How to Ruin a Long Weekend

Will Pauline be smiling on Tuesday?

For many of us, it will be hard to enjoy this long weekend as we face down with grim acceptance the election coming up on Tuesday.

Usually Labour Day signifies the end of summer and perhaps it is prescient and symbolic that the glory days of summer are ending, morphing into Fall and onto the dreary days of Winter.

It's always sad when the summer ends, it's even sadder when political uncertainty becomes a certainty.

I don't know what a prisoner feels as he shuffles off to the gallows, but it must be emotions like these.
The palpable sense of doom, a stomach wrenching pit that is shared by most of us, making us feel as if we are that infernal 'Dead man walking.'

I shudder to think what five years of Pauline Marois will bring. Think of the idiots she brings along, like Drainville and Lisée, two fools who couldn't run a deppaneur.

Imagine these idiots trifling with your lives, it's enough to make one vomit.

The sad truth of the matter is that all the corruption in the world cannot hold a match to the financial disaster that awaits us as the unions, the students, and government workers run riot as Pauline empties the public purse to satisfy her constituency of takers.

One thing an election campaign provides, is a window where we can look in and see how extraordinarily stupid our politicians are, operating without the support of the real people who operate the government, the deputy ministers who wave their political bosses off one bonehead move from another.
The opposition doesn't even benefit from this sage advice and so, are ever more so prone to uttering political non sequiturs as demonstrated by Pauline, who delivered one stupidity after another.

And so it is always dangerous when politicians veer off from the neatly prepared text that their handlers work so diligently to prepare and ad lib their own thoughts, which more often than not,  shows them to be even more dimwitted than we thought.

Even Jean Charest, who I personally know to be highly intelligent with a fearsome memory is not immune to fits of fancy.

Every time a major politician speaks, there is a handler standing in the back, crossing his or her fingers that the candidate not speak their mind.

Mr Charest's desperate attempt to shore up support by proposing to apply Bill 101 to federal institutions was sadly transparent and Francois Legault has his moments of rank stupidity as well, just a few days ago, calling on doctors who leave the province to reimburse the government for the education that Quebecers paid for.
A wonderful idea if the government actually offered each of these doctors a job and I'm not talking about a job in Ungava Bay.
Most doctors leave BECAUSE THEY CANNOT GET A JOB!
It is sad that someone running for the top job does not know this.

And so we are faced with how to vote and for those off the island, voting for the CAQ may mean the difference between a PQ seat or CAQ seat.
On the island it doesn't make a difference as the Liberal puppets will be re-elected no matter what.

If federalist forces realize that the Liberal's goose is cooked, then a switch to the CAQ is merited, it may be the only strategy left.

Let us run down Tuesday's possibilities; 

SCENARIO #1 - A PQ MAJORITY
No doubt, the worst case scenario for us, but one where the Peekists will find in short order that while language issues got them elected, economic issues will be their undoing.
Once they get their oats off passing restrictive language legislation, the true disaster of Quebec's financial situation will bear down.
The elephant in the room is not only the debt, but the deficit.
While every political party based their budgetary program on the prediction that Quebec's economy would grow at about 2.5%, it isn't happening.
This year's predicted deficit of under two billion is close to being reached, this just four months into the year, as economic growth is actually in negative territory, something nobody will admit.
This means an additional two to three billion added to the deficit and if the PQ follows through with its election promises, another one or two billion would be added, bringing the total up to around six or seven billion, this year.

Like every incoming government before them, Pauline will take one look at the books and renege on the financial goodies package, claiming quite rightly that the Charest government lied about the finances and that the government cannot afford new spending.

As she seeks confrontation with Harper in the hope of riling up Quebecers and push them towards sovereignty, she will find  the PM to be polite, but non-committal and as the old saying goes, it takes two to tango.

The real test will come in 2013 when the Equaliztion program is up for renegotiation. If the feds scrap the program it would mean another five or six billion dollar loss to the budget, meaning that Quebec may very well be faced with running a ten billion deficit and no Pauline, even taxing the rich people at 100% of their income won't fill that gap.

How Montreal's real estate market will react remains to be seen, but over the near term I can see the condo market collapsing and I wouldn't want to be in the shoes of the developers bringing all those new buildings to market over the next two years.
If the PQ is elected your west island home will be worth 25% less on Wednesday.

It'll be worse than all this, but more another time.


SCENARIO #2 - A PQ MINORITY
Here things get interesting.
A PQ minority could easily be defeated by a CAQ /Liberal coalition, a more likely scenario than the CAQ supporting the PQ for very long. Under the CAQ/Liberal coalition, Legault would become the PM as he'd likely be the leader of the party that has the most seats between the two, notwithstanding the fact that Jean Charest may well be defeated in his own riding.

