MondoWeiss: It's time for the media to talk about Zionism

It's time for the media to talk about Zionism

I consider myself a liberal anti-Zionist, or a non-Zionist (because the label is less confrontational to the Zionists I am trying to wean from their mistaken belief). I like liberal traditions of personal freedom in the United States, including the tradition of tolerance of religious and ideological claims I find preposterous. These liberal principles have guaranteed my freedom as a minority in the U.S. and granted me a darn good life, including jobs in the First Amendment business and marriage to someone who is not Jewish—a marriage that could not take place in Israel where there is no civil marriage.

Former student leader sentenced to community service - Montreal - CBC News

Former student leader sentenced to community service - Montreal - CBC News

[The judge] also made direct reference to a speech [Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois] gave to hundreds of students last April. At the time, the student leader said "no one should be swayed by the injunctions of idiots whose parents were rich enough to pay for lawyers."

No Dogs or Anglophones: Quebec Propagandists Get a Dose of Reality

No Dogs or Anglophones: Quebec Propagandists Get a Dose of Reality

for every dollar Quebec sends to Ottawa it receives back $1.45
  
Readers are always asking, "What can I do to counter sovereigntist propaganda?"
Spread the word.   
Whenever discussing Quebec, remind others about this disparity.

Things go viral quickly and a message such as this, is powerful and simple, something easily remembered. 

Again, For every dollar Quebec sends to Ottawa, it receives back  $1.45  

Spread the word! 

Poll finds Canadians lagging in support for monarchy, proud of medicare - thestar.com

Poll finds Canadians lagging in support for monarchy, proud of medicare - thestar.com

Comité exécutif: la coalition voit le jour | Karim Benessaieh | Montréal

Comité exécutif: la coalition voit le jour | Karim Benessaieh | Montréal

Big retailers taking French sign battle to Quebec court - Montreal - CBC News

Big retailers taking French sign battle to Quebec court - Montreal - CBC News

Several major retailers are taking the Quebec government to court over the provincial language watchdog's insistence they modify their commercial brand names to include some French.
The retailers include some of the biggest brand names in North America — Walmart, Best Buy and Costco. Their lawyers are expected in Quebec Superior Court on Thursday.
Quebec's language watchdog, The Office Québécois de la Langue Française, wants the retailers to change their signs to either give themselves a generic French name or add a slogan or explanation that reflects what it is they're selling.

In a political rarity, Montreal gets an anglophone mayor - Winnipeg Free Press

In a political rarity, Montreal gets an anglophone mayor - Winnipeg Free Press

MONTREAL - For the first time in a century, an anglophone has won the keys to the mayor's office in Montreal — a stunning victory inside a city hall that has been shaken by scandal.
Michael Applebaum won a vote Friday at city council, 31-29, to become the city's first non-francophone mayor since just before the First World War.
He will serve as interim mayor of Canada's second-largest city for a year, with a promise not to run in the next municipal election of November 2013.
Anglophones in Quebec rarely hold such prominent political roles.
In the municipality of Montreal itself, only 13 per cent of people claim English as their mother tongue; a far greater number of Montrealers actually speak the language in their everyday lives, however, given that 47 per cent of residents are not original French-speakers.

Editorial: Michael Applebaum can’t stand alone as mayor

Editorial: Michael Applebaum can’t stand alone as mayor

Cold calls, condolence cards: how Mob used intimidation to control construction - Winnipeg Free Press

Cold calls, condolence cards: how Mob used intimidation to control construction - Winnipeg Free Press

Canada

The Canadian Press - ONLINE EDITION

Cold calls, condolence cards: how Mob used intimidation to control construction

By: The Canadian Press

Posted: 11:43 AM | Comments: 0 | Last Modified: 11:53 AM

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City of Montreal technician Michel Paquette testifies at the Charbonneau inquiry looking into corruption in the Quebec construction industry Wednesday, November 14, 2012 in Montreal.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

MONTREAL - Quebec's public inquiry is getting a glimpse into how the Italian Mafia used its muscle to maintain control of the construction industry in Montreal.
With death threats and intimidation, the Mob would seek to squeeze out companies when they competed for work against members of the city's construction cartel.
An out-of-town construction owner testified Thursday that he received multiple threats after bidding on contracts in Montreal.

Electorate Reverts to a Familiar Partisan Divide - NYTimes.com

Electorate Reverts to a Familiar Partisan Divide - NYTimes.com

«Le défi à la loi est le plus sûr chemin menant à la tyrannie» | Le Devoir

«Le défi à la loi est le plus sûr chemin menant à la tyrannie» | Le Devoir

Pour les accommodements raisonnables | Gérard BouchardL'auteur a coprésidé la Commission de consultation sur les pratiques d'accommodement reliées aux différences culturelles. Ce texte est tiré de son plus récent ouvrage, L'interculturalisme - un point de vue québécois | Votre opinion

Pour les accommodements raisonnables | Gérard BouchardL'auteur a coprésidé la Commission de consultation sur les pratiques d'accommodement reliées aux différences culturelles. Ce texte est tiré de son plus récent ouvrage, L'interculturalisme - un point de vue québécois | Votre opinion

Don Macpherson: French in decline? The census doesn’t back that

When Statistics Canada published its report on the language data from the 2011 census last week, it was widely reported in Quebec that the data showed a decline of French in the province.
The reports were seized upon by members of the new Parti Québécois government as evidence of a need for the “new Bill 101” that their party had promised to introduce. In her session opening speech in the National Assembly on Wednesday, Premier Pauline Marois referred to the data as pointing to “a loss in the place of French.”
The problem is that, concerning any change in the status of French in Quebec, the Statistics Canada report doesn’t really prove anything.


Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/Macpherson+French+decline+census+doesn+back+that/7490060/story.html#ixzz2B6dQNpRR

Discrimination/Oppression

It is discrimination if it could happen to you; it is oppression if it probably will.

Mario Beaulieu, les anglophones et la haine au quotidien – Cyber-boom! – Simon Jodoin – Voir.ca

Mario Beaulieu, les anglophones et la haine au quotidien – Cyber-boom! – Simon Jodoin – Voir.ca

Quebec’s image gets uglier with each new language-based attack | Full Comment | National Post

Quebec’s image gets uglier with each new language-based attack | Full Comment | National Post

Three times in two months since the election of a Parti Quebecois government, English-speaking Quebecers have been confronted with the fact they’re not welcome by a segment of the French-speaking population.
Three incidents is not a tidal wave, but none of the incidents was minor. In September, forty-eight-year-old Alex Montreuil had a sandwich thrown at him in a cafe at the Jewish General Hospital after speaking English to a woman behind the counter. As it happens, Montreuil has a severe allergy to tomatoes, and the tomato in the sandwich set off a dangerous reaction.
A few weeks later, a couple in Vaudreuil-Dorion, just outside Montreal, called paramedics when their two-year-old suffered a seizure. Mark Bergeron speaks French, but says he had trouble understanding the medical terminology used by the attendants and asked if they could have the conversation in English.

