Quebec Cleaning Up Corruption Mess

Applebaum arrest pictures

The old maxim tells us that it's always darkest before the dawn and with Monday's arrest of the interim mayor of Montreal Michael Applebaum, it doesn't seem that it can get much darker.

What surprised me about the arrest was not that it happened, but rather how it happened.
The mayor was woken early this morning, arrested and driven down to the police headquarters with reporters tipped off and the car hauling him in conveniently stopping before going into the police garage, providing a photo-op that is the modern version of the perp-walk.

That disrespectful treatment is reserved for those arrests that police are most proud of and so without knowing any of the details, I can only conclude that the police have Applebaum dead to rights.

That Quebec is the most corrupt province in Canada is certainly proven beyond any reasonable doubt but the logical conclusion that Quebecers are the most dishonest people in Canada doesn't follow.

I know that I'll be offering an unpopular view today, but I cannot in good conscious listen to the ROC gleefully gloat without defending the good people of Quebec who are by and large humiliated and furious at those that betrayed the public trust.

If guillotining was permitted, there would no doubt be an enraged mob marching on city hall, shouting "Off with their heads!"
I wouldn't recommend that any of the crooks who will face corruption trials choose to be tried before a jury. Quebecers are just itching to get revenge and no defense, no matter how robust, will save any of these bums from being convicted.

And so I am going to say that Quebec is well on its way to rehabilitation and I daresay that within a few short years it will be one of the least corrupt places in North America.
Yup....I mean it.

Like a drug addict who has to fall to the lowest point before seeking help, Quebec has certainly hit rock bottom and it is here where we can collectively decide to wallow in our own mess or clean up our act for good.

Quebec and Quebecers have chosen. Corruption will soon end, believe me.

Now regular readers know I spend a fair amount of time in New York City and hardly a visit goes by where I don't read a news story of some new public official arrested for corruption in a state where dishonest politicians are legend and where corruption has been part and parcel of the political process forever.
The corruption is so pervasive that dozens of members of the State legislature, both Democrat and Republican have been arrested over the last decade.
Things never seem to change and currently there is a new crop of  legislators facing indictment;

"The state of New York's legislature, whose dysfunction has long proved a spectator sport, added a new chapter Wednesday as public-corruption investigations that have touched five officials in the past month brought seven more elected officials into public scrutiny" Link

"The latest, former Democratic state Sen. Shirley Huntley, was sentenced Thursday to spend a year and a day in prison for stealing $88,000 from a charity she controlled. A day earlier, a federal judge had unsealed records showing that Huntley last year secretly recorded conversations with seven other elected officials she suspected of corruption.
Among them were Malcolm Smith and John Sampson, both former Democratic leaders of the Senate who have already been indicted.
"It's a culture of corruption, there's no question about it," said Seymour Lachman, a former Democratic state senator. "It's very sad that you have at this point in New York state, the Empire State, more corrupt officials than any other state."
Read:  How New York Became One Of The Most Corrupt States

By the way, if Shirley Huntley got one year in jail for stealing $88,000, I can only imagine what our Quebec crooks would get for stealing millions....but I digress.

At any rate, I bring up the New York State corruption situation because quite frankly there really hasn't been enough public outrage to force politicians to clean up their act and so as you can imagine, corruption persists.
I imagine that I'll be reading about more crooked New York politicians for the foreseeable future because nothing will change with the apathetic attitude demonstrated by the public. They don't really seem to care and in fact regularly re-elect politicians that have less than clean hands.
Today the name of ex-mayor Rudolph Giuliani is being bandied about for a possible presidential run, yet serious accusations about his judgement in his personal and professional life don't seem to bother voters. Read a damning piece about his honesty.

But this lack of interest by the public is most certainly not the case here in Quebec. The public and voters in particular, are royally pissed.
There isn't a chance in Hell of  forgiving those who cheated and stole, the public is in no mood to be charitable.
The demand to root out, arrest and prosecute those who cheated taxpayers remains the number one issue of all Quebecers, transcending all political, religious, race and language lines.
If Applebaum and Saulie Zajdel (a counselor arrested along with Applebaum) are eventually convicted of corruption, there won't be an ounce of support for them in the Jewish community. Already waves of humiliation are rocking the community over the arrests.
The same goes for the Italian community, the Francophone and Anglophone community as well as the Black community, all deeply hurt and humiliated at the dishonor brought upon them by the alleged crooks.

In this province, unlike New York, those convicted or even accused of corruption become toxic and untouchable.
Already many of those who testified at the Charbonneau commission and who received immunity for candidly describing their illegal involvement in corruption are feeling the wrath of an unsympathetic public. One by one, they are being pushed out by their employers who no longer want to be associated with them. And good luck finding a new job, because for potential employers, these people are radioactive.

