Dangerous Language Rhetoric Fails to Convince

Chateau Marois

In order for a language or culture to be threatened, it obviously takes another language or culture to threaten. Whether true or not, French language militants have been shouting loud and long that it is the English language and culture that is menacing the survival of French in Quebec.

The unfortunate extension of this argument is that, if English culture is threatening, it's Quebec's English citizens, who are to blame, in some major or minor way.

So inured are Quebecers to anti-English rhetoric from radicals that they no longer recognize attacks on English citizens as good old fashioned racism, which it is.
If one were to point this out, as I am doing now, shock would likely be the reaction by the francophone majority.
Quebecers as Racists?.....Never!

A couple of days ago, Pauline Marois' aide told reporters that she was about to close a sale on her famous mansion on Ile Bizard; 

"The sale of the property was not conditional on the buyer being a fluent French speaker, Marie Barrette, Marois's press attaché told the Journal de Québec.

"There were no sale conditions related to the origins of the person, but even better if it is a francophone. It's nice. That makes one more in Quebec," Barrette told the paper." Montreal Gazette Alternate Link

I almost fell over reading the statement and was inclined to paraphrase the Bible, 'Forgive them Lord, for they know not what they say!'
The spokesperson actually made it a point to tell reporters that Madame Marois did not include a clause excluding potential purchasers based on their origins which, as any high school student could tell you is not only racist but quite illegal!
So congratulations to Madame Marois for her courage in not excluding any potential buyer, based on race, creed or colour!

Imagine dear reader if you met with your local Century 21 agent, say in Montreal West, and made it a point to tell her that you wouldn't insist on a clause barring French Canadians from buying your house.
She'd probably think you a nutbar and racist extraordinaire. She'd be right.

But these type of racist public statements go unchallenged in Quebec every day.

And so it has unfortunately become commonplace in the media and among separatist politicians to disparage Anglos and allophones as less than desirable, a negative disturbance in the force, citizens to be tolerated, but never accepted as equals.

"We must work to develop policies to keep Montreal francophones from leaving the island and create conditions for more francophones to return." Pierre Curzi - PQ

What does this statement say about how Anglophones and Allophones are perceived by separatist politicians?

I daresay that if one were to ask Mr. Curzi if he viewed Anglophones and Allophones as less worthy or desirable citizens than francophones, he would bristle with indignation.

But Mr. Curzi's view that there are too few francophones on the island of Montreal is just a polite way of saying that there are too many Anglophones and Ethnics. 
If one were to point out that calling on francophones to settle in Montreal as a patriotic duty is nothing but naked ethnocentrism and racism, he would reject the notion because, as he would tell us,  French is the 'natural state' of Quebec that must be preserved.

So I wonder how Mr. Curzi would view a City of Ottawa politician calling on Anglophones to reoccupy Vanier, a district that has developed a large francophone population. What if that politician complained that anglophones were losing their historic hold on the city? 
Or how about an Israeli politician asking Israeli Jews to move to Jerusalem to alter the balance with Muslims?
Burlesque comparisons?.....readers will judge.

In Laval, alarms have been sounded that too many anglos (especially Greeks) are invading the landscape. Militant French language groups have demanded that countervailing measures be taken to re-establish the primacy of French, but nothing concrete is proposed. Link{Fr}
So what exactly do they propose to reverse the undesirable Anglo/Greek invasion?

I've written about the problem of those militants wishing to protect the French language crossing over the line into ethnocentric territory before.
$2,000 Fine for Speaking English
Revisiting Hérouxville 

Latent Racism in Quebec a Sad Reality

 
Everyday the likes of Gilles Proulx, Mario Beaulieu and Pauline Marois bombard the media with messages of hate and disrespect towards Quebec's minorities, warning francophones of the dire and diabolical threat that we represent towards the preservation of the Francophone culture in Quebec.
They speak openly about English as inherently evil and dangerous and somehow fail to understand that they are talking about fellow citizens!
It's dangerous and evil talk, meant to drive Quebecers towards hate and animosity, a wedge meant to tilt enough towards the promised land of sovereignty, through fear and hate.

