French versus English - Volume 31

Translated high school exam panned for English historical inaccuracies

“Nationalism in Quebec is not propagated in a haphazard way by individual teachers. It starts at the ministry level and it permeates the textbooks.” We can now add official history examinations to that. For over 20 years, Quebec has been producing dubious nationalist history in its compulsory examinations...... 

An essay question asks students to write about demographic changes that occurred in the 20th century in terms of immigration, migration within Quebec, and natural growth. In a telling omission, the consequences of Bill 101, which reduced Quebec's population and is recorded as the largest internal migration in Canadian history, are not to be considered by the students.
While this is supposed to be an examination in English, some of the documents are in French and historical English names have been changed to comply with Bill 101. L'Estrie in 1880 was in reality the Eastern Townships; and Rue Saint-Jacques, Canada's financial centre in 1920, was in reality St. James Street. In addition, the examination uses words that are not English. One question asks students to identify forms of cultural expression associated with currents of thought such as "agriculturalism" and "cooperatism." Neither the Google, Oxford, nor Webster dictionaries recognize these as words. LINK  Alternative link*    REACTION    

Politicians a No-show to Canada Day Parade

“Even as tens of thousands of people poured into the city to watch this year’s massive Canada Day parade, Montreal’s Mayor Gérald Tremblay decided he had better things to do on Canada Day than help the city celebrate the nation’s 144th birthday. While many considered the mayor’s absence to be politically insensitive,  others were quick to notice he wasn’t the only one who missed the big parade. Apart from city executive committee members Alan DeSousa and Mary Deros, Liberal MNA Justin Trudeau seemed to be the only Canadian politician in the city’s political establishment who was willing to meet and greet ordinary Canadians during their national holiday celebrations.

Read the rest of the story in the SUBURBAN

Elton John rocks Quebec city
Much to the chagrin of French militants, Elton John rocked Quebec City with a record attendance for his show at the annual music festival in Quebec city. As you can see from the photo below the show was so popular that many were forced to watch the show on the big screen, from behind the stage. Over 100,000 people attended, this in a city of 450,000 people.

The festival opened to a wildly successful French show, entitled Quebec-Paris, proving that most Quebeckers are comfortable enough in their own skin to enjoy the best the world has to offer, regardless of language.
Congratulations to organizers for respecting the intelligence of the audience!

(photo karl tremblay / JOURNAL DE QUEBEC / AGENCE QMI)

Read a story about the concert in French ... LINK{FR}


Couple awarded 12K for no French on Air Canada Flight
Michel Thibodeau, along with his wife  who flew on Air Canada flight and was served exclusively in English will receive $ 12,000 in damages and an apology from the airline.
The court also ordered the carrier  to establish, within six months, a system "to identify, document and quantify possible violations of its linguistic obligations," LINK{FR}

* Alternative LINK

The Gazette has gone to a pay service, which I encourage everyone to subscribe to if they can afford it. The Montreal Gazette generously allows a limited amount of access to their site.

If you are desperate you can use a proxy server, which in my mind remains legal as long as it is not blocked. I've provided a link which might work, but again suggest that if you're a heavy user-PAY!

NOTE TO READERS:

I SHALL BE TAKING A SUMMER BREAK AND  WILL RESUME BLOGGING BY AUGUST 1, THE LATEST.

I SHALL LEAVE THE COMMENT SECTION UN-MODERATED AND HOPE READERS WILL NOT TAKE ADVANTAGE.

IF YOU HAVE ANY STORY IDEAS, DROP ME A LINE.

THANK-YOU FOR CONTINUING TO COME BY  AND FOR CONTRIBUTING TO WHATEVER SUCCESS THAT WE ENJOY.

SOME TIME IN AUGUST THIS BLOG WILL WELCOME ITS 10,000th COMMENT!

QUITE AN ACHIEVEMENT AND A CREDIT TO THE READERS! 

FROM A FEW READERS A DAY, WE NOW WELCOME OVER A THOUSAND DAILY VISITS.

WHEN REFERRING TO THE OWNERSHIP  BLOG,  I ALWAYS USE THE PLURAL, IT IS AS MUCH YOUR BLOG AS MINE. I AM TOLD OVER AND OVER AGAIN THAT THE COMMENTS ARE MORE INTERESTING THAN MY POSTS!

