Harper To Quebec- NO SOUP FOR YOU!

Everybody was assuming that a deal would be announced between Ottawa and Quebec whereby the budget tabled yesterday would include a $2.2 billion payment to Quebec in compensation for harmonizing the collection of the GST tax. Other provinces have received similar payments in the past. The holdup has been Quebec's position that it be the agency to collect and distribute the tax rather than Ottawa as is the case with the other provinces.

Finance Minister Monique Jerome-Forget (at the time) announced that Quebec would harmonize its sales tax with the federal GST, in March 2009, just about two years ago.
Since then, failure to agree on a formula has cost Quebec close to 200 million dollars in lost interest, ironically more than double the amount asked by Quebec to help fund Quebec City's new arena.

With an election looming, it isn't likely that a deal will made this year or even possibly ever, if the Tories decide to hold back the payment as payback. LINK

Harper seems to have learned a valuable lesson back in 2008 when he pandered to Quebec, returning  a billion dollars to Quebec and then seeing his electorial advantage evaporate over a 45 million dollar funding cut to the arts. So goes politics in Quebec.

After Harper determined that the political fallout in the rest of Canada was too large a price to pay for funding the new Quebec arena, he really had no choice but to give up on Quebec.

A 2 billion dollar payoff to Quebec in this budget would likely have kept the government alive with the Bloc Quebecois help, but it was correctly deemed too high a cost.

So the worst case scenario for Harper is that he's returned to power with pretty much the same amount of MPs as before, perhaps a couple more, but not enough for a majority.

If the Bloc picks up seats around the Quebec city area, it augers even worse for the province. With no representation in government, Quebec will continue to reap the bitter rewards of a vengeful Harper and ask anyone who knows, Harper is a spiteful sort.

Quebec's loss will be Toronto's gain, because that's where the Conservatives are building strength and the only real area in Canada with enough swing seats to provide Harper with a majority.

Another minority government will see the government's largess doted on Ontario with the Quebec portion of the pie getting just a wee bit smaller each go around.

There's talk of a deal being cooked up between Layton and Harper to save the government from collapse. For Layton's own sake it better happen, otherwise, it's likely his last campaign.

Quebec voters continue to play a dangerous game, their only two choices are to vote massively for the Bloc and hold off a majority government or vote for the Conservatives and get rewarded in cabinet.
Of course, right now, it remains Door Number One.....

But one thing is clear, 2011 is not 2008. Voters in the rest of Canada will not countenance sweetheart payoffs to Quebec anymore.
While Harper seemed to be dithering over the Quebec city arena financing, he was actually floating a trial balloon to see if he could somehow pass it off on the rest of the country.
Clearly he couldn't, a message from Canadians was sent and received.

So things are not looking so good for Quebec.
Not enough votes to separate and not enough juice in Ottawa.

So it's likely more of the same, a Harper minority government that will last another two years.

Here's my fearless predictions should an election be called;

• Same old, same old. Conservative minority government.

• Jack Layton will not survive as leader to the next election (Uncle Thom will become leader)

• Michael Ignatieff will not survive as leader to the next election

• Elizabeth May will not survive as leader to the next election

• Gilles Duceppe will return to Quebec to take over the PQ 

Can McGill University Survive as an Elite School?

Last week's announcement by the Quebec government that it was 'fining' McGill University for charging almost $30K a year for an elite MBA, should have the university seriously concerned, not over the $2 million the government took away, but rather for its future as an elite school.
The government is arguing that the fine is based on the philosophy of equal access of students.

But McGill argues that it was subsidizing the MBA course out of its general fund and that students who graduate from the program to extremely high-paying jobs should be accountable for the cost of their education.

And so, is $30,000 really necessary for  an MBA course?

Well the 'the proof of the pudding is in the eating', so to speak. Since the fee increase, the McGill MBA program has jumped an astonishing 38 places in the world rankings according to the Financial Times.