William Johnson: French is not in danger

French is not in danger

How could so many have so misrepresented the results? They relied on percentages - French compared to all other languages. So the number of French speakers increased across the country, but the number speaking other languages increased even more. That was the "decline" reported by so many - as though French were in a life-and-death struggle against all other languages.
This slanted perception of reality is not innocent. In 1988, in the Ford v. Quebec decision, the Supreme Court of Canada accepted the Quebec government's argument that the very survival of French was threatened. The numbers alleged in court mostly dated from before the Quiet Revolution. And so the court ruled that, because French's very survival was threatened, it was acceptable for the Quebec government to restrict the freedom of expression guaranteed by the Canadian and Quebec charters of rights. The government could impose a "marked predominance" on commercial signs. Marked predominance of French, or, more accurately, the near-total dominance of French, has become accepted as the norm, and not just for commercial signs, but in all areas of life.

Don Macpherson: Census shows language laws working

Don Macpherson: Census shows language laws working

MONTREAL — As Montreal goes, so goes Quebec, the advocates of restrictions on linguistic freedom in this province have argued for nearly 50 years; once the metropolis went English, the hinterland would surely follow.
Defending Montreal against anglicization is still the end used to justify such means as the “new Bill 101” that the Marois government is to propose this fall.
Yet there’s little evidence that English is taking over in Montreal, based on the data on language from the 2011 census made public on Wednesday.

Don Macpherson: Péquistes begin to backpedal on taxes Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Macpherson+P%c3%a9quistes+begin+backpedal+taxes/7326188/story.html#ixzz288zMoyDL

http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Macpherson+Threat+losing+power+P%C3%A9quistes+starting+backpedal+retroactive+hike/7326188/story.html#loop

If Iran Were America (And We Were Iran): A Timeline by J. L. Bryan - StumbleUpon

If Iran Were America (And We Were Iran): A Timeline by J. L. Bryan - StumbleUpon

Opinion: Jean-François Lisée, ‘put yourself in the place of an anglophone’

Opinion: Jean-François Lisée, ‘put yourself in the place of an anglophone’

Dear Jean-François,
Congratulations on your appointment as minister responsible for the Montreal region. You have also been mandated by Premier Pauline Marois in this role to establish a dialogue with Quebec anglophones. It will be a big challenge, especially as it didn’t help last spring in L’actualité magazine that you concluded that young anglophones were particularly hostile to the French language.
But, for now, let’s try to move beyond that.

Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/News/813072/story.html#ixzz27orbRqyh

Parizeau: The Importance of Being Bilingual

« Mon Dieu, je botterais le derrière de quiconque au Québec qui ne saurait parler l'anglais. En effet, à notre époque, un petit peuple comme nous se doit de le parler. » — Jacques Parizeau (Time Magazine, 1992)

Quebec Election 2012: Parti Québécois plans to shake up provincial premiers’ forum - thestar.com

Quebec Election 2012: Parti Québécois plans to shake up provincial premiers’ forum - thestar.com

Marois was confronted at an earlier campaign stop by a school board official who objected to her party’s plan to prevent students whose mother tongue is French from enrolling in English colleges in the province, known as CEGEPS.
“It is our responsibility to offer the possibility for the citizens who want to be bilingual to have access to English courses, but we don’t want to put money into the Anglicization of Quebecers."

Charte de la laïcité - Quand un séparatiste se sépare | Le Devoir

Charte de la laïcité - Quand un séparatiste se sépare | Le Devoir

Jean Dorion - Sociologue, l’auteur a été attaché politique du ministre de l’Immigration Jacques Couture, directeur de cabinet du ministre Gérald Godin, agent de liaison avec les communautés culturelles, président de la SSJB de Montréal, délégué général du Québec à Tokyo et député du Bloc québécois  22 septembre 2012  Québec

 

Les sondages annonçaient un gouvernement péquiste et nous en avons un. Au moins, on ne pourra pas traiter mon virage électoral d’opportuniste: pour la première fois depuis qu’existe le PQ, je n’ai pas voté pour ce parti.

Cette rupture m’a déchiré. Elle me fera perdre des amis, décevra des militants sincères, sera mal interprétée. Je ne l’ai pas rendue publique avant l’élection : elle eût été vue comme une trahison plutôt qu’une occasion de réflexion. Non, je ne suis pas le Guy Bertrand des temps modernes. Et je refuse à l’avance toute invitation à venir me reposer à Sagard. Mais un moment arrive où il faut trancher.

 

 

 

Macpherson: New NDP policy can be summed up as '50 per cent plus one — plus'

Macpherson: New NDP policy can be summed up as '50 per cent plus one — plus'

Other than some talk about forming a provincial New Democratic Party, an idea that has since been shelved, did you hear anything about the NDP during the campaign for the Sept. 4 Quebec election?
No? Then it was a good campaign for Thomas Mulcair.
There could have been trouble for the NDP and its leader if any of its Quebec members of Parliament had come out in favour of one of the sovereignist parties in the election.

Anglos: le choix de Lisée fait jaser | Le Devoir

Anglos: le choix de Lisée fait jaser | Le Devoir

Il y a les pour, il y a les contre. Pour certains, Pauline Marois a posé un geste apaisant envers la communauté anglophone en faisant de Jean-François Lisée son interlocuteur désigné. Mais pour d’autres, c’est au contraire de l’huile sur le feu qu’elle a jetée en choisissant un homme qui a plusieurs fois fait bondir ceux à qui il doit désormais tendre la main. Alors ? « The proof will be in the pudding », dit-on. 

M. Harper doit dire «non» | André Pratte | André Pratte

M. Harper doit dire «non» | André Pratte | André Pratte

Une des pièces maîtresses de la «gouvernance souverainiste» de la nouvelle première ministre, Pauline Marois, sera de multiplier les revendications adressées au gouvernement fédéral. Secteur par secteur, le gouvernement du Parti québécois exigera qu'Ottawa transfère des compétences à Québec, avec les budgets associés évidemment. À ces exigences, le gouvernement Harper doit répondre fermement, poliment: «non».

NDP on defensive over Quebec policy - The Globe and Mail

NDP on defensive over Quebec policy - The Globe and Mail

The federal New Democrats, who head back to Parliament promising to act like a government-in-waiting, could find themselves on the defensive over the conditions they would establish for the breakup of Canada.
Members of the 100-person caucus confirmed at a meeting in St. John’s this week that they remain committed to party policy that states Quebec could separate if sovereigntist forces muster 50 per cent plus one vote in a future referendum.

William Johnson: The real Thomas Mulcair

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/the-real-thomas-mulcair/article557613/

Mr. Mulcair is confusing two decisions of the Supreme Court. Sept. 28 was the 30th anniversary of the court’s decision on Mr. Trudeau’s original intention of patriating the Constitution with support from Ontario and New Brunswick. The court ruled that was legal, but to be legitimate in a conventional sense required a consensus of the provinces.
So Mr. Trudeau convened the first ministers and won the support of nine premiers. And the Supreme Court ruled on Dec. 6, 1982: “The Constitution Act, 1982 is now in force. Its legality is neither challenged nor assailable.”
A CROP opinion poll published last Thursday indicated that 80 per cent of Quebeckers believe the patriation of the Constitution was a good thing. But Mr. Mulcair prefers reading history through the eyes of the Bloc Québécois

William Johnson: The PQ aims to divide

The PQ aims to divide

Pauline Marois, at 63, after a political career that began in 1978 when she served as Jacques Parizeau's press attache, now will become the first woman to govern Quebec. That's the good news. But her reign promises to be more bane than blessing, more xenophobic than gracious.
She has promised in her first 100 days in power to enact the most divisive aspects of the most radical electoral program in the history of the PQ. What remains to be seen is whether the Coalition Avenir Québec and the Quebec Liberal Party prove willing and able to act together to vote down her proposals, even at the price of precipitating an early election.
Clearly, any prospect of holding a referendum on secession is now out of the question, since both the CAQ and the Liberals, with or without Jean Charest, would be adamantly opposed. But on issues affecting language and culture the position of the opposition parties is less certain. Jean Charest had suggested at one moment in the campaign that he would support asking the federal government to force Quebec firms under federal jurisdiction to operate in French rather than having a choice of French or English. Moreover, during the 2008 federal campaign, he challenged Ottawa to give Quebec control over communications and federal spending on culture. This is a position not far from that of Pauline Marois. As we shall see.

