I had originally held this spot for a critique of the proposed changes to Bill 101 that was introduced Wednesday in the National Assembly by the minister in charge, Diane DeCourcy, but happily for us, the government wimped out on just about every major
The Bill does extend francization rules to companies with over 26 employees, but it will take twenty years for the OQLF to get around to inspecting each and every one of them.
It is however going to lead to many companies keeping employee levels frozen at the 25 people level, as in France where the number of companies with 49 employees is 2.4 greater than companies employing 50 because of the draconian government measures that kick in, once companies go over the fifty threshold. Read the story
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| Click to download a PDF of Bill 14 in English |
You can read the provisions of the Bill 14 by clicking on the link on the right. It's a bit ironic that to carry any force in law, the Bill must still be written in English as well as French!
There is one provision of the law that sounds a bit harsh, but one that I can't complain about, that is the measure that requires a student attending English cegep to pass a French test before graduating.
Is that really unreasonable, given where we live?
In fact French should be a required course for all students attending English cegep, just like in high school.
After all, isn't school about teaching real world skills and who can argue that speaking French in Quebec isn't one of the most critical skills non-Francophones need to acquire?
Another aspect to the law that I don't object to is that English students will be now be given priority for valuable places in English cegeps. Over the last couple of years students with very decent grades were being squeezed out of English cegep by very high achieving francophone students seeking an English education.
It's a bit unfair to francophones with superior grades, but the schools were built for the English community and since the logical alternative of increasing capacity is a cup of poison for the education department, rationing is necessary.
Of course many in the English community will be screaming blue murder over the changes in the law, but realistically we got off easy.
So all in all, Bill 14 was much ado about nothing. The damage could have been much worse.
As the police say" Move along, nothing to see here...."
Now let us turn the gist of this post, the unconscionable orgy of financial largess being showered upon political friends of the PQ, lucrative government appointments in high places that have an astounding cost attached to the public purse.
When the Pauline Marois campaigned on a platform of doing things differently than the Liberals, nobody thought that it meant that the PQ would be even worse abusers of the system!
One of the very first acts of the new government signalled that when it comes to integrity, taxpayers were to be treated to the same sleaze the PQ accused its Liberal predecessors of mastering.
So much for the promise of a new broom sweeping clean the stain of corruption and political opportunism!
Just three weeks after the PQ won its narrow Parliamentary minority, the orgy of political appointments began, starting with the naming of a defeated PQ candidate, Nicolas Girard, to a plum job at the Agence Métropolitaine de Transport, the agency charged with transit planning for the region Montreal.
"Girard lost his seat in the Montreal riding of Gouin to Québec Solidaire co-spokesperson Françoise David....And so for Pauline and the PQ, it was off to the races, or rather to the political pig trough invoking the timed-honoured political payoff device known as "Jobs for the Boys"
....Coalition Avenir Québec Leader François Legault denounced the appointment as cronyism.
"Mr. Girard, with all his skills, doesn't have any experience in management. So this is exactly what the Parti Québécois had been denouncing: partisanship over ability," Legault said.
The presidency of the AMT carries a salary of about $170,000 a year, well more than the basic MNA salary of $86,242 plus certain expenses." Link
This week, opposition parties were furious with the disclosure of the obscene compensation package offered Quebec's new
That deal included a permanent post as a highly paid civil servant that would survive his three year term in New York, something so outrageous that after a firestorm of controversy, the government was forced to take back the offer. Read: Marois retracts sweetheart deal
Once again the Marois government demonstrated its true nature, improvisation and incompetence, stumbling from one disaster to another, on its way to becoming, quite frankly, a laughingstock.
In explaining how Pauline lurches from one disastrous decision to another, Joanne Marcotte a leading Quebec conservative described it best in a panel discussion on TV..
She told the panel that Pauline likes to makes decisions by consensus, and listens to what her cabinet colleagues recommend.
The trouble, as Madame Marcotte describes, is that the ministers are all idiots and that the decisions arrived at the cabinet table are all basically flawed, Ha! Ha!
At any rate, all the opposition and media criticism was focused on the financial aspects of the appointment, careful not to attack Mr. Boisclair's qualifications, reputation or bone fides.
So let me do exactly that.
Mr. Boisclair is under-qualified for the job, plain and simple.
Just about the only thing in favour of his nomination is the fact that he speaks good English, a fact that eliminated 99% of those PQ elements that were vying for the plushest job that the government has to offer. Sadly, when it comes to good English, the PQ ranks are decidedly thin, unlike in the old days, where being fluent in English was de rigueur for the PQ leadership.
Boisclair is a dropout, who started but never finished an undergraduate university degree. Like many under-educated politicians with higher political aspirations, he sought to boost his C/V by attending a college-like school that has limited entrance requirements, one that would allow him to obtain a higher degree without ever obtaining a lower degree. How's that for honesty.
The school that Boisclair chose is the impressive sounding John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University where it seems that the only entrance requirements are that the applicant be public persona and one who can pony up the $100,000 that the course eats up.
Poof! After two short years, Boisclair 'earns' the impressively sounding Master's in Public Administration, this without ever graduating university!
I've walked into many a politician's, lawyers and business executive office and seen these extended learning degrees hung on the wall masquerading as the real McCoy. The truth is that they are only slightly harder to earn than a diploma from the Acme Driving School, and like the driving school, no applicant with the ready, is turned down.
And so it came as no surprise that in praising Mr. Boisclair's qualifications, Pauline Marois made it a point to mention that he was a graduate of a school associated with Harvard University, proving that it is possible to fool the people almost all of the time.
So it seems that the $100,000 investment certainly paid off and now the Quebec government can boast a 'Haavid man' in New York!
There he can pretend to be worthy to rub shoulders with true titans of industry, science, the arts, academia and government.
I remember having a wonderful lunch in the historic panelled dining room and while visiting the facilities, standing shoulder to shoulder sandwiched in between none other than Henry Kissinger and a future President of the United States. Unfortunately, maintaining the urinal etiquette, I resisted the temptation to strike up a conversation, but ahem... I digress.
Contrary to what Pauline Marois has told us about his many qualifications, Boisclair goes to New York as an idiot abroad, out of his depth, out of his league and with a network of contacts thinner than a runway model during New York's fashion week.
He's got no background in finance, nor any contacts in the business world other than his lobbying job, representing a shale gas company out of Calgary, eager to get their hands on drilling rights in Quebec.
Boisclair isn't particularly plugged into any of New York's large ethnic communities, be it Italian, Jewish, Black or Latino and he's got no network going for him among politicians or business people.
New Yorkers, like all Americans are not particularly fond of the French, and a Quebecer who represents a socialist tax and spend government won't go over big in the Big Apple. Worse still, shilling for Quebec sovereignty and the breakup of America's most loyal ally is not something that will make him many friends or put him on the 'A' list.
Compared to his predecessor, the worldly, eminently competent and supremely connected John Parisella, it is like replacing a Itzhak Perlman with your daughter's violin teacher.
And so Boisclair's lifetime gravy train has derailed, he will not be joining the civil service after his appointment ends, unless the PQ is in power and deems to shower him with more government largess.
For Boisclair, it is a case of close, but no cigar, he'll have to content himself to the $100k plus pension that awaits him for his service in the National Assembly.
The poor lad.....
According to Pauline Marois, the Boisclair compensation package was reasonable, but the negative public reaction convinced her that perhaps she should reconsider. And so Marois promised that she won't do these deals again, opting to form a hiring committee to t
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| Similar deal as Boisclair, a lifetime job! |
Baril, a militant ecologist, was installed by the then Minister of the Environment, Daniel Breton, another militant ecologist, who cleaned house at the BAPE, giving it a new activist leftist/environmental political direction.
Mr. Baril received the same deal as Boisclair, that is a commitment that he be placed in the civil service once his term at BAPE was up, at a salary of over $150K(indexed) until retirement!
You can download a PDF of the cabinet decree describing the conditions of his job, which has the same provision as in the now former Boisclair agreement. Read the Decree{Fr}
So why hasn't Marois not reversed Mr. Baril's deal as well?
Probably because it hasn't been publicized and Marois is certainly not volunteering to open up another can of embarrassment of her own accord.
