French versus English Volume 82

Corruption This Week

Just to keep readers from out-of-town apprised, this week saw a member of the Board of directors of the Quebec Construction Commission suspended because, what else, alleged corruption. The commission is ironically charged with keeping Quebec construction industry honest. Donald Fortin was outed by the Journal de Montreal which alleged that he built his home with free labour and materials provided by contractors buying labour peace on their job-sites. Link  Link{fr}

Meanwhile, the Charbonneau Construction Commission (looking into corruption in Quebec's construction industry) hit a brick wall when the two key witnesses, the alleged ringleaders of the collusion ring at Montreal city hall, stonewalled commission lawyers who tried valiantly but unsuccessfully to break them down.

Ex-mayor Gerald Tremblay--"I see Nutink"

Both Frank Zampino and  Bernard Trépanier (known as Mr. 3%) both gave the commission absolutely nothing, admitting to no wrongdoing before a frustrated Judge Charbonneau.
Unlike the other previous witnesses who rushed to admit guilt because it meant receiving immunity, both these men are already indicted and to admit guilt here would destroy their chances at acquittal at trial. 

The Commission knew this, the witnesses were non-cooperative and hostile, even refusing to be pre-interviewed. Alas the Commission proceeded anyways on the chance that the witnesses would crack.

Unfortunately, commission lawyers were badly outplayed and looked downright amateurish and desperate, reduced to asking the men to admit that they were crooks.
Questions as to whether anything more can be gained by prolonging the inquiry are starting to circulate.
It's time for the commission to get down to the question of political corruption at the provincial level and clearly, if they don't have squealers willing to spill the beans, then it's time to call it a day.

On Thursday, the former mayor of Montreal, Gerald Tremblay gave testimony before the commission, claiming that he 'knew nothing' and 'saw nothing' in regards to corruption at city hall, in fine tradition of Hogan's Heros- Sgt. Schultz!
Opposition leader Louise Harel denounced the mayor for not taking responsibility and remarked that he had to be aware about what was going on.
Harel's charge is a bit ironic, like the pot calling the kettle black, considering that she and her party were CONVICTED of election fraud in 2009!  Link{fr}

In the meantime, a subsidiary of the pride of "Quebec INC,' SNC-Lavalin has been barred from bidding on World Bank projects for ten years, because of its alleged corrupt use of bribes to secure contracts. Link
The humiliating story has been roundly downplayed in the Quebec media, where an alleged corrupt official makes front page news, but where the SNC-Lavalin corruption story is relegated to secondary coverage.
But the scandal is starting to have wider repercussions, as the Canadian International Development Agency (a federal government aid agency) has joined the World Bank in banning SNC-Lavalin from bidding on any of its contracts over the company's alleged penchant for bribery. Link

By the way, a sixth arrest, Yohann Elbaz, has been made in the alleged MUHC fraud case that surrounds the ex-boss of the Montreal English super-hospital, Arthur Porter and the alleged briber, who else but SNC-Lavalin, of course. Link

CAQ will vote to send Bill 14 for further study

"Coalition Avenir Québec leader François Legault says his party will vote to send Bill 14 — the PQ government's contentious proposed legislation to toughen the French language charter — for further study.

Flanked by the CAQ's critic responsible for the French language charter, Montarville MNA Nathalie Roy, Legault told reporters his party is giving the minority government a "last chance" to make changes to the bill."  Read More

Read my editorial post -  CAQ Drops Political Bomb on PQ and Its Language Law

Quebec Human Rights Commission tells govt that living in French isn’t a human right.

"Is living and working in French a human right?

No, according to Quebec's Human Rights Commission.
On Wednesday, the commission appeared before a National Assembly committee tasked with the Parti Quebecois’ update to Quebec’s language law: Bill 14. The new law attempts to make French equal to other fundamental rights such as free speech and gender equality.
“The words they use are ‘Common values,’ actually les ‘Valeurs Quebecoises,’ but there's danger in trying to put these things as add-ons,” said Gaetan Cousineau, speaking for the commission.