A CLASSE Struggle catechism

Why are the people demonstrating?
 - They think they can influence the citizens and/or the govt.

Why are demonstrators being arrested?
- They are in illegal marches. And for illegal acts (vandalism, weapons, etc.)

How are the police reacting?
- Great restraint, but some repression after provocation.

Are the marchers read the riot act?
- After claiming announcements can't be heard, the police started using sirens as a warning.

Why are the marches illegal?
- Because of the Special Law Bill 78 (e.g. mandatory to provide itinerary)

Why was Bill 78 passed?
- Because of the student revolt (e.g., blockades of classes)

Why were the students revolting?
- They were "on strike"against a rise in tuition.

Do students have a right to "strike"or boycott?
- Maybe so, if they have a free and fair vote.  (N.B.: The student associations are not recognized as bargaining units by law.)

Did the students have free and fair votes?
- Not usually (small rooms, short notice, show of hands, intimidation). Even those who did vote ``yes` are only 1/3 of the total student population.

Otherwise, are students legally allowed to boycott?
- Surely. But not to force others to miss classes because of blockades (injunctions granted or access thereof).

Is the general population in favour of the students? 
- Since the strike began, the students have never received more than half of the populace's support.

Who does have legitimacy here?
- The majority government, after an election where a majority of voters cast ballots.

So why did the govt negotiate with the student representatives?
- For optics. And to influence the insurgents.

What can I do about it?
- You should support the students gaining injunctions to get to class. Also, to counteract the deeply flawed Bill 78.

What should I not do about it?
- Don't bang pots and pans. That noise is literally painful.
 

Quebec, Ink: At least the PQ isn’t pandering | Cult MTL

Quebec, Ink: At least the PQ isn’t pandering | Cult MTL

Yolande James, the Liberal incumbent in the Nelligan riding, had tens of thousands of campaign postcards distributed door to door this week. The English on it, as my francophone friends would say, “stunk of translation.”
In a list of her accomplishments, the glossy cardboard boasts “an urban boulevard in the grip of the future Highway 440.” Some grip. And then there’s “6,8M$ for the technological program of the pharmaceutical production at Gerald-Godin College.”
Admittedly, this is the kind of crappy translation anglophones have gotten accustomed to in Quebec. I used to get invitations to attend art exhibit “varnishings” where artists would “expose themselves” at public functions, so the above garble barely elicited a giggle. But it was truly shocking to see that an anglophone candidate in the heart of the West Island didn’t care whether a document she was sending to all of her constituents used proper, comprehensible English.

From the archives: Liberals retain big majority in Quebec PQ's strength, Equality's wins temper victory - The Globe and Mail

From the archives: Liberals retain big majority in Quebec PQ's strength, Equality's wins temper victory - The Globe and Mail

Peter Blaikie, chairman of the anglophone rights group Alliance Quebec, said the votes for the Equality Party were votes against the Meech Lake accord. "Meech Lake is not good for Quebec and it is not good for Canada," he said.

Quinze étudiants arrêtés à l'Université de Montréal | David Santerre | Conflit étudiant

Quinze étudiants arrêtés à l'Université de Montréal | David Santerre | Conflit étudiant

Mathieu Filion, porte-parole de l'Université de Montréal, insiste sur le fait que seuls 2000 étudiants sur les 45 000 ont voté pour le non-retour en classe.

Terence McKenna: Quebec's winds of change - Quebec Votes 2012 - CBC News

Terence McKenna: Quebec's winds of change - Quebec Votes 2012 - CBC News

As for the future, it is far from clear that even a PQ majority would mean another sovereignty referendum for Quebec, and another national unity crisis for Canada.
Former PQ premier Lucien Bouchard was very unhappy on the night of his majority victory in 1998 because he did not get over 50 per cent of the popular vote.
“How am I supposed to get over 50 per cent in a sovereignty referendum when I can’t get it now with far less at stake,” he asked his advisors. He never did call that referendum.

Breastfeeding group rejects transgender dad's leadership bid - Canada - CBC News

Breastfeeding group rejects transgender dad's leadership bid - Canada - CBC News

Transgender father Trevor MacDonald, who breastfeeds his son with the help of a supplemental feeding tube, is reeling after a rejection from the motherhood support group that helped him overcome his challenges.
La Leche League Canada (LLLC) told the Winnipeg man that he cannot become a group leader because he identifies as a father, quelling his ambitions to guide other transgender members and mothers who do not produce enough milk.
MacDonald, who has undergone chest reduction surgery, initially struggled to breastfeed his child. He credits the LLLC with providing him the support and resources he needed to nurse.

NDP returned $344,468 in advertising income after Conservatives complained to Elections Canada - thestar.com

NDP returned $344,468 in advertising income after Conservatives complained to Elections Canada - thestar.com

Courting ethnic votes is a delicate game for Quebec's leaders - The Globe and Mail

Courting ethnic votes is a delicate game for Quebec's leaders - The Globe and Mail

It is rarely seen in Quebec election campaigns, but a staple of every federal party’s tour: The leader visits Chinatown, a Sikh temple or some other ethnic community institution, sometimes even donning a piece of traditional garb in a gesture of respect.
They are politicians courting ethnic votes, to be sure, but even in the days when minority voters in federal elections were overwhelmingly and steadfastly Liberal, Conservative and NDP leaders alike made such stops to demonstrate openness ...

While Mr. Charest has criticized Ms. Marois’ Charte de la laicité, targeting religious symbols, his own government has picked targets, drawing up legislation meant to discourage the wearing of veils in public institutions.

Les solutions miracles | Vincent Marissal | Vincent Marissal

Les solutions miracles | Vincent Marissal | Vincent Marissal

Le PQ veut également interdire les écoles passerelles, quitte à utiliser la clause dérogatoire.
«Impossible», dit pourtant Louis Bernard, une éminence grise au PQ depuis René Lévesque.
«Il ne s'agit pas d'être pour ou contre le recours à la clause nonobstant, puisque cette clause ne peut être appliquée dans ce cas, dit-il. Plusieurs croient que la clause s'applique à toute la Charte canadienne, mais c'est faux, c'est de l'ignorance de la réalité juridique.»

