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Vapid PQ budget exposes ineptitude

I promised a piece on the Quebec budget handed down by the PQ earlier this week, but honestly I couldn't find 1500 words that would keep readers interested.
The 'balanced' budget is achieved by reducing spending on infrastructure, the PQ confident that fixing Quebec's dilapidated roads and bridges is something that is can be put off until they are safely out of power.
It's like balancing your personal finances by putting off paying your home mortgage for a couple of years. How's that going to work?

Not wishing to offend anybody and risk the wrath of opposition parties, the PQ decided to tweak a couple of tax programs here and there, raising consumption taxes on booze and of course the most hapless of all taxpayers, the smokers, who will be driven, no doubt, in greater numbers to native smoke shacks, where taxes are but a figment of the Quebec government's imagination.
Forgotten in the budget was the ill-conceived idea of reducing the capital gains exemption by 50% or getting rid of the 'Health Tax" as promised in the PQ election campaign.
Most interesting in the budget is the proposal to get rid of 2,000 workers at Hydro-Quebec, some 10% of its workforce.
Layoffs of this magnitude in the private sector are normal, a reaction to changing market conditions or demand, but in a monopoly that produces and sells electricity, where the market doesn't really change, it is a frank admission of gross incompetence. Among the large utility companies in North America, Hydro-Quebec retains its position as the most bloated and inefficient.
Of course the PQ made sure to continue the freeze on student tuition fees, the last thing that they need is to alienate their base.
All in all, it was a budget that remains true to the tax and spend, big government reputation that all Quebec governments for the last forty years maintained.
For taxpayers, there was nothing so drastic as to get people marching in the streets, but the budget and those budgets presented by governments before, are the very definition of a 'death by a thousand cuts.'

The only problem with this whole budget charade is that the proposed tax increases won't produce the predicted revenues and that the slowdown in growth will automatically reduce government receipts over the course of the budget.
The promise of a balanced budget in 2014 is about as likely as a the PQ holding a winning referendum.
Smoke and mirrors, or as the French are fond of saying. 'de la poudre aux yeux'

Antisemitic radio rant

Here is one antisemitic rant that should never have been allowed to be aired on the radio and the fact that the interviewer allowed a caller to proceed was just plain disgusting.

In a radio interview on 98.5 FM, home of anglo-basher Benoit Dutrizac, another radio host Jacques Fabi, allowed a listener to present a four and a half minute screed, refusing to cut her off, even after this exchange, right at the beginning of the interview .

Caller: "Do you know Hitler?
Fabi:     "Not personally"
Caller: "Do you know of the Holocaust?
Fabi:     "A little"
Caller: "It was the massacre of the Jews"
Fabi:     "Yes, exactly"
Caller: "For me it was the most beautiful thing that ever happened in history."

Mr. Fabi reminded the listener it was dangerous to say these thing on the air because of the powerful Jewish lobby, which he himself found bothersome.
If you speak French give a listen ~~Link{fr}~~
(Sorry readers, the station has wisely decided to remove the interview from its website.

LUCKILY, another radio station, a competitor of 98.5FM, not only denounced the interview forcefully, but recorded a copy of the offensive material, put it on the air and archived it, so that you can still hear it HERE{Fr}
Well-played!!

The interview was also later denounced on another radio station by Dominic Maurais. Link{Fr}

Now before readers denounce this as another example of Quebec antisemitism, I will stand up and remind them that the offensive interview was roundly denounced in the French media before the English or Jewish population was even aware of what happened.

In fact, I'm pretty sure that this blog is the first English outlet to report the story, but I'm confident that the incident will now grow legs.

This story won't end here and I'm sure that Mr. Fabi is in for a rough ride.......