In 2009 a reluctant Premier Charest did in fact set Quebec on the road to redemption.
The creation of the Charbonneau Commission and more importantly UPAC (Permanent Anti-Corruption Unit) whose raison d'etre is described by its commander;

"Our job is to prevent, investigate and verify in the fight against crimes related to corruption, collusion and fraud in the awarding and execution of public contracts. "-Robert Lafrenière

The key in all this is the word 'permanent' where Quebec is the only province to have such a high-powered full-time anti-corruption unit in force.
During the Charbonneau hearings, one theme that was oft repeated by many of the slimy crooks who testified, was that corruption virtually ceased with the creation of the UPAC unit back in 2009.

With corruption on everybody's mind, Quebecers will be monitoring how their money is being spent very closely.
Concerned citizens , along with UPAC will be placing the fear of God in those tempted to graft.

Unlike the drug trade, corruption is not a zero-sum game.
When one drug dealer is arrested, another promptly takes his place, but when someone is arrested for corruption, it is like shaving your legs, where the next batch of hair grows back finer and more slowly.

Next year will see the beginning of the many trials of the alleged thieves and I can only hope that if and when they are found guilty, that the judge throws the book at them.

In the meantime the hardest part is over, admitting to a problem and embarking on the cure. It is manifestly apparent that Quebecers want to be corruption free and ordinary citizens themselves are showing those in power that they mean business.
No longer will town council meetings be sterile affairs, sparsely attended by a complacent public. People will ask questions and demand transparency, which is of course, the key to eliminating corruption.

If you are one of those who believe that Quebecers are inherently more dishonest than Canadians, you are probably one that believes in other negative stereotypes.
Calling Quebecers a gang of thieves is no different than saying the same about Blacks, Jews or Italians, where not many would dare say so out loud.

This dark period of arrests is the beginning of the end of systemic corruption in Quebec, because honest Quebecers will tolerate nothing less.

FIFA Deals PQ & FSQ Stunning Humiliation

It's not often that a prediction is borne out so quickly, (in fact the next day) but in yesterday's post I told you that the issue of the turban on Quebec soccer pitches would have to be dealt with by FIFA itself as the diametrically opposed positions of the Canadian and Quebec soccer associations was leading to a dangerous situation where all players and teams were being dragged into a world of hurt.
When Ontario teams cancelled appearances at a weekend tournament in Quebec because of the suspension, FIFA had no choice but to act.

"In the end this issue will not be resolved in Quebec or even in Canada." Link

Here's what the international body said in an email;

BY EMAIL
13 June 2013
Presidents and Executive Directors
Provincial/Territorial Soccer Associations

Dear Presidents and Executive Directors,
In accordance with the directive of the Canadian Soccer Association as outlined in its 11 April 2013 memo permitting the wearing of turbans/patkas/keski (male head covers), we wish to inform you that the International Football Association Board (IFAB) and FIFA have authorized the wearing of male head covers in all areas and on all levels of the Canadian football community.

The following conditions must be met:
Be of the same colour as the jersey
Be in keeping with the professional appearance of the player’s equipment
Not be attached to the jersey
Not pose any danger to the player wearing it or any other player

For clarity, please find examples of the IFAB permitted head covers enclosed.
Thank you for your implementation of this policy and your assistance in ensuring the long term growth and development of the sport of soccer in Canada.

Warm regards,

Peter Montopoli
General Secretary

 Prompting the CSA to issue this:

The affirmation by FIFA is a stunning setback not only to the Quebec Soccer Association, but the PQ as well, which hitched its sovereigntist governance star to the issue and which encouraged the FSQ to maintain their position in the face of the Canadian Soccer Association's suspension.

It would have been the perfect political gambit, the Quebec public and the Quebec press lined up massively in support of the anti-turban ban.

Just yesterday, Richard Martineau of Le Journal de Montreal said this, which is pretty representative of views the French press had on the issue;

"How do you arrive at a solution to satisfy everyone in such a case? You have two parties who do not speak the same language! Two clans who do not live on the same planet! So at a certain moment, somebody  must decide.

Canada sees things one way, we another. Every people draws the lines according to its values.The Canadian solution is neither worse nor better than ours.And ours, neither better nor worse than their own." Link

I can only comment  that Mr. Martineau should rework his article and exchange this line;
"Canada sees things one way, we another."
for this line;
"The world sees things one way, we another."

For the PQ, it will be hard to explain that their position is utterly rejected by the world body and most importantly, it will be hard to explain to its own constituency how the world sees things one way and they the other.

The worst of it all is that the Canadian Soccer Association triumphed and the Quebec Soccer federation whipped rather painfully.

It is a cold and distasteful dish of humble pie.....

Look for a quiet and subdued reaction by the losers, with the PQ downplaying the disaster as a 'soccer issue' and nothing else.
Remember, yesterday it was an issue to sovereigntist governance, with the PQ pushing the FSQ to maintain its position even in the face of the suspension.
Today, for the PQ its time to move on to the next chicane.

In a hilarious and galling example of Quebec spin and effrontery, the FSQ greeted the news by saying it was happy that FIFA had finally settled the issue.