A CAQ/Liberal coalition would probably string the PQ government along for a few months before pulling the plug over a budget, so as to be seen as trying to work with the government and not to appear arrogantly setting aside a PQ government chosen by the people.
Defeating the government would not result in a new election as long as the coalition advises the Lieutenant-Governor that there is a coalition that is prepared to form a government and able to face the National Assembly.

SCENARIO #3 - A CAQ MINORITY
A CAQ minority government would be akin to a CAQ majority government with the Liberals having no other choice but to support the government at all costs and for many years.
This is the position that Michael Ignatieff and the federal Liberals found themselves in, before the last federal election, which they foolishly triggered themselves.
The lessons of that election and the utter decimation of the Liberals will be a sharp reminder to Charest or his successor not to trifle with elections when you are on a downward spiral.

If things pan out as predicted in the polls, the Liberals will remain with a dozen or so seats, half of them English/Allo.
If that happens, it would be natural that they defect to the CAQ, or form a splinter Anglo/Allo rights party, thus finishing off the Liberal party once and for all, something that is needed if we want to avoid electing a separatist government with 30% of the vote.

SCENARIO #4 - A LIBERAL MINORITY
The most unlikely of all the possibilities but one that may very well happen.
If so, The Liberals would need to seek a solid partnership with the CAQ in order to preserve any semblance of sustainability.
In the end, this government can't last that long, the ambitious CAQ has nowhere to go but up.


By the way, if the PQ wins a majority government it will certainly be because of the split federalist vote, but a special honourable mention must go to Prime Minister Harper who went out of his way these last few years to alienate Quebec and punish Mr. Charest.

There are many Quebecois soft nationalists who feel abandoned and pushed around  by Ottawa, discarded by Mr. Harper and it isn't just about money.
They may not want a referendum, but they do want someone to defend Quebec, something neither the Bloc or the Ndp were and are able to do.

If this view is shared by just 3-5 % of Quebec voters, it may be enough to give the PQ the victory.

Here's a ditty by Bowser and Blue, which has incorporated a couple of this blog's artwork.

I'm very proud; Please enjoy;

thanks to 'The Cat' for pointing the link out!

French versus English Volume 60

Dear Readers,

I've reversed the order of posts so that on Friday, I can offer an election wrap-up, for whatever it's worth.

Facebook Campaign to save English cegep goes viral 

Days after Pauline Marois announced her party would block access to English CEGEPs for most francophone and allophone high school students if elected, Tania Lefrançois sent the Parti Québécois leader a message via Facebook.

“I am proud to have done my studies in English at CEGEP St. Lawrence,” she wrote in French. “It’s one of the best decisions that I took for my professional future and for my openness to the world. I think that every Quebecer should be bilingual or at least understand English, because it’s our SECOND OFFICIAL LANGUAGE and because this language is necessary as soon as you put one foot outside of Quebec.”

Marois’s “so-called measures” to promote French, prove that voting for her is a big mistake, she wrote.
Lefrançois is apparently not the only person to share the sentiment. In the week since she posted it, her message had been “Liked” on Facebook 42,330 times as of Monday, and generated 5,400 comments, most of them supportive and most in French, much to Lefrançois’ amazement. Read More

Pauline tells another whopper 

It's a little disconcerting when the next potential Premier of Quebec makes statements that are patently false.
Pauline has given wings to the next great urban myth, that 25% of stores in downtown Montreal don't offer service in French.
Cobbling together and misinterpreting facts is the bane of separatists like Mario Beaulieu, the worst offender of the lot, mixing lies with twisted statistics, to misinform in an effort to fool the people.

Nowhere in the OLF report does it say how many stores refuse to offer French service, probably because the number is minuscule and limited to Ma and Pa operations when there is one clerk in the store.
Of the 25% of stores that 'violate' Bill 101, three-quarters of the offences are because their corporate name is English, something that remains a bone of contention.
According to Marois, if all of the thousands of signs, product labels, bills, etc., in the store are in complete agreement with the law, the store is still an offender because of its English name.

That is what this blueneck is telling us..

Trying to rehabilitate his name Michaud runs afoul of the law 

There was a bit of sweet karma this week as blowhard Yves Michaud continues his Don Quixotesque quest, a sad attempt to clear his name in regards to a unanimous 2000 National Assembly motion, that basically branded him as a racist. Read about the Michaud Affair.

