Should English Canada Subsidize Separatist Radio Canada?

The latest story involving a Radio-Canada journalist quitting his job to join the separatist Parti Quebecois as a featured candidate in the next provincial election, should give rise to a debate relating to the number of separatists populating the national broadcaster.

The storm surrounding Pierre Duchesne centers on the fact that he was Radio-Canada's point man covering the National Assembly and is accused of covering the political beat while negotiating his potential candidacy with the Parti Quebec, a clear conflict of interest.

His story that he left Radio-Canada in June of his own volition, never having discussed the issue of his candidacy with the PQ while on the a job, had analysts laughing at the absurdity.

“MONTREAL—Less than a month ago, Radio-Canada journalist Pierre Duchesne was on television rating the performance of Quebec’s provincial leaders on the heels of an uncommonly hot pre-election season.
On Friday, he confirmed that he plans to run in a plum Parti Québécois riding in that election.
In between, Duchesne resigned his position as bureau chief for Radio-Canada at the National Assembly. At the time, he dismissed the already rampant rumours of an impending jump to partisan politics.
In hindsight, it seems he was the last person to find out about the PQ’s designs on his own future.
According to La Presse, Carole Lavallée — a former Bloc Québécois MP with solid connections to the PQ network — was told three months ago that she should not set her sights on the vacant riding of Borduas as it was set aside for “a star candidate from Radio-Canada.”

"....Still, a fair-minded person could question whether Duchesne lived up to the exacting ethical standards that he imposed on the ministers he so recently assessed. On that score, one can only wonder how he — as a journalist — would have commented on the optics of his own actions. " Chantal Hebert, Toronto Sun

Apparently, the PQ has shown itself to be as deceitful as the Liberals.
In the news conference held by Mr. Duchesne, he was hardly convincing denying that he spoke to the PQ while on the political beat at Radio-Canada.
Mr. Duchesne was a bit nasty and indignant, making himself appear guiltier and guiltier.
"Methinks the journalist doth protest too much"

And so the Liberals have made a complaint to the Quebec Press Council, headed by none other than the infamous John Gomery, the judge who headed the Sponsorhip Scandal Inquiry.
If the complaint goes forward, it'll be interesting to see whether those involved stick to the ludicrous story that they are pedaling today.
By the way, on Mario Dumont's political show the host recalled that when he was leader of the ADQ, he considered Duchesne hostile, a reporter who tried to sabotage the ADQ campaign every which way.

All that being said, the attack by the Liberals is just another political ploy to discredit an opponent. Even if everything they say proves true, it is no biggie.
Journalists joining political parties isn't such a big deal, I don't recall any national stink when Mike Duffy, who covered Canada's Parliament, left his job to be appointed to Canada's Senate, representing the Conservative party.

Don't tell me Duffy didn't have discussions about the appointment while serving as host for a CTV's afternoon political interview show, 'Mike Duffy Live' and as a journalist, he was every bit as partisan as Mr. Duschene and was even reprimanded by the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council for undue partisanship.

Then the case of Peter Kent, now in the federal cabinet, another journo turned Conservative.

At any rate, this isn't the gist of today's blog piece, just a bit of background concerning the steady stream of separatists having careers at Radio-Canada, which includes the likes of Bernard Drainville and Jean-François Lisée and yes, even René Levesque.

That separatist journalists leave Radio-Canada to become PQ militants doesn't bother me at all, but the fact that so many militant separatists are working in Radio-Canada certainly does!

Let us remember that the Radio Canada, the CBC, the National Film Board (Office National du Film) are all subsidized organizations created by Ottawa to foster a national identity and to promote national unity.

It seems a bit disingenuous to employ separatists when the mission of the organization is to promote Canada.

I know you can't exactly vet people over political preferences, but let's be honest, Radio-Canada employs a heckova lot more separatists than federalists, something that should be unacceptable to those who pay the bills.

My separatist friends will argue that they too are taxpayers and as such, deserve representation where their tax dollars help pay the freight.
Now I don't particularly agree with this point of view, that Ottawa should spend federal tax dollars to promote sovereignty,  but even if we accept the separatist argument of equal representation, it still doesn't make any sense.