SO BE IT!

REMEMBER FREE SPEECH AND DISSENT IS AN ESSENTIAL PART OF DEMOCRACY. RAGE IS AN EXPRESSION OF LEGITIMATE OUTRAGE.

and so GENTLE READERS, I will leave you with that immortal poem by Dylan Thomas, one that you very likely know, but haven't heard in a while;

DO NOT GO GENTLE INTO THAT GOOD NIGHT
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rage at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light. Though wise men at their end know dark is right, 

 
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night. 

 
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night. 

 
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light. And you, my father, there on the sad height, 

 
Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

____________________________________________________________________________

 

Further Reading: French versus English Volume 30

For Montreal, U2 Concert Another Economic Disaster

There's little doubt that to U2 fans, the Montreal concert last weekend was an entertainment event to be remembered, but when all is said and done, it was also a money pit wherein the city spent a fortune supporting what was essentially a commercial for-profit concert, with little to show in return.

The question goes to the heart of the Montreal philosophy of spending massively on summer entertainment, which supposedly translates into economic benefits by way of increased tourist activity.

When it comes to economic spinoffs, some events make perfect sense, some are questionable and some are downright dogs. This was a dog.....
The U2 concert is an example of what can go wrong when officials become obsessed with prestige rather than economics.

The city's selection criteria for events that qualify for a subsidy seems to be based on how much glory and publicity the event will bring to the city, rather than sound economics, where money is spent to get a higher economic return.

Just last week it was announced thast NASCAR will no longer receive a 1 million dollar subsidy to host a car race at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve race track. The event is a solid tourist attraction, not on the level of the Formula One, but a good performer. In addition the event is relatively easy on the city with activities held at the under-used facility on St. Helen's Island, close by, but away from the city itself.

Perhaps it is the 'blue collar' perception of the event that led city officials to pass. After all, tourists in Winebagos don't rate much on the prestige scale.

In 2005 the city rescued the 'prestigious' World Aquatic Championship and as was widely predicted, lost a bundle on the event. Less than half the tickets were actually sold (the rest dumped on the market at reduced prices or outright, given away) and the city went for a $4 million dollar swim.

The very next year, the poorly organized and attended 2005 Outgames lost a whopping 5.3 million dollars, which the city was responsible for, as the event fizzled rather badly. Considering that half of the original budget was provided by various levels of government, the event actually lost over $12 million dollars. Companies supplying goods and services to the games were largely stiffed for payment.
So much for economic spinoffs!

And so before entering into subsidy agreements, one would think that city officials would take a long hard economic look at what each event can offer the city.

There are some events that are no-brainers, including the annual Formula 1 Grand Prix event which represents an economic adrenal rush, well worth whatever the city invests.

Better still is Toronto's Pride Week which may be second only to New Orelans Mardi Gras in terms of economic spinoff.
The Toronto event cost the city peanuts to host considering the return.
An influx of monied tourists, intent on embarking on a bacchanalian orgy of spending, drop over $100 million on the city! LINK.
All this for the price of a small subsidy and policing. Well-played, Toronto!

Compare this to Montreal's U2 concert, which even the most optimistic estimates pitted the economic spin-offs at a little over $3 million dollars. LINK{FR}
For this the city gave a direct subsidy of $450,000 and spent a fortune on logisitcs, security and transportation.
All this in addition to the inconvenience heaped on local residents and businesses.

The concert was held on the grounds of the defunct Blue Bonnets raceway which could not have been a poorer choice. The facilty abuts the Decarie Expressway, the city's busiest north/south highway and is  boxed on the west side by the the tiny neighbouring town of Hampstead (and parts of Cote saint-Luc). The town of millionaires was so panicked by the thought of so many concert goers invading their town in search of parking that they banned street parking for everybody, residents included,  on Friday and Saturday!  They needn't have worried, the police and the media had been hammering away at concert goers with warnings of doom to anyone arriving by car.
The adjacent Decarie Square shopping mall closed it's parking lot to regular customers (I wonder what the merchants thought of all that) in order to free up places for the cars of concert-goers at the outrageous price of $40 . Because of the media hype about taking public transport, the mall parking was empty. Karma!

The raised service roads on both sides of the busy Decarie Expresway were reduced to two lanes. Exits on the highway were shut down. All the stores and business along a two kilometre strip were penalized by the concert.

