Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Quebec Students- A Study in Entitlement

We want an education   Not debt
Every time I hear Quebec students leaders threaten a strike over tuition fees, I grind my teeth and remind myself that this is exactly what is wrong with Quebec.

You'd never know it from listening to the incessant and annoying braying that Quebec students remain the most pampered in North America, with the lowest tuition fees and among the lowest entry standards for access to post-secondary education.

The average annual Quebec university tuition fee is $2,168, while the average in the ROC(Quebec excluded) is $5,445. In the United States that fee is over $10,000.

In other words, Quebecers pay less than 40% of what other Canadians pay for a university education and about 20% of what Americans pay.

The students are mighty angry over the fact that the Quebec government plans to boost annual tuition fees by $325 per year for five years, raising the fees to $3,793 by 2017.
Even with all the increases, Quebec will remain the biggest educational bargain in North America. (Yes that includes Mexico!)

Incidentally, Quebec students graduate with the lowest level of student debt in Canada with the Quebec average at $13,000, compared with a Canadian average of $27,000.

According to Quebec students, it's still too much. 

But Quebec students aren't any more guilty of greed and avarice than other Quebecers who have been conditioned to believe that there is no connection between taxes and the benefits doled out by the government, or to put it more simply, the idea that when the government gives a benefit to one, somebody else has to pay for it.

And so the lower tution fees are underwritten by taxi drivers in Montreal, government employees in Quebec City, construction and office workers in Sherbrooke, in other words, everyone else who works, pays taxes and has part of his or her wealth confiscated to pay for the shortfall between what students pay for their education and what it actually costs.

In addition to all this, Quebec students benefit from the fact that workers in Kelona, British Columbia, Calgary, Alberta and even Owen Sound, Ontario, also contribute to their reduced tuition fees, by way of equalization payments that the province receives from Ottawa.

When students whine about wanting to pay less for their education, they are in reality asking taxpayers across the country to contribute more of their hard-earned cash to subsidize them.
Because Quebec runs a deficit and carries a high debt load, students are also demanding that future generations pay for their education as well.

And while Quebec students have no problem hitting up taxpayers and future generations for a tuition subsidy, one group seems to be off limits.... their own parents.
Over 65% of parents of Quebec students, contribute absolutely nothing (other than taxes) to their child's education (this according to the student's union.)
When it comes to contributing to a  Registered Education Savings Plan, Quebec families put aside about half as much money as compared to British Columbian families.

There was a time when students marched against war, for human rights and for the enviornment.
Today the only issue that can motivate students to demonstrate, is the issue of tuition fees.
It is in fact the only issue they are passionate about.

Look at the effort they made in preparing a document arguing for reduced tuition fees, it's a masterpiece of deceptive and selective statistics that would make Pierre Curzi proud. Read it here

The students are not unique, they are but an illustrative example of what Quebecers and their society have become.
On Monday, babysitters educators (making over $20 an hour,) working in provincially-funded daycares, called a one-day strike that wrecked havoc on working parents, causing many to lose a day's work.

ENTITLEMENTS BREED GREED.

Now I don't want to make this an English/French thing, Quebecers are united in sucking at the teat of the gouvernemama. (the mommy state.)
We are all guilty of stuffing our faces with government goodies when we can, but in our defence, if the government is giving out benefits and entitlements, who of us is noble enough to say 'no thank you.'

First let us establish that these handouts are not free.
Because entitlement programs are run by the government, they are expensive and cumbersome.

Let me cite but one example- publicly funded daycare.

If any one program illustrates the mommy state and it's related cost to society, it is the $7 a day subsidized daycare program.
When first introduced in 1997, the program cost $290 million. Thirteen years later, the program has mushroomed to over $2 billion dollars, a seven-fold increase.

While parents pay just $7 a day directly to the daycare centre for each child in attendence, taxpayers contribute, wait for it.....$38.

So consider, publicly funded daycare costs taxpayers about $200 dollars per child, per week. If parents have two children in daycare, well... you do the math.

This $200 weekly subsidy per child in daycare is UNIVERSAL. That's right, everyone is eligible, even those earning hundreds of thousands of dollars a year!
The only bugbear is that the government has restricted access because of the staggering cost of the program.
Snagging one of those rare places in daycare  is a question of who you know or how much you are willing to pay under-the table, so a wealthy lawyer has more of a chance to get his or her child into a publicly funded daycare, than a barista working at Tim Hortons.

Does this program make any sense at all?......To Pierre Curzi and friends, it does..
It is the famous Quebec Model.

Subsidized Daycare - Extended Paid Parental leave - low tuition fees - subsidized prescription medicine - extended pregnancy leave- convoluted pay equity programs are all part of Quebec's unique model that has the government paying for generous programs that no other provincial or state government seems to be able to afford.

But has it made Quebec a better place to live?

While proponents of the Quebec model, like Pierre Curzi, rave about the merits of the mommy state, the facts tell another story.
  
Because Quebec shares the same federal government as the other provinces, it is not that difficult to compare Quebec society to that of provinces which provide less services and subsidies.

For every seventeen entrepreneurs in Alberta or British Columbia there are only seven in Quebec. Link

While the country averages 70 businesses per 100,000 population, Quebec has around 60.

Quebecers are also about 20% less productive than other Canadians, that is producing less wealth, probably because they work less hours and retire earlier.

Quebecers remain the highest taxed citizens in North America, yet earn much less than the average Canadian family
According to Statistics Canada, a two-parent/two children family in Quebec, earns on average about $68,000 a year, while the Canadian average is $93,000.

