Burlington Airport Looking Better and Better

Used to be that only cheapskate Quebeckers would cross the border to use the airport in Burlington Vermont.

Given the reality of the new security situation at Montreal's Trudeau Airport and the long lineups and endless delays, a leisurely drive and hassle free border crossing might be the right recipe to avoid the uncertainty that travelling to the States through Trudeau airport's new U.S terminal can be.

The hour and three quarter drive from Montreal is definitely worth it when flying to a destination that is served directly by the airport or if travelling in a group. On a trip to Orlando a family of four can easily save over a thousand dollars.

Direct non-stop flights are available to New York City (La Guardia & JFK), Washington D.C., Orlando, Detroit, Atlanta, Newark, Baltimore, Chicago, Cleveland and Philadelphia.

I fooled around with the fare calculators at both Air Canada and Jet Blue and created a mythical vacation trip to Orlando (Dysneyland,) for 2 adults and 2 children.
The trip left on February 24th and returned one week later. I picked the date at random, so it may or may not be typical. Although the departure and return date were fixed, time of departure was based on the lowest fare or best travel deal.

Both airlines had non-stop flights, each taking about three and a half hours. Air Canada wanted a whopping $4,500 for the trip while JetBlue wanted only $1,200 (after currency conversion,) for a difference of about $3,300. WOW!

Air Canada did have a much cheaper alternative at $2,115, but you had to fly to Toronto first, which tacked on another 2 hours of travel time, each way. Even with all the extra travel time, Jet Blue was still over $900 cheaper!

Check out the Burlington Airport web site.

How to Be a Good Quebec Citizen

Here's two pieces written by Réjean Labrie, from Québec City, the first one  Qu'est-ce qu'être patriote en 2010 (How to be a patriot in 2010.) I picked it out to reprint because I thought it was kind of corny. 

"Patriotism is a sense of shared belonging to a country, a homeland. It's a sentiment reinforced by a set of common values. It drives us to feel love and pride for one's country. A revival of the affirmation of a Quebec identity begs the question: How can we manifest the commitment to our country on a daily basis? How can we demonstrate our commitment to our great motherland?

• Buy locally- (Quebec products, stores, restaurants).
• Vacation in Quebec rather than outside the border.
• Fly a Quebec flag in your yard.
• Embrace Quebec culture: entertainment, music, theatre, visual arts, literature, comics, dance, television, newspapers, magazines, etc..
• Encourage debate within your entourage about the need to create an independent country
• Write letters to the editor to defend the cause of Quebec.
• Work to improve the quality of the spoken and written language.
• Have more than 2 children for survival of our people.
• Participate in events with a nationalist flavour: Fête St. Jean, Moulin à Paroles, traditional events such as storytelling evenings and peaceful demonstrations to defend the cause of Quebec.
• Speak spontaneously to your neighbours, people who you meet in public, store cashiers, people sitting next to you, these are our brethren. Remember the ad: "We're 6 million, we should interact."
• Restrict the influence from outside Quebec. For example, don't seek approval in France or the United States.
• When addressed on the street, answer in French.
• Demand to be served in French, everywhere

And you, gentle reader, how do you translate your love of our Quebec homeland, on a daily basis, your faith in the realization of your dream?"

Here's the second piece "On the Slippery Slope to Anglisation" (Sur la pente glissante de l’anglicization)

"You'd be surprised to see how easy it is to succumb to Anglicization without realizing it and this despite a conscious effort to resist the temptation.
 It happens a thousand times a day;

• When reviewing a product label  in a store, your eye is attracted to the English and you continue to read on.
• You attend a movie shown in English because the theatre is close to home,  rather than going to the theatre that presents the French version.
• When news breaks, you watch CNN instead of RDI and LCN.
• You rent a movie and buy the latest volume of Harry Potter in English rather than waiting a few weeks to read the French translation.
• You read an instruction manual in English, "to practice".
• On a bilingual store display in Montreal, you look at the English instead of focusing on the French.
• You watch your favourite TV series in English because the French version is only coming out next year.
• You "forget" to set up your video equipment to display in French.
• When you visit YouTube, you fail to click to view the page in French, "to go faster."
  

And that's how, without quite realizing it, we end up spending too much time in the language of Mordecai rather than that of Felix. It is a question of determination and a little risk of becoming too much. That everyone to remain vigilant and to show determination in her choice to live as possible in French..."

While the writer isn't aggressive or particularly offensive and clearly writes from his heart, it's unfortunate that  he uses an offensive euphemism for the English language- "the language of Mordecai." which of course refers to Mordecai Richler, who is reviled in nationalist circles for writing disparagingly about Francophones in many of his Montreal books, particularly in "Oh Canada! Oh Quebec! Requiem for a Divided Country."
The term is pejorative because it links the English language with a hated stereotypical personality as opposed to "the language of Felix,"which refers to Felix Leclerc, a Francophone personality who is revered. The phrase is as offensive as "Shylock" and when the phrase is used, the writer is using code to say that English s oppressive and contemptuous.

