Quebec's Olympic Hopefuls.

I know it's Friday, time for the usual another French versus English post, but since the Olympics have started today, I though it appropriate to write a piece to celebrate what we have in common, not what separates Quebec from the rest of Canada.

TROY: " Editor, As the Winter Olympics in Sochi start today - opening ceremony is tomorrow but there are several events competing today - I suggest that you post a piece about the Olympics from the perspective of Canadians who live among those who do not want to be part of Canada anymore."

Every now and then, there is idle talk and wishful thinking of a 'Quebec' team among ardent separatists who yearn to see the day when the Quebec flag can be hoisted in front of blue and white clad athletes marching into the stadium representing the independent state of Quebec. With half of francophones in favour of sovereignty one might assume that half of those Quebecers representing Canada would prefer to march under the Quebec banner, but I doubt if it is true.

Athletes are high-level achievers and even those from the hinterland of Quebec make it their business to learn English as fast as possible. They travel across Canada to train and across the world to compete and like all elite athletes they learn very quickly that the world spins in English.
No bitching and moaning about the dire straights of French for these athletes, they don't have the time to waste.
These high-achievers are aboard the train of success and if becoming accomplished in English an element of that success, so be it.
As francophone athletes successfully compete on a world-wide level, be it on the ATP tennis tour, the NHL, the Olympic movement, motor-racing or tiddlywinks, they embrace a larger world and generally leave the Quebec pettiness over language far behind.

Am I talking through my hat...I think not.
A couple of years ago, organizers tried to put together a hockey tournament featuring Quebec NHLers against the world in a francophone type of tournament that never happened because of the overwhelming refusal of francophone NHLers to join in.
It just didn't sit right with many of them, firmly encamped in English Canada or America, where they have made a life for themselves, outside of the politics of language confrontation.

For Quebec Olympic athletes, there is an extra payoff post Olympics, the ability to represent national companies and products bilingually, where companies seek one spokesmen or women that can carry the torch (1st Olympic allusion) in both languages. The level of excellence and competitiveness crosses all language lines as demonstrated by English athletes like Sara Hughes who train in Quebec and quickly take up French. Evidently high achievers look to conquer, regardless of language and competing under the Canadian Maple Leaf is a thrilling experience and something that transcends political debate.

A couple of days ago, I was served up a remarkable lesson in patriotism when in an interview, Sylvain Bruneau, the coach of Canada's Federation Cup tennis team, (who are competing this weekend in Montreal against Serbia), in an accented but excellent English talked about pride and patriotism and how excited he and the competitors were in representing their country.
Anybody who thinks francophones aren't excited to see Canadians compete wearing the red maple leaf is just plain wrong.

As for sovereigntist fans cheering for Canada, there is no contradiction. For them, as it is in other provinces, it is an extra thrill to have local athletes medal, but in no way dampens the enthusiasm for medalists from the opposite end of the country.
Most sovereigntists don't hate Canada. They prefer to move on, like a maturing teenager moving out of their parents home, certainly not in anger or acrimony.
And so cheering for Canada is perfectly natural.
There are some very militant haters, who will cringe at the sight of Quebecers marching under the Canadian flag, but they are few and far between and an unhappy and frustrated lot, at that.

Sisters Maxime, Chloe and Justine Dufour-Lapointe, left to right, have all made it through the first round at Sochi

 The Canadian Olympic association is perhaps the most inclusive and respectful federal organization, embracing all Canadians, and making francophones an integral and respected component of the team.
The COA insures that Canadians from all provinces and backgrounds have an opportunity to compete and train while respecting language requirement as best they can.
It isn't perfect, but as good as we can expect.

How well will this prediction pan out?

And so whether you cheer in English, French or the dozens of other languages Canadians speak at home, we will all be rooting for our athletes to do the best they can and to do us proud.