Michaud reminds me of that sweet old cracker down in the deep south, who tells the family at the dinner table that he isn't a racist, it's just a fact that the 'darkies' are thick.

Michaud was cited for his remarks in a radio interview where he complained that the Jews voted against sovereignty en masse and intimated that they were bad citizens of Quebec for doing so. According to Michaud, if they were good citizens, a good number of them would have voted for sovereignty.

Nope, he's definitely not a racist...hmm.

At any rate he's been trying to get that motion overturned, without much success for over the last twelve years.
His latest gambit is to implore voters not to support the dozen or so members of the National Assembly, who voted for the motion and who are running in the current election

He placed an advertisement in Le Devoir encouraging voters not to vote for these 'enemies,' but along the way, he broke the election law by paying for a political ad outside the election rules.

It is an open and shut case and when he is found guilty and fined, he'll probably have as much success overturning his conviction as he has had in overturning the National Assembly censure! Link{Fr}

My advice; Do a Lance Armstrong...

French parents forced to speak English to their children

Parents in certain Ontario jurisdictions are being told to speak English while being supervised by government workers during custody visits.

Because the case workers don't speak French, they cannot monitor what is being said between parent and child, part of their mandate to make sure there is nothing untoward being said.
Some affected parents have offered to bring along an interpreter at their own expense but have been denied the right based of the principle that the interpreter might be in cahoots with the parent. Link{Fr}
The reporter who wrote the story refers to it as a case of 'Speak White,' a term I dislike but admit is appropriate in this case.

The view from Algeria 

You are not doubt familiar with the story of the Saguenay mayor who insulted a PQ candidate who opined that the crucifix in the National Assembly be removed. The good mayor fumed that the foreign born Djemila Benhabib with an unpronounceable name, had no business telling 'real' Quebecers how to live. Link

Well, the story was picked up across the world and was the subject of a story in a French language Algerian newspaper.

The story was run of mill, but the comments were rather amusing.

Here's my favourite;

"I lived in Montreal for nearly ten years (what a waste!)
Fellow citizens, understand that Canada/Quebec is a utopia where as soon as you put your foot down, you don't have long to wait to see the evidence that discrimination is palpable and no matter what your qualifications, there is no work for you. Work is reserved for the locals.
The Quebecois do not like immigrants, nor the English nor Americans, in short they like nobody. 
I heard the expression: "go home," often.
As soon as you arrive, you are fitted in to the process of becoming completely and totally dependent on the Quebec government, which provides a monthly check, just shabby enough not to die from hunger." Link{Fr}

Stephen Harper won't help Charest

Is Stephen Harper exacting a measure of political revenge at the expense of the Quebec Premier for past snubs, or is he exercising his keen political instinct in refusing to endorse the only true federalist leader in the Quebec provincial election?
Well, it probably is a little or rather a lot of both.

It's easy to see that in the face of a separatist Quebec government, Canadians would turn to somebody solid and rock hard to face off with a separatist Premier.
Nobody fits the bill better than Stephen Harper.

Would anybody really trust 'Uncle Tom' Mulcair to defend the interests of the ROC?
Harper must be whistling in the shower these days!

Charest does his own spinnerama

Much to the consternation of Anglos, Jean Charest, in a desperate bid to shore up support, told reporters that he planned to ask the federal government to apply Bill 101 to federally chartered companies as well as to federal government offices in Quebec. Link

Like the good Pauline who was forced to retract some foolish remarks she made concerning Quebec citizenship, Charest climbed down from that position, less than 48 hours later. Link

Ex-MP Marlene Jennings told Anglos that perhaps it was time to vote CAQ, something that caught Charest by surprise, as if Anglos don't read the French Press and were somehow unaware of the betrayal.
Yesterday he clarified things by saying he'd ask the Feds to increase the use of French, not to impose Bill 101.
Well, that made everything clear!

Odds'n Ends

Official Languages Commissioner Graham Fraser says his office will conduct more than 1,500 anonymous observations this fall at airports in Halifax, Quebec City, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg, Edmonton and Vancouver, to check on bilingualism. Link

Pauline is upset that the next Supreme Court judge will be picked by Stephen Harper and that the committee helping him make the selection includes notorious separatist-bater Stephane Dion.
Madame Marois would like a veto over any such choice. Link{Fr}

Some Francophones are complaining that they are paying for the education of Anglophones because many Anglophones take their education and promptly quit the province, in other words doing what I have dubbed as a 'mistersauga'  Link{Fr}