Reading the two articles made me a little sad to think that such incredible paranoia exists among some Francophones. There's nothing wrong with Francophones demanding public services in their own language as well as being served in French when shopping or conversing with strangers in public, at work or even in private.

That being said, the author's second article begging Francophones to reject English unequivocally rather than becoming bilingual is more than sad, it's downright backward. If Mr. Labrie wants to live exclusively in a Quebec Francophone world, that is his prerogative. For those Quebeckers who want to live in the rest of the world, English is a necessity. Becoming proficient in a second language is not just a question of schooling. One must practice what one learns and one of the best learning tools is watching television, movies and reading books in the language to be learned.

The latest position "de jour" pushed by language nationalists is the notion that  Quebec Francophones don't  need to learn English at all, because while it's nice to speak a second language, like Spanish or English, it's entirely unnecessary.
This attitude permeates the snobby language nationalists and sovereignist elite, the school system and government itself. It's dangerous nonsense.
And so the level of English language training in Quebec is pitiful, with high school graduates unable to hold the most rudimentary conversions in English. All this is fine until the student takes their first foreign field trip and are shocked to learn that worldwide, almost nobody speaks French and that it's the kids who speak English are the ones who are advantaged.

The saddest part in all this is, is that Francophone Quebeckers have an incredible talent for language.

Francophones have the ability to speak accentless English, a feat no Anglophone can mimic in French. I once interviewed a young lady for a job in our company and spoke to her in English because it was clear from her accent that she was an Anglophone. Halfway through the interview I asked her how her French was and she blushed. I switched to French only to find that she was a Francophone to begin with. Wonderful! Last week I listened to the Marc Garneau (the former astronaut, now a sitting MP)  being interviewed on the radio and was stunned by his faultless and accent free command of English.

Discouraging Francophones from exploiting a natural gift is criminal.
Those who watch English media to improve their command of English are to be commended. I don't understand how watching a dubbed version of "The Bachelor" contributes to the strengthening of the French language.
Since when does learning a second language diminish one's mother tongue. Hockey players who spend their whole career in the Anglophone communities have zero problem slipping back into French when they return to Montreal to play the Canadiens.

Let the language fanatics do what they wish with their lives. Encouraging people to avoid English is akin to the Southern plantation owners keeping their slaves barefoot, pregnant and stupid.

Come to think of it, the advice offered by the writer is eerily familiar to that rejected doctrine pushed by the Catholic Church on Quebeckers for 350 years- Pump out babies, remain faithful and avoid contact with outsiders.
Hmmm. Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.

Porter Airlines-Another Advertising Gaffe

People rave about Porter Airlines service.

Too bad the advertising agency they use embarrasses them so often.

Here's an ad that appears in Tuesday's edition of the Montreal Gazette;

Here's another advertisement by Porter appearing last year.

The Myth of the Anglicization of Montreal

The Myth of the Anglicization of Montreal

"While we obsess over the legality of the language of  signage, Montreal English speakers  are taking the city, district by district, based on institutional  bilingualism imposed on us by our cowardly politicians.  They are laying the foundations of a future Anglophone metropolis in the heart of Quebec, dispossessed of it's native  language."  Louis Prefontaine, Quebec language zealot

According to Mr. Prefontaine and other language nationalists, the island of Montreal is in danger of becoming anglicized, in part because of the increased and unchecked expansion of English signage.

I must live in an alternate universe, a bizarro world, one in which the island of Montreal is living an opposite reality. It's a world where English signage, both outdoor and indoor is disappearing at an astonishing rate.


Last week I was idly waiting at the takeout counter in an Italian restaurant when my eyes were attracted to the occupancy sign issued by the City of Montreal. Every restaurant and bar has a similar sign denoting what the legal capacity of the premises is.

What surprised me was that the sign was bilingual. "Cette etablisment....This establisment..." I looked closer and saw that the date of issue was 1979. It figures, it's been at least twenty years that the City of Montreal abandoned English officially.  In fact stores, offices, buildings, government and public offices have all abandoned bilingual signage.
The law does provide for English on signs (as long as the font is 1/3 the size of the French) but most places don't bother.


If English was ever to make a comeback, it would likely be in the west island communities on the island of Montreal, where Anglos and allophones make up an outright majority.

 I happened to be in a shopping centre in just one such community, Dollard Des Ormeaux and decided to investigate the state of English signage. If there was to be a breakthrough, it would be here. 