No Dogs or Anglophones: Marois' 'Quebec Citizenship'........ Poutine, Maple Syrup & Koolaid

No Dogs or Anglophones: Marois' 'Quebec Citizenship'........ Poutine, Maple Syrup & Koolaid

Two Days- Two flip flops

It took just 24 hours for Pauline Marois' Quebec Citizenship plan to blow up in her face as the Parti Quebecois was forced to reverse positions on her pronouncement that all those who did not speak French would be barred from holding any public office.  Link

After week of backtracking, PQ’s Marois clarifies conservative gaffe - The Globe and Mail

After week of backtracking, PQ’s Marois clarifies conservative gaffe - The Globe and Mail

After telling conservative sovereigntists they should vote elsewhere if they can’t accept the Parti Québécois’s progressive platform, party Leader Pauline Marois moved quickly to defuse a potentially explosive situation.
The PQ has always been an alliance of social-democratic and right-wing sovereigntists. Ms. Marois’s comment suggested that for the first time, a PQ party leader was telling part of that coalition to get lost.

Five examples of civil disobedience to remember | Richard Seymour

The Guardian on Facebook

Quebec NDProvincial

Parti Québécois eyes beefed up Bill 101

Parti Québécois eyes beefed up Bill 101

The [federation of CEGEPS] argued last year the numbers don’t justify extending Bill 101 to CEGEPs because the proportion of francophones and allophones who attend English CEGEPs represents only 7.3 per cent of college students. It also noted 62 per cent of youths age 18-to-24 opposed the idea in a poll it commissioned in March 2011.
The Conseil supérieur de la langue française recommended to the Quebec government last year that freedom of choice for the language of instruction at CEGEPs be maintained.
The PQ’s platform calls for adopting a new French-language charter that would effectively mean English CEGEPs would be off limits to most francophone students and many allophones, as is the case at elementary and high schools.

Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/Parti+Qu%c3%a9b%c3%a9cois+eyes+beefed+Bill/7060725/story.html#ixzz24aHkyfBI

August 21, 1967:

Following a three-week exhibition in Toronto at four different venues, Canada's Confederation Train departs at the end of the final day of display at Downsview. The train was exhibited at Kingston for four days and then moved on to Montreal, where a mob of demonstrating separatists stormed the train, vandalizing the exterior with paint while Montreal police passively observed from the sidelines.

Andrew Coyne: Marois outdoes her predecessors with the most discriminatory platform Canada’s seen in years | Full Comment | National Post

Andrew Coyne: Marois outdoes her predecessors with the most discriminatory platform Canada’s seen in years | Full Comment | National Post

At the height of her now famous confrontation with François Legault near the end of Wednesday’s televised tête-à-tête, Pauline Marois attempted to play down the fears he was doing his best to raise over her party’s proposed référendums d’initiative populaire. As adopted at the Parti Québécois’s last convention, the appealingly named RIPs would allow a petition of 15% of Quebec’s voters to trigger a referendum on separation — well, a referendum on anything, but separation was the issue that most exercised Legault.
The measure, he said, would “send us into the ravine with the caribou” — a tangy reference to PQ hardliners, of which Legault was once one of the most ardent — allowing the militants to pitch the province into a referendum: a referendum, he added, the PQ would surely lose. Pish-posh, Marois retorted (I’m paraphrasing). “I’m not afraid of the people. I won’t stop them from initiating a call for a referendum.”

Citizen referendums were PQ's 'time bomb' - Quebec Votes 2012 - CBC News

Citizen referendums were PQ's 'time bomb' - Quebec Votes 2012 - CBC News

he idea of citizen-driven referendums has inspired grassroots chatter within the Parti Québécois for years. It was a crisis of Pauline Marois's leadership, several months ago, that finally made it party policy.
Now the ticking "time bomb," in the words of one longtime party insider, has gone off just as Marois was strolling through a trouble-free election campaign.
The possible premier-in-waiting has performed a sudden about-face on the policy and now says that, no, a PQ government would not be forced to hold a vote on independence whenever people gathered a few hundred thousand names on a petition.

Don Macpherson: Anglos are losing out

Don Macpherson: Anglos are losing out

he Liberal Party is offering nothing to English-speaking voters in the Sept. 4 Quebec election. And the other parties with a realistic chance of forming the next government are offering less.
That sums up the parties’ platform planks on issues that might be of particular interest to English-speaking voters.
As I mentioned in my column Friday, the Liberal platform contains no commitments specific to the English-speaking community. Not only does it not promise anything to improve the community’s situation, it doesn’t promise to defend its present rights or interests, either.

Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/life/Macpherson+Anglos+losing/7141947/story.html#ixzz24VeD8cM9

Projecting Montreal: The Party

Blames loss of MTL (island) population on last few decades on economics, not separatism

Quiet Revolution referred to as solely liberatory, not refractory also

Be it resolved ...

that anyone who cannot read the Quebec French press without translation, not be allowed to have an opinion on Quebec society.

How Marois' PQ inherited a political 'time-bomb', and is now working to disarm it

How Marois' PQ inherited a political 'time-bomb', and is now working to disarm it

MONTREAL - The idea of citizen-driven referendums has inspired grassroots chatter within the Parti Quebecois for years. It was a crisis of Pauline Marois' leadership, several months ago, that finally made it party policy.
Now the ticking "time-bomb," in the words of one longtime party insider, has gone off just as Marois was strolling through a trouble-free election campaign.
The possible premier-in-waiting has performed a sudden about-face on the policy and now says that, no, a PQ government would not be forced to hold a vote on independence whenever people gathered a few hundred thousand names on a petition.

Read more: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Marois+inherited+political+timebomb+working+disarm/7138046/story.html#ixzz24yZyq6EF

Citizen referendums were PQ's 'time bomb' - Quebec Votes 2012 - CBC News

Citizen referendums were PQ's 'time bomb' - Quebec Votes 2012 - CBC News

The idea of citizen-driven referendums has inspired grassroots chatter within the Parti Québécois for years. It was a crisis of Pauline Marois's leadership, several months ago, that finally made it party policy.
Now the ticking "time bomb," in the words of one longtime party insider, has gone off just as Marois was strolling through a trouble-free election campaign.
The possible premier-in-waiting has performed a sudden about-face on the policy and now says that, no, a PQ government would not be forced to hold a vote on independence whenever people gathered a few hundred thousand names on a petition.

PQ leader Pauline Marois reiterates that a call for referendum would come from the National Assembly

PQ leader Pauline Marois reiterates that a call for referendum would come from the National Assembly

Parti Québécois leader Pauline Marois papered over cracks in party unity Friday morning after a prominent MNA charged that a PQ government would be conning the population by not holding a referendum on sovereignty if 15 per cent of voters demanded it.
On Thursday, Bernard Drainville, the PQ member of the National Assembly for Marie-Victorin, told the Radio-Canada current affairs show 24 heures en 60 minutes that a future PQ government would pay a high political price for refusing to follow through on its commitment to hold a “popular initiative referendum” on sovereignty.
“If the government decided to say we won’t hold one for X, Y, or Z reason, can you imagine the flak? Imagine the reaction among the population that had been conned in a certain way,” Drainville said ...

Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/leader+Pauline+Marois+reiterates+that+call+referendum+would+come+from+National+Assembly/7140618/story.html#ixzz24UffEQka

PQ backs away from referendum proposal - The Globe and Mail

PQ backs away from referendum proposal - The Globe and Mail

The Parti Québécois continued to fuel the sense it is improvising its way through the election campaign, retreating from its proposal to allow citizens to initiate a third referendum on Quebec sovereignty.
The climb-down on the issue at the heart of the PQ platform followed a similar flip-flop on the rights of non-French speakers to run for municipal office, and confusion surrounding the release of its fiscal framework ...

