Another Blow for Open Mindedness Québec

Yesterday I saw a very disturbing (at least to me) news story on one of the French news stations. Louise Harel, a former PQ MP and former leader of the separatist PQ is running for mayor of Montreal and she can’t speak English and doesn’t feel the need to learn.

So yesterday there was a rally organized Mouvement Montréal Français, an organization that is against the use of any other language in this city except French, they even tried to ban English telephone services from any business or government office in the city. The rally was attended by such illustrious guests as Bloc Québécois leader Gilles Duceppe and PQ leader Pauline Marois, who both showed their unconditional support of a unilingual mayor of Montreal. Marois even went as far as saying that Québec is not and will not be a bilingual state; it is and will remain a francophone state.

I am so tired of hearing this crap you guys have no idea. I am tired of feeling like an intruder in my own city, my own province. I am tired of my family being made to be traitors to the French language because we speak both English and French at home. I am tired of racism disguised as Nationalist sentiments. I am disgusted that Harel is the clear favorite to win this election. I am tired of this beautiful place being sullied by idiocy and the idiots who promote it. I am sick and tired of things like this being said. I am sick to my stomach whenever I turn on the television and see this kind of crap.

I am French and I have never EVER thought like they do and I know I’m not alone. When I see things like this I put myself in the shoes of someone who has worked their whole lives to immigrate here, to make a life for their children and for themselves. I put myself in their shoes and my anger just boils over. How dare they tell me that I am not welcome and that my culture is not welcome? They promised me that this place was different, that people were free and equal!

In Québec the sad truth is certain political parties and organizations use freedom of speech to promote hatred and remorse. They use the rights and freedoms that so many have died to protect or are imprisoned to obtain to promote intolerance, fear, lies and racism. This has to end.

Muchacho Enfermo

The New Nordiques

In today's Globe and Mail separatist Parti Québécois leader Pauline Marois is quote as having said :"The Montreal Canadiens is more than just a professional hockey team, it is part of the social and cultural fibre of the Quebec nation."

Coming from a woman who made a vicious attack on long time Habs captain Saku Koivu for not speaking French in his two line introduction on the jumbo-tron, her bid to convince La Caisse de Dépôt to purchase the team seems to be based on the fact that the team was a profitable investment for the current ownership.

If the Canadiens were bought by the province's pension fund, as Marois is trying to assure, would she then change the name because it doesn't sound separatist enough? or because it has federalist connotations? Or would she find a way to lobby the new ownership to try and stop drafting Europeans and English speaking people? Or force all them to take french courses?

I'm not sure, but I just don't like it when someone who vehemently opposes anything Canadian wants to buy something that so clearly represents a piece of Canada's heritage, the Canadiens.

Muchacho Enfermo

Marois: the little train that couldn't.

PQ leader Pauline Marois decided to use her opening speech at the Parti Québécois "National" council on Saturday to tell everyone present that Québec would be better off in this economic crisis without Ottawa... Isn't this the same person who complains that the money we get from Ottawa just isn't enough?

“Sovereignty is a pressing need” said Marois, saying that if Québec were independent of Canada it would have a seat at all the major international conferences and could push its own agenda.

I have a few words for Marois: nobody cares. Do you really think that if Quebec were a nation of maybe 6 million strong that it would be a part of the G8 or even the G20? Do you really think that with your broken English and your angry little fist pounding, anyone outside Saguenay would really give a damn? Do you think the world would just roll over and say "Wow.... Quebec is awesome, let's listen to what they have to say?"

Well my answer to all these questions is: no.

Outside Canada Quebec is insignificant at best. Economically Quebec would have nothing except hydro and lumber. The multinationals that employ hundreds of thousands would pick up and leave (just like in 1980 and 1995) and Quebec would be left alone, crippled, without Ottawa bailouts and money injections from big business.

It wouldn't be long before Marois would sell us out to the US and the precious "national identity" she so desperately pursues would be lost.

Muchacho Enfermo

Duceppe vows to bring more turmoil to the country

Gilles Duceppe, leader of the Bloc Québécois and professional idiot, stated a party rally in St-Hyacinthe that "Bloc and Parti Québécois victories brought hope to sovereignists. It's up to us now to translate this hope into action." There's so much I could say about the Bloc and the PQ but I'm pretty sure I've made my opinions clear on these two "mickey mouse" political parties, so we'll just leave it at that.

I'm just glad that Ignatieff never went through with this coalition business... It would have been a catastrophe to have the Bloc try to push their renewed fervor for separatism and its plan to destroy the country.

Duceppe gets cheers and applause at rallies because he speaks with conviction even when he's spouting nonsense such as: "For those who may not have noticed, no matter what party is in power in Ottawa, Liberal or Conservative, no matter who's in charge, the interests of Canada take precedence over the values and interests of Quebec." Does anyone else see hoe moronic that statement actually is? Of course they'll put Canada first, Ottawa is the capital of CANADA. If they started putting Québec first we'd have a huge problem on our hands.

My other beef with this next round of separatist rhetoric is that in this situation of economic downturn, the comments of the PQ and the Bloc could further hurt Québec's economy by scaring away businesses that operate here, simply because of the potential for political instability. The other thing is that this always comes up when the economy is at its lowest, when people are getting desperate, people who are afraid are much easier to manipulate and Duceppe is a professional manipulator.

I sometimes tell myself that I hope that the separatists win. It's too bad that I'd have to move away, maybe it's the motivation I need to buy a nice little house on the beach in PEI. But all that would be a small price to pay to watch the sovereignists crash and burn and struggle to stay alive. When all is said and done and Québec realizes it can't govern itself and steer its economy into the fiscal utopia that the Bloc keeps promising and they come crawling back... I'd hear about it on CBC radio, while sipping an ice cold Moosehead on my porch, watching the sunset on the Atlantic, I'd light a celebratory Cohiba, smile to myself and say: "I told you so".


*source for quotes: Globe and Mail*

Muchacho Enfermo

Western separatism? WTF people!

Alright... the redbull and the coffee have finally kicked in. Time to get serious folks the bartender has just put the Clash on the stereo and I'm feeling a little confrontational.

My good friend over at the Nexus of Assholery has posted today about how Preston Manning is trying to tell western Canadians not to separate. I think it's the first good thing this guy has done in his entire political career... I can't even begin to describe the disdain I have for good old boy Preston, but that's not the point of this post.

The point is that the West feels like they were left out of the coalition of NDP/Liberals some of them seem to think it's a giant conspiracy by Toronto to run the country. I got news for you folks. You voted conservative. The rest of us who didn't are well represented within this coalition. Don't get me wrong, I don't like the idea of a coalition any more than you do. But I would never complain, for example, that Stephen Harper doesn't represent me. Ever. The bottom line is I didn't vote for him and I don't feel he has my best interests at heart. Does that mean I want Quebec (where I live) to separate. No. Never. Ever.

People who think that the western provinces should separate should have a gigantic bbq at the nuthouse along with the Quebec separatists because it's basically the same load of crap that they are spouting. The only difference is one is saying it in English and the other is saying it in French.

You see? We have more in common then most people think. Why can't we all just get along.

Muchacho Enfermo

We win!

The Liberals have a majority. That means four years of peace from the PQ's separatist agenda!
This is a fine morning indeed!