Westmount.htm
home
david nicholson says
click here for quote window menu.
Do see www.WindowsOnWestmount.com our new site.
Don't miss our Notes on:
Benard Landry the king!
BOUCHARD & Québec & Jean Charest, the Fedreal Gov.
then City Mergers or Medical, Media , Legal , Markets Money , Oil, SCI-TECH, CHART NT Nortel, T-BBD_B
see Me SIMON V. POTTER on Absurdity 101 & the ENGLISH [was] THE ENEMY
click for the SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS Notes
Do see Quebec’s Next Referendum – Some Alternatives for Canada or
How to Enjoy the Coming Referendum in Québec
by REED SCOWEN
May 2001 Literary Review of Canada geocities.com/davidnicholson_99/ReedScowen.htm
see also Alliance Québec by W-N
W-N on Québec Langue
2009
Saturday 20 June 2009 Sexy federalism ... Adam Daifallah
With apologies to Lisa Raitt, the biggest problem with federalism in Quebec is that the arguments in its favour are inherently unsexy. Who isn't at least mildly intrigued by the idea of founding a new country? It conjures up all sorts of romantic notions and fuzzy feelings. Defending federalism is defending the status quo -- which is almost always more difficult.
Monday 08 June 2009 MONTREAL: SEPARATISTS LOOK TO FUTURE
The political party in the Canadian province of Quebec which launched and lost two referendums on separation from Canada is now plotting a third. The Parti Quebecois wants to revive the flames of Quebec separation between now and the next provincial elections, which could be held as late as 2013. Its focus will be on forcing the federal government out of areas of provincial jurisdiction, and strengthening Quebec's French Language Charter, which governs the public use and display of French in Quebec. But details on another referendum were vague. All party leader Pauline Marois would say is that it's a priority, but one that would wait for winning conditions.
March 19, 2009 Separatists have a point
By David T. Jones
The contretemps over the now aborted recreation of the battle on the Plains of Abraham demonstrates this reality...
Sunday 15 February 2009 QUEBEC CITY: FRENCH PRESIDENT RESPONDS TO QUEBEC SOVEREIGNISTS
France's president, Nicolas Sarkozy, has responded to Quebec soverignists who accused him of pandering recently to Canadian nationalists. In a letter, Mr. Sarkozy, stressed the importance of good relations with both the mainly French-speaking province of Quebec and with Canada. He wrote that he's tried to boost relations with Quebec and to increase co-operation between the French and provincial governments. A spokeswoman for the separatist Parti Quebecois, Louise Beaudoin, and a member of the separatist Bloc Quebecois, Pierre Paquette, declared their satisfacation with Mr. Sarkozy's letter.
September 21, 2007 Howard Galganov is still an idiot
Hey, remember Howard Galganov? He’s that anglo-rights crusader who was popular back in the 90s, ran for office a bunch of times (and lost) and eventually gave up on our province and moved to Ontario.
Well, Howard doesn’t let silly provincial boundaries stop him from opining, which he does now through his website. His latest diatribe talks about the declining anglophone population in Quebec, and he blames it on what’s clearly the most logical source: the anglophone media. (Except The Suburban and CIQC.)
SEPARATISM’S SWAN SONG (FOR NOW)
by Daniel
Tencer
May 15, 2007
If the Quebec sovereigntist movement were a medical patient, its
vital signs would be flatlining this week. Yet this medical emergency did
not appear out of nowhere. First, the Bloc Québécois shot itself in the
foot when it tabled a motion in Parliament last fall, declaring Quebec a
“nation,” which was quickly and slyly co-opted by Prime
Minister Stephen Harper, whose amended motion to declare Quebec a nation
“within a united Canada” passed the House and left the
separatists red-faced. Thus the sovereigntists limped into this
spring’s provincial elections, where they were given a road-house
beating by the upstart Action démocratique du Québec. Bruised and
bleeding, the separatists demanded Parti Québécois leader André
Boisclair’s head on a platter, and they got it, but not before
Boisclair launched a war of words against Bloc leader Gilles Duceppe, whom
Boisclair accused of undermining his authority. But the harshest blow came
from Duceppe himself, whose sudden candidacy for the PQ leadership and
even more sudden withdrawal twenty-nine hours later has left the
reputation of the sovereigntists’ most recognizable and respected
leader in tatters.
Just take a look at the words being used to describe Duceppe in the Big
Seven today. The
National described him last night as “a diminished leader,”
and that’s pretty charitable when compared to the Star’s
description of Duceppe in an editorial as having “made a laughing
stock of himself this weekend.” A few pages away, Star columnist Richard Gwyn takes a
leap of faith and declares separatism all but dead, and goes on to
congratulate Canada for sticking together when the international trend in
recent years has been for minority nations-within-a-nation to go their own
way. But as Daniel Laprès, warned on Sunday in La
Presse, those celebrating a federalist victory should hold their
horses. “All it would take is a reversal of economic fortunes for
things to go in the other direction, as happened following the failure of
the Meech Lake Accord in 1990,” he writes. Over at the
Post, Graeme Hamilton ponders the symbolic meaning of Duceppe’s
decision to stay in Ottawa. “Duceppe … was considering a job
that, by separatist logic, ends with the leader becoming head of an
independent Quebec.” So if Gilles Duceppe, the number-one
separatist, doesn’t want a job that is supposed to result in him
leading a country, what does that say about the true intentions of
Quebec’s sovereigntist politicians? Part of the answer may lie in
Jeffrey Simpson’s column (subscription required) in the
Globe: “The political instinct for survival, and the lure of nice
salaries and pensions, long ago overtook Bloc members who seem at ease in
the capital of a country whose unity they wish to disrupt.” In other
words, the problem is they’re a bunch of hypocrites. In the face of
all this negativity, can Pauline Marois, now almost certainly the
PQ’s next leader, resuscitate the sovereigntists? That, of course,
is the big question facing the separatist movement. Things can change
quickly in politics, and it would be unwise to declare the PQ and the Bloc
dead, but Marois will need one powerful political defibrillator to keep
this patient out of the morgue.