Despite it's name (for a Francophone hero) the town boasts just 16% Francophones, the rest of the residents being Anglophones, with a smattering of Allophones (aligned with the English community.)
The shopping Centre in question was the Galeries des Sources, previously known as the "West Island Mall" a name that was changed after being declared politically incorrect.

A tour around the parking lot of didn't show much English. In fact it I didn't find a word!
To all intents and purposes the mall could have been located in Lac St. Jean!


Perhaps those English conspirators were hiding the English signs inside, far from the passing purview of language inspectors travelling down the adjacent Highway 40.


I took along my trusty IPhone camera, in the hope that the inside would offer an oasis of English, hopefully much to the chagrin of Mr. Prefontaine et als.


Alas it was not to be. 

I used the entrance that took me past "Bureau en Gros" and  the "Super  C" supermarket. 


Guess what? Not a word of English.

You'd think that with 85% of the clientèle preferring English, they'd make some effort to provide some signage. 
It was however, not the case. These are not mom and pop organizations, they must be aware of where the store is located. Can it be that they have made a province-wide decision not to post any signs in English?

Perhaps it's the other stores in the mall (as Mr. Prefontaine alleges,} that are flaunting the spirit and the letter of the sign law, Bill 101.

To be fair there were a couple of signs that were either bilingual or had English added in a decidedly inferior position, but not many.

Finally....Finally .....Finally...... A unlingual English sign!!!!

Yessir! An English sign, advertising an English book in an English Bookstore. Tut! Tut! Tut!.  Call in the language inspectors!

Hold on a second.....Aren't bookstores immune from the sign laws?

My tour of the mall confirmed to me the utter nonsense that is spouted by nationalists that there is a movement towards English signage in Montreal.  I defy you to take a tour anywhere in Quebec and show me where English signage is on the upswing.

As they say on the Discovery Channel---

"This Myth is Busted!!"

More Supreme Court Bashing-This Time Anti-Semetic

Ever since the Supreme Court of Canada struck down Quebec's Bill 104, the law that closed a loophole whereby Quebec immigrants could win eligibility to publicly funded English schools by spending a short time in an English private school, the nationalists and separatists are in a tizzy over the notion that the Supreme Court is anti-Quebec.

A recurring theme is that the court is unelected and stacked with judges who are bent on destroying the French language, Quebec culture and the ability of the province to enforce coercive measures to keep immigrants out of English schools.

Above is a picture of Mario Bealieu, President of the nationalist Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste and some Mouvement Montréal français cohorts having an impromptu demonstration in a Montreal Metro station mocking the Supremos.

The latest missive, La Cour des jugements loufoques (the Court of Crazy Judgments) is a rather nasty article printed in a nationalist web site that takes the court to task for having too many Jews sitting on the bench.
It's an 'intellectual' type of antisemitism, one that attempts to prove that Jews don't deserve to have such a large presence on the court due to their small demographic profile.

The author, Jacques Noël is a prolific poster who uses up a lot of ink postulating that Jews, Blacks and immigrants are over-represented, coddled and given preferential treatment in Quebec.

His body of work includes pieces like Où est la sous-représentation des Noirs aux Parlements ? (Where is the underrepresentation Of Blacks in Parliament), where using some nifty mathematics, concludes that there are too many Blacks elected in Quebec. In another article he complains that the Quebec government has no business offering a subsidy to a holocaust museum because there are far too few Jewish Quebec war survivors. He strays out of Quebec politics to tells us that modern Jews are not descended from those who lived in ancient Israel and in another post intimates that visible minorities are over-represented on Francophone television because although they number 8% of the general population, only half watch French TV. If you want a comprehensive listing of his body of work, here is a Google link. You can find lots of interesting articles denigrating immigrants, Jews, Blacks and oh yes, there is plenty of Anglo and Canada bashing as well.

Back to the article complaining about the fact that there are too many Jews on the Supreme Court.
Mr. Noël sets about giving us facts and figures and concludes that Jews are horribly over-represented on the court and asks the rhetorical question "Why?" He never explains why so many Jews on the court is a bad thing, it's an area that he is afraid to venture into and so, he just leaves it up to the readers' imagination.

His body of work is annoying, mostly because it hides his prejudice behind an impressive set of contrived statistics.

We can all use statistics selectively and so I'll endeavour to show Mr. Noël why it isn't an anomaly to see so many Jews on the Supreme Court in this open letter, which I will forward to him.

Dear Mr Noël,

You seem genuinely perturbed that there is an over representation of Jews on the Supreme Court and pose the question "Why?"

Firstly, let me inform you that the Canadian Supreme Court is not unique, the Quebec Court of Appeals is also one third Jewish and the United States Supreme Court has two Jewish members as well, with another one on the way, if rumours are to be believed.

It isn't really strange to see that Jews are wildly over represented on these august bodies, because Jews, when given a fair opportunity to compete, are over represented in every endeavour of human achievement, except maybe the physical (although Mark Spitz, Lenny Krayzelburg and Boris Becker are Jewish.)

