French versus English Volume 94

Charbonneau Crime Inquiry touching some raw nerves

This week and last week saw some pretty damaging testimony from an ex-union boss who spilled the beans over union connections to organized crime and biker gangs.
In a rambling testimony given over many days, Ken Pereira testified that he confronted his bosses over irregularities, including the overstated expenses claimed by FTQ Construction ex-boss Jocelyn Dupuis who charged $125,000 in dubious expenses, including $30,000 in one swanky Montreal restaurant in just one month.
When Pereira went to the head of the entire FTQ union with proof of the phony expense scheme, he was advised not to make waves and then claimed he was offered $300,000 to keep quiet.
He went on to tell the commission about the incestuous relationship between the union and construction entrepreneurs and even made connections to biker gangs and the mafia.

In one of the more riveting stories, he told the commission about an incident at the Bell Centre in Montreal during a boxing gala.

First, some background. 
Back in March, construction boss Giuseppe (Joe) Borsellino, owner of Garnier Construction was hauled kicking and screaming before the commission, giving testimony that was evasive to be generous, ridiculous to be fair. Read a hilarious account.
Borsellino is an important player in the Montreal construction industry, a competitor of Tony Accurso, but not quite in his league.

"And he had no clear explanation for why three men showed up at his offices in Laval in July 2009 and beat him so severely that he ended up in surgery...
...The beating incident in 2009 seemed to be of particular interest to Justice France Charbonneau, who pushed for answers about what could have triggered such a violent episode. It took seven hours to surgically repair the damage done to Borsellino's face by the men who pushed their way into his office."

Readers, when two guys break into your home or office, not to rob you, but rather to beat you up, it is to send a message. If the attackers wanted Borsellino dead, they'd have put two bullets in his head.
It is impossible that Borsellino didn't know why he was beaten, the attackers surely let him know exactly what the message was and who was sending it.

And so back to the story.....
Mr Pereira, testified that Bernard Girard (ex-VP of 77,000 member strong FTQ-Construction union) attended a boxing gala a the Bell Centre in Montreal with Jimmy Accurso, son of the infamous construction magnate. At a certain point, Jimmy headed upstairs to his father's loge to get a bottle of booze. Jimmy preferred the floor seats for boxing, rather than the loge, high up in the rafters.
The loge had been lent out for the evening to Jocelyn Dupuis (the same FTQ Construction union boss with the phony expenses) 
Jimmy flipped his lid when upon entering his father's loge, he espied Borsellino, a direct competitor of his father.
Accurso took exception that Dupuis disrespected his father's generosity by inviting a competitor to the loge and when the exchange between himself and Jocelyn Dupuis got heated, three Hells Angels, also invited by Dupuis to the loge, intervened on Dupuis' behalf.
Pushing and shoving ensued and if not for Girard's intervention, Jimmy was on the road to a solid beating, this according to Pereira.

Two weeks later, thugs showed up to Borselinos office and beat the crap out of him....hmmmm.

To top off the story, on Wednesday morning last week, Perereira himself 'slipped and fell' when leaving his home on his way to testify. The extent of his concussion is unknown and the commission suspended hearing until he can return. Hmmm......

For those who believe that the Charbonneau commission is reviewing history, nothing could be less true, it is an unfolding saga.

Now the guy who Pereira went to about the phony expenses, is the big boss of the entire FTQ union, Michel Arsenault.
The FTQ is Quebec's largest and most powerful union with 500,000 members, or 44% of unionized Quebecers.

Arsenault is fighting tooth and nail to have wiretap recordings of himself and cohorts excluded from being played before the commission based on his right to privacy.
These recordings were made by police in an investigation into union corruption a couple of years ago.
The investigation ended when police gave the tapes to Crown prosecutors, believing that there was enough evidence of malfeasance to warrant charges being laid.
However, the prosecutors disagreed and chose not to indict and the matter was dropped, but the tapes were turned over to the commission and are probably quite damaging.
In a desperate attempt to have the tapes declared off limits, Arsenault and the union are going to court....stay tuned.

Allegations that Laval ex-mayor offered cash to candidate

And ex Laval  godfather mayor Gilles Vaillancourt is in the news again, unbowed and unrepentant.

"The disgraced ex-mayor once known as the King of Laval has cast a dark shadow over the city’s municipal election, with fresh allegations supported by a secret recording that he offered cash to one candidate and delivered a thinly veiled threat against another.
In the midst of the new allegations against Gilles Vaillancourt, the mayor who reigned over Laval for 23 years before his downfall, a campaign staffer who helped blow the whistle on Mr. Vaillancourt was beaten on the side of a road by two men. He was not seriously injured in the Monday night attack.
Earlier Monday, candidate and former Vaillancourt ally on council, Claire Le Bel, went public to Radio-Canada with her recording of a meeting with Mr. Vaillancourt in August where the former mayor suggested he could secretly deliver shady cash donors to help fund her campaign. She and her children have been under police guard since she went public.
Fellow mayoral candidate Marc Demers, a former Laval police investigator and long-time enemy of Mr. Vaillancourt, said he went to police Tuesday to complain that Mr. Vaillancourt was also recorded telling Ms. Le Bel that Mr. Demers would have his legs broken."  Link

You've got to admit that he's got brass cojones.
With all the millions he is alleged to have stashed in the Caribbean and considering the jail time he's potentially looking at, it's a testament to his fortitude that he's sticking around and still working the room like he never left.
If I was in his position and at his age, 72, I'd be looking at a country without an extradition treaty with Canada, somewhere warm, where the locals could be paid to look the other way..... Otro tequila por favor!

And the hits just keep coming.....