I'm happy to note that our government has made a financial commitment that only heavyweight countries can afford, full in the knowledge that to achieve at the Olympics, substantial dollars must be invested in athletes.
So cheers to our government for spending the money, an expenditure that most Canadians are proud to finance through our taxes.
These next two weeks is the payoff for the investment we taxpayers have made and for the athletes, it's  the culmination of a dream, one that only an elite athlete can understand.

So let's wish all Canadian athletes much success and thank them all for representing us with their dedication and effort.

Here's a summary of Canadian medal contenders according to Jeremy Freeborn at Examiner.com

Charles Hamelin- Multiple medal contender

"Canada's top Olympian will be Charles Hamelin of Levis, Quebec who is projected to win four medals in short track speed skating.
The eight gold medalists are Jennifer Jones of Winnipeg in women's curling, the men's hockey team, Kaille Humphries of Calgary in women's bobsled, Hamelin in the men's 1000m short track speed skating, Maxence Parrot of Cowansville, Quebec in men's slopestyle snowboarding, Kaya Turski of Montreal in women's slopestyle skiing, Alexandre Bilodeau of Montreal in men's moguls and Marielle Thompson of Vancouver in women's skicross.
The 14 silver medallists are Brad Jacobs of Sault. Ste. Marie in men's curling, women's hockey, Mikael Kingsbury of Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts, Quebec in men's moguls, Rosalind Groenewoud of Calgary in women's halfpipe skiing, Mike Riddle of Edmonton in men's halfpipe skiing, Justine Dufour-Lapointe of Montreal in women's moguls, the mixed relay luge team, Dara Howell of Huntsville, Ontario in women's slopestyle skiing, the men's short track speed skating relay team, Patrick Chan of Ottawa in men's figure skating, the figure skating team event, Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir of London, Ontario in ice dancing, Dominique Maltais of Petite-Riviere-Saint-Francois, Quebec in women's snowboard cross and Spencer O'Brien of Courtenay, British Columbia in women's slopestyle snowboarding.
Finally the seven bronze medalists are Hamelin in the men's 500m and 1500m short track speed skating events, Valerie Maltais of La Baie, Quebec in the women's 1500m short track speed skating, Alex Gough of Calgary in women's luge, Mark McMorris of Regina in men's slopestyle snowboarding, the women's long track speed skating team pursuit and the women's short track speed skating relay team." Link

Looking through the photos of Canada's Olympic team it occurs to me that there's a lot of very good looking specimens both men and women.
Have a look who's hottest over HERE

As good a performance as one can expect from Canadian athletes, it pales to that of the Norwegian delegation which is predicted to win the most overall medals of any nation.
Considering that Norway has one-seventh of Canada's population and one seventieth of America's population it is a stunning accomplishment.

Incidentally, I think Canada will do better in the GOLD category then the predicted 11 above and can come away with as much a fourteen.

Ah to dream!.......

By the way, have you have a laugh at some of the lack of preparedness by the Sochi organizers?
Brown water?
No Heat?
It was a bit funny, especially watching reporters bitching and moaning over the conditions.

What did they expect, IT'S RUSSIA.

Have you ever watched those Russian dash cam videos?

PRICELESS!!!!
Here's another  chapter.....enjoy.

'Mr.' Marois Hides from Media

Would you trust this guy?

I imagine that the phone of Pauline Marois' husband, Claude Blanchet, is ringing off the hook with requests and demands for interviews from journalists, all to no avail.

Blanchet's failure to respond to damaging testimony at the Charbonneau Inquiry should be a news story in and of itself, even though it isn't being reported as such.
This blog is going to shine the light on the fact that the media is remiss in its duty  to report on the behind the scenes political drama.

Usually the media is diligent in telling us when interview requests are refused, with all that it implies, but the media has been silent about Blanchet, as if members of the Press are afraid to go up against the Premier, the old issue of denied access in retaliation, always the fly in the ointment.

Before I go on, let me remind readers of the issue at hand, the allegations that perhaps a deal was struck between the FTQ union and Claude Blanchet, to influence his wife, (then opposition leader) to impede any effort to create a Commission that would eventually look into union affairs in regards to corruption and infiltration by criminal elements.