Perhaps the media will soon wake up soon, I certainly hope so.
Now a word on this 'permanency' in the civil service, that has been the subject of much discussion in the media of late.
What it means is that once you get a job in the civil service, you are entitled to 100% job security, you cannot be demoted or fired under normal circumstances.
It means that when Mr. Baril transfers into the civil service once his job at BAPE is over, he will be guaranteed the same $150k+ salary (indexed) until he retires!
The farce of 'permanency' is manifested after every change in government.
The deputy ministers loyal to the previous government cannot be fired to make way for new blood and so a great big game of musical chairs is played, where these senior civil servants are transferred about to different departments, but unlike the kindergarten game, no one is ever left 'out.'
Those who are unwanted are just transferred to other departments to twiddle their thumbs in overpaid make-believe jobs, while they wait out the years in anticipation of retirement. Sweet!
A final note on the Boisclair affair.
Jean-François Lisée, the minister under who Boisclair was to work, defended the 'permanency' aspect to the appointment with gusto in the first days of the controversy, at one point telling reporters that Lawrence Cannon, the Ambassador to France was also given a permanent job in the federal civil service.
That fact turned out to be 100% false and after being called out over the mistake by the media, Lisée was forced to grovel out an apology, to the National Assembly, the media and Mr. Cannon himself.
I guess Mr. Lisée is learning the hard way that his habit of fitting facts to suit his position may work in the blogosphere, but not in government, where every word he utters is weighed for accuracy.
I'm sure that in Lisée's case there will many more such gaffes, his penchant for distortion just too ingrained.
Oh..Ohh... Oh.. One final, final note.
I can't help but see the delicious irony in Mr. Breton's appointment of his good friend, Pierre Baril, as the head of BAPE.
The ex-Environment Minister lost his cabinet post in a cloud of controversy and returns to the back benches at $85K a year (instead of the $150k ministerial salary,) with zero job security.
In the meantime, the guy he appointed to BAPE, Mr. Baril, is guaranteed a $150K indexed salary until he retires, at which time he will collect a healthy pension.
Karma's a bitch!
And you want to make a country out of this.
ReplyDeleteJust like Lil'Wayne and Fat Joe, Marois makes it rain
DeleteRe the patronage appointments: So what else is new? Here is the hyperlink to an episode of the classic sitcom All in the Family. Unfortunately I don't know how to cut an excerpt from the YouTube segment, so to save time, advance the segment to the five minute mark. It describes Archie's neighbour, George Jefferson, and his reason for running for office. I was around 15 when that episode came out, and I couldn't better define why politicians politic. As long as it wastes Quebec money and not federal money, I couldn't care less.
ReplyDeleteRe French being obligatory at the post-secondary level: I strongly disagree with the Editor. Quebec is a meddlesome society with government having its hand in everyone's pie. The possibility of a student not getting his diploma or degree at the end of 15-20 years of education due to lack of proficiency in French is preposterous! Why not just eliminate English post-secondary education in Quebec altogether if proficiency in French is expected? I do realize it's aimed at those students domiciled in Quebec as opposed to those from outside, but it's either obligatory for all students or no students.
By the time one graduates from the public school system, that has to be a person who is capable of making wise career decisions, and if one chooses to live in Quebec, it is in their best interest to be bilingual. I was educated in Quebec from my first day in kindergarten until I wrote my very last exam in Advanced Financial Accounting at Concordia U. I didn't take one French course after my requirement to do so in Secondary V. I passed that course and that was enough for me. My decision to leave Quebec was made up long before I completed and submitted my application for CEGEP and even longer before I applied for university. I graduated from high school and couldn't proficiently speak French, but I passed the oral and written components obligatorily required to matriculate.
To me, the only way to really learn another language is to immerse oneself into that language. I think my French improved more working at the defunct Pascal hardware retail chain than all my years of French in school combined. Many of my French speaking colleagues at Pascal's improved their English listening to radio and watching English TV. Too, I'm obviously biased to say so, but many of my bilingual counterparts at work back in the 1970s at Pascal's through colleagues today who are mother tongued in French have stated English is easier to speak and write than French.
If it wasn't for the many peculiarities of the third person singular and plurality of nouns in English, then English would be prone to fewer errors. It's probably the easiest language to learn to speak very badly, and still be somewhat understood.
Oh, and dear readers and contributors, pretty please don't refer to the politically incorrect Engrish website.
So all in all, Bill 14 was much ado about nothing. The damage could have been much worse.
ReplyDeleteAs the police say" Move along, nothing to see here...."
Now hold on just a minute.
This bill proposes, among other things, to add to the preamble of the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms "the right to live and work in French". On the face of it, that doesn't sound particularly off-putting until you consider that the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms is one of two documents that outline the individual rights enjoyed by persons in this province (the other being the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms).
Consider also that the current bill is a supposedly watered-down version of the legislation that the PQ would have liked to table, and that by that party's own admission it is only the first of several language-related pieces of legislation it hopes to pass. More to the point, we should consider both the motivation/political benefits of such a "right", as well as the extent of both its legislative and judicial implications.
By seeking to enshrine such a seemingly innocuous and vaguely-worded "right" into what scholars call a quasi-constitutional document, the PQ has pretty much given itself a political ace in the hole that it can and certainly will play whenever it deems appropriate. It also blurs the lines between the vocation of Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms -- mechanically an ordinary Quebec provincial law, but by virtue of its content one that functionally subordinates every other Quebec provincial law -- and the Charter of the French Language, which, despite the word "Charter" in its name, really is an ordinary law. By bridging (more properly, conflating) our human rights legislation with our language legislation, I wonder whether we would be juridically introducing a serious breach in our existing constitutional framework. Sadly, even Jean Charest by paid lip service to this fiction way back in 2007 following the Bouchard-Taylor commission when he affirmed that:
« La nation du Québec a des valeurs, des valeurs solides, dont : l’égalité entre les femmes et les hommes, la primauté du français, la séparation entre l’État et la religion. Ces valeurs sont fondamentales. Elles sont à prendre avec le Québec. Elles ne peuvent faire l’objet d’aucun accommodement. Elles ne peuvent être subordonnées à aucun autre principe».
(1)
I wonder whether this latest potential turn of legislative events could be a move to enshrine a tactical political objective more than a hollow and unenforceable feel-good provision for Franco-supremacists. Parliament does not speak/legislate in vain, and I suspect we would be wise to keep this in mind while considering the nature of the party originating this legislative change, and possible spheres of application.
DeletePolitical arguments aside, if the right to live and work in French were a serious human rights issue, I have to wonder why the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms wouldn't have been amended when bill 101 came into force by the extremely activist péquiste government of the day. Lévesque's first government could have pulled it off comparatively easily: already a majority, it would have simply ridden the wave of nationalist sentiment that had been building by then for at least two decades all while capitalizing on the human rights/social justice climate then very much in vogue. Our language legislation has more than once been (often successfully) challenged for violating freedom of expression provisions in both in the Quebec and Canadian Charters, and despite the phoney "Montréal s'anglicise" scaremongering of the last several years, one needs to wonder whether the true aim of this provision is legislative or political in nature, and why it needs to be passed on the heels of perception rather than incontrovertible fact. Why this, and perhaps more importantly, why now?
With the language/identity issue not currently resonating all that much with the population and the support for separation at a serious low, I think it both legitimate and necessary to question whether this nebulously-worded addition's "spark value" is nothing other than the current lame-duck PQ-minority-led legislature storing nuts for the proverbial winter or merely attempting to curry symbolic favor with its increasingly disenchanted clientèle.
Whatever the case, it's a brilliant coup for Pauline and it has her paw prints all over it -- done on the sly and innocently placed. Such a provision could prove inestimable in future attempts to bully bilingualism advocates or even rally support for the separatist cause, should it ever be struck down by (irony of ironies) a Quebec court before ever making it to the Supremes...
"Group rights may have a negative connotation in the context of colonialism and legalised racism. In this context group rights award rights to a privileged group. For example, in South Africa under the former apartheid regime, which classified inhabitants and visitors into racial groups (black, white, coloured and Indian). Rights were awarded on a group basis, creating first and second class citizens.