2010 Financial Times World Business school rankings 2010- McGill- 95th place- LINK
2011 Financial Times World Business school rankings 2011 -McGill- 57th place-  LINK

The tuition fee increase has allowed McGill to 'catch up'' with the other elite Canadian business schools. The best, the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management ranks 46th in the world and charges $80,000 to Canadians for its two year program and $99,000  to foreigners. TUITION LINK

Is paying all that money worth it?..... You bet.
The average salary for graduates is over $100,000. Here's an interesting statistical view of the graduates of the U of T's, Rotman School of Business. LINK

I guess you get what you pay for.

Incidentally the Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario, ranks 47th in the world, just after Rotman and charges $70,000 for a one year program! TUITION LINK

The Schulich School of Business at the York University  ranks 51th in the world and charges $25,000 each year for a  two year program! LINK

So who is out of touch with reality, McGill or the Quebec education department?

Quebec's rationale that accessibility is more important than quality, is a frightening scenario for McGill, a school dedicated to maintaining its position as an elite school, not only in Canada, but worldwide.

Can an elite school exist where the majority of its funding comes from a government dedicated to the lowest common denominator? It's a frightening question.

Quebec's determination that the most important aspect to higher education is cheap tuition fees is a bankrupt philosophy that reaps mediocre results.

The philosophy ha disturbing consequences. Quebec universities cannot offer elite programs  because the government can't pay for it and won't allow schools to charge for it.
Sounds disturbingly like medicare.

Elite MBA programs cost a lot to run.  The Quebec government's solution is to just not have them.

But since students graduating these programs enjoy astronomical lifetime earnings, it's reasonable for them to pay for their education, even if it means paying up to $100,000 for their education.
If the government is disturbed by the lack of equal access for poorer students, they can provide loans that can be easily paid off when students graduate to extremely high paying jobs.

By fining McGill, the government has sent the signal that it doesn't want these types of programs to be available. There can be no other conclusion, since asking students in other faculties to subsidize the MBA program makes no sense and is unfair to boot.

You'd think with Canada's cheapest tuition, Quebec would have the highest enrollment, but it isn't true, Quebec's francophones continue to value university education, lower than anglophones and allophones and those in the ROC.

One has to wonder if McGill is being punished because it is so good and whether the Education Department's attitude towards the school is a question of taking the school down a peg or two, so that francophone universities don't look so bad. Not a completely outrageous notion.

It's a dangerous concept, lowering standards.

Maybe the next step is to lower admission requirements at McGill to the frightening low standards applied in francophone schools.
Because of the shortage of French students, standards have sunk so low for francophone cegeps that it is actually not necessary to have graduated high school to get in!

How's it been working out? .... Not so good.  
55% of them abandon school within their first year. LINK{FR}

The real problem is how education is viewed between cultural communities.
Francophones just don't see university education as important as the rest of the country. The concept of elite students and elite programs runs counter to the egalitarian philosophy of the Quebec's education department.

If the government can't afford to pay for it , nobody can have it, even if they pay for it themselves!.....

Tragic!

All this is taking place under a supposedly federalist Quebec government.  One can only imagine what will happen if the PQ gets elected, loses a referendum and then  gets down to exacting a measure of revenge on the English community.
They've already targeted English cegeps and it's foolish to believe that Mr. Curzi et als. won't address the separatist obsession with the supposed over-funding of English universities.
It doesn't auger well, but pretending it can't happen is foolish.

The long-term viability of McGill as an elite school is certainly in question. 

I may be one of the first to say it, but McGill cannot survive as an elite university under Quebec's public model, even if the government remains Liberal. The lack of funding, the beggar's tuition schedule (even with the recent increases) is a recipe for mediocrity.

Perhaps it's time to develop a 'Plan B'
In order to maintain it's status and free itself from the destructive arm of the Quebec education department,, the school may have to become private.(gasp!)

It's a shocking conclusion, one that would see student fees triple or quadruple and would result in a drastic downsizing. 

But it is the only solution to maintaining its status as one of the world's best universities.

Sovereignists Flee Vigile.net

As I said yesterday, the hate and racism published on an ongoing basis on Vigile.net is not representative of Quebeckers- Anglophones, Francophones, federalists or sovereignists.