The really sad part of Montreal's preparations was massive over-spending on security.

The city's bus and metro company spent almost a million dollars to increase capacity on the Metro line. LINK  
Urgences Sante, Montreal's government run ambulance service posted 50 paramedics to the venue for the two days at cost of over one hundred thousand dollars. Considering that there were only 50 cases in total, it meant that each ambulance team had one case over two days and some of those cases were dispensing band-aids.

The police presence was enormous throughout the four day event (with preparations) with dozens and dozens of officers standing around, huddled in little groups having a gay old time, doing nothing.

The Decarie expressway service roads were subject to no parking rules and an emergency lane was set up, making all the stores and businesses along the strip practically inaccessible. Businesses reported a disastrous drop in traffic and up to 80% loss of revenue.

So fearful were Montrealers of going anywhere near the venue that they could have renamed the Decarie service road, the 'Fukishama' boulevard!
And so as one can expect, the roads were deserted, even with the one less lane. Remove the cops and it would have been ideal for drag racing, this in the middle of the afternoon!

I ventured there by accident and found my regular car-wash absolutely empty, so I jumped in to have a quick wash. The boys told me that they had but a few customers on a sunny Saturday that usually meant lines around the block.

That was the real disaster of the concert, the negative economic spinoffs. For all the businesses, stores and restaurants on the Decarie service roads, economic activity ground to a halt. To add insult to injury, as of Monday the city still hadn't removed the lane closures. The merchants are so angry that they are thinking of suing the city.

So much for a good idea.

Next time U2 wants to hold a concert, let Toronto have it.

Amir Khadir Losing His Shine

Khadir  and David in better times.

If one takes heed of the latest CROP poll published in La Presse, it may just be that Amir Khadir's political star is eclipsing.

The Quebec solidarnik has taken a preciptious tumble in popularity and the fortunes of the party he represents, as it's lone sitting member in the National Assembly, are no better.

As you can see by the polling numbers below, Kahdir's personal popularity has hit an all-time low as  he is now perceived by just 4% of Quebeckers as Premier material.
When you hit a number that low, you're taken about as seriously as  Bonnehomme Carnaval.

That being said, Khadir would probably be able to defend his seat in Mercier, it seems that half of those voters who make up that 4% number, live in the Plateau Mont-Royal!

That's no comfort to Francoise David and the rest of the Quebec Solidarniks, who must be thunderstruck by the numbers, which indicate clearly that they could not come close to electing any one else and are destined to remain a fringe element in Quebec politics.
Their biggest accomplishment is to split the separatist vote to the benefit of the federalist parties, so in that respect all I can Say is "Long live the QS!

Mr Khadir had remained popular in his constituency by maintaining an image as the Ralph Nader of Quebec politics, assailing government, entrenched politicians, as well as hectoring the rich and powerful, much to the delight of his supporters, who forgive his many excesses as a small price to pay for his defence of the 'little guy'.

It seems that Quebeckers have taken in stride Mr. Khadir's continuous attacks on the establishment and  even forgave him his support of a wildly unpopular boycott against a small Montreal Shoe merchant for selling Israeli shoes. It did not seem to harm him politically and so until quite recently Mr. Khadir appeared to be the ultimate Teflon politician.

I'd like to believe that the relentless pounding Khadir has taken in the press (and in the blogosphere) for his leftist views and his unpopular stances, has finally made an impact on his popularity but alas, I fear it is wishful thinking.
If Mr Khadir has suffered a permanent loss of support, it is not based on the cumulative effect of his past excesses, but rather it can be attributed to one issue and one issue alone.

Mr. Khadir is being widely lambasted for scuppering a National Assembly law that would hold Quebec City legally harmless for bypassing the tendering process in order to fast track the building of a hockey arena.

And so the people are not amused.
Over 70% of Quebec voters are in favour of the law and the arena project, most of them quite passionate about the issue.

As for Mr. Khadir, it may be acceptable to screw with the rich and famous, the monarchy, big business, Anglos, Canadians, Americans and Jews...but as for Quebeckers there is one inviolate rule;

DON'T SCREW WITH HOCKEY!   

