The news that journeyman hockey player Dominic Moore has left the Montreal Canadiens to pursue greener pastures on Florida's Gulf coast, didn't exactly rock the Montreal sporting community, other than the usual language grousing by francophone journalists that follows whenever a French speaking player is shipped out of Montreal.
To date and to their credit the Canadiens have been impervious to complaints that the team should 'Frenchify' itself, in order to better resemble the community in which they play. It remains team policy to build the very best team that they can, regardless of language.
Too bad their example is lost on McGill University who have sadly caved to language extremists in regard to its medical school.
The McGill University medical school has announced that it is no longer requiring potential entrants to take the standardized MCAT (Medical College Admission Test) exam, which is the gold standard in assessing applicants potential.
Th exam is pretty much standard across North America and is the most important element in the selection process. Potential doctors study intensely for months and months in preparation for the test. The test itself is a gruelling 8½ hour ordeal which comprehensively assesses the applicant's knowledge and abilities. A high score is almost a sure ticket into medical school.
Score poorly and it's time to look into dentistry.
As one can expect, in Quebec the MCAT exam is not part of the selection process for French medical schools and those francophones that want to go to an English medical school are at a distinct disadvantage, having to write the exam in English. For this reason, those francophones who make it into McGill medical school, (or any other English med schools) can be considered exceptional students.
Shockingly, in an announcement last week, McGill said that it is dropping the MCAT, much to the derision of the traditional medical community.
The decision is one of the most blatant cases of caving in to language militants, an abrogations of responsibility to maintain high standards that shames the school and will likely lead to the school losing its status as the best medical school in Canada.
After years of vicious attacks by the likes of the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society, Reseau de resistance du Quebecois and the Mouvement Montreal Francais, who demanded that something be done about the 52% of graduates who choose to leave the Province of Quebec after graduation, the school decided that their position was untenable.
The solution?
Add more francophones to the English medical school, students who will be more likely to remain in Quebec. The only hitch in the solution is that not enough francophones can pass the MCATs.
And so PRESTO, the MCATS are gone!
Dr. Saleem Razack, assistant dean of admissions for medicine at McGill said it best.
"We want to make sure we have a class that is a bit more representative
of society. The aim of the nontraditional pathway is to bring people
into the class with diverse life experiences." LINK
LIFE EXPERIENCE!!!! ....aarrgh!!!!!!!!!
'Life experience' has always been code for a policy of enrolling unqualified students in situations where the school is in desperate need of students or where affirmative action programs are in place.
It is a fancy term for admitting students who are otherwise academically unqualified.
Sir George Williams University (precursor of Concordia) in Montreal, during its startup phase was notorious for accepting just about anybody who showed up and manipulated standards to fill the ranks of an empty school.
Perhaps McGill can rename their medical school for something more appropriate, GREENWOOD COMMUNITY COLLEGE MEDICAL SCHOOL, sounds about right.
In one fell swoop McGill has destroyed its reputation. It is in the process of turning itself from an elite program into a run of the mill secondary medical school.
By throwing out standards, every francophone doctor who graduates will be considered damaged property.
It's sad.....
All of you over at the University of Toronto medical school....
STOP LAUGHING!!!!!
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Quebec Health Minister Needs a Second Opinion
Back in 1959, the Quebec government opened one of Quebec's first toll roads, the 'Autoroute de Laurentides,' which still today connects Montreal to the Laurentian communities north of the city.
The road, when ultimately completed, boasted five toll plaza's which charged 25¢ each per vehicle, a princely sum at the time. The charge remained unchanged until the early 1980's.
At that point the government bean counters, mindful that the price hadn't been raised in over twenty years calculated that if the toll was raised to 50¢, the government would more than double their revenues.
Well, it didn't work out that way. Motorists were furious at the enormous increase and many refused to pay. They viewed the doubling of the tolls as a commuter cash grab and were furious.
The toll plazas were old and weren't equipped with mechanical arms that came down to act as a barrier until payment was effected. The system was a simple red light/green light affair with a bell and flashing red light triggered in the case where a motorist stiffed on the payment. Supposedly, a police car parked in reserve would pursue and ticket the offender.
But the volume of scofflaws became enormous and it was impossible for the police to cope. At a certain point, it became hugely embarrassing to the government and action had to be taken in order to maintain public order. The government, had no choice but to re-build the toll plazas to incorporate barrier arms, but balked at the cost and more importantly feared the backlash that such an action would engender.
So they did the only thing that they could. They got rid of the tolls completely and went from a 25¢ toll to 50¢ and then to nothing.