More than one third of Quebecers (aged 55-65) have put aside less than $99,000 for their retirement, counting on the government to support them in their old age with a meager pension that now pays around ten thousand dollars per person.
The "Rule of 20" states that for every $1 of retirement income, you will need $20 saved in your retirement portfolio. With less than 100k saved, these retirees will receive less than 5,000 a year in income aside from the government pension. Not too comforting.
Only 7% of Quebecers in this age bracket have saved over $500,000 towards their retirement.

This is the effect of the cradle to grave subsidies.

As citizens become accustomed to government largess they become lazier and poorer and like our students, badly addicted to their entitlements.

On top of all this, the Quebec entitlements have been partly paid for with debt and equalization payments from Ottawa.

When that runs out, Quebecers, used to living on the arm of the government will be in for a rude awakening...just like the Greeks.

105 comments:

  1. Oh, Editor, you're worrying too much and just causing an unnecessary panic. What are you saying? Suddenly the feds are going to stop equalizaion payments? There are signs the NDP honeymoon is fading and Harper is picking up the lion's share of those fallen illusions of grandeur perpetrated by the NDP's dead leader.

    If the popular fortunes of the Conservatives in Quebec are picking up, money is no object--VOTES ARE! More votes in Quebec mean more handouts, especially as election time nears, and with the equalization review coming up in 2014 and an impending election in 2015, you can rest assured the hard, hot wrath of Harper's vindictiveness against Quebec in 2011 will soften and be doused if his polticial fortunes in Quebec continue to improve, especially if they start to tank elsewhere.

    Not to worry. Quebec always seems to come out on top of this equalization gup and the rest of us will sit with our thumbs up our rectums whilst it happens. It's always the way; besides, the separatist rhetoric and threats will start all over again, just like they have for over 40 years already.

    Quebec: You have nothing to worry about--ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!

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    1. A little clarification. I got a bit sloppy in my last paragraph. To complete the sentance, the separatist rhetoric and threats will resurface if Quebec doesn't get its usually overgenerous share of the equalization freebies.

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  2. I'm currently a student @UdeM, and I'm against the strike, and while not liking it, for the tuition fee raise. Quebec IS a highly indebted province. But trying to convince my fellow students of the fact that everyone and the ROC pays for our tuition is like talking to a drunk fish. Doesn't really get me anywhere. Actually, that is a lie. There is a small and growing contingent of born and raised french quebecois who see things for what they are, and in a surprising/heart warming (for the future) are actually learning or speak English, and think that the PQ's and BQ's policies are simply garbage.
    I am encouraged. I don't want to pay more for my tuition. But what I want and reality are two different things.

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  3. Contary to what Mr. Sauga is saying I believe renegotition on the EQ formualae will move forward to reduce the amount of EQ funding available to all provinces. In effect, the cupboard is starting to look pretty bare when one looks at recent changes planned for 10% overall cutbacks to government and those changes to OAS. The ROC and particularily the West itself have become very aware of the largess of the spending in Quebec with regards to social programs that they, the contributors don't enjoy. There is little sympathy for Quebec and there will be less sympathy for the government of the day that wishes to play Robin Hood with their tax dollars. Time for Quebec to grow up and pay for their own programs without the help of the ROC (who don't have the same programs). Of course there will be those that say that Quebec pays taxes to Ottawa as well. Problem is they get it all back and more via transfers and special entitlements. As I said, the West is getting weary of pulling the happy cart.

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  4. "There is a small and growing contingent of born and raised french quebecois who see things for what they are, and in a surprising/heart warming (for the future) are actually learning or speak English, and think that the PQ's and BQ's policies are simply garbage."

    Le pourcentage de moutons noirs au Québec est relativement stable depuis des décennies ;-)

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    1. Just like what Frank stated below, the number "black sheeps" is increasing on a very fast pace continuously and significantly due to the fact that most French-Speaking Quebecers are fed up to be confined to certain limited amount of resources available and not being able to broaden their horizons beyond the fence that keeps them imprisoned in a field "running low on pasture". Therefore, it's just a matter of time before you uni-lingual seppies become the black sheeps yourselves in return.

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    2. "...is increasing on a very fast pace continuously and significantly..."

      Encore une affirmation sans chiffre à l'appui.J'ai remarqué un certain relâchement sur ce blogue depuis quelques temps.Une multiplication d'affirmations gratuites,que des rêves et des fantasmes.Résultat d'un niveau de frustrations très élevé?Arrivée prochaine d'un nouveau parti Nationaliste au Québec?

      La meilleure:La province de Montréal,j'ai hâte d'entendre la prochaine...L'abolition de la loi 101 peut-être?Quel niveau de désespoir pour nos amis anglos.

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    3. "it's just a matter of time before..."

      Everything is a matter of time bro...

      Même l'indépendance de notre Nation.

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    4. Speaking of being desperate, you seem to be like that yourself. since you spend your entire days on this blog....

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    5. "Encore une affirmation sans chiffre à l'appui.J'ai remarqué un certain relâchement sur ce blogue depuis quelques temps.Une multiplication d'affirmations gratuites,que des rêves et des fantasmes.Résultat d'un niveau de frustrations très élevé?Arrivée prochaine d'un nouveau parti Nationaliste au Québec?

      what is written above, is exactly what you have been doing yourself...