And by the way, since the French media was also invested in the anti-turban position, look for a united effort to sweep this humiliating affair under the 'carpette.'

Bogus Safety Issue Over Turban Blows Up in Quebec's Face

FSQ to turbanites.."GFY..Play in your backyard!"

Here's a brief piece to give readers a chance to sound off over the turban ban, an issue that has spiraled out of control and beyond the pale considering that we are talking about less than 200 children in the whole province.

The Fédération de soccer du Québec has recently upheld the ban on the turban that it put in place, despite being suspended over the issue by the national governing body.

The underhanded and dishonest interpretation of FIFA rules by the Quebec Soccer Federation, seems to have come back and bitten them in the ass, but like so many idiots in high places, faced with their mistake, they'd rather compound the problem by brazening it out, rather than honorably facing the music and admitting a mistake.
Sadly, the longer the FSQ holds out, the harder and more painful it will be to climb down from their position.

The rationale used to ban the turban is so juvenile that it is beyond contempt.
The FSQ actually ruled that since FIFA has no specific rules allowing the turban, then it is perfectly acceptable to ban it.
It's like banning Gatorade because FIFA hasn't specifically said it is legal it to drink on the pitch!
Utter and complete nonsense!

The issue of safety is so bogus that even dedicated nationalists can see through the pretense.
In a blog article in of all places, nationalist website, Ameriquebec.net, the author notes that FIFA allows other soft body coverings;

"Modern protection devices, like head-covers, knee and elbow pads are made of soft material and aren't considered dangerous. They are therefore authorized."

"Thus, the FSQ should have the courage to say that the decision to ban the turban in soccer in Quebec has more to do with "religion" then with player safety."

Truer words were never spoken, the FSQ acted in an underhanded and devious manner to ban the turban by citing safety concerns and laying the blame on FIFA.
Nobody is fooled.

It's a plot!!!!!!

It is perhaps fairer to face the issue squarely and at least one Franco-supremicist Mathieu Bock-Coté is telling it like it is, the real reason for the ban, which is of course a question of religious intolerance, where Quebec nationalists like Mr Coté don't want public spaces polluted with the trappings of anti-Quebecois perceived religion.

He couldn't have been more blunt, telling readers that those who wear the turban or the kippa or the hijab, do so not so much to venerate their religion, but rather as a symbol of their resistance to Quebecois-style assimilation.
I kid you not.
Mr Mathieu Bock-Coté is the epitome of a paranoid Quebec conspiratorialist, where all surrounding events exist only to affect Quebec negatively.

Since the article is behind a paywall, permit me"

"These conspicuous religious symbols are not primarily worn to demonstrate the faith of wearer.  If this were the case, they could be discreet. Rather they have a political impact. They are foremost a  formal symbol of their refusal to integrate, in fact a provocation.  It's a game of tug of war meant to break the host society and force it to capitulate.

The Quebec government yesterday decided to support the FQS, a happy and courageous decision. It is not a case of looking for a fight with Ottawa, but just remember that behind this turban affair, true principles clash. Quebec is right not to be ashamed of itself."

("Car les symboles religieux ostentatoires ne témoignent pas d’abord de la foi de ceux qui les revêtent. Si tel était le cas, ils pourraient être discrets. Ils ont plutôt une portée politique. On les porte justement pour officialiser son refus de s’intégrer, à la manière d’une provocation. Et on joue au bras de fer pour casser la société d’accueil et la forcer à capituler.
Le gouvernement du Québec, hier, a pris la décision de soutenir la FQS. Heureuse et courageuse décision. Il ne cherche pas ainsi la chicane avec Ottawa, mais rappelle simplement que derrière cette affaire de turban, ce sont de véritables principes qui s’affrontent. Le Québec a raison de ne pas avoir honte des siens.")  Link

(I've presented some of the original French because as I said, the article is behind a paywall.)

Unbelievable!
Is this the next battle cry?
That turbans, kippas and hijabs, are ruthless symbols of anti-Quebecism and that six-year old boys and girls wearing the trappings of their religion are the child soldiers in a ruthless assault on the innocent?

This actually represents a nasty turning point, any religious trappings worn in public is to be considered pernicious by Quebec clansman like Bock-Coté.
It is a sick and perverted position and in the best tradition of racists, xenophobes and segregationists.

If Mathieu Bock-Coté is cheering on the Quebec government and the FSQ, I'm not so sure the rest of the public wants to push  the principle of Quebec fundamentalism by harassing children in removing them from the soccer pitch.
As the issue spirals out of control, Quebec faces its second Pastagate in a few short months, ridiculed around the world as petty, intolerant and utterly foolish.
And readers, the story is growing legs.... 