But while some people bite, the thirty year campaign of vilification has largely failed.

Incredibly, most francophones ignore the hyperbolic forecasts of gloom and doom and the nasty representations of Anglos and Ethnics, this to the utter consternation of the radical mouthpieces, who keep on yelling FIRE!, without much response or panic from the public.

Thankfully, Quebec francophones are imbued with a healthy disrespect for authority and don't particularly enjoy being manipulated or told what to think or do.
Perhaps it is in response to centuries of domination by the Church where an entire province was instructed how to conduct their personal lives, even how many children to have.

For Quebecers who live in these dangerously 'at risk' communities, anglos and ethnics don't seem to be the problem that the language supremacists insist that we are.
The campaign to trigger troublesome language confrontations remains unsupported by the overwhelming majority of those francophones who reside or work directly on the linguistic firing line. 

Despite decades of harping on the English and ethnics, it seems that the only place where the campaign has any traction at all, is in the hinterland, where there are hardly any anglos or ethnics at all!
Call it  'fear of the unknown'

Again, much to the consternation of radicals, Anglos, Allos and Francophones get along rather nicely where they actually co-exist and in fact almost one third of anglos choose a Francophone life partner and over two thirds of them end up sending their offspring to French schools.
The intermarriage rate between francophones and allophones is equally impressive.

Given the level of disrespect and hate spewed by French language supremacists, it's a wonder that the atmosphere between francophones and anglophones remains so positive.

Readers, I travelled this province from one end to another professionally for over thirty years, during which time, I have never been disrespected for being an Anglophone and that hasn't changed a whit over the years.
People recognize my very strong French as sometimes imperfect, but it hasn't mattered at all, my  effort to conduct business in French appreciated.
Back in 1995, during the referendum campaign, a business trip took me up through Saguenay-Lac St-Jean region and just to see what kind of reaction I'd get, I wore a big NON button.
I thought I'd be accosted or at the least given a tongue lashing by one or the other, but it never happened.
Some people asked if I was an organizer and a few people came up to me to tell me in whispers that they'd be voting No.

Despite all the harsh  rhetoric by radicals, Quebecers remain a kind and gentle people, of that I'm convinced and I remain happy to live in the most exciting and stimulating city in Canada.

Of course I bitch and moan the whole year long, largely because I'd like this province to be better, but like most Anglophones who live here, Quebec remains MY home and native land.

You may agree or not agree, but on this point my opinion cannot be swayed...

.....And so readers, positive is where I'd like to finish up the year.

As Christmas approaches, the majority of Canadians are feeling good about themselves, their family and the society they live in and this happy atmosphere is contagious, as most non-Christians will readily admit.

In this spirit, I'm going to do no bashing, complaining or harping until the New Year, at least.

On Friday, I'll tell you a marvellous story of Quebec public workers doing their job superbly....I'm not kidding.

Habs Hit Panic Button

Randy Cunneyworth - Sacrifical lamb?

You probably have to live in hockey mad Quebec to understand the enormity of something so mundane as the firing of a coach of a local sports team.
The newspapers, radio and television are talking of nothing else and for once, reflect accurately what Quebecers want to talk about.

As is always the case, language rules and the first topic of discussion is new coach Randy Cunneyworth's lack of French.
Lost in the discussion is the fact that he wasn't given a real mandate, just the opportunity to finish out the year with the elusive promise of 'we'll see what happens.'

The decision to replace Jacques Martin was perhaps no surprise, but the promotion of Cunneyworth was. It signals a certain level of panic by general manager Pierre Gauthier who now appears to be working to save his own job.

Gauthier admitted that he's been mulling over the change for a couple of weeks, so he had plenty of time to look around for a French-speaking coach, something even he, in the Ivory Tower of the executive offices of the Bell Centre understands is necessary.

But as I mentioned in a post last week, when it comes to francophone coaches, at the moment, the pickings are slim, the most talented already having been used up and spewed out by the impatient Habs or otherwise gainfully employed and under contract by other teams.