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    6. @AnonymousFeb 8, 2012 08:09 AM

      Actually, this idea of a province of Mtl it's more popular than you might think. And not only amongst Anglos, but also amongst Allos - especially the ones that own businesses. As a business owner myself, in the eventuality of a Qc separation I will relocate, as this would be in the best interest of both my family and business. Having though the option of a province of Mtl, of course I'd choose to stay here - I emigrated to Canada and chose Montréal. Same goes for my acquaintances (believe me, Qc politics are a recurring subject, because it affects our businesses). So there is more support of this concept than we are led to believe, at least of an ideological level. Should push come to shove, I am sure it is possible a partition of Qc.

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    7. Making Montreal a bilingual province? Where do I sign up?

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    8. To be honest, I don't even care if it's uni-, bi- or trilingual. As long as it's stable...

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  5. Continue à rever, Anon. Avec l'arrivée de l'internet, la mondialisation, et simplement les nouvelles générations se fatiguant des causes perdues, la quantité de québécois bilingues va simplement continuer de monter. J'entends au moins 2 fois par semaine: "j'aimerais parler l'anglais comme toi, ça me facilterait les recherches, m'ouvrant d'autres horizons que les limites imposées par le manque de sources en français."
    It's just a matter of time. Les causes perdues tirent à leur fin. More and more I hear french quebecers who are proud of their language and will not lose it, but who want more than the lies and restrictions the bloc has imposed upon them. Editor, I have a question that needs clarification.

    "With the Act to amend the Charter of the French language, S.Q. 1993, c. 40 (also known as Bill 86), the National Assembly (under a Quebec Liberal government) amended the Charter of the French Language to make it comply with the Supreme Court rulings. The amending law introduced the "Canada Clause" which replaced the "Quebec Clause". That is, the recognized right to English language education was extended to all Canadian citizens"

    Why the hell then do we have this situation here in which one of your parents must have attended school in English, even french CANADIAN born citizens?

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    1. "Why the hell then do we have this situation here in which one of your parents must have attended school in English, even french CANADIAN born citizens?"

      Hé bien,surprenant comme question de la part d'un étudiant universitaire bilingue qui a accès à internet.Je suis vraiment impressionné!

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    2. "j'aimerais parler l'anglais comme toi, ça me facilterait les recherches, m'ouvrant d'autres horizons que les limites imposées par le manque de sources en français."

      Je crois que que c'est leur manque de créativité qui fait obstruction à leurs horizons,bien plus que la langue :)

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    4. "Avec l'arrivée de l'internet"

      Ça fait 20 ans que le web est disponible Franky!MDR!!!

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    6. What did I do????

      Everyday I prey to God for a new referendum. I would vote yes, pack my bags and run ! And in 5-10-15 years when Quebec will become a new Haiti or Greece, i will celebrate ! I sincerely want Quebec out of Canada more and more each day !

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    7. "Everyday I prey to God for a new referendum."

      Bienvenue parmi nous!

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    8. How about voting to split Quebec between Separatist Nordiques and Federalist Canadiens? Just because it's a different thread you can still answer the questions you so clumsily ducked in the last one!

      Here is a reminder:

      SeppieFeb 7, 2012 06:11 AM
      "The more you put off answering the more you look like a fool"

      Comment pouvez-vous avoir une conversation sérieuse avec quelqu'un qui a l'intention d'ériger un mur linguistique à Montréal?D'annexer une partie de Montréal avec l'ontario?Je ne suis peut-être pas un prix Nobel et j'assume totalement mes propos sarcastiques.Êtes-vous conscient que la première étape de votre projet consisterait à réunir une équipe autour d'un parti politique représentant votre minorité qui elle-même fait partie d'une autre minorité.Un conseil: Commencez par faire une évaluation sur le terrain à l'aide d'un sondage,une forme d'étude de marché.

      De toutes manières,je crois que vos propos sur ce blogue s'apparentent plus un exutoire à vos frustrations qu'à un projet réfléchi et sensé.

      The Quebec PartitionFeb 7, 2012 11:04 AM
      Seppie, I'd be tempted to say that your English comprehension is rather limited, but I suspect that it's more bad faith and trolling on your behalf instead.
      1 - Montreal is already split: WestMount, Dorval, DDO and several other boroughs have democratically de-merged from Montreal and are now independent towns, so I'm not proposing anything new, the only difference being the Provincial authority overseeing the new political entity.
      2 - At what point did I mention annexing anything to Ontario? I repeatedly argued that what today is bilingual Eastern Ontario (the Ottawa region) should be separated from the purely anglophone part of the province to join with West Montreal, the more bilingual parts of the South Shore (Brossard at the very least) and the Outauais.
      3 - Anglos, Allos and Bilingual people are the MAJORITY in Montreal to the tune of 60% in the CMA and 67% in the City of Montreal. If you're clinging on to the percentage of people who have French as their first language, as someone else pointed out repeatedly, 95% of those among them who also speak English (obviously NOT you, bilingual and ashamed of it!) voted in favour of staying in Canada. I can wager that the same people who voted to de-merge DDO, Dorval and Brossard (to name a few) would probably be happy to legally exercise their bilingualism and do business with the world at large in English, then relax and have fun with their friends and family in French.

      If you disagree with anything, feel free to challenge it!
      (Sorry I had to paste it, but it's just to make sure you don't make up your fabrications about what I said before, given your form displayed in the attached post...)

