Civil Disobedience and Bill 101

"If a law is unjust, a man is not only right to disobey it, he is obligated to do so." - Thomas Jefferson

A recent story about the the controversial mayor of Huntington, Stéphane Gendron, inspired me to delve into the question of civil disobedience in regards to a law that many Anglophones believe discriminatory, the infamous Bill 101.

The Huntington mayor is certainly unafraid of tilting at windmills, he was forced to come off his position that Israel didn't deserve to exist after the television station which airs his new magazine program where he made the remarks, was inundated with complaints.

But that's not what I wish to address here today, rather, it is his controversial stand against Bill 101 and his promise that he will ignore the law and continue to maintain bilingualism in his tiny town, which historically was English, but no longer qualifies for bilingual status under the law.

"I have no use for the insecure and culturally impoverished that are tightly-knit within the French language, who let their lives be governed by its potential disappearance from North America. By focusing on this linguistic insecurity, Quebec has been impoverished while Ontario, which said yes to immigration, ended up surpassing us."

("Je n'ai que faire des insécures et des pauvres culturels que sont les tricotés serrés de la langue française qui ne vivent qu'en fonction de l'heure de leur disparition en Amérique, a-t-il indiqué. À force de focuser sur l'insécurité linguistique, le Québec s'est appauvri et l'Ontario - qui a dit oui à l'immigration et à la diversité - a fini par nous doubler au passage.") LINK {Fr}

The OQLF has confirmed that a complaint has been laid, but went to lengths to say that they are looking to settle things without resorting to court.

I imagine they would, but that may not be possible, as Mayor Gendron has committed to defying any ruling or ordinance issued by the OQLF in regards to removing bilingualism from the town.

Mr. Gendron has promised that if need be, the town will create a line item in the budget entitled  "Human Rights and Dignity," to pay for any fines.

That doesn't augur well for the OQLF who are desperate to avoid publicity, especially internationally.

A plucky mayor of a little town, who fights the big bad language police, is a David and Goliath story that is sure to capture plenty of print space and air time.

That is something the OQLF is desperate to avoid.
As long as the debate rages in Quebec, everything is fine as far as they are concerned, but if this story leaks out of Quebec and is picked up by the American press, it will be a public relations nightmare for the province.
Let us just say Americans are not quite so nuanced and see language laws as discrimination, pure and simple.

I don't have to remind readers about the negative repercussions that still reverberate over Mordechai Richler's condemnation of Quebec in the New Yorker and on 60 minutes. Even though these interviews and stories appeared back in the nineties, they still haunt French language militants who reserve a special hate for the sardonic Richler, for humiliating them south of the border.

If the mayor of Huntington actually decides to fight, as he said he will, it will be the first time any city or town defies the OQLF and there is little doubt that the affair will be messy and embarrassing.
Over the course of any litigation, which of course will drag out for years, Mr Gendron will have plenty of opportunity and will be afforded plenty of face time on television to denounce the OQLF in the most colourful and unflattering of terms.

Now, over the life of this blog, a sentiment by French language militants has been oft repeated, that is the idea that even though we Anglos do not like Bill 101,  we must 'respect' it, because ours is a society of laws.

Here's typical opinion;

"Nous ne faisons que faire respecter la loi. Dans notre pays les lois sont importantes et tous, sans exception, doivent s'y conformer,"

(In our country, laws are important and we must obey them all without exception)  

Now before I continue, I AM NOT comparing Bill 101 to the Nurenberg laws, the various Apartheid laws of South Africa or race laws that discriminated against Blacks in the USA.
So please, no comments that I am making such a comparison.
Bill 101 is nothing like those laws and to intimate such, is to belittle the trials and struggles of those people subjected to their cruelty .

This post is merely a discussion over whether one should be obliged to obey an unjust law, and whether Bill 101 falls into this category.

That sounds like a good description of what the mayor of Huntington is suggesting he and his town are going to do..

Readers, if you aren't familiar with Martin Luther King's famous  "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" I would recommend reading it. It is a masterpiece.
It's a bit long, so you might want to save it for the weekend. Prepare to be humbled and inspired.
READ IT HERE    IN FRENCH

Would the shoe be on the other foot, I wonder if these French language militants would be so 'respectful' of a law that discriminated against their language.

What if Mr. Harper passed a federal law that forced every sign in Canada to be in English, with minority languages (including French) allowed, but on a diminished basis?

I don't even make the case that there is an equivalency to the above and Bill 101, the point is whether Francophones would feel justified in disobeying what they would clearly perceive as a discriminatory law?
How would it play out in Chicoutimi, Quebec City or Val D'Or?
Would these same militants who tell Anglos to respect Bill 101 because it is the law, advise Francophones to 'respect' this Harper law, or would they feel justified in disobeying.

It's easy to fall back on the old chestnut, that the law is the law, and that we all must obey it because it was passed by the majority.

But philosophers greater than I have built a consensus that such is not the case.

And so readers, the question as to whether Bill 101 is just or unjust, may be a matter of perspective.
And for those who believe it is unjust, the question remains as to whether it rises to the level of discrimination that morally justifies disobeying it. 


Henry David Thoreau framed the question quite succinctly;

"Unjust laws exist: shall we be content to obey them, or shall we endeavor to amend them, and obey them until we have succeeded, or shall we transgress them at once?"