Michael Applebaum corruption allegations run deep

Investigators with the province's anti-corruption unit say former mayor Michael Applebaum is at the center of an alleged system of corruption much broader than first thought.
According to documents obtained by La Presse, UPAC's investigation focused on multiple real estate projects in the Cote des Neiges -- NDG borough.
Applebaum was arrested in June in connection with two projects, the NDG Sports Centre and a condo project near Mount Royal.
The projects allegedly involved zoning changes and bribes worth tens of thousands of dollars that transpired between 2006 and 2011
He was charged with 14 offences, including conspiracy, fraud, breach of trust and corruption in municipal affairs.
The new documents reveal the alleged corruption goes back to 2002 and continues up to last year.      Read more

Quebec cop who specialized in biker gangs now accused of helping them 

"Quebec's latest corruption scandal has reached into the heart of law enforcement, with a longtime organized-crime investigator accused of colluding with the criminals he'd been watching.
Benoit Roberge was the Montreal police force's leading expert on biker gangs, having investigated their activity and testified at trials to put them away. His spouse, meanwhile, still works as a prosecutor specializing in organized crime.
Now Roberge is under arrest.
He is accused of selling sensitive information about ongoing police investigations to biker gangs and he now faces four charges, including two counts of gangsterism.
On Saturday, he was arrested by fellow police officers. When he was stopped he was allegedly in the company of an individual linked to the Hells Angels crime gang.
Roberge appeared in court on Monday on four charges: one count of obstructing justice, one count of breach of trust and the two counts related to gangsterism. Link

Quebec intergovernmental minster's 'crocodile tears'

Did you hear the joke about the son who murdered his parents and then asked the judge for leniency because he's now an orphan?

It reminds of Quebec's intergovernmental minister Alexandre Cloutier's complaint that Quebec is underrepresented on the Supreme Court.
The newest appointment, that of Marc Nadon from Quebec, is being held up because a Toronto lawyer has claimed that the appointee isn't qualified under the law, even though the court has received an opinion from a Supreme Court judge that he is.
While the mess is sorted out, Nadon will sit it out, leaving Cloutier fuming that Quebec is short-changed and under-represented.

But hold on just a sec.
Quebec is guaranteed three of the nine spots, or one third of the seats, even though its population is only 23.6% of the Canadian total.
Even without Judge Nadon sitting, Quebec will still have two of the eight seats, or 25%.
It's Quebec mathematics.

By the way, Cloutier told reporters that if only Harper had taken the PQs advice on who to appoint, the mess could have been averted. Link{fr}

Andre Boisclair becoming a PQ liability

The PQ finally revoked Andre Boisclair's 'permanence' as a deputy minister, which would have guaranteed him a cushy job and salary until retirement, at which point he could then collect a healthy pension.

You might recall that Boisclair was removed removed himself to fight a lawsuit that he launched against the CAQ for allegedly defaming him by asking publicly if his drug use led to preferential treatment in the awarding of a contract, just a few days before a provincial election which the PQ was to lose.
The awarding of a new contract by a government minister during an election campaign is seen as unethical and in this case particularly offensive because Boisclair knew that according to the polls the PQ would lose the election convincingly and he'd no longer be minister.

The fact that he left his job in New York, indicates that the PQ wanted him out of the firing line, but if every politician stepped aside because of a lawsuit, there'd be few left to govern.

"The government has not explained why it granted Boisclair’s request for what appears to be an indefinite, paid leave of absence in Montreal during his lawsuit, which could take several years to decide.
In 1993, sovereignist leaders Jacques Parizeau and Lucien Bouchard sued for defamation over a financial newsletter comparing their nationalism to that of Adolf Hitler.
That case wasn’t settled until 12 years later. In the meantime, first Parizeau, then Bouchard became premier. If they could run the whole provincial government during a lawsuit, why can’t Boisclair even run its New York office?" Read more

But the ex-delegate-general to New York hasn't faded from the limelight and continues to embarrass the PQ as more damaging revelations about his term as Premier coming to light.
The latest is that Boisclair accepted illegal help from the FTQ union during a provincial election, a no-no according to election law. Link{fr}
The allegation comes a year too late, as the statute of limitations has run out on these type of offenses.

Still, Boisclair has become an embarrassment as he is still collecting his $170,000 salary while being re-assigned to 'other' duties in Quebec.
Nice work if you can get it......

Charter of Values: Much ado about nothing

Conspicuous religious symbols aren't a problem in any health facility in Quebec, but the Charter Values ​​might create new ones, warn the leaders of the health care system .  

Executive Director of the Quebec Association of health and social services institutions (AQESSS), Diane Lavallée, Quebec asked the government to exempt the 230,000 health workers from part of the Charter of Quebec values. 
"The wearing of religious symbols is no problem in the network and we are concerned that their prohibition will lead to difficulties in recruiting and retaining staff, in addition to creating unhealthy tension where there was none before ," Ms. Lavallée said at a press conference. 
AQESSS executives surveyed its 125 health facilities about the charter between the 19th and 25th of September. The results are unequivocal: 100% say they have no problem with the wearing of religious symbols. They also reported that they didn't receive a single complaint in this regard , over the past two years. Yet nearly half of the institutions include among their staff, those who wear such ostentatious signs . In addition, 97 %  say that these signs don't pose any difficulty in relationships with customers. Link{fr}

The logic of Jean-François Lisée

The PQ minister in charge of Montreal is so peeved that all the major candidates for mayor of Montreal have come out solidly against the Charter of Values, that he has asked then not to discuss their positions in public. Link{fr}

I'm not kidding.

He asked the candidates to emulate the late Jean Drapeau who as mayor of Montreal, never pronounced publicly his opposition to Bill 101, reminding the candidates that the Charter is a provincial matter, intimating that they had no dog in the fight.