DeleteIn the modern context, 'group rights' are argued for by some as an instrument to actively facilitate the realisation of equality. In a society where there is already equality before the law for all citizens, 'equality' is often an euphemistic reference to material equality (money & resources). This is where the group is regarded as being in a situation such that it needs special protective rights if its members are to enjoy living conditions on terms equal with the majority of the population. Examples of such groups may include indigenous peoples, ethnic minorities, women, children and the disabled."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Individual_and_group_rights#Immutable_characteristics
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In Quebec the concept of collective rights is de facto used in line with the first definition (shoring up of privilidge), but is sold by propagandists under the second defintion (protection of the weak from the strong).
Reality: a white colonial population, not unlike the Afrikaners in South Africa, is using political power to maintain and perpetuate privilege of petite bourgeoisie of Montreal and the ruling class of Quebec City, by cultivating the sentiment of supremacy in the numerical majority of the province, to the detriment of social cohesion.
Propaganda spin: poor and defenseless population surrounded by hordes of 300 million enemies is standing ground and defending a way of life that is sacred and pristine.
Essentially, post-colonialism and colonizer supremacy dressed up as affirmative action. Shoring up of the existing system sold under the guise of a contradictory concept of an upward flux of the disadvantaged. And a disfavor to the idea of affirmative action.
I like that you get me, adski.
DeleteApp: When Claude Ryan authored the updated PLQ manifesto entitled Liberal Values in Contemporary Quebec, he discussed collective rights vs individual righta and quite clearly indicated that collective rights trump individual rights in Quebec. Another major fundamental difference between philosophies in Quebec vs the Real Canada.
DeleteIn democracy that is known as the tyranny of the majority. If I recall correctly, there was a woman in Ireland that wanted an abortion, but couldn't get one and ended up committing suicide. Catholic fanaticisim runs rampant in Ireland. Quebec is a predominantly Catholic society, and people ate, slept and defecated Catholicism until a half century ago. Need I say more?
"In fact French should be a required course for all students attending English cegep, just like in high school."
ReplyDeleteSo far as I know all English CEGEP students are already required to take two French courses in order to graduate, so passing these course, I think would more than prove French linguistic ability. The proposed French test is just a slap in the face intended to insinuate that Anglos are not bilingual and cannot speak French.
I also take issue with the giving anglos Priority. If a Francophone student works exceedingly hard in order to get grades good enough to be admitted at the top of the class they should do so. I'd rather a high performing Francophone who wants to learn English rather than a token Anglophone student who is only admitted because he speaks primarily English. Of course the solution would be to increase funding for English CEGEPS to accommodate all those who wish attend.
To jmic75
DeleteI agree with both your points.
I also wonder, is there an English exam at the end of French CEGEP? My logic tells me no, but why not? I mean, if you are happy that your children will have to avoid job applications that require or see English as an asset, well, their window will be much smaller.
Logic also tells me that EVERYONE wants their children to do well, get a good job, be happy, etc. Why choose to not equip your children with as many assets as possible so when applying for jobs they have more chances? Fluency in any language, particularly those that will facilitate trade/national/international communication seems like a very good asset to me.
I have also read about the government trying to enforce 'not requiring' English if the job does not require it. Well, I think the employer that has to choose between JF fluent in French only and JF fluent in French AND English will choose the candidate with more education, even if not required for that specific job at that point per se. It's human nature, we all want the best we can get. I presume there's only a handful of employers out there that will choose JF fluent in French only given the choice just on principle or out of support for the French cause, as some of these laws intend.
Silent Reader (and I hope you're not another of S.R.'s split personality): What galaxy have you been on the last half century? The PQ's ulterior motive is a double-edged sword:
Delete(1) To shove French down everybody's throat making it the language you eat, sleep and
defecate; and
(2) Imprison Francophones so they can't leave and live a better quality life just about
anywhere else in North America.
The law protects (and simultaneously abuses) the «pur lainers», it does not protect the minorities. These are people who despise everything English and they're doing what they can to erase anything and everything English.
Editor doesn't like it when the goings-on in Quebec are compared to Nazi Germany, but bit by bit, piece by piece, word by word and step by step, this is exactly what's happening. If they could get away with it, I'm sure Lisée and his minions, with the "corrective action" he always talks about, would bring out some giant guillotine to some public place and start the beheading of those they don't like. Racist, racist, racist society.
Mr Sauga,
DeleteThank you for your comments. First I'll clarify that I am a non-visible ethnic allophone, English my second language learnt by choice and through sweat in my late teens (which is why I cannot understand why people don't take the chance to teach languages children - when they easily absorb them), French still in the works (more difficult as I get older). So no relationship to S.R., aside from the coincidence of the letters of his acronym and my user name.
Regarding your comments, I do perceive them as the truth, yet, it is so illogical for a society to dip into it this way, and that is why I still think that money talks, and when employers can see what gives to be loyal to the French cause and what gives to be competitive, eventually either logic triumphs or all companies close and we will be all on welfare, of which there is a lot here, but realistically it can only be sustained for so long, right? I suspect at some point in the future Canada will find a way to reduce the gifts to QC and QC will have to wake up and become competitive or die of hunger.
I agree with Mr. Sauga, always so insightful!
DeleteYou are chasing a lost cause, Silent Reader, when you try to look for logic in anything the separatists do. They are driven by sheer emotion and overwhelming antipathy for anything non-French, (and I know I have put that very mildly). There is a word for people like that, but I will refrain. They would rather go hungry then admit defeat and get with the times. They just keep squeezing and squeezing the torque, till they finally squeeze “THEMSELVES” to death. They want those in English CEGEPs to write a French exam to graduate? Good great, this means greater proficiency for these students, thus more opportunities for them. I do not see it as a bad thing, though the seppies probably think they are sticking it to these kids. In fact, they are helping them become even better at a second language: French! Meanwhile back at the ranch, they are encaging theirs, by hindering and further limiting those in the French system from the real opportunities in Life, with irresponsible language legislations.
I re-iterate, everything they do is always based solely and purely on emotion. But mostly, and I never sway far from my own theory about this: they want to ensure that, most if not all, never become versatile enough linguistically to be in a position to seek out better opportunities outside this sad province or anywhere in the world. This way they ensure that someone stays behind to pay for their astronomical mounting debt and aging population.
The real tragedy is that Francophone’s, who are most affected by these limitations and forced into this bondage, don’t realize that the Powers-That-Be have cut off their noses to spite their faces. They have always been the ones with the most to lose. And this isn’t changing anytime soon either.
Dear Editor,
ReplyDeleteRespectfully, I submit two points of disagreement for clarification. The first is made by jmic75:
French (two courses) are already a requirement in English CEGEPs so this part of the law is not just a slap in the face but more "French is being ignored" fear-mongering.
Secondly, weakening and eventually shutting down English CEGEPs is the intent of the part of the law that would give admissions priority to Anglophone students. Sounds benign at first glance, which is why you laud it. But wait a minute: right now students are admitted with a blind eye toward language. That is, strong schools throughout the world admit the top whatever percent of strong students without regard to ethnicity or mother tongue. So you pick your strongest applicants (just as you would as an employer) and you remain a good solid school (or a solid employer/business). The moment you admit all students from mother tongue group X, you have admitted strong and not-so-strong and weak students -- and you stop being a competitive strong school. There's that word -- competitive. Imagine, per my above parentheses, if a business were forced (and hey! that could be coming to a PQ bill near you!) to fill its positions with X-mother-tongue employees and then when all the positions were filled fill whatever became open with Y-mother-tongue employees -- vs. building your business with the top, best, most competitive employees. Same thing.
What pequiste wants English schools (or any English group) to have control over their destiny or, god forbid, wants competition to exist in QC?!
Its an interesting twist to substitute "mother tongue" for English, for accepting/enroling students at English language institutions, not to mention how to define municipalities or other services where currently 50% English speaking is required to have bilingual status. Quebec can use this change in terminology to cut in half anglophone numbers as mother tongue presumably will discount allophones who speak English, so over the medium to long term, provision for services in English can be cut significicantly, and many municipalities in Montreal and elsewhere can have their bilingual status removed. All the counts will be based on Stats Canada figures which now collect and report on stats based on mother tongue language - so Quebec can claim these are federal statistics which are driving their policies. Also, the use of the term "mother tongue" essentially is used to remove or undermine the right of "allophones" to choose their primary language - another interesting take on Quebec's so-called Rights and Freedoms Charter. Wonderful!
