The Myth of the Overfinancing of English Universities.

A while back, Mario Beaulieu, president of the the ultra-nationalist Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Montréal, wrote an article repeating and expounding on the hackneyed theme that English universities are over-financed.

Nationalists are forever spinning statistics and twisting facts to 'prove' that Francophones and Quebec institutions are under-financed, under-represented and generally screwed by Anglos and Ottawa.

I recently read a well-prepared, but nonsensical piece entitled "Equalization - an Urban Myth" - wherein the author goes to great lengths to prove that Quebec doesn't actually benefit from the annual seven billion fifteen billion dollar transfer payments from Ottawa!

Stephane Dion, while a member of Paul Martin's Liberal cabinet took on these nationalist propagandists in a clever series of public letters in which he demolished the myths that the sovereignists were spinning. His intellectual and fact supported arguments were so punishing that he became the hated foil of sovereignist intellectuals. Dion authored the famous 'Clarity Act,' a law that would force a future Quebec government to ask a clear and concise question in any future referendum.

He rightly accused the Quebec government of trying to fool Quebeckers in the last two referendums into voting YES by way of misleading and ambiguous questions. The law imposed honesty as a condition of Ottawa accepting any potential YES vote and it drove the sovereignists wild with rage. Dion's direct hard-nosed rebuttal of sovereignist fantasies, made him the most reviled Quebecker by sovereignists since Pierre Trudeau.

Mr. Beaulieu follows the fine Quebec tradition of using selective and misleading facts to arrive at the preconceived conclusions that he repeats ad nauseum.

In his latest missive, he blames this so-called under-funding as the principle cause of the recently revealed statistic, that shows that 40% less Francophones graduate from university than Anglophones.

His claim that English universities, representing an Anglo proportion of just 8.5% of the Quebec population, receive more than 2.7 times the financing that their demographic weight would entitle them to, sounds reasonable on the surface, but it is misleading on almost every level.

What Mr.  Beaulieu fails to mention is that despite Anglos representing just 8.5% of the population, the number of students attending English universities in Quebec is an astounding 38%!

Source: Wikipedia- University enrolment- Quebec

In Quebec language laws do not apply to university enrolment and anyone can choose to go to whatever university they choose to, provided that they are academically qualified. This is the meat of the matter, with language nationalists demanding that freedom of choice be removed and that Francophones and Allophones be refused entry into an English language university as per Bill 101.

What the two pie charts above show, is just how many Allophones and Francophones choose an English university. A remarkable 22% of McGill students are Francophone.

The problem is not that English universities are over-funded, it is that they are over-attended, in terms of demographics.

McGill and Concordia get funding commensurate to their student enrolment, just as French universities do.

The reality is, that despite what French nationalists demand, people do what is in their own best interest and for many Francophones attending a English university is the perfect recipe to a rounded education, one that will place them in an ideal position to deal with an international world, where English is a requirement for success.

What further infuriates militants, is that McGill with it's Ivy league and world reputation, attracts a good number of the very best and brightest Francophone students, eager to earn the valuable pedigree of a McGill diploma.

The issue of over-attendance is what sends militants into a rage, the idea that many Francophones students 'betray' their own demographic group in order to do the best for themselves.

Does going to an English University turn a Francophone into an Anglophone? I think not.

Someone who is born into a Francophone family, attends French school right up to high school isn't going to change his cultural roots because he has learned another language.

I spent thirty years working exclusively in French, travelling the province from one end to the other, to the point that during the working day, I would think in French.

But I remain an Anglophone and always will be.

Going to an English university doesn't turn a Francophone or an  Allophone into an Anglophone, but it does earn them advantages that non-English speakers miss and to militants, that is a problem.

What English language skills provide is opportunity. Some militants have even said it out loud, that going to an English school gives Francophones an opportunity to work outside Quebec,something that should not be encouraged.

If a Francophone wants to be promoted to the head office in Calgary, Toronto or New York, he or she needs to speak English. Ditto, if he or she aspires to a highly placed position in the Federal government or any type of international position.