A bunch of former francophone coaches are working for the RDS network (the French version of TSN) and on a post-game show on Saturday night, recounted the circumstances of their firings and the residual bitterness that they still harbour.

Since 1985 the Habs have had twelve coaches averaging just two years, a shameful display of panic and immaturity that reflects not on the coaches, but management. The average amount of games coached by these gentlemen is less than 200 each.

Having grown up watching the legendary Toe Blake and Scotty Bowman coach for a combined 23 years behind the bench, it's a bit depressing to watch the panic and fear that rules upper management's decisions vis-a-vis coaches this last quarter century.

In the 39 years between 1940 to 1979, the Canadiens had but four coaches and won sixteen Stanley Cups and by the way, of the 23 Stanley Cups won by the Canadiens, 19 were teams led by Anglophone coaches.

And so it seems that the Canadiens have given up on the year, a shame because the fans haven't quite been ready to throw in the towel just yet.
No doubt Cunneyworth understands his position as caretaker, holding the fort until a francophone can be found.

It appears that last year's wonder boy, Tampa Bay Lightening coach Guy Boucher has gone from hero to zero with the team wallowing in last place and might be available sooner than later.
The same goes for Bob Hartley who is having a dreadful time over in Switzerland and is likely to be canned soon.

These two, in my mind, are the most likely candidates to take over in the off season.

By the way, the Canadiens never considered Patrick Roy, who admitted that his phone hasn't rung.

As for  Cunneyworth's lack of French, the reaction was mostly subdued with most commentators warning that if he turns around the team, he might be tolerated, but if things remain the same or deteriorate, he will be mercilessly hounded out of the job.

Perhaps he can turn the season around, the 2011 version of the Canadiens have been hopeless under-performers, with player after player turning in sub-par performances, so far.

Was that Martin's fault?.... It remains to be seen.

Of course injuries haven't helped, but blaming the Markov fiasco, wherein the 5 million dollar plus man hasn't played a single game this year, is no excuse. Other teams such as Pittsburgh and Philadelphia have shown how good they can be despite injuries that make the Canadiens look healthy.

But  the long term looks grim for the team, francophone or anglophone coach aside. The team has tied up millions of dollars on long-term contracts for players who are notorious for their lack of production or absence through injury.

Perhaps the saddest of all player moves was the acquisition of ex-Maple Leaf castoff, the overpaid Thomas Kaberle.
There was a time that the Leafs were manned by Montreal Canadiens rejects and sadly, that seems to have reversed.

As for language, get ready for some interesting times as the Press spoils to crucify the Habs new Anglophone coach.
After the 5-3 loss to the Devils in Cunnyworth's first game, he was already criticized for running the same old game plan as Martin.
After one game!

For that matter, there will be no honeymoon with the fans either. In the third period with the hometown Habs trailing the Devils, the new coach was serenaded by the boo-birds, something not heard in the Bell Centre for quite a while.

As the Habs melt down, one of the last vestiges of Quebec pride is fading to black.
At least the fans and the Press can content themselves with blaming the fiasco on an Anglo coach.

Pipe Dreams & Fantasies..French in Multinationals

 French in Multinationals -Fantasy Island?

Over a year ago I wrote a piece about Rejean Tremblay, the dean of Quebec sportscasters who demanded in a published piece that the Montreal Canadiens francize the team by hiring more francophones to better reflect its fan base. Le CH abuse des Québécois {Fr}

In that article, he suggested that the Habs General manager implement the so-called 'Savard doctrine'(if ever it really existed,) whereby given a choice between two equal players, the team always hired the francophone.
Ironically, in another article, Mr. Tremblay complains that English NHL teams are guilty of discriminating against francophones by hiring English players before francophones. Hmm..... 

At any rate, it's a neat concept that sounds attractive if you're ready to suspend your belief in statistical probability. Unfortunately, among Mr. Tremblay's readers, there's plenty of those.