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    9. À part 2 ou 3 vendeurs de tapis orientaux et de boîtes de sardines,je ne vois pas beaucoup d'appuie pour votre projet sur ce blogue.Vous devriez peut-être proposer votre concept à un auditoire plus concret.Que diriez-vous de passer à l'action et d'établir un réel projet.Commencez par réunir 4 ou 5 moustachus,3 turbans,2 plumés et un bridé dans une arrière-boutique au Nord de la St-Laurent et revenez nous voir avec du solide,un réel plan d'attaque,une conférence de presse,du concret quoi.À partir de là nous pourrons peut-être commencer à échanger :)

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    10. "Que diriez-vous de passer à l'action et d'établir un réel projet.Commencez par réunir 4 ou 5 moustachus,3 turbans,2 plumés et un bridé dans une arrière-boutique au Nord de la St-Laurent et revenez nous voir avec du solide,un réel plan d'attaque,une conférence de presse,du concret quoi."
      Seppie, plus d'être ennuyeux (platte is not a word), tes insultes racistes son poches et vieilles.

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    11. Do you agree that Montréal should become a Province of Canada after having made a formal offer to Quebec for an economic and political partnership within the scope of the will defending the future of Montréal and the agreement of July 1, 1996?

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    12. Montréal dirigée par les anglos?C'est la faillite totale après 2 ans d'opération.Imaginez note ville se transformer en edmonton,finie l'activité culturelle,adieux les touristes.

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    13. Comparing the Greeks to the xenophobic, ethnocentric, special interest minority Peuple Conquis Québécois separatists cult that continuously blackmails Canada to engage in never-ending Russian roulette style referendums through the misuse of the democracy that was born and nurtured on Greece’s blood soak land is utterly shameful and disgusting.
      The Greeks may have their problems, but whining, victim, weasel, no count traitors to Canada and Freedom they’ll never be!!!

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98y0DSzt7yY&feature=player_embedded

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    14. Seppie, you still keep avoiding answering my question: what do you disagree with? Have you got a case? It's not really any of your business and it doesn't serve any purpose in our discussion that you keep alternating feigned indignation with false advise or forecasts of failure (The latter being particularly useless due to 99.9% of all political projects ending in failure... including an independent Quebec with its current boundaries!): I didn't ask who you think will join in the plan, so I don't need you to tell me.

      So, as I say to my 8-year old daughter: answer the question you've been asked, and not the one you wish you had been asked. Which part of it do you disagree with and why? (By the way: saying "Nothing" without backing up your argument marks you out as rather dumb...)

      Alternatively, stop embarrassing yourself and call it a day... see: I can give unwanted advise too!

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  6. Quebec student know that education is free in other countries (Europe) and the ROC student know only that education in USA is more expensive than in Canada.

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    1. Then Quebec student should go to France ( any other country is excluded since your english knowledge is 0, and even there you will be the only one who doesn't speak it ) and study. What keeps Quebec student here? Go ! Explore the world.

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    2. "Go ! Explore the world..."

      Allez explorer le monde...De cultures et de langues diverses.Si je parcours le monde c'est pas pour parler globish sinon je resterais chez-nous :)

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    3. Well, outside of France you will be challenged to find anyone who understands you without a bit of globish... scratch that, even in France!

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    4. "...you will be challenged to find anyone who understands you..."

      Je sors quelques billets de banque et la communication s'améliore instantanément.C'est comme si l'accent n'avait plus d'importance...Étrange,non?

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    5. To do that you need money in the first place, sorry... but nice try, anyway!

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  7. "...any other country is excluded since your english knowledge is 0, and even there you will be the only one who doesn't speak it"

    Vous savez que c'est très dangereux et encore plus pour une grenouille d'inhaler de la fumée?

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    2. OQLF, if you disagree with something, challenge it: failing to do so and still saying something makes you look rather... challenged!

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    3. The Quebec Partition

      As smart and clever as OQLF attempts to be...I highly doubt he will ever be able to get across with a solid and rational point. The size of his brain is below the average and the amount of functioning cells is rather limited, thus rendering him quite unable to respond in refuting and intelligent way that would make us take him on a serious note and leave us speechless...Hell, he could as well be one of those "mentally disabled" or "down syndrome" employees I come across at Tim Horton for all I know(This is no laughing matters, I know and I don't mean to sound offensive and politically incorrect Btw).. but eh let's face it, he's definitely not someone who seems to demonstrate a high level of knowledge we would normally come across during a debate. His debating skills are poor and very immature and the separatist movement ought to be ashamed to be represented in a such way...he is no Papineau as far as I know.

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  8. Quebec on track to becoming poorest province in Canada. (HEC Study)

    http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/story/2012/02/07/montreal-quebec-income-gap.html

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  9. Dear Quebecois Separatists:

    Are you better off today than you were in the years before 1970? Is Quebec a better place today than it was then? Is Montreal? If yes, then please describe how. If no, please explain how ridding the province of non-Francos and becoming independent help you?

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    1. It's hard to explain in one line...in case you didn't notice their best arguments always come in 2-3 words responses most of them being : chasse,-ouile, MDR, 401.
      So expecting real answers is like expecting the sky to fall down on our heads. They only know is that if Quebec overnight becomes a country, it will be prosperous and free, which defies reality.

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    2. Froggy,J'ai déjà répondu:

      "...revenez nous voir avec du solide,un réel plan d'attaque,une conférence de presse,du concret quoi.À partir de là nous pourrons peut-être commencer à échanger :)"

      Je commence à croire que ton français est assez limité.

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    3. You're joking right? What exactly ? What is your answer?
      So, let's see again Seppie's mesmerizing logic:

      Q:
      If yes, then please describe how. If no, please explain how ridding the province of non-Francos and becoming independent help you?

