Islamaphobia Rears it's Ugly Head in Longueuil

A current topic in the French Quebec media is the push towards official secularization and the separation of religion and government. While the goal of eliminating overt connections with any particular religion seems reasonable enough, it is in realty, nothing more than a back door attack on Muslims and other immigrants that look different from old-stock Quebeckers.
One of the proposals being promoted is that government employees be barred from wearing religious symbols or clothing while serving the public. The idea has roots in the French law that bars religious regalia in schools and by public employees.

A big push is underway to enact similar legislation in Quebec, as many Quebeckers are frightened that Muslims are changing the traditional face of Quebec, particularly in Montreal. Those militating for such measures are clearly in store for a disappointment, any such law would be overturned by the Supreme Court. Canada is not France and such laws are clearly unconstitutional.

Many are also furious about concessions known as 'reasonable accommodations' made by public employees, mostly benefiting Muslims and Hasidic Jews whereby for example, a Muslim woman may ask to be served by a women instead of a man.

Last week, an idiot from Longueuil (a Montreal suburb) decided to push back. In a story published last Friday in LE Devoir (French)  a certain Michel Robichaud demanded his very own reasonable accommodation. He demanded that he not be served by a Hijab wearing, government employee when applying to renew his Medicare card in a government office.

A brouhaha ensued between the troublemaker and the director of the office and I can only imagine the utter humiliation suffered by the employee involved.
Imagine the hurt that this fool inflicted on an innocent government clerk, who was just trying to make a living through honest work.

The manger of the office was rightly furious at the grandstanding antics undertaken  at the expense of one of his employees and told the complainer that if he didn't want to be served by the Hijab wearing woman he should get back into the waiting line, THE BACK OF THE LINE!

For Mr. Robichaud this reaction was manna from Heaven, he had gotten his wish fulfilled, a media event.
The story was carried by the Le Devoir which actually reported favorably on the complainer's position.

Of course  Mr. Robichaud who was spoiling for a fight and lodged an official complaint with the Régie d'assurance maladie du Québec (RAMQ) about his treatment, who told him in no uncertain terms what they thought of him.
Mr. Robichaud told reporters that the agency representative told him that the response he got was consistent with the agency policy.  
"She said that they had not refused to serve me, but rather it was I who refused to receive the service. Under the principle of reasonable accommodation, the RAMQ allows it's employees to wear the Islamic veil, regardless of the opinion of the person being served."

"She also told me that my complaint was inadmissible because no law has ever been passed declaring Quebec a secular state.  continued Robichaud. "By invoking the neutrality of the state,  I had no legal basis, she said. Which law are you referring to she asked? 

I hope that this racist attitude doesn't spread but I fear the seeds of discord have already been planted.

Last year I was in a Canadian Tire store in St. Laurent standing in the check out line when a grandmotherly type Francophone standing in front of me, started up with the teen aged cashier wearing a Hijab.
"My dear, don't you realize it's a symbol of oppression?"
The girl was mortified and stood in stunned silence during the lecture.

I was furious at the bullying and figuring that what's good for the goose is good for the gander,  I decided to make it my business to ruin her day as well.

I moved in close and inches from her face let loose a loud barrage of insults that scared the crap out of her. 
"VA CHIER, ESPECES DE P'TIT RACISTE!!!!

Maybe I shouldn't have done it, but it felt right at the time. 
Come to think of it, it still feels right today.

Hope Springs Eternal after Markov's Triumphant Return to Habs

Montreal Local TV News Photobomb

I record the Montreal evening news on both the CBC and CTV local affiliates each evening which I skim at dinner time. Like all local news productions there are plenty of gaffes both technical, editorial with a good number of mis-speaking anchors and reporters.
In the spirit of laughing with you, not at you, I've decided to share the best.  (Sure.....)

Here's a clip of Brian Wilde, from the sports department, getting photobombed,  further confirming that live on-air reports are always deliciously dangerous.