The independent commission believes Bill 14 puts new rights and new obligations in the wrong places. It says it's fine to make French a right, but that right belongs in the French language charter, not the human rights charter.  Watch a news report and read the rest of the story

Bill 14 would strip Anglos of rights: Quebec Bar

"The Quebec bar association says parts of bill 14 can not be justified in a free and democratic society.
At a National Asembly hearing today, the bar's legal experts calmly listed a dozen possible ways the bill could break human rights protections, both in Quebec and Canada, and under international law.
Parts of bill 14 "threaten to unduly affect the anglophones and allophone communities," the bar association said in its written brief. Read more

Quebec Retail Council objects to Bill 14

"You might say the familiar “Bonjour-Hi” expression used in Montreal shops and malls was on trial.
And it was the retailers association that took up the defence.
Arguing that offering service in the language of their customers is not only a matter for the Charter of the French Language but also a question of respect for the customer, the Retail Council of Canada presented dramatic testimony Tuesday to the commission examining Bill 14.
And it concluded there may not be as big a language problem in Montreal as some believe.
While the retail council says there is always room for improvement in French-language services in Montreal’s shops, the government would be wiser to find better ways to help new arrivals learn French and train language inspectors to apply the charter more intelligently and fairly.
Coming down on small retailers — studies show 96 per cent of retailers on the island are able to serve clients in French — with Bill 14 is not the way to proceed despite pressure from language hawks, the retail council says." Read more

"Couillard: Our opposition to Bill 14 – a question of principal"

Here is an opinion piece by the new leader of the Quebec Liberal Party Philippe Couillard outlining the party's position on Bill 14;

"Quebecers, deeply attached to French, our common language, want to ensure that it continues to thrive in this corner of North America we have called home for some 400 years. A number of successive laws, leading up to the Charter of the French Language, have maintained the delicate balance between individual and collective rights. These initiatives have produced considerable, quantifiable results: French has become both the symbol and the reality of a prosperous, modern and confident Quebec that is open to the world. Read the rest of the opinion piece

"Quebec undergoing a Liberal revival, new poll finds, as PQ slump drags on"

"In an ever-expanding forest of positive polls for the Liberals, the latest CROP snapshot of Quebec public opinion stands out but not necessarily for the usual Justin Trudeau-related reasons.

Published on Wednesday in La Presse, the poll suggests that Quebec is undergoing a Liberal revival, with both the federal and provincial parties in first place in voting intentions at 38 per cent." Read more

"Écoeurer les Anglais" (Annoying the English)

Here is a translation of an excellent opinion piece written by Alain Dubuc for La Presse.
Full credit to reader 'R.S.' for a crackerjack translation. 

"The most amazing element of Bill 14, which proposes multiple changes to "strengthen" Bill 101, is the provision that would permit the removal of the status of bilingual municipalities where the proportion of English-speaking [sic; in fact it’s “English mother tongue”] residents dips below 50%.

This is not a big element of the bill, as are changes to the Charter of Rights or the idea of imposing the Bill 101 straightjacket to SMEs. But on the symbolic level, this measure, which is absolutely unnecessary and vexatious for anglophones, reflects a framework that is found throughout this bill that, directly or indirectly, implicitly or explicitly, attacking the legitimacy of living in English in Quebec.

Right from the beginning, we could have guessed that this bill is more political than it is linguistic; that it is meant to serve the Marois government in terms of identity politics rather than to find practical and effective solutions for specific problems that the French language may encounter. This downward spiral is fed by two specific lacks of understanding in the government's approach.

The first thing is the very analysis that would justify such urgent action, that which we foolishly call the decline of French in Montreal. What is this really all about? It’s about French-speaking Montrealers who move to the suburbs and the increasing number of immigrants, who speak their native language at home. These are not phenomena that indicate the strengthening of English but we mistakenly treat them as if it affected the balance of power between English and French.

