PQ Report Card a Sad Indictment of Dismal Failure...Part one

The PQ Ship of Fools

With the election of a new Liberal party leader Philippe Couillard  and an uptick in the polls, it's not unreasonable to look forward to the demise of this PQ government, if not in the short term, perhaps in the medium term.

New leaders of any political party enjoy a brief honeymoon that only the smartest take advantage of.

If the Liberals are adept, they'd quickly work to dump the PQ government  and plunge the province into a quicky type election, but it's unlikely as the CAQ fearing a Liberal majority will be compelled to support the moribund PQ government.

Since nobody can really predict what will happen, we may or may not be stuck with a PQ government that can best be described as not quite up to snuff.

When the PQ was first elected I wrote a piece describing the utter lack of potential cabinet talent within the PQ ranks and the unmitigated disaster that awaited us as a bunch of incompetent fools were handed the reins of power.  Read: Pauline Steers a PQ Ship of Fools
I think it's fair to say that time has borne me out and that this opinion wasn't just a partisan shot.

While I generally disdain all pequists, past and present, I  am the first to say that many PQ governments of the past were made up of men and women with a certain level of competence, responsibility and yes, honour, all of which is sadly lacking in Pauline's motley crew.

Let me provide a report card on the ministers of this government, cognizant of the fact that I am not  a fan, something like a Montreal Canadiens fan rating the Boston Bruins, player by player.

Nicolas Marceau- C
Minister of Finance. 

Of all the PQ ministers, Nicolas Marceau came with perhaps the highest credentials with a solid academic background. However it turns out that being book-smart is no replacement for experience, something he apparently sorely lacks.
His first move as finance minister was utterly disastrous, not only raising taxes, but doing it retroactively.

What is wrong with retro-activity?
Well, it is like Loblaws raising the price of the groceries you bought last year and sending you an additional bill now.  Not many people would be fine with that.

The outcry in the press was more than he and the government could stand as he sheepishly reversed his position, a harbinger of a string of about-faces that would plague the Marois government in the future months.
Marceau's gaffe didn't just surprise me because he should have known better, what really amazed  me was that his deputy-minister and professional staff didn't  steer him away from the disaster, after all, they are professionals and could not have been blind to the impending disaster.
Either Marceau over-rode their advice or they let him commit hari-kiri in public, neither scenario, very encouraging.
Marceau has never recovered and has kept his head down, his reputation in tatters, something that no minister of finance can afford.

Martine Ouellet- F
Minister of Natural Resources. 

There's no polite way of saying it, the Minister of Natural Resources, Martine Ouellet is an idiot, a dangerous fool who doesn't even understand the difference between money spent and money saved.

In complaining about Ottawa's loan guarantee to Newfoundland's potential underwater electricity transmission line, she told Quebec taxpayers a bold-faced lie in intimating that it is costing Canadian taxpayers $900 million dollars, when in fact it is costing next to nothing.
I've told you this before, it is akin to counter-signing a car loan at the bank for your brother, because his credit is not as good as yours. Because of your guarantee, the bank will charge a lower interest rate, saving a couple of thousand dollars in interest.
If the loan is repaid, the guarantor is not out of pocket a dime, a concept the minister has trouble understanding.
In this interview, Martine Ouellet is explained as such by an incredulous Radio-Canada interviewer, who is hard-placed to mask her disdain for the sad-sack minister.
There's no doubt in my mind that the young interviewer would make a better Minister than Ouellet!

Watch the video and laugh or cry. Ouellet is truly an idiot par excellence.

But that's not all, Ouellet who has previously voiced her opinion that shale gas can never be safely exploited, has sent the file for study to the BAPE, an environmental agency for study, without understanding that any conclusions that agency draws further down the road are actually moot.
Because of the vast amount of shale gas already brought to market in North America, the price has collapsed, making new development uneconomic.
And so it doesn't really matter what conclusions are reached, NOBODY IS INTERESTED IN DRILLING anymore and as we say in English, That ship has sailed.
If the politically-challenged minister doesn't understand that metaphor, here's another.
"YOU'VE MISSED THE BOAT!"
Sending the shale gas file for environmental assessment now is like asking the agency to study the efficacy and safety of the production of typewriters. 

Then there is the fiasco of the new plan to raise mining royalties, a cornerstone of Ouellet's election campaign, where she promised to up royalties by $350 million. Ouellet reminds me of the little girl selling lemonade in front of her house for $100 a glass, believing that she only need sell one to be successful.
The Marois government backed off that commitment as if it were radioactive, citing changing circumstances, infuriating the Minister to the point that she almost resigned.
Nah.....just kidding, a ministerial limousine is nothing to trifle with!

Clearly in over her head, Ouellet is plainly an embarrassment to herself, the government and all Quebecers.

Agnes Maltais- D
Minister of Unemployment and Welfare  Minister of Labour, Employment and Social solidarity. 
Madame Maltais reminds me of one of those stereotypical characters in the movies of old, a stern matron, running an orphanage with an iron fist.... grim, bossy, regimented and eternally angry.