      A:
      "...revenez nous voir avec du solide,un réel plan d'attaque,une conférence de presse,du concret quoi.À partir de là nous pourrons peut-être commencer à échanger :)"

      WOW...my god, you're so smart! So logic it stands right there ! Pfff... I'm so sorry, dude, you are too abstract for us...go sell you're bs somewhere else.

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    4. Ma réponse était était une réplique au projet de Mr.Donut partition.

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    5. "Je commence à croire que ton français est assez limité."
      "Ma réponse était était une réplique au projet de Mr.Donut partition."

      Again, no logic whatsoever...

      :) always a pleasure to see a troll ... he who laughs last laughs best.

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    6. Why the hell are separatists so stupid and irrational whenever they TRY(that is if they can) to come up with a comeback??? Are they even more stupid than we think they are or what?

      In addition,if there is an group of people that has definitely sabotaged the province of Quebec, are by all means, the seppies and not the English. Yet, they keep putting all the blames on our backs for whatever goes wrong in their failed miserable lives. It's sad to see that they are still in denial of their own mistakes that costed the province a lot of things and not to mention, they still keep refusing to acknowledge them all by bringing up excuses to camouflage the truth...

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    7. ...revenez nous voir avec du solide,un réel plan d'attaque,une conférence de presse,du concret quoi.À partir de là nous pourrons peut-être commencer à échanger

      Sorry mate, you don't call the shots. You might get asked at the very end at the ballot box, but that's all as far as you're concerned.

      Je commence à croire que ton français est assez limité

      You can always write in English: not being understood is always the fault of who writes, never of who reads, as any good journalist and writer will tell you.

      Ma réponse était était une réplique au projet de Mr.Donut partition

      Do you even LIKE Quebec? I never called it a Donut (despite you behaving like one), but you did... However, I'm still awaiting a pertinent response: surely by now you must have a clue about what YOU want instead and why! Come on, didn't the Bloc funded schooling teach you anything? Oh, I see...

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    8. Yellow Seppie's on the run, on the run, on the run...

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  10. "For every seventeen entrepreneurs in Alberta or British Columbia there are only seven in Quebec."

    Even though Canada is the second easiest country in the world to start a business:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starting_a_Business_Index

    Distinct, no?

    DD

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  11. Âdalarasu Manou,Proud Donut shop owner here in CanadaWednesday, February 8, 2012 at 9:56:00 PM EST

    "For every seventeen entrepreneurs in Alberta or British Columbia there are only seven in Quebec."

    C'est pas la quantité qui compte,c'est la qualité.Pfffff...

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    1. "Quebecers remain the highest taxed citizens in North America, yet earn much less than the average Canadian family
      According to Statistics Canada, a two-parent/two children family in Quebec, earns on average about $68,000 a year, while the Canadian average is $93,000."

      Please define "qualité", you get taxed more and are paid less. Says "screwed over" in my book.

      DD

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  12. Do you agree that Montréal should become a Province of Canada after having made a formal offer to Quebec for an economic and political partnership within the scope of the will defending the future of Montréal and the agreement of July 1, 1996?

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  13. Quebec is a welfare state which has lived off the ROC for the last several decades. Whiners, losers with no particular ambition than to live off the avails of others. No ambition and no productivity to speak of which is well documented and the proof is the current unemployment rate and the numbers of business enterprises fleeing the province as of late. Bonne chance avec votre Quebec. Quebecois language (joual), who gives a shit. If God was to give Canada an enema the hose would be shoved into the center of Quebec.

    Thats it, that is all.

    One from the ROC.

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    1. "Quebec is a welfare state which has lived off the ROC for the last several decades"

      Sans le Québec,le canada n'est rien...Il n'a plus d'âme.

      - Anthony Bourdain (un américain)

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    2. Do you agree that Montréal should become a Province of Canada after having made a formal offer to Quebec for an economic and political partnership within the scope of the will defending the future of Montréal and the agreement of July 1, 1996?

      VIVE LA PROVINCE CANADIENNE DE MONTREAL!!

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  15. C'est pas la quantité qui compte,c'est la qualité.Pfffff...


    Vos qualite est que comme les gars de constructione..n'est pas. Nous ne besoin pas des mafiosa en le ROC. Suelement en Quebec. Tsigidou, la la.

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  17. "Sans le Québec,le canada n'est rien...Il n'a plus d'âme."


    Canada would, in fact, be a much better country without the whiner nation of losers and malcontents that summarize Quebec. 8 Billion dollars plus a year buys a lot of soul. Vous avez un encore plate de poutine.

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  18. Tuition rates haven't budged in Quebec since the 1990's. It actually costs less now for a student than it did back then because all the other costs pertaining to running a University have sky rocketed over 20 years. I as a taxpayer would rather see more funding to the universal elementary and high school system which benefit everyone rather than subsidize a select few in society that go to University. Also, since taxpayers are paying more than a student does for his/her own Degree, let's ensure they persue studies that actually benefit society and that we need. More medical doctors , less art history degrees please.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Right... let's just stamp out the Humanities altogether, shall we? Disallowing people to study in particular programs will not improve society in any way. I agree; we need more doctors, but mostly because the people who DO go to medical school run off to the US as soon as they can. I have an honours degree in English Literature, which I paid for myself. It was difficult, it took more time than it needed to because I had to work 20 hours a week while being a full-time student, and I still graduated on the Dean's List. I also made time to volunteer within my field, to publish a student anthology, and to put aside some savings to fund my MA which I'm pursuing now. Without the low tuition fees, I would be in deeply debt, and I would have been unable to pursue any of those activities which actually give back to the taxpayers. Raising tuition fees to adjust to inflation makes sense, but throwing away the Quebecois system altogether would intellectually impoverish our province.