In the old days it was said that in order to dominate women, one "Should keep them barefoot and pregnant"

Today that dictum is parallelled by nationalists that hold that Quebeckers should be kept "Unilingual and Isolated"

The issue comes down to a battle between personal freedom or collective obligation. Are Quebeckers by birthright obligated to follow a narrow French educational path dictated by nationalists, or do they have the right at some point, to chose their own destiny?

If so, at what age does a Quebecker earn the right to choose for him or herself?

Nationalists are furious that a great deal of people are not listening to their doctrine of isolation and unilingualism.

The question to be asked is what gives language nationalists dominion to impose their narrow isolationist view on others?

Should Quebec become a North Korea, where everyone's life path is determined by 'Dear Leaders" who 'know better?"

As to why Francophones in French universities don't have a high graduation rate, don't blame the English schools or the red herring of 'over-financing.'

The last I heard, places are going begging in French Universities and that in order to attract more students, admission standards have fallen so low, that you can successfully apply to get in with a graduation certificate from Driver's Ed! Some French universities are even starting to offer English courses, another anathema to language militants.

There is a big problem in the French educational system. The dropout rate is appalling. French universities operate at less than capacity and the graduation rate is just about the worst in Canada.

It has nothing to do with money, Anglophones or English universities.

Instead of blaming others, it's time for educators to face the reality that there is a cultural and/or educational problem in the French system that needs to be addressed instead of blaming Anglos and English Universities.

Kevin Parent- Clarification

A couple of days ago I recounted the story of Francophone singer Kevin Parent and the saga of his altercation with a group of Anglos in Quebec City. You can read that post HERE.

At the end of the article I stated that Kevin apologized to Quebec City for impugning their reputation by inferring that there are ongoing brawls between Anglophones and Francophones during Carnival and Spring Break.
I took him to task along with militant bloggers for not apologizing to Anglos for the misinformation.

I came to this conclusion after reading many online articles about the show and his apology to the City of Quebec. I didn't see anywhere any mention of an apology to Anglos.

I guess few people watched the episode of the talk show "Tout le monde en parle" where he made his remarks and like me, everyone was probably watching the Olympics closing ceremony.

Yesterday I was dumping my DVR when I noticed that I had taped the actual episode of the talk show.

I found this. Kevin Parent reading from a prepared text on TLMP.

Aside from apologizing to the City of Quebec, he most certainly included an apology to Anglophones.

I cannot understand how the mainstream press failed to report it.

I got my facts wrong on this particular fact and it's my turn to apologize to Kevin Parent.

Here's the video with English subtitles which I added.

Montreal Canadiens; If You Can't be Good in English, It's Ok to Be Mediocre in French

If there's one thing that both the French and English sports media agree on, it's that Bob Gainey, General Manager of the Montreal Canadiens had to go.

In Montreal, hockey is about winning, or at least competing on the highest level. That's not something they've done as of late and so the handwriting was on the wall.

While the English journalists were genuinely sad for Gainey, the Francophone writers could hardly suppress their glee.

For La Presse blowhard Rejean Tremblay it was a dream come true, the replacement of an Anglo with a bone fide Francophone at the helm of the team, which in his opinion, has too many Anglo players. Perhaps, for him, it portends well and will lead the Canadiens to replace their under-performing Anglophone and European players with equally dreadful Francophones.

While the English media sadly agreed with the replacement of Gainey, they weren't shy to criticize the incredibly stupid move made by the Canadiens in choosing Pierre Gauthier as Gainey's replacement. Once a team makes a move to clean house, it usually means that everyone goes. As Gainey's right hand man Gauthier was part and parcel of the problem.

Montreal's new GM is considered damaged goods and likely couldn't get a job as the lowliest of scouts for any other NHL team. His poor decisions and analysis concerning player personnel are at the root of the Canadiens current problems. It was his recommendation that brought Scott Gomez and his ridiculous contract to Montreal, a move that has virtually crippled the team and it's future. In truth Gainey and Gauthier's watch has been marked by nothing less than ineptitude.