She ran into a monster problem right off the bat as the Conservative government imposed changes to the Employment Insurance program designed to penalize frequent benefits claimants, a large proportion found in Quebec's boonies.
Her position in demanding Ottawa reconsider the program and the disastrous consequences (Quebec would be liable for welfare payments wherein claimants lost their Employment benefits) and her tantrum in the press where she demanded that Ottawa undertake economic impact studies before proceeding, fell on deaf ears. Diane Findlay, the conservative minister in charge of the program in Ottawa, gave Maltais a ten-minute meeting before politely showing her the door.
Maltais was also forced to drop the election promise made by the PQ whereby the province would seek repatriation of the Employment Insurance program to provincial jurisdiction.
It seems that Madame Maltais and the PQ failed to do their own economic impact study, because as it turns out, such a move would cost Quebec over $700 million, the difference between what Quebecers contribute and take out of the EI program.

Then Madame Maltais announced cuts to welfare payments to some claimants in order to encourage them to get back into the workforce.
There's nothing like taking the food out of the mouths of welfare bums to start an uproar. Those affected by the new measure showed a surprising level of industry in organizing a spirited defense of their entitlement, marching and occupying the constituency offices of many members of the PQ.

"...Labour Minister Agnès Maltais, is being bombarded with criticism for her decision to cut $20 million from the welfare budget.
"I think it's double-talk," said Françoise David, Québec Solidaire MNA for Gouin.
"On one hand you pretend to give support to vulnerable people and on the other hand, you allow cuts that affect those who are the poorest in our society..." 

...Maltais surreptitiously cut funds this week to welfare recipients between the ages of 55 and 58 and those living with pre-school children. She also made budget cuts to a program that helps recovering addicts. Link

Opposition parties then dug up a video of Maltais arguing against exactly such a move, when she was in opposition and after an unfortunate answer in the National Assembly, she was accused in Le Devoir of making convoluted statements (alambiquée) while another commentator on the story used the word 'charabia' (gibberish) to describe her response. Video plus story {fr}
It's never good when the press and the public start to mock you.

Now the welfare cutbacks actually made sense, but when the welfare lobby rose in righteous indignation and started demonstrating across the province against the cutbacks, Maltais did an about face and reversed her decision, reflecting the PQ's lack of confidence and its propensity for improvisation.

Maka Kotto- F

Minister of Culture
An unsuccessful actor/idiot who only made it to the cabinet because of his minority status.
You'd think that in his capacity of Minister of Culture, he wouldn't be able to cause much damage, flitting from award ceremony to theater openings adding a little 'colour' to the mix. But alas the stumblebum, proved everyone wrong in his first weeks on the job, calling the cultural attachés serving around the world back to Quebec on an expensive mission, just to tell them that their budgets would be cut.

"Minister Maka Kotto was called to order by the Deputy Prime Minister, François Gendron, Wednesday. Dean of the National Assembly, Mr. Gendron reminded his colleague, Minister of Culture the importance  for the members of the cabinet, while managing public funds.
This public snub occurred in the aftermath of the broadcast of a dispatch of the Canadian press indicating Mr. Kotto had convened in Montreal  22 Québec foreign delegates in times of budget cuts and against the advice of its staff members who felt it an  unnecessary expense." Link

Daniel Breton- F
Minister of Nothing anymore

The rookie minister never had a chance and was dumped from the cabinet after revelations about his deadbeat past came out.

"According to newspaper reports Breton has a string of criminal convictions dating to 1988 for defrauding the unemployment insurance system, and as recently as 2007 was fined $400 by Revenue Quebec. La Presse also reported that Breton was convicted in 1997 for driving without a license.
Meanwhile TVA reported that Breton was evicted from his apartments in 2005 and 2009 for non-payment of rent. Photographs from his landlord show hundreds of empty bottles of wine left in the apartment Breton was forced to leave." Link

But before he left the radical environmentalist raised the ire of opposition parties when it was revealed that he exceeded his authority;

 "In Quebec City, a special committee is hearing from commissioners who claim to have been bullied by former Environment Minister Daniel Breton. The commissioners work at the BAPE, Quebec's independent environmental review board.

Pierre Fortin testified Breton paid commissioners a highly unusual visit last October, during which he asked for their cell phone numbers and threatened he would be watching their decisions. Fortin says the visit left him feeling very uncomfortable.

"He said if he was unhappy with the BAPE's work, he would let us know about it," explains Fortin. "It made everyone feel nervous and uncomfortable." "Link

Nicole Léger- D
Minister of Family

A staunch defender of the public daycare system she cut millions from the private network while telling the operators that they should be happy because it could have been much worse.
After a demonstration in Quebec to protest the cuts the minister invited the leaders to a meeting where she promised that she would listen to their grievances even if she wasn't going to change her mind.