      Delete
    2. The World doesn't need more English Lit Majors. I commend you for paying your own way through University but truth be told, your degree was majorly subsidized by an over burdened tax payer. Your cost was but a mere fraction of the actual cost of your degree. Years from now when you own a home, pay income tax, city tax, school tax, car taxes and so on, you'll begin to understand where we're coming from.

      Delete
    3. I already understand where you're coming from; I DO pay income tax, city tax, school tax, car tax and "so on". I'm a mature student with children of my own and a house, not a whining self-entitled teenager. What position of comprehensive knowledge and understanding are you in to decide what "The World" needs? I'm fully aware that my degree was subsidized and that I didn't pay the "actual cost", I never denied that. But the fact that it is a degree which promotes writing, reading, critical thinking and teaching skills does not make it any less worthy of "The World". With a lit degree, one can go into law, business (especially advertising), publishing, professional writing and teaching. Is that not functional enough for "The World"?

      Delete
  19. http://www.montrealgazette.com/life/Zeroing+demographic+dilemma/6124254/story.html

    Hey you, Seppie, 101 ou 401 & CO. , seems to me that you're f..ed. Your language is in deep mud, and your chance of a independent Quebec is fading with the speed of light.
    We better start making Montreal & Qc. profitable again and take back our place in Canada instead of chasing fairies.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Petite grenouille,je n'ai aucun problème avec les bridés pourvu qu'il s'adresse pas à moi en globish :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I guess if it's not on TVA or presented in a PQ caucus it's not for you. Oh well, doesn't matter. Ignore it :), it's for your own good.

      Delete
  21. "I guess..."

    C'est ça...Guessez!Un bon jour vous devrez vous intégrer.Pas le choix Montréal est une ville administrée par les Québécois au provincial et au municipal.Tôt ou tard,vous devrez faire un choix: 101 ou 401?Tant que 51% d'anglos ne pourrons former un parti les représentant,ils n'auront aucun pouvoir.En passant,qu'attendez-vous?Imaginez toronto avec 51% de francophones...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Don't worry about me dude. I will take 401 whenever I please, but not before voting NO in one of your possible future referendums :)...
      This is you biggest wish, all of us should take 401 and let you, a nation of inbreeds to tear Qc from Canada. Never gonna happen.

      The big difference between me and you, assuming you are a quebecois pur laine, is that I'm more flexible than you. I traveled 5000 miles to Montreal, started a new life and I'm sure that I'm doing better than you, all this in 5 years. So a couple of more miles to Ontario or Alberta is not a big deal for me in case, and by absurdity, Qc will separate.
      But for you, an indoctrinated mind, with no spine, with the umbilical cord still attached to figures like Marois & Co., with no personal ideals, life will be tough dude.

      As long as I'm staying here, in Montreal, and as long as this is my home, i will defend it ! So be sure, I'm going to speak the language of my choice, vote what I want and MESS YOUR BUSINESS REAL BAD !

      Have a good day, dinosaur...

      P.S. "Imaginez toronto avec 51% de francophones" - not as prosperous as it is now, for sure...

      Delete
    2. Votre discours est totalement illogique.

      1.Vous êtes pour la prospérité et un anglophile,vous faites 5000 miles(sic) pour aboutir dans la seule province francophone du canada et de surcroît la moins prospère.Expliquez-moi...Une erreur de parcours?Ou êtes-vous simplement stupide?

      2.Quattendez-vous pour fonder un parti pro-anglo à Montréal au lieu de perdre votre temps sur ce blogue qui n'aboutit nulle part?

      J'attend de vous (la grenouille,TQP et autres angryphones) 2 réponses logiques.

      Delete
    3. "Vous êtes pour la prospérité et un anglophile,vous faites 5000 miles(sic) pour aboutir dans la seule province francophone du canada et de surcroît la moins prospère.Expliquez-moi...Une erreur de parcours?Ou êtes-vous simplement stupide?"

      1. I'm not guessing, this time I know for sure, that for your microscopic brain, the situation is either black or white. First of all, I'm not anglophile, because english is not my first language. I speak french when I need to speak french, english as well, and of course my native language. It's all about freedom of choice in a country that first of all, it's bilingual, and YOU francos forbid english here but you want french all over the place. I don't like the feeling that something it shoveled down my throat.
      The province is less prosper because it's been 40 years since your attention was shifted from the real problems to language wars, and hunting anglos. Montreal area is loosing business fast, and the only thing that matters to you is your stupid 101 bill.
      I choose Montreal because I already had family here, and was not an error. I still love Montreal and my friends here, i still love the mixure in this town, french influence, english as wall and of course asian, greek, italian, indian and so on.
      So I'm not stupid, it's my choice to live here, near my family, but this will not prevent me to leave somewhere else in a worst case scenario.

      "Quattendez-vous pour fonder un parti pro-anglo à Montréal au lieu de perdre votre temps sur ce blogue qui n'aboutit nulle part?"

      2. Dude, this coming from a seppie who has PQ, ADQ, CAQ, ... bullshit-Q , N-parties with the same stupid goal for all this years, and still you don't manage to stop the "infestation" of Quebec with immigrants who diminish the franco-influence, is somehow hilarious.
      So this proves that politics is a two way road...even with political parties at your side, you accomplished nothing.
      I have better things to consider than founding a party...of course, if something will emerge at some poit i will not hesitate to support it. But again, not because I'm an anglophile, because I like my freedom of choice !!!