French versus English Volume 47

Danon Yogurt Tells Anglos & Ethnics not to bother applying for Job

Doesn't matter if you speak French perfectly, if it isn't your mother tongue, don't bother applying for this job posted by Danon.
See it here  Job Offer

It is the very first time I've ever seen a job offered with French as a mother tongue being a requirement.

This from the online ad;

LANGUES:
Français: Langue maternelle
Anglais: Courant 

Methinks that the employment agency that prepared the ad screwed up. I don't think it is legal to include 'Mother Tongue' in a job description.
That type of discrimination is usually exercised during the interview...Ahem..
(Thanks to Phil for the story)

As a commenter  pointed out, the job description has now been modified on the website to read:

• LANGUES:
Français: Courant
Anglais: Courant  

Danone has replied to this posting as follows;

Danone Canada also commented on No Dogs Or Anglophones's link.

"Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention.
You are correct in suggesting that “mother tongue” should not have been in the posted job description.
It is, in fact, never one of the criteria for a job application. In this case, the criteria regarding languages should have been “Fluent” in both French and English.
The field “mother tongue” is pre-formatted in our internal database within the General Information section, and it allows us to identify an employee’s mother tongue. The field “mother tongue” was inadvertently copy/pasted in the job description.

We would like to thank you as you have allowed us to not only correct our mistake but also to review our entire job posting process.

Danone has strong social principles and believes in welcoming diversity and allowing it to prosper."

Readers, I consider the matter CLOSED. 

The company has reacted responsibly.
Let's not have any talk of boycott ....

Ex-anglo rights activist joins CAQ

Nobody can question the dedication to Anglo rights of one William 'Pit' Bill Johnson, who has militated tirelessly on behalf of English rights in Quebec for decades. The ex-president of Alliance Quebec has written eloquently over the years, staunchly defending an alternate and inclusive view of Quebec society.

So it is signifigant that he has embraced Francois Legault's CAQ, a strong signal to the English community that it is okay to support the party and that fears of a latent separatist bent is unfounded.

While the Premier howls that the CAQ is a closet separatist party, the PQ is now adopting the line that the party is federalist.

By embracing Johnson, a strong federalist with an anti-Bill 101 pedigree, Legault, in one fell swoop, has displayed by his actions that his 'Rainbow coalition' really will set aside the sovereignty question to concentrate on fixing the economy and the failed 'Quebec Model'
Read Mr. Johnson's explanation on why he joined the CAQ  Montreal Gazette  Alternate Link

Speaking of Francois Legault, Here is a video posted on YouTube, of the leader of the CAQ struggling mightily in English.
It's a bit mean-spirited....so obviously I couldn't resist posting it!

As for speaking English, listen to this sound bite, where the importance of speaking English is underlined.

Guess who said it?

Quebec getting poorer- Quebec Prof

"A study from l'Université de Montréal's business school HEC Montréal has concluded that the income gap is widening between Quebec and wealthier parts of Canada – and that Quebec could be the poorest province in the country within a decade.

The research conducted by HEC's Centre for Productivity and Prosperity found that between 1978 and 2009 the net average household income gains in all other provinces outstripped Quebec's gains.

In 2009, the last year the study looked at, the average resident of Newfoundland and Labrador – traditionally Canada's poorest province – earned just $3,127 less than the average Quebecer, while an Albertan averaged $17,947 more than someone living in Quebec. Read the rest of the story

The fact that the study was prepared by a Quebecer of impeccable credentials augers poorly for the spin artists. I'm anxiously awaiting the explanations which will invariably blame you-know-who.
C'mon, Jean-François Lisée, you're up!

Here is a really good article in the National Post which says much about the economic problems of Quebec and eerily resembles much of what I wrote in my last post. I'm glad the story came out after mine, otherwise I might be accused of plagiarism! Link

Pierre Curzi - Nuttier than a fruit cake

In a piece that smacks of childish wishful thinking, Quebec's resident fantasist Pierre Curzi has pontificated on how Quebec can wrest more power from Ottawa.
Read it and weep over the fact that idiots like him can actually one day exercise power over us.

"There are two ways for the people of Quebec to obtain additional powers of the federal government. The first is to undertake the drafting of a Quebec constitution, irregardless whether it is a provincial constitution or constitution of a country. At the end of the drafting process which would define Quebec values ​​(French language, equality of men and women, secular state, etc..), democratic institutions and the powers necessary for the emancipation of Quebec, the new constitution would be ratified democratically by the Quebec nation and presented to English Canada. Canada would then be required to bargain in good faith with Quebec's constitutional powers enshrined in the first constitution of Québec.

The second way to get more federal powers would be to make several constitutional demands and to hold a referendum to determine which baskets of requests should be submitted as part of the negotiations with Canada.  

In this case, the caquistes could ask Quebecers if they want to repatriate their taxes or treaties like Kyoto. They could also provide citizens of Quebec  the opportunity to decide on the possibility of repatriating cultural sovereignty, justice, the maritime territory, the environment, unemployment insurance or old age pensions. Link{Fr}

Is it that hard to see the essential flaw in Mr. Curzi's argument?
Why on Earth would Ottawa negotiate any of this?