The second is applying in the context of 2013 reflexes that we may have had in the 1960s, when the assertion of French-Quebecers meant fighting the privileges of an English-speaking minority, and where the battle for the French language had in part to do with battle against the English language.

But in 2013, the two major challenges, namely, the assertion of English as a lingua franca - the global language of commerce, tourism, mass culture, science - and the attraction that English has in an English-speaking continent, are not imposed by English Canada or by Quebec anglophones. And yet we continue to thump upon our anglophones who have nothing to do with this.

Removing the bilingual status from a few municipalities will not help the French language to progress whatsoever. However, it will affect the community life of anglophones and will reduce their collective living space. This measure has no purpose other than to annoy anglos. Along with a side message: in our efforts to strengthen the role of the French in the public space, we also wish to reduce that of anglophones. Behind which, let us not forget, are the ever present anglophobic and vengeful currents which, in the end, would prefer that anglos simply leave.

We have duties toward our linguistic minority. We too must preserve the quality of relationships with anglophones who have accepted the new rules of the game, who had sincerely believed that we had achieved a linguistic balance and who now wonder whether we really want them.

This risk of damaging our relationships with anglophones also affects our collective interests. Shattering linguistic peace is but another way of killing Montreal slowly. Montreal’s strength, what makes the city unique, it is not that it is multicultural - all major cities are - but that it is bilingual, the meeting place of two major linguistic communities. This meeting, with its difficulties and its creative tensions, also gives us an economic advantage and contributes to its soul and its cultural richness.

In order to avoid moving backward together, it is not simply a matter of eliminating some questionable items from Bill 14. It is the spirit and the overall logic of the project that must be challenged." Read the original article in French 

"Private investment in Quebec has dropped 90% under PQ, says CAQ"

"Private investment in Quebec has plummeted by 90 percent since the Parti Quebecois has come to power, says François Legault's Coalition.
"Programs that have been put in place by the Parti Quebecois, they don't give results," says Legault.
The CAQ says it's tallied up the value of all the announcements made by the finance ministry and Investment Quebec for the past seven months.  Then, it compared it to announcements made over the same time period the year before." Read more

 You've got to be a shameless media hound to make reference to an insulting cartoon of yourself on your own website, but nobody ever accused Jean-Paul Perreault, of Imperatif-francais, of modesty. Link{fr}

Weekend reading....

French EU elite abandons ‘defensive’ stance on language

"With the decline of French language in EU institutions now accepted by most as irreversible, French lawmakers and officials have started pushing a more assertive approach, based on the promotion of multilingualism and influence rather than language issues only."  Read More

Should English be the official language of the EU?

"In a keynote speech on the future of European integration in February, Joachim Gauck suggested English should become the EU's official language: "It is true to say that young people are growing up with English as the lingua franca. However, I feel that we should not simply let things take their course when it comes to linguistic integration." It was music to the ears of federalists and fiscal hawks: with English spoken in the corridors of Brussels, the EU would become more streamlined and more efficient." Read more

Former CTV anchor Lloyd Robertson appalled by Quebec language debate

"Former CTV chief anchor Lloyd Robertson reacted strongly to the latest outburst of language debate nonsense during a visit at Kuper Academy in Kirkland on April 10. Robertson said a French-language lobby group's proposal to rid the province of English hospitals hearings was unbelievable."Read more

"Merchant resists OQLF inspector: Strudelgate?"

"The Pointe Claire merchant who famously started selling "Pasta Salad Marois" in the days following "Pastagate" is again rebelling.
An OQLF inspector visited Swiss Vienna Pastry and Delicatessen and owner Harry Schick asked the man to leave.
The inspector pointed to several violations to Quebec's language law, Bill 101, and asked to take pictures. Schick refused. The inspector left and, according to Schick, said that he will be back. Read more

I snapped this picture of a woman walking in NDG! - Filed under -"I do what I want!"