"The FTQ, Quebec's largest labour federation, was ready to ask Parti Québécois Leader Pauline Marois for help in ensuring no corruption inquiry ever took place, according to a wiretap conversation heard Tuesday.
The 2009 exchange, which was played at the Charbonneau Commission on Tuesday, is between two senior union bosses — then-federation president Michel Arsenault and Jean Lavallée, a former president of the FTQ's construction wing.

Former FTQ president Michel Arsenault lost a legal fight to stop the wiretap conversations featuring him from being heard by the commission.

Arsenault is overheard on the wiretap saying he has a deal with "Blanchet," a reference to Claude Blanchet, Marois's husband, who previously ran the FTQ's billion-dollar solidarity fund.
Arsenault also said in the conversation he'll "talk to Pauline" to make sure the PQ didn't support holding a public inquiry that would focus on unions." Read more

Marois was quick to deny that any deal was in place, telling reporters that the PQ did indeed demand that an inquiry be held and that even if the FTQ asked for consideration, the FTQ didn't get it.
But that isn't entirely true, while the PQ did come to demand an inquiry, it was not until the debate was  over a year old.
The delay may now be seen as a rearguard action to stall any such inquiry, a position that could no longer be maintained when Jacques Duchesneau's leaked a report detailed the shocking link between organized crime and the construction industry.
And so, like a forward military unit holding back superior opposition forces, the PQ decision to abandon it's surreptitious FTQ support may have been made because the position was no longer defensible.

The Blanchet connection to the FTQ is long-standing, he was the first CEO of  the union's Solidarity Fund and has maintained cosy relations ever since he left for a government appointment, where he headed a government investment agency that engendered over $700 billion in losses on his watch, during which time incidentally, he and other executives were voting themselves performance bonuses.
When Jean Charest came to power, the first thing he did was to get rid of Blanchet, but not before a hefty severance package, including a year's salary and an $88,000 LIFETIME PENSION was negotiated. This after five years on the job.

At any rate, Blanchet scored a loan from the FTQ Solidarity Fund of just under $3 million dollars, the bare threshold over which the entire Board of Directoers would have to give its approval.
The loan was made to a company that employed Blanchet, Pauline Marois' brother and the son of Blanchet/Marois as well.
Ultimately, that loan was defaulted upon.....not a big surprise.
In a wiretap conversation Michel Arsenaealt the then president of the FTQ admitted to another union organizer that the loan wasn't exactly conform, but because Marois might become Premier soon, it was worth the effort.

Given the chumminess of the Blanchet/Marois clan with the FTQ, why wouldn't the FTQ try to cash in on the relationship to derail any potential commission? I certainly would...

Yesterday Francois Legault asked Phillipe Couillard to join forces with him in compelling Blanchet to testify before a National Assembly committee to explain the 'deal' that he did or did not make with the FTQ.
Couillard declined the offer, telling reporters that it was up to the Charbonneau Commission to look into the affair, a principled but utterly foolhardy and politically inept decision.
If Couillard ever wants to be successful, he's got to understand that principles have no place in politics and that when an advantage presents itself, failure to seize it over niceties is a recipe for failure.
The time to kick your political opponents is when they are down and vulnerable, something every veteran understands.

Blanchet testifying before his enemies in Parliament would have been sweet.  Unlike those at the Commission who  offer dubious testimony, Blanchet, as the Premier's husband, would be held to a much higher standard by the public. Blanchet is an oily and unsympathetic character and having him testify would have been a disaster for Marois.

But alas, it is not to be. I am stunned by Couillard's amateur mistake.
Don't underestimate the impact of the testimony, It could very well have been the start of  the undoing of Pauline.
You never know where little things can lead, remember Watergate?

For want of a nail the shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
For want of a horse the rider was lost.  
For want of a rider the message was lost.  
For want of a message the battle was lost.
 For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.  
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.