      For sure my responses are way more logical than your one-line ideas so repetitive that hurts my eyes...

      Delete
    4. "I speak french when I need to speak french..."

      Alors pourquoi me répondre en anglais si vous êtes bilingue?

      "The province is less prosper because it's been 40 years since your attention was shifted from the real problems to language wars"

      Prouvez-le!

      "i still love the mixure in this town, french influence, english as wall and of course asian, greek, italian, indian and so on."

      Alors c'est quoi votre problème?

      "Dude, this coming from a seppie who has PQ, ADQ, CAQ"

      Youhou!!Nous sommes au (Q)uébec pas en Alberta.


      "I have better things to consider than founding a party...of course..."

      Comme passer vos journées sur ce blogue?(normal pour un "loser" comme moi)

      Je m'attendais à de meilleures réponses de la part d'un "winner" tel que vous...Honnêtement.

      Delete
    5. "Alors pourquoi me répondre en anglais si vous êtes bilingue?"

      Parce que c'est un blog en anglais...

      "Prouvez-le!"

      It's enough to take a look of how many companies fled Montreal because of the bill 101 and how many choose not to come to Quebec because of an unfriendly attitude.

      "Alors c'est quoi votre problème?"

      My problem is that I consider bill 101 a stupid show stopper.

      "Youhou!!Nous sommes au (Q)uébec pas en Alberta."

      LOL. I was not referring to (Q) ... lot's of parties, no result :)

      "Comme passer vos journées sur ce blogue?(normal pour un "loser" comme moi)"

      It's an art to work, make money and still find time to post some comments on this blog. I good, what can I say, as long as I can manage multiple tasks.
      I'm not calling you a loser and I'm not throwing insults like you do in every post. You are just misguided by a society who lost touch with reality.

      "Je m'attendais à de meilleures réponses de la part d'un "winner" tel que vous...Honnêtement."

      Well, sorry to disappoint you...

      Delete
    6. Seppie, do you ever answer a straight question with a straight answer? Are you even from Quebec?

      Delete
    7. You have to admit that he has a gift ! :)
      If trolling would have been a paid job he would have been a billionaire for sure.

      Delete
    8. Froggy: "Parce que c'est un blog en anglais..."

      Froggy, I'm sure you're onto this guy. These people try to get you to write in French only to pounce on the slightest mistake you make. I don't know why they do that, maybe to distract from the topic, maybe they think it discredits you somehow or makes you lose the right to criticize if you get a wrong tense or spell something wrong, I don't know, but the MO is the same.

      And you are correct. This blog is in English, and the topic of this piece is a very pertinent one: Quebec entitlement. So I don't know what this guy is doing here, drawing people onto meaningless paths and demanding it'd be done in French.

      Delete
    9. Encore dans l'erreur adski.

      Dans son commentaire précédent,il affirme être bilingue et semble être fier de cet atout.Je voulais simplement vérifier son niveau de bilinguisme,c'est tout.Vous savez que le Québec ne ménage aucun effort afin de bien intégrer ses nouveaux amis,alors laissez moi au moins vérifier le niveau d'efficacité de ces mesures et du coup juger si mes taxes et mes impôts sont utilisés de façon adéquate.

      Ne soyez pas si parano adski.

      Delete
    10. FYI...i start working after 2 months since my arrival in Canada, and my wife after 3...we didn't need any help from the govt, no BS, no francisation , nothing. We start paying taxes like you do.
      So your problem is not with me.

      Your problem should be with my Algerian neighbor, who in 5 years managed to produce 4 kids, never worked legal a day, nor him of his wife, changed his car twice, and he knows every little detail about how to extort money from govt. He told me last year that he manages to get almost 6000 a month from govt. And he has no plans of finding a job ...
      Besides that, his immigration process was extremely easy, just because he speaks french...

      So you see, it's a vicious circle for you: you appreciate immigrants with french influence, but in a big percentage, they suck money more than others.

      Your taxes are poorly used not because of me, but because of your affinity to Maghreb and Haiti. It's not a rule, but it's true.

      And I don't think Adski is paranoid...you are trying to verify me :) like in a police interrogatory.

      Delete
    11. si ce que vous dites est vrai,cet individu est carrément malhonnête et je ne crois pas que l'état (nous) lui donnera des milliers de dollars à chaque mois pour le reste de sa vie.Si c'est le cas,nous avons un réel problème.Normalement,il devrait faire preuve de bonne volonté en prouvant qu'il est à la recherche d'un emploi et que cette situation n'est que temporaire.

      Delete
    12. Yes, you/we have a big problem ... and there are so many like him. So many that it's scary. And i swear it's the truth. Why searching for a job when he gets thousands for nothing and maybe he could earn more by working on the black market?

      So that's why I'm telling you that, I don't know why, the attention of normal people is shifted from this issues to language and hatred.

      Montreal is functioning multilingual and should be allowed to prosper multilingual. There should be laws to encourage production, commerce, any type of small and medium businesses and allow big companies to function without language restrictions.

      Instead of that we see how many inspectors OQLF hired, how Metro should an accent and so on. We fight over who's better French or English hospitals, instead of celebrating that we will have more hospitals??????
      Where are the real problems?
      Where are our highways? What about the fact that you cannot drive like a normal human being on the streets of Montreal, potholes everywhere? What about the fact that slabs of concrete could kill us every day? How about the fact that thousands of jobs were lost in Quebec in last 6 months??