The Minister had previously told reporters that daycares would henceforth be subject to language requirements of Bill 101, then recanted after a firestorm of protest..

She's another big fat bust....er sorry!

Jean-François Lisée- B

Minister of lots of things but most importantly Anglophone relations
Of the entire Marois cabinet, there are only two ministers whom I give a passing grade and Jean-François Lisée rates the highest.
Mr Lisée presents in the finest tradition of Quebec sovereigntists and PQ ministers who genuinely have affection and respect for the English community.

In a cabinet rife with rabid anglophobes, Lisée is perhaps the one moderating influence and is in fact the only one who has reached out to the community with a level of honest respect.

Mr. Lisée is actually a better politician than journalist or educator, his wacky ideas about the economy and francophone/anglophone relations, a witch's brew of cherry-picked facts and illogical conclusions, non sequiturs that convince only the committed.

But as a minister, he is a credit to the position.  He has a confident smile and a respectful tone, a quick wit and a positive attitude, something sorely lacking in Pauline's grim coterie of dismal hacks.
He is the one and the very few who actually carries himself in a ministerial manner.


Readers may not like his separatist politics, but when rating an opponent, one cannot take away points for success.  One of the very few in the Marois cabinet who is as they say in French 'parlable,' the PQ cabinet would be well served to take his example.
That being said, manners and polish aside, what has he really accomplished?


Next week I'll review other members of the cabinet and take a shot a Pauline Marois herself...

 ***************

 Just in passing.....
To Toronto Maple Leaf fans, I can only say how badly I feel over the worst playoff collapse I have ever seen in my lifetime.

At least you'll have something to tell your grandchildren.
Like those of us old enough to remember the assassination of John Kennedy or the news of the destruction of the Challenger space shuttle, you'll always remember where and under what circumstances you witnessed the infamous Toronto Maple Fail.

At any rate, I've put up a Senators logo and as the last Canadian team left standing, let's all wish them good luck!

Quebec Corruption: Maclean's Vindicated, Time for Bashers to Apologize

Gilles Vaillancourt..alleged 'Godfather' of Laval corruption

It didn't come as a surprise that the ex-mayor of Laval (Quebec's third largest city) was finally arrested over corruption, what was astounding was the fact that another 37 big shots were also arrested and that Gilles Vaillancourt along with two others who ran Laval city hall were charged with 'gangsterism'

Now 'gangsterism' is a relatively new concept to Canadian law and was created in 1997 to deal with organized crime, particularly the Mafia and street gangs who organize themselves into groups which are in essence companies whose business is crime.

The charge of gangsterism has never been used in respect to political graft and it reflects how solid the proof is in regards to those charged.

In effect, the police concluded and believe they can prove that Vaillancourt led an organized gang of thieves that systematically bilked Laval taxpayers of millions and  millions of dollars, by overpaying on construction contracts in anticipation of kickbacks.

The investigation was long, over three years and considering the scope, it is a credit to police that it has finally resulted in so many charges.
The rumours surrounding the investigation are shocking if true. It has been said that the police recovered a detailed summary of illegal donations made to politicians of all political stripes and that up to $15 million has been shipped off to Caribbean tax havens. What police do confirm is that they discovered almost half a million dollars in cash, stuffed into safe deposit boxes controlled by the ex-mayor.
Vaillancourt has claimed innocence, but with the wealth of evidence that the police are boasting they possess, much of it provided by inside sources who have cut a deal with prosecutors, it seems that the ex-mayor's goose is pretty well cooked.

While among the arrested, there remains a hard core of closed-mouth crooks, look to the weak-kneed professionals, who once threatened with real jail time, will crack rather quickly and spill the beans. The whole illegal scheme involves too many weak links to respect the principle of Omertà.
At any rate, it is pretty clear that two of the men at the center of the controversy have already turned states evidence. While police didn't confirm this, events surrounding their behavior and the fact that they weren't arrested along with the rest of the cabal is pretty clear evidence as to what is going on.

Robert Lafrenière, the head of the investigative unit told an interviewer that the investigation looked at corruption all the way back to 1976, a cutoff date artificially imposed for practical and financial reasons. It is not unreasonable to conclude that Laval has been run by criminals for at least forty years, spanning several mayoralties.
And remember, the shoe hasn't yet dropped on the crooks at Montreal city hall and their related co-conspirators, but it is coming.
The  Charbonneau Commission went in camera several times recently and according to the judge it was done in order not to jeopardize ongoing criminal investigations. 
So it is only a matter of time before this next hammer falls, another devastating blow to Quebec's honesty index.

While rumor, innuendo and unproven accusations may be the stock-in-trade of the Charbonneau Commission, the arrests of so many players in Laval including the ex-mayor, his chief aides, important businessmen and professionals and the seriousness of the charges, puts paid any notion that other provinces are as corrupt as Quebec, something that apologists in the media have put forward as a defense.

