Charter of Values...the Day After

With all the sound and fury surrounding the Charter of Values, I wonder if supporters of the law stopped to consider its effects once passed in the form now being proposed by Bernard Drainville, the hard line in which the law would apply to those in the medical profession and teachers of all sorts.

Mr Drainville et als. have been telling us that every thing will be peaches and cream after the law is adopted, but it amazes me that not one commentator challenged him on the presumptuous pipe dream.

The first thing I can say with confidence is that while many will reluctantly comply with the law, it won't change who these people are or the depth of their faith or their commitment to orthodoxy.

The childish idea that taking off the veil while at work will somehow magically transform these people of faith or rather as the militants see them, women under the hard lash of their husbands, is a fantasy that only a desperate mind could envision.

Perhaps the rubes in the boonies will applaud, hoping that finally the heathens in Montreal will be put in their place with the removal of veil the first concrete step in converting the immigrants into French-speaking, poutine and maple syrup lovers who eschew marriage and other traditional nonsense.

So what will really change with the passage of the law? Will the law bring social harmony as promised?
If you believe that, again I have swampland in Florida to sell you!

As I write these words I am astounded at the utter ridiculousness of such dangerous fantasy, because the law will do exactly the opposite, create social conflict on a level never seen in this province.

Credit to 'Red White Blue

While those who are for and against the law are evenly split, it is important to remember that those against the ban are highly motivated and have much to lose, making for an uneven fight.
Remember how easily the students paralyzed Quebec and that was fairly benign. What if your job was actually threatened and removing your hijab or kippah, not an option?

The fight will further cleave Montreal from the rest of the province, with a federalist mayor in Denis Coderre supporting those against the charter, after all, he will owe his election in great part to the Ethnics and Anglos who are rallying around him.

As all the health agencies and educational institutions in Montreal have come out dead set against the Charter, who will enforce the law?

Who will tell a daycare worker to go home and leave the classroom of children without supervision?

Who will tell the nurse that she cannot go on to the floor to serve patients, if she shows up to work and flat out refuses to remove her hijab?

Who will tell an emergency room doctor to leave the ER because of a kippah, pushing the wait time for injured patients from the now staggering twenty plus hours to perhaps a measurement in days, not hours?

Who will tell the cooks and orderlies in old people's homes to go home, rather than serve patients meals or clean their rooms?

The PQ is confident that everyone will obey the law, but they shouldn't count on it and therein lies an extreme danger.

The truth is that the entire system could be shut down and if those wearing religious symbols get the support from their co-workers as is most likely in the case of health workers in Montreal, the law will  be the first to be roundly ignored.
Thousands of people flaunting the law is a situation unheard of in Canada, it is the stuff revolutions are made of.
Unlike the students, who could be rounded up and fined, doing the same to health care workers or teachers  and civil servants would bring society to its knees.
It may very well become Quebec's very own version of the Boston Tea Party.
That is where we are headed to and in short, Montreal will go to war with the rest of the province, with demands that the city be excluded from the law, with the support of all the elected officials, hospital directors and school administrators.

It will be nothing short of a popular revolution, with thousands and thousands of honest and hitherto law-abiding citizens turned into scofflaws, and where bosses won't enforce the law because to do so would cripple the institution they run, be it hospitals, day cares, schools or government senior's residences.

The courts will be flooded with thousands of human rights cases and there is every indication that the law will be tossed out.
After all, the Charter of Values is even in direct conflict with the United Nation's Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to which Canada is a signatory; Link

Article 18.

• Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

Article 30.

• Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.

In the meantime, violent confrontations will occur when those wearing head wear are confronted not by their superiors, but ordinary citizens looking to enforce the law themselves. Once the law comes into effect, it will become open season on those wearing head wear in the street, on the bus and metro and in the stores, even though the law has no effect there. Scenes like the confrontation pictured above will become a common occurrence.

The number of public confrontations of this sort has already risen dramatically during the current debate, so much so that the Montreal police have formed a special unit to deal with these hate crimes.
If the law passes, this unit will have to quadruple in size to handle the volume of complaints.


So far the Muslims have taken the abuse quietly, but what if that changes and they become tired of the public shaming?  I hate to imagine.

And what about the cashier in the local grocery store who decides that minimum wage isn't worth the abuse hurled upon her by customers who continually castigate her decision for wearing the veil?
After all, she can easily claim psychological harassment and go on disability and who could really blame her?

