Communists Frolic at Khadir Chalet

There isn't much left of the Quebec Communist Party, history and circumstances has ravaged the ranks and many have gravitated over to Quebec Solidaire, where they militate and even run for office without the cumbersome baggage of the Communist Party label. The party also saw their ranks contract when a number of their more militant members broke ranks in an ideological schism.

The relationship between the Communists and Quebec solidaire has been kept on the down low for good reason, as you can well imagine. The party, as well as Amir Khadir in particular, don't see any upside to having the bond between the two becoming widely publicized.  But the relationship is close and last week's article by Éric Duhaime blew the lid off the worst kept secret in Quebec. read 'Khadir at Home with Communists' (in French)

What's left of the party held its annual summer weekend 'Training Camp" at the chalet of the Amir family with Jafar, Amir's father, acting as host of the event on the slopes of Mont Pinnacle near Frelighsburg in the Eastern Townships.

One could be forgiven in assuming that the Casa Khadir would be a huge compound in order to accommodate a whole gaggle of comrades, but in truth, the abode is rather modest.

No matter. Although the eager comrades came from far and wide, they didn't come in great numbers and the dozen or so participants were all that the remnants of the fading movement could muster.

Hmmm. It takes a special kind of moron person to be a communist these days, considering the movement is more or less discredited worldwide. Let's hope that these misfits committed individuals, pictured above, grow up to view the world more realistically and not end up like Khadir pater, an  Khrushchev-age ideologue, sadly out of touch with reality.

Maybe it is really a case of camaraderie. By all descriptions the event wasn't just a political indoctrination session but a social event as well. Saturday night was highlighted by a fabulous Mexican dinner which I imagine was followed up the next morning with copious servings of FRUIT LOOPS for breakfast.
I imagine that the idea of turning Quebec into a 'workers paradise' was oft discussed, notwithstanding that the province already is, with the related goal of making the workforce the most unproductive in the country already achieved. Perhaps discussions of the big bad boss and how the unions can fairly divvy up profits among the proletariat occupied some of the discussions, but no meeting of Quebec radicals would be complete without some anglo-bashing and discussions of the modalities leading to the promised land of a sovereign Quebec.

In this regard, no less a personage than Mario Beaulieu of the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste, along with his trusty V-P, came out to address this small, yet illustrious group.

If anything, you've got to admire his determination and work ethic. After all, a three hour return trip, to speak with a handful of committed nut jobs militants is something to be admired.

He wasn't the only one.
Jean-Pierre Durand, co-president of Mouvement Montréal Français, as well as a directer of the more militant Reseau de resistance du Quebecois also addressed the audience.


As for the host, Jafar Khadir there's no truth to the rumour that he mixed up the speech he was to give condemning Canada's participation in the war in Afghanistan with that of a much older speech that he kept in his archives, wherein he delivered a spirited defence of Russia's heroic military intervention in support of the glorious communist government of that very same country, just two decades ago.

As for Amir, unlike last year where he was a hearty participant, no mention of his presence at this year's festivities was made, perhaps he is lying low considering recent revelations.


For more photos of the event, see them HERE.

Amir Khadir Has a Lot to Hide

Amir Khadir is the only member of the Quebec Parliament representing the separatist Quebec Solidaire political party, which is distinguished from the Parti Quebecois by being much more left wing, extreme and militant.

The flamboyant Khadir got himself elected in just about the only riding he could, Montreal's Mercier riding which is arguably the most pro-sovereignist and militant riding in Quebec.

Since then, he has been working quite successfully to raise his profile and popularity by purporting to stand up to the 'big guys' and opposing just about anything the Quebec, Canadian or American government does or says.
Ever since he symbolically threw a shoe at a photo of President George Bush, at a rally in front of the U.S. consulate in Montreal, his popularity has skyrocketed. LINK

Recently he pulled off another coup by going to Toronto and posting part of the bail for Jaggi Singh, Canada's most notorious anarchist, who was arrested at the G20 conference.

It was a masterful coup, based on perceptions that Quebeckers were targeted at the G20 protests by Toronto police because they were French. This narrative has been successfully sold as fact by Quebec militants and anarchists seeking to engender popular support.