Now I'd like you to think back to that Maclean's article entitled 'The Most Corrupt Province in Canada.' I don't have to remind you that the charges made in that article, which were shocking at the time, have been dwarfed by the revelations made since the publication of the story.

We all remember the virulent reaction and charges of "Quebec-bashing' made by politicians, the media and Quebec-can-do-no-wrong defenders, who should have let the chips fall where they might before taking such a strident position.

"Patriquin, Maclean's Quebec bureau chief, said the magazine is legitimately exploring the history of corruption in Quebec.
He said people should read the entire five pages dedicated to the story before casting judgment. According to the article, Quebec had been described by historians as far back as 1968 as the most corrupt region of North America.
"The idea that this is Quebec bashing is frankly moronic," Patriquin told CBC News. "We hit hard with our covers. We have done this for other regions in Canada. [Anyone who says] that we are singling out Quebec for any reason hasn't read any of the other issues we put out in a year."

In light of all that has transpired, one would expect a round of apologies. Instead, those who bashed the magazine and the authors are keeping silent, secure in the knowledge that Canada's vapid core of somnolent and intimidated reporters will give them a pass.
We've seen it before, the press' unwillingness to confront the NDP over the lie of Jack Layton's illness.
It is the Canadians Press' dirty little secret, that important stories are ignored in order to maintain good relations with those public figures that the reporters cover, in a shameful effort to maintain access.

And so those who have wrongly smeared Maclean's can stay silent, secure in the knowledge that nobody will call them out publicly, in other words, a wink and a nod, say no more, and Bob's your uncle!

Since Maclean's and its authors are too honorable to point out the obvious and since nobody to my knowledge has done so, it befalls to me to remind everyone of what they said, and to denounce them publicly for their lack of courage in admitting that they were dead wrong.
Jonathan Kay of the National Post did write an article, where tongue in cheek, he apologized to Maclean's on behalf of Canada, but the article did not remind us exactly what was said and by whom.

Now everybody in journalism, the opinion business or the political game, stands the chance of getting an opinion, a fact or even a complete story wrong.
I've done it myself and recognize that admitting a mistake and apologizing is the moral and fair thing to do, especially when reputations are at stake.
All that is required is that whomever made a mistake, offer a small "My Bad" or 'mea culpa.'
This is what a fair apology should look like.

Now of all those denunciations of Maclean's and the two authors, the most egregious fault came from the Quebec Press Council which by its condemnation and its subsequent refusal to admit its mistake has lost all credibility as an impartial and fair adjudicator in matters pertaining to fairness in the press. Perhaps Maclean's knew what we didn't, the fact that they couldn't get a fair shake from this august body and so chose not to participate in the lynching. Laughably, the Quebec Press council also cited Maclean's for not publishing the condemnation issued by the Council.

"In a March 18 decision that was made public Tuesday, the seven-member watchdog unanimously blamed the publication for the headline and "a lack of journalistic rigour."The council concluded that Maclean's did not prove Quebec was the most corrupt province and that the article was based on perceptions.
The magazine didn't collaborate with the press council and offered no defence against the complaints filed by Gilles Rheaume, a well-known militant Quebec sovereigntist.
A Maclean's spokeswoman said Tuesday the publication preferred not to comment. The council has asked the magazine to make the decision public.
A majority of council members also found that journalist Martin Patriquin and columnist Andrew Coyne did not show Quebec was the most corrupt province despite amassing several points of view about the existence of a series of corruption cases.
The council wrote that no thorough and rigorous analysis was done to compare Quebec with other provinces in terms of corruption.
Six of the seven council members also took Mr. Patriquin to task for writing that problems encountered by Premier Jean Charest's government were part of a "long line of made-in Quebec corruption that has affected the province's political culture at every level."
They said Mr. Patriquin displayed a lack of journalistic rigour.
"We are forced to conclude that they (the comments) reveal prejudice and are all the more condemnable under the circumstances as they carry prejudices against all Quebecers," the council wrote.
That lack of rigour was also attributed to a column by Mr. Coyne." Link

Now the second most serious condemnation came from Premier Jean Charest, because as head of the Quebec government he spoke on behalf of us all.
As you know, (for personal reasons) I never publicly criticized him while in power, but today he is retired from politics and while still a personal friend, I couldn't write this piece honestly without calling him out for the letter he sent to the editiors of the magazine.

Mr. Stevenson:
I’m writing in regards to your sensationalist “feature” on Québec. Your article met none of the basic standards of journalism. By authorizing its publication, describing Québec as “The Most Corrupt Province in Canada,” you have discredited your magazine.
Far from serious journalism, which is supported by facts in  evidence, your article tries to demonstrate a simplistic and offensive thesis that Québecers are genetically incapable of acting with integrity.
Drawing on recent debates, you have concocted an assortment of dubious conclusions, unproven allegations, and isolated events, in which you confuse premier Duplessis, public service unions, the Quiet Revolution, state intervention, our Catholic roots, and above all the sovereignist movement.
With this twisted form of journalism and ignorance, any society would be painted in a poor light.
This is not the first time Maclean’s has published such an article. Less than a year ago, your magazine included a similar story about Montréal......