Once the issue came to light, many sovereignists who were largely unaware of the situation withdrew their support rather quickly.
Here is what one of my favourite francophone bloggers had to say;

"As a sovereignist, I cannot morally, support a site that publishes, such antisemitism! Coudonc, Is there no moderator who reads the texts, before putting them online,...??" Le Québec de demain

Unfortunately there is a moderator and he is one of them...

While people like myself and others in the blogosphere have been sounding the alarm for quite some time, it was in fact an article in a mainstream Montreal French newspaper, La Presse, which really set off alarms.
In spite of the fact that some PQ members have contributed to the financing of Vigile.net, in light of events, the party moved quickly to disassociate itself from the website:

"MP Agnes Maltais and the Parti Quebecois dissociate themselves from the anti-Semitic remarks found in some texts submitted to the site Vigile.net. Since its founding, the Parti Quebecois has always opposed all forms of discrimination against any community whatsoever and will continue on this path." PQ Website

 Bernard Drainville of the PQ , a previous donor, also tweeted his disapproval.

Other PQ members are keeping discreetly quiet, a bit like the Pittsburgh Penguin team-mates of Matt Cooke, who delivered another unacceptable head-shot in a NHL game on Saturday. It's hard to condemn your own.


When scandal hits, it's often prudent to follow a policy of discreet silence and let the clamour die down or fade. That's what good publicists and crisis management consultants advise. Sometimes, the hardest thing you can do to defend yourself is nothing. That's why defence attorneys always tell their clients to shut up. Remember the recent scandal at the English Montreal School Board over wasting money by paying for its employees to attend a conference in Hawaii. They promised to address the issue after the school break, but we haven't heard from them since.
Does anyone care? We live in a short attention span universe.

FLQ terrorist Rhéal Mathieu

But silence is not the 'la vrai nature' of Bernard Frappier whose website struck back with a vengeance against those who had the impertinence to denounce its excesses.

The website published, a further onslaught of anti-Jewish articles and offered readers a series of ad hominum attacks, against all those deemed as enemies.

On Sunday, FLQ terrorist Rhéal Mathieu published his views on Vigile.net regarding past foibles of certain members of  the Canada-Israel Committee, including Luciano Del Negro, who he accuses of certain youthful indiscretions. LINK{FR}
Who is Rhéal Mathieu?

"In 1967, Rhéal Mathieu pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to nine years in prison for his part in an FLQ bombing that claimed two lives. He served his sentence and obtained a pardon for that crime, but he never shed what a Crown prosecutor later called an “obsession” with the intertwined issues of Quebec independence and the French language. In 2001, he was convicted of attempting to firebomb three Second Cup cafés in Montreal to protest the chain’s English name." National Post

Oh the the hypocrisy!
An unrepentant terrorist lecturing others on their past! Only on Vigile.net!!!!
Read my blog post about this odious character- Terrorist Inspires RRQ Intimidation Campaign

Journalist Joseph Facal of the Journal de Montreal was also given the Vigile.net treatment after writing to Bernard Frappier asking him to remove articles written by himself, published and archived on the website without his permission.

"Last Friday, I was advised that this site housed a large number of supposedly hateful texts towards certain minorities, including Jews. As always in such cases, I proceeded with  caution and I decided to check myself.....

.......My initial discomfort was quickly transformed into deep trouble. When I checked, there were indeed many texts containing the most odious stereotypes about Jews.... Friday I sent a two line email to the webmaster, Bernard Frappier, asking, very politely, to remove all items bearing my signature. In my email, I refrain from any condemnation of those who leave their texts on this site. They can do what they want. What does the good Mr. Frappier do? He published my email on his site, knowing full well the reaction it would engender. Having been copiously insulted in my life, I have acquired a tough outer shell of reinforced titanium! The insults and innuendo are nevertheless very revealing of the mindset of those uttering them. Obviously, to them, I'm "yellow," "manipulated," "intimidated," lacking "guts," an agent of the great Zionist conspiracy and so on. It never occurred to them to realize, that with full knowledge of the facts, I didn't want to be associated with anyone who thinks, writes, encourages, condones or tolerates such remarks. Freedom of expression is not total. My point is simply that many of these texts are beyond the bounds of moral acceptability.. Read the whole article in French.