DeleteIf I was an English speaking allophone who was concerned about my rights and rights of my children, I would change how I would answer Stats Canada or other surveys if they ask what language do I speak primarily and simply say English.
Exactly what I was thinking the other day. These stats are used against us all the time by the seppies and we must be careful how we answer these questions. There was a questionnaire on line the other day from an organization that I recently joined and I decided not to fill it out for that very reason.
Delete"If I was an English speaking allophone who was concerned about my rights and rights of my children, I would change how I would answer Stats Canada or other surveys if they ask what language do I speak primarily and simply say English."
DeleteI am an English speaking allophone (I actually speak both En and Fr well, but prefer En) and am concerned about my rights and my children's. Which is more than anything what's driving me out of qc. In no way answering one way or another to the Census questions will fix the problem. Should the Census show more English language, imagine the fury that would unleash: How dare the English community grow, when all the policies designed to protect the French language mainly by WIPING OUT English? Helllllooooo!
First of all, my kudos for the past few issues on corruption, Editor.
ReplyDeleteSecond, these articles illustrate that Quebec is indeed a "distinct society."
See, even though corruption exists everywhere, Quebec takes it to a new level.
Sadly, the Michel Patrices and SRYLs of the province refuse to acknowledge the plain facts
here and see that the Marois, Boislcairs and Bretons of the system (as well as the Gerard Laroses) of our society are playing them like guitars.
Poor, poor little pawns.
Quebekistan is done like dinner.
ReplyDeleteA tad off topic but yesterday the PQ scaled back & cut over $400 000 000 of its spending and will also add over $640 000 000 to its debt. Finally living way above its means is all but over for Quebekistan.
Faced with a credit rating that will go dwn, the PQ has no choice but show that it is "responsible".
More cuts will come. Result? More carre rouges, more protest, more like Greece.
Congrats to all those lefties and fans of social-democracy!!!!
What a mess you're all in now!!!!
And now all the other side considerations:
http://www.montrealgazette.com/health/Montreal+health+agency+must/7663691/story.html
http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Quebec+create+registry/7661578/story.html
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/education/quebec-universities-recoil-at-demand-to-cut-124-million-in-spending/article6073876/
This will not end well for poor quebekistan:)
I was watching " Face a Face" on vtele yesterday . they were debating the idea " Do Quebecers live beyond their means" the firm of pelletier and Gendron were describing the Fiscal cliff to come in Quebec, warning that people needed to control their spending , yada, yada.. it's too bad the message falls on deaf ears.... it seems to me that Seppies can only achieve successful Quebec Independence through financial independence... but far be it for me an Anglo/Ethnic Federalist to point out the obvious ..
Deletehttp://vtele.ca/videos/face-a-face/face-a-face-le-debat-le-quebecois-vit-il-au-dessus-de-ses-moyens_53924_53925.php
L of T...BINGO!
DeleteIt’s the kid who wants to leave his parents house cause he can’t abide by the rules but can’t afford it. He yells and screams and throws tantrums that he wants his way at any and all cost, cause after all, he’s “Special”, and one day his parents get real sick of this attitude cause now the siblings are complaining that they’re not getting enough attention and they are just as important, and little dick-head ain’t pulling his weight and cleaning his room so ...he needs to go. The parents decide that, the rest of the kids do have a point and they too have had enough of this lil’ ungrateful so-and-so, and finally, it’s time to show the spoiled brat some tough love. They throw him the hell out but Jean-Guy has no money, no prospects and nowhere to go. He gets himself some cardboard boxes and lives under the Champlain bridge, with one eye open!
Editor,vous avez oubliez de mentionner la communauté gai de New-york qui a,elle aussi,un certain poids dans le milieu des affaires et de la politique.
ReplyDeleteOublié
DeleteBy that logic I should be more or as qualified as André Boisclair to take the position as there is a large hetrosexual community in New York.
DeleteCe n'est pas de la logique,c'est la façon dont fonctionne les humains :Plus vous avez d'affinités avec un groupe plus les chances d'association/amitié sont grandes.
DeletePleazzeee.......
ReplyDeleteLord Dorchester
ReplyDeleteRegarding Bill 101 lite. The "right" to be able to work in French is a nasty bit of legislation that will be a catalyst for yet another head office shuffle down the 401. This shouldn't be under estimated and it fits nicely into their long term plans. Their Death by a thousand cuts stratgey has been largely a success. Their GOAL is for English speaking Quebecers to throw in the towel and move out of the province so they can attain their winning conditions and Separate from Canada. This all dates back to that night in 1995 when Parizeau blamed money and Ethnics for their loss. They realized that they can't win a referendum unless Anglophones and Allophones move. They just don't have the numbers to make it happen. All through the years they have been working their way to their goal by "cleansing" Quebec of "NO" voters and indoctrinating new, hand picked French speaking immigrants into the school system. This is merely an extension of that policy. When you take away a person's ability to earn a wage, then they move elsewhere. By the way the Federal NDP had latched onto this idea and are advocating all Federally chartered companies in Quebec (i.e. Banks, Air Canada, CN, Bell Canada) be forced to comply to Bill 101 which would precipitate their move down the 401 to Toronto.
This has always been about getting their own country, NOT about protecting French which is by any metric in NO danger of disappearing at all. The sad thing is there are no politicians brave enough to take these zealots on. We keep electing cowards.
Gee, Lord D., you make separation sound like a bad thing. With all the corruption and xenophobic laws and rhetoric against anything and everything not «pur laine», I think the RoC would be better off without the fettered and festering cesspool called Quebec. You can bet Quebec would be carved up like a melon through partition as the minorities, including the First Nations people, have made it unequivocally clear they don't want a French speaking state.
DeleteI say, let the games begin, and here is a very interesting 4½ minute editorial by a young lady on YouTube.
Thank you Mr. Sauga - enjoyed the YouTube and, unfortunately, the PQ government is pushing this young lady (and I'm sure many others) to denounce one of the official languages of this country. She is absolutely right in how she feels - we all feel the same way. We could have lived in harmony were it not for these separatists using language as a means to split up the country.
DeleteAgain, very impressed by the knowledge and insight of the contributors to this blog. We have some great thinkers out there. I don't agree that we should sit back and do nothing to stop the adoption of Bill 14 and, like the commentators above, I think this is just the thin edge of the wedge and the PQ always have something further up their sleeve to stifle the anglophones and allophones in this mess of a place. Please lobby your MP (if not a PQ) to vote against the Bill. If we, again, sit back and say nothing, the PQ read that as acceptance of more limiting of rights and freedoms of the population. Distrust of any separatist government should always be forefront in our minds because they are always scheming to rid quebec of our population. As for requiring the students to take a french language test to graduate, I disagree with this entirely. When seeking employment, if they can't speak french and/or don't want to, they will migrate to another province anyway where English is the norm and not french and their future employment opportunities are not the business of the provincial government. Should they stay in quebec, future employers will soon know, following any interview or written exam, that they cannot communicate in french. Why are we, as citizens, shouldering the cost of testing these kids to see how well they speak french? Again, not our responsibility or business.
ReplyDeleteEver since Levesque saw the concentration camps up close in WW2 this has been the natural path of the PQ and the Quebec separatist movement.
ReplyDeleteBeaucoup de Québécois feddies sont pour la promotion du français,pas seulement les souverainistes.
DeleteJustement; j'en suis un -- feddie Québécois -- pour la promotion du français.
DeleteLe problème que j'ai avec les nationalistes et les séparatistes là-dessus, ce n'est pas l'objectif poursuivi (promotion du français), mais plutôt les moyens pour y parvenir.
Je crois plus fermement que jamais qu'on peut promouvoir l'un sans descendre l'autre. Surtout dans un endroit comme la grande région de Montréal. J'espère qu'on finira tous par comprendre avant qu'il ne soit trop tard que ce qui nous caractérise est une force et non pas une tare.