Another planning fiasco that failed to take into consideration that people act in their own self interest and that paper predictions are almost always flawed. Perhaps our bean counters should remember the old adage-
"Men Plan, God laughs."
Nothing seems to have changed over these last twenty-five years.
The government continues to make decisions based on statistics, figures and data that rarely takes into consideration the human element.
The recent expanded parental leave program is hundreds of millions of dollars over budget because the government failed to account that an increased number of citizens would take advantage of the program's very generous provisions.
Now we hear that the health department is considering cutting the amount of specialist doctors in Montreal because the city has a higher per capita ratio of specialists as compared to the outlying regions. The rumour is that the government won't offer new positions in Montreal, and won't even replace doctors who retire, with the stated goal of reducing the specialist population of Montreal by ten percent. Link
The Montreal Gazette reacted harshly to this news. The newspaper rightly pointed out that the 400 odd doctors involved won't just shuffle off to the boonies to accept jobs, far from their families and friends.They have choices and between Boston, New York, Ottawa and Val D'Or, it isn't much of a decision. It isn't easy to predict how many will leave, but since the bulk of the affected doctors are anglos, it is safe to assume it will be a pretty strong majority. Link
Now many believe that the Health department is oblivious to the effect that this potential new policy will have on the Montreal health scene. They believe that the government is making another decision that is bound to backfire due to faulty planning once again.
But they who believe that,would be wrong.
The health department understands very well that their policy will trigger an anglo doctor exodus.
IT'S WHAT THEY WANT!
Really,....
Way back in April, I wrote a piece warning that government bean counters were getting ready to reduce the number of specialists, practising in the province. Read the Story
In the jaded and skewed view of the health department, they want Montrealers to have the same bad service that the rest of the province enjoys, believing that the Montreal specialists are a luxury. By reducing the specialists in Montreal, some will go transfer to the boonies and some some will leave. According to estimates, the freed up money could then be spent on family doctors, of which the province is in dire need.
The department may or may not have their math right, but I highly doubt it, their track record on estimates is not that good. Readjusting and redeploying forces should never be accomplished by reducing effectives, not in the health field.
It's as if a general finds out that he has too much cavalry and not enough foot soldiers, so he tells the horsemen to go home. Surely there's a better way. These soldiers cost a lot to train and once they are withdrawn, they are lost forever.
Getting rid of professionals that you have paid a fortune to train makes little sense and short term solutions, like axing trained professionals usually comes back to haunt governments.
In 1996, when the Bouchard government offered early retirement packages to public workers as part of its deficit-slashing efforts, 3,200 nurses took the buyout. Today Quebec finds itself in a desperate nursing shortage which developed very quickly after the buyouts. Enough said? Source
The government may have decided that they have too many specialists and not enough family doctors, but they've done nothing on the supply side to fix the problem.
Quebec medical schools are still pumping out the same amount of specialists as before, in spite of the fact that there will be no where for them to practice except outside Quebec, if the government goes through with its plans. Does that make an ounce of sense?
This is where Quebec planners fail miserably, their knee jerk reactions to fluid situations and their ill-conceived remedies, lead to disaster after disaster.
I have told politicians and anyone who would listen that if the province wants to re-balance the specialist/family doctor ratio it has to start in the medical schools.
A good first step would be to convert one of Quebec's existing medical schools to become a specialized institution that offers a family doctor program only, where everyone who enters would be trained to be a family doctor and a family doctor alone. The focused training would likely speed up the process and perhaps knock a year off the standard four year program. In fact such a focused program could turn out the finest family doctors in the world.
Don't worry, there'd be plenty of applicants, between being a family doctor or being no doctor at all, the choice for students is obvious. The Quebec family doctor shortage would likely be halved within five years and eliminated in ten. SHAZZAM!!
The specialists would continue to graduate, but on a reduced basis and time will balance everything out. Nobody should be fired or deprived of a job.
But that makes too much sense. Its too simple.
This is Quebec, so we need another plan.
The road, when ultimately completed, boasted five toll plaza's which charged 25¢ each per vehicle, a princely sum at the time. The charge remained unchanged until the early 1980's.
At that point the government bean counters, mindful that the price hadn't been raised in over twenty years calculated that if the toll was raised to 50¢, the government would more than double their revenues.
Well, it didn't work out that way. Motorists were furious at the enormous increase and many refused to pay. They viewed the doubling of the tolls as a commuter cash grab and were furious.
The toll plazas were old and weren't equipped with mechanical arms that came down to act as a barrier until payment was effected. The system was a simple red light/green light affair with a bell and flashing red light triggered in the case where a motorist stiffed on the payment. Supposedly, a police car parked in reserve would pursue and ticket the offender.