Swedish story on turban ban

Canadian Conflict Grows Out of Quebec Soccer Federation’s Ban on Turbans  New York Times

Quebec soccer federation gets red card for banning turban  BBC

Turban ban: Federation suspended  ESPN  

Sikh community finds Quebec turban-ban puzzling Star Phoenix

Turban ban prompts suspension of Quebec federation Associated Press

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/06/10/3444205/turban-ban-prompts-suspension.html#storylink=cpy

(This Associated Press story has been picked up by newspapers around North America, including Miami, Seattle, Las Vegas, San Diego, Omaha, Washington, to name just a few. It was also picked up by Salon.com and the Times of India.

Quebec soccer leaders cite safety on turban bans Sports illustrated 

Canadian Soccer Association suspends Quebec federation over turban ban  FOX News

Football :le Canada suspend le Québec pour avoir interdit le turban Le Monde

Le Québec isolé au Canada pour son refus du port du turban sur les terrains de football RFI

Football team in Canada suspended for turban ban Hindustan Times

Setback to Canadian sports body, suspended for turban ban Punjab Newsline

Voetbalbond Quebec geschorst om tulbandverbod   Belgium

Футбольная федерация Квебека подтвердила запрет на тюрбаны Russia

בגלל טורבן: קנדה השעתה את ההתאחדות של קוויבק  Israel

魁北克省足球协会禁止球员包锡克头巾的决定引起争议   China

캐나다 축구협회, 터번 착용 금지한 퀘벡지부 징계  Korea

كندا توقف العمل بقرار حظر "عمامة" اللاعبين "السيخ"  Saudi Arabia

Футбольная федерация Квебека подтвердила запрет на тюрбаны  Kazakhstan

Yup, it's even a story in Borat's homeland!
More worldwide humiliation....

In the end this issue will not be resolved in Quebec or even in Canada.
FIFA, the governing world body will have to take a definitive and official stand, they can either rule in favour of the turban, against the turban or make it a question to be resolved locally by the national federations it sanctions.

The one option that is not available, is the one Quebec wants most, that is to make the issue resolvable by federations sanctioned by the national federations, or more specifically provincial federations.

And so Pauline Marois is trying to make political hay over the issue claiming that the FSQ is not bound by decisions made by the CSA.
Contrary to what she tells us, the Fédération de soccer du Québec is very directly subordinate to the Canada Soccer Association. She and Bernard Drainville who speculated that the Quebec Association is autonomous must be dreaming in colour or smoking crack.

If the FSQ is not bound by the CSA, then how on Earth can the CSA suspend the FSQ and why then would the Quebec federation care!

It is beyond belief stupid.
This is another fine mess she's gotten us into!

P.S.
Readers, I invite you to copy and paste your related comments from the previous thread so that readers can enjoy the turban discussion in one place.

PQ & Péladeau Holding Back NHL Franchise in Quebec.

Bettman: Quebec's Worse Nightmare

For well nigh 40 years, successive Quebec governments, whether Liberal or Pequiste have played the nationalism card in order to extort money from the ROC in the finest tradition of a political blackmailer with a compromising sex tape in hand.
Today we find ourselves in the extraordinary situation where the separatist government of Pauline Marois takes with one hand, sixteen billion dollars a year from Ottawa, while giving the finger to Canadians with the other.
It's a fine and cynical act, like a radical student who spouts Marxism while living in the lap of luxury in his parents million dollar home, all the while threatening to leave.

It's an understandably successful strategy, as Canadian politicians have indulged a petulant Quebec for decades, leaving the impression that the province can spit upon the rest of Canada with utter immunity and without consequences as successive federal governments cave in to the incessant financial demands of Quebec in a vain and impossible effort to buy its love.

But in the private sector this nationalist strategy has not been so successful, actually far from it, where hundreds of thousands of individuals and thousands of companies have abandoned Quebec to the greener pastures of the ROC where they are respected and appreciated.

Those who have left, have no doubt contributed to the economic decline that has seen  Quebec cascade down from the powerhouse province it was forty years ago, to the beggar province that it is today, living on borrowed money and the largess of the very Canadians it so detests.

But because this economic decline has been pasted over by successive Quebec governments with an ever-increasing debt bonanza coupled with financial aid of other wealthy provinces, ordinary Quebecers live with the fantasy that everything's just fine and dandy.

You know the old saying... Denial is not a river in Egypt. 

And so while Quebecers blithely believe that all is hunky-dory and that Ottawa will indulge them forever, what they fail to understand is that ordinary Canadians have not and will not.

Here in Quebec, federalists and separatists live side by side out of necessity, each side making the necessary accommodation to live in peace.

Nobody else will say it in the mainstream press, so it befalls on me to say what few will admit out loud.
Plain and simple, the majority of Canadians dislike or hate Quebec separatists, who are seen as despicable, disloyal, diabolical and dishonest.
I can't be more blunt.

While the percentage of Quebecers who want to separate is going down, the number of Canadians who want Quebec to separate is going up and with the PQ shenanigans of late, that number is going to rise even higher.

I'm not bringing all this up to be cruel, but rather so nationalists reading this understand why Quebec City will never get an NHL franchise as long as the PQ is in power and Pierre-Karl Peladeau is involved with the franchise.