Mr Khadir put forward the position that he provided Mr. Singh's bail, not because he shares his ideals, but in order to defend democracy and the right to dissent. According to Khadir, it was also a gesture of solidarity with those Quebeckers who were targeted by Toronto police, another notion that went down well with the receptive Quebec audience.

But here's the part Mr. Khadir left out..

It seems that  Mr. Singh and Amir Khadir are actually friends, a fact that Khadir wasn't keen to emphasize.  In an interview after his release, Singh mentioned that he considered Kadir a friend and that he had previously gone to demonstrations with Mr. Khadir's daughter.   LINK

By the way it isn't the first time that Khadir posted bail for someone of  dubious distinction.  It is alleged that Khadir and his wife put up bail for Adil Charkaoui, accused by CSIS of being an islamist sleeper agent. Link

It seems that in an effort to become more acceptable to a wider audience, there's a lot Amir Khadir isn't mentioning. He has been re-inventing and re-packaging himself as less extreme and has deemphasized his links to radical anarchists, communists and islamo-religious extremists.

That effort has been blown apart by journalist  Éric Duhaime, who this week and last week wrote two  blockbuster exposes entitled "Khadir at Home with Communists" and "Friends of Amir." Both these articles are in French and if you can read the language, please do so, it will be worth the effort.

Amir learned dissent early, his parents being radicals themselves. He first met his future wife Nima Machouf as a child at the various radical demonstrations that both their parents dragged them to, on a regular basis.

His father is an ageing communist, who reminds me of the over the hill stoner comedian 'Cheech," living in a 1970's fantasy and regurgitating material that is sadly out of date.  Jafar Khadir is a sad character living in the past, who parrots ideas that have long since been discredited, even in Russia and China.  He was a long-time member of the executive council of the Quebec Communist Party and still keeps actively involved.
Jafar has militated on a variety of radical causes and back in 2002 was stopped at the US border, where he was held for eight hours and ultimately refused entry with the warning not to come back.  Link

The Khadir family hosts the annual "Camp de formation" of the Communist Party of Quebec at their summer chalet on the slopes of Mont Pinnacle near Frelighsburg in the Eastern Townships where Jafar  hosts a weekend of speeches, workshops and comraderie. Last year Amir attended and engaged  in those hearty discussions that faithful communist 'comrades' adore. While Amir may not be a card carrying member of the party, he is a sympathetic follower and friend and ideologically in tune.

This year's edition took place last weekend and I will write about it next week. Don't miss the piece, you'll laugh your ass off.

At any rate Mr. Khadir and his wife are "Truthers" who believe that Israel and the United States conspired to blow up the World Trade Centre on 9/11. His hatred of Israel is only matched by his friend Jaggi Singh and he recently tried unsuccessfully to enter a motion of condemnation of Israel in Quebec's Parliament.

For many years, Amir was an active supporter of the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI), which is classified as a terrorist organization in the United States, Europe and Canada. When his brother Omid was arrested in 2003 in Paris during a police operation against the French base of WIPO, Amir intervened to secure his release by putting pressure on the Minister of the Interior, Nicolas Sarkozy, without specifying that it was his brother who was under arrest.

Although an active leader in the Iranian community in Montreal, Amir has strangely suffered a case of lockjaw in relation to the sad events unfolding in Iran today. While blasting Israel for the deaths of nine Gaza blockade busters, he remains strangely quiet about the dozens of deaths of his countrymen at the hands of the Iranian government while protesting a rigged fixed presidential election and who continue to bravely militate for real democracy in Iran. One can only speculate as to what his silence means.

Khadir also remains silent on the two devastating articles written about him by Mr. Duhaime, hoping that the story about his past and his dubious connections will somehow die in the summer heat. Not helping the story die, is an article written in defence of Mr Khafir, by Gabriel Proulx who just happens to be a member of the executive council of the Quebec Communist Party. Link

For Mr. Khadir, the connection to the Quebec Communist Party and Quebec solidaire is best left unmentioned and up until now, Quebeckers remain largely oblivious.

The QS was born out of the PCQ and the communist party retains special status with all members automatically enrolled as Quebec solidaire members.

