably oppose are both arguing for an anti-foreign and Quebec-only business class?Apparatchiknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7963035472241877292.post-70791470551206183062011-01-23T12:53:15.455-05:002011-01-23T12:53:15.455-05:00"Come on! Why couldn’t Electrolux afford to h..."Come on! Why couldn’t Electrolux afford to hire a translator? They deliver seriously bad news like that to a Francophone audience in English"<br /><br />I ask myself the same question whenever I go anywhere in this province. From the unilingual cops and firemen, to the hillbilly bumpkin legislation that limits the voice of whole cultures in the province - bad news one and all, and nobody thought to send us the English memo about how we've been pushed down a few rungs on the later.<br /><br />Fuck 'em. The whole time they had the jobs they voted in restricting the rights of those who brought them the opportunity for employment. Even if Quebec born and raised, I hope for massive lay offs and the relocation of all Anglo and foreign business. Whatever brings this house of cards down to the ground, tabarnac.ethnicnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7963035472241877292.post-6721463597411825282011-01-22T21:35:25.617-05:002011-01-22T21:35:25.617-05:00Anonymous on 21 Jan. 17:08 said:
"Et c'e...Anonymous on 21 Jan. 17:08 said:<br /><br />"Et c'est surement la faute des Péquistes si les américains sont devenus un pays du tiers monde.L'économie des amarricains appartient maintenant aux Chinois...Faut évoluer mon vieux!"<br /><br />You really do not know what you are talking about, do you not?<br /><br />The United States remain the biggest economy in the world. Their 2010 GDP at purchasing power parity per capita stood at $ 47 132, number 6 in the world. Canada was in number 11 with $ 39 033.<br /><br />Among 10 provinces and 3 territories, Quebec stands in number 10 in GDP per capita. NB, NS and PEI have lower numbers than Quebec.Troynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7963035472241877292.post-60701120259382213022011-01-22T15:14:16.540-05:002011-01-22T15:14:16.540-05:00Did anybody manage to make a link with this weeks ...Did anybody manage to make a link with this weeks past events in Quebec?<br /><br />The beginning of the week we have the Sikh story breaking out. All media attention on that event. The group was invited to voice their point of view. But was turned away. Quebec government could have requested a waiver for them for a day! While everybody is looking that way, the Norbourg/AMF deal is announced, and the Basterache report is also released. Now, doesn't that look like a deflection of attention and using the lazy media to divert attention away from what the Norbourg/AMF deal was really trying to do, and what the Basterache report was trying not to say.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7963035472241877292.post-39613673751125844982011-01-22T14:32:15.537-05:002011-01-22T14:32:15.537-05:00> Yep, of the "big 5 banks" in Canada...> Yep, of the "big 5 banks" in Canada, ALL OF THEM now have their head offices in Toronto.<br /><br />Regrettable that this should be the case. But Bay Street is in Toronto too. That ship sailed a while ago. Where do we go from here?<br /><br /><br />> No one wants their head office in a third world unstable shit hole (aka Quebec).<br /><br />It’s sad we can’t get more head offices (back). But we’re still in second place [http://www.montrealgazette.com/Head+offices+Canada+Montreal+second+place/1248444/story.html].<br /><br /><br />> When the PQ is re-elected in 2012-13 the flood gate will really open. This time it will be the final nail in the coffin for Quebec.<br /><br />I think that despite the constant political and media-induced “decanadianization” attempt to craft a mainstream Quebec identity that is entirely Canada-free, Quebecers realize that there are more important challenges ahead. The recent Association for Canadian Studies finding might suggest that an increasing number of young Quebecers are more ambivalent than ever about their relationship with Canada. <br /><br />Separatist commentators like Jean-François Lisée might point to this and say it’s only a matter of time before more people feel more Québécois than Canadian. This is nothing more than wishful thinking. What he fails to recall is the very real trend that as people age, they are less likely to support separatism. There are also no numbers for an identical study taken previously in time and over an age-based cross-section of Quebecers to compare with. No serious conclusion that today’s Quebec youth feels less connected to Canada without numbers from the 90’s, 80’s, 70’s, 60’s, and 50’s can be drawn without such numbers.