What about those who will leave their jobs voluntarily because of the ban and enter the ranks of the unemployed swelling the welfare and Employment Insurance rolls? Most Muslim women who wear the veil work in low paying retail and clerical jobs, so the step down to welfare isn't that big a deal.
These are the very real consequences that nobody is willing to discuss.

If Bernard Drainville thinks that this will end well, he is in a for a nasty surprise. While every single journalist and politician is debating the Charter, nary a one is considering its effect.

It's time to open up that debate.

Quebec's Perfect Storm

Here's what I wrote  back in December of last year, three months after Pauline Marois and the PQ took office.

"Looking forward to the gathering clouds of debt, overspending and diminished economic activity, it is painfully obvious that we are headed into our very own Perfect Economic Storm"   Quebec's Nanny State Running out of Gas

I'm often proud when my predictions come true, but in this case I wish I were wrong.
No matter how you slice it, Quebec is in big economic trouble, likely heading into a recession and towards a three or four billion budgetary deficit.
Long gone is the PQ election promise of a balanced budget, the realities of Quebec economics dictate that in the present and foreseeable future, it just ain't gonna happen.

For Quebec and Canada, economic indicators are pointing in opposite directions, with the ROC making economic and job progress, and Quebec losing ground in all directions.

With talk of a PQ induced election in December, Pauline appears to be stealing a page from Jean Charest's playbook in calling an election before the bad news hits.
You'll remember that Charest called an election before the news of a massive loss at the Caisse de depot went public and when he received a majority government, the public felt misled, but left with as many options as lobsters in a trap. (to steal a phrase from Jacques Parizeau).

When first elected and after looking over the poor state of the finances left behind by the Liberals, a shocked Bernard Drainville promised a law whereby the auditor general would give a financial update whenever an election was called so that voters could make an informed choice.
That idea has been quietly shelved as the PQ are now playing the same game of hide-and-seek that they accused the Liberals of doing before.

In ripping a page form the Liberal party playbook, Pauline intends on calling an election before presenting a real budget, one that would no doubt lay bare the sad economic reality that we face.
There is no more wiggle room for the PQ and no Jean Charest to blame any more.

And so the PQ is doing what they do best, practicing the politics of improvisation, changing directions as the political sands shift under their feet, trying to stay a step ahead of one disaster after another.
But finally, time has caught up to Quebec and we are about to embark on some very dark economic days that neither the Liberals, the PQ or the CAQ can do anything about.

It is a Perfect Storm, the result of excessive taxation, excessive borrowing and excessive spending which has been building over decades and has now finally coalesced into a witch's brew of economic pain.

This economic disaster that we face is not entirely the responsibility of the PQ, we've been on course for this economic bruising for the last twenty years.
And so Pauline Marois is the dumb sucker left holding the bag, like the unfortunate kindergartner who is left standing in a game of musical chairs.

Every single government, over the last forty years, PQ or Liberal, has contributed to the spending orgy that has led us to the point.
So let us not be holier than though, the Liberal government of Jean Charest piled on one third of Quebec's $240 billion in debt, in just nine short years.

But even though, the biggest economic blow to Quebec's economy belongs to the separatists, who created a climate of uncertainty for outside investors and in fact, its own indigenous anglo community.
In making Quebec inhospitable to those who don't speak French, the inevitable result is what we have now, a situation where the only way to get companies to invest in Quebec is to bribe them with subsides.
Pauline may crow about Montreal's world class video game industry, but the truth is that the government pays 38% of the salaries of the employees of these companies on a permanent basis. And this doesn't even include the upfront cash subsidies and interest-free loans.
Quebec pays out  almost 4 billion a year in subsidies to industry, double what Ontario pays and considering the population difference, it means that Quebec is forced to give out subsidies at a rate more than three times that of Ontario. All those forgone billions contribute to the ever-rising $240 billion deficit.

Just recently we heard of the sadly amusing incident of the National Geographic photo contest barring entrants from Quebec (as well as North Korea and Cuba and other outlaw states.) There was a great deal of embarrassment on the government's behalf, with a spokesman for Loto-Quebec stating that if only the magazine checked with them, there wouldn't have been a problem.
But we all know what that means, checking with Loto-Quebec meant dealing in French, so it would mean hiring outside help to navigate the endless paperwork and ultimate time delay.
Thanks, but no thanks.