Radio-Canada doesn't just have proportional number of separatists, they make up the vast majority of the on-air news staff and back room reporters!

Quebec's most watched political/entertainment talk-show, Tout le Monde en Parle is hosted by an openly militant sovereigntist, bringing us that certain anti-Canada slant to the issues at hand, each Sunday.

Could you imagine a universe where any Quebec government, either separatist or federalist, would underwrite a prime-time talk-show hosted by Howard Galganov?

I'm not putting forth anything new in stating that Radio-Canada is a hotbed of separatists, it's common knowledge, a fact repeated by bigger and better journalists and bloggers than I.

The most recent manifestation of this love affair with separatists was the decision to hire Gilles Duceppe as a political commentator, immediately after his defeat as Bloc Quebecois leader.
Only a firestorm of criticism had the head honchos at RadCan ducking for cover and ultimately backing down, but the temerity to hire a radical separatist on the Canadian dime, showed how comfortable the powers to be at RadCan are with promoting sovereignty.

Radio-Canada's love affiar with sovereignty goes back all the way to the beginning of the Quebec independence movement itself, Aislin, the Montreal Gazette's award winning political cartoonist took a shot at the issue way back in 1977.

"Me a separatist at Radio-Canada? It's not true, otherwise they'd have given me the job they promised in October!

And as for separatist tax dollars, let me tell you who really pays for Radio-Canada.
Here's a chart showing the expenditure for both the CBC and its French equivalent Radio-Canada.

For the 22% of the French population across Canada, Radio Canada's budget for radio and television is $566 million dollars or 38% of the combined CBC/Radio Canada English and French budget.
That represents a 55% premium over what demographics dictate.
It means that over $200 million dollars is taken out of the English CBC to subsidize Radio Canada and out of that $200 million dollars, about $130 million is paid for by Canadian federalists, with about $16 million paid for by separatist taxpayers and about $54 million by advertisers.
So much for fair representation of separatist tax dollars, how about fair representation for federalist tax dollars?

That's right, Jane from Orillia, Robert from Saskatoon, Eric from Smith Falls and the other 32 million federalists in Canada, give a financial premium to Radio-Canada, all so that it can promote sovereignty!

In Canada, its hard to get people politically motivated and so the separatist shenanigans over at Radio Canada are not only tolerated by federalists, but also subsidized!

Here's an example of Radio-Canada promoting sovereignty. On Friday last, viewers of Radio-Canada's news channel, RDI, were treated to a whole hour of Louise Beaudoin shilling for sovereignty.
This wasn't a news story, it was nothing less than an hour long infomercial for sovereignty.

Here's a brief clip, where Beaudoin makes her sovereigntist pitch, after being lobbed a softball by the moderator.

Not to nitpick, but Beaudoin actually misspeaks twice in that short clip.

First she tells viewers that the number of Francophones in Canada is diminishing from census to census, which of course is not true. It is the percentage of francophones which is diminishing.

Second, she states that the number of anglophones outside Quebec who are bilingual is 6%. Again not true.
What she should have said, is the number of Anglophones who speak French is 6%.

At any rate, this is what Radio-Canada has become, an organization chock full of separatists, using  Canadian tax money to provide separatists with hundreds and hundreds of hours of air time a year, all to promote the destruction of Canada.

If this is what Radio-Canada's has become, it is time to change things or get rid of the broadcaster altogether.

If separatists want to promote sovereignty over the airways, let them start their own network or buy time on commercial networks.

The recent budget cuts at CBC and Radio-Canada are a fine start, both networks are a waste of taxpayer dollars, but in Radio-Canada's case, we have created an ugly separatist monster and like Frankenstein, it is running amok.

French versus English Volume 57

La Francophoney-baloney....blah... blah...blah

"The French Language World Forum, going on until Friday in historic Quebec City, is expected to draw more than 1,000 artists, speakers, business people, youth and representatives from civil society.