Bill 14 also wants to distinguish between Mother Tongue English speakers, second language english speakers and 1 official english language users. So if their are some very few municipalities in Quebec that are allowed to be officially bilingual, unless Mother tongue English speakers are 50% of the population then they no longer can be officially bilingual. That I believe is ethnic discrimination and if the municipalities threatened go to court it will open the floodgate of boroughs and municipalities in Quebec that will be able to legally become bilingual again. In Montreal alone Cote Des Neiges, NDG, St Laurent, Lasalle, maybe even St Leonard would then have to be allowed to become officially bilingual.
ReplyDeleteThis is ridiculous. Montreal is a bilingual city everywhere except for on paper. Why does the government pull this crap on anglophones, when anglophones have been in Montreal since the mid 18th-century. What if Ontario tried this, and Ottawa was made an officially unilingually English city? The Franco-Ontarian lobbyists would ensure that it wouldn't stay that way, for sure. What happened to Alliance Quebec or the Equality Party? The separatists are trying to turn Montreal into something that it never was.
Deletewhat bothers me about bill 14 and bill 101 in general, is the number of so called democrats be it Federalist or Separatist that are in favour of this so called Animal Farm equality.. "everybody's equal, yet some are more equal then others" So long as Canada bases it's democracy on this , we have no business calling anybody else out....
Deletetime to send in the Army and get rid of this sham democracy in Kweebec....
Montreal is a bilingual city everywhere except for on paper.
DeleteLe canada est formé par deux nations qui n'ont rien à voir ensemble...Except for on paper.
Mais Montréal n'est ni plus québécoise; ni plus canadienne...
DeleteÀ quand un statut spécial pour cette ville unique au pays?
Apparatchik, S.R. is an emotional beast who lives in an emotional zoo. Please don’t Feed the Animals !
DeleteIt certainly is ethnic cleansing and I wish some of the municipalities would go to court and open the floodgates. Perhaps we would then have a chance of retaining some of our rights and freedoms in this Godforsaken place. The inaction on behalf of the anglophone and allophone community is promoting more and more discrimination against us. We have to start taking action any way we can to stop these bigots or promote partition of this province before they get their way through the divisive politics that they use against us.
ReplyDelete"We don’t want the party to end, the “free” trips, expense accounts…perks, gold plated pensions, free this, free that…Yes indeed, see we in government, are all entitled to our entitlements folks and we can’t stop that, at least not until we retire. Our unions say so, it’s ours and we want it now...$$” Nice eh? See what working for government has become? Go look at all the debt mounting. Governments all across Canada, the US… have been on a hiring binge, a spending spree for decades now. Government = police, fire, hospitals, teachers, lawyers…= high salaries, bonuses, pensions, perks… all out of control for decades now = More and more debt…making the connection yet?
ReplyDeleteTry to digest this you over paid scum bag politicians, unions, government bureaucrats, executives, CEOS….Who do you think is going to pay off all this debt you are leaving your children, your grandchildren? That’s what I thought, you don’t care! You greedy scum bags..
We know that the liberals and ndp will continue to grow government, increase debt…destroy future generations but the so-called “Conservatives’” will do just about the same. During elections, all they do is try to out promise, out spend the other parties…just sickening!
Remember-The liberals, NDP brought in a lot of this expensive nonsense, bilingualism ( code for forced French and government jobs for the french, only outside Quebec while Kebec bans our language and history, bills 22, 178, 101…), multiculturalism, the charter, phony rights this, rights that, phony green crap…all this big government, high taxes BS but the Conservatives have done nothing to repeal any of this crap federally or provincially.
“Conservatives” have allowed all of these expensive, divisive liberal polices, and departments to remain. How come?
Solution? Well only one folks - We need a new party, a new leader willing to deal with the facts, the truth for a change. We need a real fiscally conservative, common sense leader/party…. Things need to be cut, reduced and eliminated in all government. Government is too big, intrusive, and they are accumulating too much debt, year after year after year. That’s right let’s get cutting non essential services, expensive waste, bilingualism, multiculturalism, phony rights departments…the charter, CBC, all this green nonsense, bring in a government salary cap, a hiring freeze, reduce pensions… all sorts of big government BS. The future is at stake here and no one is willing to deal with this, how sad, how pathetic, all of you clowns in government and mainstream media.
The real issue that no-one is talking about is the private sector versus government sector. Government hiring, spending and debt is out of control and has been for decades. This is the great divide in Canada and its getting worse yearly.
"If a law is unjust, a man is not only right to disobey it; he is obligated to do so."-Thomas Jefferson
There is also another reason for the debt. With offshoring of decent paid jobs and importing most of our goods from countries like China, Value added processing, that is so valuable to any economy is just not happening in North America anymore. The tax burden is being spread thinner and thinner. Why do you think the governments of Canada and Ontario went out of their way to rescue GM. Those blue collar workers high wages contribute massive amounts to tax revenue especially when they do overtime and unlike contractors and consultants its all cut from the source and there are very little tax deductions available for them.
DeleteGovernment Employees are paid alot higher then the private sector, which is part of the problem. While I believe that benefits such as pension, health insurance etc.. should be available I think pay ranges should be alot lower compared to the private sector. Which was past practice. I was told by a former Ontario government employee, that in the 1980s not many people wanted to be employed in frontline jobs in the provincial government because pay was alot lower then the private sector, though benefits made up for some of that. Also more then front line workers just look at the "managers" that are parachuted in or hired through the "friend" network in the bureaucracy. While the current federal government is cutting front line workers who actually do the work, offices like the PMO(prime ministers office) are doubling in size. It is acting as a defacto reelection campaign.
FROM ED BROWN
DeleteJames Wolfe, Where do you get the idea that the Liberals will increase debt and expand government.
That is Conservative territory. Paul Martin took the debt of 586 billion that Mulroney left behind down to under 400 billion in just afew short years after using a couple of years to balance the budget. Harper has already pushed the debt to over 600 billion. paul Martin would still be doing a great job if the Conservative beancounter Sheila Fraser had not used a 6 yr. old scandal to get harper elected.
martin was honest, efficient and perfect for the country.Unfortunately Canadaians are never satisfied. They think the other guy will do better without looking at what the resident has already done.
Whoa, Ed, WHOA! Please provide the source where Paul Martin took the federal debt below $400 billion. He brought it down to about $520 billion, which on the surface looks like a pretty respectable accomplishment, but in reality, he threw a lot of that deficit reduction on the provinces, especially in the area of health care.
DeleteMartin also had the luxury of a good growth period in the economy from the 2nd half of the 1990s until about 2008. Now the population is getting older, and the collective peak earning years of that population has passed. Right now costs are going up faster than wage increases and this is why there is so much personal debt. Once interest rates increase, we're going to have an American-style collapse like in 2008 because debt is choking too many households.
In the past, economic recoveries have been led by consumer spending, but those days are now long behind us. When interest rates rise, all those houses with low mortgage rates are going to start strangling with higher rates, and then LOOK OUT! Martin did very well as finance minister by keeping his Canada Steamship Lines Co. headquarters in the Caribbean and not being patriotic enough to pay his fair share of Canadian taxes, and don't think he didn't tilt the Tax Act to help his own cause.
FROM ED BROWN
DeleteMr.sauga you are right I shouldhave said under 500 billion. he paid down 86 billion from 586 and left another 20 billion refund cheque wgich would have been his next payment if Harper hadn't got his hands on it. The man had the nerve to make like he did it, bragging I have a 20 billion surplus
shortly after entering office.
Martin didn't actually dump on the provinces he reformed the transfer payments to work per capita
which cut out favouratism of the Trudeau era.
His canada Steamshiplines is in the carribean where it has been since he bought it from the Gray Nuns. His ships do very little work in canada and he does pay income tax on the iincome from his company. Ed
Also a drop in corporate income tax should not be across the board. It should be based on job creation, physical assets (ie factories, recycling and recovery facilities, repair facilities, call centres) in Canada, and research and development. Corporate tax cuts based on the above incentives help the tax savings the corporations get trickle into the economy and not just bonuses for the executives that get rubber stamped by friends on the board. I especially hate the see an all across the board tax cut help the chartered banks that get protected from foreign competition and that have relatively risk free mortgages thanks to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation CMHC. The risky mortgages (those without a 20% downpayment) aren't really risky because the taxpayer is on the hook for these. Encourages the banks to make even more risky mortgages.
