Language Marchers Disconnected From Realty

SOURCE DE SOULIERS A BAS PRIX ????

One of the sad aspects of the French language ultra-militants is that the publicity they garner is disproportionate to the amount of support that they actually have in the general community.

Last Saturday's march through downtown Montreal by a coterie of zealots underlines the paranoid psychosis that afflicts those who believe that an English name on a store is somehow dangerous.

Demanding that stores post signs in French is one thing, demanding that they change their names to French goes beyond the pale, into the land of racism and fantasy.

The self-righteous demand that stores show 'respect' to the francophone majority, reminds me of that parent, the one with belt in hand, who demands 'respect' from his child under pain of a beating.

Respect is earned, not owed.

When militants tell stores to respect the letter and even the spirit of the law, what they are really demanding is blind acquiescence, something quite different.

I never understood the concept of minorities owing 'respect' to the majority by virtue of numbers, while by virtue of those same numbers the majority can run roughshod over the minority.

Do Arab-Israelis owe 'respect' to the Jewish majority just because they are a minority?
I'm sure that every single person who took part in the march would say no, me included, by the way.

I'd bet they'd also object to the Jewish state banning Arabic on public signage and would accuse the country of cultural apartheid if they did, even though Hebrew is every bit as 'threatened' as French.
(By the way, public signage in Israel is tri-lingual and stores can post in any language they choose.)

Ridiculous comparison? Not really. Sometimes when you look at an issue from a different perspective things look completely different.

And so it seems that big bad Israel is linguistically more tolerant than Quebec. Ha!

Now before readers write in to say that there is no comparison between Arab-Israelis and Anglophone Quebeckers, because as the language militants love to remind us, we anglos are the 'best treated minority in the world," I beg to differ.

Francophone Quebeckers are the best treated minority in the world. 

So in the case of language in Quebec, it's a 'case of 'might makes right,' it isn't a question of respect.


The protest about English store names is based on the fantasy that 'out of site is out of mind,' that if English signs and store names are removed from public view, then somehow they don't exist. Poof!

It is an effort to promote an alternate reality, one where Montreal's English don't exist and the false perception that Montreal is 'French' and not bilingual is maintained by hiding reality.

This is the real essence of the protest.
Not English signs, rather English people and English businesses that protesters wish didn't exist.

Even the l'Office québécois de la langue française (the language cops)  admit that the demands of these militants are beyond the scope of the law.

Going far beyond what the OQLF guidelines, namely that stores add a modifier to their names, as in"Les Cafes Second Cup" the rabble marching down Ste. Catherine street, with the determination of those storming the Bastille, demand that the coffee shop change its name to "Deuxieme Tasse"

Next they shall tell Quebeckers that those who possess names like Henry, Mary, William and Peter change their names to the more acceptable, Henri, Marie, Guillaume and Pierre.

Ridiculous? I'm not so sure.

Don Cherry Shows More Class than Separatists

As most of you know, I'm no fan of Don Cherry and have written about him him previously in generally unflattering terms.

I'm also not a fan of heavy metal or country music. I don't think Rick Mercer is very funny, nor is Rita McNeil an interesting artist (even at Christmas) and I do believe that David Suzuki is a big fat phony..... but so what?

Just because I don't like their opinions, their comedy or their talent doesn't mean that I should write the CBC asking that they be removed from television. Diversity is what makes the entertainment business interesting and kooky and controversial personalities contribute to keeping us entertained.

Don Cherry is what he is, you love him or hate him. I do suspect that of those who tune into Hockey Night in Canada, many more are in his camp, than against,  otherwise he would have gotten the boot a long time ago.