Jacques Parizeau continues the fine tradition of PQ infighting:
"Former Parti Québécois premier Jacques Parizeau’s has publicly endorsed Jean-Martin Aussant, the Globe and Mail reports. Mr. Aussant is the leader of the Option Nationale, a newly-founded sovereigntist party that is challenging the PQ in a number of “blue” ridings, by snubbing Pauline and the PQ, supporting the Option Nationale. LINK

I really don't know what to make of the Quebec solidaire candidate Christian Bibeau, running in Sherbrooke, who pointed out that 5,000 people living in that city don't have Canadian citizenship and that 10% of them don't speak French.
Sherbrooke and vicinity has a population of around two-hundred thousand, making those who aren't 'Canadian' about 2½% of the population and those that can't speak French at .025% or about 500 out of the the 200,000 citizens.
Hardly a crisis, one would think.. Link{Fr}

Quebecers as lousy tippers?
According to ABC News, some restaurants in Burlington, Vt., are tacking on at least 18 per cent to the food bills of diners who speak a foreign language – and by foreign language, they mean French. As the broadcaster points out, the Vermont town is less than 160 kilometres from Montreal and attracts plenty of Canadian visitors each summer. And it appears we Canadians are considered lousy tippers.

English CEO makes waves
"Quebec’s language hawks are bearing down on the selection of a non-French speaker to lead SNC-Lavalin Inc., barely three days after he was named to the job.

American Robert Card, an engineering veteran with almost 40 years experience, was announced as SNC’s new chief executive after markets closed Friday. He starts on October 1.

French language rights group Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste denounced the selection, calling it “deplorable” that Mr. Card, an American who doesn’t speak French, was chosen to lead one of Quebec’s largest and most storied companies." Link

Here's an article that isn't about Quebec or Canada, but is extremely pertinent;
Can speaking a second language make you a better leader?



ATTENTION: If you read French please do the author the courtesy of reading the original work;
Détester l’anglais: l’obsession de la pureté linguistique

HATING ENGLISH by Joanne Marcotte

In his column: CEGEP? It’s urgent!, Bock-Côté once again demonstrates his deep aversion to English... as well as to anglophones. 

Oh yes. He is quite right when he stresses that some people "accuse others of practising anglophobia." And if such is the case, dear Mathieu, it is because we are reduced to this. No other justification can explain such hysterical comments.

According to Bock-Côté, extending Bill 101 to CEGEPs is a result of “Quebecers’ assertion of their identity."

Umm ... is “Quebecers’ identity” now defined as 'unilingual French?'

Sorry, but suppressing the freedom of young adults to attend English CEGEPs has nothing to do with "identity assertion". It has to do with typically tribal behaviour. It has to do with fear and especially with the contempt and the intrinsic lack of confidence towards allophones, who have already done all of their primary and secondary education in French, thanks to Bill 101.

According to Bock-Côté, "CEGEP is no longer simply an additional step in the schooling of youth. One does not simply select an occupation there. One selects a social environment there. "

Umm ... no....

In real life, last time I checked, when students choose a CEGEP and a study program, they are choosing an occupation. And if they happen to choose an English CEGEP, it's probably because they want to increase their chances of social mobility, to access better jobs.

Oh, I well know where this idea that CEGEP attendance constitutes a threat to French linguistic purity comes from (see here what I think of this supposed study). But coming from someone like Bock-Côté, who so loudly criticized the way the Ministry of Education technocrats have appropriated the educational system, one can only deplore that this same man now appropriates the powers of the state to convert the francophones and allophones of Quebec into unilingual francophones!

According to Bock-Côté, "this is a case of adapting Bill 101 to the demands of our times"!

Umm ... no. If we wanted to "adapt Bill 101 to the demands of our times", we should rather leave it alone. In the real world, especially that in which people work in private companies with customers outside Quebec, English is not only necessary but is absolutely required for the survival of the company.

Finally, for Bock-Côté, "hysterical anti-nationalism is back in fashion", “English threatens French” (as opposed to the poor quality of the teaching of French that is taught in our public schools ...), "the multicultural ideology discredits the Quebec identity", and brace yourselves, we are witnessing the "return of an old fad: Speak White, boy! And don’t you dare complain! "

HATING QUEBECERS
But what is most distressing in all of this, is the unfairness of this tightening of Bill 101, primarily towards the regions but also towards low-income families. Indeed, while opportunities to learn English may be greater in Montreal (which is debatable), in the regions, it is a whole other story.

And then, there is little doubt that parents with solid incomes will find a way around the new ban, perhaps by English immersion, for example.