But two of the candidates Denis Coderre and Mélanie Joly have already gone so far as to say that as mayor, they would launch a judicial challenge, something that annoyed Liseé to no end.

He reminded the candidates that many people in Montreal support the proposed Charter, but since there is no viable candidate supporting the Charter, their voices cannot be heard.

And so, according to his logic, it is illegitimate for the new mayor to attack the Charter.

And with that our minister was off to China on a mission, God only knows why.

PQ buying more jobs.

"On Monday, Pauline Marois doled out close to $10 million to Ubisoft Entertainment. On Friday, she gave $1.5 million to Warner Bros. Games. And throughout the week, she played political action figure, fending off opponents of her Charter of Quebec Values.

So when the premier boasted Friday about how Quebec subsidies and tax breaks have helped build a world-class video-game industry here that employs 8,000 people in well-paid jobs, I couldn’t help but ask: Are video games now a “Quebec value”?   Read a wry account

I caught Pauline's speech about the announced gift to Warner Bros. and had a chuckle as La Marois actually referred to the company as "Warner Bross."
Yup, apparently Pauline doesn't know that 'bros.' is short for 'brothers' in English and it seems that none of her aides warned her about the pronunciation.

The bigger question is, who never heard of "Warner Brothers?'

You don't need French to hear the gaff at the beginning of the video and again at 0:20 secs.
Attention Pauline 'secs' ='seconds'

Just to help her out, I'm offering these images so that Pauline can avert a mistake in the future.

And who knew this secret before?

Clever or insulting?
This is how Bulk Barn deals with English in Quebec...

By the by, Bulk Barn still seemed to have muddled it up. The French version of the sign  reads '63¢', while the English sign underneath reads '.63' 
It should be vice-versa....Hmmmm...

Bits'n Pieces

If you read French , head over to Kijiji for this story written in charming street French about a stolen bike...it's precious Link{fr} 

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A couple of year's ago I wrote about Daryl Lessor, a watchmaker that sells his wares on the Internet, who was hassled by the OQLF because his website was in English only.
Read: Watchmaker has No Time for Language Police

He's now decided to pack Quebec in and move to Ontario. Read the story 

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Quebec universities are presently on a road show in France, hoping to recruit students to fill empty classes. Link{fr}

Students from France, unlike other foreign countries, benefit from the right to pay the same low tuition as Quebecers.

In other words, Quebec taxpayers pony up 83% of the real cost of the education of the estimated 10,000 students from France studying in Quebec.

The students also benefit from free Medicare while here.
Sheesh... good work if you can get it!

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Here's a video promoting the new SSJB app that allows users to rat out those businesses that disrespect French.
Check out the big bad Anglo, who is actually played by a French actor who speaks English with an accent....hmmmmm

You can download the app HERE 

I can imagine the loads of fun you can have with it, but I'm not saying....

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Quebec is in the news in Israel

The Jeruselem Post has weighed in on Quebec's Charter of Values

Read:
Quebec’s disgraceful ‘Values Charter’ .....Ouch!

...and in HAARETZ

Will rising nationalism renew Montreal’s Jewish exodus?

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11¢ out of every Quebec tax dollar is going to service Quebec's massive debt, the highest ratio of any Canadian province. Link
How many pennies out of each dollar does Alberta spend to service its debt?.....0¢

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Mastercard forgets not all Habs fans speak French.
Fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens do not like each other one bit, and Mastercard is looking to cash in on this priceless rivalry.
The credit card company’s latest social media campaign pits the fans against each other.....
...There is one tiny little problem: The video for Habs fans was only posted in French. The entirety of anglophone Canadiens fans were ignored by the credit card giant. Instead of heckling the Leafs in the comments, English-speaking fans were stuck asking Mastercard to release an English-language video. YouTubers are not known for being subtle and, instead of slightly mean-spirited anti-Leaf comments, the space below the YouTube video almost erupted into a French vs. English language debate.  Link to story

Watch the French only Habs video on YouTube, but don't miss the comments below it.

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Only in Canada
 "Coca-Cola has cancelled a Canadian promotion that paired randomly generated English and French words inside bottle caps after an Edmonton woman got one that said “You Retard.” " Link




Quebecers, as well as North Koreans barred from National Geographic photo contest! 

 

Have a great weekend!

Bonne fin de semaine!

Fixing Quebec: Free Post-Secondary Education

Lost in last year's great discussion on free tuition in Quebec is the fact that students pay just about 17% of the actual cost of their post-secondary education. (It's 40% in the ROC)

When students complain that even this is too high, it is in fact, like complaining about the outrageous  cost of a liter of gasoline at 22¢ or a liter of milk at 43¢ or perhaps an analogy that students can understand, a marijuana joint for about $1.25*.
Imagine Quebec motorists marching in the streets because the government proposed to raise gasoline prices from 22¢ a liter to 30¢ over five years.

Of course this is of no never-mind to students who were brought up in the age of entitlement, where the government is expected to pay for the necessities of life, from cradle to grave.

When Premier Jean Charest raised tuition prices last year, it set off a firestorm of protest, pitting students who wanted to pay nothing for their education against taxpayers who didn't want to see their taxes go up to pay for the additional entitlement.

But public opinion was largely on the side of higher tuition, because taxpayers, although in love with their own entitlements, aren't fond of paying for entitlements that don't benefit themselves directly.

And so an emboldened Charest government fought the students tooth and nail and almost pulled off an improbable election victory on the back of the tuition issue.

It's too bad that the Charest government didn't give the students exactly what they asked for, a negotiation, because it would have been a glorious opportunity to fix the bloated, expensive and underachieving education system, particularly the disaster that the CEGEP system has become.