Globe And Mail: Invited to Quebec legislature, Sikhs then barred for carrying kirpans

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/invited-to-quebec-legislature-sikhs-then-barred-for-carrying-kirpans/article562406/

They came to the National Assembly to support a woman's religious right to wear a niqab in Quebec but four members of the World Sikh Organization of Canada were turned away because of another religious flashpoint - the kirpans they were carrying.
The four Sikhs had been invited to appear before a legislative committee debating a bill that deals with the reasonable accommodation of religious minorities. But the group never got through the metal detectors at the entrance of the National Assembly building as security agents ruled the kirpans, or ceremonial daggers, they carried were a potential weapon ...
But head of security [SQ officer] Pierre Duchesne said he doesn't believe the rules should be changed. "In my opinion it [the kirpan] is a knife … It isn't because it's worn by a Sikh and that it's a religious symbol that at some point it won't be used by a crackpot. Sikhs can also have mental problems," he said.

Meet the man with a plan to make Quebec a country, quickly | Montreal

Meet the man with a plan to make Quebec a country, quickly | Montreal

He calls Parizeau the greatest politician in Quebec's history -- even greater than Levesque.
"Mr. Parizeau never doubted, always had a clear message and a clear way of getting to the objective," Aussant said. "He never softened."
Aussant doesn't, however, expect Parizeau to follow Lapointe's lead and join the party.
"The Parti Quebecois is his baby -- I don't expect him to go out and say, 'Vive Option nationale,' " Aussant said.
"In the last few years in Quebec, (the sovereignty movement) was a bit stalled because the parties that were supposed to take care of it did not.
"So, I hope he agrees that what we're doing now is good for the cause."

Read more: http://montreal.ctvnews.ca/meet-the-man-with-a-plan-to-make-quebec-a-country-quickly-1.918570#ixzz242NW3zJf

Can Quebec really separate?

Can Quebec really separate?

With respect to what constitutes a clear expression of will (i.e., what percentage of a Yes vote would be acceptable), the Clarity Act remains deliberately silent. For ultimate flexibility, of course, this determination would be left to the House of Commons, with the assistance of provincial governments, the Senate and Canadians themselves, if need be. Any referendum question, then, would have to first have the endorsement of Parliament.
What it does say in bold type is that the Canadian government will refuse to negotiate the dismantling of this country unless the House of Commons determines “that there has been a clear expression of a will by a clear majority of the population of that province that the province cease to be part of Canada.”
Whatever the election result is on Sept. 4, Canada now has in place very clear guidelines setting parameters around which the next referendum — if it does come — will have to be fought. Indeed, Ottawa sees the Clarity Act as tantamount to game, set, and match. By securing a veritable constitutional checkmate, the law has effectively boxed the separatists in and placed the referendum issue in a semi-permanent deep freeze.

Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Quebec+really+separate/7079997/story.html#ixzz23fKRGB3g

Don Macpherson: Shoes too big for Amir Khadir to fill

Don Macpherson: Shoes too big for Amir Khadir to fill

But Khadir’s choice of King and Gandhi as models for his civil disobedience was an unfortunate one – for him.
King and Gandhi used civil disobedience as a last resort because their respective peoples were denied the use of the vote to change laws they considered unjust.
Any similarity between their situations and that of an elected member of a legislature for which elections must be held within the next 18 months exists only in Khadir’s imagination, and that of his sympathizers.

Don Macpherson: Negotiation is not a solution in itself

Don Macpherson: Negotiation is not a solution in itself

“Negotiation” – almost everybody in Quebec still seems to believe in its magical powers to solve the current protest crisis, even after it’s already failed once.
Three-quarters of Quebecers in a recent poll by Léger Marketing for Québecor-owned media say the Charest government should resume negotiations with the students associations on its announced tuition increases.
The student “leaders” say they want negotiations (though the hardline CLASSE threatened to walk out of the talks before they even began). And so does the government.
If only it were that simple.

GuelphMercury - Masked protesters force Montreal students from class

GuelphMercury - Masked protesters force Montreal students from class

Quebec to table special law in student tuition crisis - Montreal - CBC News

Quebec to table special law in student tuition crisis - Montreal - CBC News

Quebec will table a special law to allow boycotting students to eventually finish their school semester, while taking a summer break to "restore calm" in the three-month old tuition crisis.

Emergency legislation announced Wednesday night will suspend the current semester for many CEGEP college and university students, with provisions for classes to be postponed until August, Premier Jean Charest said.
Charest stressed the law calls for semester suspension.

"We're not cancelling, let's be clear, we're suspending," he said, flanked by several rectors and university-association officials. "It will allow us to finish the winter sessions in the fall."

Don Macpherson: The choice is democracy or mob rule

http://www.canada.com/news/Macpherson+choice+democracy+rule/6531797/story.html

At precisely what point did we pass through the looking glass? Was it when responsible people began blaming the government for “provoking” violence instead of student leaders for enabling it?

Or when respectable citizens started clamouring for a democratically elected government to buy “social peace” – or, more likely, rent it for a while – from a mob of masked anarchists?

Or was it when Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, the spokesman for the hard-line CLASSE – and, apparently, for the entire student movement – declared on Wednesday: “I don’t have the power to appeal for calm”?

Quebec Stock'ome Syndrome

where you believe Quebec is a progressive nation, nothwithstanding all evidence to the contrary.

Eugene Forsey: Defender of the Canadian nation (book excerpt)

Defender of the Canadian nation

In June of 1990, the options for a stronger, united country were on the verge of extinction. The Meech Lake Accord, a package of constitutional amendments based on demands from Quebec and tradeoffs with the other provinces, was in the final stages of its approval process. Under the amendment formulas in the repatriated Constitution, the Accord needed the endorsement of Parliament and all ten provincial legislatures within three years. If it made it through, Canadians would awake to find massive decentralization embedded in constitutional concrete, together with an attendant host of extremely serious problems.

http://tinyurl.com/mfhwg5p

Painted into a corner by the red square

Painted into a corner by the red square

For Pauline Marois, it was easy to put on the red square symbolizing the student "strikes" and have her Parti Québécois members of the National Assembly put it on as well. Maybe too easy.
Marois and the PQ know that even students who haven't joined the walkouts are understandably unhappy about having to pay more for their education. She hopes that their anger at the Charest government will rouse them from their usual electoral apathy to support the PQ.
Apparently she calculated that merely promising to cancel the Charest government's tuition-fee increases wasn't enough. In a show-don't-tell age, when more than ever a screen shot is worth a thousand words, she wanted the PQ to show its solidarity with students.

On constitutional questions, it’s still Quebec vs. the rest of Canada - The Globe and Mail

On constitutional questions, it’s still Quebec vs. the rest of Canada - The Globe and Mail

Thirty years after the patriation of the Constitution, Quebec and the rest of Canada remain as divided as ever over the need to bring Quebec into the constitutional fold, according to a recent poll.
Quebec and the rest of Canada are at an impasse on a number of issues – more powers for Quebec, collective rights versus individual rights and the consequences of failing to reopen the constitutional debate – the survey shows.

Collectivities have no will, only individuals

Can my neighbourhood speak? No, but my neighbour can.