 On Thursday Marois came out with a blistering defence of her husband, but not one reporter dared ask her if and when he would meet the press in person.
Claude Blanchet is a ghost and nobody dares ask why. Perhaps we need the  innocent little boy who asked the Emperor why he had no clothes.
Such is the bravery of our media... Gang de Peureux!

Not one reporter asked La Pauline the question that we'd all like to see answered, that is whether her hubby has been met by investigators of the Charbonneau Commission to  "help them with their inquiries' (a British euphemism for a suspect not yet charged.)
This, by the way is a very distinct possibility.

And so Blanchet is hiding behind his wife's skirt, either through cowardice, fear or advice from party mandarins OR the fact that he is going to to or has met with Commission  investigators to give his side of the story.

Unfortunately, Blanchet is off the hook for now and its probably a certainty that none of the truth will come out before an election.

Marois, the grizzled political veteran must be laughing at the Liberal ineptitude, boosting her confidence to continue her slimy electioneering policy of delivering goodies in swing ridings.

I want to remind readers exactly what kind of politican she is by quoting her exact words in a Santa Claus speech delivered in the money pit known as the Gaspé;

  "The riding of Bonaventure made a very good choice in the last election and you have the results of this choice."
('Le comté de Bonaventure a fait un très bon choix lors des dernières élections et vous avez les résultats aujourd'hui de ce choix')

Opposition leaders howled in rage at the crassness of telling voters that they were being paid off for voting PQ and comparisons were made with Premier Maurice Duplessis, the historical king of pork-barrel politics.

I know that Mr. Couillard is extremely intelligent, but as I've made the point before, it is no clear advantage in politics as proven by US president Jimmy Carter, blessed with one of the highest IQs of any predecessor, but whose presidency was a giant bust.

Its time for Couillard to get down in the pit and sling mud faster than it can be flung at  him.
People may abhor 'negative' campaigning, but it continues to be employed because IT WORKS.
Marois is vulnerable because most voters don't like Blanchet who is seen as a slick opportunist, who rose on the coat tails of his wife.

Could you imagine the devastating effect of a US style attack ad?

(Announcer over a picture of Blanchet with his familiar toothy and off-putting smile)

" Why is the Premier's husband doing the bidding of corrupt unions?
What was the deal he made to sell out the real interests of Quebecers ?
Why did the union make a $3 million loan to the Premier's husband, brother and son and where did the money disappear?
We need a Premier who works for the people and the people alone.

Vote Phillipe Couillard and the Liberals and say NO to special interests."
 

I learned long ago, never to wrestle with a pig. You get dirty, and besides, the pig likes it.

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/g/georgebern137450.html#wkWxrrJ0f4zIAgsX.99

 Ha! Ha! Priceless..

I learned long ago, never to wrestle with a pig. You get dirty, and besides, the pig likes it.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/g/georgebern137450.html#wkWxrrJ0f4zIAgsX.9

***

PQ Blows Its Chance

As the Charter of Values hearings drone on in Quebec City, the repetitive and adversarial exchanges have drained Quebecers of their energy and patience.
Although punctuated by some amusing 'redneck' testimony that has offered a bit of comic relief, the melodrama has become a painful affair that Quebecers seem ready to be done with.
I doubt if any of you out there haven't yet made up your mind as to where you stand on the issue and I'm pretty sure that the rest of Quebecers who care, have also made up their mind by now.
Enough already!

I don't know how the Charter of Values bill will fare, whether or not it will be passed, but the debate over the issue is essentially done and further discussion moot.
Yet on and on it goes, the painful and endless debate is like a nagging toothache which reminds us that the situation cannot get better with time, only worse, until the inevitable date with the dreaded dentist.
I can't imagine what another hundred or so witnesses will contribute, except to further annoy and exasperate us, trying our patience and wearing us out mentally.

And so I am getting the sense that Quebecers have had quite enough of this debate and that if the PQ is planning to hold an election over the issue, they've badly over-played their hand by dragging this out to such painful lengths.

This week was a turning point in the media, after the incredible stupidity of the 'Zombie' testimony, people on both sides of the issue were left shaking their heads in disbelief, stunned where the debate has evolved.