Following the  Habs on the road.....

There's nothing funny about last week's investigation into the Boston bombing...er....

Finally, some words of wisdom for the weekend;

 

"Have a great weekend!

Bonne Fin de Semaine!

SPECIAL POST: CAQ Drops Political Bomb on PQ and Its Language Law

Many were wondering what Francois Legault was up to when he refused to take Diane De Courcy's telephone call this week, in her effort to win the CAQ support for her language law, Bill 14.

Madame DeCourcy was hoping to compromise just a little, in order to get CAQ support, but instead was badly out-maneuvered by Legault who delivered instead, nothing short of a world of hurt.

Madame De Courcy needed the CAQ support to get the bill to the floor of the National Assembly and complained publicly that the CAQ was thwarting that effort. De Courcy foolishly followed a plan where Step 1 was to get the Bill to the floor and Step 2 was to get the Bill passed.

Had Legault refused his party's consent to debate the Bill, he and his party would have been cast as the bad guys, opposed to protecting the French language.

So Mr Legault's statement that the CAQ would support Bill 14 under certain circumstances was more of a case of the proverbial 'Greek bearing gifts' 
The hapless De Courcy had planned on fobbing off the CAQ with a couple of minor changes, but instead got socked in the face with a plethora of drop-dead demands that essentially guts the essence of Bill 14.
Well-played, Mr. Legault!

Nathalie Roy, the CAQ spokeswomen told a news conference that the CAQ now has more demands in addition to the three previous objections listed below;

1. Opposition to the clause that took away the right of those in the military and posted in Quebec from choosing the language of instruction for their children.
2. Opposition to the clause that would allow the government to remove the bilingual status of cities.
3. Opposition to coercive measures against small and medium businesses in regards to French.

Madame De Courcy must have been cringing as she listened to Roy slowly and painfully deliver the price that the PQ would have to pay for the CAQ's support. A cost so dear that clearly it is out of Madame De Courcy's price-range.

And so Madame Roy noted that the CAQ's

De Courcy badly out-played

demands had expanded after considering the objections put forward at the public hearings held by a National Assembly committee reviewing the proposed bill, over the last six weeks.

The first 'new' objection is the backdoor approach that Bill 14 provides to limit access for Francophones to English cegep.
English students would be given priority over Francophones with the latter only accepted after all the qualified anglophones were admitted, leading to the  incredible situation where Francophones having superior grades would be denied entrance.
In practice it would effectively bar all francophones from elite and popular programs. If the rule applied to universities, the McGill medical school would see the 50% francophone component completely eliminated in favour of Anglophones, a step forward according to hardliners!

The second objection is the aspect of the law that would allow the OQLF to proceed with charges against businesses without notice (mise-en-demeure) which according to Madame Roy makes no sense since 98% of cases are settled to the OQLF's satisfaction after a demand letter. Instituting legal procedures immediately is, according to her, unnecessary and draconian.
Then there is the CAQ's objection to OQLF officers having the power of seizure, that is the right to remove anything from the premises of a business establishment that inspectors find objectionable, language-wise, another measure considered by the CAQ as overly coercive.

The CAQ also objects to the change in terminology in Bill 14 that replaces "Ethnic Minorities" with the term "Cultural Communities"  because the second term has no legal definition while the first has clearly defined historic connotations.

Finally is the objection to the amendment of the Quebec Charter of Rights and Liberties to include the right to work and live in French, with the CAQ preferring to see such a clause included in an amended Bill 101.

MADAME ROY INDICATED WITHOUT MOVEMENT ON ALL THESE POINTS THE CAQ WOULD VOTE AGAINST THE LAW.

But the demands are more than the PQ can accept, that much is clear to Mr. Legault, Madame De Courcy and everyone else concerned.
The PQ has the unenviable choice of either withdrawing the Bill or have it go down to defeat in Parliament. They've been badly outplayed and must now make the proverbial choice between dying of strangulation or by the bullet.