Louise Arbour: How the Charter helped define Canada

How the Charter helped define Canada - The Globe and Mail

From a global perspective, Canada now stands in an envious position in terms of quality of institutional governance. As democracy spreads over the world, it doesn’t always reach far beyond the setting of relatively free and fair elections. This often leads to stronger executive power and, at times, to a reasonably efficient legislative branch. Rarely is any attention given to the role of a professional, independent judiciary. It takes decades to construct, but in the resolution of conflicts, inevitable in any country, the rule of law is the best investment.

Editorial: Charter is a success story

Editorial: Charter is a success story

Lévesque was never more wrong than when he snarled at Trudeau at the conference where the constitutional deal went down that he’d never get away with this, that the people would stop it. As it was, Canadians embraced the patriation and the charter, including Quebecers by a big majority. Thirty years later, Canadians can reflect with pride on that day when Queen Elizabeth II signed the Proclamation of the Constitution Act of 1982.

Henry Aubin: Students may have gone...

Henry Aubin: Students may have gone...

MONTREAL - Hats off to the louts whose antics repeatedly stopped métro service Monday. By causing inconvenience to thousands of commuters, they've helped to alienate the public from the student boycott and to undermine the cause.

Don Macpherson: Everyone has their price – now we know Normandeau’s

Don Macpherson: Everyone has their price – now we know Normandeau’s

Even though it’s only April, we already have a strong nominee for quote of the year in Quebec politics:
“It was Céline Dion, after all.”
That was the excuse that Nathalie Normandeau gave Radio-Canada’s investigative program Enquête for accepting concert tickets from a municipal contractor while she was minister of municipal affairs in the Charest government.
Enquête disclosed last Thursday that Normandeau received nine tickets to a luxury suite at the Bell Centre in Montreal for a concert by the Québécoise pop diva in February 2009 from contractor Lino Zambito.

Cuts will mean a 'very different public broadcaster': CBC boss

Cuts will mean a 'very different public broadcaster': CBC boss

The austerity axe chopped deep into the CBC's budget Wednesday, and will result in "a very different public broadcaster," CBC president Hubert Lacroix said.
Viewers can expect less original programming, more reruns and - for the first time - ads on CBC radio as the broadcaster copes with a $115-million cut in federal funding. The agency will also sell buildings, tinker with employee pensions and cut 650 jobs in the coming three years as it adjusts to a smaller budget.
"It's not a fun day," Lacroix said. Across Canada, 650 full-time CBC jobs will be eliminated. This includes 475 this fiscal year, a further 150 jobs in 2013-2014 and the rest in 2014-2015. Those 650 jobs - split equally between French and English services - amounts to about nine per cent of the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.'s total workforce. That includes 150 management jobs.

Broadbent poll uncovers public desire to close inequality gap - thestar.com

Broadbent poll uncovers public desire to close inequality gap - thestar.com

The good news is that, unlike their governments, Canadians, whatever their political stripe, want action. New national public opinion research conducted for the Broadbent Institute by Environics Research and released today makes this clear.

Don Macpherson: When health becomes a language issue

Don Macpherson: When health becomes a language issue

Health care used as an instrument of language policy in Quebec?
Your medicare card used as a language-identification card?
Restrictions on access to English health care similar to those on access to English schools?
Denying immigrants the help of interpreters in the health system to describe their symptoms – or those of their children, their parents or other loved ones – so that they have to learn French?
All these ideas have been raised recently, not by cellar pamphleteers, but by members of mainstream French Quebec society.
And before you laugh them off, remember that some language proposals originally dismissed as ridiculous, such as banning English from commercial signs, went on to become law in this province.

Landry attempts to breathe life into ailing Quebec sovereignty movement - The Globe and Mail

Landry attempts to breathe life into ailing Quebec sovereignty movement - The Globe and Mail

With the help of PQ members, including party MNA Bernard Drainville who signed the declaration, the voices of dissidence within the sovereignty movement towards Ms. Marois’ strategy continue to be heard even though she has successfully climbed back into the lead in public opinion polls after overcoming a divisive internal party debate.

Federal budget poses threat to CBC, Stursberg argues - The Globe and Mail

Federal budget poses threat to CBC, Stursberg argues - The Globe and Mail

The French Conquest ... of England

http://www.montrealgazette.com/News/Helping+people+discover+their+past/1761584/story.html#Comments

I wish these vulgarizers would take a step back in history and tell, in French, the story of the Norman / French conquest of England. It was a brutal, military occupation in which virtually all Anglo-Saxon speakers were dispossessed of their lands and positions. It was not considered illegal for a Norman / French to kill an Anglo-Saxon, or rape his wife. The Normans imposed their system of government - all power vested in the king - flooded the towns with their own people - so that 25% of the population was French - drained the country of its wealth to pay for their wars and starved untold thousands in the process - and caused the disappearance of the Anglo-Saxon language- to be replaced by English which is at least 50% derived from French. I think a lot of Quebecois and Quebecoise would like to know that story, particularly as the majority are descended from Normans.

Macpherson: With 'friends' like Jean-François Lisée, who needs enemies?

With 'friends' like Jean-François Lisée, who needs enemies?

We've got the wrong idea about Jean-François Lisée, the sovereignist strategist behind the hatchet job on us English-speaking Quebecers in the issue of L'actualité magazine still on newsstands.
He's really our friend. He said so in an article published on the Opinion page ("Poll result surprised L'actualité," March 29), and on his blog on the L'actualité website. I would not be surprised if some of his best friends are anglos.
Jean-François - friends should be on a first-name basis - also wants to be our teacher. In our ignorance, we thought we had satisfied what Bill 101 required of us. We thought we had done so by learning French and speaking it outside our homes, thereby doing our part to meet Bill 101's objective of making French the common language of Quebec.

Parti Quebecois promises guidelines for its proposed citizen-led referendums - Winnipeg Free Press

Parti Quebecois promises guidelines for its proposed citizen-led referendums - Winnipeg Free Press

St-Hubert Expanding, New Markets, New Products - Foodserviceworld.com

St-Hubert Expanding, New Markets, New Products - Foodserviceworld.com

Federal budget poses threat to CBC, Stursberg argues - The Globe and Mail

Federal budget poses threat to CBC, Stursberg argues - The Globe and Mail

French in Quebec: "A question of feeling?"

http://www.cyberpresse.ca/place-publique/editorialistes/andre-pratte/200905/10/01-855092-une-question-de-feeling.php

...Selon Luc Plamondon, le gouvernement du Québec devrait faire davantage pour «promouvoir le français» auprès des immigrés. C'est vrai. Cependant, il faut reconnaître que les efforts déjà consentis ont porté fruit: entre 1991 et 2006, la proportion de Québécois allophones capables de parler français a grimpé de 69% à 75%. La situation de la langue au Québec n'est pas seulement «une question de feeling»; il faut s'appuyer sur des données fiables.

Le récipiendaire de la Médaille d'honneur a aussi observé que les jeunes Québécois sont trop souvent tentés par le «franglais». Encore là, nous partageons l'inquiétude de M. Plamondon bien qu'elle nous paraisse un peu paradoxale venant de l'auteur de Le monde est stone, Coeur de rocker et Tiens-toé ben j'arrive!. En ce qui a trait à la qualité de la langue, il faut se garder de faire preuve d'une nostalgie mal fondée. S'il est triste que le français de beaucoup de jeunes d'ici soit parsemé de mots anglais et même, qu'ils échangent parfois en anglais entre eux, il faut se rappeler qu'à une époque pas si lointaine, les Québécois francophones multipliaient les «muffler», «bumper» et autres «wiper».