Sunday 26 November 2006
OTTAWA: SEPARATISTS TO VOTE WITH GOVT. ON QUEBEC MOTION
The Canadian opposition Bloc Québécois party said on Friday that it will vote along with the three other parties represented in the House of Commons in favour of a motion proposed by the Conservative Party that recognizes the mostly French-speaking Quebecers as a "nation" within Canada. The Bloc favours making Quebec an independent country. The Bloc had itself intended to proposed that Quebec be recognized as a nation but in a motion the text of which contained no mention of Canada. The government's motion was widely interpreted earlier in the week as a clever maneuvre to forestall the impending Bloc motion, a maneuvre which some commentators have said has been entirely successful. Despite his party's abrupt change of position, its leader, Gilles Duceppe, claims that the recognition will make Quebec independence closer.
maisonneuve TAILOR-MADE UNITY, THE QUEBEC COLLECTION
by Simon
Tudiver
November 23, 2006
The national unity question, along with Quebec’s ever-contentious
place within Canada, is a debate that pulls at the very fabric of our
nation. It divides opinion while tugging at dangling heartstrings. Some
feel the tugging strengthens our national fabric; others fear it tears
gaping holes. Yesterday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper gave the issue his
own yank by proposing a motion in Parliament that would recognize Quebec
as a nation “within a united Canada.” It’s a direct response to a similar
proposal by Gilles Duceppe aimed at dividing the House and capitalizing on
Liberal rifts on the unity issue. But Harper’s move is much more than a
counter-attack. It is an attempt for a simple resolution to decades-worth
of disagreement. Needless to say, the consequences are varied and
wide-reaching. CTV’s Craig
Oliver proclaims Harper has “swept aside generations of
misunderstanding,” embodied by the uncomfortable feelings leftover from
Charlottetown and Meech Lake. Harper has also managed to bring some
semblance of unity to the federalist front: the NDP and the Liberals both
gave the prime minister’s motion a standing ovation in the
House.
But is Harper playing the conciliatory Canadian statesman of
the 21st century, or is this just another example of clever
politicking? La Presse’s Vincent Marissal (not available online) votes for
the latter, finding Harper’s policy shift disingenuous. Marissal adds that
Parliament’s gestures toward Quebec always seem to be reactions to
political pressure and never contain any significant measures, such as a
constitutional amendment. For her part, the Star’s Chantal
Hébert argues that Harper has “pulled the rug from under the Bloc
Québécois, depriving that party of a major club with which to beat the
Conservatives and indeed all federalist candidates in the next campaign.”
But the effects are rippling beyond the Conservative party: several
pundits suggest the motion could help Michael Ignatieff win the Liberal
leadership race next month as he has endorsed a similar position during
the campaign. But the big question, of course, is what this means for
Canada as a whole. Alas, the answer is less clear. The
Globe’s editorial board applauds Harper’s idea, noting he has managed
to “remove most of the political sting from the word” nation while still
recognizing Quebec as distinct. The Post’s Andrew
Coyne, however, comes down squarely on the other side of the issue,
writing that the motion will preclude Canada from becoming a true nation
with “a transcendent nationalism of ideals.” The Big Seven has clearly
seized on an important issue, but the one angle of this debate that
remains to be covered is how Canadians themselves view the proposal. Do
Quebecers see it as pandering or profound? Will the West gripe about
alienation or laud the inclusion? It will be up to the Big Seven to
represent those views as they mediate the tug-of-war over the nature of
the Canadian
fabric.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
THE
LEADS:
THE NATIONAL: “A
Quebec Nation Within a Nation? The Prime Minister thinks so. High stakes
politicking for certain. Now how will this play out?”
CTV NEWS: “Is it a" onmouseover="return overlib('click to story via maisonneuve.org ', LEFT);" onmouseout="return nd();" traget="_new">
Nation Within a Nation? Stephen Harper’s vision of Quebec within
Canada”
GLOBE AND MAIL: “‘A
nation within Canada’”
TORONTO STAR: Not available due to technical
difficulties
NATIONAL POST: “‘A
nation in Canada’: PM”
LA PRESSE: “‘The Quebecois constitute a
nation within a united Canada’” (not available online)
OTTAWA CITIZEN:
“PM’s
motion cheered by all except Bloc”
2002
Friday Sep 6, 2002 cbc
LANDRY PLANS REFERENDUM AFTER ELECTION: MINISTER
A referendum on Quebec sovereignty would follow an election win by the
Parti Québécois, a cabinet minister suggested on Wednesday.
Tuesday Mar 26, 2002 ric Not enough French on Web, MPs told
OTTAWA - The federal government needs to do more to make sure French is used more on the Internet, the official languages commissioner said in a report released Monday. Dyane Adam complained the government has made a poor effort so far to make sure content can be found on the Internet both official languages. "I asked the government quite simply to roll up its sleeves and seize this opportunity to ensure that we promote Canada's linguistic duality on the Internet and that it becomes an integral part of the knowledge economy," she said. The study, called "French on the Internet: Key to the Canadian Identity and the Knowledge Economy," was delivered to Parliament on Monday. Francophones are less likely to use the Internet than Anglophones, and are less satisfied with the content they can find in their own language, according to Statistics Canada. Adam said her office has been receiving an increasing number of complaints from Francophones who don't like the poor quality of French translation on government Web sites. "I don't think it's overdramatization," said Maxine Hill, of the Association of French Canadians in Ottawa. She said she often can't find French content on government sites, or finds it but it's not of the same quality as the English. "If the message is not clear, or is not delivered in the same fashion, I feel like a citizen of second class," Hill said. Adam made a series of recommendations on the same issues two years ago. The new report points out that nothing has been done to implement any of them. Monday's report calls for an advisory committee to be set up by the industry minister.
