Harper government launches consultations on Canada's linguistic duality
"On May 22, the Honourable James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and
Official Languages, launched, in Moncton, the first in a series of
Government of Canada pan-Canadian consultations on official languages.
You can take part in the consultative process by filling out this government survey.“Canada’s two official languages are an integral part of Canadian history and identity. The Government’s commitment to official languages has been recognized internationally. In 2009, the Prime Minister was honoured with the highest international award of merit for support to the Francophonie. The Government’s five-year “Roadmap for Canada’s Linguistic Duality 2008-2013” represents the most comprehensive investment in Canada’s official languages in Canada’s history. Economic Action Plan 2012 will continue support for official languages by maintaining funding to protect, celebrate and enhance Canada’s linguistic duality.” Read the rest of the story
(Thanks for the story, YANNICK)
Senior residence forced to adopt French only signs
The Maywood residence in Pointe-Claire became completely French nine months ago.
"You missed out on activities. You missed out on some information,"
said tenant Eileen Yeates, who has lived at the residence for six years.
Yeates said she feels that since she pays the same rate as her
French-speaking friends in the building, she should receive the same
treatment.
The OQLF disagrees.
In Quebec, all official documents posted by an administration of a residence must be in French only – unlike in stores, where English is permitted, so long as it is half the size of the French text. Read the rest of the story
In Quebec, all official documents posted by an administration of a residence must be in French only – unlike in stores, where English is permitted, so long as it is half the size of the French text. Read the rest of the story
English ueber alles
There was a predictable wave of outrage all across the country, but
the university’s rector, Giovanni Azzoni, simply replied: “We strongly
believe our classes should be international classes, and the only way to
have international classes is to use the English language. Universities
are in a more competitive world. If you want to stay with the other
global universities, you have no other choice.”
The university is not doing this to attract foreign students. It is
doing it mainly for its own students who speak Italian as a first
language, but must make their living in a global economy where the
players come from everywhere—and they all speak English as a lingua
francaMany other European universities, especially in Germany, the Low Countries, and Scandinavia, have taken the same decision, and the phenomenon is now spreading to Asia. ..... Read the rest of the story
Small town caves to language pressure
Henceforth, all documentation will be offered in French only with English language indications that the information will be available in English, upon specific request.
This change follows a complaint by the Mouvement estrien pour le français.
The lobby group deplored the bilingual policy as "promotion of monolingual English.
The group complained over the bilingualism of, for example, electricity bills, the renewal of registrations of pets and the warnings of temporary interruption of the supply of running water.
"It was a Charter violation, since Magog is not recognized as a bilingual municipality. According to the complaint, "Any notice to the public must be in French only,"
The Mouvement estrien pour le français applauded the City of Magog and congratulated elected officials for their courage and consistency.
The decision to comply by the City had repercussions in Quebec City, where the PQ member for Drummond, Yves-François Blanchet, publicly thanked the elected Magogois and the Mouvement estrien pour le français in front of the deputies of the National Assembly. Mayor of Magog, Vicki May Hamm admited to a mild discomfort in this situation because of her English roots.
"Our communications were written in both languages in good faith. However, we will comply and we will pass the information on request, in English,"Citizens have already expressed their disappointment. The city received a wave of complaints about the manual on composting, recently distributed to the public exclusively in French. "We have no choice, we must follow the law," says Ms. Hamm. Read the story in French
In a related story about a town ordered to stop communicating in English as a matter of course, citizens of Chateauguay have started a petition demanding that English be respected.
"According to Mayor Simon, what a city can not do "is unclear." At the last City Council meeting of Châteauguay, there was talk of a statement of the OQLF indicating that cities could use French with another language in their communication.
The text dating from 1999 no longer reflects the "government guidelines" suggested Mayor Simon, based on information obtained from the OQLF.
Questioned about this, the press officer of Mr. Moreau said that in 2000 the former Minister of Culture of the PQ Louise Beaudoin had "amended the Charter of the French language so that cities could claim bilingual status having 50% or more native speakers of English in contrast to what was stated before...." LINK{Fr}
The text dating from 1999 no longer reflects the "government guidelines" suggested Mayor Simon, based on information obtained from the OQLF.
Questioned about this, the press officer of Mr. Moreau said that in 2000 the former Minister of Culture of the PQ Louise Beaudoin had "amended the Charter of the French language so that cities could claim bilingual status having 50% or more native speakers of English in contrast to what was stated before...." LINK{Fr}
An English globe
"Seven in ten workers (67%) of those who interact with people in other countries say English is the language they most often use to communicate with them. Those with a high level of household income (74%) and education (73%) are most likely to say English. Gender and age seem to have no statistical bearing on the dominant language used for foreign business.
North America (76%) has the highest proportion of employees reporting the main language they use to communicate with people from other countries is English, followed by Asia-Pacific (72%), the Middle East and Africa (67%), Europe (63%) and Latin America (33%).
In 22 of 26 countries surveyed, English is the dominant language.....
Spanish ranks as a distant second plane, with 5% saying it is the language they most commonly use to communicate with people from abroad. After Spanish are Mandarin (4%) and French (3%). Two percent of those surveyed say each of: German, Arabic, Hindi, Italian and Russian." Read the rest of the story
North America (76%) has the highest proportion of employees reporting the main language they use to communicate with people from other countries is English, followed by Asia-Pacific (72%), the Middle East and Africa (67%), Europe (63%) and Latin America (33%).
In 22 of 26 countries surveyed, English is the dominant language.....
Spanish ranks as a distant second plane, with 5% saying it is the language they most commonly use to communicate with people from abroad. After Spanish are Mandarin (4%) and French (3%). Two percent of those surveyed say each of: German, Arabic, Hindi, Italian and Russian." Read the rest of the story
More SSJB witch-hunting
The merry clan of Inspector Clouseaus ran rampant in the multiethnic district, turning up an amazing 333 infractions.