"Born without a pot to piss in”, or the stoic acceptance of one's modest circumstances and the idea not to aspire above one's station in life is what we used to say once upon a time. Such is what linguistic obsessions are all about. Stifling Quebecers, making their lives harder than need be, harming their potential for social mobility ... that is what truly self-loathing Quebecers are all about!

"Sacrificing all for the country", as Bock-Côté states from his ivory tower.

HATING FREEDOM and HARMING ONE’S CAUSE 

Bock-Côté wrote a whole essay that demonstrates how separatists have hurt their own cause by associating themselves with the obsolete concept of social democracy. Well, I'll let him in on a little secret. There is another reason for this that is just as important and it is this obsession with linguistic purity that francophones have. It’s tedious ... honestly. And it certainly doesn’t give any confidence to those who are planning a new imaginary country for us.

Thank-you to 'THE CAT' for contributing this translation.

How about this ad from the fledgling Conservative party of Quebec?;

 

You gotta love the welfare bum!!!

Thirty-five Years of Hate

This weekend brought on sadly foreboding feelings of imminent disaster, a chokingly uncomfortable presentment that we are about to revisit the bad old days, as polls, however flawed, showed the Pq is on the cusp of forming the next provincial government.

Reading through our comments section, it's easy to see that these feelings are not mine alone, they run deeply throughout our community and although we share a common dread, the suffering is borne by each of us on a very personal level.
 
The spectre of yet another government dedicated to the eradication of our community and the sense of betrayal and abandonment we feel by our federal government, a government which is supposed to protect the rights of all Canadians, makes the situation all the more unbearable.

As those in the Rest of Canada throw their hands up in frustration, telling Quebec in effect to separate if they wish, the one million or so English Canadians here are fed to the wolves, given up upon, as if we don't matter at all.
While Canadians were gung-ho to fight for freedom and justice in Afghanistan, here at home we Canadians appease separatists with the zeal of Neville Chamberlain and the backbone of Marshall Pétain.

Alas, that is our lot, if we are to survive here as a community, we will have to take some hard decisions soon. Nobody will defend us but ourselves.

The separatists are determined to enact more and more restrictive and discriminatory laws in the hope that we will fold our tents as in the past, pack up and quit our homes.

They could be right and then again, they just might be wrong, time will tell.

Whatever the future brings, it is clear that fighting for our community here under this separatist government will mean more than using political resistance, where we have been dispossessed.

The student movement showed us how a system can be brought to its knees with the mildest exercise of civil disobedience, but this discussion is premature, I shall shelve it to a time when it becomes appropriate.

Today, as we anglos and Ethnics wait for the shoe of renewed persecution to drop, ethnocentric haters celebrate the 35th anniversary of Bill 101, a law conceived in hate and dedicated to the principle that all men are created unequal.

The majority of Quebecers hold that Bill 101 is a necessary evil, a law needed to keep the English and Ethnic barbarians from breaching the gate and running riot over French language and culture.

They can be forgiven for thinking that they are in mortal danger, an unrelenting propaganda campaign has massaged this message and fed the lie for these last thirty-five years.

But there are those who take an absolute delight in Bill 101 and the concept of torturing those who are not like them, those who they believe, have no place among them.

Bill 101 is a law that was conceived and written by Camille Laurin, a man consumed by a visceral hatred of the English, a man as cunning and evil as Joesph Goebells, the author of the antisemitic campaign by the Nazis, seventy-five years ago.

Bill 101 sets out to promote and preserve the French language by restricting the rights of all to speak English.
It is like taking food off one plate and putting it on another, under the guise that one party is supposedly more deserving or hungry.

Bill 101 puts the onus and blame for whatever ills exist or which are perceived, in relation to the French language, squarely on the English and Ethnics.

Those wishing to preserve and promote French believe that forcing immigrants into the French stream is the answer.
They believe that restricting the English from expressing themselves publicly is the answer.
They are wrong.

Let me offer a simple solution that will guarantee not only the preservation, but even assure the dominance of the French language in Quebec.

Instead of telling Anglos and Ethnics to sacrifice, French Quebecers can do something to save their language and culture themselves.

HAVE MORE CHILDREN!

If militants are so determined to save French, all that is required is to have more children.
If every second French Quebec woman would bear three children instead of  the current 1.7, there would be no problem.

There would be no need of immigrants at all and with the English population stable, VOILA! the French fact in Quebec would naturally rise.

So why is not one French militant calling for this rather neat and simple solution, one that would entirely eliminate the need for immigrants?

Sacrifice......

Readers, it has to do with sacrifice, something francophones are not willing to do to preserve their language and culture.
For them, it is far easier to ask others, the English and Ethnics to sacrifice for them.