2001
Tue 9/25/01 LANGUAGES COMMISSIONER BLASTS AIR CANADA
The official languages commissioner is highly critical of Air Canada.
cbc.ca/cgi-bin/view?/news/2001/09/25/languages010925
Tue 8/21/01
ESTATES GENERAL REPORT CALLS FOR CAMPAIGN TO PROTECT FRENCH
The government of Quebec must embark on a "comprehensive offensive" to
ensure that French is protected in Quebec, according to a report on the
language's future.
montreal.cbc.ca/cgi-bin/templates/view.cgi?/news/2001/08/20/estates010820
PQ REFERENDUM PLANS NO WORRY FOR CHAREST
Quebec liberal leader, Jean Charest, says he's not worried about Parti Québécois plans to hold a referendum in 2005. He says the PQ will have to win the next election before it can hold a referendum on sovereignty.
montreal.cbc.ca/cgi-bin/templates/view.cgi?/news/2001/08/20/charest010820
Thursday, 11 January, 2001
Quebec separatist premier quits
Separatism has been losing ground in Quebec
By Mike Fox of the BBC in Montreal
Mr Mr. Bouchard's departure throws new doubt on Quebec's future relationship with Canada. ...Mr Bouchard said he couldn't imagine how the independence debate had led party members to compare the situation of the French-speaking Quebecers to the suffering of the Jews in the Holocaust. ...harmful to Quebec's reputation worldwide, but he hoped that the quick condemnation by the National Assembly would lessen their impact. ...So the Canadian Prime Minister, Jean Chretien, seems to have one more reason to celebrate on what is his 67th birthday: Now his most fearsome separatist opponent in Quebec is stepping down.
2001
Saturday Dec 15, 2001 Language debate revived cbc
Changes in Quebec's language laws calling for better teaching of English in French schools, more attention to French in the workplace and plugging a loophole that allows as many as 350 children a year, who are normally not eligible, into English schools in Montreal, have reawakened the language debate.
Saturday Dec 15, 2001 LANGUAGE CHARTER UNFAIR: ALLIANCE QUEBEC
The English-rights group Alliance Quebec says the language minister's plan to increase French in the workplace is undemocratic, and unfair.
Saturday Dec 15, 2001 NEW FRENCH CHARTER ON THE WAY
The Landry government is going to rewrite the French Language
Charter next year.
Saturday Dec 15, 2001 LANGUAGE CHARTER UNFAIR: ALLIANCE QUEBEC
The English-rights group Alliance Quebec says the language minister's plan to increase French in the workplace is undemocratic, and unfair.
Saturday Dec 15, 2001 NEW FRENCH CHARTER ON THE WAY
The Landry government is going to rewrite the French Language
Charter next year.
Saturday Dec 15, 2001 LANGUAGE CHARTER UNFAIR: ALLIANCE QUEBEC
The English-rights group Alliance Quebec says the language minister's plan to increase French in the workplace is undemocratic, and unfair.
Wednesday Dec 5, 2001ENGLISH HEALTH ADVISORY COMMITTEE QUITS
The members of the provincial advisory committee on English language health services are resigning as a block.
Sunday Dec 2, 2001 HEALTH MINISTER TO CUT BILINGUAL JOBS
Quebec Health Minister R&é;my Trudel says he's planning to reduce what he calls the
disproportionately high number of bilingual jobs in the province's hospitals. He says he wants to ensure the right of francophones to work in French.
Sat 11/10/01 LIBERALS ADOPT CONSTITUTIONAL PLAN
Quebec's Liberal party has adopted a constitutional position that
it says will make Quebec a full partner in Canada.
The party met in Trois Rivieres this weekend.
Liberal Leader Jean Charest says there's a new mood in the country that
opens the way for Quebec to strengthen its place in Canada.
Wed 10/24/01 TOWNSHIPS STORE LOSES LANGUAGE CASE
The owners of an antique shop in the Eastern Townships have lost their case at the Quebec Court of Appeal over their bilingual sign. The highest court in the province says the sign provisions of the charter of the French language are valid.
Sat 7/21/01 8:57 AM Just call it www.silly.gouv.qc
After 24 years of disrupting the lives of Quebecers of both official languages, one might think that Bill 101 would have lost its capacity to frustrate. And yet the message posted by Regent Instruments Inc. on its Web site is so full of jaded resignation it could have been written in 1977. "According to the present interpretation of the law by the Commission (de la Langue Francaise, Bill 101's enforcement arm), an exportation company cannot have an Internet site for its international clients from the moment it makes a single sale in Quebec. At Regent Instruments, we feel this law is not well suited to the new economy and has the effect of damaging the culture it claims to protect."
Apart from this message, written in French, Regent runs a unilingual English Web site, a decision that cost it $500 in fines for contravening the French language charter. Its offence was simple - because it did business in Quebec, half of the content of its Web site had to be in French. Regent's reply to this was equally simple - because of only one per cent of its sales of image analysis systems for plant and forestry research occur in this province, it decided to stop doing business here completely and maintain its English-only site.
Fri 7/20/01 6:57 AMNet fine leads to boycott
By: MIKE KING
Operators of a Quebec City computer-software company have stopped doing business in the province, to maintain their English-only Internet site.
Regent Instruments Inc. decided to boycott the Quebec market after paying a $500 fine levied by the Commission de Protection de la Langue Francaise over the firm's Web site.
Thu 6/7/01 7:29 AM Quebec should count anglos in
By: PETER O'BRIEN
The Quebec government is pushing forward with two of its centralizing themes these days in a way which many members of the English community see as threatening to their institutions and community. The first and more publicized is the municipal mergers on the island of Montreal and the South Shore. The second, newer threat is to the hospital boards under Bill 28, scheduled for adoption by the end of June; all significant community involvement in the boards of community hospitals would be eliminated and replaced by direct and indirect government appointees.