Events and discussions will focus on four major themes: the economy, the cultural industry, the place of French in the digital world and the coexistence of languages." Read the story

Abdou Diouf, secretary general of the International Organization of La Francophonie told the audience that by 2050, French language speakers will rise from the 220 million speakers today, to over 700 million.
He then told the audience that French was nonetheless in mortal danger....Hmmmm?

I think he'd make a perfect Quebec politician, who are consummate experts at sucking and blowing at the same time!

Let me summarize the content of those meetings, for those of you not inclined to read the story.

Speaker #1-  French is wonderful but threatened.
Speaker #2-  English threatens the linguistic diversity of the world
Speaker #3-  French is wonderful and English is evil
Speaker #4-  Legislation is needed to promote French artists and culture and restrict English
Speaker #5-  French usage is growing but needs defending.
Speaker #6-  See speaker #1
Speaker #7-  See speaker #2
Speaker #8-  See speaker #3
Speaker #9-  See speaker #4
Speaker #10-See speaker #5
Speaker 11-99......Rinse, repeat...

All together now !!!!!

English = DARTH VADER.......French = LUKE SKYWALKER!!!!!

H U R R A Y ! !  O U P P I ! !

All weekend long....yawn, snore...!

Thomas Mulcair treads lightly at separatist parade

It seems that Thomas Mulcair is showing a little bit more reserve and is avoiding being photographed hobnobbing around with separatists, now that he's become leader of the official opposition. 

Two years ago I re-published a picture of him marching alongside a gaggle of separatist big shots in the line of honour bringing up the rear of the parade. The picture was picked up by many blogs and there was plenty of internal fallout within the party for Mulcair and Layton at the time.

The next year (last year) Mulcair judiciously skipped the parade altogether, but made a return appearance this year, but avoided the "Blue Line of Honour" populated by ultra-separatists.

This year's 'Blue Line of Honour" included the usual suspects with the added presence of radical student leaders.

Line of 'Honour' 2012

Marching ahead of the 'Line of Honour' was Thomas Mulcair, insulated from the separatists by his personal posse of Amazon girls, à la Khaddafi!

But still, Mulcair couldn't resist building alliances and was candidly caught sharing a comradely laugh with none other than his very good friend, ex-Parti-Quebecois Premier, Bernard Landry.

C'mon Uncle Thom, give him a big hug. You know you want to!

If you want to know why federal politicians stay away from the parade, it's because of its separatist political bent. For Mulcair and the Ndp, pandering to separatists is part of a strategy to whore themselves out for votes.

Thanks for your support "Uncle Thom!"

Journal de Quebec complains about an 'anglophone' billboard

The Journal de Quebec is hot and bothered over a billboard that recently popped up in Quebec City. A European watch company erected the billboard complete with its international catchphrase, "Big in Oversized Watches"
The headline of the article about the billboard was a bit strange;
 "100 % anglophone à Québec,"

I doubt that an inanimate object such as a billboard can actually be classified as anglophone!

When asked to translate the catchphrase into French, the company declined, telling a reporter that;

"TW Steel doesn't have this problem anywhere else. The same advertising slogan is used elsewhere in the world. It should be Canada that adapts."

It seems that the reporter squealed to the OQLF, which refused to offer an opinion, saying that it needs to study the file, something that typically takes up to six months.
Since the billboard is scheduled to be up for just two months, hardliners are plum out of luck.
Hmm.....
I wonder what French language militants think of Volkswagen's catchphrase "DAS AUTO"?


Perhaps the OQLF will rule that it too is verboten!

Vigile.net's financial woes

 It seems that a certain Vincent Chiara is causing much grief over at vigile.net, suing them for defamation over a story presented on vigile.net, which intimated if not directly, but indirectly, that the powerful Mr. Chiara was a mafiosi.

The article in question was removed from the website, but that wasn't enough for Mr. Chiara who seems out to punish Bernard Frappier, the owner and editor of the website as well as the author of the article in question, Richard Le Hir.

Although the article was removed from vigile.net, it lives on, proving again that when one publishes something on the internet, it's almost impossible to put the genie back in the bottle.