But the volume of scofflaws became enormous and it was impossible for the police to cope. At a certain point, it became hugely embarrassing to the government and action had to be taken in order to maintain public order. The government, had no choice but to re-build the toll plazas to incorporate barrier arms, but balked at the cost and more importantly feared the backlash that such an action would engender.So they did the only thing that they could. They got rid of the tolls completely and went from a 25¢ toll to 50¢ and then to nothing.
Another planning fiasco that failed to take into consideration that people act in their own self interest and that paper predictions are almost always flawed. Perhaps our bean counters should remember the old adage-
"Men Plan, God laughs."
Nothing seems to have changed over these last twenty-five years.
The government continues to make decisions based on statistics, figures and data that rarely takes into consideration the human element.
The recent expanded parental leave program is hundreds of millions of dollars over budget because the government failed to account that an increased number of citizens would take advantage of the program's very generous provisions.
Now we hear that the health department is considering cutting the amount of specialist doctors in Montreal because the city has a higher per capita ratio of specialists as compared to the outlying regions. The rumour is that the government won't offer new positions in Montreal, and won't even replace doctors who retire, with the stated goal of reducing the specialist population of Montreal by ten percent. Link
The Montreal Gazette reacted harshly to this news. The newspaper rightly pointed out that the 400 odd doctors involved won't just shuffle off to the boonies to accept jobs, far from their families and friends.They have choices and between Boston, New York, Ottawa and Val D'Or, it isn't much of a decision. It isn't easy to predict how many will leave, but since the bulk of the affected doctors are anglos, it is safe to assume it will be a pretty strong majority. Link
Now many believe that the Health department is oblivious to the effect that this potential new policy will have on the Montreal health scene. They believe that the government is making another decision that is bound to backfire due to faulty planning once again.
But they who believe that,would be wrong.
The health department understands very well that their policy will trigger an anglo doctor exodus.
IT'S WHAT THEY WANT!
Really,....
Way back in April, I wrote a piece warning that government bean counters were getting ready to reduce the number of specialists, practising in the province. Read the Story
In the jaded and skewed view of the health department, they want Montrealers to have the same bad service that the rest of the province enjoys, believing that the Montreal specialists are a luxury. By reducing the specialists in Montreal, some will go transfer to the boonies and some some will leave. According to estimates, the freed up money could then be spent on family doctors, of which the province is in dire need.
The department may or may not have their math right, but I highly doubt it, their track record on estimates is not that good. Readjusting and redeploying forces should never be accomplished by reducing effectives, not in the health field.
It's as if a general finds out that he has too much cavalry and not enough foot soldiers, so he tells the horsemen to go home. Surely there's a better way. These soldiers cost a lot to train and once they are withdrawn, they are lost forever.
Getting rid of professionals that you have paid a fortune to train makes little sense and short term solutions, like axing trained professionals usually comes back to haunt governments.
In 1996, when the Bouchard government offered early retirement packages to public workers as part of its deficit-slashing efforts, 3,200 nurses took the buyout. Today Quebec finds itself in a desperate nursing shortage which developed very quickly after the buyouts. Enough said? Source
The government may have decided that they have too many specialists and not enough family doctors, but they've done nothing on the supply side to fix the problem.
Quebec medical schools are still pumping out the same amount of specialists as before, in spite of the fact that there will be no where for them to practice except outside Quebec, if the government goes through with its plans. Does that make an ounce of sense?
This is where Quebec planners fail miserably, their knee jerk reactions to fluid situations and their ill-conceived remedies, lead to disaster after disaster.
I have told politicians and anyone who would listen that if the province wants to re-balance the specialist/family doctor ratio it has to start in the medical schools.
A good first step would be to convert one of Quebec's existing medical schools to become a specialized institution that offers a family doctor program only, where everyone who enters would be trained to be a family doctor and a family doctor alone. The focused training would likely speed up the process and perhaps knock a year off the standard four year program. In fact such a focused program could turn out the finest family doctors in the world.
Don't worry, there'd be plenty of applicants, between being a family doctor or being no doctor at all, the choice for students is obvious. The Quebec family doctor shortage would likely be halved within five years and eliminated in ten. SHAZZAM!!
The specialists would continue to graduate, but on a reduced basis and time will balance everything out. Nobody should be fired or deprived of a job.
But that makes too much sense. Its too simple.
This is Quebec, so we need another plan.
Monday, August 2, 2010
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 ofmoron 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 committednut 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.
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
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.
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
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.
Friday, July 30, 2010
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.
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"
Thursday, July 29, 2010
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.)
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.
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?
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;
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.
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| Imam Mario Beaulieu |
Maybe there's hope for others?
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