The NHL is an exclusive club and owners get to choose who gets in and who doesn't.
To those who think that business is business and that financial considerations are all that counts, ask blackballed Jim Basillie how things really work in the NHL.

There are almost a dozen billionaire owners in the NHL, the rest hundred millionaires and if you think that they'd hold their nose and vote for a separatist to join their club, you don't know much about the super rich. Many of these guys give tens of millions of dollars away each year in charity, so the idea that money is the motivating factor is utter delusion.
The NHL board of govenors is a club comprised of rich, conservative and wildly patriotic Canadians and Americans, whose politics generally side on the Republican in the USA  and Conservative side in Canada.
Collectively, American NHL owners donated four times as much money to the Republican Party as compared to the Democrats. 

If Bernard Drainville goes ahead with his plan to ban Jewish doctors from wearing a kippah to work, Regis Lebeaume may as well stop building the new arena, Quebec City will be permanently blackballed.

Among the generally ultra-conservative groups that is the NHL board of Governors, count eight Jewish members, including the chairman of the board. It takes just nine "No" votes to scuttle any expansion or relocation.

The iron-fisted president of the league, Gary Bettman enjoys absolute power after his devastatingly powerful win over the hockey players union in this year's lockout.
What Gary wants, Gary gets from a grateful band of owners who rightfully see him as a savior.
Bettman is, as you know Jewish and although he doesn't wear a kippah, his affinity to the tribe is solid and he is particularly sensitive to antisemitism.

"Bettman has confided that his discomfort is increased by the  tinge of anti-Semitism that hovers in the strike rhetoric. Toronto columnists have referred to Bettman as 'nebbish' and complain the league is now run by 'New York lawyers,' and players have joked that Bettman's wife would rather 'go shopping' than watch a hockey game -- all of which can be construed as a code word for 'Jew' ...

Notwithstanding the dollars, if Bettman wants to keep a franchise out of Quebec he can do it himself, that is how much control he exercises.

By the way, it was rumored that Bettman was meeting with the super federalist billionaire Demarais family last year, perhaps with an eye to putting together an alternative ownership group, but this was before the PQ got elected.
Now with a separatist government, all bets are off.

It takes a two-thirds vote to grant an NHL franchise (not the 50% + one that Quebec is so fond of) and there isn't a chance in heck that in the present situation, that Quebec could muster the necessary votes.

Aside from the eight Jews, there's a devout Christian, a fracking king, an Alberta Oil sands developer, and two proud Italians and three Greeks. The others are an assortment of tough guys, used to getting their own way.
The only thing that all these governors have in common, is the English language. The Nordiques have absolutely nobody carrying the ball for them in the boardroom.

Take a closer look at the Board of Govenors of the NHL, the ultimate body that will decide on any potential Quebec franchise.

 And by the way, if the Nordique Nation thinks that they have Geoff Molson's vote in their pocket, they couldn't be more wrong.
The Montreal Canadiens owner may not be bright, but isn't so stupid as to carve up his own market. The closed door vote remains top secret, so how do you think he will really vote?

As long as now, out-of-the-closet separatist Pierre-Karl Péladeau is involved with the team and as long as the PQ keeps threatening minorities and religions, there isn't a chance in heck of them scoring a franchise.

The choice of separatist Péladeau as show-runner was so patently arrogant and stupid, it goes to the utter fantasy under which Quebec lives, whereby they honestly believe that Canadians (and Americans) outside Quebec will give them a fair shake.

For those Quebecers who  choose to ignore this unpleasant reality, just keep voting for the PQ and enjoy the Quebec Remparts. 

And as the venerable Soup Nazi told Georg Costanza in Seinfeld, there's "No soup for you!"

French versus English Volume 86

This week in Quebec corruption

It was the last straw.

The new interim-mayor of Laval, Alexandre Duplessis, who replaced  ex-mayor Gilles Vaillancourt, (who is charged with gangsterism among other charges in relation to graft at city hall,) was fingered by a witness at the Charbonneau corruption inquiry as also being corrupt. In fact the entire ruling party, save a few councillors were accused by the witness of operating an illegal scheme to finance their political party through illegal contributions.

With that accusation, the provincial government was forced to put Quebec's third largest city under trusteeship. Read a story

**********

"A former top-ranking Quebec provincial police officer was arrested this week for allegedly receiving payments from a secret expense fund.
Denis Despelteau, 61, faces counts of fraud, breach of trust, forging documents and theft from the government, according to an arrest warrant obtained by QMI Agency.
Investigators believe Despelteau was paid under the table from the account for consulting work following his retirement." Link

What the Toronto Sun story doesn't say is that the arrest was hurried up because police feared that Despelteau was making arrangements to flee the country for good.

Another strange fact to emerge is that he owed hundreds of thousands of dollars to Revenue Canada.

How can a cop, even a well-paid senior officer owe that much?