I'll preface all that I'm saying by pointing out that the following suggestions are generally directed at the francophone education system, because on the English side, competition, that ultimate driving force of innovation, success and excellence remains for the most part, alive and well.
The exception on the English side is Concordia University in Montreal, which has been allowed to grow much too large. Without enough quality students to go around, the school dropped its entrance requirements to the point that anyone who can sign their name gets in, resulting in an academic disaster, one that has directly led to Quebec's worst dropout rate among universities (30%), a fraction ahead the equally challenged UQAM.

Now because francophones have equal access to post-secondary English education, places in all Quebec English cegeps are hard to come by and competition is fierce, leading of course, to higher standards.
It is the law of supply and demand in its purest form.

Those who are academically challenged, yet still want to go to cegep, are welcomed with open arms on the francophone side where an overbuilt cegep and university system is facing a critical shortage of students. The situation is so desperate that the schools have resorted to collapsing the standards in order to fill places. Some French schools are so desperate that they are offering English courses, much to the consternation of language militants.
The problem is not students, but capacity,

The entire cost for free tuition for post-secondary education would be about $700 million, about 1% of the Quebec budget.
It really isn't that big a deal and is actually eminently doable as there is enormous room to trim the fat.
So let me make a couple of suggestions that would make free tuition possible, without costing the government a dime;

Suggestion Number 1    Eliminate CEGEP
Quebec remains the lone jurisdiction in the North America that forces all students into junior college, a system that poaches a year of high school and a year of university, sort of like middle school in the United States that bridges the gap between primary and high school.
If the Quebec system was successful, more provinces and states would consider adopting the cegep model, the fact that nobody has, speaks volumes.

The only equivalence to Quebec cegep system are the junior college's in the USA, known a 'Community colleges' where all are welcomed without enrollment standards. For this reason alone, they are considered a joke by serious academics. These schools cater to adults wishing to go back to school for either personal or employment reasons or unsuccessful people wishing to restart their life.

The cegep system is a mistake, totally superfluous and dysfunctional, its first sin is to  rob students of the crucial twelfth grade of high school.

Many poor student enroll in cegep after high school just because they can, since standards are so low. These students aren't ready or willing to enter the work force, so pretending to go to school, ultimately to fail, is still a better choice.
As they say...nice work if you can get it!
For them, another year of high school where students are closely monitored (unlike cegep) would have been a godsend.

Like I said, the junior college system is unsuccessful in the few places world that have them, so having that system here and forcing everybody to attend cegep before college is a costly mistake.

Now I know that the likelihood of this first suggestion happening is nil, because to eliminate cegep would be an admission of failure, so my second suggestion is;

Suggestion Number 2    Reduce capacity by 25%
Quebec sends 25% more students to post-secondary than in the ROC. Unfortunately, taking in so many unqualified students leads to Canada's worst dropout rate, where about one third of students who enroll, don't earn any degree at all.
By reducing the number of students, standards can be raised, eliminating those destined to fail anyway. Right now, francophone schools are so desperate to fill places that you don't even need a high school diploma to enroll!
Paradoxically,  reducing the number of student enrolled would hardly change the  numbers who graduate.
Getting rid of students destined to fail reduces costs with no loss on the educational front.
It's a no-brainer

Suggestion Number 3    Free tuition with strings
The trouble with free education is not the additional cost, but rather the perception in the student's eye.
It is human nature to place little value on what we get for free, so giving students free education is not just about the economics, but respect.
With totally free education (and practically free education) students don't feel a pressure to succeed and spend more time loafing in school instead of diligently working on their degree.
So free tuition must be conditional, with students required to perform at a reasonable level of achievement and in a reasonable time frame.

Students who complete their degrees in the minimum time period without failing any classes could be awarded with a 100% tuition refund for their effort.
They would in fact have 'earned' their free tuition by their successful studies and would be given a cheque, representing all the tuition they paid in, upon graduation.
One lump sum, now that's incentive!.
Think of the pride that the student would enjoy in presenting the check to his or her parents, who paid for the tuition initially.
If the student took out loans to pay for tuition his or herself, imagine the joy in paying the debt off!

Contrarily, students who fail classes would forfeit the tuition that they paid in, the same for students who take light course loads and take extended vacations in cegep.

There could be a menu of incentives and disincentives, it's a matter of setting boundaries.
Perhaps students who fails a class but want to restore his or her good record (to win back their tuition) could be offered hours of community service.

And so free tuition would be an incentive to perform, not a freebie for the good and bad students alike.

I don't know how the student unions would react, I assume they'd oppose free tuition with strings attached because after all, an entitlement that requires those who benefit to contribute any measure of effort is not the Quebec way.

As I did my sums, I've actually calculated that  higher education with free tuition under different circumstances can actually work to the government's advantage, graduating as many students at a reduced cost.

The very real problem with higher education system is that both the schools and the students have a vested interest in keeping standards low, which remains a major problem.

It would take a brave government to fix the mess, so it is unlikely to happen, but free tuition can only be achieved through a total re-engineering of the post-secondary education system.

If you want free tuition, you need reform.

*"......a marijuana joint for about $1.25"
 Readers, I hadn't the foggiest idea what a marijuana joint costs until I looked it up and found out that an ounce of marijuana (from which you can make about 28 joints) costs about $190 in Quebec, the cheapest place in North America! 
The most expensive place to buy weed is in Nunavut at almost $800 an once!
There's actually an interactive website that tracks current prices in each state and province in North America. Link

Parizeau Offers Charter Compromise, but does PQ Want One?

"Mother-in-law?

Yesterday, ex-Premier Jacques Parizeau waded into the Charter debate and most PQ hardliners expected another stab in the back as is the history of Parizeau interventions.
It's no accident that Parizeau has been nicknamed the 'Mother-in-law" for his unsolicited advice and criticism of the PQ and its leadership.