How popular is Cherry? Very, very, popular.
I once found myself on an airplane sitting beside him on a flight out to Moncton where he was going to make an appearance at one of his sports restaurants in Dieppe.
Throughout the flight, on a smallish BAe-146, no fewer than twenty or thirty fans (crew included) asked Don for his autograph,  which he dutifully obliged with a smile and polite interaction.
"Where you from?--or --Nice to meet you,"
If somebody told him they were from a small town, he'd invariably ask after one of it's local residents.
I dare say he knows a lot of people.
At the airport in Moncton, the scene replayed itself, with ground workers, airline personnel and travellers all lining up to get autographs and rub shoulders.

Throughout it all, he acted with dignity and good grace and I thought to myself that I couldn't imagine going through life being that popular, to the point of being assailed everywhere I went.

As much as Don Cherry is admired by most anglophone Canadians, he is roundly despised in Quebec and by francophones in general for a few injudicious remarks he made on television, denigrating francophone hockey players.

These remarks weren't particularly vicious, but he did disparage francophone hockey players, in describing them as soft and frail. Francophone reporters ripped into him, resulting in a hate-a-thon that sent Mr. Cherry into the language doghouse along with his dog Blue.

Cherry is a throwback to the old days when Europeans didn't play in the NHL and Francophones were  mostly the property of the Montreal Canadiens. He liked it that way.
During the time of racial integration, many old timers found it hard to accept change. In 1989, he referred to Finnish-born Winnipeg Jets Assistant Coach Alpo Suhonen as "some kind of dog food" Yikes!     Wikipedia

"In January 2004, on the subject of visors, Cherry said on Coach's Corner: "Most of the guys that wear them are Europeans and French guys" to illustrate his claim that visor users have less respect for player safety. This statement triggered an investigation by the federal Official Languages Commissioner, and protests by French-Canadians. Wikipedia

That was his whole transgression, nothing particularly racist, just a stupid comment that he wasn't particularly a fan of francophone or Europeans hockey players.

Cherry & the Queen. Separatists worst nightmare!

For this, francophones have never forgiven him and many have called for his removal from the CBC's hockey broadcast. In fact, his continued presence on HNIC is considered by these objectors to be an ongoing anti-Quebec/Francophone provocation.

Anyways....
Don Cherry has always enjoyed a particularly close relationship with Canada's Armed Forces and uses his pulpit on HNIC to honour those who have died in service. His unbridled enthusiasm and untiring support is much appreciated by the military and their families, to whom Cherry is nothing less than a hero.

So after all these years of unflagging dedication to the armed forces, the military decided to honour his contribution with an honorary degree at a commencement ceremony at the Royal Military College.
I cannot think of anyone who is more deserving.

This of course had the Francophone militants up in arms and they raised the alarm that Cherry was unworthy because of his 'anti-francophone' comments.

"Don Cherry, broadcaster for CBC and host of Coaches Corner on HNIC has refused to attend Royal Military College to accept an honorary Doctorate degree due to a "circus" atmosphere.

In a report by Joe Warmington in The Toronto Sun on Saturday it was noted, a true military supporter and Canadian, Don Cherry (77) of HNIC (CBC's Hockey Night in Canada) Coaches Corner, has announced he will not accept an honorary doctorate degree from the RMC on November 17th. 'One' professor at the Royal Military College in Kingston Catherine Lord has suggested that he does not support the French people, but leaves out the fact that he loves the French, just not the French that wanted to separate from Canada."  Read more in the Toronto Sun

After a brouhaha erupted, Don Cherry decided to decline the honour in order to avert a 'circus' atmosphere that would have shifted focus away from the 800 cadets graduating and the two others receiving honorary awards.

Bravo!
Don Cherry has a lot of class.... A lot of class.

Although he isn't my cup of tea, he has earned my respect as a principled individual who in the truest military tradition has placed himself subservient to the group.
His decision to forgo the well-deserved honorary degree in order to save his confreres from certain  embarrassment is in the finest tradition of the armed forces, where the good of the greater is more important than that of the individual.
Again BRAVO!