DeleteThe Liberal party, even under Trudeau had a better debt to GDP ratio then the Progressive conservatives. Look at Harper, he is on the way to rivaling Pierre Trudeau for debt accumulation. Especially since he had a surplus when he took over.
Everyone should watch Barry Wilson's commentary on CTV tonight at 6:00 to see what he has to say about Bill 14 and the impact. Very interesting and much in line with the input today from the contributors to this blog. Not at all harmless, Editor.
ReplyDeleteI have a question that I hope someone can give me here an educated answer to.
ReplyDeleteIsn't declaring someone permanent civil employee with a fixed large salary and secured pension to boot, regardless of economy/party in power/etc illegal? if it is not, shouldn't it be??
I have seen this going on in the Federal Public Service for years and there is what is called an "appeal" procedure that employees can use to try to change the appointment of someone to a job but it is usually a toothless giant and hard to prove that someone is not as competent as you to get the job. Most of the time people just accept it and try for the next job opportunity. It is not illegal in the Federal Public Service and whether it should be or not would be a very subjective opinion for anyone to tackle. "You will be working for me and I like him better than you plus he has more experience in the fields that I'm looking for" - is a pretty good way out of it. In other words, job descriptions can be written around the individual appointed to the job freezing everyone else out. Goes on all the time.
DeletePauline, Empress of Quebekistan thinks she did well in her first 100 day reign.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/quebec-canada/politique-quebecoise/201212/07/01-4601885-bilan-de-100-jours-marois-estime-avoir-respecte-ses-engagements.php
She backed off most of her "promises" so far... Oh well, she must think that her subjects are naive in the least.
C'est sage de «corriger le tir», dit Pauline Marois
Deletehttp://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/quebec-canada/politique-quebecoise/201212/07/01-4601885-cest-sage-de-corriger-le-tir-dit-pauline-marois.php
It’s her job to try to put a positive spin on her numerous mistakes/backtracks/flipflops and it’s our job to see right through her bullshit and not believe her lies.
DeleteHOW did I not know about this blog? I have spent the last 2 days going over your older posts and screaming at my husband to " get in here, listen to this "
ReplyDeleteKudos for telling it like it is - the good the bad AND the ugly of which there is more and more on a daily basis sadly.
Thanks so much for using this blog as a platform................it's enlightening and makes me feel that we're not the lame ducks I sometimes feel we've become.
To read your posts ( which are sometimes verbatim to my rants ) is like a breath of fresh air in an increasingly stagnant province.
Bravo!
Suzan
Welcome Suzan: No you're not alone - I have also felt this way many times but there are a lot of us just dying to take some action - anything, to change the way things have been for the past 40 years of feeling more and more helpless everyday of our lives. It's disgusting and demoralizing but stay around and check in once in awhile - you'll learn a lot. There are a lot of good posts and we do have some separatist trolls but we generally try to ignore them. Please feel free, at anytime, to have input - the worst that can happen is to be made to feel very silly once in awhile but we learn to live with it. Fight for all you can to remain Canadian; things are getting worse each and everyday with these separatists in charge. There is also an organization called the Quebec Office of the English Language you can join for free and they try to protect us from these bigots. They are also connected to other organizations you can join. They have a website you can check out. Good luck and give it your best shot as I'm trying to do.
DeleteI felt the same way Suzan, when I first came upon this blog, I thought to myself, finally, someone who speaks MY language...Punnnn completely intended !
DeleteCutie003,
ReplyDeleteIn our last discussion, in the last post comments, you wrote :
"The lifestyle of the average quebecer was not at all affected by the outcome. A few tears from the separatists and back we went to the same life as the day before."
This is, I believe, the comment of yours that makes the most sense. Indeed, the status quo did not involve as much possible turmoil. Nevertheless, that such a political debate occured without even one broken window is impressive.
And if my memory is right, I think that this referendum was about independence... :)
Michele: Following the referendum, there was a huge discussion on what the referendum was all about, and if I remember correctly, most thought, with the confusing and ambigious question, that they were looking to Canada to give them a better deal within Canada not a severing of ties to Canada. That's why the Clarity Act came into effect = clear question, clear majority. You know this to be true Michele - becoming independent from Canada was not the option of the majority of quebecers. With the Clarity Act, everyone, even the illiterate, will know that this is the end of their lives as they know it. This is why I'm pushing for either municipal or Federal District referendums, in that, democratically, each area will make their own decision as to what they want for their futures - within or without Canada to back them up. This is not too much to hope for and it will involve some manipulation but it will settle what areas want to be isolated and what areas do not. Perhaps a mess to begin but a possible way out of the stagnation we are in at the present time. A 50+1 majority will create undue stress and possible violence by the 49% that lose the vote.
DeleteFROM ED BROWN
ReplyDeleteI don't understand why the opposition is so weak. Legault blasted the PQ on TV today but we hear nothing from the Liberal Leader. Does interim mean you can't speak. Is the elected leader of the Liberal party the only one that can address a situation. The interim leader looks like
a fearful old man. Ed
Ed - It is disheartening in that we definitely need a strong voice for the provincial liberal party and no one, so far, has stood up to the plate. The interim leader, to me, is already showing that he is not the one for the job - Interim does not mean dumb and this was a great opportunity for him to show that he has the stuff for the job. Unfortunately, he let the opening slip away. Let's hope that some of the other potential leaders have the guts to assume some responsibility and know how to verbally express themselves. By the way, received a response from Mr. Penashue but don't have time right now to post it - will respond to him and post contents tomorrow. Glad you're back Ed.
DeleteEd and Cutie: While you have both eloquently stated your reasons for fighting, I've given up mine because there has been far too much complacency from the get-go with Bourassa passing Bill 22 in the middle of Summer 1974. I got my first summer job then so this was my first time commuting to work with the working world as opposed to the confines of school buses or earlier when my elementary school was a five minute walk away.
DeleteI was starting, and was made to feel uncomfortable in the French milieu despite working on the very English St. Lawrence Street. That coupled with Bill 22 went a long way in making my mind up to leave Quebec at the first opportunity. My youth and my not being planted like my parents were made the decision easy for me, but others within my peers chose not to leave either.
Good luck battling, because the PLQ hasn't been much help in the last 40 years, so why is that going to change now? It's not as if the next leader of the party will come to your defense, so unfortunately, you're on your own.
Great post..a lot of information I was not aware of..kudos to the editor for the thorough research. As I said before the PQ is doing a great job of self destructing so far..leave them there for another year or so. Let them wear their mistakes.
ReplyDeleteActually agree with editor that Bill 14 is much meeker than I was expecting. However if they get a majority I suspect it will be a different story. In the end Bill 14 is not going to punish anglos much at all..except perhaps businesses over 25 but even then good luck with the enforcement..
«Je suis ici parce que Dieu m'a donné sa vision, je suis son ambassadeur.» Il a ajouté qu'il ne fallait jamais arrêter de combattre les séparatistes diaboliques, a parlé du problème nationaliste qui existe depuis 45 ans. Il s'est décrit comme un combattant.
ReplyDelete-Richard Henry Bain
Atta boy!Ça ressemble étrangement aux paroles de certains intervenants sur ce blogue.
Complicated - I hope you caught the CTV News commentary - if not look it up. Bill 14 is to be fought tooth, tong and nail. Watch any news program on civil war all over the world and keep in mind we are not immune to problems here in Canada. We may be more civilized here but democratic partition is the only solution to end what ails us in quebec.
ReplyDeletePoor Mr. Bain is only a preamble of trouble to come in this province without partition.
while it is clear that Henry Bain is guilty and he should go to prison.. one should remember that it was the PQ that started the politics of division... it was the PQ that targeted les Anglais and les ethnique.... Marois and PQ responsible for creating the environment that led to Denis Blanchet's murder... the Blood is partially on their hands....
DeleteA letter that was published in today's Ottawa Citizen:
ReplyDelete"RE: WEAKER THAN EXPECTED QUEBEC LANGUAGE BILL TABLED DEC 6
It's odd that the modifications being tabled by the Parti-Quebecois are perceived as weaker than expected.