Something is veerrrry fishy! Link{fr}

Weekend reading:  The gangster politics of Laval  by Martin Patriquin in Maclean's

Language debates are holding up corporate plans, developer says

"Major corporations are putting expansion, relocations and long-term commitments on hold, because of the “unstable business environment” caused by the Parti Québécois hotly debated Bill 14, Jonathan Wener said Wednesday.
“The market has definitely gotten softer and a lot of people are putting major decisions on hold. It’s basically a wait-and-see attitude,” the head of Canderel Group of Companies, a national real estate development and management company, said.
Wener is the chairman and CEO of Montreal-based Canderel, which manages 9 million square feet of commercial space and has an additional 2 million square feet of residential development under construction nationally.
“I think it is extremely unfortunate that we live in a society that has reduced itself to thinking it needs language police to preserve its culture — point final,” Wener told The Gazette, in a reference to the Office québécois de la langue française. “I’ve travelled a good chunk of the world and when I talk about the fact that we have language police in Quebec they laugh at me.” Link

SSJB makes fools of themselves once again!

I read this story and was reminded of the great Shakespearean line;
"A countenance more in sorrow than in anger."

Click to read the  original story in French

Yes, I don't know whether to laugh or cry at the utter stupidity of the SSJB's local Laurentian region chapter, as well as the rank ignorance of the reporter who wrote this story.

"The Board of Directors of the Mouvement Québec français des Laurentides  (MQFL) welcomes the decision of the directors of Walmart in Saint-Jerome, to display its name with a French generic descriptor.

The company has indeed added the generic French " Super centre Walmart (sic)" as required by the Charter of the French language.

Resistors
The MQFL emphasizes this fact to the many businesses that continue to display English only banners. Moreover, the MQFL hoped that this example will be followed by other leaders in the business environment in large shopping centers and regrets that we see too many "Costco Wholesale", "Payless Shoes Source," "EBGames" and many other unilingual English names.

Réjean Arsenault, president of MQFL laments the resistance of some companies which threaten the French face of our region, names that appear only in English.

According to the president, this lack of respect for Quebec's francophone identity pollutes the visual environment and makes our malls pale copies of those of the United States or the rest of Canada.
The MQFL encourages consumers to act now to counteract this tendency towards an anglicized Laurentian landscape by promoting their disavowal to the offending business leaders."

I translated the whole article because I wanted to share with readers, the absurd mentality of these unilingual country rubes so sorely out of touch with the rest of North America, that they think the world revolves around them.
Let me explain to them that Walmart did not add the word "Supercentre" to satisfy the OQLF, with which they are already in court opposing any notion of French descriptors.

The term refers to a plus-sized store which sells food as well as the hard goods found in regular Walmart store across North America.

CLICK to read about Walmart's 'SUPERCENTRE'

All across Canada, (including Quebec) these expanded stores are differentiated from regular Walmarts with the addition of  'Supercentre' on the masthead, which is the same in English and French.
In the USA these stores are called "Supercenters" as opposed to "Supercentres" because of the difference in Canadian and American English. A shopping mall in Canada is referred to as 'centre.'
Sorry to burst your balloon, but Walmart made zero effort to comply with Quebec's language law.
I don't know which is worse, the foolish self-delusion of the SSJB or the utter ignorance of the journalist who wrote this story.

It reminds me of a story about my nephew, whose birthday fell just about the time the local town in which he lived sent up fireworks for Canada Day, each year.
As the family set up on the back balcony to take in the show, my brother dutifully reminded his son that he arranged the whole fireworks show as a birthday present! ... Call it a happy confluence of events!
Deceitful?...did you never lie about Santa Claus or the Tooth Fairy?

More OQLF nonsense

I often listen to selected pieces from Quebec's talk radio, it isn't difficult to find pieces that interest me because  Radio Ego, posts interesting audio clips from the various talk-radio shows across Quebec.
In a clip about the OQLF, Stéphane Dupont went off on the organization telling listeners that it is such an embarrassment, it should just be shut down.
 He told the story about a Quebec truck manufacturer who was visited by the OQLF and received a complaint over a plaque on the wall.
It seems that the company had been cited for excellence by an international organization which issued the plaque to commemorate the achievement.
Readers you know the rest, I don't have to tell you that the OQLF objected because this international award was written in you-know-what. Listen in French

Quebec soccer bans turbans

"The Quebec Soccer Federation is forbidding turbans on the field of play, despite a directive from the Canadian Soccer Association saying turbans are okay.
For years, Sikh soccer players in Quebec were allowed to wear turbans, but last year the province’s soccer federation began to crack down.
At the time, the federation said it was only following the lead of the international soccer governing body FIFA and its Canadian counterpart.
FIFA still has yet to make a clear ruling on the issue.
Last week, the Canadian Soccer Association asked provincial soccer associations to allow turbans on the field.
But Quebec is still refusing to play ball." Read the rest of the story

Reaction is fast and furious with the federal government lodging an objection;

"Telling 5 year old kids they can't play soccer because of bogus safety excuses is not acceptable in any province," Vic Toews tweeted Monday. Read more

Fanned by anti-religious government rhetoric, religious intolerance in Quebec is growing at an alarming rate.