To all you sanctimonious zealots celebrating the anniversary of Bill 101, understand it is a law that exists because you have failed to protect your language.

You haven't lifted a finger to help yourselves, it is like asking someone else to exercise for you or study and take your exams, all because you cannot be bothered.

Why should we Anglos and Ethnics be asked to sacrifice, when francophones are too lazy and disinterested to save their own culture and language?

To paraphrase the great American president John Kennedy, the credo by which French language militants live by is;

"Ask not what you can do for your country, ask what the English and Ethnics can do for you!"

Marois' 'Quebec Citizenship'........ Poutine, Maple Syrup & Koolaid

Two Days- Two flip flops

It took just 24 hours for Pauline Marois' Quebec Citizenship plan to blow up in her face as the Parti Quebecois was forced to reverse positions on her pronouncement that all those who did not speak French would be barred from holding any public office.  Link

First she was quite specific;

"Marois said that if elected, she would reintroduce a controversial PQ bill requiring all new citizens of Quebec to learn French. But the new bill would go even further than the initial version of Bill 195, tabled in 2007.

To be eligible to run in provincial or municipal elections, a non-francophone would have to speak French well enough “to be able to explain his ideas, explain his point of view,” Marois said.

The proposed law would apply to people born and raised in Quebec, including members of First Nations, as well as immigrants." Read More

The PQ brain trust weighed the implications and promptly freaked out.
And so she and the party did a fancy two-step and like a whirling dancer in a Quebec quadrille, changed directions without skipping a beat.

"Today, the PQ clarified their position: All those who would have the proposed Quebec citizenship would be allowed to run for election. All current Quebec citizens would automatically get that citizenship, but new immigrants would be subjected to a French test before being granted those rights." Read More

 Don't for a minute believe that the change of heart was out of deference to Anglophones and their historical right to speak English, had it only been that, Marois would have been happy to tweak the nose of our community and soldier on.

The reversal was in fact a result of the utter panic in the PQ brain trust that Marois had inadvertantly declared war on Quebec's natives, a fight that would be politically disastrous and impossible to win.

Many Quebec bands speak only their native tongue along with English and they did not appreciate in the least Marois' insult that the language of Quebec is French only.

Stirring up Native resentment, could only be described as a fool's gambit, something that even the dumbest, poorest federalist or separatist voter understands.
The spectre of confrontation à la Oka is frightening enough and Quebecers, like Canadians across the country understand, it's never good policy to piss off the natives.

And so it's a bit disconcerting to see the next potential premier of Quebec stumble so badly, making it up as she goes along, especially as she seems to be trifling with the most basic tenets of democracy as if she were discussing a new pork barrel recreation centre in Paris du bois, in an effort to shill for votes.

Lost in all this, is the curious fact that in Quebec, the ridiculous is quickly accepted as normal, where the details and modalities of Quebec citizenship can be discussed without anyone in the mainstream media pointing out the absurdity of a province creating such a device, akin to debating the colour of the lampshade one decides to sport over one's head, without considering the why and what for.

It is as if Quebec has become a sad version of Alice in Wonderland, where up is down, and political conversations are nonsensical, illogical and maddeningly frightful. 
And so to paraphrase the Mad Hatter "The entire world is falling to ruins and poor Pauline is off to her tea."

While Marois' so-called Quebec Citizenship project, like the Herouxville Code of conduct, applies to all, its real target are the twenty percent of Quebecers who are not the 'pure laine.'

Madame Marois' citizenship project is just another extension of her well-established reputation of practising the politics of exclusion, well-established among Quebec hardliners, who view immigrants as the enemy within and the Anglophone community as a relentless evil force of assimilation.

The citizenship project is a not so subtle warning to those outside the French bubble, that if they expect to be included in Quebec society, they better embrace the values and culture of poutine and maple syrup while chugging down the Koolaid of Quebec nationalism.

What does that mean?

It means that speaking French is not enough.
It means embracing francophone culture, mores, values and customs and of course Quebec cuisine, poutine and maple syrup.
This is the minimum requirement for retaining the privilege of living in Quebec.

It means that the 20% must embrace French television, cinema, music, and sport.
It means that those coming to Quebec may not bring with them or maintain any semblance of their heritage, religion, orthodoxy, customs, language or dress.
No playing loud Arabic music in the car, wandering the streets in a sari, or promenading in flowing Hasidic regalia.
No weird native cuisine, egg rolls and pizza is all the exotic fare permitted.
It is a society that requires the 20% to understand that marriage is an outdated concept, that belief in God a no-no and a place where hard work and entrepreneurship a sign of social dysfunction.
It is a society where the children of the 20% should be careful not to study too hard, lest they show up the natives.
And more sickening, it is a society that tells the 20% to embrace the fact that Canada is evil and that Quebec is the cat's meow.