Even after the exchange of emails vigile.net continued to publish Mr. Facal's articles and in response one of the principles in the antisemitic affair, Robert Barberis-Gervais, decided to give Mr. Facal  the royal treatment.

"And now the scab of the Journal de Montreal, which one of my friends nicknamed "Jackal", sailed into the anti-Vigil fray. The sovereignist side of Vigil bothers these pseudo independentists like Francois Legault and the 'Jackal.' Now they are sending a message to Bernard Frappier and everyone at Vigil in favour of censorship and self-censorship. In addition to trying to discredit a site, its webmaster and its authors they are calling them antisemitic. For the Parti Quebecois who is considering whether to continue funding Vigile (by the way, if Bernard Drainville doesn't sends his $500 to Vigil next year,, I will no longer send my $400 to the PQ,  I'll send it to Vigile). That's what we did with Yves Michaud. It's the same "pattern", the same effective approach.

This demonstrates the power of the Jewish lobby." LINK{FR}

Once again the sad obsession with Jews manifests itself in that last line.
And so we are to believe that the "Jackal' (a play on the name "Facal) gave in to pressure brought forth by the 'Jewish Lobby'......how embarrassingly sad!

If you read French click on the link and read the utter depravity of a mind twisted by hate.
I'm sure Mr. Facal is rolling his eyes in utter astonishment at his characterization.

I for one hope this  goes on for quite a while, the more the merrier. Every new attack on Jews and on those offering condemnation ostracizes Vigile.net even more.
Another month of this and only the nut-bars will remain!

If any one line will send a chill down the backs of mainstream sovereignists, it is this one offered by the writer above.

"..... I have news for you. Vigile.net website is on the vanguard of the values​​, principles and ideas promoted by the Quebec sovereignty movement" 

If so, Heaven help us all!!

Is Vigile.net Racist? -Is the Pope Catholic?

I'm going to preface this blog piece by saying that Quebec francophones and francophone sovereignists in particular are no more antisemitic than anglophones and federalists.
I make this statement as an anglophone having lived my entire life in Quebec and having travelled across this province from La Sarre in the northwest to Sandy Beach in the southeast on a weekly basis for over thirty years.
I do not wish the following article to convey a false sense of what Quebec is. It is always easy to fall in a trap of exaggeration and to visit the sins of the few, on the many.
I will have more to say on that particular subject tomorrow.

For those who aren't familiar, vigile.net is a left-wing, separatist web site that aggregates and republishes stories generally favourable towards sovereignty, as well as original articles, submitted by readers, stridently anti-Canadian, anti-American, anti-Israel, xenophobic and of course, the familiar standby, antisemitic.

The free speech section is where most of the controversy occurs, as a handful of radical separatists spout their special brand of hate, all wrapped up in the cloak of journalistic freedom.

The editor, Bernard Frappier, cleverly includes opposing news articles to give the impression that there is some sort of balance and fairness related to the site.
This veneer of objectivity has successfully provided cover for some of the most vicious antisemitic rants that have ever been printed in Canada. Had these rants been printed in English, outside Quebec, there's little doubt that the writers would find themselves before a human rights tribunal or the courts.
In October, I wrote about the racist tendencies of the website, citing a particularly virulent antisemitic article, reprinted from an American hate site. Hidden among other legitimate stories the article was pure and naked antisemitism depicting Jews as rats and responsible for the entire world's ills.

Read Vigile.net - We Love You! 
Read: When bashing Turns To Hate 

That article seemed to be a turning point for Mr. Frappier and perhaps he was emboldened by the lack of reaction and perhaps it led led him to up the antisemitic ante, so to speak.
Since then, article after article has been published depicting Quebec's Jewish community as a villainous fifth column, hell bent on imposing 'Jewish' and ''Canadian' values on a hapless, defenceless and unsuspecting Quebec.