Successive Quebec governments and its leaders over the last 25 years and more have insisted they respect the English community and acknowledge its importance to life in Montreal and Quebec. In the background of skirmishes over the erosion of English-language rights, particularly relating to the promotion of French-language rights, the arguments of the government have centred on national and cultural necessity against the English reality of the rest of North America and the growing influence of English worldwide. Anglophones don't like the measures and continue to point out their excesses and absurdities but, by and large, they recognize their importance to the French-speaking majority.
Wed 6/6/01 8:00 PM SAVING FRENCH LANGUAGE MIGHT BE TOUGH ON ENGLISH
The President of the Estates General has delivered a report calling for
a new language court and for measures to force the federal government to
recognize the predominance of French in Quebec.
montreal.cbc.ca/cgi-bin/templates/view.cgi?/news/2001/06/06/larose010606
Thu 5/24/01 7:00 PM VILLENEUVE RESTAURANT REVS UP LANGUAGE DEBATE
After making a name for himself on the international racing circuit,
Jacques Villeneuve has roared into the dispute over French and English
signs in Quebec.
cbc.ca/cgi-bin/view?/news/2001/05/24/villeneuve_010524
Mon 5/21/01 9:05 PM Their lawyer, Brent Tyler, says Quebec's language law was written long
before the world got wired, and he adds the language charter doesn't
even mention the word "Internet". Paquette, a spokesman for L'Office de la Langue
Française, says the law was designed to protect the French language
and applies to any advertisement in any medium. "Our position is, the media is not the important thing. It's the
message." The Reids and at least 10 people in the province have been fined under
the French Language Charter while doing business in cyberspace.
Thu 5/10/01 7:30 AM Federal task force taken to task
By: KEVIN DOUGHERTY The Gazette
The decision by Prime Minister Jean Chretien to create task force on urban issues is "purely and simply a provocation," Quebec's intergovernmental affairs minister said yesterday.
"As far as I am concerned, the man is beyond hope," Joseph Facal told reporters. "Jean Chretien gives me a thousand proofs a month that this (federal) system cannot be revamped. So that is why I am a sovereignist. I want out of this system."
Sat 4/21/01 9:30 AM Had it wrong about Quebec
Isn't it great? I just learned from the television news that Premier Bernard Landry and International Relations Minister Louise Beaudoin are convinced that not only is Quebec a nation, but an all-inclusive and democratic one, certainly more so than Canada.
All this time, I thought it was a province where francophones and some anglophones don't have the right to choose the language in which their children are to be educated, a province where no one has the right to advertise freely in the language of their choice, a province where two failed referendums are still not sufficient (yet if they win the next, then they will stop asking).
Sat 4/14/01 8:31 AM Josee's new job confirms PQ push
By: NORMAN WEBSTER
Say it ain't so, Josee. The news is that you've left the wonky world of journalism for the wonkier one of politics. You're off to become a special adviser to Bernard Landry on Quebec's "march to sovereignty."
I'll miss seeing you at The Gazette on Fridays, and reading your column on this page Saturday morning. I'll miss, too, the conversation opener almost every anglo in Montreal uses when approaching me at parties, business meetings or (I am not making this up) in hockey dressing rooms: "What's Josee Legault really like?"
Apr 11 2001 QUEBEC USES WEB TO SHAME LANGUAGE OFFENDERS
The government of Quebec is using a Web site to publically post the
names of companies that break its language laws.
montreal.cbc.ca/cgi-bin/templates/view.cgi?/news/2001/04/11/langueweb010411
www.ccla.org/ Canadian Civil Liberties Association
March 2001
Sat 3/17/01 8:01 AM Finally! A debate on sovereignty
By: JOSEE LEGAULT
Words, words, words. In the past few days, there have been plenty thrown back and forth between Quebec and Ottawa. "Nation," "people," "harmful," "barbaric," "le nationalisme exacerbe" and so on. The fascinating part is that for the first time in five years, some of those words were being uttered by the leader of the sovereignist Parti Quebecois government.
Yes. After five years of Lucien Bouchard's discreet statements on the national question, the new premier speaks. And he speaks about sovereignty. The world never ceases to amaze. If this continues, if Bernard Landry keeps promoting the preferred constitutional option of his own government, and if federalists keep responding, first thing you know we'll have an actual debate happening. Now, let me think. What is that called again? Oh, yes. Democracy. People speaking their minds, defending their convictions, others replying, people answering back, offering arguments and thoughts. Love the whole concept. Always did.
Fri 3/9/01 8:00 PM Here we go again
By: NORMAN WEBSTER
A few years ago, a couple of bright American scientists unveiled a new cosmic calendar. Our universe, they calculated, is roughly 10 billion years old, or 10 to the 10th power. They estimated it should cease to exist - all atoms decaying and even black holes evaporating - in 10,000 trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion years, or 10 to the hundredth power.
That's a long time. Will Canadians still be talking about the constitution?
Sat 3/10/01 8:01 AM Bilingualism boosts earnings: Study
By: JANE DAVENPORT
Quebec should be trying to increase bilingualism among French-speaking Quebecers, the author of a study on language skills and earnings in the work force has recommended.
"It seems to us that the estates-general (on the status of French) should recommend ways to improve the mastery of English among francophones," the study by Universite de Montreal professor Francois Vaillancourt concludes.
