Pigs at the Trough Come to Hydro-Quebec's Defence.

Recently we've seen a spate of defenders make public pronouncements defending Hydro-Quebec's donation program.

The controversy surrounding the now cancelled donations to the private schools has opened up a can of worms that has sent shock waves around Quebec's francophone arts community.

Hydro-Quebec's donation policy has come under the loupe and many are questioning the legitimacy of a provincially owned monopoly doling out money without public oversight.
While Mr. Vandal seems to have survived his attempt to steer money to his alma mater, the question of Hydro-Quebec donating to the arts has become an open question.

Shocked by the direction of the debate, leading francophone editorialists are flocking to the defence of the program whereby Hydro-Quebec shells out money to it's favorite festivals, theatres and arts programs.

By the way don't bother asking Hydro-Quebec for dough if your name is Clark, Cohen, Collevechi, Costas, Hadid or Chong. This money is meant to support 'real' Quebec culture and education.

Here's some of Hydro's biggest beneficiaries;

OSM ($600 000 )
le Musée Pointe-à-Callières ($400 000 )
le festival Montréal en lumière,($900 000 )
Les Grands Ballets canadiens ($70 000)
l'Opéra de Montréal ($42 500 ),
le Moulin à images de Robert Lepage ($250 000)
Festival du cinéma international en Abitibi-Témiscamingue ($60 000),

Here's an example of what Hydro-donates to in the Sagenuay region;

Fondation de ma vie (Hôpital de Chicoutimi): $476 500
Fondation Hôtel-Dieu Alma: $25 000
UQAC (campagne de financement 00-09): $25 000
UQAC (projet Balsac): 25 000 $ Cégep Jonquière Fondation Asselin: $20 000
Dolbeau-Mistassini (comité spectacles): $25 000
Festival international des Rythmes du Monde: $25 000
Orchestre symphonique du Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean: $21 000
Camp musical du Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean: $15 000
Cathédrale de Chicoutimi (concerts d'été): $50 000
Chambres de commerce: $8700
Grands jardins de Normandin: $10 000
Randonnée à vélo Hydro-Québec: $30 000
Traversée internationale du Lac-Saint-Jean: $30 000

Of course all these beneficiaries of Hydro largess are spurned to action, fearing that the tap will soon be turned off. There hasn't been such a call to action since the Harper government cut off funding to Quebec artists. Maybe we'll have another parade.

The $26 million that Hydro-Quebec has spread around the francophone art community has bought it a lot of defenders.

Former Quebec premier Lucien Bouchard, who is president of the board of directors of the l'Orchestre symphonique de Montréal penned a letter in Saturday's le Devoir which is representative of the type of argument used to defend the program;

"WE NEED THE MONEY!!!"

Things are much more serious for Nathalie Petrowski in La Presse;

"Without the support of Hydro-Quebec, there wouldn't be any culture, not only in Montreal, but across Quebec"...

Not everyone in the French press agrees. Richard Martineau in Le Journal de Montreal asks;

"Is it the role of Hydro-Québec to invest $26 million in culture? Don't we already have a minister?
As far as I know, the Minister of Culture doesn't invest in the production of electricty"

There seems to be a chasm between the Francophone inteligensia and the man in the street.

When Pierre Duhamel wrote a fatuous defence of Hydro-Quebec in L'Argent, his readers were not amused and the comment section was overwhelming negative. If you read French go over to the article and see for yourself. In fact, most of the comments are better written and make more sense than does Mr. Duhamel's article.
At any rate here is my favorite comment which I have taken the liberty to translate;

1) Every dollar that HQ gives in sponsorship is a dollar less returned as a dividend to the government and a dollar more that needs to be collected in taxes. As the anglos say; "no taxation without representation"...

2) HQ is a badly run enterprise, wasteful and notoriously inefficient. By the way at least 70% of it's profits come from the sale of electricity from Churchill...
(ed. note - Hydro Quebec re-exports energy produced in Newfoundland because the power lines need to cross Quebec territory to reach markets. Hydro forces Newfoundland to sell it the power at the border for a pittance and makes a huge profit upon it's resale.)