<br /><br />And even supposing a “drift” were indeed occurring, the recent upward social and professional mobility of many francophones has also caused us to put into question the narrative that drove our nationalism in the aftermath of the Quiet Revolution. There is an equally growing appreciation that the early separatists’ mantra is just as irrelevant to our reality. We’re no longer (that) afraid of assimilation. Many more of us realize that, separate or not, we need a healthy integration of both business and culture.<br /><br />It’s just a matter of time before these growth pangs give way to a generalized receptiveness to integration to the continent that we belong to. When that happens, a huge number of Quebecers will realize that we DESERVE to belong to Canada, DESERVE to have our legitimate grievances heard, and DESERVE to have our say in governing this country.<br /><br />When that happens, we’ll finally drop the false advocates of the Bloc Québécois and elect representatives that can actually do more for us than whine.Apparatchiknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7963035472241877292.post-44436822698836239232011-01-22T10:05:48.307-05:002011-01-22T10:05:48.307-05:00Yep, of the "big 5 banks" in Canada, ALL...Yep, of the "big 5 banks" in Canada, ALL OF THEM now have their head offices in Toronto.<br /><br />Royal Bank and Bank of Montreal used to be headquartered in Montreal...no more. No one wants their head office in a third world unstable shit hole (aka Quebec). <br /><br />More and more head offices and companies are pulling out of Quebec each year. When the PQ is re-elected in 2012-13 the flood gate will really open. This time it will be the final nail in the coffin for Quebec.Quebec = FAILnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7963035472241877292.post-53789988577578572292011-01-22T09:29:50.196-05:002011-01-22T09:29:50.196-05:00> I just find it fitting they all are losing th...> I just find it fitting they all are losing their jobs. Persons so rude, racist and xenophobic to start shouting crap like that don't deserve to have work. What comes around, goes around.<br /><br />Then there’s that old reviled stereotype of “the man” representing “English money” which dies hard in their psyche; that’s probably part of why they shout “Français!”. At the same time, upon carefully re-watching the clip, it seems their demand is equally driven by a genuine communication problem. They’re factory workers who don’t understand a word of English (the plant is in L’Assomption, after all). Proof of this is that few of them barely react when the actual message is later delivered in English, but become very angry once they get the translation. <br /><br /><br />> […] the quiet revolution has replaced Catholicism as the religion of French Quebec, addressing a crowd of French Quebecers in English is tantamount to blasphemy […]<br /><br />This needs to change. At the same time, you can hear the seething resentment in the background chatter of the people who resent that their jobs are being relocated while their performance wasn’t to blame. One fellow gets it so very right when he mutters ‘you guys can clear out, but we’re stuck here without jobs’. Money and back room deals might talk, but our language laws also play a role in creating a captive Quebec work force. <br /><br /><br />> L'économie des amarricains appartient maintenant aux Chinois...Faut évoluer mon vieux!<br /><br />Tout comme la dynamique qui lie toxicomane et trafiquant de drogue, ces deux pays ont d’ores et déjà besoin l’un de l’autre. Pour citer le vénérable Jon Stewart : «When a country owes you a billion dollars -- they've got a problem. When a country owes you a trillion dollars – YOU’VE got a problem. »Apparatchiknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7963035472241877292.post-87248124644973428812011-01-22T09:29:32.381-05:002011-01-22T09:29:32.381-05:00> And as for Electrolux, I really think it is Q...> And as for Electrolux, I really think it is Quebec's fault that they leave. They do not leave to some lower income countries in Asia or South America. They move to some place in the Southern United States.<br /><br />At what cost to Memphis? Looks like some back room sweetheart deal more than anything else [http://www.memphisdailynews.com/editorial/Article.aspx?id=55736]. Seems if one area’s taxpayers won’t be suckered, another one will.