New French-language coalition demands Bill 101 boost

"A new coalition of French-language groups is calling on the Quebec government to strengthen the province’s language law, Bill 101.
Partenaires pour un QuÃ©bec FranÃ§ais (PQF) said it wants the province’s language watchdog, the Office QuÃ©bÃ©cois de la Langue FranÃ§aise (OQLF), to have more power and resources to protect French.
Mario Beaulieu, spokesman for the coalition, said Bill 101 was weakened to respect the presence of the "historic anglophone community."
"Gradually, with the weakening of Bill 101, we came back to full bilingualism. This means someone can live in English in Montreal without having to use French," said Beaulieu.
He added that with weak language laws, the province would not be able to force people to learn French.
Louise Mercier, spokeswoman for the Quebec Labour Federation, said encouraging new Quebeckers to speak French at work is crucial in fighting assimilation.
“One day, we will lose our language,” said Mercier." Read the rest of the story

Rinse, repeat....

Retailers make first court appearance in fight with Quebec language police

Several multi-national companies willing to take the Quebec government to court may not have to go that far to keep their names the same.
Lawyers representing some of North America's biggest brands, including Walmart, Best Buy, and Costco, are negotiating with the Office Quebecoise de la Langue Francaise. The OQLF wants the companies to alter their names to include some indication in French of what they sell.
The changes are outlined on a website run by the language agency that gives businesses options on how to change their names. For example, Walmart, a household name on the retail scene that doesn't really have a French equivalent, could change its signs to "Le Magasin Walmart."
But retailers say the language laws have not formally been changed and they will ask the courts to decide whether the language office has the right to make new demands.
Lawyers representing the coalition of retailers said negotiations to work out an agreement were going well, but they still planned to file their lawsuit on Thursday in Quebec Superior Court.
They expect the case will go before a judge -- if needed -- in the spring. Read the rest of the story

Readers, I think you'll find Monday's blog concerning this issue rather interesting.
In that piece I will tell you why, in my opinion, regardless whether the retailers win or lose, Quebec militants will come out on the decidedly short end of the stick.

Several multi-national companies willing to take the Quebec government to court may not have to go that far to keep their names the same.
Lawyers representing some of North America's biggest brands, inluding Walmart, Best Buy, and Costco, are negotiating with the Office Quebecoise de la Langue Francaise. The OQLF wants the companies to alter their names to include some indication in French of what they sell.
The changes are outlined on a website run by the language agency that gives businesses options on how to change their names. For example, Walmart, a household name on the retail scene that doesn't really have a French equivalent, could change its signs to "Le Magasin Walmart."

Photos

Walmart, Old Navy, The Gap and other companies are fighting to keep their logos unchanged.

Pathetic Flag debate demonstrates PQ pettiness

".....Yves-Francois Blanchet, the PQ MLA who first asked the legislative Speaker to remove the flag, told QMI Agency Wednesday that the Maple Leaf shouldn't be in the legislature as a question of jurisdiction and history.
He said the flag was introduced to Quebec's parliament in 1985 - the Maple Leaf only dates back to 1965 - and was removed for the first time by former PQ leader Jacques Parizeau in 1994, only to be reinstated in 2003 when the Liberals regained power.
"The principle is that the only people who have jurisdiction in Quebec's legislature are those who are elected," Blanchet said. "It's about the exclusivity of the Quebec flag."
Liberal MLA Laurent Lessard wrote to the Speaker of Quebec's legislature last week and argued that the Canadian flag "is not an accessory."
"It's a symbol of belonging to our federation and a symbol of Canadian identity," he wrote. "As long as Quebec is part of the Canadian federation, it would be unacceptable to remove it from the legislative chamber."
The PQ caused controversy when it removed the Canadian flag in September from the legislature's upper chamber, also known as the "red room." The upper chamber most often serves as a backdrop for ceremonies.
The lower chamber, or "blue room," is the legislative assembly......

But the Canadian flag will stay in Quebec's legislature.
The leader of Quebec's third party announced Wednesday afternoon that his MLAs will vote with the Liberals to keep the flag where it is.
The separatist Parti Quebecois had asked the Speaker of the legislature last week to remove the flag.
The Liberals were steadfast against it.
The motion to remove the flag was set to be voted on in a week's time. The vote would have been the first of its kind in Quebec history.
On Wednesday, Coalition Avenir Quebec Leader Francois Legault - who himself once championed sovereignty - told QMI Agency that his 19 MLAs will vote with the Liberals next week.
The PQ's minority government doesn't have enough votes by itself to remove the Maple Leaf." Link .