Fri 3/9/01 8:00 PM NEED TO IMPROVE ENGLISH AMONG FRANCOPHONES
A new study done for the right of centre CD Howe Institute says more
needs to be done to improve the quality of English spoken by Quebec
francophones.
montreal.cbc.ca/cgi-bin/view?/news/2001/03/09/englishcdhowe010309
Fri 3/9/01 8:00 PM
A Quebec Superior Court judge says a minimum one-year wait to be
enrolled in English school is unreasonable for a 10-year-old child.
montreal.cbc.ca/cgi-bin/view?/news/2001/03/09/english010309
Sun 3/4/01 8:00 PM BIGGER THREAT TO UNITY? 'DAMN RIGHT,' SAYS LANDRY
The new leader of the Parti Québécois appeared to relish his
promotion on the weekend, as he exchanged jabs with critics and rallied
supporters with tough talk about separation.
cbc.ca/cgi-bin/view?/news/2001/03/04/pq_council010304
Sun 3/4/01 7:00 PM PQ REJECTS FORCING LONGER FRENCH EDUCATION
Despite pleas from hardline separatists, Parti Québécois
delegates have voted against taking a tougher stand on language policy.
cbc.ca/cgi-bin/view?/news/2001/03/03/pq_council010303
Fri 3/2/01 7:02 AM Language cops crack down
By: IRWIN BLOCK, & ELIZABETH THOMPSON
Quebec's language cops are cracking down again on street signs that don't respect the language law.
But the alleged culprits - Montreal, Pointe Claire, Beaconsfield and Cote St. Luc - say they have no intention of investing immediately to ensure French predominance on street signs.
Thu 3/1/01 8:00 PM CRACKDOWN ON ENGLISH STREET SIGNS
After years of warnings, the Quebec government is going after
municipalities that have "Road", "Crescent" or other English words on
street signs.
The solicitor general is imposing fines on Montreal, Beaconsfield and Pointe Claire. The fines can go up to $1,400 for a first offence and between $1,000 and $7,000 for subsequent ones.
Beaconsfield Mayor Roy Kemp says his municipality has no intention of spending the $85,000 that would be necessary to replace the signs. Kemp says he and other mayors have told the government that they have no problem replacing signs as they wear out.
The government is also looking at cracking down on signs in Hampstead and Cote St-Luc.
February 2001
Sun 2/25/01 8:00 PM PQ VOWS TO REMAIN HARD-LINED ON LANGUAGE
The Parti Québécois says it has no intention of softening its stance on
the use of the French language.
montreal.cbc.ca/cgi-bin/view?/news/2001/02/23/Language010223
Thu 2/22/01 7:02 AM Actors demand film-dubbing legislation
By: BRENDAN KELLY The Gazette
Quebec's main actors union wants the province to pass a law requiring Hollywood film studios to dub all of their films into French here, using local talent.
At a press conference yesterday, Union des Artistes president Pierre Curzi said it's only fair that the major studios help support the Quebec dubbing industry given the amount of money they make via ticket sales in the province. [When Québec demanded the US Stock Option Exchange print every prospective in Frensh .. They were told NO! It is a guess that Hollywood will say it is not worth the cost]
20/Feb/2001 New current of thought on language
By: DON MACPHERSON
Somebody once said that writing an editorial is like wetting oneself while wearing a dark suit: the writer feels warm all over, but nobody else notices. And somebody else, American journalist Fred Barnes, more recently opined that the four most daunting words for a newspaper reader are "first of a series."
So when Alain Dubuc, chief editorial writer at La Presse, tackled an eight-part series on language, he was bucking serious odds that few people would make it to the second one, let alone stick with it until the end. The series consisted of an editorial a day for eight days, and concluded on Saturday.
Fri 2/16/01 7:32 AM Evolution of the language debate
By: GRETTA CHAMBERS Freelance
La Presse's eight-part series on the status of the French language by editorialist-in-chief Alain Dubuc ends tomorrow. Dubuc's thesis is that the enormous changes in the last 25 years should be included in the debate stirred up by the estates-general on language rather than being ignored as irrelevant: "At the time the Charter of the French language was adopted, its true targets, never formally identified, were those who refused to accept that the language of the majority become the common language of Quebec. As the debates of that day indicate, Bill 101 was directed at "our" anglos."
Times change, Dubuc wrote, and the nature of what now confronts Quebec is very different.
Wed 2/14/01 7:24 AM Two solitudes mingling more
By:
Quebec's two solitudes are surprisingly understanding of one another, a survey of francophone Quebecers' perceptions of anglophones concludes.
A poll of 1,264 French-speaking Quebecers indicates there has been a defrosting of French-English relations in the province during the past decade - and perhaps even a greater intermingling of the two cultures.
4/Feb/2001 Separatists have lessons to learn
By: TOMMY SCHNURMACHER
The Parti Quebecois has come up with a marvelous idea.
Party stalwarts have been actively exploring the possibility of establishing a sovereignty training school because they realized Quebecers were becoming weary of empty and outdated sovereignist rhetoric.
3/Feb/2001 Tougher Bill 101 not likely
By: JOSEE LEGAULT
The language issue is not what it used to be. Once upon a time, it was actually possible to debate the pros and cons of a strong, pro-active language policy without seeing most of Quebec's own francophone elites - political, business and media alike - retreat in fear of yet another so-called language war.
But that was then. And this is now. Today, anyone who dares venture that Bill 101 - the Charter of the French Language - needs to be beefed up is automatically labeled a language hawk, a hard-liner, an extremist, an ayatollah. Anyone who suggests we need to encourage more allophones to make what is called a language shift - to adopt French as their household language the same way that most allophones in the ROC shift to English - is accused of being an alarmist who, for base political reasons, denies what tremendous progress French has allegedly made in Quebec over the past three decades.
3/Feb/2001 School for sovereignty
By: HUBERT BAUCH
In preparation for a renewed sovereignty drive, the Parti Quebecois is considering setting up a training "school" for its campaign troops.
The plan is to have a special cadre of party campaign and communications specialists travel around the province to head weekend or evening workshop sessions on how best to convince skeptics of the merits of sovereignty.
1/Feb/2001 Denying the reality
In its latest study of the French fact in Quebec, the Parti Quebecois executive council has taken a set of facts, which by any unbiased analysis points to the robust health of the French language in Quebec, and twisted it around until it appears to mean the direct opposite.
Ninety-four per cent of Quebecers speak French. Does that figure mean what it looks as if it means, that almost every single, solitary soul who inhabits this province can speak the language the PQ insists is endangered? No, not according to the PQ executive council, it doesn't. Ninety-four per cent is 6 per cent short of 100 per cent, and for the PQ even that does not seem to be enough.