<br /><br /><br />> Et c'est surement la faute des Péquistes si les américains sont devenus un pays du tiers monde.<br />> […] somewhat ironic BMO's now based in Toronto, however keep in mind TSX (or its ancestors rather) <br />had surpassed the Montreal stock exchange since the ...1930's!<br /><br />There are factors we have power over and others that we don’t. At the same time, we haven’t done much to help ourselves either. The fact that successive governments have complacently stood idly by or actively worsened the situation stands as proof that the people deserve the government they elect.<br /><br />Toronto’s growth has outpaced Montreal’s since WWII [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toronto-Montreal_rivalry#By_population]. The opening of the St Lawrence Seaway in 1959 didn’t help. The language quibbles of the 60’s and 70’s didn’t help. The political volatility of the 70’s and 80’s didn’t help. Doing nothing to reinvent our manufacturing sector in the wake of the collapse/outsource of old labor-intensive industries like textiles didn’t help. An interesting study by Statistics Canada can be found here [http://dsp-psd.communication.gc.ca/Collection/CS11-0019-177E.pdf].<br /><br />C’est en partie en raison des politiques mal foutues de bon nombre d’administrations - dont quatre gouvernements péquistes fort marquants sur l’histoire récente du Québec - que notre déclin n’a pas été freiné. Nos politiques économiques et linguistiques ont certes contribué au déclin de Montréal. Même à ce jour, les séparatistes et leurs acolytes franco-suprémacistes se contenteraient de voir au Québec une république bananière francophone plutôt qu’une province au cœur francophone mais qui fait affaires dans les deux langues et l’affiche fièrement.Apparatchiknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7963035472241877292.post-79061681482328718102011-01-22T09:28:37.162-05:002011-01-22T09:28:37.162-05:00> For those who think that the language police ...> For those who think that the language police do nothing but harass Anglos over French signage, websites etc., they actually do much more. The 'oh-feece,' as it is affectionately known, is also charged with policing the French language by making sure its lexicon remains as pure as possible by keeping Anglicisms out of daily use.<br /><br />It might be subtle to some, but there is a wide chasm between forcing people to speak French and showing pride in the language by empowering them to speak French well. The former is reprehensible, does nothing to reconcile the two solitudes, and instead exacerbates an already unnecessary conflict. The latter is a crucial and in my view constitutes a non-negotiable precondition to ensure that our language continues to evolve along the principles that have guided it for hundreds of years. <br /><br />Tongue troopers running around measuring the size of English (read: foreign) lettering are a tragic blemish on Quebec’s ability to proudly, confidently and maturely affirm its distinctiveness. They are perhaps simultaneously also the ultimate caricature of our self-appointed insecurity industry whose job is to regularly traumatize us on the precariousness of our continued survival. <br /><br />I’ll be the first to vociferously criticize the Office and the Charter for their part in limiting freedom of expression on things like signage, business management, and in education. But when it comes to terminology I must respectfully disagree with you. <br /><br />English is one of the few languages that have survived without a language academy or regulatory body. This is perhaps a byproduct of the English language’s history, its remarkable propensity to accept foreign words more quickly than most other languages, and its current ubiquity and preeminence as the world’s language of business. However, many other languages (and quite a few of them European ones) are much more conservative and have one or more regulatory bodies. In many cases, such organizations are hundreds of years old and pre-date the English language’s current status and situation. Add to that the fact that ours has always been a notoriously fussy language; why else would we say “pardon my French”?<br /><br />When it is not enforcing the parts of the Charter that moronically restrict individuals’ rights and freedoms, the Office’s mandate to fix and promote correct, consistent, and official terminology is indeed VERY helpful, and *does* go a long way to positively enrich, strengthen, and reinforce the French language. English and French have been frequenting and influencing one another for centuries here, and the two languages can continue to coexist without their official forms eventually degenerating into officialized patois.