ZOMBIE PANIC IN QUEBEC

I've reviewed  one of the websites that features a compendium of testimony at the Charter hearings and noticed that most of the clips have precious few views.
It's perhaps understandable, considering that much of the testimony is repetitive and boring and so most clips have under a couple of hundred views. Link

Compare that to the embarrassing 'Zombie Clip which I posted on Youtube (adding English subtitles) which has passed 100,000 views since last Friday and which has garnered over 700 comments.

Clearly we are fed up and so it may very well be that the PQ and Pauline Marois have badly miscalculated, the Charter of Values essentially  'jumping the shark.'

Last week, I noticed the Francophone newspapers and television news networks turning away from the Charter story to embrace the issue of the economy and the larger issue of Quebecers living beyond their means.
Despite the fact that Pauline and the PQ have successfully steered the debate towards the politics of division, there is only so much emotion that can be tapped before the people tire.

Le Journal de Montreal ran a series of articles entitled "Le Quebec dans le rouge" (Quebec in the red) which outlined in pretty gruesome detail, the fact that Quebec is living beyond its means.

"Tomorrow, the Journal will begin publishing a major series: Quebec in the red. It will raise a fundamental problem: Quebec spends more than it can afford, and this for a long time . Its debt is crushing, yet the needed reform of the state is delayed, even though everyone knows that the eternal postponement of deadlines may make even more difficult the inevitable business of improving public finances."

The articles sparked enormous reaction and it fell to PQ ministers to downplay and reject the scholarly work by economists at Quebec's most important business school, the HEC.
According to PQ minister, Stéphane Bédard Quebecers 'aren't living above their means,' a patently ridiculous assertion, perhaps as monumentally stupid as Bernard Drainville's opinion last week, that Bill 101 had no negative effect on the Quebec economy over the years.

"You know, long-term forecasts by economists say little about what will happen, but a lot about the person who says it," he opined. Struggling this year with an announced deficit of $2.5 billion, the President of the Treasury Board remains convinced that Quebec is not in a structural deficit. Link{fr}

Huh?
There's only so much fantasy you can weave because in the end the numbers don't lie.

And so the media has cottoned to a new story, the lamentable shape of the Quebec economy and the dire prospects that is attached to spending beyond ones means.

Last week, reports surfaced that the deficit for the month of October'13 (the last reporting period) exploded to $600 million in just one month, bringing the aggregate deficit total to $1.8 billion with five more months to go in the fiscal year.
To keep to the forecasted $2.5 billion deficit each monthly deficit in the five remaining months would have to drop to about $140 million and that is well nigh impossible to expect.

I caught an interview with  ex-politician and now journalist Jean Lapierre who told viewers that insiders are telling him that the numbers have collapsed and that government revenues are falling farther and farther behind projections.

And so Pauline will likely try to take a play out of Jean Charest's playbook by calling an election before the bad news hits (remember the Caisse de dépôt  affair in 2008?)

"By calling a vote for last December, Quebec Premier Jean Charest was able to campaign for re-election before the extent of losses suffered by his province’s pension fund was known. Link

I'm not sure Quebecers are going to fall for that old stunt. Fool me once, shame on you....

The bigger issue of whether Quebec is living above it means will become the dominant issue in the next election campaign.
Given that the PQ is spending like a drunken sailor to shore up the economy, they had no choice but to stake out the position that we are not over-spending,  boxing themselves into a pretty uncomfortable corner,.

Considering the manifest evidence to the contrary, evidence that even morons who can't balance their own chequebook can readily understand, the PQ find themselves  outside the majority opinion in relation to the 'living-above-our-means' debate.
For the PQ, defending the Quebec model, is a lose, lose, situation and I'm going to enjoy watching them squirm, like the Liberals have in the Charter debate.

In politics a week or a month can be an eternity and while the PQ could have played the Charter debate into a winning election strategy, that moment has passed.
In the election campaign to come, be it sooner or later, economic considerations will be the most important issues of the day. The Charter will remain a consideration for voters, but not the oveririding issue that the PQ counted on.

