11 Temmuz 2012 Çarşamba
10 Temmuz 2012 Salı
9 Temmuz 2012 Pazartesi
Canada Desperate For a Revitalized Liberal Party.
To contact us Click HERE
Long time readers of this blog know that I am not a Federal Liberal Party supporter and never have been.
I like to consider myself a small 'c' Conservative and was happy to see Stephen Harper elected with a majority.
That being said I believe that the country is desperate for the rebirth and relaunch of a Liberal Party to act as a counterweight to the more and more dogmatic and narrow agenda driven Conservatives, who seem to be emboldened by the lack of opposition.
With a vacum created in the political center and left of center, it's no surprise that the country has turned to the NDP as the only credible opposition to the Conservative juggernaut, something that scares me as much as a runaway Stephen Harper.
So what the heck are the Liberals waiting for?
There's something to be said for a political party taking some time to lick the wounds of an election smack down, but that time has come and gone and if the Liberals don't do something soon, they will be consigned to the scrap heap of history, a footnote in the Canadian Encyclopedia.
Time seems to be running out and there doesn't seem to be anyone in the Liberal party, the least bit concerned.
I firmly believe that between Harper and Mulcair, a great many Canadians, perhaps even a majority, are now looking for a kinder and gentler version of the two dogmatists, someone who won't bash Quebec or Alberta, a leader and a party that will represent Canadians from coast to coast.
In the meantime, the Liberals are content to go through the motions, openly admitting that they are treading water in anticipation of a new leadership convention after a period of rebuilding.
The problem is that there doesn't appear to be much rebuilding going on..
Even worse, is the insipid Bob Rae, the 'temporary' leader that represents the old guard, everything that was rejected by Canadians in the last election.
I honestly don't understand how the Liberal base tolerates such mediocrity at the top, a leader that is bound like Moses to wander through the opposition benches for forty years.
Where are the political strategists, have they also fled the party or are they being constrained as I fear, by the Bob Rae forces who are stalling as long as they can, until the party has nothing left at all, giving him a chance at permanent leadership?
At any rate, if the Liberals are to survive, they need to stop acting like losers and project an image of confidence, instead of the aura that surrounds the party now, that of a bunch of sadsacks going through the motions.
Solution? Your editor is never short of advice...
Get rid of Bob Rae, an albatross that represents not leadership, but losership.
Elect a new leader quickly, someone with impeccable national credentials, someone who projects integrity, honesty and trustworthiness, even if he isn't a political heavyweight.
To that end, no better candidate appears than Montreal's Marc Garneau, an ex astronaut that proudly wore the Canadian flag on his arm.
Mr. Garneau is the right choice to rebuild the party, he doesn't have to create or sell a comprehensive national policy, he has to project an image that the Liberals have returned as the party of national unity, a force of inclusion, not exclusion and a party where dogmatic left and right wing policies are not welcome.
It isn't a hard message to sell, I think many Canadians are ripe for the picking, especially in southern Ontario, where the voter's decision to support the Conservatives in the last election is one that many have come to regret.
Here is where Mr. Garneau can easily sell himself and his party as a solid alternative to the politics of the extreme, as practiced by Harper and Mulcair.
Mr. Garneau also has the right stuff to regain a base in Quebec, his integrity and reputation will help Quebecers forget the humiliation of the Sponsorship scandal.
For the majority of Quebecers, a return to the Liberals can happen, it is just a question of some healing time and a new and trustworthy leader.
For the ROC, even in the West, I believe that Garneau is an acceptable leader, considering his history as an astronaut with unimpeachable bone fides as a loyal Canadian.
A good "Frenchie" so to speak....ahem.
It's time for the Liberals to sell themselves for what they always were, a middle of the road party that serves the interests of all Canadians without pitting one region off against another.
As I said from the onset, I'm not a supporter, but as a strategist, I would encourage the Liberals to play on their strengths.
It's time to remind voters that it was the Liberals under Jean Chretien (no intellectual giant) that balanced the budget, unlike the present Conservatives who have blown the wad despite a false reputation as prudent fiscalists.
It was the Liberals that avoided the catastrophe of involvement in the war in Iraq, standing up to the unrelenting pressure of the Americans.
It's true that they got us involved in Afghanistan, but that was a NATO issue, which meant that not sending troops would mean abandoning NATO itself, something no government could have undertaken at the time.
If the Liberals are to be a force once again in Canadian politics, it's time to act now.
Like a bottle of wine, there is such a thing as being over-aged.
A new leader with an impeccable record of integrity and service to this country, coupled with a simple message of inclusion rather than confrontation, is the ticket to success
The road to salvation is sometimes uncomplicated, taking the first step and making the commitment to follow through is the hard part.
The Liberal Party has a choice.....move forward or die.
I like to consider myself a small 'c' Conservative and was happy to see Stephen Harper elected with a majority.
That being said I believe that the country is desperate for the rebirth and relaunch of a Liberal Party to act as a counterweight to the more and more dogmatic and narrow agenda driven Conservatives, who seem to be emboldened by the lack of opposition.
With a vacum created in the political center and left of center, it's no surprise that the country has turned to the NDP as the only credible opposition to the Conservative juggernaut, something that scares me as much as a runaway Stephen Harper.
So what the heck are the Liberals waiting for?
 |
| Jean Chretien-Helmet Backwards, but forward thinking? |
Time seems to be running out and there doesn't seem to be anyone in the Liberal party, the least bit concerned.
I firmly believe that between Harper and Mulcair, a great many Canadians, perhaps even a majority, are now looking for a kinder and gentler version of the two dogmatists, someone who won't bash Quebec or Alberta, a leader and a party that will represent Canadians from coast to coast.
In the meantime, the Liberals are content to go through the motions, openly admitting that they are treading water in anticipation of a new leadership convention after a period of rebuilding.
The problem is that there doesn't appear to be much rebuilding going on..
Even worse, is the insipid Bob Rae, the 'temporary' leader that represents the old guard, everything that was rejected by Canadians in the last election.
I honestly don't understand how the Liberal base tolerates such mediocrity at the top, a leader that is bound like Moses to wander through the opposition benches for forty years.
Where are the political strategists, have they also fled the party or are they being constrained as I fear, by the Bob Rae forces who are stalling as long as they can, until the party has nothing left at all, giving him a chance at permanent leadership?
At any rate, if the Liberals are to survive, they need to stop acting like losers and project an image of confidence, instead of the aura that surrounds the party now, that of a bunch of sadsacks going through the motions.
Solution? Your editor is never short of advice...
Get rid of Bob Rae, an albatross that represents not leadership, but losership.
 |
| Marc Garneau- The Right Stuff |
To that end, no better candidate appears than Montreal's Marc Garneau, an ex astronaut that proudly wore the Canadian flag on his arm.
"Born in February 1949 in Quebec City, Canada. He received his early education in Quebec City and Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu in Quebec and in London, England. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering Physics from the Royal Military College of Kingston in 1970, and a Doctorate in Electrical Engineering from the Imperial College of Science and Technology, London, England, in 1973. He attended the Canadian Forces Command and Staff College of Toronto in 1982-1983. Read the rest of his biography, you will be impressed!Handsome and flawlessly bilingual, his election as a leader would preserve the fine Liberal Party tradition of alternating leadership between anglophones and francophones.
Mr. Garneau is the right choice to rebuild the party, he doesn't have to create or sell a comprehensive national policy, he has to project an image that the Liberals have returned as the party of national unity, a force of inclusion, not exclusion and a party where dogmatic left and right wing policies are not welcome.
It isn't a hard message to sell, I think many Canadians are ripe for the picking, especially in southern Ontario, where the voter's decision to support the Conservatives in the last election is one that many have come to regret.
Here is where Mr. Garneau can easily sell himself and his party as a solid alternative to the politics of the extreme, as practiced by Harper and Mulcair.
Mr. Garneau also has the right stuff to regain a base in Quebec, his integrity and reputation will help Quebecers forget the humiliation of the Sponsorship scandal.
For the majority of Quebecers, a return to the Liberals can happen, it is just a question of some healing time and a new and trustworthy leader.
For the ROC, even in the West, I believe that Garneau is an acceptable leader, considering his history as an astronaut with unimpeachable bone fides as a loyal Canadian.
A good "Frenchie" so to speak....ahem.
It's time for the Liberals to sell themselves for what they always were, a middle of the road party that serves the interests of all Canadians without pitting one region off against another.
As I said from the onset, I'm not a supporter, but as a strategist, I would encourage the Liberals to play on their strengths.
It's time to remind voters that it was the Liberals under Jean Chretien (no intellectual giant) that balanced the budget, unlike the present Conservatives who have blown the wad despite a false reputation as prudent fiscalists.
It was the Liberals that avoided the catastrophe of involvement in the war in Iraq, standing up to the unrelenting pressure of the Americans.
It's true that they got us involved in Afghanistan, but that was a NATO issue, which meant that not sending troops would mean abandoning NATO itself, something no government could have undertaken at the time.
If the Liberals are to be a force once again in Canadian politics, it's time to act now.
Like a bottle of wine, there is such a thing as being over-aged.
A new leader with an impeccable record of integrity and service to this country, coupled with a simple message of inclusion rather than confrontation, is the ticket to success
The road to salvation is sometimes uncomplicated, taking the first step and making the commitment to follow through is the hard part.
The Liberal Party has a choice.....move forward or die.
French versus English Volume 56
To contact us Click HERE
He practically begged police to arrest him...Hear him taunt the police.
Explaining that his act of civil disobedience was justified in the face of an unjust law, he compared himself to Martin Luther King and Gandhi...
Really?.... Khadir in the same company as Gandhi and MLK?
Methinks he is starting to become a self-important, pompous ass and I doubt they'll be erecting a statue to his name any time soon! Story of the arrest.
Unfortunately for Khadir, he was slapped with a $495 plus fine for blocking traffic instead of what he had been hoping for, a charge with disobeying Bill 78, which is clearly more heroic than fighting a traffic ticket.
At any rate, he was roasted in a radio interview by the loathsome Benoit Dutrizac, who saw the danger in this new rational of civil disobedience, fretting that Anglos could use the same justification to disobey Bill 101. The interview was precious, as Khadir tried to explain that what is sauce for the goose is not necessarily good for the gander. Telling the interviewer that his group was justified in disobeying the law because they were in the right while the Anglos are not justified in disobeying Bill 101 because they are in the wrong, Dutrizac mocked him mercilessly for his magical thinking.If you understand French, you're going to laugh your ass off, as Dutrizac shows him up for a fool. Listen to Radio EGO
By the way, Papa Khadir has a way to go to catch up to his daughter, who is turning out to be quite the anarchist. She was arrested once again yesterday in a sweep by police looking for the perpetrators of the vandalism of the offices of Liberal cabinet minister Line Beauchamp and those who were responsible for the metro smoke bombs. According to ace crime reporter Claude Poirier, Yalda's fingerprints were found in the premises of the office of the minister. Yikes!
In relation to her arrest, the Khadir residence was the subject of a search warrant and was given a good going through..
The Khadirs have clearly given up all pretenses of being law-abiding citizens as the sign on their front door attests.
As policy, I don't usually publish pictures of private residences of public figures, but the Khadirs have made their stoop a billboard promoting anarchy. I have however blurred out the address and will omit to name the street.
How badly do cops want to send a Khadir off to the Clink? ....very much so. Dunno.....
It's a developing story. Read the story
Further reading; Amir-Khadir has lot to hide
Separatists not ready to share.
Our good friend Pierre Curzi once again demonstrated that he's a dreamer and political novice by calling for the three separatists parties to join forces in the next provincial election in order to fight the Liberals of Jean Charest. In an open letter printed in the Devoir, he suggested that;
Her cavalier decision to keep the separatist vote split sparked the ire of certain diehards who called her decision 'pitiful' and called for her replacement. Link{Fr}
Lo an behold the 'non-immigrant' application received an offer for an interview, while the true application with the Muslim name was passed over.
To make a long story short, he sued and won a settlement for discrimination.
Did the agency take corrective action or even apologize?
What do you think?
As far as the offending government agency was concerned, the fine was just the 'cost of doing business.'
Well a new report prepared by the government's Human Rights Agency tells us that things haven't changed much.
Here's the attitude that most Quebecers adhere to;
As a result, Quebec's share of the overall Canadian population declined from 23.9 per cent in 2006 to 23.6 per cent in 2011.
During that same period, Quebec sustained a net loss of 50,000 residents to interprovincial migration - though the most recently measured annual net outflow, for 2010, was down to 3,244, much better than during the first two years of the census period, when the net loss was nearly triple that.It is also notable that Montreal does not rank among the 15 fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the country, and it is small comfort that Quebec City comes in at No. 14." Read more : ALTERNATE LINK
Francophones watch and listen to English media.
"Earlier this month, Cineplex launched “Les jeudis sans doublage” (no-dubbing Thursdays), in several theaters across Québec. “Your favorite actors! Their real voices!” claims Cineplex’s website.Several movie theatres have featured films in their original English version in the Montreal area. However, the marketing program “Les jeudis sans doublage” brings them to theatres that, so far, have been catering to mostly francophone audiences: in the Montreal suburbs of Dorion and Delson, in the Québec City area, and in the towns of Victoriaville, St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, and Sherbrooke. “A good part of our audience has expressed an interest in seeing the latest productions in their original English version” explained Daniel Séguin, vice-president for Eastern Canada and general manager in Québec at Cineplex Entertainment in a press release."
Proving the point that you cannot legislate taste. I can only imagine the outrage and sense of betrayal over at the militant language organizations...
To Mario Beaulieu et als, I can only remind them that ...."The heart wants what the heart wants"
Adding salt to the wound, Francophones also make up the majority of listeners of Montreal English FM radio stations because these stations are not subject to language restrictions.
French stations must play a majority of French music according to CRTC rules, an extreme handicap that they've complained about over the years. The rule's disparity gives their English competitors a BIG advantage.
Such is the perverse result of regulations designed to legislate personal behavior and taste.
Read the rest of the story
This gift is in addition to the $50 million the Hornsteins had already donated . Read the story
This week I took a walking tour of downtown Montreal in preparation for Monday's post and I noticed that the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts has both the English and French versions of the name of the museum equally displayed outside the building, something rare these days in Montreal.Could it be that that the overwhelming majority of patrons and donators are Anglophones?
Weekend Reading
A while back I wrote a somewhat prescient article declaring Montreal the riot capital of North America. Read it HERE
Coolopolis has a nice piece about some of the more obscure riots that have taken place in Montreal.
Read: Obscure riots from the city's past.