1/Feb/2001 It's never enough
By: DON MACPHERSON The Gazette
The harassment never ends, and it never will. No matter how much Quebec's linguistic minorities contribute to the improvement of the situation of French, it will never be enough.
They will never be left in peace. More will always be demanded from them. And they will always be treated warily, distrustfully, as a constantly threatening, potential internal enemy.
1/Feb/2001 French should be required at small firms: PQ
By: PHILIP AUTHIER The Gazette
The Quebec government should "envision the possibility" of extending French-workplace rules to small and medium-sized firms and force large companies like Second Cup to add French descriptions of their businesses to their English-language trademark signs, but hold off for now on forcing immigrants to attend French CeGEPs.
The recommendations are included in a Parti Quebecois executive brief on language made public yesterday but destined for presentation to the estates-general on language in March. Before it gets there, the 64-page brief will be debated by party rank-and-file over the next few weeks, before being adopted at a special PQ national-council meeting March 3-4.
1/Feb/2001 Feds should act, not talk: language minister
By: ELIZABETH THOMPSON The Gazette
Quebec Language Minister Louise Beaudoin scoffed yesterday at federal government pledges to better protect francophones outside Quebec, saying Ottawa has to stop treating English and French equally.
"The basic fault is to treat the two languages equally," said Beaudoin, who is accompanying Premier Lucien Bouchard on an economic development trip to Spain and Italy.
notes for January 2001
27/Jan/2001 Sovereignists have reason to be happy
By:JOSEE LEGAULT
Last week, I wrote that Bernard Landry has the potential to restore unity within PQ ranks and put sovereignty back on the front burner. But the chiffons rouges affair of this week took up so much media attention that there's hardly been time to reflect upon the meaning of Landry's candidacy for the Parti Quebecois leadership.
Last Sunday, in Vercheres, when Landry announced his candidacy, both the signs of possible unity and talk of sovereignty were "au rendez-vous," as we say. The atmosphere in the hall was most striking. Emotion and a kind of serene excitement were in the air - things that hadn't been present at a PQ gathering for a long time. The party members who attended were impressed by Landry's slogan - "Nous sommes deja demain" (Tomorrow is Already Here) - and even were stirred by it. One member told me, "I think we're being given a new beginning, and I'll take it."
27/Jan/2001 No language crackdown: Landry
By: PHILIP AUTHIER The Gazette
Arguing he doesn't want a "social rupture" in Quebec - and that he wants anglophones to feel at home - premier-in-waiting Bernard Landry says a massive crackdown on language is unnecessary.
Speaking to The Gazette this week, Landry stopped short of saying the status quo suits him when it comes to language matters in the province.
17/Jan/2001 Health is top anglo concern
By: SUE MONTGOMERY The Gazette
Receiving health and social services in English is the top concern of anglophones in Quebec, while the language of signs is their least concern, a CROP poll indicates.
A very high percentage - 72 per cent, compared with 47 per cent of francophones - said they would turn to family members for aid in case of illness.
Mon Jan 15 15:06:55 2001 FRENCH NEWSPAPER WEIGHS IN ON QUEBEC SOVEREIGNTY
A Quebec minister has told an influential French newspaper that Lucien
Bouchard's resignation will rekindle the sovereignty debate. But an
editorial in Le Monde says the issue is outdated. FULL STORY: cbc.ca/cgi-bin/view?/news/2001/01/14/lemonde_que010114 
Nick Spicer reports for CBC Radio
[Download Players]
14/Jan/2001 Bouchard will be missed
By: NICHOLAS KATALIFOS
To many in the ethnic communities, Lucien Bouchard was the incarnation of separatism with a human face. The policy of independence, language laws, the occasional off-colour remark over ethnic votes and money often hit Quebec's ethnic communities hard. But Mr. Bouchard always compensated for the shortcomings of extremists.
It should be noted that the great exodus of people from Quebec after 1976 has separated families, with the young seeking a new life elsewhere and the older ones taking their chances in a constantly evolving political environment. Unfortunately, many who left were bilingual and those who remained simply adjusted. After all, Quebec is our home, all the more so because in this society we can agree to disagree and still remain friends after a referendum or any other divisive political event.
14/Jan/2001 Interesting times in Quebec: a new chapter begins
By: MORDECAI RICHLER
Even a failed pseudo-revolution devours its own. One after another, Rene Levesque, Pierre Marc Johnson, and now Lucien Bouchard, who also refused to ride with the most xenophobic of the PQ hounds, have been obliged to resign. In Bouchard's case, it came as no great surprise, because his return to private life had been rumoured for months. He is a complex man, easily the most cultured and charismatic of Canadian politicians since Pierre Elliot Trudeau , however contrary their political agendas. Charming, and able to enjoy jokes about himself in private, as I can testify, he could be transmogrified into a demagogue, fueled by an audience of enthusiasts. His intelligence undoubted, he had no trouble reading the political tea leaves. As he noted in his resignation speech, and as others had already observed, "Quebecers were astonishingly impassive in the face of federal offensives like the social union, the millennium bursary program, the creation of university research chairs, the adoption of Law C-20 (on referendum clarity) ..."
Put plainly, the separatist tide was receding. Urged to call for yet another referendum by less prescient but forever fulminating hard-liners, Bouchard grasped that the numbers weren't there, and he didn't want to go down in history as the loser of Referendum III. In his resignation speech, the 62-year-old Bouchard, who six years earlier had lost a leg in a life-threatening encounter with a rare flesh-eating disease, alluded to his desire to spend more time with his wife and young children; and while denouncing the odious Yves Michaud for his boorish anti-Semitic prattle, he claimed, less convincingly, that this was not the reason for his resignation. However, without actually naming his nemesis, Jacques Parizeau, he did manage a dig at "several dozen personalities (who had) signed a public condemnation of the National Assembly resolution" denouncing Michaud, adjudging him an unsuitable PQ candidate. In other words, there is a dangerous split looming in the PQ ranks. And in the internecine struggle to come, the PQ's dark underside might yet emerge triumphant, a measure of that party's current desperation. If that's to be the case, Parizeau's infamous complaint about "money and ethnic votes" could, in retrospect, seem very mild beer. With only two, or at the most, three years left to the PQ in office, they could use that time to vengefully enact even more fatuous language laws. Measures, as Bouchard hinted in his speech, that "could hurt Quebec's reputation abroad." Making them vulnerable to ridicule, he might have added.