As the political issues change in Quebec, so does the momentum, the political pendulum now clearly on the back swing.

Pauline has always been cautious, and now seemingly over-cautious to a fault.

It was Winston Churchill who best summed up the failure to take advantage of a favourable situation back in World War Two when a wildly successful Allied beach assault in Italy went to naught when the commanding General cautiously delayed the advance to Rome (over what were undefended roads,) giving the Germans the precious time to bring up reinforcements and re-equip those few troops in place.
It gave rise to one of Churchill's great bon mots;

"I had hoped we were hurling a wildcat into the shore, but all we got was a stranded whale!"

It's my favourite idiom regarding someone who fails to act on an advantage, even though this familiar bromide says it much more succinctly:

She who hesitates is lost!

French versus English Volume 102

Annual Report on Prosperity rips Quebec

Montreal's prestigious HEC (business school) of the University of Montreal  has released the 2013 version of its PRODUCTIVITY AND PROSPERITY IN QUEBEC report which paints a pretty bleak picture of the Quebec economy.

The report has politicians buzzing in Quebec City with the
apologists out in force, counteracting the report's main finding that Quebec is living above its means and lags in just about every important economic indicator.

Here are just a few extracts;

"With per capita GDP of $44,428, Quebec trails most of the 20 OECD countries in our sample. More

specifically, the province falls below both the Canadian average ($52,177 per capita) and the average of the

selected OECD countries ($50,588 per capita). In fact, Quebec surpasses only Japan, Italy, New

Zealand, Spain and South Korea in this ranking. The United States, with per capita GDP of $63,414, has a standard of living 43% higher than in Quebec, meaning $18,986"

Now, if we compare the standard of living in Quebec with that in Canada as a whole, we can see that the gap between the province and the country has gradually widened over the past three decades. This can be explained by the slightly higher rate of growth in the standard of living in Canada (1.30% on average per year). Quebec’s shortfall of $5,096 per capita in 1981 worsened further, to $7,749 per capita in 2012.

In relative terms, however, Canada now has a standard of living 17% higher than Quebec, or about the same difference as in 1981.

Lastly, our analysis shows that the average standard of living in the 20 selected OECD countries was similar to that in Quebec in 1981. Over the past 30 years, however, the rate of growth in the standard of living in these countries, on average 1.73% per year, has been much higher than in Quebec. As a result, the average standard of living in these countries was 1.14 times greater than in Quebec in 2012. From a difference of just $154 per capita in Quebec’s favour in 1981, the standard of living gap stood at $6,159 in 2012, but this time to Quebec’s disadvantage.

In light of this analysis, we can see that Quebec’s poorer standard of living performance, in comparison with the average of all Canadian provinces and of the selected OECD countries, stems from a shortfall observed as far back as the early 1980s, combined with slower growth over the past 30 years (with the exception of Ontario).

Read the entire report, it is fascinating and easy to understand, everything is explained for the layman.
 IN ENGLISH    EN FRANCAIS

Cops behaving badly

Former Sûreté du Quebec chief arrested for fraud

Who knows where the Quebec corruption bug will finally end?
Maybe we'll soon find out that public day cares are accepting payoffs for preferential enrolment or perhaps Quebec driving schools are giving passing grades for a fee or perhaps parking meter attendants are swiping tons of quarters out of the meters or doctors are taking thousands of dollars to jump the waiting line for an operation or pharmacists are taking payoffs from big pharma to push certain drugs.

Oh wait...all that really did happen!
But no matter, it's no big deal, after all, we Quebecers are now immune when it comes to  revelations over corruption.
It would probably be big news elsewhere to have the ex-director of the province's  provincial police force indicted for theft, along with three other highly placed cronies.
But not in Quebec, it hardly raises a commotion.