Only a dreamer or an idiot could conceive of a unique situation that repeats itself often enough, wherein two equally talented players are made available at the same time, both the same age, playing the same position and making the same salary, one being French, the other speaking English or Globish.
In the real world, that situation presents itself less often than a Henri Richard birthday. 

But the idea is a narrative that sells rather neatly to those who dream of Christmas past and the reincarnation of the Flying Frenchman. Ah, perchance to dream!

Alas for Mr. Tremblay, it is a pipe dream, and I suspect he knows it. His missive was actually a call to choose French players first, regardless of talent, but in the modern era of globalization, the only way to francize a team, is to take a qualitative hit.
Considering that the Canadiens aren't a very good team and haven't been for a decade, perhaps it doesn't matter and for Mr. Tremblay, if your going to stink, you may as well stink in French!

While on the subject of French or the Canadiens, is there any coach in the NHL who more deserves to be fired this year then the hapless Jacques Martin, for his ceaseless ability to get the worst out of his players?
It is very likely that his job remains safe only as long as there isn't a viable francophone out there ready to replace him, as the case appears to be, right now.
If Pierre Gauthier, the general manager (another horrible underachiever,) dared hire an anglophone to replace Martin, he'd be ridden out of town on a rail.
And so Mr. Tremblay seems to have gotten his way....underachieving francophones kept on because more talented anglophones are not an option. Bon Chance!

What does any of this have to do with French in the Head offices of Montreal's leading multinational companies?
A lot.

This week, in a televised debate on the subject of French in head offices, I heard another fanciful suggestion of the same sort, described by the insufferable Jean-François Lisée.Watch the debate in French

Mr. Lisee admitted that companies who operate on a world-wide basis must deal with their branch offices and customers in English, but demanded that once the telephone is hung up, the employees revert to French among themselves. Any employee or executive promoted to the head office from the field would be forced to go to the Sagenauy for six months to learn French. Bon voyage!
And so everything coming into the office would have to be translated into French and then everything leaving the office would have to be translated into English.

Sounds like a plan....for idiots.
I don't know if Mr. Lisée knows how ridiculous he sounds, but it's a good story for language militants, always willing and able to jump through hoops to make an argument for French.

Looking at the suggestion dispassionately, even Mr. Lisée would have to admit that in a situation like this, French is completely superfluous, an unnecessary layer of expense and bother.
If that's the price of locating in Quebec, what company president could justify staying?

Unfortunately for Mr. Lisée and French language supremacists, most CEOs don't give a tinker's cuss about French or English, the only language that counts, is money.

A few days ago I described how the exodus of English head-offices started soon after Sun Life made a very public exit from Montreal, much to the consternation of the then PQ government.
Hundreds of other companies followed suit, but they did so without a splash and as the old saying goes- 'Out of sight, out of mind.'

The problem of head offices leaving or choosing not to locate in Quebec was largely swept under the carpet, the companies involved relieved not to discuss the matter and the government conveniently forgetting to own up to the economic impact of French language restrictions.


To Mr. Lisée and other French language supremacists, the loss of head offices unwilling to put up with this nonsense is a reasonable price to pay for the preservation of French in the workplace.
But no politician or French language hardliner will admit as such in public and Quebecers have been largely shielded from the truth, but not the economic impact.

I came across this devastating article in the Montreal Gazette's business section, which lays bare the economic reality of these policies;

"The small city of Cornwall, Ont., 120 kilometres southwest of Montreal, has been on a growth spurt for more than a decade as retailers open new distribution centres there.

The facilities are being built to serve the Quebec market yet they're located just beyond the border rather than in Quebec itself.....

....The unsaid thing in the industry is that people just don't want unions in their distribution centres," Wulfraat said. "When you talk to the leaders of these companies, that's their foremost concern."

Added to that is the extra cost and effort required to operate in French, which can be avoided in a place like Cornwall.

"Quebec, in my opinion, has some fundamental disadvantages working against it," he said.