The citizenship project is a message that the very assimilation that French militants decry as it pertains to themselves, is what they demand of the 20%.
While claiming that saving French in North America contributes to the language and cultural diversity of the world, such diversity in Quebec is an anathema.

Now to my francophone and particularly sovereigntist readers, I know the characterization above is not the view of the majority of francophones, even among sovereigntists, who are a remarkably diverse group.
But it does reflect the hardline view, the one shared and promoted by Pauline Marois and the basis of the PQ policy on what a Quebec citizen must be.

And so Marois prattles on, lurching from one idiotic notion to another and no sooner had she done her flip over citizenship she faced another similar crisis over her party's platform of consultative referendums whereby citizens who gather signatures equal to 15% of the population, can trigger a binding referendum on any issue.
It's a moronic idea to begin with, but one Marois and the PQ defended until now, because nobody  chose to challenge it.

But in her one on one debate with the leader of the CAQ, Francois Legault, he pounded her mercilessly as to the stupidity of the policy, asking Marois if she is bound to hold a referendum on sovereignty if militants gather these signatures, which as Legault offered, they were sure to do.

It was savagely delicious to watch Marois squirm and do her level best to sidestep the question, only to crash and burn over the issue, in the end.

The day after the debate, the PQ admitted that this cornerstone policy was to be abandoned, conscious that had they not done so, the opposition would run riot with the issue.

"In another surprise shift in the Parti Quebecois platform, Pauline Marois said last night that a citizen-initiated referendum could be a mere recommendation from the public, that would not force the government to act."  Read the rest of the story

There she is readers, our potential new Premier, floundering and flopping around like a newly hooked fish in the bottom of the row boat.

It is a frightful idea that she is in fact, the most experienced member of the PQ brigade and it's no wonder that even on the separatist vigile.net website, the prevailing sentiment is;

"Pauline, you're killing us!"

Pauline Marois- Let the Rich Pay!

On Monday, Premier Charest and Pauline Marois had a face to face debate and it was certainly more entertaining than the one held the night before that included Francois David, leader of  the Quebec solidaire, and Francois Legault, leader of the ADQ.

It was clear that Mr. Charest was the better debater and Marois continued her fanciful line of arguments, again ducking direct questions with off-subject and long-winded responses that veered off on a tangent.
Even the moderator, this time the very able Pierre Bruneau, called her to order as she ducked the question as to whether she would initiate a referendum in her first mandate.

Shucking and jiving, she avoided giving a direct answer even after three forceful interventions by the moderator asking her to PLEASE answer the question that was asked.

All this being said, I don't think Charest made up any ground and the minds of very few voters were changed.

What did intrigue me was Marois' insistence that she would cancel the $200 flat rate health tax, which she claimed was unfair to the poor. She insisted that her government would recover the money from the so-called 'rich,' those who made over $130,000 per year.

It's a popular notion among her constituency, after all, only 4% of taxpayers do earn over this amount and if they have to pay, well all the better for 97.2% of Quebecers who would get off scott free, under her proposal.

These privileged 4% already pay over 33% of the personal taxes collected in Quebec and for Pauline, it isn't enough!

Just for fun, Let's examine just how 'lucky' these taxpayers are and how much they'll get left with after the PQ adds another $6,500 to their tax bill, the amount each of them will pay as an extra tax in order to offset the $950 million she is short, by eliminating the universal health tax.   Link{Fr}

Here is the case of a Quebec taxpayer making $130,000 a year, who owns one car and a home with an approximate value of $375,000.

Taxes paid;

$46,000 ..............Federal and Provincial Income Tax
  $8,000 ..............Levies for Quebec Pension and employment Insurance
  $1,600 ..............Tax on gasoline, car registration and license
  $3,750 ..............Municipal Taxes on  home
     $300 .............. Welcome Tax (prorated over 10 years)
     $300 .............. alcohol and cigarette tax
$10,000 ..............GST & TVQ
  $6,500 ..............Marois' new health tax

$77,650 ..............Total taxes paid, 60% of income

$52,350 ..............After tax income.....40% of income

Readers should also consider that employers pay levies as well, in relation to each employee. This pays for medicare, and employer contributions to the QPP, CSST, Normes de Travail, Parental leave etc, etc.

For an employee making $130, 000, it works out to another $15,000 a year, money that would rightfully belong to the employee if not for the taxes.

