French versus English Volume 76

This week in corruption

Arrest Warrants finally issued over superhospital 

After months of dancing, the police finally dropped the hammer on disgraced ex big shot Arthur Porter and four others accused of offering and receiving 22 million in bribes related to the awarding of the contract to SNC-Lavalin to build Montreal's English super hospital.

"A health care executive who Prime Minister Stephen Harper once appointed to oversee the national spy agency is now a wanted man.
Quebec’s anti-coruption squad issued arrest warrants Wednesday for Dr. Arthur Porter and four other men embroiled in allegations of fraud swirling around the McGill University Health Centre, Montreal’s English-language hospital network." Read the rest of the story

Witness at Charbonneau Crime Commission called an 'Imbecile' by presiding judge 

"Who me?"

After listening to testimony given by former City of Montreal employee Robert Marcil, who headed the department in charge of construction projects, it's hard to have much faith in the legal system where a witness can give such utterly unbelievable and clearly dubious testimony and not be charged with obstruction of justice.

Mr, Marcil defended himself saying he had nothing to do with corruption in spite of testimony to the contrary from other witnesses and a mountain of evidence that he colluded with contractors doing business with the city.
He told the commission with a straight face that he did not know that a construction boss with whom he vacationed in Italy would be picking up the tab for hotel accommodations until he arrived in Italy.
He then told the commission that he recommended hiring the construction magnate's daughter for a job in his department without ever speaking to her father about it, despite speaking with him dozens and dozens of time on the telephone.

It got to the point that an exasperated judge called him an 'imbecile' Read the story

Ah well, just another day of jollies at the farcical Crime Commission.

We don't need no stinkin' pet stores

Here's an interesting letter to the editor.

"In reading Don Macpherson’s column, I was reminded of what can happen when the language police swoop.
My partner Peter Merrill and I started PJ’s Pet Centers in Montreal and shortly after Bill 101 came into being, an inspector arrived at one of our stores and informed Mr. Merrill that he was selling postcards that were only in English. It was pointed out to the inspector that they were photos of reef fish that were only available from the United States. This was, of course, to no avail. The postcards had to go.
The inspector was asked what would happen if the store just continued to sell them. Legal action and a fine was the reply.
“In that case” said my partner, “I will be closing our four stores in Quebec.” I am sure the inspector did not believe him, but that is what happened. Within four weeks the leases on all four stores were settled and 40 employees were terminated.
PJ’s went on to become a great success story, first in Toronto, then Boston and Edmonton and today, I understand, it has outlets in almost every province with the exception of Quebec.
John Norris
Montreal " Link

OQLF continues to be mocked

The downward spiral of the OQLF rolls on unabated as more horror stories of 'over-zealousness' are being reported.

"Henri Schick, a Pointe-Claire delicatessen owner, says if the past week has taught him anything it’s that if the Office québécois de la langue française issues you a complaint, it’s time to get cooking.

And that’s how Pasta salad Marois, a macaroni salad made with elbow noodles, carrot shreds and mayonnaise, came to be on the menu at Swiss Vienna Pastry and Delicatessen at Plaza Pointe-Claire.

The latest language tensions are no laughing matter, but Schick said, he thought some comic relief was in order after last week’s dust-up at Buonanotte, the Montreal Italian restaurant singled out for using the Italian word ‘pasta’ on its menu.

“I decided I might as well have some fun,” said Schick, as he wiped his hands on his apron while standing at the shop’s counter on Tuesday. “I took the macaroni salad and renamed it.”

It’s not a runaway bestseller, he said, but at $10.90 a kilogram, the cheapest item in the salad bar is putting a smile on the faces of his mainly English-speaking customers.

A Facebook post featuring a picture of the salad with the byline, “This one’s for you Pauline Marois,” has wracked up 7,000 hits since Monday afternoon and, he added, the post is sparking lively chatter.

“Hard to digest,” wrote one Facebook fan. “Hope nobody gags,” added another.

Schick said it has all made it easier for him to deal with his own frustrations with Quebec’s language police.

In early January, he said, the bakery-delicatessen business his family has operated in the Pointe-Claire strip mall for the past 50 years, received a complaint of its own from the OQLF — not its first." Read the rest of the story

 Stories of OQLF excess are so widespread that this "Onion'-like story actually had many convinced that it was true.
PQ to extend Language law to Letters in alphabet Soup 

"On the outside of a can of alphabet soup, ingredients and cooking instructions are in both French and English as required under federal legislation. But companies like Campbell’s can put any letters they want on the inside of the can. Québec’s PQ government says this laissez-faire approach is a threat to the survival of the French language in North America.