It may be true that the bill does not go as far as was campaigned on in regards to restrictions on businesses and post secondary education. However, the proposed amendments to Quebec's Provincial Charter of Rights and Freedoms that would declare everyone in the province has the right to live, work in, and learn French make it, in my view, stronger than we had expected. The potential for such a provision to enhance the systematic elimination of English (and any other language) in Quebec is significant as a result of the modifications.
It's ironic that the Parti Quebecois is hoping to advance it's goal under the cloak of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Hopefully the opposition in the legislature takes up the cause of all Quebecers and blocks passage of the bill."
Pay attention all and write to your MNA and the CQA to stop these maniacs from passing this bill.
cutie,unfortunately you're on your own...God bless you.
DeleteIMO, with this bill will define the opposition. Should they oppose it, they's prove they have some backbone left. Should they pass it... well, y'all are even more deep in trouble.
DeleteWeaker than expected - yes. It is seriously damaging the rights of the Anglo community? You betcha sweet a** it is. Imagine what would happen to, say, Sir Mortimer B Davis hospital (best in Qc, IMO) bilingual status. It will be revoked, and any Anglo or English-as-a-second-language allo could not receive service in English (whereas any Franco or French-as-a-second-language allo can receive French service at any time there, even now).
Which brings me to this: I cannot understand what is the problem in a municipality where there is a substantial percentage of Anglophones and English-as-a-second-language allos if, along with French, a second language is used in communication (i.e. French).
T.S. Again, NO LOGIC, this is about achieving separation through any means, even the back door, and at any cost. Dismantling and destabilizing a society further than what it already is, and to such a point where then, you are entitled to whatever you’ve taken in an unorthodox way. I think they call this stealing! They are stealing themselves into an independent nation, step by step, one moronic “bill” at a time.
DeleteThe truth is this: the French language is not in danger and hasn’t been for ages. It is alive and well and kicking in all points north, east, west and south of this province. Proof of this is that now, the “product” of the French language is actually so very common that it has to somehow be re-invented, you know...like TIDE. It’s really a marketing ploy so that the whole thing can be repackaged and once again resold. Mostly, it’s so that, those occupying the cushy jobs at the “l’Office the la Langue F.”, get to keep their jobs, since more and more, they have nothing to do. As mentioned, this province aptly complies with the language laws and then some. But the rhetoric, (in order for them to keep their jobs), is that French is still very much in danger. This is hardly the Truth.
The real rhetoric ought to be that the English Language is in grave danger in this province, and THIS is a cause for utimate concern. But no one has the balls to adopt it.
Letter from P. Penashue: Forwarded to him by Mr. Harper on October 13, 2012
ReplyDeleteDear--- etc.
2nd para: "Rest assured that the Government of Canada takes very seriously its fundamental responsibility to maintain and strengthen the unity of the country. This entails upholding the constitutional and statutory provisions which protect the rights of our linguistic minorities, including Quebec's Anglophone community." etc.
Am writing a very strong response asking just what they intend to do to protect our rights in Quebec. Am forwarding a copy to Graham Fraser and the PM's office.
Votre fils cutie?
Deletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8umLleFGZXM
Si les "liberals" du Québec n'ont rien pu faire,qui le pourra?Je souhaite (même si celà représenterait un suicide politique)que Harper viennent mettre son gros nez dans le débat linguistique du Québec.
DeleteDon’t piss off Harper, he’s not your run-the-mill PM as we’ve seen since becoming majority Gov! He does what he wants, when he wants and doesn’t much care for popular opinion. He’s also the one that will show you the finger and not even blink! Careful what you wish for, he may just be your genie in a bottle! Then you’re really up s#$% creek with no paddle.
DeleteHarpon a autant d'intelligence et d'expression dans ses yeux qu'un personnage des "Flinstones"
Delete:)
Yes, AT - he does not have much to lose to put these seppies in their place. 5 seats only so I'm sure he realizes he doesn't need what's left of socialist quebec to make a stand. I hope the mail he is receiving from the federalists in quebec and the ROC help him make up his mind as to how to handle these pushy, manipulative, lying, socialist bums. We have to let those areas of quebec go that want to go democratically, either by municipal or federal district referendums so we can have peace and harmony again in this place. There is no satisfying these bigots and the never ending harassment will continue unless we make a stand and soon.
DeleteDonc, un peu comme toi, n’est pas s.r.?
DeleteParfois j'ai l'impression que c'est un robot télégudé par les amerlocs.
DeleteOui, nous sommes ici pour te rendre encore plus fou le petit, si cela est même possible!
DeleteLe gros raciste de Galganov s'est fait remettre à sa place...Encore :
ReplyDeleteCanada: No Longer a Democratic Country that Respects Basic Human Rights?
http://cornwallfreenews.com/2012/12/canada-no-longer-a-democratic-country-that-respects-basic-human-rights-by-don-smith/
some balls on you, calling Galganov a RACIST.. All you Kweebec Nationalist/Separatist xenophobe, anglophobe any other phobe i can think of.... Galganov isn't passing language legislation , beating up Metro users, killing little kids, l'argent et la vote ethnique... some culture you have!..village idiot
DeleteLe globish n'est pas une race...Désolé.
DeleteGalganov isn't passing language legislation?
DeleteNon mais les tenter de les modifier,oui.
killing little kids ?1?
Hein?
Just think when we partition this province and quebec is a new country we can deport the guy to the new quebec that doesn't want to respect the English language. Can't wait!
ReplyDeletePlus facile de déporter les canadiens vivant au Québec vers le canada.
DeleteProjet de loi 14:
ReplyDeleteDes services municipaux en anglais dans la mire
http://fr.canoe.ca/infos/quebeccanada/archives/2012/12/20121208-190858.html
Je crois que nous devrions commencer par l'outaouais.
Sounds like you are very happy with the proposed bill whose new twist in terminology (historic mother-tongue replacing current English-speaking when counting whether 50% of people speak English in a municipality) could be used to prevent bilingual services in perhaps half or more municipalities where English is the language spoken by most residents, starting - as you suggest - in Gatineau - in the National Capital Region. I assume that could be interpreted as "nous" showing the middle finger to the federal government.
DeleteFunny how French language rights really means non-francophones having no language rights, and that to cap this all, under Bill 14, this removal of people's rights (particularly of "allophones") is proposed to be legislated to be enforced by the Quebec Charter for Rights and Freedoms.
To me Bill 14 is not a series of minor reductions of language rights of English speaking people in Quebec, it is a major attack. Even our Ed seems to be lulled to the full extent of the attack (its a lot more than requiring French exams at CEGEPS). Somehow I believe the full extent of the attack is going to become clearer as can be evidenced in today's Gazette editorials and letters, and that once this is realised, Bill 14 will likely bite the dust - though unfortunately in the process the PQ may polarise francophones vs non-francophones.
FROM ED BROWN
ReplyDeleteCutie, My letter from mr.Penashue said basically the same thing. Ed
Are you going to respond Ed?
DeleteFROM ED BROWN
DeleteNo, I will forward it to jack Cafferty whose staff is amassing a file on this. Ed
OK - I will send you a copy of my response by private mail if you like. Let me know. I'm not very pleasant in my response.
DeleteEDITOR; I was watching a TV show on cyber bullying and am classifying SR and YR as bullies. Separatists, with no concrete options/opinions, just the usual BS of one liners trying to make us look like fools and/or telling us to take the 401. I never thought I would ask this because of free speech issues, but I would really like to see them banned from the blog. They only take up space that could be used for better things like Michele, who is a separatist, but does not act like a bully. Thank you for your consideration to this request.
ReplyDelete"Separatists, with no concrete options/opinions" ?!?
DeleteNous avons des opinions mais vous ne semblez pas comprendre:
Vous vivez au Québec,vous prenez donc les moyens nécessaires afin de pouvoir communiquer dans la langue officielle du Québec.Quand je vais en ontario ou aux É-U,devinez quelle langue j'utilise afin de communiquer?...Le respect?Le bilinguisme au Québec correspond a la mort lente mais certaine du français.
C'était mon opinion du jour.