******************
Funniest interview of an anti-government protestor . See it HERE in French
******************Here's an interesting retrospective of West Hill high school by a Montreal ex-pat living in Vancouver . Link
Thought of the week
Background:
"Concordia University students who blocked others from attending classes and exams during the now four-month-old “student strike” protests will face sanctions, reports the Montreal Gazette."The university’s Office of Rights and Responsibilities has charged a number of students under the Code of Rights and Responsibilities and will try them this month. Sanctions may include payment for damaged property, community service, suspension or expulsion, a university spokesperson has said. Link
Readers:Don't miss Monday's post which I am in the process of putting together this weekend.In response to the OQLF report about English signage in downtown Montreal, I set out for myself to see if their conclusions were accurate.For hours, I walked the streets of several blocks in the downtown 'English' core, entering each store and recording what I saw, exacting a very detailed study of the signs.
As you can imagine, my version of the truth is far from that of the OQLF.In the meantime have a very good weekend.
Très bon week end à tous !!
 |
| Too bad they didn't handcuff his mouth as well! |
After arrests, Khadir family embraces its anarchist roots
Not to be outdone by his nineteen year-old daughter, Yalda, who's been arrested a couple of times for various actions in relation to the student demonstrations, Amir Khadir took part in an illegal demonstration and got himself arrested.He practically begged police to arrest him...Hear him taunt the police.
Explaining that his act of civil disobedience was justified in the face of an unjust law, he compared himself to Martin Luther King and Gandhi...
Really?.... Khadir in the same company as Gandhi and MLK?
Methinks he is starting to become a self-important, pompous ass and I doubt they'll be erecting a statue to his name any time soon! Story of the arrest.
Unfortunately for Khadir, he was slapped with a $495 plus fine for blocking traffic instead of what he had been hoping for, a charge with disobeying Bill 78, which is clearly more heroic than fighting a traffic ticket.
At any rate, he was roasted in a radio interview by the loathsome Benoit Dutrizac, who saw the danger in this new rational of civil disobedience, fretting that Anglos could use the same justification to disobey Bill 101. The interview was precious, as Khadir tried to explain that what is sauce for the goose is not necessarily good for the gander. Telling the interviewer that his group was justified in disobeying the law because they were in the right while the Anglos are not justified in disobeying Bill 101 because they are in the wrong, Dutrizac mocked him mercilessly for his magical thinking.If you understand French, you're going to laugh your ass off, as Dutrizac shows him up for a fool. Listen to Radio EGO
 |
| "When injustice becomes the law, resistance is a duty" |
In relation to her arrest, the Khadir residence was the subject of a search warrant and was given a good going through..
The Khadirs have clearly given up all pretenses of being law-abiding citizens as the sign on their front door attests.
As policy, I don't usually publish pictures of private residences of public figures, but the Khadirs have made their stoop a billboard promoting anarchy. I have however blurred out the address and will omit to name the street.
How badly do cops want to send a Khadir off to the Clink? ....
It's a developing story. Read the story
Further reading; Amir-Khadir has lot to hide
Separatists not ready to share.
Our good friend Pierre Curzi once again demonstrated that he's a dreamer and political novice by calling for the three separatists parties to join forces in the next provincial election in order to fight the Liberals of Jean Charest. In an open letter printed in the Devoir, he suggested that;  |
| Marois turning her nose up at a coalition |
"The purpose of this call is to join forces to promote the election of a progressive and democratic government.
Why join the forces?
Because the division of votes, especially among francophones, promotes the re-election of the Liberal Party. An ultra dynamic coalition vote would allow abstainers to participate, who are the only ones who can put the Liberals in opposition."Let's be honest, he's probably right and his idea holds merit, so it isn't any surprise that Pauline Marois rejected the idea out of hand. She must have failed sharing in kindergarten.
Her cavalier decision to keep the separatist vote split sparked the ire of certain diehards who called her decision 'pitiful' and called for her replacement. Link{Fr}
Job Discrimination 'no big deal'
Last year I told you about an educated francophone Muslim who applied for many a civil service job, only to see his application consigned to the scrap heap. Wondering if it was his obviously Arabic name which was the problem, he sent in two nearly identical applications, one altered to hide the fact that he was an immigrant.Lo an behold the 'non-immigrant' application received an offer for an interview, while the true application with the Muslim name was passed over.
To make a long story short, he sued and won a settlement for discrimination.
Did the agency take corrective action or even apologize?
What do you think?
As far as the offending government agency was concerned, the fine was just the 'cost of doing business.'
Well a new report prepared by the government's Human Rights Agency tells us that things haven't changed much.
"It sadly comes as no surprise to learn that people with foreign-sounding names have significantly less chance of getting even a job interview, never mind the job, than those with typically Québécois monikers.A study released this week by the Quebec Human Rights and Youth Rights Commission found that Quebecers with “Québécois-de-souche” names such as Tremblay or Bouchard are 64 per cent more likely to get invited to a job interview than those with names like Traoré or Ben Amin, even if their qualifications are identical. Read the rest of the story Alternate LinkNow one would think that this report would be received with a certain measure of shock and concern but it's hardly the case, the story made hardly a ripple.
Here's the attitude that most Quebecers adhere to;
Census figures augur poorly for Quebec
"Quebec's growth rate pales beside Alberta's (10.8 per cent) and Saskatchewan's (6.7 per cent). At 4.7 per cent, it was only 0.4 per cent higher than the 4.3-per-cent rate it recorded during the period measured by the previous census. Meanwhile, Yukon's rate doubled, as did Manitoba's.As a result, Quebec's share of the overall Canadian population declined from 23.9 per cent in 2006 to 23.6 per cent in 2011.
During that same period, Quebec sustained a net loss of 50,000 residents to interprovincial migration - though the most recently measured annual net outflow, for 2010, was down to 3,244, much better than during the first two years of the census period, when the net loss was nearly triple that.It is also notable that Montreal does not rank among the 15 fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the country, and it is small comfort that Quebec City comes in at No. 14." Read more : ALTERNATE LINK
Francophones watch and listen to English media.
"Earlier this month, Cineplex launched “Les jeudis sans doublage” (no-dubbing Thursdays), in several theaters across Québec. “Your favorite actors! Their real voices!” claims Cineplex’s website.Several movie theatres have featured films in their original English version in the Montreal area. However, the marketing program “Les jeudis sans doublage” brings them to theatres that, so far, have been catering to mostly francophone audiences: in the Montreal suburbs of Dorion and Delson, in the Québec City area, and in the towns of Victoriaville, St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, and Sherbrooke. “A good part of our audience has expressed an interest in seeing the latest productions in their original English version” explained Daniel Séguin, vice-president for Eastern Canada and general manager in Québec at Cineplex Entertainment in a press release."Proving the point that you cannot legislate taste. I can only imagine the outrage and sense of betrayal over at the militant language organizations...
To Mario Beaulieu et als, I can only remind them that ...."The heart wants what the heart wants"
Adding salt to the wound, Francophones also make up the majority of listeners of Montreal English FM radio stations because these stations are not subject to language restrictions.
French stations must play a majority of French music according to CRTC rules, an extreme handicap that they've complained about over the years. The rule's disparity gives their English competitors a BIG advantage.
Such is the perverse result of regulations designed to legislate personal behavior and taste.
Read the rest of the story
How pitiful is this....
I've always maintained that French language militant groups are vastly over-exposed in the press, garnering disproportionate media exposure For this reason, membership figures are a closely guarded secret, but the Mouvement Laval français let the cat out of the bag.The Laval version of the MQF, was created last November to save Laval from the scourge of English, but it hasn't exactly attracted a big following.According to Manon Arsenault, the president of Mouvement Laval français, it's membership is but a handful of people. Link{Fr}It has set the rather ambitious goal of attracting 250 members and raising $2,500.This in Quebec's second largest city with a population of over 400,000 people.Good luck with that.Holocaust survivor makes stunning gift to Montreal museum.
A Jewish Holocaust survivor donated a $75 million art collection as a “thank you for everything” that Montreal, Quebec and Canada had offered his family.This gift is in addition to the $50 million the Hornsteins had already donated . Read the story
This week I took a walking tour of downtown Montreal in preparation for Monday's post and I noticed that the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts has both the English and French versions of the name of the museum equally displayed outside the building, something rare these days in Montreal.Could it be that that the overwhelming majority of patrons and donators are Anglophones?
Weekend Reading
A while back I wrote a somewhat prescient article declaring Montreal the riot capital of North America. Read it HERECoolopolis has a nice piece about some of the more obscure riots that have taken place in Montreal.
Read: Obscure riots from the city's past.
******************
Funniest interview of an anti-government protestor . See it HERE in French
******************Here's an interesting retrospective of West Hill high school by a Montreal ex-pat living in Vancouver . Link
Thought of the week
Background:"Concordia University students who blocked others from attending classes and exams during the now four-month-old “student strike” protests will face sanctions, reports the Montreal Gazette."The university’s Office of Rights and Responsibilities has charged a number of students under the Code of Rights and Responsibilities and will try them this month. Sanctions may include payment for damaged property, community service, suspension or expulsion, a university spokesperson has said. Link
Given that Concordia has taken action against certain students who disrupted classes, it's entirely possible that francophone schools will also take action.UQAM remedy?----Extra Credit.
Readers:Don't miss Monday's post which I am in the process of putting together this weekend.In response to the OQLF report about English signage in downtown Montreal, I set out for myself to see if their conclusions were accurate.For hours, I walked the streets of several blocks in the downtown 'English' core, entering each store and recording what I saw, exacting a very detailed study of the signs.
As you can imagine, my version of the truth is far from that of the OQLF.In the meantime have a very good weekend.
Très bon week end à tous !!
OQLF Language Report an Exercise in Smoke and Mirrors
To contact us Click HERE
Smoke and Mirrors: Something/Someone that distorts or blurs facts, figures, etc., like a magic or conjuring work; artful deception; tricky inventiveness.
I can't think of a better metaphor than the above 'Smoke and Mirrors' to describe the reports issued last week by the OQLF describing the language situation in relation to the retail trade in Montreal.
It took quite a while for me to get through the pages because like a student's essay, aiming to fulfill a minimum word count, the reports were long on superfluous, duplicate and useless information.
Really, did we need a diagram indicating what foot path an inspector took while visiting a department store and was it germane to include the fact the inspector started from the top floor and worked his/her way down?
But despite the padding, the reports were more interesting, not for what they included, but rather what they did not, but more on that a little later.
First point of course, is the credibility of any report emanating from the OQLF itself, an organization that ceases to have meaning, should itself determine that the French language not be in danger, thus rendering its existence redundant. Under that circumstance, it's hard to imagine the OQLF ever declaring French out of trouble, even if it were so.
Instead of handing off the study to an impartial third party, the OQLF itself produced the report in-house, setting the terms, training and deploying inspectors and putting together the final report.
Like the Church preparing a report on the existence of God, even with the best intentions, it is hard to take the conclusions other than with a grain of salt.
I'm not going to bore you with an exhaustive critique, which in the end leaves the readers with information overload. I will dwell on just two points, those points, which in my opinion, render the reports discredited. My first concern is that the OQLF starts off with a faulty basic premise and my second concern is its failure to honestly present the data.
The faulty assumption is of course, the idea that a store without a French descriptor in its 'English name' is in violation of Bill 101, we've gone through this before, it just isn't true.
In the thirty-five years since the introduction of Bill 101, the OQLF has bound over in the neighborhood of 2,000 files for prosecution in relation to recalcitrant violators of the language law.
NOT ONE of these prosecutions has ever been undertaken in relation to a company using an English trademark without a French modifier appended to its trade name.
In thirty-five years, no company, to my knowledge, has ever received a 'mise en demure' (demand letter) from the OQLF demanding that it add a descriptor to its trademark.
Why?
If I am wrong about the legality of descriptors (which I am not,) I would ask defenders of the OQLF to explain why the organization has failed to take any legal action against any company, when it has pursued legal action for other violations.
Is it because the OQLF is afraid to take on a multinational with deep pockets, companies which have already received legal opinions that in relation to descriptors, the OQLF hasn't a leg to stand on?
You know, I cannot remember the OQLF taking any multinational company to court over any aspect of Bill 101. If they did, it is likely that there were very few cases.
No, as far as I'm concerned, the OQLF prefers to pursue small-fries, those they can bully with impunity.
Not true? So why do new cars continue to be delivered with pictograms AND English-only labeling on the dashboard?
Why is it that in Quebec, new cars can be delivered with English-only dashboards, while TOY CARS cannot be delivered with play dashboards in English? Such is the nonsensical world of the OQLF.
Perhaps it is because big car companies have told the OQLF to piss off, that if the Quebec government demands special labeling for Quebec bound new cars, consumers would have to pay hundreds of dollars extra to pay for it, with the specter of Quebecers buying cheaper cars in Ontario, a frightening scenario that would lead to, you guessed it, the need for more restrictive laws, banning the practice.
At any rate, I will again remind readers that in 2001 the OQLF received a legal opinion that any attempt to force modifications on copyrighted trademarks would violate international copyright law.
The OQLF continues to perpetrate this myth, refusing to comment on the controversy, preferring to ignore realty like a toddler sticking her fingers in her ears, shouting "I CAN'T HEAR YOU! I CAN'T HEAR YOU!'
So once this false premise is offered as one of the cornerstones of these language reports, the conclusions become tainted, or as they say in court, "The fruit of the poisonous tree"
In the Highlights report, we are told that 72% of downtown businesses are, according to the OQLF, in complete compliance with the law, including the store name and the interior and exterior signage.
Then we are told that 83% of stores have a store name that conforms to the law, meaning of course, that 17% of downtown store have 'illegal' store names.
I don't have any problem with that data set, it seems reasonable, because many American chain stores with English names are well-represented downtown.
But if one was to eliminate the question of French descriptors and illegal English names, one could conclude that downtown stores are 90% in compliance with the law, a fair difference with the 72% that the OQLF asserts.
And so we come to the second part of my concern, the question that the OQLF conveniently fails to answer.
Of the 10% who are in non-compliance, what percentage of signs are illegal?
The OQLF inundates us with all kinds of useless information, but NEVER TELLS US what is their interpretation of the threshold of being compliant nor non-compliant.
Does one illegal sign in a store with 300 signs make a store non-compliant?
It's crucial information that the OQLF omits, probably on purpose, because the answer sadly, is yes.
According to the OQLF, one illegal sign in a 10, 50, 100 or 500, makes the store non-compliant.
It's like writing a test with 100 questions and flunking because you got 99 questions right and one wrong.