3) HQ is a monopoly and doesn't need to promote it's image in a captive market.

4) HQ is probably one of the coziest havens for unionism on the planet, the average citizen probably has no idea how its employees (and managers) are living large, but they should understand that they help fund these golden pensions while often without a pension fund of their own. Ultimately it is the citizens who are funding these "gifts" to Hydro.

HQ is basically a mediocre enterprise which wasn't always the case, (but is now) which uses our money to brush up it's image. -Pierre Brasseur

By the way I like the nickname given to Hydro's boss Thierry Vanadal by another commenter- " l'invisible PDG".

Passport Photo Flap Makes Little Sense

In a recent post, I wrote that if I was manning the passport station in Kenya when Suaad Haji Mohamud came through, I too would have refused her passage based on the photo in her passport.

Passport 'loaning' is a rampant scam whereby a legitimate passport is used for the short period that it takes to pass immigration controls. Before boarding the airplane the passport is returned and the passenger lands in Canada as an undocumented traveller claiming 'refugee' status. It is legitimate for consular and passport officials to be suspicious when documents don't match the bearer, either because the photo or the personal details such as age don't match.

That being said the actions by Canadian consular officials in resorting to DNA testing to prove Ms. Mohamud 's bone fides shows a disturbing lack of sophistication that is not only puzzling but disheartening.

Does it really take DNA evidence and three months to uncover the truth? There are a lot easier ways to establish one's identity without resorting to such a drastic, expensive and time-consuming process.

Thirty years ago, before boarding an EL AL flight to Israel, I was (along with every other passenger) put through some pretty thorough vetting by Israeli security agents.

Regardless of your feelings about Israel, you've got to give them credit for having the most effective security in the world. For them, establishing one's identity is more than keeping illegal refugees out of the country, it's about keeping the airplanes in the air.

To the Israeli security team a passport is an essential element in establishing an identity, but it is by no means the only criteria.
Each passenger, before boarding the airplane is subject to an interview by a security screener. The agent's role is to establish that the person before them is the same person represented in the passport and that their travel aboard the El Al airplane is non-threatening.

Back then, my screener was a young slip of a girl who didn't look more than nineteen years old, not the hard nosed sort you'd think you'd come up against. She was friendly and polite and explained that she needed to ask me a couple of questions. She asked for my driver's license and studied my travel documents, the airline ticket, hotel reservation, etc. The questions started out with the standard queries that you'd expect.
Who packed your bag? What's the purpose of the trip? Did anyone give you a package to take on the airplane. etc.etc.
Pretty standard stuff, but then things got personal.
Tell about your neighborhood? What's the name of your Member of Parliament? What's the closest food store to your address? etc. etc.
The questions were harmless, but incredibly effective in determining that I was who I said I was. If I was an impostor there's no way I would have successfully passed the screening.

If EL AL can successfully confirm an identity in a short interview, why couldn't Canadian officials determine Ms. Mohamud's identity by using the same method?

Would it be so hard to ask her questions that a passport 'borrower' would never be able to answer.
They could ask her personal questions that only she would be able to answer and they could add questions about life in Canada and Toronto in particular, that a long time resident would easily answer, but which would prove difficult for an impostor.

Unless Ms. Muhamid was a spy out of a John LeCarre novel and had undergone months of intensive training at a KGB type of school that taught the art of assuming another identity, she'd be hard pressed to fool her interrogators.

The interrogators could ask the questions, email the answers to Canada for someone to verify and during this verification period Ms. Mohamud could be kept incommunicado in order to make sure she doesn't communicate her answers to anyone.

Under this scenario it wouldn't take more than 24 hours to establish whether she was who she said she was.

Just for fun, here's a list of questions that I would ask her. I bet you could come up with an effective list of your own.

• Describe your apartment building and tell us about your neighbors?
• Describe the view from your bedroom window.
  
• How much rent do you pay and whom do you pay it to?
• Describe your kitchen? What's in the pantry?
  
• Where do you work and how much do you get paid?
  
• What is the name of your boss?
  