Quebec civil service sending nasty political messages

It seems that the civil service is now in the political message department, posting this rather nasty note to those recently arrived immigrants wishing to obtain information about obtaining a Health card, in English.

I find the whole thing nasty and objectionable and take particular exception to the part that says you can only participate in Quebec civic and social life in French. T'ain't so.

(Thanks to Frank for the story.)

Pauline Marois - Let the rich pay!

Pauline, Do the Math!

In an absurd piece of pandering, Pauline Marois promised to abolish the proposed Health Tax imposed by the Liberal government.
According to Madame Marois her measure will eventually return $950 million to taxpayers who will be able to inject the money directly into the economy.
To pay for the revenue shortfall, she intends on taxing the rich.

She told reporters at a news conference that a PQ government  would raise the tax rate on those making over $130,000 a year by 4% and by 7% on those making over $250,000 and by reducing certain tax credits such as certain capital gains and credits on dividends. Read the story in French 

But this is the same separatist math used by idiots like Mario Beaulieu intended to mislead and mesmerize.
You see readers, raising taxes on the rich by 4% or by 7% as she said,  may not seem like such a big deal, but it is when it is not really a 4% or 7% rise.

Madame Marois proposes increasing the tax rate on those earning between $130,000 to $250,000 from 24% to 28%, which in her book is a 4% increase and in mine (and anyone who can do math) a 16.6% increase. As for those who make over $250,000 Madame proposed that the tax rate be raised from 24% to 31%, a whopping tax increase of 29% instead of the 7% mentioned.

It means that someone making $130,000 will face a $5,200 extra tax bill and someone making $250,000 will face a $17,500 increase.

The rich already pay quite a bit.
The top 1.5% richest Quebecers pay 33% of the total tax collected and the top 20% pay 70% of all taxes.

In Quebec 40% of taxpayers of those filing a tax return pay nothing.

When asked by a reporter if the new measures would create an exodus of rich people out of Quebec, Madame Marois said that Quebec is still a better place to live than Alberta, because houses and education cost less. ARgghhh!!!  Link{Fr}

But hey, it makes good Press.
Think any of the mainstream media will do the math?

Daycare Strikers push greedy demands

As I told you on Wednesday, Quebec's unionized daycare workers are using a series of one-day strikes to terrorize parents into pressuring the government to give into their demands.
What are these demands?

The glorified babysitters, making between  $14.43 to $21.65 are demanding an 11% raise over three years .
In addition, they want between 11 and 13 paid holidays while the rest of we mere mortals must content ourselves to eight, so we can expect workers to be paid double time if they work on holidays like Valentine's Day or Remembrance Day.

The workers are also demanding 8-10 personal days and six weeks vacation.

There....did I make your day?
Those of you with university degrees making a lot less, you should have majored in Play-Doh!

By the way, in my article on Wednesday, I mentioned that the government subsidies each day care to the tune of $38 per child, per day. An article in La Presse indicates that the subsidy is higher, up to $58 a day. Link{Fr}

Amir Khadir-Too many English daycares

"Unless it is considered “indispensable,” the ability to speak English should not be a criterion for getting a job in this province, Québec solidaire president Françoise David told reporters on Saturday.

“We feel there are probably a lot of jobs where it’s not necessary to speak English,” said David, adding that the awarding of daycare centre permits be conditional to an assurance that “the predominant language in the education of young children be French."

“In Montreal at the moment we have plenty of family run daycares where French is not the predominant language,” she said. “And eventually we end up with children entering kindergarten who cannot speak French, which places them at a disadvantage to other children.” Read the rest of the story in the Montreal Gazette  Alternate Link

'Smoke meat' versus 'Viande Fumé.'

As you've all probably heard by now, Schwartz's, Montreal's iconic smoked meat restaurant is on the verge of being sold to a group that includes Céline Celine Dion's hubby/manager, René Angelil for a whopping 10 million.
For that price, it's obvious that the buyers are purchasing the brand, rather than just the restaurant and I guess it won't be long before we see  restaurants popping up in Chicoutimi and Quebec City.
As the restaurant climbs out of the kitsch and into the mainstream, it will face the inevitable language issues of Quebec.
First order of business will be to francize the name of business and get rid of that nasty apostrophe 'S'

Schwartz's = Chez Schwartz

Surely the OQLF will also be looking seriously at the issue of the restaurant's improper use of French in describing its plat-de-resistance as 'Smoke Meat' (which Francophone Montrealers have used for decades)
But perhaps a case can be made, considering that the French slang 'Smoke Meat' is different front the English 'Smoked Meat,' so perhaps the OQLF will allow the words to pass into the modern French lexicon.
Another issue is the translation of other favorites, like 'Karnatzel." In order to make the reference kosher for the OQLF (pun intended,) the restaurant will likely be obliged to add a French modifier to the Yiddish description,  hence 'Saucisse Karnatzel.'

As for the 'Nash' well, they'll have to work on a translation for that! (perhaps Grignote 'Nash')

The debate rages on as to whether Schwartz's is the best or not.

It is.....hands down.