The smart thing for them to do is to withdraw Bill 14 in a huff, telling supporters that in light of the position of the CAQ and the Liberals, only an independent Quebec or a majority PQ government can save the French language.

That would be the smart thing to do, but hey, who ever said the PQ was smart.

Fears of Equality Party Vote Split Unfounded

I want to devote a post over the issue of vote-splitting as it pertains to the Equality Party.
There is a concern, which I've seen expressed in the comments sections more often than not, that a vote for the Equality Party will lead to the Parti Quebecois winning seats that would otherwise go Liberal.

I've taken the liberty of digging up some voting numbers from the last election and present eighteen ridings where the Equality Party can safely run and perhaps win a couple of seats without any danger of contributing to a PQ victory.

In every single riding below there is no amount of votes that the Equality Party may garner that would lead to a PQ or CAQ victory.

Either the Liberals would hold the riding or the Equality party would overturn them, but the PQ or CAQ could not possibly win.
That is because even if the Liberal Party lost half its vote to the Equality Party, it would still mean that the PQ or CAQ would lose.

It would make sense that the Equality Party would run in these ridings BUT forgo running candidates in other ridings where Liberals or CAQ  have small majorities, ridings where they could affect the outcome negatively.

I've spoken to the leadership of the Equality party and am assured that they are not Hell-bent on running candidates everywhere, just to make a showing.
They aren't that dumb or destructive.

The Equality Party could also run candidates in ridings where the PQ has a large majority, again where the outcome could not be affected.

Should the government decide to publicly fund political parties through a per-vote subsidy, every vote cast would mean additional funding to the Equality Party.

Let me be unequivocal, if you live in one of the above ridings, a vote for the Equality Party CANNOT in any way, shape or form contribute to a PQ or CAQ victory.

So why is it important for our community to elect one or more members of the Equality Party to Quebec's legislature?

Firstly, it is quite simply a question of pride.
If mainstream parties refuse to represent our interests and assume we will vote for what we consider the lesser of evils, we debase ourselves.
It's like choosing to live with one certain parent in a martial breakup, because he or she beats us up less the other. It's shameful.

Secondly, having just one member in the legislature sends a powerful signal that we do not accept the status quo and to borrow from Robert Browning we send the message that; 
"God's is not his Heaven/All is not right with the world!" 

Just one elected member  can make all the difference, believe me.
Symbols are important. It would represent a symbol of resistance that could ignite a movement across Canada to support our cause.

I'm not a dreamer, most of you who come to this blog regularly know me as cynical , but I promise you that just one elected member of the Equality Party would be a game-changer.

Ask yourself... What do you have to lose? 

Coalition Government Cure For what Ails Quebec

The PQ's inauspicious eight-month tenure as government hasn't exactly inspired a rousing vote of confidence from the public, even amongst supporters, who like the rest of us are somewhat dismayed by the amateur hour performance of those charge with directing the ship of state.

Watching Pauline lead a sad-sack, not-ready-for-prime time gaggle of under-performing ragamuffins, lurching from one disaster to another, has led Quebecers to wonder when their province will finally be afforded the competent leadership so desperately in need.

The PQ's ascension to power narrowly follows that of the NDP's Quebec federal election breakthrough and it neatly underscores the electorate's desperate attempt to try something new, anything new, that would potentially break this cycle of incompetence.

But Quebecers have been sadly dismayed to see that the more things change, the more they stay the same.  The NDP in Ottawa has done nothing to reverse the sad state of affairs engendered by the Bloc Quebecois during their tenure as Quebec's representation in Parliament, wherein the province's interests have been largely forsaken. The NDP has done nothing to advance Quebec's situation, remaining the petulant whiner, forever doomed to observer status, offering nothing more than empty threats and promises hurled from the peanut gallery, as Shakespeare so eloquently described as;
"Full of sound and fury, signifying nothing"

In Quebec, Pauline and her new PQ government have fared even worse. The province has endured eight months of disastrous improvisation, the result of ill-conceived policies and initiatives created by a cabinet composed talentless political neophytes, union hacks, also-rans and never-weres, all living in a fantastical world of make believe.