Jean Charest, Premier of Québec. Read the rest of the letter

In the cruel light of recent facts, the letter is sadly pathetic, particularly the part where he complains that the magazine unfairly bashed the city of Montreal over corruption, in a previous story.

Here's some notable players who also need to apologize.

Denis Coderre 
 "It's the Plains of Abraham disease, wherein we're viewed condescendingly and with contempt."
"...To generalize like that, I find it totally inacceptable" Link

'Uncle' Thom Mulcair
"Quebec New Democrat MP Thomas Mulcair said he is sickened by the magazine's treatment of the issue from the cover to the content.
He said there is no evidence Quebec's history with corruption is worse than any other province.
"It's the worst type of group smear you could think of," Mulcair told CBC News on Friday. "It's beneath contempt." Link

Nathalie Normandeau
The ex-Liberal deputy premier was visibly irritated by the article and said her government would formally ask Maclean’s to apologize because, she insisted, it attacks not just the government but all of the Quebec people. Link

Montreal Gazette Editorial
"Could it be true? Did Maclean’s prove its case? Or is the article just another in a long line of gratuitously offensive sorties against the one province that dares to insist on having its own identity, complete with European style state interference in the economy?...Maclean’s is wrong. It didn’t come close to making its case. The haste with which the magazine slid past the shortcomings of other provinces, while lingering on 80-year-old scandals out of Quebec, was remarkable.The Maclean’s article is a journalistic drive-by shooting."

The Montreal Gazette pulled this  article by journalist Henry Aubin from the web, concerning his take on the Maclean's story. I can only wonder why.
 Henry Aubin 
"Yes, Quebec has a putrid level of corruption. But the problem is with that one crucial word -"most." Is corruption really worse here than elsewhere in Canada ? It could well be. But it’s a serious accusation -one that could easily affect outsiders’ investment decisions. The national magazine makes no attempt to compare the situation in Quebec empirically with that in other provinces.
To be sure, Maclean’s lists some headline-making scandals in other provinces, and it concludes that since more such cases have been unearthed in Quebec than elsewhere this province has to be the most corrupt.
The flaw in logic here is blatant. Corruption by definition is hidden. There is no way of knowing how much goes on out of sight...." Alternate Link

Now I'm not going to cite the many Maclean's bashers on the francophone side who would never in a million years apologize or even consider that they were wrong, it serves no purpose. The exception is Jean-François Lisée,  who wrote what he assumed was a clever rebuke in English to Maclean's denouncing the story.

No wait ! Maybe one of these titles came from another magazine. No matter. Having been a journalist for a couple of decades, I did try to find in last week’s issue the methodology used to grant Québec its number one spot on the corruption scale. I was curious to know who was number two, and how wide the margin was – as in Maclean’s yearly university rankings. Did the writers use the number of corruption convictions of elected officials in each province since 2000 ? The cash amount proven to have changed hands illegally? Or, since no conviction is to be found in Québec (yet ?), the number of police inquiries in play ? I was disappointed. Maclean’s has no comparison metrics whatsoever. The whole cover is based on opinion and perception alone. Hopes for a Pulitzer on this one are dim.
So, just what is the fuss about ? A screaming headline loosely based on facts ? They’re a dime a dozen. They sell. And Maclean’s is in the selling business. So all would be forgiven, if it were not for Andrew Coyne’s scoop that Quebecer’s are impervious to « constructive criticism ». Let’s try. Link

To this day, Wikipedia still lists the Maclean's article under the citation of 'Quebec-bashing.' Link{fr}

I spoke to one Quebec-apologist about getting it wrong and his subsequent refusal to apologize.
His answer intrigued me because it is typical of the language/sovereignty industry where spin, slide and sometimes fanciful facts and interpretations are used to explain away any trifling set of facts or circumstances.

According to him, the magazine was clearly at fault because at the time they could not have known of the deep and dark depth of corruption in Quebec, as the damaging facts hadn't yet come to light.
And so, according to him, Maclean's and the reporters involved just got 'lucky' that things turned out the way they did.

I looked at him incredulously, shook my head and told him the story of  Lamar Gillett, the only P-35 pilot in World War II to shoot down a Japanese Zero fighter.
When asked to explain his heroic exploits, he told the interviewer that;
"It's better to be lucky than good. I was lucky I was behind the Zero instead of in front of him."