It hardly seems fair that a store like Best Buy is considered non-compliant because of its name, when the 500 or so signs in the premises, all respect the criteria set out by French language signage regulations.
Of all the information provided in all the reports, never once does the OQLF tell us how many signs it counted and how many signs were were non-compliant.
While the OQLF is determined to tell us what path inspectors walked in the stores they visited, they won't tell us the number of 'legal' and 'illegal' signs they observed. Clearly they have something to hide.
Failure to disclose the most important data set can only be construed as an attempt to misconstrue and mislead, like a clever con man dealing out a hand of 'Three Card Monte."
The misdirection is in and of itself a disgraceful testament to the OQLF's duplicity and dishonesty.
Readers this is no accident, presenting the information honestly would likely show less than 1% of signs are illegal, not a number that the OQLF is keen to publicize.
Instead, the OQLF tells us how many stores have at least one illegal sign, a dishonest and manipulative way to goose the numbers.
By the way readers, I did my own downtown sign inspection and will report on Wednesday.
The results are absolutely startling, so don't miss it.
And by the way, here's one nugget that I found in the report that I found extremely interesting and sad.
It seems that the OQLF inspected certain stores in 2010 and then inspected the exact same stores again in 2012, to determine the differences in terms of compliance with the language laws, over the two years.
The OQLF reports that a stunning 17% of these stores were now closed, no longer in business, this in just two short years!
But far as the OQLF is concerned, it doesn't matter a twig, its only concern is whether the stores followed the law in respect to signage......
"Closing Sale" or "Bankruptcy sale"
NO WAY!!!
"Vente de fermeture" or "Vente de Faillite"
That's much, much better!!
I can't think of a better metaphor than the above 'Smoke and Mirrors' to describe the reports issued last week by the OQLF describing the language situation in relation to the retail trade in Montreal.
It took quite a while for me to get through the pages because like a student's essay, aiming to fulfill a minimum word count, the reports were long on superfluous, duplicate and useless information.
Really, did we need a diagram indicating what foot path an inspector took while visiting a department store and was it germane to include the fact the inspector started from the top floor and worked his/her way down?
 |
| OQLF- This is how we walk around a room |
But despite the padding, the reports were more interesting, not for what they included, but rather what they did not, but more on that a little later.
First point of course, is the credibility of any report emanating from the OQLF itself, an organization that ceases to have meaning, should itself determine that the French language not be in danger, thus rendering its existence redundant. Under that circumstance, it's hard to imagine the OQLF ever declaring French out of trouble, even if it were so.
Instead of handing off the study to an impartial third party, the OQLF itself produced the report in-house, setting the terms, training and deploying inspectors and putting together the final report.
Like the Church preparing a report on the existence of God, even with the best intentions, it is hard to take the conclusions other than with a grain of salt.
I'm not going to bore you with an exhaustive critique, which in the end leaves the readers with information overload. I will dwell on just two points, those points, which in my opinion, render the reports discredited. My first concern is that the OQLF starts off with a faulty basic premise and my second concern is its failure to honestly present the data.
The faulty assumption is of course, the idea that a store without a French descriptor in its 'English name' is in violation of Bill 101, we've gone through this before, it just isn't true.
In the thirty-five years since the introduction of Bill 101, the OQLF has bound over in the neighborhood of 2,000 files for prosecution in relation to recalcitrant violators of the language law.
NOT ONE of these prosecutions has ever been undertaken in relation to a company using an English trademark without a French modifier appended to its trade name.
In thirty-five years, no company, to my knowledge, has ever received a 'mise en demure' (demand letter) from the OQLF demanding that it add a descriptor to its trademark.
Why?
If I am wrong about the legality of descriptors (which I am not,) I would ask defenders of the OQLF to explain why the organization has failed to take any legal action against any company, when it has pursued legal action for other violations.
Is it because the OQLF is afraid to take on a multinational with deep pockets, companies which have already received legal opinions that in relation to descriptors, the OQLF hasn't a leg to stand on?
You know, I cannot remember the OQLF taking any multinational company to court over any aspect of Bill 101. If they did, it is likely that there were very few cases.
No, as far as I'm concerned, the OQLF prefers to pursue small-fries, those they can bully with impunity.
Not true? So why do new cars continue to be delivered with pictograms AND English-only labeling on the dashboard?
Why is it that in Quebec, new cars can be delivered with English-only dashboards, while TOY CARS cannot be delivered with play dashboards in English? Such is the nonsensical world of the OQLF.
Perhaps it is because big car companies have told the OQLF to piss off, that if the Quebec government demands special labeling for Quebec bound new cars, consumers would have to pay hundreds of dollars extra to pay for it, with the specter of Quebecers buying cheaper cars in Ontario, a frightening scenario that would lead to, you guessed it, the need for more restrictive laws, banning the practice.
At any rate, I will again remind readers that in 2001 the OQLF received a legal opinion that any attempt to force modifications on copyrighted trademarks would violate international copyright law.
The OQLF continues to perpetrate this myth, refusing to comment on the controversy, preferring to ignore realty like a toddler sticking her fingers in her ears, shouting "I CAN'T HEAR YOU! I CAN'T HEAR YOU!'
So once this false premise is offered as one of the cornerstones of these language reports, the conclusions become tainted, or as they say in court, "The fruit of the poisonous tree"
In the Highlights report, we are told that 72% of downtown businesses are, according to the OQLF, in complete compliance with the law, including the store name and the interior and exterior signage.
Then we are told that 83% of stores have a store name that conforms to the law, meaning of course, that 17% of downtown store have 'illegal' store names.
I don't have any problem with that data set, it seems reasonable, because many American chain stores with English names are well-represented downtown.
But if one was to eliminate the question of French descriptors and illegal English names, one could conclude that downtown stores are 90% in compliance with the law, a fair difference with the 72% that the OQLF asserts.
And so we come to the second part of my concern, the question that the OQLF conveniently fails to answer.
Of the 10% who are in non-compliance, what percentage of signs are illegal?
The OQLF inundates us with all kinds of useless information, but NEVER TELLS US what is their interpretation of the threshold of being compliant nor non-compliant.
Does one illegal sign in a store with 300 signs make a store non-compliant?
It's crucial information that the OQLF omits, probably on purpose, because the answer sadly, is yes.
According to the OQLF, one illegal sign in a 10, 50, 100 or 500, makes the store non-compliant.
It's like writing a test with 100 questions and flunking because you got 99 questions right and one wrong.
It hardly seems fair that a store like Best Buy is considered non-compliant because of its name, when the 500 or so signs in the premises, all respect the criteria set out by French language signage regulations.
Of all the information provided in all the reports, never once does the OQLF tell us how many signs it counted and how many signs were were non-compliant.
While the OQLF is determined to tell us what path inspectors walked in the stores they visited, they won't tell us the number of 'legal' and 'illegal' signs they observed. Clearly they have something to hide.
Failure to disclose the most important data set can only be construed as an attempt to misconstrue and mislead, like a clever con man dealing out a hand of 'Three Card Monte."
The misdirection is in and of itself a disgraceful testament to the OQLF's duplicity and dishonesty.
Readers this is no accident, presenting the information honestly would likely show less than 1% of signs are illegal, not a number that the OQLF is keen to publicize.
Instead, the OQLF tells us how many stores have at least one illegal sign, a dishonest and manipulative way to goose the numbers.
By the way readers, I did my own downtown sign inspection and will report on Wednesday.
The results are absolutely startling, so don't miss it.
And by the way, here's one nugget that I found in the report that I found extremely interesting and sad.
It seems that the OQLF inspected certain stores in 2010 and then inspected the exact same stores again in 2012, to determine the differences in terms of compliance with the language laws, over the two years.
The OQLF reports that a stunning 17% of these stores were now closed, no longer in business, this in just two short years!
But far as the OQLF is concerned, it doesn't matter a twig, its only concern is whether the stores followed the law in respect to signage......
"
NO WAY!!!
"Vente de fermeture" or "Vente de Faillite"
That's much, much better!!
Khadirs-Three Generations of Nutters
To contact us Click HERE
As police entered the home of the Amir Khadir family, in search of evidence against eldest daughter Yalda for her part in illegal radical activities, they couldn't help but notice a poster for a Quebec band, lying on the kitchen table, a disturbing and macabre tribute to the ego of Amir Khadir.
Fashioned after Eugène Delacroix's famous painting, Liberty Leading the People, this version has a Bananarchist waving a black anarchist flag, an armed Khadir himself in a top hat standing over a seemingly dead, half-naked and defeated Jean Charest. To Khadir's right is a masked demonstrator and to his left a riot cop bowing down.
When asked about the artwork, Khadir brushed it off, calling it a 'parody.' Link
When the story caught fire in the Press, Khadir threatened to sue the Journal de Montreal for printing the story of the poster, because it was...err......embarrassing.
There's quite an ego hidden under the usually calm and demure Amir Khadir, who in the last week or so, let slip his alter ego, comparing himself to Gandhi and Martin Luther King, after his own arrest for blocking a street, much to howls of laughter and derision in the Press.
When Yalda was first arrested, Khadir told a public audience, that if she did anything wrong she would have to pay the price.
Now that he's had a chance to glimpse at the evidence, the realization that she could go to jail for her acts, he's changed his tune considerably.
For years Khadir has lived a double life, hiding his communist and anarchist affiliations, but no more.
In order to support his daughter, he's now publicly saying that civil disobedience is the route to take in the face of a recalcitrant government;.
In a courthouse interview, he actaully defended his daughter's violent plan to attack the home of the ex-cabinet minister.
It isn't any wonder that Yalda, at just 20 years old is a violent anarchist, she comes by her radicalism honestly, learning from her parents, who in turn learned from their parents.
From an early age Yalda was dragged to demonstration after demonstration, a hatred for capitalism, Canada, the United States and of course, the old standby, Israel, pumped into her inquiring and absorbent mind.
She is no doubt, the product of her parents radicalism and in some way reminds me of the product of parents who name their children after Hitler, as a salute to their white supremacism. You just know you're going to end up with one screwed up kid.
Just like his daughter, Amir was radicalized by his father, Jafar, a longtime communist bigwig who has been banned from entering the United States. He's someone always ready, willing and able to support radical causes, especially when it comes to demonizing Israel, the Khadir clan's favorite foil. You can catch him every now and then in front of the Le Marcheur shoe shop on St. Denis, protesting against the small merchant for selling Israeli shoes.
Grandma Khadir is quite the pistol too, comparing Yalda to poor Palestinian children, whose only crime is throwing stones at police.
In fact she compared the Quebec government to that of the regime of the Shah of Iran, from where she fled to the safety of Canada and remarked to a reporter that she considered Yalda a political prisoner, which made her feel "humiliated to be a Quebecer"
As I said in the title, nutters.....
Yalda's mom Nima, is another piece of work, a TRUTHER and self-important radical, she actually demanded that police remove their shoes before they conducted a raid in her home.
I bet you're asking yourself if the police complied...........nope they did not.
And then let's not forget Amir's brother who was arrested in France as a member of a terrorist organization (People's Mujahedin of Iran) and who was released after a political campaign by Amir to get him out..
According to the Khadirs themselves, both of the two oldest daughters are militants. Daria hasn't been arrested yet, but if all goes according to plan, Grandma will be bringing her flowers very soon.
Quite the family.....
And you thought the Kardashians were one screwed up family.....
At any rate, since Amir has 'come out' in support of anarchism, questions are being raised as to whether he was involved or knew of his daughter activities.
Police are claiming that when they raided the Casa Khadir, alongside that poster found on the kitchen table was a plan to attack the residence of the Quebec cabinet minister.
So the question remains, what did Khadir know about the plan and when did he find out about it.
Inquiring minds want to know....
As police entered the home of the Amir Khadir family, in search of evidence against eldest daughter Yalda for her part in illegal radical activities, they couldn't help but notice a poster for a Quebec band, lying on the kitchen table, a disturbing and macabre tribute to the ego of Amir Khadir.
Fashioned after Eugène Delacroix's famous painting, Liberty Leading the People, this version has a Bananarchist waving a black anarchist flag, an armed Khadir himself in a top hat standing over a seemingly dead, half-naked and defeated Jean Charest. To Khadir's right is a masked demonstrator and to his left a riot cop bowing down.
When asked about the artwork, Khadir brushed it off, calling it a 'parody.' Link
When the story caught fire in the Press, Khadir threatened to sue the Journal de Montreal for printing the story of the poster, because it was...err......embarrassing.
There's quite an ego hidden under the usually calm and demure Amir Khadir, who in the last week or so, let slip his alter ego, comparing himself to Gandhi and Martin Luther King, after his own arrest for blocking a street, much to howls of laughter and derision in the Press.
 |
| Yalda arrested at home, in front of a sign calling for civil disobedience. |
When Yalda was first arrested, Khadir told a public audience, that if she did anything wrong she would have to pay the price.
Now that he's had a chance to glimpse at the evidence, the realization that she could go to jail for her acts, he's changed his tune considerably.
For years Khadir has lived a double life, hiding his communist and anarchist affiliations, but no more.
In order to support his daughter, he's now publicly saying that civil disobedience is the route to take in the face of a recalcitrant government;.
"We call on all partners in society.... to disobey this law in a peaceful manner. "- Amir KhadirAt least it's refreshing to finally hear some honesty.
In a courthouse interview, he actaully defended his daughter's violent plan to attack the home of the ex-cabinet minister.
It isn't any wonder that Yalda, at just 20 years old is a violent anarchist, she comes by her radicalism honestly, learning from her parents, who in turn learned from their parents.
From an early age Yalda was dragged to demonstration after demonstration, a hatred for capitalism, Canada, the United States and of course, the old standby, Israel, pumped into her inquiring and absorbent mind.
She is no doubt, the product of her parents radicalism and in some way reminds me of the product of parents who name their children after Hitler, as a salute to their white supremacism. You just know you're going to end up with one screwed up kid.
 |
| Jafar & Amir demonstrating. Like father, like son. |
Grandma Khadir is quite the pistol too, comparing Yalda to poor Palestinian children, whose only crime is throwing stones at police.
In fact she compared the Quebec government to that of the regime of the Shah of Iran, from where she fled to the safety of Canada and remarked to a reporter that she considered Yalda a political prisoner, which made her feel "humiliated to be a Quebecer"
| Grandma Farideh showed up to court arm in arm with grandpa Jafar, so proud of Yalda, that they brought a bouquet of flowers, as if they were attending a recital or graduation. |
Yalda's mom Nima, is another piece of work, a TRUTHER and self-important radical, she actually demanded that police remove their shoes before they conducted a raid in her home.