Can it be that Quebeckers are so shallow? Is hockey a bigger issue than everything else?
More important than sovereignty?
More important than the deficit?
More important than high taxes?
More important than emergency room wait-times?
More important than foreign policy?
More important than crumbling infrastructure?


YUP! Apparently, it is! 

Poor Amir himself is stunned at this turn of events. Asked to comment on his Humpty-Dumpty fall, Mr. Khadir admitted that it is "Remarakable, something that can't be denied" Link{FR}

And so a lesson is learned...Sort of.

If anyone expects Mr. Khadir to change his opinions or in any way modify his political activism, they don't know him very well.

In a week where the Syrian government killed its weekly quota of 25 to 50 of its own citizens and while the Libyan government continues to prosecute a war of attrition on its own civilians which has already resulted upwards of 10,000 mostly civilian causalities, it is the government of Greece that is firmly in Mr. Khadir's sight for its refusal to sanction the departure from Greek ports of the Gaza blockade-busting flotilla.
And so, considering all that he has said and all that he has done, it is Mr. Khadir's position on the Quebec City arena, which is his undoing. Unbelievable!

But this is Quebec......

Quebec Solidaire's Communist Manifesto

There's an interesting news piece making the rounds of the French media which unfortunately hasn't crossed over to the English side of the media.

A Quebec City reporter for the Journal de Quebec got around to reading a Quebec Solidaire document written a while back, that outlined its vision of a 'new' Quebec.

Since then, the story has been picked up by various media outlets and Mario Dumont did a piece on it on his daily news and interview show. If you understand French, you can watch the seven-minute piece here, on YouTube

The French language document (not available in English,) entitled "Cahier de perspectives- Pour une société solidaire et écologique" can be downloaded  HERE

Now every time I describe Quebec Solidaire and it's chief cook and bottle washer, Amir Khadir as 'communist,' I get a slew of comments from the indignant, accusing me of slander and yellow journalism. (it should be libel, not slander. Perhaps Todd our resident language expert, can set them straight!)

Because Khadir and his family are long time communists and the Communist Party of Quebec is an integral part of Quebec solidaire, I find it difficult to understand why all the objections to the label. After all if the shoe fits....

By the way, just last week, Jafar, Amir's father, was out campaigning for Fidel Castro and mugged for a television news camera framed by an inspiring portrait of Che Guevara. 

It may pain the Quebec Solidarniks (wow, I've coined a new phrase!) to be outed, but the Cahier de perspectives is the smoking gun that will convince even the most ardent skeptic that the QS is exactly what I, other bloggers and journalists have been calling them - a communist inspired party.

The aforementioned document, is nothing less than a modern re-hash of the Communist Manifesto and I'm a bit surprised that no commentator has yet made the connection, since the document borrows quite heavily from Comrades Marx and Engels.

Marx & Engels-  Inspiration for Quebec Solidarniks

Now to the Solidarniks who complain that there's nothing wrong with being a communist, I can only say that there's nothing wrong with being a member of the Flat-Earth Society, or just a plain idiot for that matter, but at least idiots bear no personal responsibility over their reduced mental acuity and as such, their propensity to be gullible.
A modern-day Communist however, is a willing stooge, one who fully ignores the historical reality of a failed ideology and continues to support a discredited, destructive and fatally-flawed model, that country after country around the world has abandoned.
There is no excuse for being a communist other than mindless self-deception, which unlike idiocy is a conscientious choice.

Now before I offer highlights of the 'Cahier de perspectives,' it is useful to review the ten principles of the Communist Manifesto, written over 150 years ago. I shall grant readers leave to draw their own conclusions as to how much of influence that treatise had on the Solidarniks who drafted the 'Cahier de perspectives' 

The 10 principles of the Communist Manifesto 

1. The expropriation of landed property and the use of rent from land to cover state expenditure;
2. A high and progressively graded income-tax;
3. An abolition of the right of inheritance;
4. The confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels;
5. The centralization of credit in the hands of the state, by the establishment of a state bank with state capital and an exclusive monopoly;
6. The centralization of transport in the hands of the state;
7. An increase in the state ownership of factories and instruments of production, and the redistribution and amelioration of agricultural land on a general plan;
8. Universal obligation to work and creation of labour armies especially for agriculture;
9. The unification of agricultural with industrial labour, and the gradual abolition of the differences between town and country;
10. The public education of all children. Abolition of factory labour for children in its present form. Unification of education with economic production.