If those infractions are anything like the example cited in the story in Nouvelles St. Laurent News
they aren't doing a very good job;
The sign is 100% in compliance with the law and 100% in compliance with the fictitious rule that demands French descriptors ("L'Entreprise Commercial") for English sounding trademarks.
The blurb on the bottom ("Quality in Food since 1974) is also in compliance, with the French version significantly larger than the English.
Shame on the SSJB and shame on the reporter Valerie R. Carbonneau for wrongly outing a company which has satisfied every idiotic OQLF sign demand.
I sent in a polite comment under the story pointing out the error, which of course was never printed.
If I owned the company I'd sue the reporter and the newspaper.
Student leader evicted for non payment of rent
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| Deadbeat Student leader 'not credible' |
In a decision issued on May 16, the Administrative Judge-Martial Robin Guay has terminated the lease of the CLASSE spokesman and his roommate and sentenced them to pay the sum of $1,900, as compensation for not having paid the rent for March and April.
Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois claimed to have indeed paid the two months rent in cash by putting it in the mailbox of owner Davide Francisco. He submitted two bank statements as evidence, noting two withdrawals totaling $1,000 on March 12, and two other withdrawals, two weeks later, for the payment of April.
Judge Guay, however, did not believe this version, finding "surprising" that "two educated people didn't understand the high risk they were taking and had not exercised a minimum of prudence by not requiring the landlord to furnish a receipt.
Mr. Nadeau-Dubois replied that he had problems in the past in getting receipts from the owner.
The Tribunal also criticized the two tenants for having presented "no documentary evidence that supports their claims."
" Suffice to say that the court did not consider the tenants credible about the cash payments they said they made to their landlord by leaving an envelope of $950 in the mail box." Read the story in French
Amir Khadir daughter- a chip off the old block
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| Tough cookie Yalda Machouf-Khadir, resisting arrest by SQ officer |
She was arrested way back when for an occupation of Cégep du Vieux-Montréal which resulted in destruction of school property.
She was in court this week in relation to another arrest, this one for taking part in the blockade of the Jacques- Cartier Bridge.
19 year old Yalda Machouf-Khadir must report to police once a week because she had been arrested previously, when students blocked the Champlain Bridge. Link
Miss Khadir is the daughter of Quebec solidaire MP Amir Khadir and Nina Machouf, a 9/11 Truther.
Busy little girl....
She has quite the temper, she faced off with a photojournalist who was taking her picture in the courthouse hall. The reporter received a punch in the camera after Khadir demanded that she not be photographed, because she had 'rights.'
In order to avoid being photographed Miss Khadir spread a large kerchief around her head, revealing a desperate need for a Lady Bic.Of course Papa Khadir is fully supportive, telling reporters that he was in court to support his daughter, not to comment on her situation.
I bet her Communist grandpa was particularly proud as well....
Here's a few interesting tidbits to round out the week.....
Well Done, Julie!!! You are elected LANGUAGE IDIOT OF THE WEEK.
(Thanks for the story, MORTON)
Who can identify this Photoshop disaster on the front page of Le Journal de Montreal?
I thought newspapers weren't supposed to modify news photos... Hmmm...
I thought newspapers weren't supposed to modify news photos... Hmmm...
Who can identify this boner in Le Journal de Montreal?
How strange is Quebec? Infomercial on French TV.... for an English keyboard?
And where is the OQLF when you need them?
This is part of the strong mandate students received to strike!
(84 students voted out of 4,227)
(84 students voted out of 4,227)
Here's an interesting version of French GLOBISH or perhaps simplified French . I like the advice on the bottom of the page informing the reader that he or she is an idiot.
What genius organization put out this crap?
Answer: The City of Montreal;
(Thanks for the story, BLEGAS )
Extra credit reading
Estimating crowd sizes in demonstrations is more of an art than a skill.
You'll recall that the demonstration in front of the Bell Centre against a unilingual anglophone coach was estimated variously between 150 and 500. With that margin of error it isn't surprising that the number of participants at large demonstrations varies widely.
Here is the first definitive attempt to get the numbers right.
Read Montreal blogger Steve Fagay's (Fagstein);
“Tens of thousands” – the battle over protest turnout numbers
“Tens of thousands” – the battle over protest turnout numbers
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60 Minutes doing another report on oppressed English in Montreal
Watch the 14 year old report by Morley Safer
Watch the 14 year old report by Morley Safer
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The National Post asked readers this question; “ Does Quebec have a future in Canada?”
"In 75 words or fewer, let us know what lies ahead for Quebec."
"In 75 words or fewer, let us know what lies ahead for Quebec."
(Thanks for the story, LORDDORCHESTER )
I only include this story because the French press is peddling the fiction that the enormous, thirty million dollar mansion is for sale (furniture and all) because it 'doesn't suit' the enlarged Dion/Angelil family.
("Il aurait fallu faire beaucoup de rénovations pour l’adapter à notre famille. Donc nous avons décidé de la mettre en vente.- René Angelil")
The family by selling the mansion, is admitting the truth, that their permanent home is in Florida.
For the Quebec press, it's a hard pill to swallow.
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("Il aurait fallu faire beaucoup de rénovations pour l’adapter à notre famille. Donc nous avons décidé de la mettre en vente.- René Angelil")
The family by selling the mansion, is admitting the truth, that their permanent home is in Florida.
For the Quebec press, it's a hard pill to swallow.
Thought of the weekIt's interesting to hear and read all the comments (even on this blog) from those claiming that an 'unjust' law like Bill 78 should not be obeyed because it is immoral.The same people who tell us to obey Bill 101 because it is the law.....