While the number of writers contributing these antisemitic and xenophobic articles are few, they are prolific. Most of them, aside from being White, French and Catholic, seem to share Mr. Frappier's age demographic which gives weight to the old Brian Mulroney phrase...  "There's no whore like an old whore." 
I mention the age thing, because it seems that where racism does occur in the sovereignty movement, it is generally found in these frustrated old codgers who dream of the good old days, when Quebec was racially pure and who today, are furious that minorities have some say in Quebec politics.

The controversy over antisemitism on vigile.net was actually started by a reader, Louis Champagne, who wrote an eloquent rebuttal in response to another moronic and antisemitic article by  Ivan Parent. You can read the article (in French) as well as the complete rebuttal, but please note that the original text has been redacted of the most virulent antisemitic parts. LINK{FR}
Here's part of what Mr. Champagne wrote in response; 

"...Jewish international lobbies control banks which divert huge amounts of money, cutting the throats of countries and God knows what else, to dominate the world? .....He must have fished that concept out of "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a twentieth century reference for antisemites of the order of Hitler, Henry Ford and tutti quanti. This document is patently false, as the author well knows, but pretends to ignore!
...We must question the editorial policy of Mr. Bernard Frappier regarding hate texts that target not only groups but also individuals. It will not improve, in the very least, the credibility of Vigile....Even stripped of his antisemitic prose, this text is incoherent, comes to nothing concrete and confuses ...."
Louis Champagne  Ing

Last week the Canadian-Israel Committee complained in public that the site has crossed the line in terms of free speech and had embarked on a policy on publishing antisemitic texts. They provided several examples, which were quite jarring and had quite an effect in the sovereignist community.

An article written by Joël-Denis Bellavance for Montreal's La Presse newspaper described the concerns of the Canada-Israel Committee and cited a number of disturbing quotations;

"In an article published Jan. 6, one of these contributors, Ivan Parent, bluntly denounced the influence of Jewish organizations in the world: "We know that Jewish lobbies are very powerful and in fact, control through international banks, almost all countries. They change interest rates at will, which is also why the euro zone countries are in a desperate situation... "

Mr. Parent is the author of more than about 190 texts on Vigile.net.

In another letter published Feb. 17, 2008, he said: "I am not racist but when I see that the hypocritical Jews shamefully exploit and vampirize the countries in which they live, it is not surprising that they have been hated wherever they lived. "

The Canada-Israel Committee also cites Robert Barberis-Gervais, in an article published December 13, 2010, which accused the Jewish lobby as responsible for the misfortunes of Yves Michaud, "The Jewish lobby is responsible for the Michaud Affair in 2000 and 2010. Rich Jews of Montreal and Laval treat French Quebecers as Palestinians, not recognizing their right to self-determination (and their own language and culture) with the same contempt as the Jews of Israel where they have all rights and that Palestinians have none, it is high time to tell the truth: it is the Jewish lobby which used the money it gave to the Liberal Party, the money it controlled in banks and elsewhere in the society, which is responsible for the Michaud affair. "

Rich Jews in Laval? Hmmmmm...

 David Ouellette writes an excellent and interesting blog in French  and has been in the forefront in pointing out the antisemitic rants on vigile.net.
If you think the above citations are out of the ordinary, they are not. Mr. Ouellette has referenced some of the most egregious posts LINK{FR}

At first Mr. Frappier reacted rather effectively, claiming that he was just one editor and that sometimes things slipped into the website that perhaps shouldn't have.
He then proceeded to remove the offending passages from the articles in question, adding a footnote that the paragraphs were deleted because they were 'controversial.'
It was a half-hearted effort, but would probably have satisfied those sovereignists uncomfortable with the antisemitic missives.
But Mr. Frappier couldn't leave bad enough alone and proceeded to issue an ill-thought press release which made his true opinions ever so clear;