And so we witness the too often repeated cycle of the PQ government proposing one nonsensical initiative after another, most of them blowing-up rather messily, leaving to the government to beat an inevitable humiliating retreat in the face of overwhelming opposition.
One step forward, two steps back. Spin your partner and a dosey-doe.

Instead of trying to fix what is wrong with present day Quebec by repairing the basics, the PQ decided to initiate  a host new programs and initiatives built upon an unstable and failing foundation, akin to adding new bucket seats and a nifty tail fin on a clunker desperately in need of an engine re-build.

From tax reform to welfare reform to educational reform, the PQ has butted up against the hard truth that taking away long-entrenched entitlements from any Quebecer is easier said than done.
To make matters worse, the Harper government has cut the legs from under Employment Insurance, a program on which Quebec so desperately depends to keep the habitually unemployed inhabiting the boonies  'in poutine.' The PQ government has shown itself utterly without influence, totally powerless to reverse or even mitigate the decision by Ottawa and finds itself in the unenviable position of holding the dirty end of the political payback stick.
Those facing a chop in benefits are not amused and are holding the Marois government to task, since ironically, there are no Conservatives around to blame.   

And so in the face of so much failure, the PQ has fallen back on the old standard, the question of language, where cracking down on the evil Anglos and Ethnics at least helps shore up support in the base.
If the PQ cannot win on jobs or the economy, if it cannot win on education or government reform and if it cannot win on the sovereignty issue, at least it can appear decisive and effective in dealing with the petulant English by imposing more stringent language restrictions in the form of Bill 14, a device meant to deflect attention from what has become the most incompetent government in the history of Quebec.

Clearly the PQ must go, but how?

Voters remain divided and as of yet are unable to choose between the CAQ or the Liberals as a viable alternative.
A new election, would most likely result in a similar result as what we have now, something that the opposition parties are not willing to chance, leaving them with little choice but to grin and bear the hapless status quo.

But there is a third choice, a reasonable and viable alternative.....

Perhaps a coalition government, an idea which actually makes a great deal of sense, if one stops to consider it.

Why doesn't Phillippe Couillard have one of those secret tête-à-têtes with Francois Legault and come to a power-sharing arrangement wherein the PQ government can be defeated, replaced by a CAQ/Liberal coalition, all this without the need for an election.

All that is required is for the CAQ and the Liberals to defeat a government sponsored bill on an issue of confidence, while informing the Lieutenant Governor of Quebec that an alternative coalition government is ready, willing and able to meet the National Assembly in a vote of confidence.
It hasn't happened often, but is absolutely part of our Parliamentary tradition.

As for the voters, I can't think of a better solution, considering that we'd finally have a government that the MAJORITY of electors voted for.

The term of the deal could be predetermined, perhaps two years, a suitable period in which we can judge the performance of all the players involved and help us decide whether the new Liberals are trustworthy, whether the CAQ has what it takes, or whether the PQ is the best of a bad lot.

It is not a hair-brained scheme.

Mr Couillard by virtue of being the larger coalition partner would become Premier with Mr. Legault acting as finance Minister and deputy-Premier.
The cabinet would be composed of a proportional cast of ministers drawn from each party. Between both parties there is a wealth of talent and the addition of Eric Caire, Jacques Duchesneau Gérard Deltell and Sylvie Roy would do wonders for a Liberal-led cabinet.

The most important thing is that the new government would work on the real and basic problems of Quebec, things that they could all agree on.