I bet you're asking yourself if the police complied...........nope they did not.
And then let's not forget Amir's brother who was arrested in France as a member of a terrorist organization (People's Mujahedin of Iran) and who was released after a political campaign by Amir to get him out..
According to the Khadirs themselves, both of the two oldest daughters are militants. Daria hasn't been arrested yet, but if all goes according to plan, Grandma will be bringing her flowers very soon.
Quite the family.....
And you thought the Kardashians were one screwed up family.....
At any rate, since Amir has 'come out' in support of anarchism, questions are being raised as to whether he was involved or knew of his daughter activities.
Police are claiming that when they raided the Casa Khadir, alongside that poster found on the kitchen table was a plan to attack the residence of the Quebec cabinet minister.
So the question remains, what did Khadir know about the plan and when did he find out about it.
Inquiring minds want to know....
Further Reading: Amir Khadir Has a Lot to Hide
Should English Canada Subsidize Separatist Radio Canada?
To contact us Click HERE
The latest story involving a Radio-Canada journalist quitting his job to join the separatist Parti Quebecois as a featured candidate in the next provincial election, should give rise to a debate relating to the number of separatists populating the national broadcaster.
The storm surrounding Pierre Duchesne centers on the fact that he was Radio-Canada's point man covering the National Assembly and is accused of covering the political beat while negotiating his potential candidacy with the Parti Quebec, a clear conflict of interest.
His story that he left Radio-Canada in June of his own volition, never having discussed the issue of his candidacy with the PQ while on the a job, had analysts laughing at the absurdity.
Apparently, the PQ has shown itself to be as deceitful as the Liberals.
In the news conference held by Mr. Duchesne, he was hardly convincing denying that he spoke to the PQ while on the political beat at Radio-Canada.
Mr. Duchesne was a bit nasty and indignant, making himself appear guiltier and guiltier.
"Methinks the journalist doth protest too much"
And so the Liberals have made a complaint to the Quebec Press Council, headed by none other than the infamous John Gomery, the judge who headed the Sponsorhip Scandal Inquiry.
If the complaint goes forward, it'll be interesting to see whether those involved stick to the ludicrous story that they are pedaling today.
By the way, on Mario Dumont's political show the host recalled that when he was leader of the ADQ, he considered Duchesne hostile, a reporter who tried to sabotage the ADQ campaign every which way.
All that being said, the attack by the Liberals is just another political ploy to discredit an opponent. Even if everything they say proves true, it is no biggie.
Journalists joining political parties isn't such a big deal, I don't recall any national stink when Mike Duffy, who covered Canada's Parliament, left his job to be appointed to Canada's Senate, representing the Conservative party.
Don't tell me Duffy didn't have discussions about the appointment while serving as host for a CTV's afternoon political interview show, 'Mike Duffy Live' and as a journalist, he was every bit as partisan as Mr. Duschene and was even reprimanded by the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council for undue partisanship.
Then the case of Peter Kent, now in the federal cabinet, another journo turned Conservative.
At any rate, this isn't the gist of today's blog piece, just a bit of background concerning the steady stream of separatists having careers at Radio-Canada, which includes the likes of Bernard Drainville and Jean-François Lisée and yes, even René Levesque.
That separatist journalists leave Radio-Canada to become PQ militants doesn't bother me at all, but the fact that so many militant separatists are working in Radio-Canada certainly does!
Let us remember that the Radio Canada, the CBC, the National Film Board (Office National du Film) are all subsidized organizations created by Ottawa to foster a national identity and to promote national unity.
It seems a bit disingenuous to employ separatists when the mission of the organization is to promote Canada.
I know you can't exactly vet people over political preferences, but let's be honest, Radio-Canada employs a heckova lot more separatists than federalists, something that should be unacceptable to those who pay the bills.
My separatist friends will argue that they too are taxpayers and as such, deserve representation where their tax dollars help pay the freight.
Now I don't particularly agree with this point of view, that Ottawa should spend federal tax dollars to promote sovereignty, but even if we accept the separatist argument of equal representation, it still doesn't make any sense.
Radio-Canada doesn't just have proportional number of separatists, they make up the vast majority of the on-air news staff and back room reporters!
Quebec's most watched political/entertainment talk-show, Tout le Monde en Parle is hosted by an openly militant sovereigntist, bringing us that certain anti-Canada slant to the issues at hand, each Sunday.
Could you imagine a universe where any Quebec government, either separatist or federalist, would underwrite a prime-time talk-show hosted by Howard Galganov?
I'm not putting forth anything new in stating that Radio-Canada is a hotbed of separatists, it's common knowledge, a fact repeated by bigger and better journalists and bloggers than I.
The most recent manifestation of this love affair with separatists was the decision to hire Gilles Duceppe as a political commentator, immediately after his defeat as Bloc Quebecois leader.
Only a firestorm of criticism had the head honchos at RadCan ducking for cover and ultimately backing down, but the temerity to hire a radical separatist on the Canadian dime, showed how comfortable the powers to be at RadCan are with promoting sovereignty.
Radio-Canada's love affiar with sovereignty goes back all the way to the beginning of the Quebec independence movement itself, Aislin, the Montreal Gazette's award winning political cartoonist took a shot at the issue way back in 1977.
And as for separatist tax dollars, let me tell you who really pays for Radio-Canada.
Here's a chart showing the expenditure for both the CBC and its French equivalent Radio-Canada.
For the 22% of the French population across Canada, Radio Canada's budget for radio and television is $566 million dollars or 38% of the combined CBC/Radio Canada English and French budget.
That represents a 55% premium over what demographics dictate.
It means that over $200 million dollars is taken out of the English CBC to subsidize Radio Canada and out of that $200 million dollars, about $130 million is paid for by Canadian federalists, with about $16 million paid for by separatist taxpayers and about $54 million by advertisers.
So much for fair representation of separatist tax dollars, how about fair representation for federalist tax dollars?
That's right, Jane from Orillia, Robert from Saskatoon, Eric from Smith Falls and the other 32 million federalists in Canada, give a financial premium to Radio-Canada, all so that it can promote sovereignty!
In Canada, its hard to get people politically motivated and so the separatist shenanigans over at Radio Canada are not only tolerated by federalists, but also subsidized!
Here's an example of Radio-Canada promoting sovereignty. On Friday last, viewers of Radio-Canada's news channel, RDI, were treated to a whole hour of Louise Beaudoin shilling for sovereignty.
This wasn't a news story, it was nothing less than an hour long infomercial for sovereignty.
Here's a brief clip, where Beaudoin makes her sovereigntist pitch, after being lobbed a softball by the moderator.
Not to nitpick, but Beaudoin actually misspeaks twice in that short clip.
First she tells viewers that the number of Francophones in Canada is diminishing from census to census, which of course is not true. It is the percentage of francophones which is diminishing.
Second, she states that the number of anglophones outside Quebec who are bilingual is 6%. Again not true.
What she should have said, is the number of Anglophones who speak French is 6%.
At any rate, this is what Radio-Canada has become, an organization chock full of separatists, using Canadian tax money to provide separatists with hundreds and hundreds of hours of air time a year, all to promote the destruction of Canada.
If this is what Radio-Canada's has become, it is time to change things or get rid of the broadcaster altogether.
If separatists want to promote sovereignty over the airways, let them start their own network or buy time on commercial networks.
The recent budget cuts at CBC and Radio-Canada are a fine start, both networks are a waste of taxpayer dollars, but in Radio-Canada's case, we have created an ugly separatist monster and like Frankenstein, it is running amok.
The latest story involving a Radio-Canada journalist quitting his job to join the separatist Parti Quebecois as a featured candidate in the next provincial election, should give rise to a debate relating to the number of separatists populating the national broadcaster.The storm surrounding Pierre Duchesne centers on the fact that he was Radio-Canada's point man covering the National Assembly and is accused of covering the political beat while negotiating his potential candidacy with the Parti Quebec, a clear conflict of interest.
His story that he left Radio-Canada in June of his own volition, never having discussed the issue of his candidacy with the PQ while on the a job, had analysts laughing at the absurdity.
“MONTREAL—Less than a month ago, Radio-Canada journalist Pierre Duchesne was on television rating the performance of Quebec’s provincial leaders on the heels of an uncommonly hot pre-election season.
On Friday, he confirmed that he plans to run in a plum Parti Québécois riding in that election.
In between, Duchesne resigned his position as bureau chief for Radio-Canada at the National Assembly. At the time, he dismissed the already rampant rumours of an impending jump to partisan politics.
In hindsight, it seems he was the last person to find out about the PQ’s designs on his own future.
According to La Presse, Carole Lavallée — a former Bloc Québécois MP with solid connections to the PQ network — was told three months ago that she should not set her sights on the vacant riding of Borduas as it was set aside for “a star candidate from Radio-Canada.”
"....Still, a fair-minded person could question whether Duchesne lived up to the exacting ethical standards that he imposed on the ministers he so recently assessed. On that score, one can only wonder how he — as a journalist — would have commented on the optics of his own actions. " Chantal Hebert, Toronto Sun
Apparently, the PQ has shown itself to be as deceitful as the Liberals.
In the news conference held by Mr. Duchesne, he was hardly convincing denying that he spoke to the PQ while on the political beat at Radio-Canada.
Mr. Duchesne was a bit nasty and indignant, making himself appear guiltier and guiltier.
"Methinks the journalist doth protest too much"
And so the Liberals have made a complaint to the Quebec Press Council, headed by none other than the infamous John Gomery, the judge who headed the Sponsorhip Scandal Inquiry.
If the complaint goes forward, it'll be interesting to see whether those involved stick to the ludicrous story that they are pedaling today.
By the way, on Mario Dumont's political show the host recalled that when he was leader of the ADQ, he considered Duchesne hostile, a reporter who tried to sabotage the ADQ campaign every which way.
All that being said, the attack by the Liberals is just another political ploy to discredit an opponent. Even if everything they say proves true, it is no biggie.
Journalists joining political parties isn't such a big deal, I don't recall any national stink when Mike Duffy, who covered Canada's Parliament, left his job to be appointed to Canada's Senate, representing the Conservative party.
Don't tell me Duffy didn't have discussions about the appointment while serving as host for a CTV's afternoon political interview show, 'Mike Duffy Live' and as a journalist, he was every bit as partisan as Mr. Duschene and was even reprimanded by the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council for undue partisanship.
Then the case of Peter Kent, now in the federal cabinet, another journo turned Conservative.
At any rate, this isn't the gist of today's blog piece, just a bit of background concerning the steady stream of separatists having careers at Radio-Canada, which includes the likes of Bernard Drainville and Jean-François Lisée and yes, even René Levesque.
That separatist journalists leave Radio-Canada to become PQ militants doesn't bother me at all, but the fact that so many militant separatists are working in Radio-Canada certainly does!
Let us remember that the Radio Canada, the CBC, the National Film Board (Office National du Film) are all subsidized organizations created by Ottawa to foster a national identity and to promote national unity.
It seems a bit disingenuous to employ separatists when the mission of the organization is to promote Canada.
I know you can't exactly vet people over political preferences, but let's be honest, Radio-Canada employs a heckova lot more separatists than federalists, something that should be unacceptable to those who pay the bills.
My separatist friends will argue that they too are taxpayers and as such, deserve representation where their tax dollars help pay the freight.
Now I don't particularly agree with this point of view, that Ottawa should spend federal tax dollars to promote sovereignty, but even if we accept the separatist argument of equal representation, it still doesn't make any sense.
Radio-Canada doesn't just have proportional number of separatists, they make up the vast majority of the on-air news staff and back room reporters!
Quebec's most watched political/entertainment talk-show, Tout le Monde en Parle is hosted by an openly militant sovereigntist, bringing us that certain anti-Canada slant to the issues at hand, each Sunday.
Could you imagine a universe where any Quebec government, either separatist or federalist, would underwrite a prime-time talk-show hosted by Howard Galganov?
I'm not putting forth anything new in stating that Radio-Canada is a hotbed of separatists, it's common knowledge, a fact repeated by bigger and better journalists and bloggers than I.
The most recent manifestation of this love affair with separatists was the decision to hire Gilles Duceppe as a political commentator, immediately after his defeat as Bloc Quebecois leader.
Only a firestorm of criticism had the head honchos at RadCan ducking for cover and ultimately backing down, but the temerity to hire a radical separatist on the Canadian dime, showed how comfortable the powers to be at RadCan are with promoting sovereignty.
Radio-Canada's love affiar with sovereignty goes back all the way to the beginning of the Quebec independence movement itself, Aislin, the Montreal Gazette's award winning political cartoonist took a shot at the issue way back in 1977.
 |
| "Me a separatist at Radio-Canada? It's not true, otherwise they'd have given me the job they promised in October! |
Here's a chart showing the expenditure for both the CBC and its French equivalent Radio-Canada.
For the 22% of the French population across Canada, Radio Canada's budget for radio and television is $566 million dollars or 38% of the combined CBC/Radio Canada English and French budget.
That represents a 55% premium over what demographics dictate.
It means that over $200 million dollars is taken out of the English CBC to subsidize Radio Canada and out of that $200 million dollars, about $130 million is paid for by Canadian federalists, with about $16 million paid for by separatist taxpayers and about $54 million by advertisers.
So much for fair representation of separatist tax dollars, how about fair representation for federalist tax dollars?
That's right, Jane from Orillia, Robert from Saskatoon, Eric from Smith Falls and the other 32 million federalists in Canada, give a financial premium to Radio-Canada, all so that it can promote sovereignty!
In Canada, its hard to get people politically motivated and so the separatist shenanigans over at Radio Canada are not only tolerated by federalists, but also subsidized!
Here's an example of Radio-Canada promoting sovereignty. On Friday last, viewers of Radio-Canada's news channel, RDI, were treated to a whole hour of Louise Beaudoin shilling for sovereignty.
This wasn't a news story, it was nothing less than an hour long infomercial for sovereignty.
Here's a brief clip, where Beaudoin makes her sovereigntist pitch, after being lobbed a softball by the moderator.
Not to nitpick, but Beaudoin actually misspeaks twice in that short clip.
First she tells viewers that the number of Francophones in Canada is diminishing from census to census, which of course is not true. It is the percentage of francophones which is diminishing.
Second, she states that the number of anglophones outside Quebec who are bilingual is 6%. Again not true.
What she should have said, is the number of Anglophones who speak French is 6%.
At any rate, this is what Radio-Canada has become, an organization chock full of separatists, using Canadian tax money to provide separatists with hundreds and hundreds of hours of air time a year, all to promote the destruction of Canada.