In an article in Saturdays Montreal Gazette Don MacPherson warns the Canadiens that they'll have to choose between promoting French or winning.

Unfortunately, that ship has sailed. The Canadiens organization has decided that they'd rather switch than fight.

And so, the decision to hire Gauthier had more to do with the current available pool of Francophone managerial talent. Anglos were ruled out, even bilingual ones.

With last year's hiring of Jacques Martin, the Canadiens had already scraped the bottom of the barrel of francophone coaching talent. They have now done the same thing with the GM position and are now blessed with both a mediocre general manger and coach. At least the bumbling duo will be able to explain the team's ineptness in perfect French. Wait, on second thought, Martin's French is pretty crummy for someone who is a native speaker. His sentences contain more English phrases then did Gainey's.

It's lucky that the Canadiens have already tapped their next coach, Hamilton Bulldog's, Guy Boucher, otherwise they'd be forced to consider re-hiring Guy Carbonneau after Martin's inevitable firing.

Of course you wouldn't know how undeserving the Pierre Gauthier appointment was from reading the French press. Because he's French, they'll likely give him a free ride for a year or two.

Geoff Molson, after an uninspiring career in the family business, seems to be looking to make a name for himself by pandering to the outcry that the Canadiens become more French.

He is pointing the team down the same miserable path that the Toronto Maple Leafs pursued so successfully these past years, that is, pander to the media and give the fans just enough hope to keep the arena full. It might be a recipe for financial success, but guarantees mediocrity on the ice.

And so, decisions about players and management will be based on language and not talent. More French music will be played at the Bell Centre and the Canadians will have successfully transformed themselves into a laughing stock, tout en français, the Montreal Feuille d'Érables.

For Gainey, the three and a half million dollar payout he got from George Gillett when the team was sold, as thanks for services rendered, makes parting a little easier.
He is likely gone from hockey for good, his under-performance as a general manager contrasting sadly against his brilliant hockey career.

Who the Heck is Kevin Parent?

If ever there's a gulf between Anglophones and Francophones, it's highlighted by a whole set of Francophone musicians and television stars of whom Anglos know nothing about at all. Even though Kevin Parent is the second most famous Quebec singer (after Celine Dion) I  doubt that there is one in ten Anglos who's heard of him or who could identify the picture on the right.

So when he complained that he was beaten up by a group of Anglos in Quebec City a couple of weeks ago during the Quebec Winter Carnival, you can be sure it was big news in the French media. As for the English media, well as I said, who the heck is Kevin Parent?

The story has been in the news since the incident took place a couple of weeks ago and culminated with an appearance on a famous Quebec talk show last Sunday.

Last February 13 Keven Parent left a bar with two women (whom he worked with) and stopped on a cold night to warm himself at a little bonfire set up and to have a shot of 'Caribou'.

It was then he claimed, that for no apparent reason he was attacked by a group of Anglos who delivered a punishing beating that left him with a concussion and several contusions. (By the way, the French have a great word for getting the crap beaten out out you- "tabaser" (Tab'- ass-eh))

Ten days after the incident he met with reporters and told them that he had no idea what triggered the violent attack.

Parent told the media that rioting between Anglophones and Francophones, are a regular occurrence especially at the Quebec Winter Carnival or during Spring Break in March.

"I now understand the anger of oppressed francophone Quebeckers who get pissed on in their own capital city during their own carnival..."

"That's history. This incident made me understand the fear that a woman feels in an assault or a child who is afraid of being beaten by a gang at school. I understand the rage of the oppressed artist who is pissed upon  in his own city. I do not know to whom to complain, I do not know how it works and I can not identify my assailants that I do not know. I hope it will not revive the rivalry, which I've spent my life wanting to build bridges between the two languages. I am English and I sing in both English and French. I have friends across Canada and I do not understand what happened. "

His agent, Eric Allain, from the Tandem agency who handles the singer's promotion told a French television network that the people who attacked Kevin Parent were seeking a confrontation. 