All the other Montreal wannabes are good, but they don't quite get the spices and the texture perfect and that includes my favorite, Smoked Meat Pete's out in 'Île-Perrot, which I sometimes patronize because I'm out there on business often and Schwartz's is just to damn busy, crammed with tourists.

Don't go to Schwartz's if you're one of those people that orders dressing on the side, it is a guilty experience of decadence, akin to dining at Lafleurs or ripping into a box of Krispy Kreme donuts.

Don't order your sandwich 'lean' or you'll be taken for a Rube by the surely waiters. Schwartz's smoked meat is drier than the norm and needs the fat to complete the taste experience.

How to order. 'Sandwich - Fries - Pickles- Black Cherry.' That is the Schwartz's experience. Never forget the Cott's Black Cherry soda, it has been de rigueur for as long as I can remember.

Think I'm wrong about Schwartz's being the best in North America?

Read this account by an expert who has visited all the great North American delis and places Schwartz's head and shoulders above the rest. You can also watch famed jurist Alan Dershowitz biting into his first Schwartz's sandwich.  Great reading!

My favorite Schwartz's story;
One night after a hockey game at the old Montreal Forum we headed out to Schwartz's and as we were just about finished eating, four Calgary Flames (whom I will not name) were seated at our table (which are communal.)
Clearly out of their depth, they asked for the waiters recommendations and then ordered...gasp!... two glasses of milk and a side of mayonnaise for the sandwiches.
The waiter flinched, but after rolling his eyes, walked away and proceeded to loudly announce sarcastically to the entire restaurant that the hockey players wanted 'milk and mayonnaise.'
My eating partner was beside himself and could hold back no longer. Turning to the players he told them loudly that;
"If you put mayonnaise on your sandwich, I'll throw up all over you!" HaHa!

By the way, one of my favorite things at Schwartz's is the dry steak spice which they sell for a couple of bucks behind the counter and is well worth it.
Bring it home and use it on your steaks at your next BBQ and you'll be in for a treat.
Positively the finest, probably because they include coriander seed in the mix (the same spice as in the smoked meat.) Sprinkle a little on your meat (one side only) and grill. 
Add a little more at the table on the finished product. Simply the best. The real taste of Montreal.

May the Schwartz be With You.

Mea Culpa

Last week I had a bit of fun with a fellow who wrapped his new electronic electric meter from Hydro-Quebec with aluminum foil in order to block those 'harmful' rays.

I stated that I didn't know if these emanations caused any harm or not and I received quite a scolding, deservedly so, in several emails.
I should have checked my facts before saying something so stupid.

The so-called rays involved are in fact completely harmless.

"According to McGill Science and Society Director Joe Schwarcz, radio frequency studies are conclusive: the meters will not have negative health effects.

"We know that radio frequency cannot break chemical bonds and in order to induce cancer you need to break chemical bonds," said Schwarcz.

Poisson cited another concern, her feeling that Hydro-Quebec was ignoring her right to choose.

"I don't have a cell phone, I've never had one. As for WiFi, I will be switching back to cables because I have the choice," said Poisson. "With smart meters, you don't have the choice."

LINK  

Case closed......

Minister hits back at complainers

OTTAWA - The federal government is brushing off criticism of its plan to spend $7.5 million to celebrate the Queen's 60th anniversary on the throne.

There has been some grumbling from anti-monarchists, notably in Quebec, that the Diamond Jubilee would cost so much money at a time of deep budget cuts.

But Heritage Minister James Moore had an answer for those critics Tuesday.

He said the federal government had spent way more on other celebrations, and referred specifically to the 400th anniversary of Quebec City in 2008.

''These sums have always existed within the department for these kinds of events. Look, $100 million was spent on Quebec City's 400th anniversary,'' Moore told The Canadian Press. LINK

Touché, or as we say in English, Shaddup awready!

From Scotland, lessons on separatism
Here's an interesting article on a possible Scottish referendum written by Andrew Coyne for The National Post;

"Do you agree that Scotland should be an independent country?

That is the question Scotland’s separatist First Minister, Alex Salmond, proposes to put to Scottish voters in a referendum sometime in late 2014. Ten words, no subordinate clauses, its meaning incapable of confusion. Compare it with this little essay in obscurity:

Do you agree that Quebec should become sovereign after having made a formal offer to Canada for a new economic and political partnership within the scope of the bill respecting the future of Quebec and of the agreement signed on June 12, 1995?" Read the rest of the article

Please have yourself a very nice weekend!

Quebec Students- A Study in Entitlement

We want an education   Not debt

Every time I hear Quebec students leaders threaten a strike over tuition fees, I grind my teeth and remind myself that this is exactly what is wrong with Quebec.

You'd never know it from listening to the incessant and annoying braying that Quebec students remain the most pampered in North America, with the lowest tuition fees and among the lowest entry standards for access to post-secondary education.

The average annual Quebec university tuition fee is $2,168, while the average in the ROC(Quebec excluded) is $5,445. In the United States that fee is over $10,000.

In other words, Quebecers pay less than 40% of what other Canadians pay for a university education and about 20% of what Americans pay.

The students are mighty angry over the fact that the Quebec government plans to boost annual tuition fees by $325 per year for five years, raising the fees to $3,793 by 2017.
Even with all the increases, Quebec will remain the biggest educational bargain in North America. (Yes that includes Mexico!)