“The food industry is literally putting a foreign tongue into the mouths of Québécois youth,” said PQ Families Minister Nicole Léger. “It’s disgusting.”" Read the rest of the story

 Letter by Francophone sums up public humiliation over 'Pastagate'

"I just read an article about what happened recently at Buonanotte Restaurant in Montreal, where employees of the OQLF identified the words PASTA and BOTIGLIA as unacceptable. I ask the OQLF  to respond to the incident in the media, as it is taking a terrible bashing on social networks. If employees are poorly trained or poorly supervised, I ask you to follow up.  
Shall we ban the sale of pasta, salsa in grocery stores?  
Should we ask Starbucks to change the format of their cups from 'VENTI' and 'GRANDE' to 'GRAND' and 'MOYEN'? 
And how would we react if English Canada adopted the same attitude? Quebecers would be furious. Imagine Cirque du Soleil forced to change the name to 'Circus of the Sun' or Le Chateau to 'The Castle'.  
And if the English equivalent of poutine did not exist? Should the word be banned in English Canada? With everything that is happening in Quebec, the Charbonneau Commission, the student crisis, the flip-flops of the Parti Québécois, we don't really need this! 
The image of Quebec has already suffered enough! "- Mario Jacques" Link{fr}

Stories continue to reverberate around the world;

Pastagate: Quebec Agency Criticized For Targeting Foreign Words On Menus  National Public Radio USA
Quebec Language Watchdog Launches Review After ‘pastagate’ Fallout  Epoch Times
Quebec restaurants criticized for using foreign words like 'pasta' on menus Chicago Tribune
Quand le gouvernement québécois fait dans l'excès de zèle  Le Plus (France)
КАК ПО-ФРАНЦУЗСКИ БУДЕТ "ПИЦЦА"? (how to say pasta in French) Russian Week



And finally, this cartoon by political satirist AISLIN says quite a bot about the subject;

For those with no French, Aislin acidly points put how English food words have joined the common French lexicon, even at the office of the language police.
For more of his wonderful political cartoons ... go HERE

Expense account fiddler awarded with huge payout

Claude Benoit..poster girl of greed and avarice

You might remember high-flying president of the port of Montreal Claude Benoit, whose outrageous abuse of her expense account led the government to eliminate her and her whole department.

"Claude Benoit, the high-spending chief executive of the Old Port of Montreal Corporation, will be let go and the Old Port itself will be dissolved under a Conservative government plan to clean house at the embattled federal Crown corporation that will be unveiled Thursday.
Public Works Minister Rona Ambrose will announce details of the Tory effort to clean up financial mismanagement at the Old Port in an afternoon speech to Parliament, government sources told QMI Agency Wednesday night.
Her message: Conservatives expect Crown corporations to be responsible in spending taxpayer dollars, adopt responsible management practices and be accountable to all Canadians.
The Old Port's staff, operations and assets will be amalgamated into the operations of its existing parent Crown corporation, the Canada Lands Company Ltd., the sources said.
Government officials will then proceed to reduce spending, staff and overhead costs at the money-losing Old Port.
One of the first positions to be eliminated will be that of Benoit, whose questionable management and lavish spending practices were exposed in a QMI investigative series this year.
Benoit partially billed lavish overseas trips, thousands of dollars in expensive restaurant meals, limos and even orchids to taxpayers, while cutting staff. Link

Well it seems Madame Benoit has managed to remain true to her piggish form, dinging the government for over $250,000 in severance pay and no, the 250k is not a typo. Link {fr}

Most Anglo Quebecers say English Gov't services available

"The majority of English-speaking Quebecers say they have access to government services in their mother tongue, a CBC commissioned EKOS poll has found.

But that doesn’t mean there’s isn’t room for improvement when it comes to certain services, according to some anglophones in Montreal.

Of the 1,001 anglophone Quebecers polled, 57 per cent agreed that they have access to government services in English. Twenty-eight per cent disagreed.

The results were similar when it came to those who agreed they should insist on getting served in English in their everyday life, but only for those who identified themselves as lifetime Quebec residents.

When it came to people who moved to Quebec from outside the province, fewer said they should insist on English service in their day-to-day lives." Read the rest of the story

Canadian soldiers protest against Bill 14

"When I consider the effects of Bill 14, the Parti Québécois’ latest legislative effort aimed at increasing restrictions against the use of English in Quebec, I think of Sandra.
Sandra goes to the English-language Dollard-des-Ormeaux school, just off Valcartier military base near Quebec City. When I met her, she emotionally asked why she would have to change schools and lose her friends.
Her father serves in the military and was wounded in Afghanistan. She lives with her mother. (Her parents separated partly due to the strain of post-traumatic stress after her father returned from combat.) Now, one of the few constants in her life, her elementary school and close friends, could be taken away by Bill 14.
There are 600 Sandras in Quebec City and Bagotville: children from military families who would lose the right to attend school in the language of their choice because of Bill 14. Almost 20% of the children in English-language educational institutions in Central Quebec School Board (CQSB) would be removed from their schools." Read the rest of the story

Alliance Quebec 2.0 re-forming

"(Before It's News) Montreal (MMD Newswire) February 27, 2013 -- ALLiance Quebec 2.0, a brand new Quebec-based, non-profit organization committed to educating both domestically and abroad, officially throws its hat into the charged English-language rights scene. "Get ready for an entirely new message, brand and face to the Bill 101-anti-movement" President Ian Stone warns, particularly his would-be Anglophone (English) supporters, adding, "We are NOT your parents' Alliance Quebec and we're not playing games!"