Read the rest of the story and then come back....Montreal Gazette  Alternate Link

To be sure, language is not the only reason that these distribution centres are placed outside Quebec, perhaps the biggest concern, unmentioned in the article, is Quebec's anti-scab law that forbids replacement workers.
In Quebec, in the event of a strike, the company cannot hire workers to replace strikers, while in Ontario such is not the case.
It's a massive concern to management, because a striking distribution centre can bring down the entire retail operation, leaving the union with unprecedented power to cripple the company.

But language as an issue, remains a huge concern, though company officials don't like to talk about it. A Quebec based distribution centre would be obligated to operate in French, an anomaly in a company that operated dozens of similar facilities throughout North America.
Let's face it, Target or Wal-Mart isn't that interested in sending a transferee to Chicoutimi for six months to learn French and they aren't interested in the added expense and bother of operating in French, not if they don't have to.
Unfortunately for Mr. Lisée and his supporters, they don't have to.

I know these facts are unpleasant to those wishing to see Quebec thrive as a French society, but as they say, 'Them's the breaks.'

Recently it was revealed that the OQLF gave Bombardier dispensation from the requirement to operate in French at its head office, a tacit admission that the company could not or would not comply with the law.
Of course the agreement wasn't widely publicized and for good reason. It demonstrated an admission that in some cases, the rules of Bill 101 and French in the head office, leaves companies with no choice but to exit the province.
Secondly, the publication of the special dispensation might very well trigger an avalanche of requests by other companies for the same treatment, undermining the holy tenet of French in the workplace.
For the OQLF it's a lose/lose situation.

Where to go and what to do to preserve and promote French in the workplace is a sticky wicket. For language militants, the solution is cut and dried, French at all times and damn the jobs.

For a responsible government, preserving French in the workplace must be tempered with another obligation, the obligation to create a society where companies can flourish and prosper and where decent paying jobs are preserved.

By opening up the debate about language Mr. Lisée and friends do Quebecers a service, although they may come to rue their decision to open Pandora's box.

Preserving French in the office can no longer be characterized as zero-sum or free, that much is now clear.
What will happen when a company like Bombardier says no to the OQLF and threatens to leave?
Will we have a repeat Sun Life and will some Quebecers have to confront the reality of working in English or collecting unemployment in French?

French militants like Mr. Lisée have  opened a debate that should have been held three decades ago -
French at what cost?

Mr. Lisée and friends, can weave their pipe dreams and fantasies which make good print and television, but in the real world, the cold hard reality of English is a fact of life that Quebecers must confront and unfortunately, not on their own terms.

Defending Quebec Values?

Jean-Marc Fournier...begging Conservatives for changes.

Recently the Quebec justice minister, Jean-Marc Fournier went to Ottawa on no less than two occasions to demand beg that Ottawa soften the Conservatives new crime bill, C-10, to reflect the values of Quebec society.

Mr. Fournier has the backing of the Quebec corrections industry, the experts and the media, who almost all universally opposes the government's plan to get tougher on crime.

But despite the almost blanket condemnation of the crime bill in the Quebec Press, the question whether Mr. Fournier's position actually reflects "Quebec Values" remains open.
Do the majority of Quebecers really support Quebec's kid glove approach to criminals or does the public support the get tough on crime proposals of the Conservatives?

While Mr. Fournier has a brief to speak for the Quebec government, he is also telling all who'd listen, that the Quebec government's position, vis-a-vis crime and punishment is backed by most Quebecers. Hmm....

Quebec’s Justice Minister left a meeting in disappointment and anger after his federal counterpart again rejected his demands for changes to Ottawa’s crime bill on Tuesday, saying: “I don’t recognize myself in this Canada.”

Jean-Marc Fournier said his province and the federal government have two visions of justice after Rob Nicholson refused during a meeting in Ottawa on Tuesday to change provisions of Bill C-10 that deal with young offenders....Mr. Fournier said Quebec’s values of leniency and rehabilitation for young offenders were being shunted aside in favour of tougher sentences. Link

Of course the following reaction from separatists was to be expected;  

In Quebec's national assembly Tuesday, the Parti Quebecois argued that the province's pro-Canada premier, Jean Charest and his justice minister get no respect from Ottawa.