So it wasn't surprising that Parizeau announced a different position on the Charter then that proposed by the PQ, but in an elegantly and sympathetic piece written in le Journal de Montreal, he offered a compromise that seems to represent the popular position that has coalesced after the month long debate. Link{fr}

Now the English press is simply giddy because Parizeau supposedly came out against the Charter, some even claiming that his column was a sharp rebuke, the same line being pedaled by the Liberals, but it seems to this observer that Parizeau did nothing of the sort, rather offering a reasoned opinion on how the Charter should play out.

In offering an alternate view, Mr Parizeau has in no way put himself squarely against the Charter and to pretend that he is diametrically opposed is dishonest.

Mr. Drainville called for a serene and thoughtful debate in relation to the Charter and said that the government is open to changes.
That is all that Parizeau has done. For Peekists to complain that he is meddling once again as is his want, is disingenuous fantasy.
In fact, complaints about Parizeau's missive from the hardliners, belies the notion that they ever wanted a fair debate at all.

Maria Mourani (dumped from the Bloc Quebecois for her opposition to the Charter)  told reporters that this was exactly what Drainville told her in a private conversation. Drainville indicated to her that the PQ decided that it would serve the party's interest to polarize Quebecers around the issue and fight an election with the position that only with a  majority government could the PQ possibly deliver a reasonable and effective Charter.
When asked to comment on Mourani's statement, Drainville offered a stern 'No Comment.'

Now what Parizeau proposed is pretty much what is being widely accepted as a compromise.

• Official Secularism
• No face veils while receiving or giving government services.
• No paid holidays outside official national holidays. (Unpaid time off, allowed)
• No religious symbols to be worn by Officials in positions of power (judges, police, guards, etc.)
• No unreasonable accommodations (whatever that is)

Gone is the interdiction of the wearing of religious symbols while in the employ of the government.

It seems to be a compromise that most can live with, well within in the range of honest give and take, Nobody goes away completely satisfied, but not empty-handed.
So secularists and the observant are both required to put a little water in their wine, but in the end it seems that there is an acceptable deal to be had.

That is what I now call the 'Parizeau Compromise' 

The Parizeau Compromise is one the Jews and the Sikhs will readily accept, but one that the Muslims may not because the only real question to be debated is whether daycare, primary and high school teachers are civil servants in a position of power, thus subject to the interdiction.
If so teachers wouldn't be allowed to wear religious symbols and this affects Muslim day care workers and teachers to a very high degree.

I will venture to guess that on this one issue, the Muslims are on the wrong side of the consensus and that the Parizeau Compromise will have all party support if the teachers are included.

It's an acceptable solution for all but the Muslims, but that is perhaps the point. We all know that the real purpose of the Charter was to put restrictions on Quebec's growing Muslim population and especially those who wear the hijab.
The one interdiction on the teachers will be seen as enough to make the point. 

So with a deal in sight, will the PQ balk, preferring to have the issue linger on into the next provincial election which pundits tell us could happen in December?

The only bugbear that I see, is that Marois can't really call an election on her own. Back in June all parties unanimously passed Bill 03 which created a fixed term for elections every four years, with the next scheduled in 2016. There is no provision for a government to resign and call an election, it can only happen if the government is defeated in a confidence vote.

There is also the possibility that if the Marois government does resign, Quebec's Lieutenant-Governor could entertain a request from the Liberals and the CAQ for a coalition government, this without ever going to an election;
If the Lieutenant-Governor agrees (it is not beyond the realm) the government would be tested in the National Assembly and by winning a confidence vote could dump the PQ without firing a shot.

But that is fanciful speculation, the question at hand is whether the PQ wants a charter deal, which more or less is on the table or an election issue to base a campaign upon.

Or as Howie Mandel used to ask us on his quiz show;
Deal  or no deal?


.............Late Breaking..............

I caught a radio interview today  with Jacques Parizeau who couldn't resist going back and discussing the 1995 referendum and his famous drunken quote, the one that intimated that the  referendum was lost because of ethnic votes and money. Listen in French

I guess at his age, he is trying to rehabilitate his reputation, but if that was the case, he didn't do a good job, not in the least.

He explained that his remarks were justified, because the Jewish, Italian and Greek community made common cause and voted massively against the referendum.
He went on to say that in several polling stations in Cote Saint Luc, (a prominently Jewish suburb of Montreal,) the NON side received nary a vote.
The facts are the facts.
What he said was actually true, except the 'money,' part which was ridiculous.

But what he said back then in 1995, to preface the statement, was also telling.

"It's true, it's true we were defeated in the end, but by what? By money and the ethnic vote essentially.

(C'est vrai, c'est vrai qu'on a été battus, au fond, par quoi? Par l'argent, puis des votes ethniques, essentiellement.)

To me this is the essential point. When push came to shove, Parizeau went to the go-to analogy of 'us versus them.' 

It's something he and others separatists will never understand, the almost 100% rejection of the sovereignty project.
 It is simply because the Jews, the Greeks and the Italians understand that they were considered outsiders and that the Francophone majority never considered them equals.

It is this 'Us versus Them' scenario, where if all the left-handers chose the left-handed side, can anyone really question why?

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Dear Friends,

I and my wife and I are off visit our grandchildren this weekend.
I hope to see the littlest one perhaps stand up, or the four year old to tell me what it is all about.

As we get older it is these little things that we care about.
I have a latent fear that my grandchildren will end up speaking  like Vinnie Barbarinno, but on my last trip my grandson said this,  when I took away his toy.
"Eh! Give it back!"

Oh my God!...
He actually said 'Eh'..a Canadianism that we all cherish!
...Happily, his parents actually rubbed off!