• Re-engagement with Ottawa on a non-confrontational basis in order to better secure consideration.
• Fair and reasonable development of natural resources.
• Educational reform including the rationalization of school boards and issue of university funding.
• Welfare reform. 
• Regional development without welfare or Employment insurance as the answer.
• Re-establishment of linguistic harmony by abandoning punitive language policies.
• Smart assimilation of new immigrants.
• Re-organization of public institutions.
• A freeze of new spending programs and entitlements.
• Pension and civil service reform

The list goes on and on....
On the most pressing issues there is no reason to believe that both parties cannot find common ground as long as good intentions remain.

Most importantly, a coalition government would never have the power to put forward vanity or politically motivated legislation that panders to one special interest or another.
A coalition government could get down to the basics and work to solve the problems we have now, not ones we invent.

It is perhaps the most realistic solution to Quebec's lingering problem of governance and it's certainly worth looking at, nothing else seems to work.

New Vigile.net Management Maintains Fine Tradition of Hate

vigile.net.... New face/same racism

Readers might remember two years ago when the separatist website vigile.net (which includes aggregated stories from the mainstream press as well as original contributions from readers) came under fire for printing a series of antisemitic pieces. It led to a firestorm of criticism and condemnation from politicians and media and the affair frightened the PQ into abandoning its support of the website both financially and editorially as some sovereigntist writers went so far as to demand that their archived pieces be removed from the site, lest they be tainted by association.

I'm not going to re-visit this story, the then editor and chief cook and bottle washer of the website, Bernard Frappier is departed and beating a dead horse serves no purpose.
I wrote these articles a couple of years ago and for those of you relatively new to this website, you can take advantage of the weekend to catch up.

Read:
Is Vigile.net Racist? -Is the Pope Catholic?

Vigile.net and Me       
Vigile.net - We Love You!  
Sovereignists Flee Vigile.net   

After the death of Bernard Frappier, Richard Le Hir, has since become the big kahuna at the website and as such I imagine, along with the editorial board, helps select those reader submissions to be published.

In no way do I assert that Mr. Le Hir necessarily ascribes to the many divergent opinions presented, but the decision as to what to publish remains a collective responsibility by those in charge, one that cannot be shirked.

Now back when the first vigile.net controversy struck, Mr. Le Hir accused enemies of the website of using certain antisemitic remarks published on vigile.net as a smokescreen to diminish whatever prestige and legitimacy the website maintained.

Here's just a small sample of what readers were treated to;

"I'm sure if one of my grand-sons died in Lebanon or Palestine, I would spend the rest of my days trying to blow up every Jew in the world, and even the children of  each Jew, so it would make them feel as bad as I."  -André Vincent

"...the very history of the Hebrews, the ancestors of the Jews and later the Israelis, is one of massacres, killings, genocide under divine inspiration of their god Yahweh"- Ivan Parent

"...The Anglos are no more at home in Quebec than Jews living in settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip"... - Simon Girard

"When I hear my fellow Quebeckers say they will vote for the ADQ because they want change, I feel like running away to Palestine to become a suicide bomber." Redacted

Mr. Le Hir characterized certain antisemitic remarks made by two specific contributors as nothing more than 'unwise,' in other words a trifle, used by enemies as a battering ram to beat down a legitimate avenue of opinion.

Well, perhaps that is all behind us and I for one was certainly willing to give vigile.net a chance to redeem itself under new management.

Before I continue, let me say that the very large majority of original articles offered by vigile.net are nothing like the above.
In fact most are well-thought out opinion pieces which you may or may not agree with, but are as legitimate as anything you will read in the mainstream press.

Also published are some strident or poorly written diatribes and rants, but almost all, well within the bounds of legitimate free speech and opinion. 

Vigile.net remains a website that is run by non-professionals and as such should be given a little latitude. If something is published that perhaps should not have been, a simple acknowledgement of a mistake should suffice.