"It's clear: the values of Quebec and of Canada are different," said PQ Leader Pauline Marois.

"But the Canadian Constitution — which we never signed — is clear: criminal law is federal, and is created by a Parliament in which Quebec will become an ever-smaller minority." LINK

Réjean Pelletier, a professor of political science at Laval University in Quebec City, said that Quebec and Ottawa are likely to continue disagreeing on crime matters, especially the treatment of young offenders.

“Ottawa’s strategy on justice issues just doesn’t fly in Quebec,”  Link

Running point for Ottawa's attempt to get tough on crime is Quebec Senator Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu who was appointed to the Senate almost two years ago by Harper with a mandate to spearhead efforts to get tougher on criminals.
The mild mannered senator is an-ex Quebec civil servant whose comfortable and ordered life was shattered by the brutal murder of his daughter Julie, who was kidnapped and murdered after being held captive for a 12-hour session of brutality and rape.
Hugo Bernier, who murdered Julie had been convicted of rape two years earlier, but was paroled just three months into his sentence and murdered Julie while on probation.

One of the key spokesmen for the Conservatives’ tough-justice agenda is Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu, a retired senior Quebec civil servant. Named to the Senate last January, the 62-year-old Boisvenu founded the Murdered or Missing Persons' Families' Association after the 2002 kidnap/rape/murder of his daughter Julie. In 2005, after he and his wife Diane lost their only other daughter in a traffic accident, Boisvenu wrote Survivre la innommable (Surviving the unnameable). In it, he wrote of the lack of support for the families of victims of crime. The book has become a touchstone for thousands of Quebeckers facing similar losses. He has been relentless in his criticism of lax police work and the judicial system’s lack of consideration for victims of crime and their families. Since becoming a senator, Boisvenu has been touring Canada to explain why the system punishes victims and their families — and how the Harper government is proposing to change it with a series of bills that end early parole and further limit judicial discretion. Link

Mr. Boisvenu represents the other side of the argument, the opinion that doesn't get much play or support on television or in the Press in Quebec. It's the opinion that believes that coddling criminals is the wrong thing to do and it actually reflects the attitude of most Quebecers who fall into line with what most ordinary Canadians also believe.

From his website;

“The problem isn’t crime, but recidivism. I’ve toured federal penitentiaries and provincial jails across the country...60 percent of the inmates are serving a second or subsequent term — that’s what’s costing us. As in education, it’s not success that costs us, but dropouts. Criminals returning a second, third, fourth time — they cost us because we’ve failed.

I have three terms in my vocabulary when I talk about the Canadian prison system:

Tough justice -Let’s not confuse laxity with tolerance.
Responsibility - The criminal is responsible for his rehabilitation, not the state. All the privileges the prison system currently offers — television, the trailer (conjugal visits), retraining programs — must be earned. The criminal must merit these privileges as a function of his rehabilitation.
Imputability - No payroll without participation, without effort. No unmerited automatic parole. Everything must be earned. We have a prison system more or less managed by committees of criminals. We’re buying the peace. That’s what’s costing us.
We must re-establish a set of conditions in our prison system so that these individuals have no desire to return. The first priority of the prison system should be the protection of the population, followed by the rehabilitation of the criminal. We’ve got it backwards!

To counter Mr. Boisvenu's position, his opponent's have made some pretty bizarre claims and stooped pretty low with some nasty personal attacks.
He has been berated publicly by some in the Press as having no legitimacy in the debate because he is unelected. This ironically from an unelected Press who usually complain that senators are lazy and do nothing to earn their salary.
He has also been cruelly accused of being vengeful because of his personal tragedy, and overly biased as a result.

But almost 80% of Quebecers say that they want a tougher approach on crime. Link{Fr}
So it appears that when it comes to values pertaining to crime and punishment, Quebecers fall neatly in line with other Canadians who also want harsher treatment of criminals by the same wide margin.
It seems that the only people out of line with these 'values' are those in the Quebec government and in the press who mislead the public by falsely claiming that Quebecers back their soft on crime approach.

