French versus English Volume 73

To contact us Click HERE

A picture of mental health!

Bain fit to stand trial

As I predicted Richard Bain has been found competent to stand trial.

It made no difference to the court whether Bain was certifiable or not, the public just wouldn't stand for him getting off on the insanity defence à la Guy Turcotte and any shrink who would sign off to the fact that Bain is a nutter and unfit to stand trial, would in all likelihood, be publicly lynched. Read my post The FLQ versus Richard Bain

  ".....psychiatrist Chantal Bouchard told the court that Bain refused to speak with her during two meetings at the Pinel Institute.
She said Bain politely explained to her he would rather have an anglophone psychiatrist.
Bouchard told the court she could not find any reason to declare Bain unfit to stand trial." Link

 Hmmm... that's a novel approach....a psychiatrist who doesn't examine the patient, yet makes a diagnosis attesting to his sanity!

But perhaps the psychiatrist was right and Richard Bain is saner than us all, his wearing of a bathrobe on his political assassination mission a brilliant ruse.
After all, his innovative disguise worked like a charm, Bain sliced through the police cordon like a hot knife through butter and if not for the fact that his rifle jammed, Pauline might very be well be pushing up dasies now.
Perhaps Bain was inspired by the Fredrick Forsythe novel the The Day of the Jackal, a thriller where an assassin takes on the persona of an old, raggedy, ex-soldier amputee in order to get close to his target, the very well protected Charles DeGalle.

All that being said, it shapes up to be an amusing interesting trial, especially if Bain gets to defend himself.

Not withstanding the unlikely and fanciful scenario that I describe above, and the expert psychiatric opinion that confirms that Bain is sane, between you, me and the lamppost, he is nuttier than an Oh Henry! bar.

I'm reminded of the line in the movie Silverado where Sherif Cobb unloaded this memorable line;
"We're gonna give you a fair trial, followed by a first class hanging."

Will the fact that he is an Anglo 'terrorist' instead of a francophone 'terrorist' make a difference in his sentence?

Yup, Bain is going to prison all day, unlike the three FLQ murderers of Pierre Laporte, who served just five, seven and eleven years.

Now I'm going to make a confession, even though I believe Bain is nuttier than a fruitcake, I have no problem sending him to jail forever. That little three-year old girl whose father was killed capriciously, will grow up without a father and the idea that Bain will get out of prison one day to mock her loss is just unacceptable.
Oops, sorry for the mini-rant.

Marois bombs in Europe, tells 2 lies in television interview

First Pauline attended the famous Davos economic conference where she gave a speech to a room empty to all but those from Canada. It seems that every Canadian body available was seconded to duty in order that the room be filled.
Then she had to defend her separatist politics before multinationals;

"Quebec Premier Pauline Marois says she has made an effort to reassure multinational corporations concerned about the policies of her Parti Quebecois government." Link

Then it was her highly touted visit to Scotland that bombed rather badly.
This from The Scotsman.

"Independence: Alex Salmond turns down Quebec offer"

"ALEX Salmond declined an offer from Quebec premier Pauline Marois to share information and documents on the two referendums that narrowly failed to give the province independence from Canada.
Despite suggestions that Ms Marois would be willing to pass on information about the votes with the SNP leader, the Quebec premier last night disclosed that Mr Salmond did not take up the offer.
Yesterday’s meeting in Edinburgh had been dubbed a “separatism summit” by some sections of the Canadian media following Ms Marois, leader of the nationalist Partis Quebecois, when she met Mr Salmond for the first time.
Mr Salmond, on the other hand, appeared to be keen to keep the meeting relatively low key. Television cameras were not allowed access to the meeting and a terse joint statement was issued afterwards." Link

But even worse, was this humiliating assessment of the visit in  The Guardian;

"Alex Salmond takes spotlight away from nationalists' 'summit'"

"It was billed as a "historic meeting" between two senior nationalist leaders, the premiers of Québec and Scotland. So Pauline Marois, leader of the French-speaking province in Canada, arrived in Edinburgh to meet Alex Salmond with great expectations of high political theatre.
Instead, it became, in the words of one mystified Québécois journalist who has followed Marois's short European tour after last week's Davos world summit, "anything but". Their meeting was in private, squeezed between Salmond's existing diary commitments.
The large press corp that had travelled from Canada to Switzerland, then to London and finally Edinburgh, were irritated: they were expecting a public event with both leaders, something with historic significance....