The communists have stopped running candidates in the last provincial election and now stand for Parliament under the QS banner. The president of the Communist party, André Parizeau and Executive committee member, Francis Gagnon-Bergmann and Jocelyn Parent were all candidates for Quebec Solidaire in the last election. During the election members of the PCQ  worked closely in support of the Quebec Solidaire party.  Wikipedia

As for Khadir, it's strictly a case of 'don't ask, don't tell"

Quebec 'Extremist' Finds Religion

It was a simple feel-good story about a synagogue re-dedication on CTV NewsNet that got my attention and had me scratching my head in bewilderment.

The small town of Ste. Agathe is located about 100 kilometres north of Montreal in the cottage country of the Laurentian mountains and sits on the picturesque lac des Sables. It has been the vacation playground to much of Montreal's Jewish community for over seventy years and is home to one of the two last remaining Quebec synagogues that stand outside the greater Montreal region (the other is in Quebec City.)

circa 1930

The people of Ste-Agathe have worked hard to shake off the history of overt antisemitism that manifested itself up until the 1970's. Signs like "NO JEWS"  or "CHRISTIANS WELCOME" were not common, but were also not rare.

Relations  between the communities slowly improved but took a serious setback back in the summer of 2008 in reaction to a series of  antisemitic attacks.

In a bid to ease tension, a Jewish couple invited the whole town to attend their open air Hassidic wedding. The town, in a reciprocal effort to show good will, embraced the idea and co-operated by providing facilities for the wedding. The couple were married along the shore of the lake, before a large audience of Christians and Jews. For almost all the local townsfolk, it was the first time they had attended a Jewish wedding and they eagerly followed the ceremony guided by a bilingual pamphlet that explained the unfolding ceremony.

The event was a rousing success and represented a turning point in relations. The small gesture of goodwill was widely appreciated and the Jews and the synagogue became am integral part of the greater community.  Read the Story

Last week the synagogue was rebuilt and again the entire town was invited to the re-dedication ceremony. Hundreds of town folk turned up to join the festivities and take a tour of the new building.
Unfortunately the event received little media attention. It seems that when communities reach out to each other successfully, in an effort to foster good relations, it isn't quite newsworthy and that's a shame.

Now here's where the story gets strange. The reporter covering the event interviewed a non-Jewish francophone who has been attending services in the 'shul' (synagogue in Yiddish) regularly. I almost fell out of my chair when the reporter explained who the individual was;

Whaaaaat????????

Was that Guy Bouthillier, the ex-president of the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste, the strident separatist French language militant?

Yup....it appears so. I was flabbergasted.

 For those who don't know, the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste is Quebec's leading French language and sovereignty advocacy group. Notwithstanding its radicalness, it enjoys a wide measure of acceptance and is recognized as THE defender of Quebec language and culture. In fact, it is so respected that the government has awarded the organization the exclusive contract to coordinate the yearly Fête Nationale (Saint-Jean Baptiste Day) celebrations, province-wide, much to the consternation of Anglo commentators.

Could you imagine the stink that would be made if Alliance Quebec was awarded a government contract to organize the Canada Day celebration?.....but I digress..

I did a little research on Mr. Bouthillier, (Okay, it was just Wikipedia,) I found out that unlike the present president of the SSJB, Mario Beaulieu, he is highly educated, broad-minded and perfectly bilingual, as you heard in the news piece.

But he was also a committed sovereignist and a strident French language rights promoter and seeing him become a parishioner at an ENGLISH Jewish synagogue is startling, to say the least.

Imam Mario Beaulieu

Many people 'find' religion at a certain point in their life, but you must admit seeing Mr. Bouthillier embracing Judaism in an anglophone congregation is jarring.



Maybe there's hope for others?

French versus English Volume 13

New Governor-General too much of a federalist?

The selection of David Johnston as Canada's next Governor-General isn't pleasing Quebec sovereignists who complain, if you can believe it, that he is too much of a federalist. According to the president of the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Montréal, Mario Beaulieu, Johnston is a 'federalist extremist' and so his nomination is too partisan. He also complained that Johnston was the co-president of the NO committee in the 1995 referendum. Gerald Larose, ex-unionist big shot and sovereignist bigwig was more realistic about the nomination.  He called Johnston, a formidable adversary. "Federalists pick federalists, it shouldn't surprise anyone"  Link

Gilles Duceppe embarrasses himself internationally

The Bloc Quebecois leader took it upon himself to send out a letter on official House of Commons stationary to 1600 unnamed world leaders warning them to be prepared for Quebec sovereignty.