French versus English Volume 83

Corruption this week

"After a dramatic series of raids across Laval last fall, Quebec’s anti-corruption squad followed up early Thursday by arresting former Laval mayor Gilles Vaillancourt. Vaillancourt and an undisclosed number of others were taken into police custody as a series of arrest mandates were executed beginning at “about 6 a.m.,” Anne-Frédérick Laurence, a spokesperson for L’Unité permanente anticorruption (UPAC), said.
About 120 officers have been deployed, to an undisclosed number of locations, she added.
This phase of the police operation on Laval tackles an apparent long-standing municipal pattern of collusion, corruption and cronyism that reigned in Quebec’s second-largest city, Vaillancourt’s fiefdom.
UPAC is calling it “Operation Honorer.”
“Many” beyond Vaillancourt have also been arrested, Laurence said.
Some reports pegged the figure at 40, a combination of construction-industry figures and high-level officials in the former Vaillancourt administration." Read more

BBC: "Rebelling against Quebec's 'language police' "

Here's another flattering article on Quebec's language mess in the international press, this time the BBC where the story will be widely circulated.

"The Canadian province of Quebec has seen a resurgence of its bitter language wars since Francophone nationalists returned to power last year. Now, some English speakers are rebelling against the "language police", reports Lorraine Mallinder.

Quebec's ruling Parti Quebecois is pushing a new law through the provincial parliament that would further reduce the use of English in schools, hospitals and shops.

As a result, many Anglophones fear they are being squeezed into insignificance.
It's misleading to say that French is the founding culture of Quebec - Quebec has at its root two European founding peoples” Pearl Eliadis Human rights lawyer

For Harry Schick, owner of a pastry shop in Pointe Claire, an English-speaking municipality west of Montreal, it is nothing new.
His shop window, emblazoned with signs in 35 different languages, has attracted visits from what critics deride as the province's language police.

Inspectors from L'Office quebecois de la langue francaise - the Quebec French language office - say the lettering of French signs should be three times bigger than that of other languages." Read more   (Credit for the link.. JW, Lord Dorchester)

Most immigrants to Quebec feel attachment to Canada: poll

"Most Quebec immigrants feel attached to Canada, regardless of which language they speak, according to a poll for the Association for Canadian Studies.
Ninety-two per cent of francophone immigrants and 91 per cent of non-francophone newcomers say they are attached to Canada, reveals the Léger Marketing survey.
That contrasts with attitudes among native-born francophone Quebecers, of whom only 62.9 per cent describe themselves as attached to Canada.
As for Canadian-born Quebec anglophones, the poll found 96.3 per cent feel attached to the country.
The results suggest that French-speaking immigrants are not picking up attitudes on national identity shared by many “francophones de souche” (Quebecers descended from early French settlers), said Jack Jedwab, executive director of the association.  Read more:

La Presse writer; "Montreal is a bilingual city"

"In a column published some ten days ago on Bill 14, which aims to strengthen Bill 101, entitled "Despising the English," I wrote that the deterioration in our relations with the anglophone minority would in a way, kill Montreal slowly.

There are indeed elements of this dynamic Montreal that we do not understand or do not accept. Particularly the importance  of the presence of its anglophone minority  for its success,.

What defines Montreal, is not that it is multicultural. For any metropolis, this fact is quite commonplace. Most major cities are, and in this respect, Montreal is not particularly remarkable when compared to Toronto or Vancouver.

What is absolutely unique, by contrast, it is the duality of Montreal, the fact that it is built on two linguistic and cultural groups, a large majority, and the English. Montreal is one of the very few bilingual cities in the world, where people speak two major global languages ​​of communication and where it works in both languages.

Obviously, the word bilingual raises eyebrows because, legally and institutionally, Montreal is a French city. This forces everyone into verbal acrobatics to describe, without uttering the so despised word, what is obvious.

This duality has been and remains a source of tension, whether past injustices towards francophones, whose language was relegated to the background, or the swing of the pendulum with Bill 101, a shock strong enough to push some Anglophones to exodus. But we have reached a certain balance, especially because the pressures that can be exerted on the French does not come from the English-speaking community. Tensions are missing, except when politicians want to stir the pot. But these tensions can be creative. Duality helps to define the identity of Montreal, a hybrid of its British and French heritage buildings blocks. This is what makes Montreal different from the rest of Quebec, which gives it a huge competitive advantage and contributes to many of its economic successes."A concrete manifestation of this duality is the duplication of institutions (universities, hospitals, cultural venues, neighborhoods). It enriches the intellectual life that can tap into both traditions. This largely explains our academic mission, which helps us in our efforts to become a knowledge-based society. It also allows Montreal to be several things at once, at home in la Francophonie and the Commonwealth, with roots in both cultures, able to be an interface between two worlds, both very North American but more European than other mainland cities. This duality certainly helps to explain the success of some industries, such as information technology and video games, where Montreal was able to attract both French and American companies.This duality also contributes to the creative character of Montreal, promoting diversity and tolerance. But also because the tensions are close to cultural life. It was obvious to the French, whose identity assertion is widely expressed through theater, music, literature and film. But there is a momentum now and  for several years creating an English Montreal that enriches all of Quebec and Montreal. Without this meeting of cultures, Montreal would not have its brand as a trendy city. All this is not to deny the validity of the fight for French, but to remind us that we must find ways to do it while allowing our English-speaking minority to flourish with its language and culture  Read the original story by Alain Dubuc in French 
(Credit for the link.. Lord Dorchester)