The argument that Cherry is unfit for an honorary degree from the Royal Military College or even the right to appear on the CBC smacks of hypocrisy of an order that boggles the mind. It is so ludicrous that it begs further discussion.

If that same criterion were to be applied to Radio-Canada (the French CBC) and any commentator or on-air personality who had made an anti-Canadian or anti-English remark on air would be banned, I'm pretty sure that there wouldn't be anyone left to read the news.

Another case of deux poids, deux mesures (double standard)

And so readers, I ask you, should virulently anti-Canadian, anti-anglophone artists like the late Pierre Falardeau, be offered funding from Tele-Film Canada to make anti-English and separatist films?

Should a life-long separatist, be eligible for writing awards from the Governor-General?

The insufferably self-important Quebec writer, Victor-Lévy Beaulieu has been militating for the breakup of Canada his whole life and has never made bones about his dislike of Canada and his trepidation over English culture. Yet, he was nominated three times for a Governor General's prize and actually won once in 1974.
Should his separatist views have disqualified him from working extensively for Radio Canada, a federal broadcaster created with the goal of fostering national unity?
Let us remember that it is English Canada that over-finances Radio-Canada.

Mr. Beaulieu is a prolific writer and has made his anti-Canadian views known without reservation.

"....that our Church sold its soul to the devil English which used to help make us sub-human, disgusts me."  Link{FR} 

How about calling our ex-Governor General, Michaëlle Jean, the pejorative, "Reine-Nègre" ("negro Queen" LINK{FR}
I've written about his opinions and let's just say he's no fan of Anglos, Jews, Greeks, Chinese and Muslims.  LINK Link{FR} 
So why was he offered and why did he accept a Governor-General's Award?

Should his politics have made him ineligible, like Don Cherry?

In Quebec there is no limit to the anglo bashing on television and in the media. It is so pervasive and so common that it is considered normal.

Calling out Don Cherry for a barb he made years ago is utterly two-faced, but typical.

If Don Cherry is deemed ineligible for awards for his opinion about francophones, should artists and other Quebec figures who militate for sovereignty while describing anglophone Canadians as colonizers and exploiters, be eligible for Canadian honours?

In English we have our own saying;
"What's good for the goose, is good for the gander"

or better still
"People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones."

French versus English Volume 38

Yes readers, I've gone back to the 'French versus English' moniker for the Friday post.
Why? Because "Weekend Update" was pretty much lame.....
Not all the stories will be about language but what the hey.......

Unilingual auditor general  triggers furious language reaction  
One has to wonder if Stephen Harper is deliberately baiting Quebec by continuing to make appointments of unilingual anglophones to senior government and political positions.

When he appointed  Michael Moldaver, a unilingual anglophone to the Supreme Court, voices were raised in Quebec opposing his nomination based on his lack of French.  Even the usually staid Quebec Bar Association waded into the debate condemning the principle of unilingual Supreme Court judges.

Quebecers angry at Harper government's 'qualifications before ...‎

After Harper nominated another unilingual, Michael Ferguson, as Auditor General, a disturbing trend became apparent and a cause celebre was triggered in Quebec, which views the tradition of bilingualism at the top levels of the civil service, judiciary and political ranks an acquired right. The fear that this tradition is being reversed by Harper has resulted in a groundswell of opposition.

"To the chagrin of many in Quebec, the Harper Tories have seemingly instituted a policy of putting one's qualifications ahead of their ability to speak French when it comes to government appointments.

On Tuesday, the NDP cried foul after they learned that Michael Ferguson, Stephen Harper's nominee for auditor general was unilingual." read the rest of the story

The decision to put talent before language doesn't sit well in Quebec, and launched a witch hunt to root out other unilinguals in the public service. Joseph L. Rotman, head of the Canada Council of Arts was outed as well by the Mouvement Québec français,

Here's a sample of reactions across Canada, both pro and con;

Unilingual auditor general a mistake - Edmonton Journal
NDP ran unilingual candidates but wants bilingual bureaucrats -National Post
Ferguson wouldn't quit AG job, even with comme ci, comme ca French - Vancouver Sun

Most reactions in English Canada followed this line, offered by a reader in reaction to a story by the CBC, Should the auditor general have to be bilingual?