• Name a few co-workers.
• How do you go to work? Describe the trip.
• What school does your son attend and what is his teacher's name?
• Name some of your son's friends.
• What does he eat for breakfast?
  
• What did you buy your son for his last birthday?
  
• What will I find in your bedroom closet?
  
• Recite as many phone numbers as you can and who they belong to.
• Describe your neighborhood.
• Where's the closest place to your apartment to buy milk.
  
• Who do you pay your electric bill and telephone bill to?
• What's the closest bus stop to your apartment? The closest park? Hospital?
  
• What colour is a Toronto tram painted?
• What is a loony? What colour is it?
• In which supermarket do you shop?
  
• Do you have cable TV and if so what is the name of the cable company?
• Which Canadian television shows do you watch?
• What is Tim Hortons?
• What caused last year's big Toronto explosion?
• Name five people who aren't related to you, who could identify you from a current photo.
  

Enough!!!
I bet you've thought up a few good question of your own by now! No impostor could possibly know all the right answers. It would take a couple of hours to run down the answers and determine if she is really the person she claims to be.

I hope that there's some sort of inquiry that will determine if there's more to this story or if our officials are really the bumbling fools that they seem to be.

Law Not Done with Fraudster Vincent Lacroix

The public remains thoroughly confused and angered by the court's handling of fraudster Vincent Lacroix.
His original 12 year sentence has been hacked down to five years by the appeals court, resulting in his immediate eligibility for parole, in accordance to the ridiculous rule that allows non-violent first time offenders to seek bail after having served just one-sixth of the sentence.

Ironically, this whole sad fiasco may work for the better and we may yet see Mr. Lacroix rot in jail for a very long time!

To understand how this can be, it's important to review what has happened up to now and how those circumstances will affect the future.

When Mr. Lacroix's shenanigans came to light, he came under the scrutiny of the RCMP, who opened a fraud investigation, as well as the AMF (Autorité des marchés financiers), Quebec's regulatory agency, which oversees stock markets and the companies and agents that sell financial products to the public.

The AMF was to first to act, as the the RCMP fraud investigation dragged on for four long years.
Too bad, since the more serious fraud accusation carried a much stiffer sentence.
At any rate the AMF's prosecution and the potential conviction of Mr. Lacroix would in no way impact the RCMP fraud investigation, they are two different and distinct crimes.

Mr. Lacroix was sent to trial facing 51 accusations of violating the Securities Act by influencing or attempting to influence the market price or the value of securities by means of unfair, improper or fraudulent practices (27 counts); and by providing the AMF with documents containing misrepresentations (24 counts).

The Court of Québec (Criminal and Penal Division), district of Montréal, found Vincent Lacroix guilty of the 51 charges filed against him by the AMF, on March 9, 2006.

Judge Claude Leblond handed down a sentence that totaled 12 years, which consisted of five years less a day for the first 27 accusations (27 counts of attempting to influence the market price or the value of securities illegally), and two 42 month sentences for the the other 24 counts of misrepresentation.

The judge threw the virtual book at Mr. Lacroix. He gave him the most time that he could, in fact he gave him too much, as we would find out later. The first part of the sentence, 5 years, less day, is the maximum allowed in Provincial court. Sentences in excess of five years are subject to a jury trial in Federal court.

The judge also ruled that the three elements of the sentence were to be served consecutively (one after the other) which meant that Lacroix would serve 5 years, then 42 months and then a further 42 months, totalling 12 years in all.

Mr. Lacroix's lawyer, Mr. Monterosso, argued in appeals court that the sentence was too harsh and the judges agreed that the two 42 months sentences were redundant. They lopped of one of them off and reduced the sentence to eight and a half years.

In a second appeal, before the judges of the Court of Appeal, Mr. Monterosso changed tactics and now argued that the cumulative sentences were illegal and that five years, less a day sentence was all that the court was entitled to impose.
Subsequently, the Court began a lengthy analysis of the legality of consecutive sentences. It concluded that without a law that allows judges to add up the penalties, the practice is not allowed and so again, they reduced the sentence down to the five years less a day.
That is where we are today, with Mr. Lacroix getting out of jail very soon.