M. Plamondon s'en est pris aux politiciens qui restent «les bras croisés» devant la menace qui pèse sur le français. La Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Montréal a loué son «courage». L'auteur des extraordinaires Starmania et Notre-Dame-de-Paris aurait fait preuve de plus de courage encore s'il avait invité les gens de son milieu à être des modèles pour ce qui est de la qualité de la langue. Car tous preux défenseurs de la langue française dans leur discours, nombre d'entre eux n'ont aucun scrupule à laisser tomber des énormités du genre: «Ça l'a pas de sens» et «C'était un hostie de bon show.»

Omar Khadr: U.S. defence secretary signals Guantanamo prisoner will soon be transferred to Canada - thestar.com

Omar Khadr: U.S. defence secretary signals Guantanamo prisoner will soon be transferred to Canada - thestar.com

Communications director joins NDP exodus under Mulcair - The Globe and Mail

Communications director joins NDP exodus under Mulcair - The Globe and Mail

More New Democrat officials who had been close to former leader Jack Layton and failed leadership candidate Brian Topp are leaving the party in the wake of Thomas Mulcair’s arrival at the helm.
Drew Anderson, the NDP director of communications, told staff Monday morning that he is leaving, a source said.

Macpherson: Mulcair faces a test to unite NDP's English and French wings

Macpherson: Mulcair faces a test to unite NDP's English and French wings

Six days before the New Democratic Party leadership election, a Montreal-based volunteer for candidate Brian Topp gave an early sign on Twitter of a problem in Quebec for whoever would be the NDP’s next leader.
“One of our vols is running 4 the QS nom in Westmount today,” Ethan Cox tweeted, “so we’re releasing most vols to support her.”
That is, at a crucial time in the NDP campaign, the volunteers were being released to help one of them get a provincial nomination for the Quebec solidaire party, which is sovereignist as well as left-wing.

Coyne: Mulcair victory inevitable but still impressive

Coyne: Mulcair victory inevitable but still impressive

Mulcair has remarkably little connection to the party he now leads. One senses no great personal affection for him in the party, nor any particular identification with what he stands for. His acceptance speech fell spectacularly flat, and not only for the professorial monotone in which it was read: it made only the barest appeals to party unity, invoked no party icons, touched on no party history, in fact barely mentioned the party at all.

Mulcair wins prolonged race for NDP leadership

Mulcair wins prolonged race for NDP leadership

"For far too long, certain leaders did nothing more than divide Canadians, pitting francophones against anglophones, west to the east. Even if this division can lead to short term political gain, the price to pay is far too heavy to our nation."

Mulcair's definition of victory takes new meaning as NDP leader - The Globe and Mail

Mulcair's definition of victory takes new meaning as NDP leader - The Globe and Mail

Thomas Mulcair keeps repeating that he has won all three provincial and three federal campaigns he has entered. He can now boast that he has won his first leadership race, beating out his six rivals to become Jack Layton’s successor at the helm of the New Democratic Party.
So forget all the nicknames that the hot-tempered Mr. Mulcair has earned over the years (“Grizzly” being the main one): All he cares about is being seen as a winner.

Postmedia: Ten challenges for Thomas Mulcair

Ten challenges for Thomas Mulcair

1. Prove them wrong
Mulcair’s critics say he lacks the temperament to be a leader. They have spoken of his volcanic temper, his ego, his refusal to work cooperatively with others.
Now is the time for Mulcair to prove them all wrong. Now is the time to demonstrate that behind that fiery public persona lies a leader who is in control of himself.

LaPresse: Le PQ craint que la viande halal devienne la règle | Jocelyne Richer | Politique québécoise

Le PQ craint que la viande halal devienne la règle | Jocelyne Richer | Politique québécoise

De son côté, le ministre Pierre Corbeil a dit que le PQ avait tendance à exagérer l'importance de ce phénomène. Il nie que la viande halal soit en train d'envahir les cuisines québécoises.
«La question que tout est halal, ce n'est pas vrai», a-t-il dit, lors d'un bref point de presse, au terme de l'interpellation, en ramenant plutôt la proportion halal à 0,6% de la production totale des abattoirs sous inspection québécoise. Et pour les abattoirs sous compétence fédérale, c'est «un infime pourcentage», selon lui.
À la suite du tollé récent survenu autour de l'abattage halal, le ministre Corbeil a écrit cette semaine à son homologue fédéral, Gerry Ritz, pour lui demander «d'examiner la possibilité de réglementer l'identification des viandes provenant d'abattages rituels».

Gazette: Quebecers not eating unlabelled halal meat: minister

Quebecers not eating unlabelled halal meat: minister

QUEBEC — Parti Québécois agriculture critic André Simard raised questions again Friday about the “ritual” killing of animals to produce halal and kosher meat, prompting Agriculture Minister Pierre Corbeil to remind Simard, a veterinarian, that he once worked as a provincial slaughterhouse inspector and should know better.
Defending himself, Simard said he was not trying to whip up anti-Muslim or extremist sentiment with his accusations that Quebecers may unwittingly be eating halal meat and may be paying more for that meat because Muslim prayers were said before the animal was killed.
“Religious ritual slaughter, whether it is kosher or halal, is an exception to the law, not the general rule,” he said.

Gazette Editorial: The halal affair: Shameless prejudice imported from France

The halal affair: Shameless prejudice imported from France

No Dogs or Anglophones: Language Hotheads Breed Violence

No Dogs or Anglophones: Language Hotheads Breed Violence

Yesterday in LaPRESSE,  Denis Lessard has written an article that says that the OQLF has no legal basis to force 'modifiers' on store names.

"Yesterday, the spokesperson of the Office, Martin Bergeron, argued that it was too early to announce the number of complaints made ​​on the question of name displays as a result of the campaign organization. "We checked our legal interpretation before moving forward. We understand that there are people who do not have the same interpretation as us, "he said.

 That readers is the closest you're going to get to an admission that the OQLF knows that it is wrong.
Mr Lessard went on to say this on the subject.

"This new campaign of the OQLF ignored a formal opinion of the Conseil de la langue, provided the government of Lucien Bouchard in 2000, at a time when  Louise Beaudoin was the minister in charge. The PQ government was told then that it was advisable to use incentives to get companies to francize their names, since according to the law, they were not on solid ground." Link{Fr}

And so the OQLF is out of line and knows that it is on thin ice, the question  remains as to why it pursues this course of action.