"In the Journal de Montréal, the province’s most-read newspaper, columnist Joseph Facal congratulated the federation for standing up to the “fanaticism” of religious minorities (who are simply defending a freedom promised them by Quebec’s own charter of rights).
And poll results recently published by the government suggest that the federation will have public opinion on its side. In the poll on religious accommodations commissioned by the government in March, one of the questions was whether to allow sports players to modify their uniforms or equipment for religious reasons.
For 81 per cent of all Quebecers — 87 per cent of francophones and 62 per cent of non-francophones— the answer was a resounding no." Read the complete story

Quebec continues to garner bad publicity around the world.
Just read the opening paragraph in this BBC news story;

CLICK to go to the BBC story

"To protect the French language, Quebec must separate from Earth"

"Ground control to Major Pauline...."

National post journalist Matt Gurney wrote a sarcastic, somewhat nasty, tongue in cheek piece that advised Quebecers to move to Jupiter to protect their language.

"Well, it’s come down to this. The only way that Quebec is going to be able to promote and defend its own unique language is to pack up, wish us all well and head out onto the vast depths of space. The future of the French language will be secure only when the Jovian Lunar Colonies of New Quebec (or New New France) are up and running. It won’t be easy. Conditions will be harsh. There’ll be cosmic rays to contend with. Not to mention the debilitating effects of low, or zero, gravity on human physiology. The only thing that will get these brave colonists through all the hardships will be the fact that they’re doing what they have to do to protect their language. And that daycare only costs seven astrocredits a day." 
Read the story

The article drew an angry response from Sophie Durocher of the Journal de Montreal who perhaps didn't find the humor in it at all. Since the piece is behind a pay-wall, I've pulled out the salient sections for translation;

"We know that the English Canadian newspapers regularly take shots at francophones in Quebec and with the ascension to power of Pauline Marois' separatist government, things have frankly gotten worse. But let's say a "new frontier" has been reached with the publication of an incredible text in the National Post on Wednesday....
...Journalist Matt Gurney bluntly tells all francophone Quebecers to embark on a space shuttle called QSS (Quebec Star Ship) Parizeau and depart to live on another planet, called the Lunar Colonies of New Quebec (or New New France).

Good riddance, this is how Quebecers then can speak French, a language that, according to Gurney, is useless.

"Despite  increasingly obnoxious and pathetic efforts by Quebec to erase any trace of this English in its territory, says Gurney, it hasn't happened." The only solution, he said, is that Ms. Marois press the panic button and take all the francophones to a planet where they can finally protect and promote their language without imposing it on the rest of the world, which wants to know nothing about this dead language.....

.....Gurney says the French he learned in school was never useful to him for anything, even after several visits in Quebec and two trips to France. (One also wonders what language he spoke when he was in Paris if it was not  French)....

....Do you think he could have written a story in the National Post with phrases like: 
"If the Jews are not happy, they should therefore go colonize Mars to promote a religion that nobody wants!  
Should blacks, who are whining all the time, be put in a shuttle and  sent to Pluto!  
If gays are so unhappy,  should they be sent to the moon?"...

..Gurney's text caused thousands of reactions and comments. And that of course resulted in venomous rants against Quebecers who still dare to fight for the French language...

..The only thing that francophone Quebecers want, Mr. Gurney, is to live in their own language, in peace with the other communities in the province...

It seems to me that we are not asking for the moon. Link fr-PW

Bits'n Pieces

Sandwich Thrower a no-show in court
The judge called out Evelyn Samantha Donis' name four times but no answer, she wasn't in court, so the judge issued a bench warrant. Donis is charged with aggravated assault with a weapon causing bodily harm.
She's accused of throwing a tuna and tomato sandwich in the face of Alex Montreuil, who had a near fatal allergic reaction to it.
It happened last fall at the cafeteria of the Jewish General Hospital. Read more

The true cost of Food Independance

A few posts back, we discussed the PQ's policy of 'food independence' where the stated goal was to increase the share of Quebec-produced food sold in Quebec stores.
I tried to point out the folly of this program but was roundly rebuked by many in the comments sections that despite the cost, viewed the program as noble. Fair enough.
How much does buying certain food products locally actually cost today?
Here's an example.
In a piece entitled "The Camembert law" journalist Alain Dubuc tells us that in a French supermarket (France) a kilo of Camembert cheese sold for €7.16, equivalent to $9.60, while in Quebec, a kilo of locally produced Camembert is sold between $32.00 and $35.00.
Still think it's a good idea to force consumers to buy locally? Read the story in French