...It seemed that Scotland's first minister, a shrewd political operator with an often exquisite sense of political timing, was far less enthralled. His officials were puzzled by the heavy billing that their meeting was getting in the Québécois and Canadian media.
"It's purely a courtesy event: 'very nice to meet you'," said one bemused civil servant in Edinburgh.
"The Quebecois are making more of this. We've a photographer in there who will take a handshake, [a] greeting; he's meeting her in between running votes, so it will be short." Read the rest of the humiliating story

Marois lies in BBC interview CLICK TO WATCH

Now the CBC and others reviewed an interview she gave to the BBC, but all failed to report that her much improved English was still humiliatingly sub-par. Worse still, nobody reported that in the interview she outright lied.

Watch the interview in halting English 
Some beauties;
"We are very interesting in your festival in Edinburgh (sic)."
"We will split....er partage....informations."
"Scotland is a people with a strange identity ."

At 2:55 minutes into interview Pauline said that the YES side lost the referendum by just 36,000 votes when the real figure was 54,000 vote.

You migh be inclined to pardon this small blunder but how about the whopper where she tells the interviewer that sovereignty support is running at between 44% and 42%. (3:10mins.)

That wasn't a little error, it was a big lie.

 Franco-supremacist gaining influence in PQ government

Up to now Mario Beaulieu, a man who never read or heard an English word he liked, was nothing more than a media personality, the buffoon running the extremist Societe Saint-Jean-Baptiste and Mouvement Québec français, two radical language groups that seek the eradication of English in Quebec.

But with the  new PQ government he is being elevated to a status of outside language advisor and sat in on a meeting with the health minister and hospital officials concerning control of the Lachine hospital, which he and the PQ government want to take control away from the MUHC, in order that a French governing body run the hospital, much to the dismay of patients and doctors

"Health Minister Réjean Hébert met with French-language activist Mario Beaulieu, among others, to discuss Lachine Hospital before deciding to pull it out of the bilingual McGill University Health Centre and reintegrate it into “a local (francophone) health network,” The Gazette has learned....

Saba said he was stunned that Hébert chose to focus on language in justifying a transfer of Lachine Hospital to the Centre de santé et des services sociaux (CSSS) of Dorval-Lachine-LaSalle.

Saba warned the minister at the meeting that doctors at Lachine Hospital did not want to be reintegrated into the CSSS. “It’s like you’re asking me to go back with my ex-wife,” is what Saba recalls telling the minister

Saba noted that under the jurisdiction of the CSSS, Lachine Hospital’s intensive-care unit was going to close and ambulances were no longer allowed to transport patients to its emergency room because of insufficient staffing. Read more

Then Mr. Beaulieu gave lessons to Jean-François Lisée;

"In a recent radio interview, Jean-François Lisée suggested that the STM should make more of an effort to hire bilingual employees. "STM are you listening?" said Lisée on CJAD's Tommy Schnurmacher's show, "simply call the Office Québécoise de la langue française make that case and you will be able to hire bilingual employees."
That statement isn't sitting well with the Société St-Jean-Baptiste, who wrote an open letter to Lisée this week, condemning the PQ minister's push for more English in Montreal's public transit system. "We have the impression Mr. Lisée is going back on his word" said Beaulieu, “it's upsetting because the STM gives a good service to tourists and anglophones”.
Plus, he noted that most complaints over language come from anglophone Montrealers, not out-of-towners." Read the rest of the story

By the way the STM, Montreal's bus and metro company made a strongly worded statement re-iterating that they are vehemly opposed to biligualism.

The STM is currently analyzing the need for bilingual employees and will report to the OQLF in the spring. However, there is no question of plunging into full bilingualism, said spokesperson Odile Paradis. "There is not a single bus driver in Quebec who will be required to have a knowledge of English, not even in Outaouais and Sherbrooke," says Ms. Paradis.

"We are not go towards bilingualism for everyone, but our service has always been exemplary," says she. "Bill 14 will tighten the law even more, she sees it as a an affirmation of the French fact in Quebec. This is not going to open more bilingualism," says Ms. Paradis. The current law makes us demonstrate that the "necessity" of bilingualism for a position.
Link{fr}

In a rare rare language defeat, Metro food chain shareholders voted by a massive 98% not to add an accent to in order to francicize its name. LINK

OQLF Cupcake war

A West Island cupcake shop is the latest small business to have drawn the ire of the province's language watchdog.

For six years, Tanya Bouzaglo has been known as the Crazy About Cupcakes lady, selling her culinary creations from her Pointe Claire village storefront.
But last April, she appeared on the OQLF's radar and a few months later she was hit with four violations, including her company's name which would have to include a French descriptor such as pâtisserie to make it conform. Read more

Pauline buys 200 jobs, misleads the public over subsidy

"Marois also attended an announcement by British special-effects firm Framestore, which says it will create 200 jobs in Montreal.
Quebec will give the firm an interest-free loan of $900,000 over five years and although Marois said it would get no tax credits, company CEO William Sargent said tax credits were one of the reasons Framestone decided to set up in Montreal. " Link

According to Premier Marois, the cost of the interest free loan for the government is about $35,000;

"This is a modest cost for us, but for the company it is the boost that makes the difference," she argued. Link

I've noticed that Marois is fast becoming very adept at misleading the public, if not outright lying, this is just one example of how she doesn't tell the real story.
Do you honestly believe that the company would move to Montreal over a $35,000 yearly subsidy?
 