Incidentally, Quebec students graduate with the lowest level of student debt in Canada with the Quebec average at $13,000, compared with a Canadian average of $27,000.

According to Quebec students, it's still too much. 

But Quebec students aren't any more guilty of greed and avarice than other Quebecers who have been conditioned to believe that there is no connection between taxes and the benefits doled out by the government, or to put it more simply, the idea that when the government gives a benefit to one, somebody else has to pay for it.

And so the lower tution fees are underwritten by taxi drivers in Montreal, government employees in Quebec City, construction and office workers in Sherbrooke, in other words, everyone else who works, pays taxes and has part of his or her wealth confiscated to pay for the shortfall between what students pay for their education and what it actually costs.

In addition to all this, Quebec students benefit from the fact that workers in Kelona, British Columbia, Calgary, Alberta and even Owen Sound, Ontario, also contribute to their reduced tuition fees, by way of equalization payments that the province receives from Ottawa.

When students whine about wanting to pay less for their education, they are in reality asking taxpayers across the country to contribute more of their hard-earned cash to subsidize them.
Because Quebec runs a deficit and carries a high debt load, students are also demanding that future generations pay for their education as well.

And while Quebec students have no problem hitting up taxpayers and future generations for a tuition subsidy, one group seems to be off limits.... their own parents.
Over 65% of parents of Quebec students, contribute absolutely nothing (other than taxes) to their child's education (this according to the student's union.)
When it comes to contributing to a  Registered Education Savings Plan, Quebec families put aside about half as much money as compared to British Columbian families.

There was a time when students marched against war, for human rights and for the enviornment.
Today the only issue that can motivate students to demonstrate, is the issue of tuition fees.
It is in fact the only issue they are passionate about.

Look at the effort they made in preparing a document arguing for reduced tuition fees, it's a masterpiece of deceptive and selective statistics that would make Pierre Curzi proud. Read it here

The students are not unique, they are but an illustrative example of what Quebecers and their society have become.
On Monday, babysitters educators (making over $20 an hour,) working in provincially-funded daycares, called a one-day strike that wrecked havoc on working parents, causing many to lose a day's work.

ENTITLEMENTS BREED GREED.

Now I don't want to make this an English/French thing, Quebecers are united in sucking at the teat of the gouvernemama. (the mommy state.)
We are all guilty of stuffing our faces with government goodies when we can, but in our defence, if the government is giving out benefits and entitlements, who of us is noble enough to say 'no thank you.'

First let us establish that these handouts are not free.
Because entitlement programs are run by the government, they are expensive and cumbersome.

Let me cite but one example- publicly funded daycare.

If any one program illustrates the mommy state and it's related cost to society, it is the $7 a day subsidized daycare program.
When first introduced in 1997, the program cost $290 million. Thirteen years later, the program has mushroomed to over $2 billion dollars, a seven-fold increase.

While parents pay just $7 a day directly to the daycare centre for each child in attendence, taxpayers contribute, wait for it.....$38.

So consider, publicly funded daycare costs taxpayers about $200 dollars per child, per week. If parents have two children in daycare, well... you do the math.

This $200 weekly subsidy per child in daycare is UNIVERSAL. That's right, everyone is eligible, even those earning hundreds of thousands of dollars a year!
The only bugbear is that the government has restricted access because of the staggering cost of the program.
Snagging one of those rare places in daycare  is a question of who you know or how much you are willing to pay under-the table, so a wealthy lawyer has more of a chance to get his or her child into a publicly funded daycare, than a barista working at Tim Hortons.

Does this program make any sense at all?......To Pierre Curzi and friends, it does..
It is the famous Quebec Model.

Subsidized Daycare - Extended Paid Parental leave - low tuition fees - subsidized prescription medicine - extended pregnancy leave- convoluted pay equity programs are all part of Quebec's unique model that has the government paying for generous programs that no other provincial or state government seems to be able to afford.

But has it made Quebec a better place to live?

While proponents of the Quebec model, like Pierre Curzi, rave about the merits of the mommy state, the facts tell another story.
  
Because Quebec shares the same federal government as the other provinces, it is not that difficult to compare Quebec society to that of provinces which provide less services and subsidies.

For every seventeen entrepreneurs in Alberta or British Columbia there are only seven in Quebec. Link

While the country averages 70 businesses per 100,000 population, Quebec has around 60.

Quebecers are also about 20% less productive than other Canadians, that is producing less wealth, probably because they work less hours and retire earlier.

Quebecers remain the highest taxed citizens in North America, yet earn much less than the average Canadian family
According to Statistics Canada, a two-parent/two children family in Quebec, earns on average about $68,000 a year, while the Canadian average is $93,000.

More than one third of Quebecers (aged 55-65) have put aside less than $99,000 for their retirement, counting on the government to support them in their old age with a meager pension that now pays around ten thousand dollars per person.
The "Rule of 20" states that for every $1 of retirement income, you will need $20 saved in your retirement portfolio. With less than 100k saved, these retirees will receive less than 5,000 a year in income aside from the government pension. Not too comforting.
Only 7% of Quebecers in this age bracket have saved over $500,000 towards their retirement.

This is the effect of the cradle to grave subsidies.