Finally there's been some pushback. Marc-Bellemare, the ex-Liberal justice minister who accused the Charest government of political interference in the selction of judges, came out sharply in favour of the crime bill.

"The Conservatives' Bill C-10 will enhance the credibility of the judiciary in Quebec, where the fight against crime is the last priority of the Charest government." Link

He went on to counter the arguments made by opponents of the Bill;

Minimum sentences- "Is there one Quebecer who is against a minimum sentence of a year for a coach or a summer camp instructor who sexually abuses a minor? I would like to meet him" 

Publically identifying a teenaged criminal "The court has to approve  this. I have five children and I'd like to know if there's a 17 year old bum who killed two people, at risk of recidivism, living three blocks from my home. " 

Adult sentences to minors -"It's not automatic, as Minister Fournier suggests. It's for cases of extreme violence. The Crown must apply and the judge must agree... " 

Reduced discretion for judges- "For 30 years, Ottawa has increased the maximum penalties for a host of offences, but it isn't reflected in the severity of sentences. In reality, judges can choose between one and 14 years in prison. That's overly discretionary. " 

Quebec values- "Minister Fournier did not speak on behalf of all Quebecers in Ottawa. I think Quebec values ​​are consistent with this bill." 

Senator Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu- "I agree with him when he said that Quebec is soft on criminals." 

The 'defense lobby'- "Where was the lobby when I heard Guy Cloutier tell the parole board that he never was attracted to children and then released after serving 29 of the 42-month prison for which he was convicted? " LINK{Fr} .

Finally on Mario Dumont's nightly conservative talk show, Eric Duhaime did a nice job debunking the theory that Quebec's soft approach on crime and punishment is somehow more successful than elsewhere in Canada.
It isn't..

The idea that Quebec 'values' as pertaining to crime are different from Canadians is another great lie being shopped by a media that tries to sell their opinion as fact.

The Press and the politicians would have us believe that Quebecers are happy with revolving door prisons, just like they try to convince us that we should be afraid of bilingualism and that English store names should offend us.

As the old song goes; 'Tain't so, Honey, 'Tain't So!

Anglophobia a Cautionary Tale for Head Offices

Bank of Montreal, Head office in Toronto

Way back when I was a high school student, I remember a particularly brutal food fight in the cafeteria that ended up causing several thousands of dollars in damage.  As food whizzed around the room, it didn't take long for the mayhem to degenerate and soon trays and chairs were being tossed around with reckless abandon.
I recall thinking at the time that everyone had simply lost their mind.
Caught up in the hysteria, we see normally rational people doing the stupidest of things just because everyone else is doing it.

We saw this mob mentality take over during the Vancouver hockey riots after the Canucks were eliminated last year and here in Montreal....well, we've had too many similar mindless riots to single any one out.

Watching the language debate spiral up to dizzying heights over the fact that just two highly placed employees of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, are unilingually English, I cannot help being overcome with the same feeling.
....Has everyone lost their mind?

Last year I thought the government insane for proposing a law to ban niqabs, considering that less than two dozen women actually wear them in public, but now a law is being proposed, triggered by just two language 'offenders' and calls into question the rationality of language supremacists, begging the question as to whether the language debate has spun dangerously and ridiculously out of control.

The recent witch hunt aimed at rooting out English in Head offices and government agencies reached new heights of folly with the Parti Quebecois actually proposing a law to eradicate the scourge of English in crown government corporations. Link{Fr}

All this over two employees!

Adding to the charged climate, a PQ loudmouth,  François Rebello, a sitting member of the National Assembly, has demanded that the government boycott the National Bank, all because the bank president decided to keep a unilingual English IT department in Montreal, rather than ship the jobs off to Toronto! Link{Fr}

I wonder if the 80% of the bank's employees, who work in Quebec(some 14,000 people,) appreciate a Quebec politician calling on the public to boycott the bank and put their jobs at risk!  
Could you imagine the outrage if a federal MP asked Canadians to boycott Quebec dairy products because there are too many separatists in Quebec!