Anglos' accented French an outrage to French linguicists

Last week, popular Montreal radio host BenoÃ®t Dutrizac mocked Mr. Rotrand and another anglophone councillor, Michael Applebaum, after deciding their French was unacceptable. He ran a spoof ad suggesting the pair need a miracle “Instant French” product for people who get flustered when they have to speak French. On Twitter, he complained that the two councillors spoke “gibberish” French and were an insult to francophone Montrealers.
By Mr. Dutrizac’s standards of linguistic purity, it is not enough to speak French — it must be free of an accent that betrays one’s origins. He is not alone. Writing in the Journal de MontrÃ©al on the weekend, UniversitÃ© du QuÃ©bec Ã MontrÃ©al sociologist Mathieu Bock-CÃ´tÃ© complained about being greeted with an accented “buuuunjourr” when he goes into a shop in Montreal. Read the rest of the story .

The complaints about accent, particularly that of new Montreal mayor Michael Applebaum, an anglophone with decent but heavily accent French, belies the true motives behind the attacks.

For many French language militants, Anglophones or Ethnics participating as elected officials in any capacity where they can influence public policy is dangerous.
For these linguicists, English or Ethnics in high places is a threat.

Quebec sait faire

One of my favourite time-wasting web sites is Fail.Qc.com a lighthearted, tongue in cheek look at the errors, gaffes and generally stupid things that are captured by the public, a testament to participatory journalism.
Every single province should have its own website of a similar nature, where, no doubt, there is a wealth of material.
If you know of a similar site, please let us know in the comments section.

I don't know if the story about this particular utility pole went viral because of the appearance of this picture on the failqc.com website, but I suspect it did.

Once the picture went mainstream (read: out of province), reaction by authorities was lightning quick and whatever department that was responsible, reacted with uncharacteristic haste to correct the embarrassment.

Here's another ill-placed utility pole, which doesn't seem to bother anyone in Valleyfield.

Read the story about it in French. Link{Fr}

Here's another from that website;

For those outside Quebec, an orange speed limit sign is added to reduce speed during construction...ahem!

Don't forget to visit the website!

By the way, here's another photo which I received over Twitter from Mathieu Boivin, a street in Quebec City. Yikes!!

In another story of dubious planning and achievement, the new ambulances put into service recently by Urgences-santÃ© in Montreal and Laval offer unlucky patients a decidedly rough ride.

It seems that the suspension of the new vehicles are so stiff that patients and their litter are regularly tossed into the air when the vehicle hits a bump.
Oh well... Link{FR}

Reaction to Gaza War

I told you that I wouldn't write about the recent Gaza blowup other than to comment as to how it pertains to Quebec, where last week, there was a demonstration in support of Gazans held in Montreal.
The demonstration wasn't particularly big, but was still the largest in Canada, where support for the Palestinian side was somewhat muted.

I have absolutely no objection to people demonstrating peacefully in favour of their constituency, be it Jews in support of Israel or Muslims in support of Palestine/Gaza, regardless who is right or wrong.

But this being Quebec, it wasn't much of a surprise to see the various left-wing groups, led by Quebec solidaire and Amir Khadir come out to give Israel another public bashing, again something that is their absolute right.
Amir Khadir and company are quick to point out that criticism of Israel is not antisemitism, but it is a little hard to believe given that the only two countries in the world that these people regularly march against, is Israel and the United States.

Over the course of the battle that raged between the potent Israeli military machine and the crude but highly effective missile brigade of Hamas, about 160 people died tragically over the course of the eight days, an average of about twenty sad deaths per day.
But let us consider that on every single day over the last 22 months of fighting in Syria, an average of about 65 people died (a ghastly 40,000 deaths) with this carnage continuing unabated.
Somehow the media, Amir Khadir and assorted lefties are obsessed with dead babies in Gaza, but not in Aleppo....
Without supporting Israel, I can only say that the hypocrisy is galling and I defy anyone to explain why Jews killing Arabs is more newsworthy than Arabs killing Arabs.
Today, tomorrow, another 50-60 people will be killed in Syria. Where will Radio-Canada, Anderson Cooper and all the European networks be reporting from?
I wish readers to understand that the above comment is in no way a commentary about who is right or who is wrong between Israelis and Palestinians, it is only about fair reporting which is admittedly, a subjective matter.