"We must create a nation where French minority rights are respected but there are still opportunities for Anglophones who represent the majority to get ahead in the Civil Service. As it stands now, bilingualism is put above other more important qualifications. If he is the best choice for AG, then he should get the job."- JimF13

French studying in English
An article in the Paris newspaper, LE MONDE despairs over the fact that of the 7,000 students from France studying in Quebec universities, a quarter of them choose to go to English universities, like McGill and Concordia.

This embarrassing situation flies in the face of a program set up years ago by the government of Quebec whereby francophone students from around the world are allowed to come to Quebec and study in university, paying the same low tuition as native Quebeckers.
The idea of the program is to foster a greater exchange within the francophone world and to increase Quebec's influence on the next generation.

The fact that students use the program to get an ENGLISH education is diametrically opposed to the program's goals,  but it isn't clear what the government can do, short of banning the practice.
Michelle Courchesne, Quebec's education minister promises remedial action.

"We must be fools to blissfully accept to finance the teaching of English in the name of friendship between France and Quebec! If we have to terminate the bilateral agreement dating back to 1970 to eliminate this scam, so be it"  letter to Le Devoir

Another  letter writer to LE DEVOIR was not untypical of the rage the practice of using the program to scam an English education.

And if you do not send them home out of pity for their cowardice and stupidity, at least have the good sense to triple their fees: a third more as foreign students and a third more as the price of their treachery and bullshit. Link

Ouch!

Spanish signs add insult to injury!

A Montreal francophone hospital is in hot water for posting a sign indicating approximate wait times for a clinic in English and horror of horrors, in Spanish as well!

The hospital claimed that it was just trying to communicate with patients more effectively, but of course in Quebec, this is thoroughly beside the point.

The usual gang of language militants reacted with expected outrage.
According to Yves-François Blanchet, a PQ immigration critic;

"In Quebec, everything is supposed to be French. The solution is not to translate the information into other languages​​, but rather that the speakers of the other languages adopt the language that is common to all. "

"It goes completely against the spirit of Bill 101," protested Mario Beaulieu, president of the Mouvement Québec Francais. He said the sign sends the wrong signal to the people, in addition to creating complications.

"If there's a fire, does it mean we have to shout, " Feu!, Fire!, Fuego?"  Link{FR}

Separatist Parade a gigantic bust
A news report which obviously had been prepared in advance, had to be edited hastily to reflect the reality that a separatist parade organized by a coalition of 22 sovereigntist organizations and called for last Friday in Montreal, was decidedly under attended.

Too bad the copy editor forgot to make the correction in the caption under the photo which described 'thousands' of attendees while in the body of the story, not twelve words later, described the participants as 'hundreds'

Both the newspaper  Le Devoir and the radio station 98.5 described the crowd as numbering about 200, an utter disappointment to organizers who wanted to demonstrate that separatists can still get out a crowd.

Considering that the night before, over 250 people demonstrated in the tiny town of Saint-Adolphe-d’Howard to protest the fact the town was losing it's only ATM machine, it's a bit of a humiliation.

More racism on vigile.net!

Democratic Reform Minister Tim Uppal

It amazes me that the separatist website continues to publish racist filth even after being called on the carpet for its overt antisemitism.
Perhaps the the worst offender is the ever-nasty contributor, Jacques Noel, whose evil, racist posts are published on an ongoing basis.

His latest screed is a rather pitiful attempt to prove, using selective and upside down statistics, that Ontario and the other provinces didn't deserve the added seats in Parliament and that in reality, it was Quebec which was shortchanged......I kid you not.