-"If our end goal is the eradication of Bill 101 and Bill 14, then we must consensus on a universal reframe of the entire topic such that economics, not language becomes the key discourse driver domestically. This is also how ALLiance Quebec 2.0 envisions us expanding our tent, to include ALL Quebecer's interests, by reframing Bill 101 and Bill 14 as a bread and butter issue that affects every dinner table in this province."

ALLiance Quebec 2.0 launches with a crowd-funding campaign on Indiegogo:
http://igg.me/at/alliancequebec2, a slick bilingual website, a quickly populating Youtube channel and a new line of Bill 101 Product/Merchandise that will be used as pledge gifts for supporters. ALLiance Quebec 2.0 is also developing a line of Bill 101 Apps, the first of which will be our second-by-second Bill 101-Cost-O-Meter clock. Plans to add an ANGLO-BULLYING live forum to our website are in the works.
-"We want to diminish the power of the Bill 101 brand, and to that end, we are introducing an in-house line of Bill 101 products that should do the trick. ALLiance Quebec 2.0 is very proud of its in-house developed BILL 101 line including Bill 101: Le Board Game, Bill 101: Le Card Game, Bill 101: Le Toilet Paper and our children's book on bullying, "101 Reasons Why Bill Shouldn't Be Afraid to Go to School". Join your voice to ours! Help us spread the word, both here in Quebec and abroad, to the world at large."  Website  Facebook 

For those readers who believe that all this is futile you are wrong. Along with Equality Part 2.0 and other lobby groups, a great deal of discomfort is being felt in the PQ government because of the pressure.
The PQ and French language militants are particularly frightened of international bad press.

Here's what Michel David said in Le Devoir.

" Wednesday, a new organization called Alliance Quebec 2.0 has launched an Internet campaign to inform the international community of "violations of human rights." It is also distributing certain promotional items, such as toilet paper printed with fleur-de-lys.

Always on the lookout for a new plot against the French language, the president of the (MQF), Mario Beaulieu, sees a direct link between the imminence of the parliamentary committee, which will begin its work on March 12 over Bill 14 and the recent "conspiracy" against the Quebec Office of the French Language (OLF).

Coincidence or not, the "pastagate" has undeniably given bad press OQLF and, by extension, the government Marois, but Bill 14 itself contains enough provisions to feed the controversy. Link

I like where this group is going, concentrating on getting the message out beyond Quebec's border and if successful, it will have a salutary and sobering effect on the zeal of Franco-supremacists.

Good luck to Ian Stone et al in Alliance Quebe 2.0's efforts to raise awareness.

The Quebec Problem in one photograph

Posted By: Dan Delmar ddelmar@astral.com · 2/26/2013 6:12:00 PM

I've often said that the one thing holding Quebec back, far ahead of sovereignty, is the disease of needless bureaucracy and government waste (and/or corruption).
As thousands of protesters march through the streets this evening, I wanted to share this one powerful photograph:

- See more at: http://www.cjad.com/Blog/DelmarAndDwivedi/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10510159#sthash.Adr7VkVr.dpuf

 I'll leave you all with this thought offered by Dan Delmar of CJAD.

"SQ riot cops protecting an area near l'îlot Voyageur, a $500-million pile of nothing that UQAM half-built with money from the education ministry. This scene is a like a weird, self-fulfilling prophecy of government waste. Expensive provincial riot cops keeping students who want free tuition away from a university building that was never completed.

Québec sait faire, les amis." Link

The Quebec Problem in one photograph

Posted By: Dan Delmar ddelmar@astral.com · 2/26/2013 6:12:00 PM

I've often said that the one thing holding Quebec back, far ahead of sovereignty, is the disease of needless bureaucracy and government waste (and/or corruption).
As thousands of protesters march through the streets this evening, I wanted to share this one powerful photograph:

- See more at: http://www.cjad.com/Blog/DelmarAndDwivedi/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10510159#sthash.Adr7VkVr.dpuf

 Readers, I'm out of town once again, thousands of miles from home. I'll look in on the comments section as best I can, but you can expect some delays in reaction.

Have a great weekend!

Bonne fin de semaine!