.......the Canada-Israel Committee would be  far better advised to worry about anti-Semitic history of at least one own staff members and seek to understand the motives that may lead some Quebeckers to experience "mixed feelings" towards certain practices and behaviours of members of its community...  "There's been much discussion of Jewish schools which do not meet the standards of the Ministry of Education and the Jewish community's attempted to change the school calendar for all young Quebecers to meet the requirements of its religion. One can also wonder about the unfairness of the privilege granted to many foreigners and their families belonging to this faith who have free access to  health insurance during their stay in Quebec" LINK{FR}

Mr. Frappier then decided to go on the offensive and published a series of rebuttals that made eminently clear that the writers were not only unapologetic, but characterized their hatred as legitimate because Jews were enemies of sovereignty. No mincing words here;
Les juifs : la tribu la plus flyée du Québec (Jews, the most eccentric tribe of Quebec) LINK{FR}
VIGILE RÉPOND AU COMITÉ CANADA-ISRAËL (Vigile responds yo the Canada-Israel Committee) LINK{FR}

Most Pequistes and journalists ran for the hills with precious few ready to defend vigile.net.

Richard Le Hir

One of the few exceptions was our good Friend Richard Le Hir who interestingly defended the honour of vigile.net with the same intellectual prowess as the antisemites he was defending.

"Yes, Vigil bothers. More than you think. The accusations of antisemitism made ​​by the Canada-Israel Committee this week over two people who were criticized for remarks that everybody can recognize at first glance as unwise, we should certainly not be fooled by the manoeuvre and should recognize the real issue at hand." LINK{FR}

"Unwise?" Methinks Mr Le Hir is too modest!

In defending vigile.net, he uses a common deflecting device, changing the subject. He goes on a rant attacking Israel as an illegitimate because, notwithstanding that it was created by the world after a vote in the United Nations General Assembly, this happened only because of Jewish terrorism in the preceding months. 
What Israel has to do with the situation in Quebec and the antisemitism directed at Quebec Jews by vigile.net regulars remains an open question.
Perhaps he attacks Israel in sympathy to the Vigle band of idiots who have the audacity to compare Quebeckers to Palestinians.  

PALESTINIANS NO LESS!!!
Whatever side of the Israeli/Palestinian debate you are on, I think you'll agree that comparing the condition of Quebeckers to Palestinians, in any way shape or form is the product of a paranoid, twisted and delusional mind!

I wonder if Mr. Le Hir, the apologist, would characterize the following quotes from vigile.net as 'Unwise?'

"I'm sure if one of my grand-sons died in Lebanon or Palestine, I would spend the rest of my days trying to blow up every Jew in the world, and even the children of  each Jew, so it would make him feel as bad as I." -André Vincent

"...the very history of the Hebrews, the ancestors of the Jews and later the Israelis, is one of massacres, killings, genocide under divine inspiration of their god Yahweh"- Ivan Parent

"...The Anglos are no more at home in Quebec than Jews living in settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip"... - Simon Girard

"When I hear my fellow Quebeckers say they will vote for the ADQ because they want change, I feel like running away to Palestine to become a suicide bomber." Redacted

For those with very good French, this page on vigile.net is perhaps its most interesting.

It seems that the current controversy has in some way liberated vigile.net to manifest its true essence.

In reaction, the website has been flooding the Internet with a slew anti-Jewish diatribes and rehashed conspiracy theories. Mr  Frappier is busy scouring the Internet to find anti-Jewish stories which he is publishing as fast as he can. LINK{FR}
Not surprisingly, this defensive strategy has had the exact opposite effect that Mr. Frappier desired.

Vigile.net is now selling the idea that it is being attacked because it is such a powerful force and that Jews and Anglo Federalists are making unwarranted accusations in order to bring it down.

While his like-minded regulars may be enjoying a masturbatory celebration of hate, those sovereignists who are not racist (the vast majority) are angered and humiliated at rank stupidity of Mr. Frappier's actions, which has turned the site from a legitimate arena of discussion, to a gathering place for haters, rendering the website pathetic and irrelevant.