Air Canada ordered to pay $12K to man who couldn’t order 7Up in French

"The Federal Court of Canada on Wednesday ordered Air Canada to pay $12,000 to Ottawa French-language rights crusader Michel Thibodeau in part because when he asked an English-speaking flight attendant for 7Up in May 12 of 2009, he got Sprite. “The applicants’ language rights are clearly very important to them and the violation of their rights caused them a moral prejudice, pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of their vacation,” Justice Marie-Josee Bedard wrote in her judgment.
“It is also my opinion that awarding damages in this case will serve the purpose of emphasizing the importance of the rights at issue and will have a deterrent effect.”
Air Canada was also ordered to apologize to Mr. Thibodeau and his wife Lynda.
It is Mr. Thibodeau’s second successful legal action against the airline and its subsidiaries. In 2000, he was refused service in French when he tried to order a 7Up from a unilingual English flight attendant on an Air Ontario flight from Montreal to Ottawa." Read more

Ottawa Sun: 10 Things we hate about Montreal!

In light of the playoff competition between the SENS and the HABS the Ottawa Sun published this humorous top 10 list put-down of Montreal;

1. Corruption: Did the Habs think they could slide a few brown envelopes down Gary Bettman's way to seal a series win? Sorry boys, it'll take some honest work to win. And you wouldn't know much about that now would you?
2. P.K. Subban: The whiny contract holdout is getting paid $5.75 million to malign his teammates from the bench. As usual, Montreal has overpaid -- an awful lot of people would have done that for free.
3. Roads: If the Bell Centre ice was anything like Montreal's streets, boulevards, highways -- heck, pretty much anything with an asphalt surface -- then Habs forwards would be skating gingerly alongside chasms of collapsing ice and Carey Price would be making saves from deep inside a pothole. Ok, we're exaggerating -- Price doesn't really make saves, does he? Read the rest

While we're on the subject of the NHL playoffs, here's a feel-good story of a young Montreal girl who wore a Senator's jersey on 'Habs Appreciation Day' in her school in Lachine. Her teacher sent her down to the principal's office where she was ordered to remove the sweater.
As you can imagine, the story went viral and before you know it, Senators rewarded young Keila Penner with the trip of a lifetime. The whole Penner family was picked up in a limousine and whisked to Ottawa to attend the Senators/Habs game, courtesy of the team owner Eugene Melnyk. Keila was also given a sweater autographed by the entire Senator team.
The school's reaction? "Er...We never threatened her" Link

Perhaps it was a good omen as the Senators got by the crippled Habs and in the spirit of good sportsmanship I offer my Top Ten list of things I LOVE ABOUT OTTAWA;

1. Rideau Canal skating, Sparks St. Mall, Tulip Festival.... Could it get any more exciting than this?
2. Helpful and friendly neighbors.
3. Wonderful cops and NCC agents and their tolerant enforcement of the rules!
4. Infective joie-de-vivre, exciting night-life and vibrant artistic scene.
5. A wonderfully ethnically diverse city.
6. Eclectic music scene, led by Paul Anka.
7. Cutting edge restaurants, highlighted by "Hy's"
8. Friendly and cooperative civil servants.
9. Stephen Harper, Thomas Mulcair and Justin Trudeau.
10. ...and last but least, the Ottawa Senators, a team named after Canada’s most inspiring politicians!

Odds'n Ends

La Presse published its annual list of wait times in emergency rooms across Quebec.
It now takes an average of 17½ hours to be seen in a Quebec emergency room, with one hospital in Montreal, Maisonneuve-Rosemont, actually making patients wait an astounding 40 hours before being seen! Link{fr}

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The Quebec Wind farm lobby is pushing the government to issue a contract for the purchase and installation of 350 more electricity generating turbines despite the fact that Quebec has an electricity surplus worth billions. Some generating stations owned by Hydro-Quebec are shut down or mothballed because of the lack of demand.
The rational for expanding the wind farm industry is to keep alive the 1000 jobs in the Gaspé factory that makes the turbines.  A spokesman for the industry asked reporters if it made sense to close an industry just because it is contributing to an unsellable surplus of energy in Hydro-Quebec..
Hmmmm. What do you think readers, does any of this make sense?
Link{fr}

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French Studies losing ground: "After an 18-year run, the University of Regina is shuttering its francophone studies program. The number of graduates: Zero.
Parents may be clamouring to enroll their children in French studies in the early years, but interest appears to wane among university-age students. Post-secondary institutions in many parts of the country have seen a drop off in applicants, and are either shutting down, scaling back or pausing their French programs. Read more

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PQ MNA calls Libs 'colonized sellouts' for using English: "Members of the National Assembly who use English during Assembly debates are "colonized sellouts," according to PQ MNA Daniel Breton." Link

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More PQ anglo slurs: I don't know if the irony is lost on a PQ staffer who penned an article in METRO magazine in which he makes the claim that with some exceptions, anglophones are 'all a bit crazy, not Richard Bain crazy, but suffering from a paranoid obsession, always complaining that Quebecers, especially separatists are racist xenophobes."
The political aide to PQ Minister Diane De Courcy, who wrote the article, Akos Verboczy was called on the carpet by opposition politicians who demanded his resignation. Original article {fr}  Calls for his resignation{fr}

Dunno..... but to me, he seems to prove his own point about separatists as 'racist xenophobes!' Ha!