Why am I sharing?
Dunno, other than to say I am happy to visit my second favorite city and to see family that cherishes their Montreal roots.
Those who read this blog regularly know exactly where we are off to.

But to those who think I hate Quebec, you couldn't be more wrong.
When we approach the border on our return, our heart skips, a sense of happiness and well being overcomes us.
We are home!

Can I explain it?................Nope!

Because of my travels, I'll be post again on Tuesday or Wednesday, next week!
In the meantime;

Have a great weekend!
Bon fin de semaine!

Canadian Protesters - Idiots Abroad

Tarek Loubani  and John Greyson...Idiots abroad

Sometimes we forget just how wonderful our country is and we sometimes take for granted the very real liberties and freedoms we have.

While idiot separatists rail on and on about how they are colonized by the evil ROC, I would imagine that 90% of the citizens of the world would switch their circumstances with the enslaved Quebecers.

As we fulminate over the harsh treatment of protesting students at the hands of our over-zealous police, I am reminded of how Egyptian police handle their rioters, not with pepper spray, rather with spraying machine gun fire.

I feel badly for the two Canadian activists, Doctor Tarek Loubani and filmmaker John Greyson, who are presently in jail in Egypt in utterly horrific conditions but have to ask the question that nobody will dare.

What the heck were they doing there? Read their story

"In a statement Saturday, the two men said they were observing an anti-government demonstration Aug. 16 when Loubani heeded a call for a doctor and began treating wounded demonstrators, while Greyson recorded the unrest on video." Link

Egypt was practically in a civil war with the army reconquering the streets with brutal force, making no distinction between observers and participants.

Only idiots would venture out into the melee, just to bear witness and stay out past the 10PM curfew. Perhaps it is their foolhardy activist belief that foreign governments operate under 'Canadian Rules,' where there is no unjust confinement or cruel and unusual punishment.

"The New York Times reports that officials in the current military-supported government are upset at how foreign press has failed to depict the conflict as a war against violent terrorists. Dozens of foreign journalists have been attacked or detained since the announcement." Link

Now their friends and family are clamoring for the Canadian government to get them out of a very serious jam, but who is to blame but themselves, our very own idiots abroad.

The truth is that  Doctor Tarek Loubani and filmmaker John Greyson are dedicated anti-Israel activists who were on their way to Gaza, another place that only idiots would go.
With the current Egyptian military dictatorship at war with Gaza's Hamas government, the border which the two Canadians were to cross is closed and so the lads decided to participate attend a deadly street confrontation, instead of hightailing it out of a city under siege.

After the arrest our two idiots proclaimed from their jail cell that they had witnessed the murder of dozens of innocent protesters, something even a simpleton should understand would anger their jailors.
Claiming that they were beaten, humiliated and forced to sleep on a concrete floor with cockroaches (which I've no doubt is true) is also something that is counter-productive to winning back  their freedom.

Then the two started a hunger strike, more foolishness which, sure as shooting, was to bring on more grief. After the Canadian government complained that the two should be freed because of the lack of criminal charges, the Egyptians took note, and promptly laid trumped up murder charges against the two.

Read their own account of how they ended up in jail and marvel at the utter naivete and stupidity. Link
They close the statement with this absurdity;

"We deserve due process, not cockroaches on concrete. We demand to be released." John & Tarek

Do they really think they are in a position to demand anything? Is there even such a thing as 'due process' in Egypt?

They need to understand that they are now subject to "Egyptian Rules' and when abroad one should always familiarize oneself with local rules and consider the very real consequences of pissing off the local gendarmerie.

By the way, under 'Egyptian Rules,' nobody is going to force feed hunger strikers, because the authorities actually don't care if they die. It would serve as an example to others activists.
The more arbitrary the arrest, the more cruel the conditions of incarceration and the more unjust sentencing, the more foreign journalists will mind their P's and Q's.
This is 'Egyptian Rules.'

I don't know if the two really understood the risks they were taking. Many will say that they bravely chose to face danger in support of what they believed was a good cause, but I suspect that they never fathomed as even remotely possible, that which has befallen them.
If they had, would they really have set out on their adventure?

I wish that the two would have screened Midnight Express before embarking on their mission to poke the eye of the beast. If you've never seen the harrowing tale of imprisonment in a foreign Hellhole, here's a link where you can watch the movie. Watch Midnight Express

And now to the case of more idiots abroad, Canadians Paul Ruzycki of Port Colborne, Ont. and Montrealer Alexandre Paul, who are part of a group of Greenpeace activists, who thought it would be peachy to storm an oil platform owned by the Russian state-controlled firm Gazprom. Link

Unlike in Canada where the police would allow Greenpeace protesters to unfurl their banners and block traffic for hours and hours on a bridge, resulting in a heroic trip to court and a fifty dollar fine, the Russians don't appreciate an attack on their reputation.

And so they sent commandos in by helicopter to board and seize the Greenpeace ship, the Arctic Sunrise, arresting the activists, and trundling them off to Murmansk where they are now facing charges of piracy.

"Greenpeace has called the charges "irrational, absurd and an outrage". Link 

Ya think?......Welcome to 'Russian Rules'

Now for the benefit of these imprisoned 'pirates' I would remind them that the "Russian Rules' are very similar to the 'Egyptian Rules' in that the harsh treatment is meant to send a serious message to others considering similar actions.
The more pressure brought to bear by foreign governments, friends, families and media, the harder it will be on the activists.

French secret service sunk the Rainbow Warrior

Greenpeace seems surprised at their harsh treatment at the hand of the Russians, but they shouldn't. I'm sure they're an educated and well-read lot, so I only have two words to say... Pussy Riot.  