 "He was assaulted by a gang of about a dozen people who were presumably there to fight."

The story was a dream come true for nationalist bloggers, the allegorical image of an Englishman pissing on a poor defenceless Francophone, sure to become an ever-lasting lesson in Canadian hegemony and likely to become as famous a legend as that of matronly Eaton's employees of old who told French customers to 'Speak white.'
Great stuff!

Drunken Anglo-Canadian Mob Beats up One of Their Own: Kevin Parent

Click

"As if the apparently xenophobic attack was not pathetic enough, Kevin Parent is himself an Anglo.  The morons beat up one of their own"

Golden shower : le statu quo sous la douche
"For many young Quebeckers, who for the last 20 years attended the Quebec Winter Carnival, the statement from Kevin Parent is not surprising. I myself witnessed these Anglos who do not speak a word of French, curse and taunt me at the Carnival around 10 years ago."

But the police and Carnival officials weren't so quick to buy Parent's story. A spokesman reported that there hasn't been an 'English/French' incident in the city since the year 2000. Some journalists noted that Parent was ill at ease at the news conference and that he didn't sound too convincing as he read from a prepared text.


Their interest piqued, the police set out to find out what they could. They found out quite a lot.

Perhaps Mr. Parent should watch more television crime shows, the ones that depict police methods wherein they gather up video evidence from surrounding surveillance cameras.


JACKPOT!  The whole incident was clearly caught on tape and the story turned out to be not quite what Mr. Parent recounted.


It seems that Mr. Parent was feeling 'no pain', a fact he reluctantly admitted to afterwards. Hey, it's Carnival, everybody drinks he said sheepishly, but according to him, he wasn't drunk.


It seems that he was fanning the flames of the aforementioned fire a little too enthusiastically and a hot ember sailed into the air and landed on a women's jacket, setting it on fire.

Her Anglo chums took  great offence and then a fight ensued. Perhaps they over-reacted, if so they should be prosecuted, but as a story, it turns out to be a rather a run of the mill drunk fight instead of a hate crime.


Faced with the evidence, Kevin Parent went on television like Claude Dubois before him, to excuse himself for lying. Confronted with the video evidence, he admitted that there was perhaps more to the story than he had originally let on.


He then went on to apologize to the City of Quebec for sullying their reputation, implying that their city is rife with English/French problems.


No excuse of course to the English community that he accused of senselessly attacking innocent Francophones on an ongoing basis during Carnival or Spring Break. No that would be too much, Anglos are always good targets and must remain so.

None of the fanatics who leapt onto the story and wrote English-bashing articles will apologize either, because they all so wanted the story to be true. Notwithstanding that it didn't happen as reported, according to them, it could have happened, might have happened and something that probably did happen in the past.

It's hard to get people off of a legend, even if it isn't true, just ask those little old ladies in Eaton's.

Sleep Country Demo a Big Fizzle

What if you throw a demonstration and nobody cares?
French language militants found out when they demonstrated in front of Sleep Country Canada in Hull on Saturday. The call to arms across two giant Quebec unions and three or four nationalist organizations triggered an avalanche of support that some estimated at close to one hundred people. Sigh......

The sad parade of losers chanting slogans that absolutely nobody listened to,  was tragicomical, the few customers that were around whizzed right by them, in and out of the store.. 

Most people were at home watching fellow Quebeckers win three gold skating medals at the Olympics, while the demonstration was on!
I wonder if the demonstrators gave a cheer when they found out the news?

Jean-Paul Perreault, leader of the organizing Imperatif Francais told Ottawa's le Droit newspaper that;

"We don't have any problem with Anglophones setting up to do business in Quebec, but they need to respect the linguistic and cultural environment of Quebeckers."

But his words were contradicted by one of his demonstrators who was carrying a sign that read "Ottawa Quittez Quebec"(Ottawa get out of Quebec)

Here's a video of the television news report.