According to the president of Framestore, Sir William Sargent, tax credits are really the key to the decision to move to Montreal.

"Like all other special effects companies in Quebec, Framestore also benefits from the Quebec tax credit of 45% of the contract value for special effects made ​​in Quebec. Framestore does not directly pocket the tax credit, it is usually reserved for film producers doing business with these Quebec special effects companies (like Framestore). This tax credit makes it possible to reduce the actual cost of special effects for Hollywood producers. "It is important for our customers," said Sir Sargent. Link

So Marois technically told the truth that Framestore won't directly get tax credits, but failed  to mention that its customers will get the tax credit, allowing Framestore to charge more for its services, the bill to the customer subsidized by the government indirectly.
The Quebec government currently spends $117 million a year to finance its refundable tax credit for multimedia firms. Read the story 

Incidentally, Framestore's job-posting website is advertising job openings in Montreal. The web site is entirely in English with the promise that a French version is on its way. (Perhaps after all the jobs are filled!) Framestore career website
Of course the company is setting up in the Mile-End district of Montreal, centre of the video game and special effect industry and perhaps the trendiest, hippest, most dynamically creative neighbourhood in all of Canada. Mile-End is also home to the best bagels in the world.

Minister Diane De Courcy unloads some beauts;

Diane De Courcy, PQ minister in charge of Bill 101  Link{fr}

"At this moment, students go to English cegeps because they believe that English is necessary for employment. We want to change this vision.
(En ce moment, les étudiants vont dans les cégeps anglophones parce qu’ils jugent que l’anglais est nécessaire pour travailler. Nous voulons changer cette vision."


"The population has evolved over the last decades, some municipalities risk losing their bilingual status. To the contrary, other cities could gain this status."
("La population ayant évolué depuis les dernières décennies, certaines municipalités risquent de perdre leur statut bilingue. Au contraire, d’autres villes pourraient se voir attribuer ce statut.")  

Corruption watch this week.

It's almost getting boring, hearing about the thoroughly corrupt nature of Quebec politics, but the hits just keep coming.
This week, it was Michel Lalonde of the consulting/engineering firm, Génius Conseil  to unload, admitting to being a crook and telling all.
(Those who confess are given immunity)

He told the Crime commision that he was in charge of splitting up contracts between the other consulting/engineering firms which oversaw projects on behalf of the government, approving overcharges of up to 30%.
These firms were supposed to act on the government behalf to ensure projects were well run and on budget, but were all thoroughly corrupt approving overcharges of up to 30% and paying off politicians to look the other way.
He also named the various Montreal politicians on the take, including many borough mayors.
You can read the sordid details. HERE

On another front Quebec's powerful SNC-Lavalin, Canada's biggest and most successful consulting/engineering firm is subject to some pretty serious fraud allegations.

"A former SNC-Lavalin executive allegedly paid the son of dictator Moammar Gadhafi $160 million in kickbacks to obtain major contracts in Libya, according to an unsealed affidavit from the RCMP's anti-corruption squad." Link

Readers may recall, that the RCMP is also probing possible bribes paid out by the company, in relation to the awarding of the control for Montreal's superhospital. Police are also interested in the link to the infamous Arthur Porter Link

According to an analyst at Canaccord Genuity, it's only a matter of time before SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. faces criminal charges under Canada’s corruption laws LINK

Mulcair bumps heads with Trudeau over Clarity act.

"Liberal leadership candidate Justin Trudeau slammed NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair's stance on introducing a new bill that would combine the NDP's Sherbrooke Declaration on sovereignty in Quebec with the Clarity Act, keeping the NDP's resolution to recognize a 50-per-cent-plus-one vote in any future referendum. LINK   It reminds me of a discussion on the The Big Bang Theory where the nerds argue over which superhero is stronger. The whole subject is a bit tedious and I only included this item because it is something clever that the redoubtable Stéphane Dion contributed to the discussion.The new bill tabled Monday by the NDP will state that 50-per-cent-plus-one is a clear majority, if the vote count has been done correctly. We all know that the Clarity Act calls for a clear (yet undefined) majority.

"Speaking in defence of the Clarity Act, its author Liberal MP Stéphane Dion asked if 50-per-cent-plus-one is a clear majority, then what could be an unclear majority?" Link

Ha! Touché!