Unfortunately, that seems not to be the case and one gets the feeling that in fact vigile.net is actually holding back its true sentiments.

Last week, the website published another unfortunate screed, which can only be described as just one more racist rant against immigrants by the indomitable Réjean Labrie, perhaps vigile.net's most prolific xenophobe.

Once more we are treated to an orgy of immigrant-bashing, this time a contention that there is a vast federalist plot to depict Quebec as multicultural, all because of the disproportionate amount of minorities shown on television commercials and advertisements. A distorting mirror: "biased" advertising{fr}

In the article Mr. Labrie is offended by Quebec television being saturated with visible minorities, his first target, an advertisement, that according to the author, features a 'veiled clerk' with an 'unpronounceable name,' presuming to offer advice about art supplies.
By the way, I'm pretty sure the actor wasn't wearing a veil (which covers or obscures the whole face,) but rather, a Hijab an innocuous headscarf which nonetheless I imagine, is as offensive to Mr. Labrie as a kippah or a turban.

In the second example he complains of a commercial that features an African couple (which I imagine again is offensive in and of itself) while the third example is a complaint that gangster movies shown on Quebec television feature too many 'non-white' gangsters, a word he advises readers that he uses to be 'politically correct,' implying obliquely that the criminals are Black.

All this is underscored by a picture of an advertisement that features a Black actor in sunglasses, reinforcing Mr. Labrie's objection to minorities being so prominent in advertising.

What is offensive? The fact that the actor is Black or the gaudy sunglasses?

 Mr Labrie's underlying argument; 

"In any country, in the name of social harmony, there must be only one collective identity to which everyone adheres voluntarily and positively, it is the basis of the concept of nation."

 Sounds like something you're likely to read on an 'Aryan Nation' website!
And by the way, how does Mr. Labrie know, without speaking or interacting with the actor above that he isn't part of the 'collective identity.'
Is it because he excludes all Blacks automatically? I'll let readers draw their own conclusion.

He then goes on to tell readers that if minorities are to be depicted in such numbers, then by right, the same should go for mental patients, those in  wheelchairs, blind people and stutterers, dwarfs, gays, lesbians and ugly people, etc. etc.
And then this; 

"....the purpose of this unhealthy propaganda, this excessive multiculturalism in the media is to reduce the importance of the native population and relegate it to the status of a minority just like the others, which, as we know, is part of their overall plan for our decimation. It is an aberration, as well as the pro-ethnic positive discrimination in hiring, which prioritizes employment to foreigners rather than to us and our own children."

Yikes!!

credit... antagoniste.com

Now before I let readers have their two cents in the comments section, I would like to comment on the last paragraph where Mr. Parent actually proposes that in Quebec, foreigners are taking over the jobs rightfully belonging to native born Francophones.

For Mr. Labrie's information, no province does as poorly in assimilating immigrants into the work force as Quebec and the contention that the good jobs are being gobbled up by these 'furiners' would be laughable if not so sad.

So on what basis exactly does vigile.net choose to print this offensive tommyrot?
It is for Mr. Le Hir and his editorial board to answer.

One has to be surprised over the lack of condemnation in the comments section below the story.
With just two supporting comments, either not many people read Mr. Labrie and vigile.net or many agree but are embarrassed to admit it in the open,  or the article didn't garner much interest.
Probably it's a combination of all of the above, plus the fact that vigile.net has a reputation for deleting unfavorable comments. ...whatever.

It's too bad nobody made a big deal over the story, because someone should have.
Somebody has to call out vigile.net for publishing something that is so offensive, either for its lack of judgement or its racism.

If such an article appeared in any English website with the readership of vigile.net, all Hell would have broken loose, of that I'm sure.

Few would assert that Mr. Labrie's attitude is representative of mainstream Quebec Francophones, but has language and culture extremism in Quebec led to a spike in intolerance?

That readers is a question for you to discuss in the comments section..

Have a good weekend!
Bonne fin de Semaine!