And even Western democracies are not immune from bending the rules when it comes to activists as proven by France's secret service sinking a Greenpeace ship, the Rainbow Warrior in 1985, resulting in the death of a crew member.  Wikipedia

Most of the world is uncivilized, the governments little more than fascist fronts, with corruption, illegal detention and a justice system in name only.

'Canadian Rules' just don't apply, so I hope that activists remember that fact when they undertake their foreign adventures.

Once in a foreign jail, there's not a lot that can be done to help. The Canadian government has been doing cartwheels to secure the release of  Loubani and John Greyson, to no avail.

I'm sure the two didn't bargain for what they got, the same for the Greenpeace activists, but in the real world, that's the way it is.

So for those considering going off to face the Israeli military in the Palestinian territories or on the high sea, understand that they are going to face "Israeli Rules"

If the activists are up for it, full speed ahead, but no complaining afterwards.

Still I'm crossing my fingers for all the detained and hope they get out soon and come back safely to the friendly confines of 'Canadian Rules.'

Charter of Values....the Wrong Debate

The debate over the Charter of Values may be but a ploy by the PQ to find some new and fertile land in the electoral landscape, but questions surrounding the direction our society is going in relation to Muslim immigration, is in fact legitimate and one that our society should and must face, sooner rather than later.

Let's be honest, the Charter of Values is all about  forcing Muslims to integrate, the Jews and the Sikhs are irrelevant.

Looking at the polls, opinion seems to be equally split on the Charter of Values, with sound minded people supporting one side of the issue or the other, both able, it seems to me,  to make a good case. 
There is also, I believe, a considerable amount of people who are wrestling with the issue (I for one), those who believe in personal freedom but are afraid that Quebec may end up like France, Germany or Scandinavia, where Muslim immigration has been problematic (to say the least) because too many immigrants are determined to bring the old ways of home to their new country, instead of adapting to western culture.

It is these 'old ways' that many object to, not exactly the religious part, but mostly the social, where women are believed to be chattel to be dominated by the men in their lives.

For those who are concerned about this problem, the veil is perceived as the symbol of female oppression, the thin end of the wedge and so they believe that banning the veil sends a powerful message that Quebecers will no tolerate their society going the way of the aforementioned countries, which are, in varying degrees, gripped in social upheaval based on Muslim versus western values.

I listen and read all the different positions and somehow feel like Teyve in the Fiddler on the Roof, who when asked to referee an argument finds himself agreeing to both opposing positions.

Any thinking person should understand that the issue is difficult, a question of drawing the line between personal freedom balanced by the greater public interest. Where that line is properly placed is a matter of honest debate.

And so I must reject those editorialists who are shocked that such a debate is taking place, I bet those in Europe would wish to turn back the clock and embark on exactly the same process we are undergoing.

What direction would the Europeans have chosen for their countries, if they knew then, what they know now?

 I condemn all those on both sides of the debate with hardline positions, who see those with opposite views  as stupid, naive, traitorous or worse still, racist.

Here is a typical editorial view from the ROC;

"Setting Quebecers against minorities and English Canada is a strategy Marois hopes will resonate with supporters and clear a path to majority government in the next election. It is cynical but typical. If this is the fight the PQ has chosen, Canadians, including many in Quebec, should not shirk from it. From banning hijabs and turbans from soccer fields to blaming money and ethnic votes for the 1995 referendum defeat, trampling on minority rights has become a Quebec pastime. If ever there was a time to draw a line under official discrimination, this is it. The Quebec charter is an affront to everything we hold dear in Canada." Ottawa Citizen

While there is nary an article in English Canada supporting the Charter of Values, paradoxically, the numbers of Canadians who believe that religious limitations are reasonable is remarkably similar to sentiments in Quebec..

Here, the National Post was surprised by reader responses;

"Quebec’s proposed secularist Charter of Values has not proven to be popular with pundits — but a surprising number of National Post readers like it. That became evident as readers answered this week’s Letters-page question: “Do you support Quebec’s proposed ban on religious symbols in the workplace?”
A full page of responses will fill Monday’s Letters page, with the notes falling into three main groups. The largest is from readers who feel religion has no place in a public workspace. Here are a few examples:
“God or Allah or Jehovah or Vishnu are supreme, all-knowing deities,” wrote J. Bakker. “They know what is in your heart and soul. It is a true faith that will get you to the wonderful afterlife, not what you wear. Religious symbols should be worn in the home or in a place of worship only.”
“Premier Pauline Marois at least has the intestinal fortitude to express her feelings publicly,” added Don Forbes. “I believe the majority of Canadians have similar feelings, but are reluctant to say so. The rest of Canada should extend the ban to all places outside of the home and places of worship, especially in schools.” Link{PW}

There are plenty of these hard-line bashers, on both side of the debate, those who spew venomous insults in print and on the air. 
They are singularly obtuse, spouting their opinion as if it is holy gospel (excuse the reference) and that those opposed are to be humiliated and shamed.

On the opposite side, here is a nasty screed from the singularly vapid, vacuous, and vicious Richard Martineau of Le Journal de Montreal, who writes nugatory articles on a high school level, which do however unfortunately appeal to his target audience of low-brows.

I don't usually write to humiliate, but since Martineau seeks to humiliate individuals who have an opinion other than his, someone should stand up to a simpleminded schoolyard bully.

The Missionary Position
The saddest of all, are the feminists - like Francine Pelletier, who just the other day, assailed  'secular extremism' on Radio-Canada, the official anti-charter organ. 

Francine Pelletier, damn it! 
One of the founders of La vie en rose! (feminist magazine-editor)

Defending the right to wear the veil! 
It's like Françoise David becoming the president of the Kim Kardashian Fan Club or a judge in a Mini Miss contest.

It reminds me of the 65,000 black soldiers who fought in the Confederate Army during the Civil War ...Uh ... Didn't they see that they were fighting on the wrong side?