(Note; the yellow highlighted parts below are in my estimation, directly lifted from the Communist Manifesto.)

Gentle reader, all I can say to prepare you for what comes, is to be prepared to laugh out loud..

 *******************

And so let's begin with the preamble of the document, which pretty much says it all.

STATEMENT ON THE ECONOMY (page 2)

"...The capitalist economic system is based on infinite growth which is a source of social inequality, in addition to being non-sustainable in the long term. This is an expropriation of the future by short-sighted interests. Based on competition and laissez-faire, rather than solidarity, capitalism excludes not only the collective control and democratic process, but also the more equitable distribution of the  collectively-produced wealth..."

See where we're headed?

The rest of the document contains a mixture of propositions and philosophical dissertations. Here is a selection of my favourites.

STATEMENT ON PRIVATE OWNERSHIP OF BUSINESS (page 3) 

"...These proposals seek to determine how we want to maintain a  private element in our economy, and under what conditions. It also asks us to consider the integration of new types of economies. Finally, if we opt for the elimination of the private sector, we must determine how we see to the gradual implementation, management and socialization of the economy..."

PROPOSITION 1.1.1.c (page 3)

Excessive or unwanted  economic growth should be limited by;

1. Regulation (or)
2. Reversing  economic growth (or)

It is proposed to replace the Gross Nationa Product (GNP) with Gross Naional Happiness Index which includes unpaid work...

PROPOSITION 1.1.1.A (page 3)

1. Allow private ownership of business under strict limits  (or)
2. Center the economy around small and medium business and either nationalize or turn  large business into cooperatives  (or)
3. Convert all business' to cooperatives.(or)
4. Socialize the economy by converting business to cooperatives and by the nationalization of strategic sectors

STATEMENT ON PRIVATE CAPITAL (page 5)  

"The financial sector has become the dominant pillar of the contemporary capitalist economy. The proposals in this section are intended to limit, regulate or even eliminate the influence of private financial capital in Quebec..."

PROPOSITION 1.1.2.A (page 3)

1. Regulate interest rates and financial charges
2. Create a government owned bank
3. Convert all business' to cooperatives.
4. Nationalize all the banks

PROPOSITION 1.2.1.A (page 7)

It's proposed that we nationalize the following;

1. Natural resources (forests and mines)
2. Green energy
3. Hydrocarbons (Oil and Gas)
4. Public Transport
5. Large industries like aluminum, pulp and paper manufacturing
6. Telecommunications (Internet and telephone)
7. Recycling industries 

STATEMENT ON PERSONAL WEALTH (page 9)  

"..In addition, a tax reform on the transmission financial assets by inheritance would limit the ability of the wealthiest to transfer their wealth from one generation to another and thus continually reproduce their privileges.

PROPOSITION 1.2.2.A (page 9)

1. Increase the number of tax brackets from 3 to 10.
2. Enforce strong anti-tax evasion measures,
3. Limit the right to inherit money except for the home, furniture and personal items.
4. Nationalize all the banks

STATEMENT ON OVER-CONSUMPTION (page 10)  

"....To discourage the unnecessary consumption of pollutants and / or  of sexist stereotype products, it is proposed to introduce forms of taxation aimed at promoting behaviour corresponding to the values ​​of Quebec Solidaire.

PROPOSITION 1.2.2.c (page 10)

1. Abolish the provincial sales tax
2. Impose taxes on luxury items
3. Impose taxes on products that are a nuisance to the environment
4. Impose taxes on sexist products (topless bars, cosmetics)
   

ECOSOCIALISM (page 11)

"...In its logic of infinite production of goods and the promotion of consumerism, the capitalist system is intrinsically environmentally harmful and destructive..."

PROPOSITION 2.1.3.B (page 15)

1. Limit the use of cars, particularly in urban areas.
2. Encourage people to adopt eco-friendly driving habits.
3. Introduce a transportation tax on food and goods  to encourage local shopping
4. Increase gas taxes and introduce road tolls
   

OR:

1. Over a period of ten years, ban personal car ownership by way of a series of measures including restricting car access downtown and increasing the cost of vehicles.
2. Over a period of ten years ban the transport of goods by any truck that is not a hybrid or totally electric.
3. Ban the building of anymore freeways

STATEMENT ON OVER-CONSUMPTION (page 20)  

"One consequence of over-consumption that characterizes our society is the increasing production of  residual material  too often considered and treated as waste. We should organize ourselves collectively and gradually to move towards a society that does not produce garbage."