Now I've long given up trying to rebut his childlike nonsense, but when his racist pronouncements are published, I feel encumbered to call him out.
Mr. Noel was upset that Democratic Reform Minister Tim Uppal, a Sikh delivered the news of the seat change, offending Mr. Noel because er.....he wears a funny hat?

"To add insult to the humiliation, it was a Sikh, proudly wearing his religious symbols in the House, who was the sponsor of the Bill. White Niggers of America. Pierre Vallieres must be turning in his grave!   LINK{FR}

(Pour ajouter à l’insulte, pour ajouter à l’humiliation, c’est un Sigh, arborant fièrement ses symboles religieux en Chambre, qui parraine le projet de Loi. Nègres blancs d’Amérique. Pierre Vallières va se retourner dans sa tombe !)

Thanks to TROY for pointing out the story.

Tiny  dollar store start-up attacked over language

If you're wondering why Quebeckers lack the entrepreneurial spirit demonstrated by Canadians in other provinces, it has a lot to do with the red tape and hoops put up by the government. But aside from that there is a gang of language fools who come sniffing around for language violations, like dogs smelling crotches.

A small start-up 'Dollar' type store in Granby was taken to task for selling junk products with unilingual labelling.
Obviously the merchant didn't have the buying power of Dollarama and had to take what he could get.
That naturally, was no excuse for the language militants who demanded action from the OQLF for the outrageous insult.

 "Asked to comment, the store owner, Daniel Tétreault,  insisted that the problem is not a big deal."It's just a few products. We are a new company, I am a local resident from Granby, not a big multinational. Perhaps a few products went unnoticed, I cannot see everything. I'll make an effort and I will try to resolve the situation. But please give me a chance..."
He denounced the fact that his business is being attacked."I find it really unfortunate that some people are trying to destroy my business like that. I just invested a lot of money, I bought the building and I put  a lot of people to work." LINK{FR}

Readers, please groan with me... .Arrrgggggh!!!!!

Accent plus!

An oddball story of government waste wouldn't have made this column if not for the photo accompanying the story.
The piece recounted how the government was wasting over $50,000 to install a shower in the office of one of its branches of the license bureau.

That in and of itself is newsworthy for the utter overspending, but what caught my eye was the sign on the building which actually has an improperly used diacritical accent.
Both the letters  'E'  in Société are supposed sport accent 'egus' (é) but the first 'E' in sign sports an accent 'grave' (è) instead.

Ha!Ha!

This on a government building.
For we anglos who are bilingual yet still have a problem with diacritical marks and male and female nouns, it is sweet confirmation that French is no easy language to master, even for natives speakers.

I still can't fathom why a female dog is considered a male noun.....

One of our readers, GEN sent in this picture of a manhole cover in the city of Verdun adorned with English-only text.
She wondered sarcastically if the OQLF might force the city to replace it.....  Mebbe!
Sheesh...it must be really old.
`

Come4News!

In researching stories for this post, I often type in the words 'langue francaise Quebec' into the standard Google news search engine, but sometimes I forget to add the word  'Quebec' and get results from France discussing the language situation over there.
Here's a story lamenting the deterioration of French in the school yard and unfortunate influence of other languages on everyday French;

"But more than that, today the French language is in danger. In schools and colleges in France the language we hear in the schoolyard or the streets is far from having a relationship with the French that we expect to speak in class." LINK{FR}

The whole story is rather uninteresting until I looked at the name of the website;

Yup, isn't it ironic that a website complaining about foreign influence on the French language is named "COME4NEWS"

Annual Poppy fiasco 

Each year an annual poppy fiasco plays out in some mall in Quebec where legionnaires are told that they cannot sell poppies for a variety of reasons.
I'm not going to come down on the francophone managers of these malls for treating the legion the same way they treat other charities, obviously the education system doesn't stress the sacrifice and contribution of our military. More often than not, they know not what they are getting into and are genuinely shocked at the inevitable shit storm they bring down on themselves.