Read the original article here. Les-Tentacules-de-la-mafia-2

Defending itself from the $500,000 lawsuit has proved painful, costing the website $15,000 to date and the fun hasn't really even started.
An anonymous donation of $20,000 has eased the pain, but the case could cost north of a $100,000 to defend, something that could cripple the website.

DO I FEEL bad for vigile.net?
Not one bit.
I'm all for free speech, including defending Mr. Frappier's right to advocate for the murderous Syrian regime and his right to attack Israel more often than the United Nations.
But it is his outright antisemitism, visceral hatred of Anglophones and as of late, articles denigrating Protestants, that has me cheering for Mr. Chiarra.

In the past I've written about the horribly antisemitic articles published on his website and today he continues to give a forum to hate.

His latest screed is so disgustingly racist that it disappeared from the website just a few days after being published, but I've tracked it down for you.
I told you, that when it comes to the internet,  you can't erase your footprint.

In this article, the author tells readers that France, under newly elected president  Francois Hollande, has fallen under the diabolical control of Protestant/Jewish interests.

Read:
The Jewish-Masonic* (*read-Protestant) power that be have taken over power in France

(Le pouvoir judéo-maçonnique a définitivement mis la main sur la France.)

"...Bacteriological weapons were found during the Libyan war and the instructions for their use were in Hebrew, proving that Gaddafi had made a pact with Israel, this tiny precarious state, as if the Rothschilds, Soros, Golman Sach, JP Morgan, Koch brothers, Bernanke, Greenspan, Murdoch, Speilberg, etc.. would have no influence in the world.(*spelling errors are original-ed.)

Ah, then there's Mr. Assad of Syria, who is also in bed with Israel.

For such a small country, it has a lot of influence."  Link{Fr}

What incredible drivel!

Israel supplying Libya with chemical weapons and in bed with Assad?

Is Bernard Frappier really so ignorant that he believes the above can possibly be true, or is he knowingly publishing falsehoods in order to falsely tarnish the reputation of Israel and the Jewish people?

This is an ongoing campaign, with countless other articles slagging not only Israel, but Jews in general, still populating the website.
Read this, another odious article posted on vigile.net, that depicts Jews as rats. LINK
For Mr. Frapper, I couldn't be happier that he's getting a taste of humble pie. I hope this lawsuit drains the life force out of vigile.net and if not, at least delivers Mr. Frappier a certain dose of pain.

Mr. Racist, have a nice day...

Language hysteria dogs Habs

In all the years I've watched hockey, I don't think I've ever seen a sports commentator take this type of liberty with a player to his face.
If I was the agent Montreal Canadiens first round draft pick, Alex Galchenyuk, I would straighten out this reporter pronto, telling him to keep his militant politics to himself, or face a future of no interviews.

By the way, completely off topic, but somewhat related is this interview with overall first draft pick Nail Yakupov who absolutely butchers the English language in this interview.
I suppose I shouldn't make fun, he's really trying, but is this what the above reporter wants from Galchenyuk? Watch the YouTube video.

Quebec finances re-opening of Asbestos mine

You'd have to forgive Albertans for shaking their heads in utter disbelief at the hypocrisy of the Quebec government, in slagging Alberta's oil sands as an environmental disaster, while loaning money to reopen an asbestos mine in Quebec.

"The news that the Jeffrey Mine will reopen may warm some hearts in the Eastern Townships. Nevertheless, the Quebec government’s decision to provide a $58-million loan to Canada’s last asbestos mine is a shameful thing." Read the rest of the story

Poll indicates that RoC indifferent to Quebec separation

“...Has there ever been a time when Canadians outside Quebec have ever been more ambivalent about the possibility of the province separating? Unlikely, according to a new Ipsos Reid poll released Thursday, which suggests almost half (49%) of Canadians living outside Quebec agree they “don’t really care if Quebec separates.”

“The edge has come off it,” said Darrell Bricker, chief executive of Ipsos Reid. “It’s not seen as a 21st century debate.”

The same poll indicates that despite all the talk of support for sovereignty growing in the face of the perceived anti-Quebec attitude by Stephen Harper, hard support remains at 31% of Quebecers.