Truly we have lost all sense of proportion and like during that food fight forty years ago I feel inclined to jump up on a chair and shout "STOP THE INSANITY!"

Hysteria... there's really no other way to describe the language pogrom that is sweeping the offices of Quebec's largest and most successful companies, where disaffected and passed over employees get to denounce their company like Nazi collaborators. They do so, encouraged by an eager Press, ready, willing and able to whip up a frenzy of controversy that will no doubt have the effect of killing the golden goose.

While the Caisse de dépôt has no choice but to knuckle under, other companies are able to exercise free will and the chilling damper on reason will no doubt affect decisions whether to locate in Quebec or elsewhere.
A couple of years ago the city of London, Ontario tried to convince Montreal's Shriner's Hospital to relocate to Ontario, with an incredibly generous financial offer, which Quebec was forced to better. Had the offer come from Toronto, the hospital would likely have moved, London being too out of the way, travel-wise, for the Shriners' clients.

While that tug-of-war played out favourably for Quebec, it was a rare and costly win, hundreds of other competitions for head offices, factories and companies occurs each day, with Quebec losing out, most of the time.

Today Montreal enjoys a booming video game industry, cultivated by long years of government subsidies and tax breaks.
This industry utilizes the highest level of information technology as well as the creative talent of superstar programmers and game conceptors, drawn from all over the world. It runs in English.
The video games produced, although translated into French and many other languages, are the creation of an English culture.
Conduct a language witch hunt and order this industry to operate in French and we can anticipate a lineup of cities begging to relocate the industry with a package of incentives that will more than make up the cost of moving.
It would be devastating.

Quebec would be well advised to recognize the unseen hand that renders legislation subservient to market forces. Losing a head office that never came because of language issues is just as painful as having one snatched away.

In our last French vs. English piece I told you that Air Canada was moving 160 jobs to Toronto, all without publicity, so as not to create another controversy.
Last Thursday, the union head, representing head office employees hit the panic button and fretted publicly that this move may just be the beginning of a total migration of Air Canada's head office to Toronto. Between language laws and market realities, it's probably just a matter of time.

So how important is it for Quebec to nurture those companies that do choose to keep their head offices in Montreal?
If one cares about economic prosperity I imagine it's of paramount importance.

By refusing to allow companies that operate internationally or in industries where English is de rigueur, the right to have run even the smallest of departments in English, the government has cleared the way for them to either pack up and move and worse still never even consider Montreal in the first place.

Well done!

On Thursday, as the witch hunt proceeded, La Presse revealed that Bombardier was given a special dispensation to operate part of its aviation business in English in Montreal.  Link{Fr}
A francophone employee complained to the newspaper that;

"These are people of exceptional talent, but who have no interest in learning our language. Never a 'Bonjour' or a 'Merci.' "

I guess 13,000 jobs makes a difference, even to the OQLF. (if not language supremacists)
But the question remains....what is the threshold.

Over at CGI, another technology giant based in Montreal, no such dispensation exists. Some employees are calling reporters to complain about English usage in the Head office. The company has 31,000 employees and 125 offices in 20 countries. Link{Fr}
Hellooooo Toronto?

Of course language militants don't care and in the name of linguistic purity are willing to forgo the benefits of tens of thousand of well-paying jobs.
I daresay that if an international company approached the government about locating a thousand employees in a new Montreal office with the proviso that 100 of the jobs would be English only, the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste, Impératif français and all the other language supremicists would scream at the top of their lungs to reject the offer.

Sometimes I get the feeling that the separatists are trying to blow up the province economically, so that people suffer financially and unemployment rises, more will be attracted to the separatist pipe dream.
This is Quebec..

I remain in favour of Quebecers maintaining the right to work in French. Gone are the days of the master and slave.
But a law making French the language of work universal in all cases is counter-productive.

In an inter-connected world, the glue that binds is English. It's a realty that Quebec must face realistically and come to terms with the problem of jobs versus pride.

The answer to reasonable people is clear, it isn't exactly Sophie's Choice.