"Quebec provincial police have formally charged their own former director and three other ex-bosses with fraud, theft and breach of trust. Steven Chabot, Alfred Tremblay, Jean Audette and former top cop Richard Deschesnes are accused of siphoning money from a secret police fund to pay a bonus and illegal consulting fees.
The case has given the public a rare look into the internal workings of the police force, known as the SQ.
Deschesnes ran the SQ from June 2008 until October 2012, when the Parti Quebecois reassigned him shortly after it took power.
His co-accused, Chabot, who retired in 2010, was the SQ's assistant director in charge of criminal investigations. Audette was Chabot's successor.
Tremblay, the fourth man charged this week, was once a chief inspector at the SQ.
All four men were to be fingerprinted and photographed Wednesday at a Montreal police precinct.
The former officers are scheduled to appear at the Montreal courthouse on Feb. 13." Link

And the hits keep coming;

"A detective-sergeant in the organized crime division of the Montreal police department is the subject of an internal police investigation.
He is suspected of using his position to pass information on to the wrong people.
The investigation began last spring,  after the RCMP tipped off the Montreal police department." Link

and...

The investigation comes on the heels of the discovery of a high ranking mole on the force two years ago.
Ian Davidson, was a just retired detective-sergeant who had been accused of selling information on police informants to members of the underworld. Link

Let's not forget;

"One of the country's former top biker cops, now accused of selling information to the Hells Angels, says he will "not go down alone," in a telephone conversation obtained by a joint CBC and Radio-Canada investigation.
Benoit Roberge, a former sergeant-detective with the Montreal police, was arrested in October, and is now facing two charges of gangsterism, one count of obstruction of justice and one count of breach of trust. His case will be back in court on Thursday." Link

Believe it or Not- Quebec version

I don't know what to make of this, but the owner of the seniors' residence in L’Isle-Verte where 32 seniors perished in a fire was given A STANDING OVATION at the memorial service held in Church.
I'm not kidding.

HERO??????

"Speaking to a throng of reporters outside the church in L’Isle-Verte, Roch Bernier said it was not the right time to say whether he would rebuild the residence.
He said the mass, attended by more than 1,000 people, was a day for the victims, the missing and residents of the town.
Bernier received a standing ovation as he stood up to speak at the mass.
“What you’re living inside, we are living it inside as well,” he told the gathering, which included Premier Pauline Marois and Liberal Leader Philippe Couillard. Link

REBUILD THE RESIDENCE???:?
Is he kidding?
Who's going to live in it, they're mostly all dead!!!!

How come poor Ed Burkhardt didn't get the same standing O in Lac Megantic?

3 Cheers for Ed Burkhardt.. Hip Hip Hooray!!

"The railway executive behind the company whose train smashed into Lac-Mégantic wants people to know he's been suffering, too.
Looking back at the year as it comes to a close, Ed Burkhardt said he's still troubled by the Quebec derailment and has thought about it every day since the July 6 catastrophe killed 47 people and destroyed part of the town.
The chairman of Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway Ltd. also told The Canadian Press in a recent interview that he's sustained significant personal financial losses since the disaster." Link

hmmm....

PQ minister lampooned for poor English

Gone are the days of Quebec PQ politicians like Réne Levesque and Jacques Parizeau whose command of the English language was quite remarkable.
Today's PQ politicians are products of a different era, one where English is practically non-existent.
I can think of only three or four PQ ministers who are actually bilingual and can provide answers to English questions without leaning over to aides for a translation.

Here's is Agnès Maltais humiliating herself, much to the derision of the media which had great fun with it. Link{fr}
By the way, her reference to 'giklers' is from French 'gicleurs' (sprinklers)





Not everyone saw the humour in it all, the insufferable Mathieu-Bock Coté rose to her defence telling readers that only the 'colonized' need to speak English flawlessly.
"Flawlessly?

"Those who scoff at Agnès Maltais' English are sending  a clear message that one cannot reach the heights of society without being "perfectly bilingual", that is to say, to speak English as if we were native English speakers."  Link{fr}

Is he joking?
How about just making a little sense in English, nobody is asking for flawless.