When the undecided are factored in, support for independence stands at about 38%, not an encouraging number for separatists who have seen the numbers decline ever since the 1995 referendum.

Read the other interesting aspects to this poll HERE

Ontario court rules against Galgonov and friends in forced bilingual sign case

"Verdict just in from Ontario Court of Appeal concerning Galganov/Brisson vs Russell township's bilingual sign bylaw. The court ruled UNANIMOUSLY in favour of RUSSELL TOWNSHIP. 1. That the township had the right to pass this law, although language is supposed to be provincial, not municipal. 2. That even though the law INFRINGED ON THE RIGHTS OF PEOPLE, there was reason to pass the law to promote/protect the French language. Howard Galganov and Jean-Serge Brisson have been fighting the 2008 Russell Township bylaw that enforces both French and English signage on businesses in the four small towns of the municipality." Read the rest of the story

Tales of the RED SQUARE

Three girls walk into a Quebec city bar and are told they cannot enter unless they remove  the red square they are wearing in support of the student strike against tuition hikes.
"No way!" they say, "We have the right to go in as is, and you cannot stop us!"
"Sorry, you're not crossing this line!" said the bouncer and with that, barred their entrance.
"Then we will complain to the Human rights commission, you've got no right to impede our movement!"

Anybody see the irony in this true story? Link{Fr}

 ******************

In other student leader news, just in case Léo Bureau-Blouin, president of the somewhat less radical student association, the Fédération étudiante collégiale du Québec (FECQ), expresses an interest in running for the PQ in the next provincial election in Trois-Rivières, he needn't bother apply.
The local riding association has announced that he wouldn't be a 'good fit' Link{fr}

  ******************

Newly-elected student leader of the radical CL(ASSÉ) student association, Camille Robert,  found out pretty early in her tenure as president, that politics is a rough sport and that amateurs can get eaten up rather quickly.

Responding to a charge by noted Quebec journalist Éric Duhaime that she's an ex-communist and extremely radical, she offered the following Twitter response;

"Contrary to what Éric Duhaime says, I never was a communist, Don't believe what you read in hateful and dishonest blogs"

Unfortunately for her, the evidence to the contrary was gathered rather quickly, the internet being what it is, and she was outed as a liar.
In her own statement promoting her candidacy for president, she proudly admitted to working for the Union Communiste Libertaire.

To read the complete story{Fr} and to see the documents that prove the opposite of what she says, go over HERE

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

Political expediency wins out again as Pauline Marois, sensing that she'll be supporting a losing position in the next provincial election by supporting the students, did a quick about face, dumping the little red square.

 "A decision by Pauline Marois to quit wearing the red square symbol of the student protest movement was met with a shrug at the nightly anti-tuition increase demonstration in Montreal Wednesday night.

Some marchers who sported the small felt square on their clothes felt that the Parti Quebecois leader had embraced the symbol out of political expediency and was shelving it for the same reasons.

"It doesn't surprise me that Pauline Marois decided to stop wearing the red square because it wasn't real support for the students," said Francis Piche, a junior college student. "The only reason she was opposing the tuition fee increase was because the Liberals were doing it but a Pequiste government wanted to do it too."  Link

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

By the way, with the folding of 'Le Voir," Josée Legault, the separatist journalist, is out of a job with no prospects, so far.
Does she still write for the Montreal Gazette?

I remain an adament defender of free speech and don't take any particular pleasure in her departure.
She was a fine example of separatist opinion...vapid and unrealistic. 
A faux intellectual, like her confrére Jean-François Lisée who in a recent interview proposes that citizens who can't speak French, shouldn't be allowed to vote in Quebec.... 
Watch the whole tedious interview or skip to 13:25 of the  video, to watch his intemperate remark.

By the way, Mr. Lisée is returning to politics and will present himself in the next provincial election, in the shoe-in seat of Rosemont.
Louise Beaudoin, the previous holder of the seat  has judiciously decided to retire after her failed putsch against Marois.
It's like changing four quarters for a Loonie....

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

 
As we head into one of the rare glorious Canadian summer weekends, let me finish on a humorous note.