Separatists See Red over Toyoto Ad

A one second view of a giant Canadian flag has separatists apoplectic over it's inclusion in a Toyota television ad. The car company has been forced to remove the commercial in Quebec markets, but continues to play it as is, in the rest of the country.

The concept of the commercial is to underline the fact that 80% of cars built by Toyota, over the last twenty years are still on the road.

The spot features a Toyota car, parked in the front row of a drive-in movie, as historical events of the last twenty years play out on the big screen. Scenes of SARS, the fall of the Berlin Wall, Nelson Mandela and the giant demonstration in favour of Canadian unity held in Montreal, prior to the 1995 Quebec referendum which featured the infamous giant Canadian flag.

Dubbed the "Love-In" by separatists the event has become a separatist urban myth, one that claims that the illegal demonstration was the tipping point that pushed the "NON" side over the top to victory.

Back in 1995, the separatist Parti Quebecois government drew up a law that created the rules of the referendum which would determine if Quebec would become independent from Canada. The law provided that one global committee would be created for each side in the debate and that only these committees would be allowed to spend money in the campaign, subject to strict spending limits.

To make a long story short, a murky organization called OPTION CANADA , funded by Ottawa worked behind the scene and outside the official NON committee in favour of the no side.

As we all know, the referendum was mighty close and after the slim NON victory, the massive pro-Canada demonstration came under renewed investigation by sovereignists, who concluded that it was illegally funded.

Charges were laid against the directors of Option Canada for breaking the referendum law, but had to be dropped months later, to the consternation of sovereignists, when the Supreme Court of Canada ruled (in a case brought forward by my good friend Robert Libman) that sections of the referendum law that dealt with spending and the limitations on individuals and groups outside the official committees to be illegal, thus making the prosecutions impossible.

To this day sovereignists ignore the fact that the sections of the referendum law were ruled illegal and that Options Canada was entitled to do what they did. In fact many years ago, I was told by someone involved, that before Option Canada proceeded, they had legal opinions advising them that the referendum law could not possibly stand a legal court challenge.
If anyone cheated, it was the PQ, who drafted a law, full well in the knowledge that it wasn't legal, a blocking move that would hopefully keep federalist forces from spending in the campaign. The manoeuvre was largely successful, up until the actions of Option Canada.

Today separatists continue to believe that the referendum was stolen. Option Canada and it's actions in the referendum have become fixed in sovereignist lore as a historical betrayal on a par with the actions of Judas against Jesus.

In placing a clip of the giant red Canadian flag in the commercial, the advertising agency may as well have waved a red flag in front of the sovereignist bull.

The pain and angst that the commercial has rekindled in sovereignist forces is deliciously sweet to federalist Quebeckers like myself.

Fifteen years later, the burn remains as painful as the day of the demonstration. The faithful re-telling of the referendum betrayal story to the next generation of separatists by the lst generation, has become as traditional as the re-telling of the story of Exodus by Jewish families at the annual sedar.

French vs. English Volume 6

Latendresse Trade Irks Militant?

Georges Le Gal is one of those frothing at the mouth, French language fanatics, who clog up the blogsphere with nonesensical rants, most of which make no sense. In his latest missive he complains that the Montreal Canadiens don't hire enough Francophone players and is specifically upset that the Canadiens traded away one of them, Guillaume Latendresse.

"Indeed, with the recent departure of Guillaume Latendresse, only Maxim Lapierre, Georges Laracque, and defenceman Marc-André Bergeron remain."

Of course he conveniently fails to mention that Latendresse was traded for another Francophone, Benoit Pouliot, who has joined the team and is waiting for an injury to heal before taking his place on the bench.
Mr. Le Gal then goes on to complain that when the Canadiens retired the number of Émile 'Butch' Bouchard at the 100th anniversary ceremony on December 4, they were forced by "Anglophone" pressure to include an English player alongside and thus retired Elmer Lach's number as well.
Finally, Mr. Gal completes his hat-trick of faulty logic, absurdity and bad math, with this pearl of wisdom. "It makes me think of the financing of the two mega hospitals in Montreal: 50% funding for McGill University Health Center for the 10% Anglophones and 50% of funding for CHUM for the 90% Francophones!"