Postmedia: Quebec slaughterhouse debunks media frenzy over halal meat

Quebec slaughterhouse debunks media frenzy over halal meat

National Post editorial board: Quebec’s ludricrous poultry politics | Full Comment | National Post

National Post editorial board: Quebec’s ludricrous poultry politics | Full Comment | National Post

Quebec opposition condemns ritual slaughter | The Canadian Jewish News

Quebec opposition condemns ritual slaughter | The Canadian Jewish News

Growth plans for Quebec icon | Entrepreneur | Financial Post

Growth plans for Quebec icon | Entrepreneur | Financial Post

Xenophobia lurks in halal hysteria

Xenophobia lurks in halal hysteria

Gazette OpEd: The PQ plays its anti-immigrant card, again

The PQ plays its anti-immigrant card, again

QMI: St-Hubert dit non

St-Hubert dit non

Les Rôtisseries St-Hubert ne veulent pas de poulet halal, mais la chaîne ignore si Olymel a toujours respecté cette demande.
«On veut du poulet refroidi à l'air et le poulet halal est refroidi à l'eau. Il faut absolument que notre poulet soit refroidi à l'air. Nous avons des spécifications très précises sur la grosseur et le poids. On n'a jamais demandé du poulet halal», a expliqué Josée Vaillancourt, porte-parole de l'entreprise.
Selon elle, tous les poulets proviennent de l'usine Olymel de Berthierville, qui ne vend pas de viande halal.

Quebec slaughterhouse debunks media frenzy over halal meat

Quebec slaughterhouse debunks media frenzy over halal meat

CJAD 800 – News. Talk. Radio. :: PQ gets little support from animal rights groups - CJAD Local News :: CJAD Local News

CJAD 800 – News. Talk. Radio. :: PQ gets little support from animal rights groups - CJAD Local News :: CJAD Local News

GM: Muslim community calls PQ alarmist over halal meat - The Globe and Mail

Muslim community calls PQ alarmist over halal meat - The Globe and Mail

TorStar: Halal meat creating controversy in Quebec - thestar.com

Canada News: Halal meat creating controversy in Quebec - thestar.com

RadCan: Des politiciens nourrissent une controverse sur la viande halal | Politique | Radio-Canada.ca

Des politiciens nourrissent une controverse sur la viande halal | Politique | Radio-Canada.ca

QMI: Abattage halal ou casher - Un accommodement déraisonnable, dit le PQ

Abattage halal ou casher - Un accommodement déraisonnable, dit le PQ

LaPresse: Le député André Simard inquiet de l'abattage rituel | Claudette Samson | Agro-alimentaire

Le député André Simard inquiet de l'abattage rituel | Claudette Samson | Agro-alimentaire

LaPresse: Le PQ veut encadrer l'abattage selon les rites halal | Paul Journet | Politique québécoise

Le PQ veut encadrer l'abattage selon les rites halal | Paul Journet | Politique québécoise

PQ slams halal meat production - Montreal - CBC News/CP

PQ slams halal meat production - Montreal - CBC News

But Olymel spokesman Richard Vigneault said his company's products are processed under all required food safety and quality control standards mandated by the federal government.

The certification process consisted of having an iman recite a prayer in the plant and did not affect the slaughtering methods at all, he said.

"In no way we're practicing traditional halal slaughtering — no way," he said in a telephone interview. "In matter of fact, this [halal] certification has changed nothing about our slaughtering."

He dismissed media reports – including one on the talk show of former politician Mario Dumont, who helped get the debate rolling – as "totally wrong."

Vigneault said Olymel's method, which he insisted is humane, is to stun the poultry with an electric shock first and then slaughter it mechanically.

While Olymel's St-Damase, Que., plant is halal-certified, it has another poultry plant in Berthierville which is not.

"It's the Canadian Food Inspection Agency that regulates the slaughtering."

Anglo students transcend old divisions

Anglo students transcend old divisions

The student strike has revealed an important generational divide within Quebec anglophone communities.

There is an ideological divide as well.

 The only Quebec we've ever known is post-Bill 101, and we don't have the same baggage and hangups as those from past generations - the people who represent the anglo community in the media, at city halls, and at the National Assembly. 

No angryphones to be found there. Accommodationists prevail.


We're bilingual and bicultural, we have both anglo and franco friends, and we live our lives not on one side of a solitude, but constantly in between.

Like most anglos under 40.
 
My student association has been on strike for over a week, joining associations representing more than 130,000 students. 

The minority of students in Quebec (over 400 000)


At our general assembly, I spoke and voted in favour of the strike, seeing it as our responsibility to do our part to fight a destructive government that from Day 1 has attacked public services and placed the interests of its wealthy friends ahead of those of the general public.

Granted.


I've been disappointed (though not surprised) to see the uniformly negative, even condescending, coverage that the student strike has received in the English-language media. In editorials, letters to the editor, news stories and talk radio, the middle-age, middle-class, Liberal-voting West-Island resident machine took it upon itself to try to take down those young people who dare to stand up and defend themselves against the powerful.

 Not uniformly so. You must have read Matthew Hays' pro-strike piece last Friday, just for example.

 I was happy to learn that Concordia students have decided to join their colleagues in this movement, the first students at an English institution to do so. 

A minority of eligible voters bothered to vote 'yes' in the General Assembly, in an unfree and unfair show of hands.  The McGill Arts Undergraduates Students voted 'no'.

While the old generation has largely decided to line up behind a tired and discredited government, many of my generation share the same concerns as francophones do. We have decided to put our foot down.

Many, but not all (see above).

Huntingdon mayor has way to outsmarting Quebec language law

Huntingdon mayor has way to outsmarting Quebec language law

It was through discussion with a citizen named Robert Parkinson, of Montcalm in Quebec City, that an idea came to me, one based on wisdom: Why fight Bill 101 and engage the town of Huntingdon in a debate that will eventually divide Quebec unnecessarily? Let’s be smarter than this anachronistic law! Thus, over the next few days, the Town Council will be setting up an independent newspaper with a not-for-profit mission that will provide bilingual information from the town to its residents. The corporation, led by a group of committed residents, will ensure the dissemination of relevant information to the community, for and on behalf of the town and various community organizations in our region.

NDP's separatist pandering threatens national unity | Full Comment | National Post

NDP's separatist pandering threatens national unity | Full Comment | National Post

Just like the Bloc, the NDP argues that a majority of 50%-plus-one is the only valid rule in a democracy. Yet even the NDP requires a two-thirds majority to amend its own constitution.

This is why I`d rather negotiate with Tweedledum than Tweedledumber.

Liberal election calls records given to agency - Canada - CBC News

Jutra Awards: Monsieur Lazhar aces the test

Jutra Awards: Monsieur Lazhar aces the test

Jutra organizers included a note on ballots saying it was not necessary to have seen all of the films in order to vote. When this was made public a few days back, many in the industry were mighty peeved, including Forcier. He said since his film hadn’t made much money at the box office – and hence hadn’t been seen by all that many people – he didn’t expect to win anything Sunday night. It turns out Forcier’s pessimism was well-founded.

There has also been much complaining about the fact that the Jutra nominations were decided by a 16-person jury, a system brought in two years ago. Prior to that, the nominations were decided by members of all the different local film associations and guilds. This year, a couple of major films were snubbed by this jury, notably the critically-acclaimed films En terrains connus and Funkytown.

Brian Topp to ask Quebec MP to step aside if he wins - Politics - CBC News

Brian Topp to ask Quebec MP to step aside if he wins - Politics - CBC News

If Brian Topp wins the NDP leadership, one of the NDP's 58 Quebec MPs would be asked to resign so Topp could run in a byelection and get into the House of Commons "very quickly," the leadership candidate said.

In an interview Thursday with Evan Solomon, host of Power & Politics, Topp said asking someone to step down to create a vacancy is a "delicate matter" but that he would do it.

"I'm not going to name names and point at ridings, but I'm hoping to create an opportunity to get into the House as quickly as possible, yes," the Quebec native said.