Brace for a referendum: Duceppe

The letter warns the lucky recipients "that very soon Quebec will be voting in a new referendum on sovereignty." 
That may come as a big surprise to Pauline Marois and the Parti Quebecois who have promised the exact opposite.

Nationalist fantasists prattle on...

Blow hard  Georges Le Gal  continues to  promote his make believe world of Quebec by  demanding that newcomers be denied  Quebec citizenship if they can't speak French, notwithstanding that there is no such thing as 'Quebec citizenship'.

Yves Chartrand, in an article edited by Mr. Le Gal is furious that people wear clothing emblazoned with English words and for the fact that English can be heard, smack dab in the Plateau Mont-Royal, the bastion of French radicalism in Montreal. Horrors! He also demands that a linguistic war be declared immediately.

Rejean Labrie another prolific author on vigile.net also expounds on his version of a 'Fantasy Island-Quebec' by proposing that only Francophones be allowed to vote in a referendum.......

Quebec power couple to return to Bye-Bye

You might recall the controversy over Radio-Canada's(French CBC) New Year's eve show in 2008 that drew a furious reaction because of a black joke about Barak Obama and a skit about sex-abuse victim Nathalie Simard. Read an account HERE.

Véronique Cloutier along with her hubby Louis Morrissette were co-producers of the show and wrote the skit that mocked Ms. Simard. It seems that the public didn't appreciate the humour, considering that the real life pedophile who sexually abused Ms. Simard as a child, is Cloutier's real-life father.
It's a bit confusing, maybe this can help;

The power couple were duly chastised and the traditional New Year's eve show was axed last year.

Apparently,  the exile is over and they will again produce this year's show. It seems that Quebeckers miss their Bye-Bye show and that there isn't anyone of sufficient talent available to produce it.
All is forgiven and forgotten. The couple has likely been taken back with the proviso that they do no more 'nigger' jokes and that they leave poor Nathalie Simard alone.

Con man is latest French language defender/hero?
French language militants are hailing the victory of career con man Stéphane Marleau who won his grievance against Corrections Canada for not providing him with a French language newspaper while incarcerated in the Kingston Penitentiary, in Ontario.
He's now complaining that his medical file isn't in French and that the computer keyboards are exclusively in English. He also wants his rehabilitation course to be provided in French. He also complains that because no one speaks French he can't get the prison job that he wants.
Mr. Marleau has a fraud history stretching back years and and is presently in jail for romancing and defrauding a Quebec woman out of her life savings. LINK (French)

Perhaps Corrections Canada might consider a less costly solution to the 'French" problem. Instead of going through the lengthy grievance process and expensive remedies, they might just ship the intrepid con man to Donaconna or Port Cartier, maximum security prisons located in Quebec!

Andrei Markov assailed for not  learning French

After being sworn in as a Canadian citizen, the Montreal Canadiens star defenceman was asked by a francophone reporter whether he would now bother to learn French. Markov, not particularly adept in English, told the reporter politely that he was first trying to master English. He wasn't kidding or being falsely modest, after ten years in Canada, Markov can't form a proper sentence.
Let's just be polite and say that he is linguistically challenged.

Montreal anglo reporter Ted Bird took exception to the reporter pissing on Markov's big day.

"There are long-simmering resentments at play from which even otherwise celebrated hockey heroes are not exempt, and hobnobbing with a scarlet-clad Mountie in front of a Canadian flag after swearing allegiance to the Queen isn't the goodwill gesture to some that it is to others." LINK

Does Anyone Listen to Pauline Marois?

Catalonia is a Spanish province that shares many political similarities with Quebec. Of its seven million inhabitants about 40% speak an indigenous language similar, but not the same as Spanish (Catalan) and profess a separate culture from Spain, which was repressed up until the end of the Second World War (under Fascist dictator Francisco Franco,) after which the re-emergence of Catalonia as a distinct element of Spain was established.

Of course there is the obligatory secessionist movement, but it isn't violent and has much less support then that of the independence movement in Quebec. In the latest survey only about 20% of locals are in favour of outright independence. Reference
It should be noted that all this has unfolded peacefully and should not be confused with the independence movement farther North in the Basque region which has seen decades of various levels of terrorism by the ETA.