While the Canadian press (as well as the Canadian government ) were largely pro-Israel in their coverage, in Quebec, Radio-Canada took the opposite tack, reporting rather favourably on the Gazan side of things.
A Journal de Montreal journalist took Radio-Canada and its reporter Agnes Gruda to task over what she perceived as shamefully biased reporting. Link{Fr}

So I guess it comes as no surprise that a Jewish professor had his office vandalized over at UQAM, a hotbed of leftist and anti-Israel support (along with Concordia university.)
I suppose it serves the good professor right, who showed more guts than good sense in publicly supporting Israel on the campus of UQAM! Link

Bits'n pieces

Now since this is Friday, I will allow myself to go off topic to present a video related to the Gaza conflict that is mind-blowing.

First a little background;
In some cases, before bombing the residence of Hamas leaders, the Israeli military phone or text those at home, warning them to get out of the building, which seems a bit counter-productive if the goal is to kill the militant. Obviously the bombing of the home is meant to render the lives of Hamas leaders and their families miserable.

Now we are all familiar with those grainy black and white videos shot from the cockpit of warplanes delivering a devastating payload upon a target, culminating with a big puff of smoke. Truthfully, if you've seen one, you've seen them all.

Here's what it looks like from the ground, an incredible sight.
It seems that after receiving the call from the IDF to get out of the house, someone got the idea to set up a camera and film the whole thing up close.
I don't know if it goes to the confidence that the filmmaker had in the marksmanship of the Israeli air force pilot, or whether it was a case of foolhardiness or sang-froid, but to set up a camera and remain on-site, no farther than a hundred or so metres from the target, is rather amazing.
I'll bet you've never seen this, up close and personal!

**************
Back on topic, here's a video, a Western Canada rant against Quebec that many readers may or may not agree with.I look forward to your comments, don't be shy.

******************Now that students have successfully had their tuition fees frozen, some of the more radical are launching a new initiative, demanding free tuition.
According to the most radical student association, ASSE, 60,000 students stayed away from classes on Thursday to protest.

Whatever is Pauline to do? Link
******************
Here's an interesting article by Alberta conservative and Sun TV personality Ezra Levant;

English-speaking oil: Separatists get it entirely wrong in pipeline protest

It’s tough being the newly elected separatist government in Quebec.
They only won 31.95% of the vote, compared to 31.20% for the Liberals and 27.05% for the CAQ. And with just 54 out of 125 seats in the legislature, it’s a minority government that is doomed to accomplish very little.
But solving real problems — like unemployment and corruption — has never been a forte of the Parti Quebecois.
So the new government is doing what it does best — showboating, trying to pick symbolic fights with anglos.
This time the PQ has done something really weird. They have decided to demonize — get this — English-speaking oil. Read the rest of the story

******************
Here's another opinion piece that you may find interesting;

Opinion: What happened to my city?
Returning to Montreal after 37 years in Toronto, I found that much had changed — not for the better

Marlene and I were both born and raised in Montreal, but we moved to Toronto to pursue business opportunities in 1975. It was a successful experience, but after 37 years it was time to come home. It was time to reconnect with our families and friends and our grown-up nieces and nephews. Time to reacquaint ourselves with “steamies” and smoked-meat sandwiches and all the other delicacies that Montreal was famous for. It was time to relive and enjoy the bilingual culture of the great city of Montreal.
Wow — what a glorious time it promised to be, going back home. We shed a few tears as we got into the car and headed east on the 401, full of anticipation and excitement.
Oh my goodness — what happened to Montreal? Are we in the right city? Are you sure this is Montreal? Read the rest of the story: Link Alternate Link

******************
What's up with these new stealthy Montreal police cars?; Link

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!
BONNE FIN DE SEMAINE!

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23 Kasım 2012 Cuma

French versus English Volume 68