At any rate, Madame Maltais is in good company, her cabinet colleagues regularly make idiots of themselves in English, notably Pauline Marois who in a BBC interview meant to tell the Scottish they had a strong identity, but accidentally said that they were weird: "Scotland is a people with a strange identity," she said.

Just for fun the Journal de Montreal did a fun story on some of the gaffes made in English by some noted Quebec politicians. 

For those who read French here is a good laugh.

Loose translation:
Pauline Marois meant to tell a Scottish reporter that she would share referendum information, but instead said " We will split, we'll partage our information.'

Jean Chretien meant to tell a reporter in English that he kissed the Pope's ring, but instead told them he 'kissed the Pope's bag' a completely alternate meaning, by inserting the French word 'bague' for ring.

Then there was Robert Bourassa who told reporters that he 'exposed himself to to Ms. Carstairs for more than an hour' much to the amusement of reporters. Mr. Bourassa then demanded to know what the reporters found so funny. Read the Story{fr}

More Bixi Follies

"Managers at BIXI are defending their decision to hand out hundreds of thousands of dollars in bonuses — just weeks before the company filed for bankruptcy protection.
BIXI paid a total of $232,000 to 39 permanent employees in December, including $14,000 to acting CEO Michel Philibert." Link

In its French-only press release defending its actions, Bixi called the payments an adjustment meant to bring salaries in line with the median Montreal salary. WHATEVER THAT MEANS!

"La mise au point octroyée aux employés de la Société est faite dans le cadre du Régime d’intéressement à court terme (RICT). Ce régime a pour objectif de rapprocher les échelles salariales des employés à la médiane du marché montréalais. Il s’agit d’un programme approuvé de manière récurrente depuis la création de SVLS par le conseil d’administration." Link

So what exactly is a Régime d’intéressement à court terme (RICT). 
Actually it translates as "Short-term Incentive Plan"
And what exactly does that mean?
I had to look it up......

Short-Term Incentive Plans
Short-term incentives, also often referred to as annual incentives, are intended to compensate executives for achieving the company’s short-term business strategy based on achievement of goals by the board compensation committee.

Bixi managers justified the bonus' because they were written into the contracts of the 39 employees.
But exactly why ordinary employees have contracts is a question that should be answered as well as what exactly was the criterion for earning the bonus.

Photo of the week

Here is a recent photo of the border between Quebec and Ontario up in Abitibi where Quebec Highway117 meets Ontario's Highway 66.
Can you guess which side is Quebec and which is Ontario? HaHa!!

An article in the Journal de Montreal compares the ineffective snow removal of Quebec's roads department with that of Ontario's. Link{fr}
I've driven this road a couple of times between Rouyn/Noranda and Kirkland Lake and was always amazed at the difference in the quality of the road surface between Ontario and Quebec, with the Quebec road qualitatively inferior.
What made the situation all the more absurd is that the speed limit on the Ontario side is 80 kph while in Quebec it is 90 kph!

Charter Committee hears ZOMBIE fears

Journal de Montreal Comment of the Week

How about a little more nonsense

Pauline Marois and the PQ are giving a $350 million loan to build a cement plant in Port-Daniel, in the Gaspé.
The Canadian Association of Cement makers is 'disappointed and shocked' considering that their Quebec members are operating at 60% capacity. Link{fr}

and some further reading....

Very interesting article from Mashable;
Quebec's Preoccupation With French Is Limiting Its Startup Scene

Bombardier awarded francization certificate 
Bombardier laying off 1,700 workers from aerospace division, mostly in Montreal area

Quebec Government Accused Of Trying To Limit English Schooling For Children of Quebec-based Military Families

There's something a bit indecent in trying to make Poutine a Gourmet food. Link
Me, the only thing I demand is that the cheese is not served cold and the fries not too thin.
La Belle Province.....call me old fashioned!

Super Bowl Weekend

Since we won't be watching those famous Super Bowl commercials up here in Canada, let me provide you with a preview of one of the best.

Have a great Superbowl Weekend

Bonne fin de Semaine du Superbowl