<br /><br />The importance of careful and articulate communication is constant in every language. I personally cringe when I hear French speakers refer to things as “un power bar” (une multiprise), “un smartphone” (un ordiphone/téléphone intelligent), “des wipers” (des essuie-glace), or, “un driveway” (entrée de garage/voie d’accès). Pedestrian examples, perhaps, but equally important whether the speaker be an old retired relative or the president of a multinational corporation.Apparatchiknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7963035472241877292.post-53572036364980915762011-01-22T08:02:18.211-05:002011-01-22T08:02:18.211-05:00@ Troy : Yes it's somewhat ironic BMO's no...@ Troy : Yes it's somewhat ironic BMO's now based in Toronto, however keep in mind TSX (or its ancestors rather) had surpassed the Montreal stock exchange since the ...1930's!PHILnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7963035472241877292.post-26841183146886225692011-01-22T00:24:02.091-05:002011-01-22T00:24:02.091-05:00Just to put the record straight.
The Montreal urb...Just to put the record straight.<br /><br />The Montreal urban area remains the second largest UA in Canada after Toronto. It is worth noted that Toronto surpassed Montreal in population in the late 70s and early 80s, coincided with the legislation of Bill 101. Montreal had been the largest and most important city in Canada since its incorporation in 1832.<br /><br />It is rather fortunate for Montreal that Vancouver is surrounded by the mountains, the ocean and The United States. Otherwise, Vancouver would have surpassed Montreal shortly after 1997.<br /><br />One thing that I do not understand about separatist mentality is that it is better for them for a business to just leave the province if that business is not compatible with "Quebec culture". It is very much counter intuitive since jurisdictions elsewhere are ready to jump through hoops to have investors in.<br /><br />The best coup of all? Not Sun Life. It is BMO. Where does the Board of Directors of the Bank of Montreal sit?<br /><br />And as for Electrolux, I really think it is Quebec's fault that they leave. They do not leave to some lower income countries in Asia or South America. They move to some place in the Southern United States.Troynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7963035472241877292.post-76448882858187971462011-01-21T23:16:53.755-05:002011-01-21T23:16:53.755-05:00"All they did was was grunt and scream "..."All they did was was grunt and scream "FRANCAIS!!!" - "FRANCAIS!!!" as soon as the poor guy spoke "Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen". God forbid anyone should speak English in the holy land of Quebec." <br /><br />An apt comparison - because the quiet revolution has replaced Catholicism as the religion of French Quebec, addressing a crowd of French Quebecers in English is tantamount to blasphemy. I'm surprised they didn't start throwing their shoes at him like a crowd of Muslims reacting to someone desecrating a Koran.C.B. Haverfordnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7963035472241877292.post-90307505456659613442011-01-21T22:58:02.727-05:002011-01-21T22:58:02.727-05:00It is a recession slightly still, and everyone eve...It is a recession slightly still, and everyone everywhere is getting screwed by it. The Econonmic Tsunami has no targetted ethnicity built into that type of huge wave.Hugo Shebbearehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02542714678024399257noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7963035472241877292.post-42979936486421479812011-01-21T21:24:18.003-05:002011-01-21T21:24:18.003-05:00You know what's hilarious? All those Quebecois...You know what's hilarious? All those Quebecois factory workers at Electrolux had NO idea what the assembly was about.<br /><br />All they did was was grunt and scream "FRANCAIS!!!" - "FRANCAIS!!!" as soon as the poor guy spoke "Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen". God forbid anyone should speak English in the holy land of Quebec. <br /><br />I just find it fitting they all are losing their jobs. Persons so rude, racist and xenophobic to start shouting crap like that don't deserve to have work. What comes around, goes around.<br /><br />They can all scream FRANCAIS when they're standing in line to collect their welfare checks.Franco Phonynoreply@blogger.com