This year it was the Angrignon Shopping Centre in the Montreal suburb of LaSalle that told legionnaires to take a hike because they hadn't applied for a spot early enough. Yikes.. LINK

After the shit hit the fan via a television news report, it fell to the President of Westcliff management to go before cameras and grovel for forgiveness.
Last year it was the Dorval Gardens Shopping Centre  an English suburb of Montreal, which went through the same fiasco.
Many years ago it was the Champlain mall in Dieppe, New Brunswick which did the same.
I was a bit surprised that anyone in New Brunswick would dare diss the Legion, but it turns out that the manager of the mall who made the decision was a newly transplanted Quebecker.  Link

As Donald Trump is fond of saying "YOU'RE FIRED"


Odds'n Ends

"Liberal MP Justin Trudeau says he is upset and offended by a Tory MP who publicly questioned his adherence to the Catholic faith and his suitability to speak to students at a Catholic school." Read the rest of the story

 

"Anyone who has ever tried to come up with a zinger for The New Yorker’s caption contest knows how challenging it is to seem effortlessly clever. Quebecers, though, will be further frustrated should they come up with a suitably droll caption for the magazine’s weekly back page cartoon. It turns out they are barred from the exercise, which welcomes “any resident of the U.S. or Canada (except Quebec) age eighteen or over.”  Read the rest of the story

"Remember Mouna Diab? 
 She is the arrogant Muslim agit-prop who led a group of Muselmaniacs to Herouxville  in an intimidation campaign to straighten out the filthy kafirs who misunderstood her peaceful ‘religion’.

Now the Hezbo- bitch from Herouxville pops up in the news again : Quebec woman charged with trying to export assault rifle parts to Lebanon -  Read the rest of the story 

"The federal government has to be careful that its planned budget cuts don't have an undue impact on bilingualism, the commissioner of official languages warned Tuesday.In his annual report, Graham Fraser said official languages shouldn't bear an unfair proportion of the reductions." Read the rest of the story

A political attache for the federal NDP is planning to run as a candidate for a sovereigntist provincial party in an upcoming byelection.

Patricia Chartier, a staffer for Quebec MP Philip Toone, says she will be the Quebec Solidaire candidate in the eastern Quebec riding of Bonaventure." Read the rest of the story

Readers, a gentle reminder....PLEASE BUY A POPPY AND WEAR IT PROUDLY!
Have a good weekend!

Quebec Corruption Story Would Make a Great Television Series

Watching unfolding events surrounding Quebec's construction industry scandal over corruption, I'm struck by how much life imitates art.

For those of you old enough to remember the old The Untouchables television show, there remains remarkable similarities between that series, which chronicled the 1930's battle between the forces of good, embroiled in an epic battle with criminals for control of Chicago.

The show highlighted various Mafia dons, crooked politicians and cops, public servants on the take, various goons and a frustrated public caught in the middle of it all.

Sound familiar?

If any of our local networks is looking for a good idea for a television series with a Quebec take, I heartily recommend a remake of the above-mentioned series to be entitled "LES INTOUCHABLES."

Each week the show would highlight an episode in the ongoing battle between the forces of good and evil, all in a riveting Quebecois context.

Let me offer a preview of what the pilot show might be like;

The Pilot

Our first episode begins in the condo of Labour Minister Lise Thiconne, an attractive forty-something woman, who is enjoying a candlelight dinner with her boyfriend. The romantic atmosphere is interrupted by a ringing telephone. The Minister saunters over to the counter, wine glass in hand, all the while making googly eyes at her boyfriend. 

All of a sudden the blood drains from her face and her glass of wine goes crashing to the floor as she starts to shake uncontrollably.

 "What's wrong!" asked her boyfriend as he leaps to her side."

"He... He said he'd break my legs if I continued to push my anti-union legislation!"

"That Bastard!!!