The real problem was not with the court, but rather that Mr. Lacroix faced charges that could only bring a maximum of five years in prison.
Had RCMP charge Mr. Lacroix with fraud, he'd of faced fourteen years of imprisonment.

And now here's the interesting part.

The RCMP finally completed their investigation and while in jail, re-arrested Mr. Lacroix and charged him with fraud. He faces trial this fall and if convicted will likely get the maximum 14 years.(if the mood of the previous court is to be considered.)

He will be going back to jail and this time is no longer a first time offender, having already been convicted of the security violations.

As a repeat offender, he will not be eligible for accelerated parole and will in all likelihood serve out the majority of the sentence.

SWEET!

BIXI's French Only Airport Ads

If ever there's a place where we can expect bilingualism, it's at Montreal's Trudeau International Airport.

Even the Quebec government accedes to that principle and advertises it's services in both official languages.

Arriving from Washington yesterday, I spent some time in the arrival hall, snaking through the long line awaiting my turn to go through.

The new arrival hall has many television monitors placed up high on poles that are used to show advertising that generates revenue for airport. As you can imagine, the ads are closely related to travel and visitors. Car rental agencies, restaurants, Tourism Quebec, etc. etc.

All the ads run bilingually, all except BIXI.

I watched the ads rotate a couple of times to confirm that what I saw was right- and yes, BIXI advertises in French only.

As you know, the majority of tourists who come to Montreal speak English as a first or second language and the idea of advertising in French
only makes little senses.





It seems that all of BIXI's outdoor advertising is exclusively in French as well. I noticed this billboard as I drove away from the airport.

The value and efficacy of this French-only program leaves much to be desired, Bixi is not exactly a world-wide recognized product like Coca-Cola. Placing an ad that says "Bixi- est Montreal" may be classy, but as a device to promote their product, it is money down the drain.

I imagine that 99% of tourists, both English, French or whatever would have no clue as to what the billboard meant.
Ignoring the fact that the majority of tourist don't read French is arrogant and stupid.

Trudeau Airport's New U.S. Terminal Disaster

It was with a measure of trepidation that my wife and I ventured out to Trudeau Airport for a flight to Washington DC last Thursday. I had read the news that a new terminal for flights destined to the USA was to be inaugurated on Wednesday, the day before our scheduled departure and fearing that it might suffer from teething problems, we left extra early.

I was not to be disappointed.

Arriving at 7:30AM for a 9:20AM flight, we assumed that we'd be in the clear. Alas, it was not to be.

I punched in our reservation code into the ATM-like machine that prints out boarding passes and was met with a long series of questions.

"Where are you staying?" asked the machine.

"Maroi" - "Marriet" "Marriot Htel" - "Marriot Hotel." Yes, finally!

Typing on these keyboards is never an easy task. Next time, I'll skip this supposed time-saving maneuver and let the agent ask the questions!

With boarding passes in hand, we joined the surprisingly long line to process our bags.
This new automated terminal doesn't look so automated. Half an hour later, the Air Canada agent who scans our boarding passes, tells us politely that the baggage system is down. Arghh!

Notwithstanding, we are told to pick up our bags and proceed to the next queue, the one where our luggage is to be passed through a scanner and then sent on a mini-elevator ride to the basement for loading onto the airplane.
We proceed posthaste, but the agent's warning proves quite true, the line is not moving. Ah, technology!

After ten minutes of shuffling our feet, an airport employee points to a sign that says "OVERSIZE LUGGAGE." He winks and I the cotton to the message rather quickly. We drift out of the queue and make our way to the oversized baggage room as unobtrusively as possible. There's absolutely no lineup and the scanner is humming. The bored and uninterested employee that is manning the front end of the machine takes no notice that our bags are not particularly oversized.
Hooray for higher intelligence!
She scans our boarding passes and then puts the bags through the machine. Another agent removes them on the other side and sends them onward, downstairs. Before we egress, another agent scans our boarding passes...that's the fourth time!