If this is what Radio-Canada's has become, it is time to change things or get rid of the broadcaster altogether.
If separatists want to promote sovereignty over the airways, let them start their own network or buy time on commercial networks.
The recent budget cuts at CBC and Radio-Canada are a fine start, both networks are a waste of taxpayer dollars, but in Radio-Canada's case, we have created an ugly separatist monster and like Frankenstein, it is running amok.
8 Temmuz 2012 Pazar
Have some Fun this Summer
To contact us Click HERE
I'm going off on a short blog vacation and since my expat son and his family are returning to Montreal for a visit, for my wife and I, it will be a very satisfying staycation, spoiling rotten our very first grandchild.
Montreal weather for the next few days is sunny+ 30°, so it's a crime not to take advantage.
I know I promised a rebuttal piece on signage in downtown Montreal, but I've decided that it needs a lot more research and so I'll be pounding the downtown pavement over the next little while, preparing an exhaustive study which I believe will be more honest and instructive than that of the OQLF.
Whenever I go off for a bit of a blog vacation, I like to leave on a positive note, so don't expect any serious bitching and moaning today, rather the opposite.
I'll leave with a bunch of observations not necessarily good or bad, but typically Montreal, which is to say wacky and unbelievable...
Students How about those students going to court to try and overturn Law 78, which places restrictions on demonstrators and holds student unions financially responsible.
It reminds me of the old joke where a man who murders his parents asks the sentencing judge for clemency, considering that he is now an orphan!
Students and their associations have spit on the law, inflicting mayhem and disorder, treating the public to a sad demonstration of selfish self-indulgence.
They have displayed an utter disdain for the law, ignoring dozens of injunctions, but now are running to court to have the law come to their aid. How hypocritical!
The icing on the cake is that in part of their pleading to the court, they refer to their constitutional rights included in the Canadian constitution, a constitution that every one them would argue otherwise, doesn't not apply to Quebec because the province never signed on. Ha!!
Anarchists
How sweet is it to see anarchists complaining that the police aren't playing fair, by 'socially profiling' them ahead of last weekend's Grand Prix.
It seems police subjected certain people to selective searches according to their dress, demeanor and whether they were wearing a red square, symbol of the student protest.
Despite the complaints, the police did mange to intercept a few people carrying weapons and assorted items to be potentially used in disturbing the Grand Prix. In fact nothing got through. Bravo. Link
Perpetual whiner and scoflaw himself, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, the ex-leader of the most militant student association, whined like a little girl at the unfairness of it all.
After all, if police don't play by the rules, how's an anarchist supposed to plan ahead? Read more
Here's picture proof that the Montreal police were stretched to the limits last weekend. The cop in the picture on the right is gently directing a protester away. What's strange?
He's a CAPTAIN.
Check out the bars on his shoulders and the 'scrambled eggs' on the hat. I bet he hasn't been out on street patrol in ten years!
After being badly outplayed by protesters for the first few months, police have bounced back and retaken the offensive as best demonstrated by their interventions during Grand Prix week.
The arrest of Yalda Machouf-Khadir early in the morning sent a signal that its going to go rough for anarchists.
Police actually stopped a car in the middle of the highway to arrest a man they'd been looking for in relation to anarchist activities.
The car was taking the hapless dude to his sister's funeral.
Did the police care.. Nope, they probably had a good laugh about it.
As I said, it's getting rough.
Dany Villanueva
Ever since the incident where Dany's younger brother Fredy, died in a confrontation with police, Dany has been a target of police as payback for the trouble and embarrassment he and his family has put them through.
Dany is not exactly a mastermind or evil genius, just your average low-life criminal and not particularly bright.
His criminal career has finally got him a deportation order back to his native Honduras, thanks to a loophole wherein Dany never became a Canadian citizen. BIG MISTAKE!!
While he remains in Canada while his case is endlessly appealed, cops have a special place in their hearts for Dany and keep a sharp eye out for him.
The latest chapter in the Dany Villanueva saga is particularly amusing.
Sharp-eyed cops saw Dany loitering with a group of fellow scumbags and rousted them as is their SOP (standard operating procedure.)
Dany gave a false name to police when asked to identify himself, apparently a crime, and so it led to a search which produced some cannabis. Read about his exploits
Poor Dany...
Did he really believe that there's a cop in the city that doesn't have his face imprinted on their brain?
I wouldn't be surprised if there isn't some sort of bounty paid to any cop arresting the unfortunate boob.
According to Dany's lawyer, a publicity hound named Stéphane Handfield, the arrest shouldn't affect his appeal because he had been told that an acquittal in another case wouldn't affect his deportation appeal either.
Does that make any sense? Probably...
Of course he was rushed before a judge for breaking bail conditions and was promptly released on $500 bail.
Does that make any sense? Probably not...
Paybacks a bitch
I was glad to see my friend Jacques Duchesneau deliver some well deserved payback, having been treated ever so shabbily by his employer (the government) and the media. Link
In testimony before the Charbonneau Commission he unloaded on Sam Hadad, the Transport Minister who he accused of being disinterested in his investigation as soon as Jacques informed him that it was moving in a political direction.
POOF!!
Duchesneau was fired, but not before leaking his report to to the Press!
Read my blog piece: The Assassination of Jacques Duchesneau
No election soon
Contrary to what the newspapers have been telling you over and over again about a Spring and now Fall election, it isn't going to happen and I've told you why over and over again.
Jean Charest cannot hold his own riding, the polling numbers aren't there. He only won the riding by a narrow margin in both the last two elections and things have gone downhill from there.
With his popularity in the toilet, it would be personal suicide to call an election this year.
If his numbers don't improve, he'll probably resign in the spring to save himself the embarrassment of losing his own seat.
On the other hand, things may improve, you never know, this is Quebec.
At any rate you heard it here before and I'm repeating it now. No election this year....
Canada's worst teacher You got to laugh or cry at the abysmal judgment displayed by a high school teacher that showed the murder and dismemberment video on Lin Jun to his high school class.
How bad was his judgment?
It made the Drudge Report, where only the weirdest and wackiest stories make the grade. Link
Whatever happened to firing idiots and thieves on the spot?
Of course, that can't happen with a government job, where unions rule the roost.
The teacher has been suspended WITH PAY, until a hearing determining what the final outcome of his case.
I repeat.....with pay!
WAIT>>>>WAIT>>>>
I spoke too soon, the teacher has been fired.....LINK
Finally, some good economic news
Quebec received some good economic news with unemployment falling to 7.8%, the same rate as Ontario's. Link
The Quebec engineering firm, Genivar is mounting a massive takeover of a rival, three times as big as itself with the backing of the Caisse de dépôt.
Finally something positive from the Caisse, investing in Quebec companies on the move.
LINK
Private jet company NetJets Inc. signed a deal Monday to buy up to 275 Bombardier Challenger business jets that could be worth up to US$7.3 billion. There are 100 firm orders and options on 175 more. Read more
See not all the news is bad!
Etcetera First Canadian judge to ever stand trial for murder found guilty of shooting his wife
Quebec government didn’t care about corruption report, says whistleblower
To all of you who enjoy snickering at Quebec, I'll leave with my favorite story of the week;
Carleton University teams up with Iranian embassy to honour Ayatollah Khomeini
I'm off until Monday, July 2 but will moderating comments all the while. Please continue to email me with story ideas. See you all soon!
Montreal weather for the next few days is sunny+ 30°, so it's a crime not to take advantage.
I know I promised a rebuttal piece on signage in downtown Montreal, but I've decided that it needs a lot more research and so I'll be pounding the downtown pavement over the next little while, preparing an exhaustive study which I believe will be more honest and instructive than that of the OQLF.
Whenever I go off for a bit of a blog vacation, I like to leave on a positive note, so don't expect any serious bitching and moaning today, rather the opposite.
I'll leave with a bunch of observations not necessarily good or bad, but typically Montreal, which is to say wacky and unbelievable...
Students How about those students going to court to try and overturn Law 78, which places restrictions on demonstrators and holds student unions financially responsible.
It reminds me of the old joke where a man who murders his parents asks the sentencing judge for clemency, considering that he is now an orphan!
Students and their associations have spit on the law, inflicting mayhem and disorder, treating the public to a sad demonstration of selfish self-indulgence.
They have displayed an utter disdain for the law, ignoring dozens of injunctions, but now are running to court to have the law come to their aid. How hypocritical!
The icing on the cake is that in part of their pleading to the court, they refer to their constitutional rights included in the Canadian constitution, a constitution that every one them would argue otherwise, doesn't not apply to Quebec because the province never signed on. Ha!!
Anarchists
How sweet is it to see anarchists complaining that the police aren't playing fair, by 'socially profiling' them ahead of last weekend's Grand Prix.It seems police subjected certain people to selective searches according to their dress, demeanor and whether they were wearing a red square, symbol of the student protest.
Despite the complaints, the police did mange to intercept a few people carrying weapons and assorted items to be potentially used in disturbing the Grand Prix. In fact nothing got through. Bravo. Link
Perpetual whiner and scoflaw himself, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, the ex-leader of the most militant student association, whined like a little girl at the unfairness of it all.
After all, if police don't play by the rules, how's an anarchist supposed to plan ahead? Read more
Here's picture proof that the Montreal police were stretched to the limits last weekend. The cop in the picture on the right is gently directing a protester away. What's strange?He's a CAPTAIN.
Check out the bars on his shoulders and the 'scrambled eggs' on the hat. I bet he hasn't been out on street patrol in ten years!
After being badly outplayed by protesters for the first few months, police have bounced back and retaken the offensive as best demonstrated by their interventions during Grand Prix week.
The arrest of Yalda Machouf-Khadir early in the morning sent a signal that its going to go rough for anarchists.
Police actually stopped a car in the middle of the highway to arrest a man they'd been looking for in relation to anarchist activities.
The car was taking the hapless dude to his sister's funeral.
Did the police care.. Nope, they probably had a good laugh about it.
As I said, it's getting rough.
Dany Villanueva
Ever since the incident where Dany's younger brother Fredy, died in a confrontation with police, Dany has been a target of police as payback for the trouble and embarrassment he and his family has put them through.Dany is not exactly a mastermind or evil genius, just your average low-life criminal and not particularly bright.
His criminal career has finally got him a deportation order back to his native Honduras, thanks to a loophole wherein Dany never became a Canadian citizen. BIG MISTAKE!!
While he remains in Canada while his case is endlessly appealed, cops have a special place in their hearts for Dany and keep a sharp eye out for him.
The latest chapter in the Dany Villanueva saga is particularly amusing.
Sharp-eyed cops saw Dany loitering with a group of fellow scumbags and rousted them as is their SOP (standard operating procedure.)
Dany gave a false name to police when asked to identify himself, apparently a crime, and so it led to a search which produced some cannabis. Read about his exploits
Poor Dany...
Did he really believe that there's a cop in the city that doesn't have his face imprinted on their brain?
I wouldn't be surprised if there isn't some sort of bounty paid to any cop arresting the unfortunate boob.
According to Dany's lawyer, a publicity hound named Stéphane Handfield, the arrest shouldn't affect his appeal because he had been told that an acquittal in another case wouldn't affect his deportation appeal either.
Does that make any sense? Probably...
Of course he was rushed before a judge for breaking bail conditions and was promptly released on $500 bail.
Does that make any sense? Probably not...
Paybacks a bitch
I was glad to see my friend Jacques Duchesneau deliver some well deserved payback, having been treated ever so shabbily by his employer (the government) and the media. LinkIn testimony before the Charbonneau Commission he unloaded on Sam Hadad, the Transport Minister who he accused of being disinterested in his investigation as soon as Jacques informed him that it was moving in a political direction.
POOF!!
Duchesneau was fired, but not before leaking his report to to the Press!
Read my blog piece: The Assassination of Jacques Duchesneau
No election soon
Contrary to what the newspapers have been telling you over and over again about a Spring and now Fall election, it isn't going to happen and I've told you why over and over again.
Jean Charest cannot hold his own riding, the polling numbers aren't there. He only won the riding by a narrow margin in both the last two elections and things have gone downhill from there.
With his popularity in the toilet, it would be personal suicide to call an election this year.
If his numbers don't improve, he'll probably resign in the spring to save himself the embarrassment of losing his own seat.
On the other hand, things may improve, you never know, this is Quebec.
At any rate you heard it here before and I'm repeating it now. No election this year....
Canada's worst teacher You got to laugh or cry at the abysmal judgment displayed by a high school teacher that showed the murder and dismemberment video on Lin Jun to his high school class.
How bad was his judgment?
It made the Drudge Report, where only the weirdest and wackiest stories make the grade. Link
Whatever happened to firing idiots and thieves on the spot?
Of course, that can't happen with a government job, where unions rule the roost.
The teacher has been suspended WITH PAY, until a hearing determining what the final outcome of his case.
I repeat.....with pay!
WAIT>>>>WAIT>>>>
I spoke too soon, the teacher has been fired.....LINK
Finally, some good economic news
Quebec received some good economic news with unemployment falling to 7.8%, the same rate as Ontario's. Link
The Quebec engineering firm, Genivar is mounting a massive takeover of a rival, three times as big as itself with the backing of the Caisse de dépôt.
Finally something positive from the Caisse, investing in Quebec companies on the move.
LINK
Private jet company NetJets Inc. signed a deal Monday to buy up to 275 Bombardier Challenger business jets that could be worth up to US$7.3 billion. There are 100 firm orders and options on 175 more. Read more
See not all the news is bad!
Etcetera First Canadian judge to ever stand trial for murder found guilty of shooting his wife
Quebec government didn’t care about corruption report, says whistleblower
To all of you who enjoy snickering at Quebec, I'll leave with my favorite story of the week;
Carleton University teams up with Iranian embassy to honour Ayatollah Khomeini
I'm off until Monday, July 2 but will moderating comments all the while. Please continue to email me with story ideas. See you all soon!
OQLF Rolls the Dice
To contact us Click HERE
I have to apologize to readers for a serious error in analysis in not putting two and two together, when I failed to make the connection between several big retailers seeking legal opinions (which I told you about) in regard to French descriptors and the likely scenario whereby they received a demand letter from the OQLF.
Companies don't usually seek legal advice over hypothicals, especially in this case where the OQLF did nothing for thirty-five years.
At any rate the OQLF has ripped a page out of the Camille Laurin playbook, in pursuing a legal position that is not defensible in the belief that whether their legal position is right or wrong, losing is as good as winning.