Cut to a Parliamentary Committee Room where the head of Quebec's largest construction union, Louis Arnaquer, is being interrogated. Far from being intimidated, the thoroughly sinister labour leader seems to be basking in the spotlight. Making snide and veiled threats, he tells the Parliamentarians that if they are to go through with legislation to reduce the power of the unions, there would be Hell to pay.

"What kind of retaliation?" asked the labour minister
"I cannot say!" replies the union leader with a devilish grin, "I cannot control the membership if they are angry and want to spontaneously demonstrate their displeasure"

Cut to the scene of a construction site where union 'organizers' are 'asking' reluctant workers to walk off the job.
The half dozen goons are led by André 'Bebé' Desbarets an imposing 300 pound gorilla who is personally responsible for enforcing 'solidarity' among members. When one brave worker challenges the order to leave, a tense confrontation occurs wherein the goons threaten his family. "Teztoi, tab-ar-nak! Sinon, onvat-fair tabasser " 

The scene switches to another labour site, this time beside the mighty St.Lawrence river in Trois-Rivieres, where workers are undertaking a risky underwater salvage job. Goons enter the work site, again demanding that all work be halted. But when the workers balk at the order, goons start switching off power equipment, including a generator that is providing power to a pump feeding oxygen to divers below the water. This over the desperate pleas of co-workers.
(note: This scene may have to be deleted because it is too unrealistic -editor)

Premier Jean Boucle D'Or is pacing across the floor of his Quebec City Parliamentary office.
After a political lifetime of making dubious compromises in the name of financing his political machine, time has finally caught up with him, as the public's patience with him over his duplicity has run out. Faced with certain defeat at the polls come next election, he embarks on a mission to put things right.

Sitting patiently on a couch in front of the Premier is ex-Police Commissioner Jacques "Dutchy" Bongars whose reputation as an incorruptible crime-fighter has led the Premier to enlist his help in going after all those that have seized illegal control of the province.

"It won't be easy Mr. Premier, we have to go after the unions, the crooked government employees and most of all the mafia bosses that control it all."
After a pause in which the Premier reflects upon the words, the ex-cop continues.
"And that means facing off with Anthony "The Curse" Saccura. It'll be an epic battle, Mr. Premier, so if you're not ready to take him down, let me know now."

In a traditional Italian coffeehouse on Jean Talon Street in Montreal, Anthony Saccura is holding court with a coterie of underlings. Francisco Zamboni his trusted lieutenant is assuring the leader that everybody who knows anything compromising is being encouraged to keep their mouths shut. Saccura remains worried. Another underling assures Saccura that this too shall pass. "We've been at this forty years, we've seen crime busters before. Let's just keep our cool and deal with things as they come up. Boss, trust me. Any problems and we know how to deal with it." With a a flourish, he points to a wad of cash on the table and breaks out into a wide grin, then theatrically pulls a gun out of his waistband, brandishing it about, an unmistakable demonstration, just to show how he believes they should deal with any 'problems'. The henchmen erupt in laughter. Saccura leans back in his chair and watches the scene pensively, not quite so confident.

At the police station house, Cpt. Bongars is sitting on a desk in front of 50 officers representing his newly formed team of hard-nosed investigators, those he has hand-picked for the epic battle unfolding.
After swearing allegiance to the principle of justice, the team, appropriately  nicknamed les Cinq-Oh, is ready for action.

Captain Bongars' chief lieutenant Daniel "Dano' Dussault is running down assignments when a female detective bursts into the room.
"An overpass has collapsed in Laval, probably due to shoddy construction and there's been a bombing in a Montreal North pizzeria!"

"Saddle up people!" shouts Captain Bongars "Our fight begins!"

Hmmmmm ....
How about it readers?
Any suggestions for additional characters. Plot lines?

Firing Suited Jacques Duchesneau Just Fine

It's funny how stories sometimes play out in the Press, where a completely false take on events can sometimes become entrenched for no other reason than it is more convenient than the truth.