Does French Stand a Chance Against a Global English-language Tsunami?
"French, once the language of high culture, kings and queens, and pin-striped diplomats, is drowning in a global tsunami of English usage in commerce, science, education -- and even at the multilingual United Nations. The United Nations has six official languages but English and French are considered the "working" languages. Yet without fluent English, journalists can't understand press conferences, diplomats can't negotiate resolutions and officials in the field can't file reports.
Still many of the U.N. peacekeeping missions are in Africa -- and in French-speaking lands, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo or Mali. Too often senior U.N. officials heading these operations, while fluent in French, are not native French speakers.
At a recent session at the Consulate General of France in New York, Stephane Dujarric, director of the U.N.'s News and Media Division, said:
"So my simple answer is: learn English!" Read the rest of the story

Dan Delmar: Parti Quebecois plans to double-down on intolerance
"The PQ hopes to spread the same Francosupremacist mantra to the reasonable accommodation debate, forcing Quebecers to make a false choice between an impartial, secular (read: French-Catholic) public sector and a chaotic multicultural mishmash where menorahs and hijabs are wedged in the spokes of government. It’s not a question of coming to a consensus on what precisely Quebec values are – that would be an exercise in futility since those values are diverse and subjective. It is simply an attempt to take a shortcut to sovereignty by manufacturing conflict, which is the hallmark of a successful Péquiste government.  Read the rest of the story

Britain also concerned about creeping American English
‘If there is a more hideous language on the face of the Earth than the American form of English, I should like to know what it is.’ So said a member of the House of Lords in 1978......

....‘Unstoppable rise of American English: Study shows young Britons copying US writing style’, ran a Daily Mail story last year. The analysis of 74,000 children’s entries to a short story competition found that the written work was littered with such Americanisms as garbage (rubbish), trash can (dustbin), sidewalk (pavement), candy (sweets), sneakers (trainers), soda (fizzy drink), smart (clever), cranky (moody), and flashlight (torch). The Mail prognosticated ominously that the ‘future of written English will owe more to Hollywood films than Dickens or Shakespeare, if the findings of a study into children’s writing are anything to go by’. Read the story
Okay, How many of you knew that the British  version of a cupcake is a 'fairy cake?' Link

What Took the French So Long to Create a Word For "French Kiss?
‘The English refer to “English muffins” simply as “muffins.” The Canadians like to call “Canadian bacon,” “back bacon.” Now, what do the French call a French kiss? If you had asked that question before May 30 of this year, the answer would have been absolutely nothing.

For centuries, there has been no official French word for French kissing. The situation has finally been rectified by the release of the 2014 edition of Le Petit Robert dictionary. When the famous French-language dictionary hit the shelves last Thursday, there were some new additions to the official French vocabulary including the recent slang term “galoche” (French kiss) and its verb form “galocher.” Link

By the way, of the words added to the Le Petit Robert dictionary this year, here is my favorite,
"Patenteux"
"This term is specific to Québécois French and describes a certain type of resourceful person who can fix your sink or repair your carburetor with nothing but the lint in his pocket and a stick of gum. A MacGyver, if you will." More

Tennis star Serena Willaims speaks French.....and Italian!
I bet you didn't know that!
She is a self confessed Francophile and gave this on-court interview after her French Open win.

CLICK TO HEAR INTERVIEW

Here she is speaking Italian. YouTube
Whoda thunk?

Radio Canada drops 'Canada'
"The French-language CBC sought to calm a backlash over its rebranding efforts following complaints from top to bottom within the organization. Radio-Canada issued a statement late Thursday after fielding complaints from the federal cabinet table to the shop floor, with one of its own workers’ unions condemning a move that also drew a fair bit of public ridicule online.
The organization moved to insist its historic name will remain prominent.
The organization’s executive vice-president said in a statement that he wanted to correct “misperceptions” that the organization was changing its name.
Louis Lalande said it’s not. He said the new brand name “Ici” — French for, “Here” — will be part of the identity but the organizational name won’t otherwise change." Link

Video of the week
You've no doubt seen many car chase videos (usually in California) where the entire chase is captured live by helicopter.
Here's one that takes place just north of Montreal, filmed by a news helicopter operated by the TVA network.
Probably the best quality pursuit video I've ever seen, so congrats to the reporter, and crew for being Johnny-on-the-spot.

CLICK to view video

Here's a video by a Longueuil motel promoting this years Fete-St.Jean celebrations and promising customers a pretty good time...er......
Is this what it's come down to????

After viewing the video, the beer company demanded that their name be disassociated.

I wonder why...

This story just broke last night and there was but one comment under the story in Le Journal de Montreal, but very telling.

 "The truth hurts, eh?"

 
Quote of the week
"The linguist Claude Hagège says that “the paradox is that today the people who are responsible for Americanisation and the promotion of English are not American.” Fortunately, people who are not French (notably in Africa and Quebec) have enabled cultural diversity to flourish. Political leaders should be inspired by their tenacity, not by the foolish fatalism of a few academics. Link 

Have a great weekend!

Bonne fin de semaine!