Perhaps the real question to ask is "Why are Jews so successful?"

This marked over-achievement is not a question of religious formation, It is only those Jews of German and Eastern European ancestry (known as Ashkenazi Jews) that are so gifted. Jews from Southern Europe and Africa (Sephardi Jews) don't particularly perform any better than the average westerner. Ashkenazi Jews also have a decidedly longer lifespan, so it's pretty clear that it is a question of exceptional genes. Ashkenazi Jews are six times more likely to be geniuses and although it's a controversial subject, it's hard to deny the achievements of Ashkenazi Jews.

Since you are a great believer in statistics, let me give you the benefit of an assortment of facts and figures that I culled from the Internet.

Jews makes up a little more than one percent of the Canadian population and closer to two percent of the U.S population. Across the globe, Jews make up less than ¼ of one percent of the world's entire population. To understand how few people that is, imagine the world's population shrunk down to 400 people proportionately. Only one person would be Jewish.

20% of Noble Prizes awarded to date, have gone to Jews. Of the 18 Nobel prizes awarded to Canadians, 5 went to Jews (28%). Of the three Quebec-born winners, ALL were Jews from the Montreal area.

Half the world's greatest chess players are Jewish.
This over achievement is repeated in practically every category of human endeavour.

Here is a tiny sampling of Jewish notables;

Physics -Albert Einstein, Nihls Bohr, Richard Feynman, Robert Oppenheimer, Carl Sagan

Medicine- Sigmund Freud, Jonas Salk, Albert Sabin...

Fashion-Isaac Mizrahi, Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Kenneth Cole...

Models- Bar Refaeli, Cindy Margolis, Tanya Roberts, Yasmine Bleeth...

Criminals- 'Bugsy' Siegel, Mickey Cohen, Meyer Lansky, Dutch Schultz, David Bercowitz(Son of Sam)

Notorious- Bernie Madoff, Jack Ruby, Monica Lewinsky, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, Bobby Fischer, Howard Stern ...

Magicians- Uri Geller, Harry Houdini, David Copperfield, David Blaine...

Actresses- Sarah Jessica Parker, Alicia Silverstone, Iona Skye, Kyra Sedgwick, Gwyneth Paltrow...

Actors- Sean Penn, Ben Stiller, Michael Douglas, Richard Dreyfuss, Matthew Broderick, Robert Downey Jr.

Comedians- Lewis Black, Jerry Seinfeld, Rodney Dangerfield, Adam Sandler,

Singers- Barbra Streisand, Bette Midler, Beastie Boys, Billy Joel, Leonard Cohen, Randy Newman, Neil Diamond, Simon and Garfunkle, Gene Simmons...

Writers- Ayn Rand, Dorothy Parker, Marcel Proust, Saul Bellow, Emma Lazarus

etcetera ....etcetera.etcetera

Half of the American billionaires are Jewish.

In Canada 23 of the 100 richest Canadians are Jewish. (23 times what straight demographics would predict)

In Quebec, there are more Jewish billionaires then there are Francophone billionaires (remember Jews are outnumbered by Francophones by 100-1.)


With 1 percent of the population of the Province of Quebec, Jews make up 16% of McGill University students. In the United States, with less than 2% of the population Jews make up 26% of the students in Harvard University, 30% in Yale, 25% in Columbia University, 43% in Barnard college, 25% in Brown University, 25% in Cornell University and 55% in Brandeis University.

William James Sidis, with an IQ of 250-300, is the brightest human who ever existed ( a Jew).

Of the 350 odd companies listed on NASDAQ, over 70 are Israeli (a country of 5 million Jews) while Canada a country of 33 million people has just 50 listings.

40% of the membership of the US National Academy of Sciences' Computer and Information Sciences division is Jewish.

Google, Dell and Oracle were all founded by Jews. If you use "Windows" most of the code was written in Israel.

Israel, with a tiny population of Jews, outperforms 90% of all the worlds countries in terms of patents, inventions, medical breakthroughs and scientific discoveries. In literature, social science, medicine, the law, entertainment and business, Jews outperform every ethnic and national group by leaps and bounds. The Israelis also have a kick-ass army.

Perhaps one of the biggest reasons for antisemitism is the incredible achievements posted by Jews. In grade school, who appreciated the smarty pants who knew every answer!

And so Mr Noël, that is why it isn't so strange that there are three jewish Supreme Court Judges. The reason is MERIT!!!!!

You use statistics to complain that Jews are over represented on the Supreme Court, but fail to mention that the Constitution guarantees Quebec three places out of nine on the Supreme Court, despite the fact that Quebec represents only 22% of the Canadian population (and falling.)

Doesn't this offend you, as well?