As citizens become accustomed to government largess they become lazier and poorer and like our students, badly addicted to their entitlements.

On top of all this, the Quebec entitlements have been partly paid for with debt and equalization payments from Ottawa.

When that runs out, Quebecers, used to living on the arm of the government will be in for a rude awakening...just like the Greeks.

Quebec's latest Crisis Nothing to do with Language

The alarming uptick in the unemployment rate in Quebec during StatsCan latest reporting period should have set off a panic within the government and should very much be the issue of the day.

Somehow few seem panicked, least of all, the government.

While the rest of Canada saw the unemployment rate dip marginally, the loss of jobs over the last six months pushed the Quebec rate up a staggering 2 percent to 8.7%.
This while the country is supposed to be in recovery.

In fact, during this period Quebec lost a staggering 50,000 jobs while the rest of the country added 250,000!

In hindsight, the closure of the Shell refinery in east end Montreal a year ago, heralded the beginning of an unprecedented spate of closures, lockouts and shutdowns that has decimated Quebec's manufacturing base and which continues unabated.

The closure of the Shell refinery was brought on by union excess that saw the plant suffer from pitifully low productivity, coupled with overly generous salaries and conditions.
Sadly, unlike other companies which cannot compete paying high 'Quebec' salaries, the refinery would have remained functional had the union acted more responsibly.

But that being said, the handwriting is on the wall for Quebec's manufacturing base. Salaries and operating costs in Quebec are just too expensive compared to the Orient, Latin America and believe it or not, even the United States.

The Electrolux vacuum cleaner manufacturing plant is off to Tennessee where workers will make about ten dollars an hour less than in Quebec and where the costs related to employee benefits are considerably lower.

Last week MABE, a plant producing dryers announced that it too is moving its 700 jobs to either Mexico or the United States, the union pushing the fiction that it is America's 'Buy American' plan that made their product unattractive, rather than the real reason, the higher manufacturing costs associated with Quebec.

These latest closures continue the decline that started back in the seventies with the move overseas of Quebec's robust sewing industry. Back then, seamstresses were pulling in a healthy hourly rate of $15 an hour, which is probably equivalent to $30-$40 an hour today.

All this is coupled with Big Pharma scaling back research, after years of growth in Quebec. Last week AstraZeneca announced that it will eliminate 175 jobs and with recent layoffs at Johnson & Johnson, Merck and others, it means that another 1000, more than decent jobs, are out the window.

And so these well-paid workers, now jobless, are left to the dole, forced to exit the province or obliged to scrounge around with nothing but McJobs available.

Is this the future?
Is Quebec on the road to becoming a Detroit, having lost it's competitive edge and relevancy?
I hope not.

Sadly, Quebecers remain mostly ambivalent to these economic body blows and somehow, it doesn't seem to matter, or in fact, even register with those who seem more interested in debating an accent on the sign of the METRO supermarket chain. 

The province has got to find a way to maintain decent paying jobs, otherwise we will see that as the unemployment rate rises, coupled with a drop in remuneration for the remaining jobs, a catastrophic loss in government revenues, impacting the province's ability to support its bloated social programs.

I don't want to sound like an alarmist, but if things don't change, we are headed for a meltdown.

The equalization program that brings Quebec about eight billion dollars a year is up for re-negotiation in two years and like it or not, Stephen Harper will be sitting on the other side of the table. If that program gets modified to the detriment of Quebec, it will be an unmitigated disaster.
With the province approaching it's debt ceiling rather quickly, anyone who can do math, can see an impending economic and social disaster unfolding.

One way or the other, Quebec needs new revenue streams, probably in the neighborhood of ten billion dollars, otherwise we can all start learning Greek.

The question remains - How to create wealth?

While Quebecers continue to demand the good life, they fail miserably to understand that wealth creation is the key to prosperity.

Let us shunt aside union extremism, poor productivity and the nanny government, realities that unfortunately aren't' going to change soon or ever.
Is there anything to be done?

Premier Charest has proposed just about the only thing that can save Quebec from itself, called LE PLAN NORD, an aggressive program to tap into the province's vast natural resources.

It is probably Quebec's last path towards salvation, but you wouldn't know it by the lukewarm reception it has gotten in the Press.

Jobs in the resource field are golden, a virtual gold mine, if you'll pardon the pun.

Quebec enjoys vast caches of gold, nickel, cobalt, platinum, iron and ilmenite and yes, even oil and gas, all waiting to be lifted from the ground.

Up in the Abitibi region, Quebec's largest mining region, jobs in the eight currently operating mines pay up to $70 an hour, with the company making plenty of money to boot.

The jobs are so enticing, that 70% of the classes of area colleges are filled with females, the men long gone into the mines!

Quebec's vast territory provides a wealth of natural resources, ripe for development, but the biggest obstacle is Quebecers themselves, who have no sense of urgency over the matter.

A powerful environmental and native lobby have partnered with radical nationalists to stall these plans.

The government, in the face of opposition has already put a halt to fractional gas drilling, with no plan or timetable to safely pursue this valuable resource.

The border dispute between Quebec and Newfoundland over the 'Old Harry' oil field in the Gulf of St. Lawrence seems to have been settled, but nothing concrete has been undertaken to get production underway.
More studies and wasted decades.