 PROPOSITION 2.3.4 A (page 20)

1. Establish production quotas to prevent overproduction. 
2. Phase out the big shopping centres and return to local shopping.
3. Require manufacturers to take back their containers for reuse or recycling.   
4. Establish standards to minimize packaging and replace them with more   environmentally friendly packaging. 
5. Require manufacturers to guarantee the durability to their products, to extend the guarantee and to design products that are more easily repaired. 
6. Encourage the installation of thrift stores, eco-centers and other local depots for the exchange and reuse of materials and consumer goods of all kinds

STATEMENT ON FULL  EMPLOYMENT  (page 23)  

"Many  proposals supporting a policy of full employment is related to the policy of the reduction of part time employment and the profound transformation of the economy with a view to overcoming capitalism and suppression of wage labour.

PROPOSITION 3.1.1 A (page 23)

1. Expansion of public service employment in the areas of social services, construction and maintenance of the infrastructure, clean environment and key sectors of the industry.
2. Creating an active and effective employment policy that includes retraining and continuing education programs, voluntary, free and funded by business and government, with financial support including relocation allowances for workers who want employment in another region.
3. Reduction of working time.
4. Require the Central Bank to give priority to employment and not to fighting inflation

PROPOSITION 3.1.1 5 (page 25)

1. Increase minimum wage to $10.66 an hour (for 40 hours work-week)  (OR)
2. Base minimum wage on 60% of the median Quebec salary ($12.05)          (OR)
3.  Make minimum wage 50% higher than the poverty line ($15.99)

STATEMENT ON FULL  EMPLOYMENT  (page 25)   

Capitalism is characterized by a profound power imbalance between employees and employers. This situation is intolerable in a democratic society...

PROPOSITION 3.2.2D (page 27)

1. Strengthen penalties for anti-union practices.
2. Ensure that workers have access to information on the economic health of the company by opening the books. 
3. Grant all workers an annual day off  for training in trade unionism, labour standards and union organization.  Introduce into the high school curriculum, courses on the history of the labour movement and trade unionism.

PROPOSITION 3.3.1D (page 29)

1. Immediately reduce the work week to 35 hours and gradually reduce it to 32 hours without loss of pay, without increasing the workload or forced overtime, to be offset by increased hiring. 
   OR 
2. Reduce the workweek to 32 hours without loss of pay.
   OR
3. Reduce the work week to 32 hours without loss of pay with the alternative possibility of extending holidays. In the business that are cooperatives this should be a voluntary measure, but still with minimum requirements to avoid voluntary overwork.

And of course this wouldn't be a real communist manifesto without a demand that May Day become a national holiday!

The entire document is a childlike description of a Utopian society that cannot exist in the real world.
I have much to critique but will turn it over to the Commentors to have their say. Go to it!

As for the Solidarniks who continue to hide the truth from the public about the political leanings of the QS, I would ask them to consider the advice that Karl Marx offered in the face of critics who had the audacity to call out communists;

"It is high time that Communists should openly, in the face of the whole world, publish their views, their aims, their tendencies, and meet this nursery tale of the spectre of communism with a manifesto of the party itself.

To everyone, have a great weekend!

'Grenadiers March' a Bittersweet Pill

I watched the Canada Day ceremony from Ottawa and like most Canadians I was brimming with pride at the truly magnificent spectacle put on by the Feds, an extra measure of mustard added to celebrate the presence of the Royal couple William and Kate.
The government spared no expense, knowing full well that the event, or highlights thereof, would be broadcast around the world, with hundreds of foreign correspondents covering the Royal visit with the vim and vigour of Hollywood paparazzi.

It's hard not to swell up with pride watching the pageantry of the smartly uniformed, handsome (and now fetching as well, because of the female element) soldiers parade in perfect cadence to the tune of catchy military music.

As the soldiers marched past the adoring crowds, I caught a few bars of a military band's rendition of the 'March of the Grenadiers.'  
Take a listen, you'll recognize it instantly;

It sent chills down my spine..... but not in a good way.