Are Francophone children smarter than Anglophone children?

Shopping for toys in Wal-Mart, I couldn't help noticing this anomaly. It seems that there are different standards for Anglophones and Francophones in terms of age recommendation for video games.

Letter writer offended by bilingual announcement in English towns?

In it's latest newsletter the Mouvement Montréal français complains the the AMT, the agency which runs trains to suburban Montreal was disrespecting the French language by announcing stops bilingually, when passing through predominantly English towns.

"What surprised me was that this organization promotes bilingualism! I understand that this line (and who knows about the others?) passes through towns that is home to a great part of the anglophone population of Montreal (Saint-Laurent, Roxboro, Pierrefonds, Sainte-Dorothée) but is it necessary to call out stops bilingually, dozens of times per day;

"Prochain arrêt/Next Stop, Gare Bois-Franc/ Bois-Franc Station"

Oh, the inhumanity!!

Money more important than principles?

The Syndicat de la fonction publique du Québec, the union representing the 43, 000 Quebec government workers, has loudly opposed bilingualism in the civil service and militated against what they perceive as 'creeping bilingualism.' Last year, the union participated in an anti-English campaign called "Press 9" (read- 'press nine for English')  that attempted to restrict the automatic right of citizens to be served in English. The head of the union opposes citizens retaining the right to have their government file designated as "English," thus obliging the government to serve them in English.

This week however, the union hypocritically demanded that Quebec pay 'bilingualism' bonuses for those employees that do speak English to citizens. When asked about the discrepancy, Lucie Martineau, the union's leader said that she saw saw no contradiction in their position.

Mouvement Montérégie francais is born.
Inspired by the Mouvement Montréal français, a new organization has been created to defend the French language on the south shore of Montreal.

"The island of Montreal is Anglicizing and it's spreading to the periphery. French is losing ground in several places, Brossard, Châteauguay, Delson, La Prairie, Longueuil," said the spokesman of the group, the author Yves Beauchemin.

Yesiree, it's best to be vigilant.

They can start by picketing the  McDonald's restaurant on D'Anjou boulevard in Chateauguay which is perpetrating an egregious attack on the integrity of the French language.

Before my very eyes, I recently witnessed senior citizens playing a bilingually run BINGO game run, right in the middle of the restaurant, without any shame whatsoever!
 BAY-DOUZE , BEE-TWELVE,
JAY-QUARANTE SIX, GEE-FORTY-SIX.
EEE-VINGT-DEUX, EYE-TWENTY-TWO

As I munched on my chicken sandwich, the Bingo caller expertly shouted out the numbers in Frech ana English to the delight of a senior group that was made up of an interesting mix of Francophone and Anglophone seniors.
"What did he say?" Asked an elderly Anglo to her French seat mate.
"Coudon!, il a dit EEE-VINGT DEUX!"
"Ok, Ok, Keep your shirt on!!,"
This new language organization is going to have to be on it's toes, otherwise bilingualism may spread to other Bingo games across the Montérégie region and that would clearly be disastrous!!


Blame Canada
In an unsigned article entitled" "The Canadian Governement discriminates against Independantists" appearing on the Ameriquebec.net website, the writer complains about the fact that enviormental demonstrators on Parliament Hill received more favourable treatment than those protesters who demonstrated against Prince Charles in Montreal. He is furious that the Ottawa demonstrators who were arrested were fined only $65 by the RCMP while the Quebec demonstrators who were arrested were fined $500 by the Montreal police.
Somehow, according to the writer, this is a plot to discriminate against separatists. What's puzzling is how all this relates to the headline attached to the story, which would make more sense if it read" "Montreal Police discriminate against Independentists"
If the fine assessed by the Montreal police is overly harsh, what does it have to do with the Canadian government?