It has been proposed that the largely uninhabited Anticosti island holds 30 billion barrels of oil (3 trillion dollars at today's current price of crude) yet again nothing seems to be done to develop these resources very quickly.

There are currently 35 mining projects in various stages of planning, a number that exceeds Quebec's 25 currently operating mines.

The wealth that these projects could bring is staggering, yet all we hear in the Press is the demand for more studies and delays.
It seems that every single project is subject to five, ten or fifteen year delays.

Nobody seems to care, the initiative to create wealth, relatively unimportant.

Why? Because Quebecers have been used to getting something for nothing.

Vast borrowing and equalization payments have insulated us from believing that we must produce wealth in order to support our lifestyle.
After just two or three generations of being a something-for-nothing society, Quebec has become the proverbial welfare family, permanently on the dole with no industrious desire as long as money is for free.

With so much potential, the province remains lazy, uninterested and disconnected.

The most important question is not whether will we change, but rather whether we can change.

French versus English Volume 46

Star Académie -Too much English

"The popular reality-talent show was steaming along, with all the right heartstrings being pulled, and then the candidates starting singing, with many of them doing it in the language of Shakespeare...

Actually, out of the eight songs sung by the 'contestants in danger' (contestants who were vying for a spot on the opening roster of the show), four were in English and one was bilingual.

Later on in the show - after a soaring tribute to Gilles Vigneault - René Angélil, Céline Dion's manager/husband and the director of the Académie, picked up on the trend.

"They can sing in English if they want, but if they want to make it until the end, we think,  from prior experience, it's not the best option to sing in English. ... I think we should hear more French here," Angélil said. Read the rest of the article  Alternate Link

Read the story en Française

I must take exception to Celine Dion's hubby/manager, René Angélil who advised candidates to do as he says, not as he does.

It was Mr. Angélil who transformed Céline Dion from a local francophone singer with a unibrow, into an Anglophone artist who captured the world singing IN ENGLISH, doing her best imitation of an Anglophone.
It was Mr. Angélil who advised Céline to remove the accent from her name in order to become CEE-leen from SAY-lin.
Talk about two-faced.....

Then there is the Pierre-Karl Peledaeau's better half, Julie Snyder who I can't stand because she scores her gigs the old-fashioned way, via nepotism.
She couldn't resist throwing a zinger at Quebec Anglophones, by intimating that they cannot speak, a gratuitous lie.

“Congratulating one Ontario-born contestant on the live show for speaking French well, showbiz veteran Snyder added, with mock incredulity:
“How can that be? Us, we have Anglophones in Montreal who don’t speak a word of French, and they were raised in Quebec! They were born here!”

 Read more: Montreal Gazette  Alternate Link

By the way, STAR ACADEMIE is modeled after a television show from France which is named rather ironically STAR ACADEMY (note the spelling)


Is this What Language Militants Want?

Flipping channels, I came across this, the logo for the locally produced French version of TPIR.
It's interesting because it's got that famous 'descriptor' that the OQLF demands, so it's 100% Kosher, but.....
Does it really help?

Huntington mayor continues to run hot?

Stéphane Gendron, the mayor of Huntington and host of a morning television newsmagazine, is not averse to ruffling feathers.
He went a bit too far when he ranted that Israel didn't have the right to exist and the fallout that ensued was so intense, that even he had to come off his high horse and apologize
You can view the apology here  LINK{Fr}

Readers will recall that the good mayor publicly announced that his town would remain bilingual, even if it didn't qualify under the strict interpretation of Bill 101 and therefore not authorized to offer English services to townsfolk.
Of course somebody complained and now the OQLF has announced that it is launching an investigation.
In reaction, the defiant mayor told the 'Ofeece' that he wouldn't knuckle under. In a stinging rebuke he told them that;

"Despite the laws, we have an ethical obligation and moral duty to serve a significant portion of our population in English. It's a question of history - the English founded this city - and of the dignity for our people and our seniors..."
"Leave us in peace, I have no use for the insecure and culturally impoverished who are tightly intertwined with the French language, who live their lives waiting for their disappearance in North America," he said. "To focus on this linguistic insecurity, Quebec has been diminished - Ontairio which said yes to immigration has passed us by. 

(Thanks for the story, Kevin)

Accent on Stupidity

You might remember Yves Michaud, the victim of a National Assembly unanimous condemnation back in 2000, for disparaging remarks he made about Jews not being good citizens because they all voted NO in the referendum.
Michaud was highly traumatized by the condemnation which essentially branded him as an antisemite and ever since, he and other militant sovereigntists have been laboring  to overturn that resolution, asking members who voted for the motion to recant.
In the meantime, Michaud remains an activist defender of shareholder rights, buying a few shares in public companies and then attending annual shareholder meetings to air his grievances.

This week he used the shareholders meeting for the giant Quebec food chain METRO, to complain, believe it or not, about the fact that an accent doesn't appear over the 'E' in 'Metro."
Again readers, I'm not making this up.
"Michaud says he's filed a complaint with the Office québécois de la langue française (OLF) saying the grocery chain is violating the French language charter because the word 'Metro' without the accent aigu on the 'e' doesn't exist in the French language. He says it's unacceptable to twist the name of a company that has its roots in Quebec, which serves a majority-francophone clientele and whose shareholders are mostly Quebeckers."  CJAD    CTV

By the way it seems that Quebecor, the pride of Quebec's Pierre-Karl Péladeau, is hearing Mr. Michaud's footsteps behind him.
The company announced that they are seriously looking at putting two accents on its corporate name, at least in Quebec.