You see, I recently finished screening Dan Snow's 'Battle for North America," the documentary of Great Britain's victory at the Plains of Abraham which of course led to British control of Canada.
You can catch the documentary, if so inclined, in four parts on YouTube, by starting HERE. It is indeed fascinating.

The documentary brought to life the events of the Battle of Quebec in way that the dry history books we studied in high school never did. The human drama and suffering depicted so honestly by Mr. Snow, gave me a perspective of the war that I never had before.

A few months before the famous Battle on the Plains of Abraham, General Wolfe, the commander of British forces was encamped on the east side of the Montmorency river with the French defending the other side. Wolfe hoped to launch a ground assault on the city of Quebec, but would first have to take out that local French garrison. The Montmorency river drains into the St. Lawrence River via the famous Montmorency Falls and Wolfe's plan was to sail around the Falls on the St. Lawrence and then land back ashore to attack the French.

The preparation for the assault was a testament to poor planning  with the attackers landing far from shore because of the failure to allow for the tide. The execution of the plan was no better, a testament to poor discipline.
The Louisburg Grenadiers, having been cooped up in camp for months, scrambled to shore with gusto. Whipped into a frenzy by the beating of the drums and the piping of the "March of the Grenadiers" they imprudently ignored their officers' orders, attacked the heights foolishly and were cut down by the French rather easily. In minutes, over 450 were dead or injured. The attack failed miserably and a furious James Wolfe was forced to abandon the attack and retreat unceremoniously.

Here is a passage from a soldier's account of the battle by the Serjeant-Major of Gen. Hopson’s Grenadiers. LINK

" The First Push we made was on the 31st of July: with 13 Companies of Grenadiers, supported by about 5 Thousand Battalion-men;-- as soon as we landed we fixed our Bayonets and beat our Grenadier's-March, and so advanced on ; during all this Time their Cannon play'd very briskly on us; but their Small-Arms, in their Trenches, lay cool 'till they were sure of their Mark; then they pour 'd their Small-Shot like Showers of Hail, which caus'd our brave Grenadiers to fall very fast: Brave Gen. Wolfe saw that our attempts were in vain, so he retreated to his Boats again: The number of kill'd and wounded that Day was about 400 Men; ...;"

Forced to change plans Wolfe plotted a new attack, but not before taking revenge for the defeat on the local French villages in the surrounding area. Saint-Paul, L’Ange-Gardien, Château-Richer, Saint-Joachim were all burnt to the ground with hundreds killed.

"The most inhuman revenge was perpetrated by Captain Alexander Montgomery, an officer of the 43rd. He was responsible for a terrible incident near the village of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré. A small group managed to keep the British at bay by taking refuge in a stone farmhouse.... Rather than take them prisoner, Captain Montgomery ordered their execution in cold blood and shot all the citizens after raping the women and girls (the crime reported by Scottish Fraser in his diary). At Chateau-Richer, several farmers barricaded themselves in the church. The English brought them out by promising them that they'd be spared, then slaughtered and scalped them in the Indian fashion. Link{FR}

Not their finest hour.
Some British officers were so appalled by Wolfe's cruelty that they recorded accounts of the barbarism in their personal journals.

The Battle for Quebec itself was no less savage. The British, using superior technology launched an artillery barrage from the opposite side of the St. Lawrence, that for weeks pounded the city to the point that when Quebec surrendered, there was hardly a building standing.

These are the unfortunate truths of war. Not very pretty.

Although the Grenadiers faced a humiliating defeat at Montmorency, it was they who marched victoriously into Quebec to accept its surrender.  No doubt, the chilling notes of the March of the Grenadiers sent fear and loathing down the spine of the defeated.  

Although the Battle at the Plains of Abraham was a great victory for one side, it was also a terrific defeat for the other.

And so the "March of the Grenadiers" proudly played in Ottawa on Canada Day by our military in front of the Royals, represents a direct link to the past and a celebration of those sad events in 1759, a historical reality that we should acknowledge, but not celebrate.

Considering that Francophones and Anglophones are partners in this great country, I question the wisdom of retaining the "March of the Grenadiers."

Tradition is tradition, but just as the Confederate flag was retired, isn't it high time the regiment picked a new ditty?