Question...What is it in our human nature that makes us laugh when someone trips?

Watch THIS VIDEO and then come back and tell me you didn't laugh, or at least chuckle.

CLICK TO WATCH VIDEO

What makes English so hard to learn?

Have a great weekend!!


MONDAY- Should English Canada subsidize Separatist Radio Canada?

McGill University Medical School Decline was Inevitable

Almost a year ago, I wrote about McGill University Medical school lowering its standards in order to attract more francophone students. It seems that this decision has led the chickens to come home to roost. 
Back then I wrote;

"In one fell swoop McGill has destroyed its reputation. It is in the process of turning itself from an elite program into a run of the mill secondary medical school.

It's sad.....
All of you over at the University of Toronto medical school.... STOP LAUGHING!!!!!  McGill Caves in to Language Pressure- Affirmative action Arrives

Sadly my prediction has come true, McGill's medical school's world ranking has plummeted and it likely has to do with that dreadful decision to cave in to language extremists.

The university has been under fire for several years by French language militants who complained bitterly that over half of the McGill medical graduates end up leaving the province to pursue a career in greener pastures. According to these militants, it's unfair to subsidize doctors leaving to work elsewhere.
By the way, these are the same people who I imagine, believe it's just dandy to poach doctors from third world countries to work in Quebec, but I digress....

Instead of defending itself against the scurrilous charges that intimates that it is somehow the fault of the Anglo doctors, instead of the facts on the ground, McGill decided to capitulate and set out to accept more francophone students into the program to help stem the tide.

It was a classic cave-in that has contributed to McGill losing its place as the premier medical school in Canada.
According to QS World University Rankings® McGill remains Canada's best university but is losing ground fast.

In 2009 McGill was the 10th highest rated medical school in the world, but has slipped to 24th in the two years following.

The University of Toronto's medical school which now ranks 16th in the world, takes over from McGill as Canada's best medical school.

Small consolation is the fact that according to the report, Montreal remains the best student city in Canada ranking 10th in the world, while Toronto remains 26th.
A few more student demonstrations and intemperate acts of depravity and that can change too.

The precipitous fall is likely attributed to the decision to drop the critically important MCAT (Medical College Admission Test) exam, a decision made by panicked administrators.

"Dr. Saleem Razack, assistant dean of admissions for medicine says McGill would have kept the MCAT requirement if there was a French equivalent. “But we want to make sure there’s no barrier for a major segment of our population.”  Link

The exam is a standardized test (like the LSAT for lawyers) and is the principle tool that just about all medical schools in the United States and most in Canada, use to evaluate candidates.
While schools like McMaster and University of Ottawa don't require MCATs, elite programs most certainly do.
In the United States, the MCAT score is typically given as much weight as GPA.
The MCAT is a formidable test and requires months and months of study. It is available in English only and taking the test in a second language, regardless of the student's dedication and proficiency, is enough of a handicap to hurt outcomes.
As I said, the MCAT is dastardly difficult.

And so the decision was made to flood the medical school with francophones, throwing standards out the window in the process.
Congratulations....

On a certain level I can understand McGill's decision to add the francophone element.
As it stands now, under the new admissions policy, anglophones represent about 91 out of the 810 medical school slots across Quebec, a reasonable demographic representation, to be fair.

It is just sad that in order to even things up, standards had to be slashed and a world-class reputation sacrificed.

As for the knock that McGill graduates leave the province, who is really to blame for that?
 
One of the principle reasons that so many McGill graduates leave is that there are just no jobs available. McGill turns out a great deal of specialists, something that the Quebec government has deemed to be in oversupply.
In Quebec, a doctor needs a government issued license (PREM) to practice and without a PREM, there's little chance to practice.

Even in family medicine, PREMS for anglos in the Montreal area are few and far between.
The reaction of the health minister is to tell anglos that there are jobs available, if they are willing to move to Chibougamau or Val D'Or, or some other godforsaken backwoods hick-town, something not entirely appetizing to an Anglo Montrealer.
The government's rationale in all this, is that while Montreal lacks family doctors, the need is greater in the hinterland and until the gap is narrowed...it's no soup for you, young doctor!