When the minister was told about the articles, she told reporters that it was only a joke..... read more

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Quebec really lenient with killers: "According to a report, half the killers in Canada freed prior to serving their minimum 25-year sentence since 1987 are from Quebec." Link
In the meantime the commission charged with evaluating insane criminals decided to let Guy Turcotte out of detention, despite serious concerns. Link{fr}
Mr. Turcotte murdered his children and was acquitted of the crime due to the famous 'temporary insanity' defense.

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McGill University continues to lose ground: "It’s bad enough that Montreal is losing to Ottawa in the hockey playoffs, but now the city’s top-performing university seems to be losing ground to the University of Toronto in the latest world rankings by subject.

McGill is ranked behind the University of British Columbia in many subjects, as well, in the just-released 2013 QS World University Rankings by Subject, which listed U of T as the top-ranked Canadian institution." Read the story

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Anti-anglo beating?  "A 63-year-old Montreal man says he may have been the victim of racial and anti-anglo slurs and beaten up and sent to hospital as a result. Shamslla Bina told CJAD 800 News he was on his way home late Sunday afternoon from the de l'Eglise metro, when he told a young man in English not to press up so close to him on the escalator. Bina said the young man was with two other men and two women. Bina said the young man told him to go back to Ontario and to his own country. Bina, who came to Montreal from Iran 30 years ago, switched to French, the language he uses the most, and the dispute continued onto the street." Read more (Credit for the link.. RWB)

It's Friday, let's have some fun.....

Last week we talked about English software and the difficulty or utility in getting it translated.
Using the English version is a necessary compromise that school boards and companies understand, even if the  OQLF doesn't.
But you'd expect the radical Mouvement Québec français to be the leader in safeguarding its website from the scourge of English pollution, but alas it is not to be.

After filling out an online survey I was amused to see that whether you are French or English, getting thanked for participating, is an English only affair!

Joke of the week....

Three contractors were bidding to fix a broken fence at an Ottawa property.....
One is from Vancouver, another from Toronto and the third is from Quebec .
All three go with a Government official to examine the fence.

The Vancouver contractor takes out a tape measure and does some measuring, then works some figures with a pencil. "Well," he says, "I figure the job will run you about $900.....$400 for materials, $400 for my crew and $100 profit for me."
The Toronto contractor also does some measuring and figuring, then says, "I can do this job for $700.....$300 for materials, $300 for my crew and $100 profit for me."

The Quebec contractor doesn't measure or figure anything, but leans over to the government official and whispers, "$2,700."
The official, incredulous, says, "But you didn't even measure like the other guys! And how did you come up with such a high figure?" The Quebec contractor whispers back, "$1,000 for me, $1,000 for you, and we hire the guy from Toronto to fix the fence."    (Credit for the joke.. Pearl)

Another Montreal anti-capitalist demonstration....Cop: "I told you no peeking! Tabarnac!

What's a photo collage of an annoying but harmless Greenpeace Activist getting arrested in Moscow have to do with this blog?

You be the judge!

 

This from reader, Lord Dorchester 
"Screen shot of a Trivia game called QuizzCross. Bordering on lunacy now. "

"A crimson tide engulfed a patch of Montreal Saturday at the city’s first-ever gathering of the redheads.
The event was organized on Facebook by a ginger-headed Montrealer who wanted to foster a greater sense of community among those who shared her hair colour." Read the story

 I'll bet that Toronto will be inspired to have a bigger and better ginger affair next year, giving proof to the maxim that imitation is the sincerest form of compliment!

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Completely off-topic: Charles Ramsey became a national hero on Monday when he helped rescue three missing women who had been kidnapped in Cleveland and held hostage for years. Watch him interviewed but for real entertainment, you'll definitely want to listen to this 9-1-1 call he made reporting the situation. If you click on one link, click this. It's priceless!

So how about ending the week with a little inspiration?

Some of you might be aware that Russians are as obsessed with dashcams as we are with GPS and just about every new vehicle sold includes a camera that records it all.
It leads to video after video of crash scenes. Some of these compilations are funny while most are  gruesome.

But here's a change....dash-cam videos from Russia that inspires. Enjoy......

Not inspired enough?

'Have a great weekend!

Bonne fin de Semaine!