RED SUBURBS
A few years ago , I went to La Courneuve, to interview a young Arab actress. La Courneuve is a steamy suburb of Paris which exploded in 2005. When I arrived, thugs put to torch a brand new cultural center. 
Local youth had not even had time to enjoy it - it was destroyed before it even opened its doors. In short, not a beautiful part of the country.
The young actress lived in a very dilapidated public housing project, inhabited by a majority of Muslim immigrants. She wasn't quite 18, but already had a woman's body, curves, a luscious mouth,  feline hair ...
THE MADONNA AND THE WHORE
The young woman told me that when she left her home, she had to "show decency" and dress 'discreetly'  because she was being harassed by boys. In her neighborhood, there were two kinds of girls. Those who covered up (and who were worthy of respect) and the others, easy girls, whores that guys would grope because they did not obey the principles of the Qur'an and didn't respect themselves.

That's the veil. 
It serves to distinguish the good girls from whores and that's what Françoise David and Francine Pelletier defend? I'm must be hallucinating .
The pioneers of feminism must be turning in their graves. It shows how the Trudeau philosophy has contaminated the elite. Muslims have their Koran, we have the Charter of Rights. Each their own prayer book.

KNOW YOUR PLACE 
The girl had fully bowed to the will of the young Muslims who were the law in neighbourhood. 
She wore baggy clothes to hide her sensuality. She walked the neighborhood, head down, without make-up. 
They told her what her place was and she had accepted, obediently while saying that it was her choice and that nothing had been imposed

Shame on those Western feminists who defend the veil. 
You may say that women have the right to do what they want with their bodies - prostitution, injecting botox in the lips, or sporting huge breast implants. 

But name me a country where women who refuse to dress up like a babe risks whipping, imprisonment and death. 
There is none.
In defending the veil, you turn your back to women throughout the Muslim world, who are  fighting for their freedom .

Shame on you . LINK{fr}{PW}

So according to Mr. Martineau, it is the veil that is the problem and like Samson's hair, it too is magical, in this case, a divine source of fundamentalism.

If we'd just ban the veil, observant Muslim women would instantly become emancipated, embrace poutine and maple syrup and hopefully (cross your fingers) become committed sovereigntists.
Hmm...
It's like believing that if your punk daughter would remove her piercings and change her hairstyle from spiked florescent pink to something more conventional, all would be well... Ah!..If only life was that simple. 

Mr Martineau starts his piece by telling us that Muslim women who wear the veil are as misguided as the 65,000 Black soldiers who fought for the South in the American civil war.
It would be an interesting analogy, unfortunately it is utter rubbish, there is absolutely no historical evidence that Blacks, in any number fought on the Secessionist side. None...zip...nada!

It's hard to take seriously an article where a feature writer in Quebec's largest newspaper can tell us a blatant untruth, a falsehood worthy of the The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

How utterly discourteous and arrogant can one writer be to repeat an internet myth without undertaking the most rudimentary of fact-checking!
In the comments under the story Martineau is challenged on this falsehood, but another reader provides a link that 'proves' that it is indeed a fact that thousands of Blacks did indeed fight for the South.

I checked out the link, which leads to the reader section of the Huffington Post in France, which prominently displays a disclaimer that the article is unverified by editors.  In it, the author also claims that the American Civil War wasn't even fought over the issue of slavery and quotes the discredited writer, who propagated the myth.  Hmmm...

"The Washington Post reported last week that a textbook used by fourth-graders in Virginia had a startling inaccuracy about the Civil War. Our Virginia: Past and Present by Joy Masoff tells students that thousands of African-American soldiers fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War and that two battalions of African-American soldiers served under Confederate General Stonewall Jackson. Masoff, who told The Washington Post that she is a "fairly respected writer," has written previous books, including history texts aimed at children on the colonial period and the American Revolution.
Masoff is not a historian, however. We could debate the merits of a school system using a textbook written by a non-professional, but more interesting is how Masoff got into trouble in the first place: she relied on the Internet, home to all sorts of misinformation and refuge for all sorts of conspiracy theories, junk science, and racist scholarship. It was the website of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, a Confederacy "heritage" organization, where Masoff gleaned her information." Read more

The Washington Post had an interesting article debunking the myth of Blacks fighting for the South.

I hope Mr. Martineau reads the above stories and makes a retraction, but of course it will never happen because to admit the moronic mistake would be just too embarrassing.
I would however suggest in the future he use more trustworthy sources, otherwise he may as well quote from the Onion,  or the  Le Journal de Mourréal

At any rate, the naive and infantile notion that banning the veil will somehow change the faith of those so inclined to wear it, is nothing but deflection.

The greater issue is whether Quebec can dodge a bullet that no western country in Europe has managed to do, that is to transform ultra-observant Muslims into models of integration, instead of a sinister fifth column.

An apology to Canadian Muslims who have done their darndest to assimilate, veiled or not. The problem lies with the minority who wish to live apart.
I honestly don't know what proportion of Muslims in Canada are unwilling to accept our society for what it is and the truth is that nobody else seems to know either.
It's too bad, because it is fundamental to the debate,
Perhaps the whole issue may just be a Tempest in a Teapot, because the PQ government itself has absolutely no idea about how many Islamic fundamentalists there are in Quebec, nor do they know how many government employees wear the veil.
By the way,  outside the medical profession, I think that you could count the number of government employees who wear a kippah or turban to work, on your fingers and toes....er...Maybe just your fingers...and maybe on just one hand.

But there is a larger issue, we don't have to be prescient to see where the self-exclusion of a minority of Muslims may lead, the European example is ominous.

That is the real debate, one that charter supporters refuse to embrace, because simple answers to complex questions is what the readers of Richard Martineau really want.