Either way they will be seen as the ultimate defender of the French language and if and when the agency suffers the inevitable court defeat, they will throw up their hands as a the ultimate victim and declare that it's not their fault.
The big retailers that received letters threatening that their Francisation certificate will be withdrawn if they don't knuckle over, ARE NOT rolling over, and intend on fighting for their good name in court, something the OQLF had hoped would not happen, but accepted that could. They are used to small merchants buckling over and have perhaps met their match with the big boys.
One of the companies involved leaked a story to Le Devoir indicating that the powerhouse law firm of Norton-Rose, has given a written opinion to its client that the OQLF is misinterpreting the law.
The Le Devoir story goes on to say that the OQLF can expect a powerful legal counter-attack by one of the most capable law firms in Canada.
This isn't going to be a David and Goliath fight, the OQLF will be facing millions of dollars in legal bills as the fight will be protracted.
Ultimately, whichever side loses, will appeal and it's likely the Supreme Court will be asked to rule on the matter in about five long years.
What's important is the interim, where if the OQLF strips the companies of their French certificate unilaterally, we can expect those companies affected to seek injunctive relief, that is to say, a judicial stay until the case is ultimately resolved.
The companies will have ample grounds to win an injunction, since stripping a company of a French certificate based on the same law under which the 'OQLF issued it, is problematic, especially since the clauses referred to, haven't changed.
If the companies were 'non-compliant' years ago, why did the OQLF issue the certificate then?
A judge will have to consider the fact that even if the OQLF's position is somehow validated in law, its tolerance of the breach for so many years affords the companies an acquired right.
At any rate, there is ample grounds to allow an injunction barring any unilateral action by the OQLF.
If the court does grant such an injunction, it will be a devastating setback to the OQLF, a situation where they lose the first critical round.
The Le Devoir article, based on deliberately leaked information spells out the companies' position rather succinctly, they'll go down fighting with the support of the Retail Council of Canada, which is backing the companies to the hilt and devoting their considerable weight to the side opposing the OQLF initiative.
There are some interesting nuggets that I've mined in relation to the case.
It seems that the OQLF initiative may violate the North American Free Trade Agreement(NAFTA)
Remember what he said just two months ago.
Two final thoughts.
Although, I believe the OQLF will lose this legal battle because of the flawed way they are directly imposing modifiers on trademarks, there is more than one way to skin a cat.
A slightly different approach would have yielded the same result but would have required an amendment to Bill 101.
What is that amendment?........Sorry, I not going to help make their case.
At any rate, I'm not sure if the OQLF will be happier if they win or happier if they lose. After all the image of the downtrodden and abused francophone nation at the hand of the evil overlords in the RoC, is a role they have relished ever since the birth of the quite revolution.
And now, just a clarification;
There seems to be a misunderstanding of the powers of the OQLF which is being circulated in the press.
The OQLF CANNOT fine anybody, the only action they can take undertake unilaterally is to revoke a French language certificate from a company holding one.
When we are told in the press that companies can be fined up to $25,000, it isn't the OQLF that can assess the fine, only the court.
The OQLF must refer offending cases for public prosecution and it is the court that will determine the penalty after a guilty verdict. The law provides for a maximum fine of $25,000 which a judge may or may not impose.
No OQLF inspector can walk into an establishment and issue a ticket like a police officer.
I've come out of my vacation to offer a reader platform for this very important issue.
I have to apologize to readers for a serious error in analysis in not putting two and two together, when I failed to make the connection between several big retailers seeking legal opinions (which I told you about) in regard to French descriptors and the likely scenario whereby they received a demand letter from the OQLF.Companies don't usually seek legal advice over hypothicals, especially in this case where the OQLF did nothing for thirty-five years.
At any rate the OQLF has ripped a page out of the Camille Laurin playbook, in pursuing a legal position that is not defensible in the belief that whether their legal position is right or wrong, losing is as good as winning.
Either way they will be seen as the ultimate defender of the French language and if and when the agency suffers the inevitable court defeat, they will throw up their hands as a the ultimate victim and declare that it's not their fault.
The big retailers that received letters threatening that their Francisation certificate will be withdrawn if they don't knuckle over, ARE NOT rolling over, and intend on fighting for their good name in court, something the OQLF had hoped would not happen, but accepted that could. They are used to small merchants buckling over and have perhaps met their match with the big boys.
One of the companies involved leaked a story to Le Devoir indicating that the powerhouse law firm of Norton-Rose, has given a written opinion to its client that the OQLF is misinterpreting the law.
The Le Devoir story goes on to say that the OQLF can expect a powerful legal counter-attack by one of the most capable law firms in Canada.
This isn't going to be a David and Goliath fight, the OQLF will be facing millions of dollars in legal bills as the fight will be protracted.
Ultimately, whichever side loses, will appeal and it's likely the Supreme Court will be asked to rule on the matter in about five long years.
What's important is the interim, where if the OQLF strips the companies of their French certificate unilaterally, we can expect those companies affected to seek injunctive relief, that is to say, a judicial stay until the case is ultimately resolved.
The companies will have ample grounds to win an injunction, since stripping a company of a French certificate based on the same law under which the 'OQLF issued it, is problematic, especially since the clauses referred to, haven't changed.
If the companies were 'non-compliant' years ago, why did the OQLF issue the certificate then?
A judge will have to consider the fact that even if the OQLF's position is somehow validated in law, its tolerance of the breach for so many years affords the companies an acquired right.
At any rate, there is ample grounds to allow an injunction barring any unilateral action by the OQLF.
If the court does grant such an injunction, it will be a devastating setback to the OQLF, a situation where they lose the first critical round.
The Le Devoir article, based on deliberately leaked information spells out the companies' position rather succinctly, they'll go down fighting with the support of the Retail Council of Canada, which is backing the companies to the hilt and devoting their considerable weight to the side opposing the OQLF initiative.
There are some interesting nuggets that I've mined in relation to the case.
It seems that the OQLF initiative may violate the North American Free Trade Agreement(NAFTA)
Article 1708: Trademarks LinkMartin Bergeron ,a spokesman for the OQLF sounded somewhat guarded in the defending the OQLF's legal position saying;
10. No Party may encumber the use of a trademark in commerce by special requirements, such as a use that reduces the trademark's function as an indication of source or a use with another trademark.
"We have our jurists, we have conducted our research, and we're very comfortable with our legal position.
("On a nos juristes, on a fait nos vérifications et on est très à l’aise avec notre position juridique », a assuré Martin Bergeron.")Not exactly a statement ringing with confidence.
Remember what he said just two months ago.
"We verified our legal interpretation before proceeding. We understand others don't have the same interpretation as us.("On a vérifié notre interprétation juridique avant d'aller de l'avant. On comprend qu'il y a des gens qui n'ont pas la même interprétation que nous», a-t-il lancé."Readers should be reminded that a previous Quebec government was already advised that it was on shaky grounds if it tried to force modifiers on the public.
Two final thoughts.
Although, I believe the OQLF will lose this legal battle because of the flawed way they are directly imposing modifiers on trademarks, there is more than one way to skin a cat.
A slightly different approach would have yielded the same result but would have required an amendment to Bill 101.
What is that amendment?........Sorry, I not going to help make their case.
At any rate, I'm not sure if the OQLF will be happier if they win or happier if they lose. After all the image of the downtrodden and abused francophone nation at the hand of the evil overlords in the RoC, is a role they have relished ever since the birth of the quite revolution.
And now, just a clarification;
There seems to be a misunderstanding of the powers of the OQLF which is being circulated in the press.
The OQLF CANNOT fine anybody, the only action they can take undertake unilaterally is to revoke a French language certificate from a company holding one.
When we are told in the press that companies can be fined up to $25,000, it isn't the OQLF that can assess the fine, only the court.
The OQLF must refer offending cases for public prosecution and it is the court that will determine the penalty after a guilty verdict. The law provides for a maximum fine of $25,000 which a judge may or may not impose.
No OQLF inspector can walk into an establishment and issue a ticket like a police officer.
I've come out of my vacation to offer a reader platform for this very important issue.
Peel & Stick Solution for French Appliances
To contact us Click HERE
I've come out of my vacation to open up a new thread, since some are complaining that the comments section, with close to 300 posts, is getting a bit unwieldy.
I'm not going to get into a long well-thought out post, I'm supposed to be on vacation and so offer this quickie to allow for reader reactions.
This time the offenders are appliances carrying words such as: bake, broil, spin cycle and sensor cook. The Office de la Langue Francaise said that about 1,100 of the 7,600 complaints it received last year focused on the language of words printed on appliances. Only about 20 percent of appliances sold in Quebec are souped up with French texts, according to the agency. The government will ask appliance manufacturers to include French words on their machines." " Read more:
Personally, I'd suggest providing each appliance with a sheet of Peel'n Stick French labels, but I'm not sure this will satisfy the OQLF.
Producing and replacing the instruction panel has some related costs to it and it begs several questions.
Question Number 1
Will those appliances that have additional French labeling cost more than the English counterparts sold in Ontario?
Question Number 2
Should all appliances sold across Canada be bilingual, even if it means an increase in costs?
Question Number 3
If the French labeling rules apply only to Quebec product, should Quebecers bear the cost or should the cost of bilingual labeling be borne by all Canadians?
In other words should the bilingual appliances and the English appliances sold in the rest of Canada be sold at the same, slightly higher price.
Question Number 4
If bilingual Quebec appliances cost more than those sold in Ontario, will the government ban retailers from shipping English only product into Quebec, even to anglophones.
Remember my blog piece- Buzz Lightyear?
Question Number 5
How come the car companies, the BIGGEST OFFENDERS aren't included in this new initiative by the Quebec government.
Question Number 6
How desperate is the Quebec Liberal government and to what lengths will it go to prove its bone fides in the language debate?
Come to think of it, if they apply the rules of Bill 101 to cegep, won't they MATCH PERFECTLY the Parti Quebecois language policy.
...just asking.
I'm not going to get into a long well-thought out post, I'm supposed to be on vacation and so offer this quickie to allow for reader reactions.
Language bureaucrats take aim at appliance wording
"Quebec’s language bureaucrats are taking aim at appliances. This time the offenders are appliances carrying words such as: bake, broil, spin cycle and sensor cook. The Office de la Langue Francaise said that about 1,100 of the 7,600 complaints it received last year focused on the language of words printed on appliances. Only about 20 percent of appliances sold in Quebec are souped up with French texts, according to the agency. The government will ask appliance manufacturers to include French words on their machines." " Read more:Personally, I'd suggest providing each appliance with a sheet of Peel'n Stick French labels, but I'm not sure this will satisfy the OQLF.
Producing and replacing the instruction panel has some related costs to it and it begs several questions.
Question Number 1
Will those appliances that have additional French labeling cost more than the English counterparts sold in Ontario?
Question Number 2
Should all appliances sold across Canada be bilingual, even if it means an increase in costs?
Question Number 3
If the French labeling rules apply only to Quebec product, should Quebecers bear the cost or should the cost of bilingual labeling be borne by all Canadians?
In other words should the bilingual appliances and the English appliances sold in the rest of Canada be sold at the same, slightly higher price.
Question Number 4
If bilingual Quebec appliances cost more than those sold in Ontario, will the government ban retailers from shipping English only product into Quebec, even to anglophones.
Remember my blog piece- Buzz Lightyear?
Question Number 5
How come the car companies, the BIGGEST OFFENDERS aren't included in this new initiative by the Quebec government.
Question Number 6
How desperate is the Quebec Liberal government and to what lengths will it go to prove its bone fides in the language debate?
Come to think of it, if they apply the rules of Bill 101 to cegep, won't they MATCH PERFECTLY the Parti Quebecois language policy.
...just asking.
McGill University Medical School Decline was Inevitable
To contact us Click HERE
Almost a year ago, I wrote about McGill University Medical school lowering its standards in order to attract more francophone students. It seems that this decision has led the chickens to come home to roost.
Back then I wrote;
The university has been under fire for several years by French language militants who complained bitterly that over half of the McGill medical graduates end up leaving the province to pursue a career in greener pastures. According to these militants, it's unfair to subsidize doctors leaving to work elsewhere.
By the way, these are the same people who I imagine, believe it's just dandy to poach doctors from third world countries to work in Quebec, but I digress....
Instead of defending itself against the scurrilous charges that intimates that it is somehow the fault of the Anglo doctors, instead of the facts on the ground, McGill decided to capitulate and set out to accept more francophone students into the program to help stem the tide.
It was a classic cave-in that has contributed to McGill losing its place as the premier medical school in Canada.
According to QS World University Rankings® McGill remains Canada's best university but is losing ground fast.
In 2009 McGill was the 10th highest rated medical school in the world, but has slipped to 24th in the two years following.
The University of Toronto's medical school which now ranks 16th in the world, takes over from McGill as Canada's best medical school.
Small consolation is the fact that according to the report, Montreal remains the best student city in Canada ranking 10th in the world, while Toronto remains 26th.
A few more student demonstrations and intemperate acts of depravity and that can change too.
The precipitous fall is likely attributed to the decision to drop the critically important MCAT (Medical College Admission Test) exam, a decision made by panicked administrators.
While schools like McMaster and University of Ottawa don't require MCATs, elite programs most certainly do.
In the United States, the MCAT score is typically given as much weight as GPA.
The MCAT is a formidable test and requires months and months of study. It is available in English only and taking the test in a second language, regardless of the student's dedication and proficiency, is enough of a handicap to hurt outcomes.
As I said, the MCAT is dastardly difficult.
And so the decision was made to flood the medical school with francophones, throwing standards out the window in the process.
Congratulations....
On a certain level I can understand McGill's decision to add the francophone element.
As it stands now, under the new admissions policy, anglophones represent about 91 out of the 810 medical school slots across Quebec, a reasonable demographic representation, to be fair.
It is just sad that in order to even things up, standards had to be slashed and a world-class reputation sacrificed.
As for the knock that McGill graduates leave the province, who is really to blame for that?
One of the principle reasons that so many McGill graduates leave is that there are just no jobs available. McGill turns out a great deal of specialists, something that the Quebec government has deemed to be in oversupply.
In Quebec, a doctor needs a government issued license (PREM) to practice and without a PREM, there's little chance to practice.
Even in family medicine, PREMS for anglos in the Montreal area are few and far between.
The reaction of the health minister is to tell anglos that there are jobs available, if they are willing to move to Chibougamau or Val D'Or, or some other godforsaken backwoods hick-town, something not entirely appetizing to an Anglo Montrealer.
The government's rationale in all this, is that while Montreal lacks family doctors, the need is greater in the hinterland and until the gap is narrowed...it's no soup for you, young doctor!