LeavingQuebec.com

The very successful website Quitterlequebec.com now has a sister English site, Leavingquebec.com, dedicated to helping those leave Quebec.
Here's one of the testimonials;

My little story is as follows. I’m Scots, fully bilingual and spent 42 years around St Lambert. I was a school principal in that area for 22 years, and retired in ’97. I spend my winters in S. Carolina.
So I come back from there on April 2 , 2010, and go out to buy some grocery items. I drive down Victoria, St Lambert’s main drag and come past a favourite little restaurant, The Canada Drive -In, there since 19oatcake
And the name has been taped over, nobbled by our language police
I get home and say to my wife “Je m’en calisse! We’re outta here.
She agreed, and by June 11 we were in Brockville Ontario. So, ten grand a year less in taxes, no stupid 30km limits, ardently pursued by blue uniforms with guns, no silly petty nonsense about language, and believe me, I have spent a lot of time in France, and even they laugh about it all.
I golf , at 70, now, at the Brockville Country Club, which is full of “refugees” like me.
Enjoying peace and quiet now
HUGH SUTHERLAND

(credit for the story to UN GARS BIEN SYMPATHIQUE DE CALGARY)

To those militants who wish Mr. Sutherland good riddance, be advised that he and his wife are probably removing twenty thousand in annual Quebec taxes, but as they say....
"We don't need no stinking anglo tax money!"

Impoverished Quebec town rejects prosperity.

The town of Gaspé is a sleepy village at the tip of the Gaspé peninsula and can best be decribed as one of Quebec's premier economic basket cases, with over 50% of househould income dependent on the government,You'd think that when an energy company partly owned by the Quebec gevernment announcs that quite possibly the town was sitting on a mother lode of oil and gas, the townsfolk would rejoice.
Instead, city council revoked the permits to drill exploratory wells, just in case the wells affected the town's water supply;

"When the Quebec government took a 10% stake in Pétrolia Inc. last year, its chief executive said he expected the move would open doors for the junior exploration company in its bid to become the province’s first major oil producer.He definitely wasn’t expecting a group of city councillors in Gaspé, population: 15,163, to ruin the party.
Pétrolia was surprised to learn on Thursday that the municipality in December voted in new rules banning oil drilling in its proximity, saying it intends to protect its drinking water supply. The company, which has exploration permits validated by the provincial government, was set to begin drilling on its Haldimand site near Gaspé sometime next week." LINK

Perhaps the good townsfolk of Gaspe should read this article, a story of incredible economic revival due to a boom in the discovery of oil and gas in North Dakota;

"Twelve years ago, Williston's population stood at a little more than 12,500 people. Now, officials there estimate the town services 38,000 on a daily basis, based partly on water and sewer use. They expect it could hit 50,000 by 2017...."...But Brevig's enthusiasm trumps his exhaustion. With an economy fueled by new oil-drilling techniques, "It's a land of opportunity, by all means," he said. "You can grow into whatever you want here. 

The Brevigs of the world are flocking to North Dakota in droves, modern frontiersmen transforming this recently dying flyover land into the fastest-growing state in the nation, according to the Census Bureau. Storefront signs scream "now hiring." Pickups and semis jam long stretches of two-lane highways. Backhoes claw the ground even in frozen January. Recreational vehicles occupy former farm field 

North Dakota's population grew 2.2 percent to 699,628 in the year ending July 1, according to the Census Bureau. Many newcomers are from Minnesota. For years, more people moved from North Dakota to Minnesota than vice versa. That trend has changed in recent years, with North Dakota gaining approximately 4,500 to 6,500 Minnesotans each year between 2009 and 2011... 

...Gordon Weyrauch, manager of Williston Home & Lumber, said it's hard to keep good employees even at $16 an hour: "Seems like when you get somebody that's really good, there's always another company stealing them away." A sign outside the local Wal-Mart advertises starting wages of $17 an hour." Read more

That's it for this week, as for a little fun here goes.

Here's a video of the flood that hit Montreal this week because of a broken water main. The water ran down from the mountain and flooded McGill University and caught this unfortunate in its roiling waters.
By the way,  the young lady swept away was a little frozen, but unhurt.



****************************

On a personal sad note, I played garage league hockey here at the Bonaventure hockey arena at the Côte-de-Liesse arena in St.Laurent for 30 odd years, I even curled there as a lad when it was a curling club.
It was sad to see today's vicious wind storm take down the iconic sign....




Do you have a Google search box in the top right-hand corner of your browser?
Try typing in; “Do a barrel roll”
Cool!
Here's a few more neat tricks for the Google search box. LINK



Bonne fin de Semaine!
Have a good weekend!