How big a deal is an accent?
Well it doesn't seem to bother Parisians who omit the accent in question, on their stylish subway signs!

In another flight of incredible language stupidity, another French language supremacist,  Pierre Gauthier,  is furious that a Chicoutimi theatre is showing English movies one day a week.
It seems that the nearby Canadian Forces airbase at Bagotville has lost it's on-base theatre and has asked the local theater to fill in. The base, of course, is home to many English servicemen and their families.

Mr Gauthier has called the screening of English movies in public an 'accommodation' that should never have been allowed.
After all, the advertising of the movie will be in English and regular patrons, other than air force people are free to attend as well, a dreadful and dangerous situation that will surely lead the hitherto ever-pure Saguenéens down the evil path of Anglicization. Link{Fr}

I'm not really sure what this blowhard wants, can he be actually suggesting a public prohibition of movies in English?

In a letter to Le Devoir a reader complained bitterly that a lounge act in the Mont Tremblant casino was singing in English and talking to each other in English as well. Link{Fr} 

By the way, rumors flying around Quebec City has it that Madonna will perform at the famous summer music festival. The festival has always featured a lot of English acts, much to the chagrin of French language supremacists.
In the past they've even complained about Paul McCartney performing on the Plains of Abraham, so it's likely we'll hear from the usual suspects again.
If the Madonna concert is a go, it will likely play before largest concert audience ever assembled in Quebec. Oh my!

 Students go nuts
A student organization form UQAM is doing back flips to disavow itself from a pamphlet put out under its name .

"We have to hit very hard, harder than the student movement ever has: kidnapping, sabotage, destruction of property- and we haven't got many tries to succeed"

YIKES!
The author is lucky he doesn't live in the United States where Homeland security would have swept down faster than you can say the word 'terrorist.' Think I'm kidding.. Read this
In Quebec it's Ho Hum! Link{Fr}

Shafia case was affected by English-French snafu: officials

"When the Shafia girls went looking for help from youth-protection officials three years ago, their case was hampered by a uniquely Canadian bureaucratic snafu.

Some of their pleas were lost in translation. Or, more precisely, their different complaints were handled by separate English- and French-language agencies that failed to share case information.

Youth protection is divided by language in Montreal, with one agency handling English complaints and the other handling ones in French and other languages." Read More at CTV

Picture of the week

Nothing to do with F versus E, but I couldn't resist posting this photo.
There is a bit of controversy raging over the issue of 'smart' electric meters that Hydro-Quebec has started installing, over issues of electromagnetic emanations.
I've no idea whether this is a legitimate concern or another case of fear over reason, like Montreal's refusal to fluoridate water.

At any rate, this Boucherville resident took matters into his own hands and wrapped his meter in three layers of aluminum foil! Link{Fr}
 Perhaps Mr. Jean-Pierre Grauby, pictured above, should consider other 'suspect' emanations and protect himself whenever he goes out, like this guy pictured on the right!
(Thanks for the story, Sam.)

Suicide is Painless
Next week is Suicide Prevention Week, as good a reason as any to report on a story about the controversy between a couple of Quebec journalists and a talented blogger, in relation to Quebec's relatively high suicide rate, or relatively normal suicide rate, depending on who you believe.

Readers are familiar with Jean-François Lisée, who takes it upon himself to debunk federalist and right-wing 'myths' every now and then in his column.
Mr. Lisée is an expert at picking and choosing statistics to distort reality. According to Mr. Lisée, Quebec is financially secure, with no debt problem, outperforming almost every other economy and whose residents are much richer than Americans... I kid you not.

This week however his claim that Quebec's suicide rate is not that bad got the goat of fellow journalist Richard Martineau who wrote a stinging rebuttal. Since then, much ink has been spilled between the fellow Journal de Montreal columnists.

The polemic revolves around Mr. Lisée's claim that Quebec's suicide rate is not that bad.
In his article entitled Québec : only 26th in world suicide ranking he says:

"Quebec ranks 26th, behind countries like Finland, Belgium, Switzerland, France and Austria."

I suppose that's true, but what Mr. Lisée omits to tell us is that there are 80 countries with lower suicide rates and that Canada ranks 40th on that list.
If one were to remove the Quebec component of that Canadian statistic and counted only the RoC, the ranking would certainly be much lower, because the Quebec suicide rate is almost double that of the RoC.

BUT IT IS NOT A PROBLEM according to Mr. Lisée.

By the way, in a wonderful rebuttal piece written by the very talented DAVID,  Mr. Lisée is soundly thrashed for his blatant disregard for reality.
In that piece, we are told that the suicide rate for adult males in Quebec is actually higher than that of US servicemen, active or retired!

Mr.  Lisée has published a book supposedly demolishing other anti-Quebec myths. This very same blogger has undertaken to counter these arguments and I'll report on that effort periodically.

Happy Birthday Judy!

Have a good weekend!