Réveil le petit, tu te fais mal avec toutes ces bêtises! Une langue survit parce que c’est dans le « DNA » d’un peuple, et non pas parce que nous créons des lois pour la protéger.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
DeleteLe petit, c'est toi notre joujou!
Deleterelax cutie003, you'll live longer.
ReplyDeleteBTW you sound bitter with your life in Quebekistan.
Just chill out and enjoy your life there.
Or.... consider moving, you must be a negative psycho bitch from hell.
I pitty your boyfriend/husband....
@UGBSDC
DeleteLaisse-moi m'amuser avec la typique canadienne obsessive-compulsive du email,si tu es trop dur ,elle va s'enfuir et je vais perdre mon joujou.
@ Un gars
DeleteYou sound a little “fâché” and enraged yourself, but for different reasons? Perhaps because, You, a born and bred Quebec City Quebecois had to resort to leaving in order to make good in life and now it bugs you to no end that you were put in that position? Having to leave friends and loved ones behind? To make yourself feel better now, you have to constantly put down your once-upon-a-time-beloved province and denigrate it just to prove to yourself that your choice to leave was the right one and not because others forced you out? This is not to defend Cutie as she all grown up and can take care of herself, but there is no reason for name-calling among adults. You left, you’re prospering, be happy!! Don’t second guess yourself, and don’t let "emotion" ride you. You made a sound choice and it took guts for you to do so. You also had the assets to help you accomplish this move, i.e. fluency in both languages, and armed with college (university) education, so you’ve got everything going for you. You are very fortunate that yours was a different destiny than the one that usually befalls French-speaking unilingual Quebecers. The very best of luck to you! Go get’em.
That being said, let’s acknowledge that it also takes great courage to stay here and denounce injustice.
This position should also be respected.
"(...)let’s acknowledge that it also takes great courage to stay here and denounce injustice."
DeleteAussi injuste que pour les Franco-ontariens?Quelle langue utilise les francophones dans le ROC?
So now we’re suppose to think you give a sh*t what happens to Canadians in the ROC? But, for the sake of argument, let’s say there are such injustices elsewhere. If an entire community is being systematically obliterated, ‘intentionally’, with unforgiving and unnecessary dictatorial laws, by those in power and the Like, then it should be denounced. Go ahead and denounce it! We can be objective. Can you? Let’s finally admit that such injustices shouldn’t be tolerated, ANYWHERE, in this country
DeleteWhy don't you mind your own business. You sound like a money hungry freak making comments from outside of quebec.
ReplyDeleteUn autre intervenant à bannir de ce blogue cutie?
DeletePourquoi ne joignez-vous pas le blogue de galganov (loser)?
Bill 14 isn‘t that bad? Its typical PQunt. Its unecessary, fascist, racist, and mean spirited, pretty much an accurate representation of the party that put it together. Considering with 31.9% of the popular they put forth something so disgusting, can you imagine if they had a majority? Even worse, can you imagine the atrocities they‘d commit if they left Canada and were out of the english speaking world? Its all between the lines, they are no longer the crypto fascists of the past, they are now straight out fascists.
ReplyDeleteDisgusting.
Peut-être que si les anglos de Montréal respectaient un peu plus la langue officielle du Québec,nous ne serions pas obligé de remettre les pendules à l'heure au moyen de lois plus fermes.
DeleteQu'en pensez-vous?
FROM ED BROWN
ReplyDeleteUne gars who the fuck do you think you are.; Cutie has done more good on this blog than you have in a life time. I know your type, sit back and make fun of everybody like a bored teenager. You know it upsets people when you call our home Quebekistan and that's why you do it. You're a smug, immature punk
who does not belong here with adult people. If anyone shouldbe banned from the site, it's you.
Your remarks belong on CL rants and raves. You fit their category of low inrelligence. Ed
FROM ED BROWN
ReplyDeleteEDITOR
The Calgarians attack on Cutie was completely un called for. She hadn't even spoken to him. He is upset because she wants his Cyber freiend J.R. banned. That is between you and her. At the same time he is calling you out to see if you will delete his post so he can have a nother reason to bad mouth us. I feel my answer to him is accurate as to his needless hurtful comments. Ed
Thank you Ed but, as I said. he should mind his own business because quebec is no longer his business. He left for greener pastures and figures everyone should do the same no matter that we many have circumstances in our lives that do not permit this. Typical youngster that thinks he has the world by the tail and all the rest of us can go to hell. He can call me all the names he likes because small minded people have very little to contribute to the good of society as a whole. When quebec is partitioned he will probably move back to be with the other small minds that will be left with the ruins of what was once a great province. Pity should be our response to him.
ReplyDeletePerhaps you've all seen a very famous Norwegian movie called TROLL HUNTER. Basically it's Blair Witch Project but the student camera crew is following a government licenced outdoorsman 'troll hunter' to maintain the region's Highly Classified Secret trolls up in the mountains away from the towns and cities and farms.
ReplyDeleteCutie003; via your moniker, I deduce that you are in fact none other than the retired real-life inspiration for Miss Moneypenny, loyal den mother of British Intelligence. I commend you on your career and service.
I don't want to spoil the fun here. I mean, guy's got a tin can tied to a cat's tail -- what business is it of mine, I ask you? A true gentlemen would let him play with the cat all he wanted, and damn the Humane Society.
But I have to ask:
Why?
Why do you respond to your "arch-nemesis" S.R.? Why do you fulfill his needs and desires?
It's clear to any casual, uninvolved, uncommitted lurker that S.R. is at best merely saying anything he can think of to inflame and anger you. You take the bait each time; unfailingly.
Darling mother, beloved grandmother, proud activist, committed idealist: don't let him get to you. It's all an act deployed exactly for your benefit. Why let him play headgames with your precious mind? Why allow him the space in your thoughts? Why give him the attention in your heart? Honestly, I've seen some skillful trolls really weave a spell over people, but S.R.'s schtick is routine and without art. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised to discover he were an anglophone federalist who just got a kick out of poking a stick he knows will work at people he knows will flinch at it. Now, out of my heartfelt sympathy for you, I've given him even more attention. This is the snowball effect you create around you, Cutie003, Licenced To Feed The Troll (at cost of her own mental and spiritual well-being).
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThank you - lol - my laugh for the day. I hereby promise to NEVER EVER RESPOND TO HIM AGAIN. He can go suck rocks on the little island that he will one day be living on. One thing though - Michele, even though a separatist, doesn't pee me off in the least. He does, at least, try to communicate and not troll. If I remember correctly, when I first came upon this blog, he even admitted that separation is now only dream. Thanks again (maybe I'll get to see that movie).
ReplyDeleteEditor: What happened to Pt 2 from the Troll Hunter? I saw nothing wrong with his post. Did I miss something?
ReplyDeleteThe editor has internalized some of the French Canadian nationalists worst beliefs. Namely that the government is entitled to force a minority to learn the majority's language, be it at the tertiary, secondary or primary levels. He's so taken with the Stockholm Syndrome that he fails to realize how violently offensive such a notion is. That's how minorities get assimilated, numb nuts!! Now, if English speakers were interested in their children maximizing their chances at future success in Quebec, they'd be crazy not to ensure that such children were fluent in the French language. BUT THAT SHOULD BE THEIR SOLE CHOICE!!!!!!!!!!! That's where even Bill 63 was off the mark. The provincial government should NEVER have been able to force the linguistic minority to learn the language of the majority, and particularly to force them to write their French language provincial exams, all prepared by nationalist assholes.
ReplyDeleteFROM ED BROWN
ReplyDeleteTROLL HUNTER - I agree with your estimate of SR. I have said before that he is an intelligent man playing with peoples ideals. he kmows how to draw people out as he has done with his direct acts on Cutie. The reason he goes after her is because she said long ago that she was going to ignore him. This he can't stand, so he goes after her with a vengeance. Some people like to argue with him because they think they are getting the better of him. They don't realize he is smarter than them and getting exactly what he wants. The Editor has asked us to ignore the trolls. The man who puts in the time and money for this blog should be respected. Unfortunately there are those who don't know the meaning of the word respect. Ed
This blog post sheds light on an interesting political development regarding spending. It's essential to stay informed about such matters, and your post provides valuable insight. Thanks for sharing this update!
ReplyDeleteChartered Accountant