It is a clear metaphor for the bigger picture, where companies and investors just cross off Quebec from the list of investment considerations. Who needs the hassles?
It's like walking down a street with fifty restaurants side by side and choosing the one that won't speak to you in English, has an inhospitable atmosphere and charges more for the food, as well as piling on taxes galore.
As the Jim Reeves song goes. 'Just walk on by'

And that is exactly what investors are doing, skipping Quebec, just walking by.
And the only way to get customers into the door, is to have Pauline stand outside like a shill and beg diners to come in with giant discount coupons.

While Canada created 15,000 resource based jobs this year, Quebec produced not a one.

"This largest of projects was meant to revive the economy of the province. Less than three years after its official launch, there's not much left of the 'Plan Nord'  according to data obtained by our Bureau of Investigation.
A review of major mining projects in the North shows that the Plan Nord, which was renamed the 'Nord pour tous' by the PQ government, is just a shadow of what it once was.

Of the 11 major projects announced north of the 49th parallel, valued in tens of billions of dollars, more than half are under review or have undergone major downward revisions .

Some have been abandoned altogether. Link{fr}

All this while our bumbling Minister of Natural Resources, Martine St. Pierre, (a woman who doesn't know the difference between a loan and a loan guarantee,) is busy calculating higher resources royalties.
I am reminded of Emperor Nero fiddling while Rome burned.

And how is the PQ reacting to the job losses and economic decline? ......More improvisation, by spending more money on busy work, a two billion stimulus package that will drive Quebec further into debt.
You see readers, spending money is the only available recourse that governments seem to have in dealing with any problem. But it ultimately delays and exacerbates the real problem of high taxes and public debt.

"The Parti Québécois government is vying to reboot the province’s economy with a new $2-billion plan that it says will create more than 40,000 jobs by 2017.
Premier Pauline Marois and Finance Minister Nicolas Marceau revealed the job creation program at a press conference Monday that had the look and feel of an election campaign event.
The plan aims to encourage new investments and jobs in Quebec through incentives like electricity at discounted rates and tax credits.
The money injected into the province will fund employment and development in a number of targeted areas:

• $566-million for the renovation of infrastructure, including community centres, arenas and schools
• $516-million for the development of an electric transit industry in Quebec that will build electric cars, electric railways, and related infrastructure.

The new plan also includes more than $700-million in tax credits as well as discounted hydro rates for companies which invest to create new jobs." Link

 I wish Pauline and finance Minister Nicolas Marceau would have watched this video before embarking on another money-wasting adventure.

Quebec has, for the last twenty or thirty years, been writing cheques that taxpayers couldn't honour, and so Ottawa, as well as lenders, have been enabling Quebec's addiction to spending
But like all binges, excesses ultimately draw to a close, and in the end, the time comes to pay the piper.

And so a desperate PQ is calling an audible, looking to make the Charter of Values the election issue instead of the economy.

When Drainville presented his charter, he said that the government is open to changes and could possibly soften up certain aspects of the law.
But that option is out the window, the PQ is about to table a Charter that is even tougher than presented, something they know the opposition will not vote for, thus triggering an election on their own terms

And so Pauline will have her election and might very well pull off another government, perhaps even a majority if everything falls her way.

It doesn't change anything, because the next government, whomever it is, is looking into an economic abyss.

For all you voters who think that the Charter of Values is a debate that merits such a large proportion of public debate, I have land in Florida to sell you.

The misdirection that is the Charter of Values debate is painful to watch, like arguing about which colour to paint the bedroom walls, while a fire has broken out in the kitchen.
And like the cartoon at the top of the page, we are being distracted with trifles, while our pockets are picked clean.

So if and when the Charter of values passes in one form or another, what will be next?

Will we get down to tackling the real problems of economic stagnation, debt and inferior productivity or will the PQ (if they are still in power) do another sleight of hand by dredging up another red herring.

I'm betting on the latter and it's called Bill 14.

Another loud and time-consuming debate meant to distract, as Shakespeare said: Full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing.

But readers, know this......It's all coming to a head and sooner rather than later.

The next government, whomever it is, is going to admit to some very startling realities, one that takes into account that the Quebec model is broken and more importantly never was viable in the first place, supported only by massive borrowing and alms from the ROC.

That era is drawing to a close and what is to come is not exactly a picnic.
The sad part is that there is nothing to be done, no way to mitigate the fallout and spending our way out of the coming recession,is impossible.

See you on the other side....

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?

 *******************

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!