Read this excellent explanation of the ridiculous situation;
Making sense of Montreal’s family doctor shortage
This in a province where 25% of the people don't have a family physician.
And so there is a steady stream of highly-trained young doctors leaving Quebec, taking their Quebec paid education with them to practice, mostly in the United States, many not by choice.
I know of one New York City hospital that has three McGill grads on staff, each chased out of Quebec because of a lack of jobs.
This last month a young thoracic surgeon that I know of, left after seven years of residency, because no Quebec job was forthcoming. Thirty years of education and training frittered away by this province.
For young francophone doctors, its more difficult to leave, most are a prisoner of culture and language.
Most doctors on the francophone side take the fast-tracked, pre-med cegep route to medical school, where English as a second language is largely ignored.
For them, moving out of Quebec is not an option and so like teachers and other unilingual professionals, they are forced to accept an incredibly steep 'home team discount'
For Anglo doctors, the combination of nonexistent or decidedly poor prospects, makes the decision to leave easy, but nonetheless, very painful.
Most graduating anglo doctors want nothing more than to serve their community in their own home town and its more than a little bit sad for them and for us that they leave.
Trust me readers.... on this, I know.
Almost a year ago, I wrote about McGill University Medical school lowering its standards in order to attract more francophone students. It seems that this decision has led the chickens to come home to roost. Back then I wrote;
"In one fell swoop McGill has destroyed its reputation. It is in the process of turning itself from an elite program into a run of the mill secondary medical school.Sadly my prediction has come true, McGill's medical school's world ranking has plummeted and it likely has to do with that dreadful decision to cave in to language extremists.
It's sad.....
All of you over at the University of Toronto medical school.... STOP LAUGHING!!!!! McGill Caves in to Language Pressure- Affirmative action Arrives
The university has been under fire for several years by French language militants who complained bitterly that over half of the McGill medical graduates end up leaving the province to pursue a career in greener pastures. According to these militants, it's unfair to subsidize doctors leaving to work elsewhere.
By the way, these are the same people who I imagine, believe it's just dandy to poach doctors from third world countries to work in Quebec, but I digress....
Instead of defending itself against the scurrilous charges that intimates that it is somehow the fault of the Anglo doctors, instead of the facts on the ground, McGill decided to capitulate and set out to accept more francophone students into the program to help stem the tide.
It was a classic cave-in that has contributed to McGill losing its place as the premier medical school in Canada.
According to QS World University Rankings® McGill remains Canada's best university but is losing ground fast.
In 2009 McGill was the 10th highest rated medical school in the world, but has slipped to 24th in the two years following.
The University of Toronto's medical school which now ranks 16th in the world, takes over from McGill as Canada's best medical school.
Small consolation is the fact that according to the report, Montreal remains the best student city in Canada ranking 10th in the world, while Toronto remains 26th.
A few more student demonstrations and intemperate acts of depravity and that can change too.
The precipitous fall is likely attributed to the decision to drop the critically important MCAT (Medical College Admission Test) exam, a decision made by panicked administrators.
"Dr. Saleem Razack, assistant dean of admissions for medicine says McGill would have kept the MCAT requirement if there was a French equivalent. “But we want to make sure there’s no barrier for a major segment of our population.” LinkThe exam is a standardized test (like the LSAT for lawyers) and is the principle tool that just about all medical schools in the United States and most in Canada, use to evaluate candidates.
While schools like McMaster and University of Ottawa don't require MCATs, elite programs most certainly do.
In the United States, the MCAT score is typically given as much weight as GPA.
The MCAT is a formidable test and requires months and months of study. It is available in English only and taking the test in a second language, regardless of the student's dedication and proficiency, is enough of a handicap to hurt outcomes.
As I said, the MCAT is dastardly difficult.
And so the decision was made to flood the medical school with francophones, throwing standards out the window in the process.
Congratulations....
On a certain level I can understand McGill's decision to add the francophone element.
As it stands now, under the new admissions policy, anglophones represent about 91 out of the 810 medical school slots across Quebec, a reasonable demographic representation, to be fair.
It is just sad that in order to even things up, standards had to be slashed and a world-class reputation sacrificed.
As for the knock that McGill graduates leave the province, who is really to blame for that?
One of the principle reasons that so many McGill graduates leave is that there are just no jobs available. McGill turns out a great deal of specialists, something that the Quebec government has deemed to be in oversupply.
In Quebec, a doctor needs a government issued license (PREM) to practice and without a PREM, there's little chance to practice.
Even in family medicine, PREMS for anglos in the Montreal area are few and far between.
The reaction of the health minister is to tell anglos that there are jobs available, if they are willing to move to Chibougamau or Val D'Or, or some other godforsaken backwoods hick-town, something not entirely appetizing to an Anglo Montrealer.
The government's rationale in all this, is that while Montreal lacks family doctors, the need is greater in the hinterland and until the gap is narrowed...it's no soup for you, young doctor!
Read this excellent explanation of the ridiculous situation;
Making sense of Montreal’s family doctor shortage
This in a province where 25% of the people don't have a family physician.
And so there is a steady stream of highly-trained young doctors leaving Quebec, taking their Quebec paid education with them to practice, mostly in the United States, many not by choice.
I know of one New York City hospital that has three McGill grads on staff, each chased out of Quebec because of a lack of jobs.
This last month a young thoracic surgeon that I know of, left after seven years of residency, because no Quebec job was forthcoming. Thirty years of education and training frittered away by this province.
For young francophone doctors, its more difficult to leave, most are a prisoner of culture and language.
Most doctors on the francophone side take the fast-tracked, pre-med cegep route to medical school, where English as a second language is largely ignored.
For them, moving out of Quebec is not an option and so like teachers and other unilingual professionals, they are forced to accept an incredibly steep 'home team discount'
For Anglo doctors, the combination of nonexistent or decidedly poor prospects, makes the decision to leave easy, but nonetheless, very painful.
Most graduating anglo doctors want nothing more than to serve their community in their own home town and its more than a little bit sad for them and for us that they leave.
Trust me readers.... on this, I know.
French versus English Volume 57
To contact us Click HERE
Abdou Diouf, secretary general of the International Organization of La Francophonie told the audience that by 2050, French language speakers will rise from the 220 million speakers today, to over 700 million.
He then told the audience that French was nonetheless in mortal danger....Hmmmm?
I think he'd make a perfect Quebec politician, who are consummate experts at sucking and blowing at the same time!
Let me summarize the content of those meetings, for those of you not inclined to read the story.
Speaker #1- French is wonderful but threatened.
Speaker #2- English threatens the linguistic diversity of the world
Speaker #3- French is wonderful and English is evil
Speaker #4- Legislation is needed to promote French artists and culture and restrict English
Speaker #5- French usage is growing but needs defending.
Speaker #6- See speaker #1
Speaker #7- See speaker #2
Speaker #8- See speaker #3
Speaker #9- See speaker #4
Speaker #10-See speaker #5
Speaker 11-99......Rinse, repeat...
All together now !!!!!
English = DARTH VADER.......French = LUKE SKYWALKER!!!!!
H U R R A Y ! ! O U P P I ! !
All weekend long....yawn, snore...!
Two years ago I re-published a picture of him marching alongside a gaggle of separatist big shots in the line of honour bringing up the rear of the parade. The picture was picked up by many blogs and there was plenty of internal fallout within the party for Mulcair and Layton at the time.
The next year (last year) Mulcair judiciously skipped the parade altogether, but made a return appearance this year, but avoided the "Blue Line of Honour" populated by ultra-separatists.
This year's 'Blue Line of Honour" included the usual suspects with the added presence of radical student leaders.
Marching ahead of the 'Line of Honour' was Thomas Mulcair, insulated from the separatists by his personal posse of Amazon girls, Ã la Khaddafi!
But still, Mulcair couldn't resist building alliances and was candidly caught sharing a comradely laugh with none other than his very good friend, ex-Parti-Quebecois Premier, Bernard Landry.
C'mon Uncle Thom, give him a big hug. You know you want to!
If you want to know why federal politicians stay away from the parade, it's because of its separatist political bent. For Mulcair and the Ndp, pandering to separatists is part of a strategy to whore themselves out for votes.
Thanks for your support "Uncle Thom!"
The headline of the article about the billboard was a bit strange;
"100 % anglophone à Québec,"
I doubt that an inanimate object such as a billboard can actually be classified as anglophone!
When asked to translate the catchphrase into French, the company declined, telling a reporter that;
"TW Steel doesn't have this problem anywhere else. The same advertising slogan is used elsewhere in the world. It should be Canada that adapts."
It seems that the reporter squealed to the OQLF, which refused to offer an opinion, saying that it needs to study the file, something that typically takes up to six months.
Since the billboard is scheduled to be up for just two months, hardliners are plum out of luck.
Hmm.....
I wonder what French language militants think of Volkswagen's catchphrase "DAS AUTO"?
Perhaps the OQLF will rule that it too is verboten!
It seems that a certain Vincent Chiara is causing much grief over at vigile.net, suing them for defamation over a story presented on vigile.net, which intimated if not directly, but indirectly, that the powerful Mr. Chiara was a mafiosi.
The article in question was removed from the website, but that wasn't enough for Mr. Chiara who seems out to punish Bernard Frappier, the owner and editor of the website as well as the author of the article in question, Richard Le Hir.
Although the article was removed from vigile.net, it lives on, proving again that when one publishes something on the internet, it's almost impossible to put the genie back in the bottle.
Read the original article here. Les-Tentacules-de-la-mafia-2
Defending itself from the $500,000 lawsuit has proved painful, costing the website $15,000 to date and the fun hasn't really even started.
An anonymous donation of $20,000 has eased the pain, but the case could cost north of a $100,000 to defend, something that could cripple the website.
DO I FEEL bad for vigile.net?
Not one bit.
I'm all for free speech, including defending Mr. Frappier's right to advocate for the murderous Syrian regime and his right to attack Israel more often than the United Nations.
But it is his outright antisemitism, visceral hatred of Anglophones and as of late, articles denigrating Protestants, that has me cheering for Mr. Chiarra.
In the past I've written about the horribly antisemitic articles published on his website and today he continues to give a forum to hate.
His latest screed is so disgustingly racist that it disappeared from the website just a few days after being published, but I've tracked it down for you.
I told you, that when it comes to the internet, you can't erase your footprint.
In this article, the author tells readers that France, under newly elected president Francois Hollande, has fallen under the diabolical control of Protestant/Jewish interests.
Read:
The Jewish-Masonic* (*read-Protestant) power that be have taken over power in France
(Le pouvoir judéo-maçonnique a définitivement mis la main sur la France.)
"...Bacteriological weapons were found during the Libyan war and the instructions for their use were in Hebrew, proving that Gaddafi had made a pact with Israel, this tiny precarious state, as if the Rothschilds, Soros, Golman Sach, JP Morgan, Koch brothers, Bernanke, Greenspan, Murdoch, Speilberg, etc.. would have no influence in the world.(*spelling errors are original-ed.)
Ah, then there's Mr. Assad of Syria, who is also in bed with Israel.
For such a small country, it has a lot of influence." Link{Fr}
What incredible drivel!
Israel supplying Libya with chemical weapons and in bed with Assad?
Is Bernard Frappier really so ignorant that he believes the above can possibly be true, or is he knowingly publishing falsehoods in order to falsely tarnish the reputation of Israel and the Jewish people?
This is an ongoing campaign, with countless other articles slagging not only Israel, but Jews in general, still populating the website.
Read this, another odious article posted on vigile.net, that depicts Jews as rats. LINK
For Mr. Frapper, I couldn't be happier that he's getting a taste of humble pie. I hope this lawsuit drains the life force out of vigile.net and if not, at least delivers Mr. Frappier a certain dose of pain.
Mr. Racist, have a nice day...
If I was the agent Montreal Canadiens first round draft pick, Alex Galchenyuk, I would straighten out this reporter pronto, telling him to keep his militant politics to himself, or face a future of no interviews.
By the way, completely off topic, but somewhat related is this interview with overall first draft pick Nail Yakupov who absolutely butchers the English language in this interview.
I suppose I shouldn't make fun, he's really trying, but is this what the above reporter wants from Galchenyuk? Watch the YouTube video.
You'd have to forgive Albertans for shaking their heads in utter disbelief at the hypocrisy of the Quebec government, in slagging Alberta's oil sands as an environmental disaster, while loaning money to reopen an asbestos mine in Quebec.
"The news that the Jeffrey Mine will reopen may warm some hearts in the Eastern Townships. Nevertheless, the Quebec government’s decision to provide a $58-million loan to Canada’s last asbestos mine is a shameful thing." Read the rest of the story
“...Has there ever been a time when Canadians outside Quebec have ever been more ambivalent about the possibility of the province separating? Unlikely, according to a new Ipsos Reid poll released Thursday, which suggests almost half (49%) of Canadians living outside Quebec agree they “don’t really care if Quebec separates.”“The edge has come off it,” said Darrell Bricker, chief executive of Ipsos Reid. “It’s not seen as a 21st century debate.”
The same poll indicates that despite all the talk of support for sovereignty growing in the face of the perceived anti-Quebec attitude by Stephen Harper, hard support remains at 31% of Quebecers.When the undecided are factored in, support for independence stands at about 38%, not an encouraging number for separatists who have seen the numbers decline ever since the 1995 referendum.
Read the other interesting aspects to this poll HERE
Three girls walk into a Quebec city bar and are told they cannot enter unless they remove the red square they are wearing in support of the student strike against tuition hikes.
"No way!" they say, "We have the right to go in as is, and you cannot stop us!"
"Sorry, you're not crossing this line!" said the bouncer and with that, barred their entrance.
"Then we will complain to the Human rights commission, you've got no right to impede our movement!"
Anybody see the irony in this true story? Link{Fr}
******************In other student leader news, just in case Léo Bureau-Blouin, president of the somewhat less radical student association, the Fédération étudiante collégiale du Québec (FECQ), expresses an interest in running for the PQ in the next provincial election in Trois-Rivières, he needn't bother apply.
The local riding association has announced that he wouldn't be a 'good fit' Link{fr}
******************Newly-elected student leader of the radical CL(ASSÉ) student association, Camille Robert, found out pretty early in her tenure as president, that politics is a rough sport and that amateurs can get eaten up rather quickly.
Responding to a charge by noted Quebec journalist Éric Duhaime that she's an ex-communist and extremely radical, she offered the following Twitter response;
"Contrary to what Éric Duhaime says, I never was a communist, Don't believe what you read in hateful and dishonest blogs"
Unfortunately for her, the evidence to the contrary was gathered rather quickly, the internet being what it is, and she was outed as a liar.