Most Catalans are content to remain in Spain under semi-autonomous conditions which were agreed to in 2006, under the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia, but recently, that law has been dealt a setback by Spain's Supreme Court, ruling that some of its provisions were unconstitutional (ring any bells?)

On June 10 Catalans held a giant demonstration in Barcelona to protest the decision.

All this,  of course, is of supreme interest to the Parti Quebecois, who view the independence movement in Catalonia as a parallel struggle to that of the independence of Quebec.

Upon hearing the news of the Supreme court setback Pauline Marois took it upon herself to write a letter of commiseration to the president of Catalonia. LINK

Here is a translation of that letter which was originally written in French;

 Most Honourable Señore José Montilla i Aguilera
President of the government of Catalonia

Mr. President,

With great attention I read about the recent 'decsion' of the Constitutional Court that declared unconstitutional several important  provisions of the Organic Law on the reform of Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia.

I also, like many Quebeckers, noted the strength of the Catalonian nation during the demonstration on 10 July in Barcelona.

This gathering of over one million of Catalans last Saturday under the banner of "We are One Nation - We'll Decide for Ourselves,"  illustrates the extraordinary vitality and commitment to the nation's destiny.

The Quebec nation remains, as the Catalan nation, committed to its right to decide its own future. Despite court decisions, the Catalan nation has the right to protect and promote its language, its culture and its institutions. The political struggle to advance our nations, often against the established constitutional straitjacket, requires much effort and energy. Also, know that in Quebec you will always find attentive friends and allies for your engagement towards Catalonia.

On behalf of the Parti Quebecois, I want to express to you today our solidarity.

We believe that  it is up to our peoples to ultimately decide our own destiny, to choose our political status and exercise the right to self-determination and not the courts, to mark their future.

Please accept, Mr. President, my highest consideration. 

Chef du Parti Québécois
Chef de l'opposition officielle»     LINK(French)

For elected officials, interfering in the internal affairs of another country is an international taboo, especially when it comes to supporting independence movements.

The classic example was Charles de Gaulle's "VIVE LA QUEBEC LIBRE" speech that he gave in Montreal in 1967. The angry reaction of the Canadian government at the French president's meddling over the issue of Quebec sovereignty sent De Gaulle scurrying home amidst a diplomatic row.

Perhaps Madame Marois deserves to be declared personna non grata by the Spanish government for her act of interference, but it doesn't appear so.

The letter hasn't caused much of a splash and there's zero mention of it in the Spanish press.

I guess Madame Marois lacks a certain gravitas....

Or to paraphrase.....

"Pauline, you're no Charles De Gaulle." ... 

At any rate Madame Marois seems to prattle on without anyone listening. She is prone to make endless policy shifts depending on the prevailing mood of her party or the electorate.

At a certain point as leader she declared there would likely be another referendum during the next PQ mandate. Then her position shifted and the referendum became a maybe. Now, with the PQ facing a realistic chance of winning the next election, a referendum, has been officially ruled out. Ho hum.


Her latest demand that the Loyola College court decision (allowing the school to teach the ECR course according to Catholic point of view) be appealed is so strident, that it would be safe to assume that she has always been a supporter of separation of Church and school. See my post

"It is up to parents and the church to pass along faith," Marois said. "Schools must pass along knowledge."

No mincing words there, a secularist through and through. Or so it appears.

In an article in Republique de Bananes, Pauline Marois is quoted as making the following statements in the 'Assemblée nationale (Parliament) back in  March 1997.

"Public schools must respect the free choice or free rejection of religion, it is part of democratic freedoms."

 "The choice between moral education or religious education, Catholic and Protestant, shall continue to be offered in accordance with the Quebec Charter of Rights and Freedoms. "


 "Schools must be able to offer free choice to parents who attend ... that is to say, to parents of children who attend, of the possibility of a  Catholic, Protestant or moral training. "

"I repeat, Mr. Speaker,  public schools must respect the free choice as well as free rejection of religion as expressed by parents. 

Quite a flip-flop.

Recently, in reference to that Loyola court decision, Marois was quoted as saying; 

"I'm the one who worked to secularize the school system."  Link

Whaaaat????

Nobody has called her out on the apparent contradiction in positions, probably because nobody is paying much attention to her.