Read this excellent explanation of the ridiculous situation;
Making sense of Montreal’s family doctor shortage 

This in a province where 25% of the people don't have a family physician.

And so there is a steady stream of highly-trained young doctors leaving Quebec, taking their Quebec paid education with them to practice, mostly in the United States, many not by choice.

I know of one New York City hospital that has three McGill grads on staff, each chased out of Quebec because of a lack of jobs.
This last month a young thoracic surgeon that I know of, left after seven years of residency, because no Quebec job was forthcoming. Thirty years of education and training frittered away by this province.

For young francophone doctors, its more difficult to leave, most are a prisoner of culture and language.
Most doctors on the francophone side take the fast-tracked, pre-med cegep route to medical school, where English as a second language is largely ignored.
For them, moving out of Quebec is not an option and so like teachers and other unilingual professionals, they are forced to accept an incredibly steep  'home team discount'

For Anglo doctors, the combination of nonexistent or decidedly poor prospects, makes the decision to leave easy, but nonetheless, very painful.

Most graduating anglo doctors want nothing more than to serve their community in their own home town and its more than a little bit sad for them and for us that they leave.

Trust me readers.... on this, I know.

Peel & Stick Solution for French Appliances

I've come out of my vacation to open up a new thread, since some are complaining that the comments section, with close to 300 posts, is getting a bit unwieldy.

I'm not going to get into a long well-thought out post, I'm supposed to be on vacation and so offer this quickie to allow for reader reactions.

Language bureaucrats take aim at appliance wording

"Quebec’s language bureaucrats are taking aim at appliances.

This time the offenders are appliances carrying words such as: bake, broil, spin cycle and sensor cook.

The Office de la Langue Francaise said that about 1,100 of the 7,600 complaints it received last year focused on the language of words printed on appliances.

Only about 20 percent of appliances sold in Quebec are souped up with French texts, according to the agency.

The government will ask appliance manufacturers to include French words on their machines."  " Read more:

Personally, I'd suggest providing each appliance with a sheet of Peel'n Stick French labels, but I'm not sure this will satisfy the OQLF.
Producing and replacing the instruction panel has some related costs to it and it begs several questions.

Question Number 1
Will those appliances that have additional French labeling cost more than the English counterparts sold in Ontario?

Question Number 2
Should all appliances sold across Canada be bilingual, even if it means an increase in costs?

Question Number 3
If the French labeling rules apply only to Quebec product, should Quebecers bear the cost or should the cost of bilingual labeling be borne by all Canadians?
In other words should the bilingual appliances and the English appliances sold in the rest of Canada be sold at the same, slightly higher price.

Question Number 4
If bilingual Quebec appliances cost more than those sold in Ontario, will the government ban retailers from shipping English only product into Quebec, even to anglophones.
Remember my blog piece- Buzz Lightyear?

Question Number 5
How come the car companies, the BIGGEST OFFENDERS aren't included in this new initiative by the Quebec government.

Question Number 6
How desperate is the Quebec Liberal government and to what lengths will it go to prove its bone fides in the language debate?
Come to think of it, if they apply the rules of Bill 101 to cegep, won't they MATCH PERFECTLY the Parti Quebecois language policy.

...just asking.

OQLF Rolls the Dice

I have to apologize to readers for a serious error in analysis in not putting two and two together, when I failed to make the connection between several big retailers seeking legal opinions (which I told you about) in regard to French descriptors and the likely scenario whereby they received a demand letter from the OQLF.

Companies don't usually seek legal advice over hypothicals, especially in this case where the OQLF did nothing for thirty-five years.

At any rate the OQLF has ripped a page out of the Camille Laurin playbook, in pursuing a legal position that is not defensible in the belief that whether their legal position is right or wrong,  losing is as good as winning.

Either way they will be seen as the ultimate defender of the French language and if and when the agency suffers the inevitable court defeat, they will throw up their hands as a the ultimate victim and declare that it's not their fault.