The pompous, self-important fools!
More tomorrow......

Montreal is Canada's Crackpot Capital

The annual anarchist's parade in Montreal confirms once again that the city is home to Canada's biggest collection of crackpots and social misfits.

"At the height of the event in Montreal, gases and projectiles mixed with the over 300 people gathered to commemorate the 14th anniversary of the International Day Against Police Brutality.

Members of the black block, an infamous anarchist organization, stood at the centre of the event, with gas masks and sticks. They threw rocks and anything else they found on the ground"  Anti-cop rally turns violent in Montreal

Each year, Montreal's misfits and anarchists under the guise of a protest against police brutality, end up rioting and destroying public and private property in a Bacchanalian celebration of mindless destruction.

Each year, Montrealers shake their collective heads in disbelief at the shear stupidity and ask themselves once again, what can be done.

There's little doubt that much of what happens in the streets is a result of lax and incompetent police work and a general inability of the police to control unruly crowds. Hence Montreal remains the riot capital of North America.

On this occasion, the police got it right. Just as the marchers turned violent, the police reacted quickly to corral the marchers and arrest them on the flimsiest of excuse.
Before much damage occurred, the march was neutralized and the participants handed $500 tickets for blocking traffic. Haha!!  Well-played....

Of course the anarchists cried foul and said that the police weren't playing by the rules. According to them, if the police are going to arrest people, the arrestees should have the benefit of causing some serious damage first! 
More hilarity!

All this highlights the fact that Montreal is home to Canada's weirdest collection of counter-culture misfits, who while rejecting our society are the first to enjoy the benefits of the labour of those charged with working and paying taxes.

There are those who will take umbrage at my characterization of these people as misfits, so let me add more fuel to the fire by calling them morons as well.

Montreal's Communist Party remains actively engaged promoting a failed political system with a Trotsky-like vigour. As it's most famous apologist, Amir Khadir complained bitterly to the media that there's nothing wrong with being a communist and that using the communist as a pejorative is unfair.

And so the communists have in many respects battened down the hatches and sought refuge in the Bloc solidaire political party which provides cover for the much maligned reds.

Of course there are other nuttier organizations of those dedicated to unpopular and failed causes like PAJU, a rag tag collection of self-loathing, atheist Jews, who are used by Palestinian brethren to propagate the most egregious lies about Israel.

No matter that their boycott against a Montreal shoe store has backfired miserably, finally getting their fifteen minutes of fame is much more important than success.

And then there is the insufferable Israel Apartheid Week held mostly in Concordia University where the large Arab student body is bolstered in their naked celebration of hate towards Jews and Israel by a coterie of willing middle class, white student stooges.

I guess its to be expected, my generation of collegians went around with Chairman Mao's wonderful Little Red Book of communists thoughts much to the chagrin of our parents who also paid the bills to put us through school.

This year's Israel -bashing event is even more bankrupt than in the past with not one  of the Israel bashers willing to denounce the murder of Arab citizens by one Arab government after the other.
Of course none of them will face the unpleasant truth that Israel's latest boarding of a ship, yielded fifty tons of weapons destined to Gaza, nor will they face the unpleasant fact that Arabs handed out sweets, celebrating the murder of an Israeli family by a Palestinian who slit the throats of two adults and three little children while sleeping. Not doubt the violence is the fault of the Jews.
Perhaps Concordia can pass out Tim Horton's doughnuts in a sympathetic celebration as well!

And so Montreal remains a hotbed of counter culture protest, but alas nobody really cares, particularly the francophone community which is widely under-represented among these crackpot groups.

Yup, the Black Block, other anarchists, PAJU, the Communist Party of Quebec and supporters of BDS and assorted Israel-bashing are over-represented by Anglophones and Ethnics.

It's curious, but true.

**********************************************************************

In honour of the Quebec finance minister's Thursday's budget, here's a cartoon from last year that aptly depicts how the government will 'reduce' expenses.

Have a good weekend!

For more funny political cartoons, vist YGRECK's website.