Now my facts and figures are as accurate as far as a four hour search can be, they are decidedly rough calculations, but if I am wrong, I probably erred on the low side, considering all the other hidden taxes we pay.

Please don't send in nitpicking comments, I stipulate in advance that this is just a general study that is useful, because it shows just how much these so-called 'rich' people contribute.

The fact is that taxes in Quebec are stifling and every time our politicians come up with ideas to tax more, they shrink from their duty to spend wisely the money they confiscate.

Now Marois hasn't had her chance to muck things up further, her turn appears to be coming and by all indications, she will follow in the fine tradition of a tax and spender.

The PQ is no more guilty than the Liberals in overspending, but the scary part of Marois is that she is oblivious to the problem.

In every speech she has given, the emphasis is on cutting taxes and increasing spending.

Whether it is Charest, Marois or Legault who becomes the next Premier, spending will remain out of control because until serious measures are taken to reduce entitlements, cut back exaggerated subsides to private companies, cut the bloated bureaucracy and get control of runaway public pensions, Quebec will continue its course towards a Greek tragedy.

It can't happen here.
That's what the Greeks thought until three years ago and I bet the same applies to the Italians, Irish, Spaniards and Portuguese today, all living in a pretend world, ignoring the awful truth that the financial shoe is about to drop.

We are soon approaching our breaking point as well, maybe not in a year or five but it is approaching.

Pauline Marois, who views these financial problems through rose-coloured glasses is just the useful idiot to send Quebec past the tipping point.

The very essence of a separatist government and the uncertainty of an undeclared referendum, will become a veritable Sword of Damocles hanging above our financial heads.

In layman's terms it is a financial buzzkill.

In the end, Madame Marois will find out that she is in no position to tax the rich. There isn't enough of them and there will be relatively less in the future.

One last point before I go today and it is about another one of Madame Marois' promises, the one where francization rules will now apply to companies with between 10 and 49 employees.

In France, there is a law that imposes an incredible burden upon employers, once they grow to over 49 employees.
The result........Companies refuse to grow.
Read a fascinating article in BusinessWeek: Why France Has So Many 49-Employee Companies
The realty is that many, many companies, like in France, will stop growing or they will take extraordinary measure to avoid the 10 employee threshold, including sub-contracting and opening multiple companies, instead of one.

The government bureaucrats believe that they can control everything by fiat and that everyone will meekly go along with their nonsense.

The very best and simple example of this hardheadedness was the doubling of tolls on the Laurention Autoroute in 1985 from 25¢ to 50¢ in one fell swoop.
 Here, I'm actually quoting myself;

"...The toll plazas were old and weren't equipped with mechanical arms that came down to act as a barrier until payment was effected. The system was a simple red light/green light affair with a bell and flashing red light triggered in the case where a motorist stiffed on the payment. Supposedly, a police car parked in reserve would pursue and ticket the offender.
But the volume of scofflaws became enormous and it was impossible for the police to cope. At a certain point, it became hugely embarrassing to the government and action had to be taken in order to maintain public order. The government, had no choice but to re-build the toll plazas to incorporate barrier arms, but balked at the cost and more importantly feared the backlash that such an action would engender.
So they did the only thing that they could. They got rid of the tolls completely and went from a 25¢ toll to 50¢ and then to nothing.

Government types calculated that it would double revenues without ever considering consumer reaction."

Another planning fiasco that failed to take into consideration that people act in their own self interest and that paper predictions are almost always flawed. Perhaps our bean counters should remember the old adage-
"Men Plan, God laughs." Link

The same thing will happen if Marois goes ahead with her anti-English, anti-Ethnic and anti-religion agenda.

It's called PUSHBACK and it's coming.

LATE DEVELOPMENT 

As you might have heard, Pauline Marois unloaded a bit of an unexpected bombshell yesterday when out of the blue, she announced that when elected, she will introduce legislation requiring those running for public office to pass a French test.
To me as an election observer and an ex-organizer it was not only telling, but frightening..

You see it means that her handlers who are steering her campaign are confident that this line is of attack is striking a cord with voters.
They wouldn't have dropped this bombshell without some very specific internal polling numbers that is telling them that anglo and ethnic bashing is resonating.
Confident that all she has to do to win the election, is to hold onto the hard-cores, she is playing up the race, religion and language card.
This latest pronouncement will steal votes and maybe a percentage point or two from hardcore Quebec Solidaire and Option Nationale supporters. That is all she needs.

It is actually quite frightening, even for an old cynic like me.

Quebec Anglos, Ethnics and religiously observant....Be afraid...Be very afraid! 

We are headed towards dark times.