Pleased with our good fortune, we join the next queue and happily, it is of reasonable length. After about ten minutes we accede to the security station where we are both to be personally scanned. What fun!
But before entering the hall, our tickets, of course, are scanned again, it's getting annoying!

"Take off your shoes , please!" shouts an agent as we approach.
"Whaa?'

This the first time I have ever been in a Canadian airport where everyone, as a matter of course, is required to remove their shoes.

It seems that this new terminal is run by American rules.

Come to think of it, the majority of the security and baggage agents are speaking Spanish amongst themselves. Perhaps this is the 'Twilight Zone' and we have already been magically transported to America! Strange thoughts occupy an idle and bored mind.

We get scanned, quickly pick up on footwear and attempt to make good our getaway, only to be thwarted by another agent who informs us that my wife has been randomly selected for a further security check. RATS!

She is steered over to the side and given as thorough a frisk as can be done in public. The agent searches every inch of her belongings, opening and closing every zipper including her wallet.. Bah!!!

"You won't find many terrorists that way, my friend! Middle-aged couples travelling together are on the lowest rung of the profile" I think to myself, careful to keep the thought private, lest I run afoul of authorities for mentioning the dreaded "T" word.

We make our way onto the US Customs hall, foolishly believing that all this foolishness is behind us, but as we pass through the portal, we are thrown for quite another shock.



The hall is filled to over-capacity. "Shit!"

I do a rough head count and realize that there are about 300-400 people ahead of us with only ten agents to process all of us. Worse still, the line is not moving, the agents are twiddling their thumbs.

"What's going on?" I ask someone ahead of us in the line.
"Dunno. System is down or something. Nobody is telling us anything."

I look at my watch and the sickening realization that we aren't going to make our flight comes over me. Frustration and anger can best describe my state of mind.

'We're are stuck in the lineup, like cows on a death march in a slaughterhouse," I ruminate. "There is no way out of the queue, no "Oversize Baggage" escape route here!"

We wait, we wait and we wait. Nobody tells us anything. People with Blackberries are saying that some flights are being delayed for half an hour.

There are no overhead electronic signs, no airline or airport agents to question, only Montreal city cops who look mildly amused at our predicament.

The line, starts to move, the agents begin processing passengers. "Hooray!"
Unfortunately, it takes another hour for us to get through. It's now 10.25 and our plane was scheduled to depart at 9:20. AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

We shuffle off to the gate to embrace our fate, dishearteningly, but upon arrival are astonished to see that our airplane has not left, it is still parked, awaiting latecomers!
It occurs to me that the airport authority has no doubt frozen the US departures in an attempt to alleviate the ongoing fiasco and perhaps salvage their reputation.
In my entire career of flying, I've never seen a airplane wait for over an hour for latecomers.

Our tickets are scanned for the sixth or seventh time and we show our passports to the gate agent, who mercifully represents the very last barrier to freedom.
We gleefully skip down the ramp towards the airplane door.

"STOP!!!!" shouts another security agent hovering in the gangway.

"You've been selected for a random security search!"

"WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!! WTFFFF!!!! .....Are you insane!!!!"

Once again a physical frisk and once again the agent opens everything we have, every zipper, every bag.
Time ticks onward.

Three hours to board a plane for an hour and a half trip. Aargh!...

Thank you, Trudeau Airport for allowing Homeland Security to dictate security procedures in our airport.
Our new terminal is now as indistinguishable as any of the nightmare facilities in the USA. Bah!!!
I have a question. Why the hell did we need a new terminal?

The old one worked just fine, as any regular flier to the USA can attest.
The truth is that air traffic between Canada and the USA is going down, not up.

Don't tell us that you're planning for a future full of millions of new passengers. We've heard that before... it's called M-I-R-A-B-E-L. Spare us, please!!!!

The Trudeau Airport authority is out of control and on a spending spree that makes little sense.

Excessive landing fees for airlines and additional fees, tacked onto passenger tickets, are needed to pay for all this foolishness. Delux airport installations and ridiculous and over the top security controls are as stupid as they are unnecessarily expensive.

The new US terminal represents a giant step backward. Enjoy!