14/Jan/2001 Bouchard imposed a quiet counterrevolution
By: LYLE STEWART
You'd almost think Lucien Bouchard did nothing else during his five years in office besides tangle with militant party activists. After the reams of newspaper copy and hours of broadcast time devoted to the premier's abrupt resignation last week, we all know Bouchard lost his will to stamp out the xenophobic fringe of the Parti Quebecois. We know far less about the wrenching social and economic change he imposed on Quebec.
As Bouchard said, quite accurately, during his resignation speech Thursday, "My government reoriented Quebec's future in the matter of public finances, the economy, taxation, health, education, social programs and municipal reorganization."
14/Jan/2001 The devil we knew
By: NEIL CAMERON Freelance
Lucien Bouchard's career was built on other people's mistakes. Brian Mulroney was wrong in believing he could forge a successful constitutional accord with the combination of high office and direct assistance from Bouchard, underestimating the effectiveness of the opposition from Pierre Elliot Trudeau and the Trudeauites. Mulroney and Robert Bourassa both were stuck with defending official bilingualism in Canada at the same time as an unfavourable Supreme Court decision led Bourassa to try to shore up French unilingualism in Quebec with the notwithstanding clause. Mulroney was also wrong in assuming he could count on Bouchard's continued loyalty when the Meech Lake accord failed in June 1990.
Jacques Parizeau was wrong in thinking he could lead a winning referendum campaign by himself. Parti Quebecois activists were wrong in assuming that the passion Bouchard put into the referendum campaign, and his evident broad support, indicated he would continue to be an effective sovereignty advocate in office. Supporters of the provincial Liberals were wrong in assuming that Jean Charest, as fast as he was brought into Quebec politics, could quickly dispatch a Bouchard-led PQ.
13/Jan/2001 PQ has time to rebuild
By: JOSEE LEGAULT
The Yves Michaud affair is sure to go down in history, but not as the reason Lucien Bouchard decided to quit as leader of the Parti Quebecois. If anything, the premier quit because he concluded he just couldn't do what he thought he was expected to do: create the winning conditions for a referendum on sovereignty.
What Bouchard did not seem to realize, however, is that one of those winning conditions is for the premier to promote the option. Sadly for the PQ and the sovereignty movement, this hasn't been done for the past five years. In 1996, when he became premier, Bouchard seemed to think that if he governed well enough, that would make Quebecers confident enough in themselves to say Yes to having their own country.
January 12, 2001 Resignation in Quebec Reflects Split in Nationalism 
www.nytimes.com/2001/01/13/world/13QUEB.html
notes for December 2000
22/Dec/2000 Condemnation deserved
All the demons that ever haunted the Parti Quebecois have come back with a vengeance in l'affaire Michaud: most notoriously, the party's ambiguous relationship with immigrants to Quebec and its wariness toward even long-established ethnic communities. The schism that divides the sovereignty-at-all-costs supporters from the rest of the party has once again opened up, threatening to swallow Premier Lucien Bouchard. Will he be allowed to stay only if he takes Quebec to the promised land of independence? Or can he be the leader of all Quebecers, whatever their background and political leanings?
L'affaire Michaud is Mr. Bouchard's second chance to do things right. He didn't quite nail it last time when former premier Jacques Parizeau launched into an angry, drunken harangue on the night of the 1995 referendum, blaming money and ethnic votes for the loss. Although Mr. Bouchard urged a calm acceptance of a democratic vote, he didn't repudiate Mr. Parizeau's tirade with the same kind of energy he is bringing to Mr. Michaud's remarks. He did not spearhead a motion in the National Assembly, blasting Mr. Parizeau for his unwillingness to accept the right of all Quebecers to vote however they please.
22/Dec/2000 Hard-liners won't sway us, Larose insists
By: ELIZABETH THOMPSON
The current turmoil in the ruling Parti Quebecois and shows of force by language hard-liners won't sway the estates-general on the French language, the head of the commission said yesterday.
"The process is too advanced for it to be a process that marches to the rhythm a political party," said Gerald Larose.
20/Dec/2000 PQ in turmoil
By: ELIZABETH THOMPSON
Divisions within Quebec's ruling Parti Quebecois deepened yesterday as Premier Lucien Bouchard said he does not believe veteran sovereignist Yves Michaud should be a candidate for the PQ.
Michaud supporters accused Bouchard of throwing fat on the fire, and said they are beginning to question his leadership.
19/Dec/2000 DOES GOVERNMENT HAVE POWER OVER LANGUAGE ON THE INTERNET?
A rural Quebec couple wants the courts to rule on whether the province's
language laws apply to the Internet.
19/Dec/2000 Quebec to appeal French Language Charter ruling
By: ELIZABETH THOMPSON
The Quebec government will appeal a court ruling that promises to make it easier for children of immigrants and francophones to attend English schools, Justice Minister Linda Goupil announced yesterday.
Louise-Andree Moisan, spokesman for Goupil, said the government is appealing because the ruling invalidates part of the French Language Charter, Bill 101.
16/Dec/2000 ime to get moving
By: JOSEE LEGAULT The Gazette
This week, the need to start promoting sovereignty - like, real soon - was expressed once again within sovereignist ranks. On Tuesday, the Parti Quebecois Montreal Ville-Marie region presented what it calls its action plan to attain sovereignty within 30 months.