In her own statement promoting her candidacy for president, she proudly admitted to working for the Union Communiste Libertaire.
To read the complete story{Fr} and to see the documents that prove the opposite of what she says, go over HERE
******************
Political expediency wins out again as Pauline Marois, sensing that she'll be supporting a losing position in the next provincial election by supporting the students, did a quick about face, dumping the little red square.
"A decision by Pauline Marois to quit wearing the red square symbol of the student protest movement was met with a shrug at the nightly anti-tuition increase demonstration in Montreal Wednesday night.Some marchers who sported the small felt square on their clothes felt that the Parti Quebecois leader had embraced the symbol out of political expediency and was shelving it for the same reasons."It doesn't surprise me that Pauline Marois decided to stop wearing the red square because it wasn't real support for the students," said Francis Piche, a junior college student. "The only reason she was opposing the tuition fee increase was because the Liberals were doing it but a Pequiste government wanted to do it too." Link
******************
By the way, with the folding of 'Le Voir," Josée Legault, the separatist journalist, is out of a job with no prospects, so far.
Does she still write for the Montreal Gazette?
I remain an adament defender of free speech and don't take any particular pleasure in her departure.
She was a fine example of separatist opinion...vapid and unrealistic.
A faux intellectual, like her confrére Jean-François Lisée who in a recent interview proposes that citizens who can't speak French, shouldn't be allowed to vote in Quebec....
Watch the whole tedious interview or skip to 13:25 of the video, to watch his intemperate remark.
By the way, Mr. Lisée is returning to politics and will present himself in the next provincial election, in the shoe-in seat of Rosemont.
Louise Beaudoin, the previous holder of the seat has judiciously decided to retire after her failed putsch against Marois.
It's like changing four quarters for a Loonie....
******************
As we head into one of the rare glorious Canadian summer weekends, let me finish on a humorous note.
Question...What is it in our human nature that makes us laugh when someone trips?
Watch THIS VIDEO and then come back and tell me you didn't laugh, or at least chuckle.
What makes English so hard to learn?
Have a great weekend!!
MONDAY- Should English Canada subsidize Separatist Radio Canada?
La Francophoney-baloney....blah... blah...blah
"The French Language World Forum, going on until Friday in historic Quebec City, is expected to draw more than 1,000 artists, speakers, business people, youth and representatives from civil society.Events and discussions will focus on four major themes: the economy, the cultural industry, the place of French in the digital world and the coexistence of languages." Read the storyAbdou Diouf, secretary general of the International Organization of La Francophonie told the audience that by 2050, French language speakers will rise from the 220 million speakers today, to over 700 million.
He then told the audience that French was nonetheless in mortal danger....Hmmmm?
I think he'd make a perfect Quebec politician, who are consummate experts at sucking and blowing at the same time!
Let me summarize the content of those meetings, for those of you not inclined to read the story.
Speaker #1- French is wonderful but threatened.
Speaker #2- English threatens the linguistic diversity of the world
Speaker #3- French is wonderful and English is evil
Speaker #4- Legislation is needed to promote French artists and culture and restrict English
Speaker #5- French usage is growing but needs defending.
Speaker #6- See speaker #1
Speaker #7- See speaker #2
Speaker #8- See speaker #3
Speaker #9- See speaker #4
Speaker #10-See speaker #5
Speaker 11-99......Rinse, repeat...
All together now !!!!!
English = DARTH VADER.......French = LUKE SKYWALKER!!!!!
All weekend long....yawn, snore...!
Thomas Mulcair treads lightly at separatist parade
It seems that Thomas Mulcair is showing a little bit more reserve and is avoiding being photographed hobnobbing around with separatists, now that he's become leader of the official opposition.Two years ago I re-published a picture of him marching alongside a gaggle of separatist big shots in the line of honour bringing up the rear of the parade. The picture was picked up by many blogs and there was plenty of internal fallout within the party for Mulcair and Layton at the time.
The next year (last year) Mulcair judiciously skipped the parade altogether, but made a return appearance this year, but avoided the "Blue Line of Honour" populated by ultra-separatists.This year's 'Blue Line of Honour" included the usual suspects with the added presence of radical student leaders.
 |
| Line of 'Honour' 2012 |
Marching ahead of the 'Line of Honour' was Thomas Mulcair, insulated from the separatists by his personal posse of Amazon girls, Ã la Khaddafi!
But still, Mulcair couldn't resist building alliances and was candidly caught sharing a comradely laugh with none other than his very good friend, ex-Parti-Quebecois Premier, Bernard Landry.
C'mon Uncle Thom, give him a big hug. You know you want to!
If you want to know why federal politicians stay away from the parade, it's because of its separatist political bent. For Mulcair and the Ndp, pandering to separatists is part of a strategy to whore themselves out for votes.
Thanks for your support "Uncle Thom!"
Journal de Quebec complains about an 'anglophone' billboard
The Journal de Quebec is hot and bothered over a billboard that recently popped up in Quebec City. A European watch company erected the billboard complete with its international catchphrase, "Big in Oversized Watches"The headline of the article about the billboard was a bit strange;
"100 % anglophone à Québec,"
I doubt that an inanimate object such as a billboard can actually be classified as anglophone!
When asked to translate the catchphrase into French, the company declined, telling a reporter that;
"TW Steel doesn't have this problem anywhere else. The same advertising slogan is used elsewhere in the world. It should be Canada that adapts."
It seems that the reporter squealed to the OQLF, which refused to offer an opinion, saying that it needs to study the file, something that typically takes up to six months.Since the billboard is scheduled to be up for just two months, hardliners are plum out of luck.
Hmm.....
I wonder what French language militants think of Volkswagen's catchphrase "DAS AUTO"?
Perhaps the OQLF will rule that it too is verboten!
Vigile.net's financial woes
It seems that a certain Vincent Chiara is causing much grief over at vigile.net, suing them for defamation over a story presented on vigile.net, which intimated if not directly, but indirectly, that the powerful Mr. Chiara was a mafiosi.The article in question was removed from the website, but that wasn't enough for Mr. Chiara who seems out to punish Bernard Frappier, the owner and editor of the website as well as the author of the article in question, Richard Le Hir.
Although the article was removed from vigile.net, it lives on, proving again that when one publishes something on the internet, it's almost impossible to put the genie back in the bottle.
Read the original article here. Les-Tentacules-de-la-mafia-2
Defending itself from the $500,000 lawsuit has proved painful, costing the website $15,000 to date and the fun hasn't really even started.
An anonymous donation of $20,000 has eased the pain, but the case could cost north of a $100,000 to defend, something that could cripple the website.
DO I FEEL bad for vigile.net?
Not one bit.
I'm all for free speech, including defending Mr. Frappier's right to advocate for the murderous Syrian regime and his right to attack Israel more often than the United Nations.
But it is his outright antisemitism, visceral hatred of Anglophones and as of late, articles denigrating Protestants, that has me cheering for Mr. Chiarra.
In the past I've written about the horribly antisemitic articles published on his website and today he continues to give a forum to hate.
His latest screed is so disgustingly racist that it disappeared from the website just a few days after being published, but I've tracked it down for you.
I told you, that when it comes to the internet, you can't erase your footprint.
In this article, the author tells readers that France, under newly elected president Francois Hollande, has fallen under the diabolical control of Protestant/Jewish interests.
Read:
The Jewish-Masonic* (*read-Protestant) power that be have taken over power in France
(Le pouvoir judéo-maçonnique a définitivement mis la main sur la France.)
"...Bacteriological weapons were found during the Libyan war and the instructions for their use were in Hebrew, proving that Gaddafi had made a pact with Israel, this tiny precarious state, as if the Rothschilds, Soros, Golman Sach, JP Morgan, Koch brothers, Bernanke, Greenspan, Murdoch, Speilberg, etc.. would have no influence in the world.(*spelling errors are original-ed.)
Ah, then there's Mr. Assad of Syria, who is also in bed with Israel.
For such a small country, it has a lot of influence." Link{Fr}
What incredible drivel!
Israel supplying Libya with chemical weapons and in bed with Assad?
Is Bernard Frappier really so ignorant that he believes the above can possibly be true, or is he knowingly publishing falsehoods in order to falsely tarnish the reputation of Israel and the Jewish people?
This is an ongoing campaign, with countless other articles slagging not only Israel, but Jews in general, still populating the website.
Read this, another odious article posted on vigile.net, that depicts Jews as rats. LINK
For Mr. Frapper, I couldn't be happier that he's getting a taste of humble pie. I hope this lawsuit drains the life force out of vigile.net and if not, at least delivers Mr. Frappier a certain dose of pain.
Mr. Racist, have a nice day...
Language hysteria dogs Habs
In all the years I've watched hockey, I don't think I've ever seen a sports commentator take this type of liberty with a player to his face.If I was the agent Montreal Canadiens first round draft pick, Alex Galchenyuk, I would straighten out this reporter pronto, telling him to keep his militant politics to himself, or face a future of no interviews.
By the way, completely off topic, but somewhat related is this interview with overall first draft pick Nail Yakupov who absolutely butchers the English language in this interview.
I suppose I shouldn't make fun, he's really trying, but is this what the above reporter wants from Galchenyuk? Watch the YouTube video.
Quebec finances re-opening of Asbestos mine
You'd have to forgive Albertans for shaking their heads in utter disbelief at the hypocrisy of the Quebec government, in slagging Alberta's oil sands as an environmental disaster, while loaning money to reopen an asbestos mine in Quebec."The news that the Jeffrey Mine will reopen may warm some hearts in the Eastern Townships. Nevertheless, the Quebec government’s decision to provide a $58-million loan to Canada’s last asbestos mine is a shameful thing." Read the rest of the story
Poll indicates that RoC indifferent to Quebec separation
“...Has there ever been a time when Canadians outside Quebec have ever been more ambivalent about the possibility of the province separating? Unlikely, according to a new Ipsos Reid poll released Thursday, which suggests almost half (49%) of Canadians living outside Quebec agree they “don’t really care if Quebec separates.”“The edge has come off it,” said Darrell Bricker, chief executive of Ipsos Reid. “It’s not seen as a 21st century debate.”The same poll indicates that despite all the talk of support for sovereignty growing in the face of the perceived anti-Quebec attitude by Stephen Harper, hard support remains at 31% of Quebecers.When the undecided are factored in, support for independence stands at about 38%, not an encouraging number for separatists who have seen the numbers decline ever since the 1995 referendum.
Read the other interesting aspects to this poll HERE
Ontario court rules against Galgonov and friends in forced bilingual sign case
"Verdict just in from Ontario Court of Appeal concerning Galganov/Brisson vs Russell township's bilingual sign bylaw.The court ruled UNANIMOUSLY in favour of RUSSELL TOWNSHIP.1. That the township had the right to pass this law, although language is supposed to be provincial, not municipal.2. That even though the law INFRINGED ON THE RIGHTS OF PEOPLE, there was reason to pass the law to promote/protect the French language.Howard Galganov and Jean-Serge Brisson have been fighting the 2008 Russell Township bylaw that enforces both French and English signage on businesses in the four small towns of the municipality." Read the rest of the storyTales of the RED SQUARE
Three girls walk into a Quebec city bar and are told they cannot enter unless they remove the red square they are wearing in support of the student strike against tuition hikes."No way!" they say, "We have the right to go in as is, and you cannot stop us!"
"Sorry, you're not crossing this line!" said the bouncer and with that, barred their entrance.
"Then we will complain to the Human rights commission, you've got no right to impede our movement!"
Anybody see the irony in this true story? Link{Fr}
******************In other student leader news, just in case Léo Bureau-Blouin, president of the somewhat less radical student association, the Fédération étudiante collégiale du Québec (FECQ), expresses an interest in running for the PQ in the next provincial election in Trois-Rivières, he needn't bother apply.
The local riding association has announced that he wouldn't be a 'good fit' Link{fr}
******************Newly-elected student leader of the radical CL(ASSÉ) student association, Camille Robert, found out pretty early in her tenure as president, that politics is a rough sport and that amateurs can get eaten up rather quickly.
Responding to a charge by noted Quebec journalist Éric Duhaime that she's an ex-communist and extremely radical, she offered the following Twitter response;
"Contrary to what Éric Duhaime says, I never was a communist, Don't believe what you read in hateful and dishonest blogs"
Unfortunately for her, the evidence to the contrary was gathered rather quickly, the internet being what it is, and she was outed as a liar.
In her own statement promoting her candidacy for president, she proudly admitted to working for the Union Communiste Libertaire.
To read the complete story{Fr} and to see the documents that prove the opposite of what she says, go over HERE
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Political expediency wins out again as Pauline Marois, sensing that she'll be supporting a losing position in the next provincial election by supporting the students, did a quick about face, dumping the little red square."A decision by Pauline Marois to quit wearing the red square symbol of the student protest movement was met with a shrug at the nightly anti-tuition increase demonstration in Montreal Wednesday night.Some marchers who sported the small felt square on their clothes felt that the Parti Quebecois leader had embraced the symbol out of political expediency and was shelving it for the same reasons."It doesn't surprise me that Pauline Marois decided to stop wearing the red square because it wasn't real support for the students," said Francis Piche, a junior college student. "The only reason she was opposing the tuition fee increase was because the Liberals were doing it but a Pequiste government wanted to do it too." Link
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By the way, with the folding of 'Le Voir," Josée Legault, the separatist journalist, is out of a job with no prospects, so far.
Does she still write for the Montreal Gazette?
I remain an adament defender of free speech and don't take any particular pleasure in her departure.
She was a fine example of separatist opinion...vapid and unrealistic.
A faux intellectual, like her confrére Jean-François Lisée who in a recent interview proposes that citizens who can't speak French, shouldn't be allowed to vote in Quebec....
Watch the whole tedious interview or skip to 13:25 of the video, to watch his intemperate remark.
By the way, Mr. Lisée is returning to politics and will present himself in the next provincial election, in the shoe-in seat of Rosemont.
Louise Beaudoin, the previous holder of the seat has judiciously decided to retire after her failed putsch against Marois.
It's like changing four quarters for a Loonie....
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As we head into one of the rare glorious Canadian summer weekends, let me finish on a humorous note.
Question...What is it in our human nature that makes us laugh when someone trips?
Watch THIS VIDEO and then come back and tell me you didn't laugh, or at least chuckle.
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| CLICK TO WATCH VIDEO |
What makes English so hard to learn?
Have a great weekend!!
MONDAY- Should English Canada subsidize Separatist Radio Canada?
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