The media has a lot invested into the image of Jacques Duchesneau as a white knight in Quebec's ongoing construction scandal. The public, desperate to hear some good news, bought into the concept of Duchesneau as some sort of a lone wolf hero, battling the bad guys with the confidence, vim and vigour of Don Quixote.

So when he was 'fired,' the media and the public could accept no other theory than his betrayal was based on nothing less than the maleficence of those determined to derail his ongoing crusade against corruption, be it the government, the unions or the civil servants protecting their turf. Duchesneau fired
Very convenient... 

It's a good story, but much as I really like Jacques Duchesneau, it just isn't true.

What nobody in the media will dare say or print, is that Mr. Duchesneau engineered his own firing because he wasn't willing to give up his position as top dog.

When damaging accusations of corruption and mismanagement surfaced last year in regards to contracts issued by the Ministry of Transport (MTQ) (roadwork, bridges, infrastructure, etc.) and the alleged inappropriate chumminess that the department displayed with the engineering/consulting firms hired to manage these contracts, the Premier, under pressure, hired Mr. Duchesneau to put together an investigation team (Unité anti-collusion (UAC) of the ministère des Transports) to investigate if there actually was collusion between the Ministry, the engineering firms and those construction companies bidding on contracts.

The team put together by Mr. Duchesneau was a special one-off, two-year project, but when the province created a permanent anti-corruption agency a few months later in March, called the Unité permanente anticorruption or UPAC for short, which was patterned after New York City's Department of Investigation, Mr. Duchesneau's team (UAC) was slated to be absorbed within this new unit.

The announcement of this fusion didn't sit well with Duchesneau or members of his team, who were hired as independent consultants on a contract basis.
Joining the government's permanent UPAC agency meant that they'd all have to interview for a job with the new agency and if successful, become civil servants under direct employ of the government,

Almost all the members of Duchesneau's team were ex-police collecting lucrative pensions. If they took the job with the government, they'd be double-dipping, that is, collecting a government pension while employed by the government.
As well, most didn't want to give up their independence, preferring to work on contract rather than going back to become regular full-time employees. Most didn't even apply for the job.

The same goes for Mr. Duchesneau, who was working on a two-year, $200,000 plus consulting contract, while collecting a $100,000 plus pension from his time as police chief of Montreal. It was a rather convenient work arrangement wherein he could keep his pension as an independent consultant, but where going back to be a direct employee of the government meant double-dipping.

But more importantly, going to work for UPAC meant giving up being boss and working for the unit's director, Robert Lafrenière an ex-deputy Minister and veteran police officer of the Sûreté du Québec. (the Quebec version of the OPP)

I can't for a minute see Jacques working under anybody, let alone an ex-police officer, who although highly placed, ranked lower in the Sûreté du Québec, than Duchesneau did in the Montreal police.

Having rubbed shoulders with senior members of the Montreal police while Jacques was Chief, I can tell readers that the Sûreté du Québec is held in utter disdain by the Montreal police, considered a Sad Sack organization of second rate, country bumpkins.

The idea that Jacques, who has been top dog wherever he has worked over the last fifteen years, would be working under Mr. Lafrenière, someone who he considers his subordinate, could never happen.

Mr. Lafrenière, was rightfully furious with Duchesneau for going public about his investigation of the MTQ and for telling reporters that the job of director of UPAC should be held by an ex-judge, not an ex-police officer. It was to say the least, insubordination.

He called Duchesneau into a meeting where he meant to lay down the law and show Duchesneau who was boss, but it was not to be. Link

No doubt, a recalcitrant Duchesneau was unyielding, forcing the directors hand, hence the firing.

And so as fate would have it, Mr. Duchesneau is portrayed as a hero and Mr. Lafrenière a bum, such is the narrative decided upon by the Press who have everything to lose by telling the truth.