The big retailers that received letters threatening that their Francisation certificate will be withdrawn if they don't knuckle over, ARE NOT rolling over, and intend on fighting for their good name in court, something the OQLF had hoped would not happen, but accepted that could. They are used to small merchants buckling over and have perhaps met their match with the big boys.

One of the companies involved leaked a story to Le Devoir indicating that the powerhouse law firm of Norton-Rose, has given a written opinion to its client that the OQLF is misinterpreting the law.
The Le Devoir story goes on to say that the OQLF can expect a powerful legal counter-attack by one of the most capable law firms in Canada.
This isn't going to be a David and Goliath fight, the OQLF will be facing millions of dollars in legal bills as the fight will be protracted.

Ultimately, whichever side loses, will appeal and it's likely the Supreme Court will be asked to rule on the matter in about five long years.

What's important is the interim, where if the OQLF strips the companies of their French certificate unilaterally, we can expect those companies affected to seek injunctive relief, that is to say,  a judicial stay until the case is ultimately resolved.

The companies will have ample grounds to win an injunction, since stripping a company of a French certificate based on the same law under which the 'OQLF issued it, is problematic, especially since the clauses referred to, haven't changed.
If the companies were 'non-compliant' years ago, why did the OQLF issue the certificate then?
A judge will have to consider the fact that even if the OQLF's position is somehow validated in law, its tolerance of the breach for so many years affords the companies an acquired right.

At any rate, there is ample grounds to allow an injunction barring any unilateral action by the OQLF.

If the court does grant such an injunction, it will be a devastating setback to the OQLF, a situation where they  lose the first critical round.

The Le Devoir article, based on deliberately leaked information spells out the companies' position rather succinctly, they'll go down fighting with the support of the Retail Council  of Canada, which is backing the companies to the hilt and devoting their considerable weight to the side opposing the OQLF initiative.

There are some interesting nuggets that I've mined in relation to the case.
It seems that the OQLF initiative may violate the North American Free Trade Agreement(NAFTA)

Article 1708: Trademarks Link
10. No Party may encumber the use of a trademark in commerce by special requirements, such as a use that reduces the trademark's function as an indication of source or a use with another trademark.

Martin Bergeron ,a spokesman for the OQLF sounded somewhat guarded in the defending the OQLF's legal position saying;

"We have our jurists, we have conducted our research, and we're very comfortable with our legal position.

("On a nos juristes, on a fait nos vérifications et on est très à l’aise avec notre position juridique », a assuré Martin Bergeron.")

Not exactly a statement ringing with confidence.
Remember what he said just two months ago.

"We verified our legal interpretation before proceeding. We understand others don't have the same interpretation as us.

("On a vérifié notre interprétation juridique avant d'aller de l'avant. On comprend qu'il y a des gens qui n'ont pas la même interprétation que nous», a-t-il lancé."

Readers should be reminded that a previous Quebec government was already advised that it was on shaky grounds if it tried to force modifiers on the public.

Two final thoughts.
Although, I believe the OQLF will lose this legal battle because of the flawed way they are directly imposing modifiers on trademarks, there is more than one way to skin a cat.
A slightly different approach would have yielded the same result but would have required an amendment to Bill 101.

What is that amendment?........Sorry, I not going to help make their case.

At any rate, I'm not sure if the OQLF will be happier if they win or happier if they lose. After all the image of the downtrodden and abused francophone nation at the hand of the evil overlords in the RoC, is a role they have relished ever since the birth of the quite revolution.

And now, just a clarification;
There seems to be a misunderstanding of the powers of the OQLF which is being circulated in the press.
The OQLF CANNOT fine anybody, the only action they can take  undertake unilaterally is to revoke a French language certificate from a company holding one.

When we are told in the  press that companies can be fined up to $25,000, it isn't the OQLF that can assess the fine, only the court.

The OQLF must refer offending cases for public prosecution and it is the court that will determine the penalty after a guilty verdict. The law provides for a maximum fine of $25,000 which a judge may or may not impose.

No OQLF inspector can walk into an establishment and issue a ticket like a police officer.


I've come out of my vacation to offer a reader platform for this very important issue.