      Delete
    13. Froggy, you don't get it. Seppie and his ilk want Montreal and Quebec to deindustralize and revert back into an agrarian farm based economy like when the French colonialists were running the show. You cannot debate someone who's idea of progress is pushing companies, jobs and talent out of Quebec. To them, black is white and up is down. Normal market forces and economic theory do not factor in their thinking. They rationalize their beliefs using half truths, falsehoods and fear ( think Anerican Republicans). The only silver lining is that they stopped having kids and will run their course in a few generations. Half of their men are afraid to commit to one woman and the other half are Gay. They try their best to indoctrinate new immigrants and force them to drink the "Cool Aid" but few if any buy what they are selling. Reason, immigrants have connections to the outside world out of Quebec and can by in large see right through their bullshit. Peace.

      Delete
    14. "Half of their men are afraid to commit to one woman and the other half are Gay."

      Oooooh so true, so true ! LOOOOOOOOOL
      A+

      Delete
    15. Do you agree that Montréal should become a Province of Canada after having made a formal offer to Quebec for an economic and political partnership within the scope of the will defending the future of Montréal and the agreement of July 1, 1996?

      VIVE LA PROVINCE CANADIENNE DE MONTREAL!!

      Delete
    16. "Half of their men are afraid to commit to one woman and the other half are Gay."

      Comme toutes les sociétés occidentales.De quel coin reculé de la planète venez-vous?Ou de quelle tribu? :D

      Delete
    17. "Seppie and his ilk want Montreal and Quebec to deindustralize and revert back into an agrarian farm based economy like when the French colonialists were running the show."

      I used to think the same, but I'm not so sure anymore. I have a feeling they don't want businesses to leave; instead they expect that everything should and would magically be handed over to them. They'll make laws if they have to!
      Some people might think I'm taking it a bit too far, but how far is that from the fantasy of Quebec surviving financially without the rest of the country?

      "Quattendez-vous pour fonder un parti pro-anglo à Montréal au lieu de perdre votre temps sur ce blogue qui n'aboutit nulle part?"
      You've posted this so many times since I've been reading this blog, it seems to be your favourite line. Unfortunately, common sense and the normal majority don't need representation against extremists/radicals. Your comment is the equivalent of KKK members telling everyone else to found an anti-racist party to defend them.
      Nevertheless, the Bloc is already as good as gone, and the PQ is up next. So maybe instead of posting on this blog, YOU should go out and try to regain some support for your crazy ideas. Our (les Québécois qui veulent avancer au lieu de reculer) representation is doing just fine, thank you very much.

      Delete
    18. "You've posted this so many times since I've been reading this blog..."

      Pas de réponse...Encore.Vous patinez très mal monsieur Stump.

      Delete
    19. Not that any of the Nordiques ever gives a straight answer... too yellow to articulate what's in their mind!

      Delete
  22. "Imaginez toronto avec 51% de francophones..."

    Would be just as f'kd up as Montreal :)

    ReplyDelete
  23. Off topic

    Apparatchik,

    Our short discussion about acadians annoyingly stayed at the back of my mind.

    http://michelpatrice.wordpress.com/2012/02/09/acadians-endlessly-re-living-past-traumas-over-and-over/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous9:28,

      I guess that your question is more rethoric than the expression of a genuine interest.

      Delete
  24. "I guess that your question is more rethoric than the expression of a genuine interest."

    Héhé!Ne te laisse pas intimider Michel.Je trouve tes propos fort intéressants.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Why do you write to yourself, Michel Patrice? LOL

      Delete
    2. C'est moi qui a répondu à Michel,mon cousin Acadien.
      Les anglos de ce blogue sont de plus en plus paranos.

      Delete
    3. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

      Delete
  25. So Editor, no new post after the first results for the 2011 census?

    ReplyDelete
  26. Michel Patrice gets very few comments on his blog so he keeps pimping it here.

    The British should have expelled the French settlers from Quebec as they did with the Acadians. Then Quebec wouldn't be so problematic today.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "Then Quebec wouldn't be so problematic today."

      Mais ce sont les anglos qui posent problème au Québec cher ami.Merci pour votre franchise car beaucoup d'anglos le pense mais ne le diront jamais.Vous êtes une personne courageuse.

      Delete
    2. Oh Seppie, please come back when you grow up ... it's annoying to read your post over and over again. You proved that you cannot sustain a normal conversation.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous1:14,

      Yes, they should have expelled us, yet they did not. And according to you, why did they not expelled us?

      I know it is because they have been nice and generous to us. But according to you, why have they been nice and generous to us?

      Delete
    4. The reason why they were nice to all of you, was perhaps they were civilized human beings just like you and I!!!

      Delete
  27. Check this article on Canadian multiculturalism and its contradictions:

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/dec/06/canada-multiculturalism-europe

    ReplyDelete
  28. After the "Rise and Fall of English Montreal", comes "the Rebirth of English Montreal"

    ReplyDelete
  29. The Rebirth of globish Montreal ?

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  30. This blog makes me want to cry, how low have this society gone? how can you be such closed minded, racists, despisable persons. you complain about french canadians and separatists for being xenophobics, racists, can't you look at yourselves !?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This blog has done wonders to make me want to become a seperatist, and I entered it as a staunch Federalist. You're not the only one depressed by the "quality" of the comments.

      Delete
  31. A lot of hate and racism from both sides in these posts... very little reasoning.

    ReplyDelete