Now calm down, folks. Finish your coffee and don't take out the Valium just yet (nudge-nudge, wink-wink to Aislin). That 30-month horizon is not set in stone. It only points to the need to put the Yes option back on the front burner before the next Quebec election.
19/Dec/2000 'Dangerous precedent'
By: ELIZABETH THOMPSON The Gazette; PC contributed to this report
The National Assembly made "a grave error" when it adopted a motion last week denouncing comments made by veteran sovereignist Yves Michaud, former Parti Quebecois premier Jacques Parizeau said yesterday.
"It is an extremely dangerous precedent," Parizeau said. "It is the state, through the voice of its parliament, that decrees that the ideas of a man are reprehensible. That must not be accepted in a society." Full story: click for pile of Michaud stories
15/Dec/2000 Doing the right thing
19/Dec/2000 MICHAUD WANTS PUBLIC HEARING TO CLEAR HIS NAME
16/Dec/2000 Michaud's mouth
14/Dec/2000 B'nai Brith feuding with PQ hopeful
13/Dec/2000 Premier allows PQ hard-liner's bid for seat
see Wednesday-Night 980 for more on Yves Michaud and the B’Nai Brith
or click for pile of Michaud stories
15/Dec/2000 Bill 101 takes another hit
By: NICOLAS VAN PRAET The Gazette
A Superior Court judge has struck down part of Quebec's language law, making it easier for immigrant and French-speaking parents to send their children to English school.
In a case where two Polish immigrants were fighting for the right to send their twin sons to English school, Judge Danielle Grenier ruled there is a fundamental incompatibility between the federal Charter of Rights and Freedoms and Quebec's Bill 101, the French Language Charter.
14/Dec/2000 Hard-liners hijack language talks
By: ELIZABETH THOMPSON The Gazette
Quebec's estates-general on language ended on a sour note last night after language hard-liners hijacked the commission's discussion forum.
Six weeks of calm hearings as the 10 commissioners toured the province evaporated last night after dozens of language hawks led by people like former Front de Liberation du Quebec terrorist Raymond Villeneuve, Societe St. Jean Baptiste leader Guy Bouthillier and Parti Quebecois Montreal Centre region president Mario Beaulieu packed the evening discussion forum at Montreal's convention centre.
14/Dec/2000 Complaints upheld
By: JULIET O'NEILL Ottawa Citizen
The federal languages watchdog has upheld several complaints about the exclusion of English from Canada Post operations in Montreal and recommends such fundamental steps as bilingual signs, supervision, meetings and phone service.
But the preliminary report has provoked a scathing response from the frustrated complainants, who brand the Office of the Official Languages Commissioner a myopic, ineffectual, ponderous "paper tiger" that has stood by while English is systematically driven from the federal workplace in Quebec.
14/Dec/2000 Watchdog denounces Bouchard
By: SEAN GORDON The Gazette
In what will probably be his last public act as Quebec's ombudsman, Daniel Jacoby yesterday served up an acid-tongued critique of Lucien Bouchard's government, charging that it has no respect for democratic institutions.
Jacoby said the Parti Quebecois government has used "underhanded means" to punish him for being too harsh a critic, adding that cabinet would be happier with a lapdog than a watchdog.
13/Dec/2000 French at work needs boost, panel told
By: ELIZABETH THOMPSON The Gazette
The provincial government should adopt stronger measures governing the language of work because too many Quebecers still do not work in French, two academics told the estates-general on language yesterday.
Language of work is the area where the French Language Charter has been less successful, Guy Rocher and Marco Micone said in separate presentations.
13/Dec/2000 Language tradeoff won't fly
By: DON MACPHERSON The Gazette
Non-francophones have learned over the years to be apprehensive when people start talking about changing language policy.
More often than not - not always, but usually - such changes are something that happens to the linguistic minorities, not for them. The decisions are made by the majority for the benefit of the majority, often at the expense of the minorities. The only question is how much of the minorities' remaining freedoms or "privileges" are to be whittled away this time. This is especially true of changes originating with the Parti Quebecois.
12/Dec/2000 Larose has soothing words for anglos
By: ELIZABETH THOMPSON The Gazette
The Quebec government should guarantee anglophones their institutions, culture and language while at the same time protecting French, the head of the estates-general on language said last night.
Faced with one of the most militant anglophone groups to date, a group that calls for the partition of Quebec in the event of sovereignty and that described Bill 101 as a discriminatory law that sets out to eliminate English, Gerald Larose went further than ever before in outlining the role the commission sees for anglophones.
12/Dec/2000 Unreal appeal?
By: LYNN MOORE The Gazette
The Quebec Court of Appeal will consider a constitutional matter that might cause people elsewhere in Canada to sigh - with envy or frustration - and say: "This could only happen in Quebec."
The question goes something like this: Does a French-speaking lawyer, hired by a unilingual anglophone, have the right to use an interpreter to question her client in court when he is paying the bill for the interpreter?
12/Dec/2000 Sovereignists turn up the heat
By: PHILIP AUTHIER The Gazette
Fed up with the hesitations of their leader, a large group of Parti Quebecois rank-and-file members will today announce a fresh push for sovereignty - and invite Premier Lucien Bouchard to join them in the fight.
Bucking Bouchard's calls to be patient, Pequistes from the Montreal-Ville-Marie group of ridings this evening will try and overturn whatever strategy Bouchard has in mind - they say they don't know what he wants to do - by launching their own 30-month plan for Quebec to attain independence.
11/Dec/2000 "FRENCH LANGUAGE IN CRISIS": JEAN-MARC LEGER
A chance to offer opinions on the state of the French language in Quebec
has turned up opinions at both end of the linguistic spectrum. FULL STORY:
montreal.cbc.ca/cgi-bin/view?/news/2000/12/11/language001211
11/Dec/2000 BILL 99 TO BE LEGALLY CHALLENGED
A legal challenge is already in the works against the Bouchard
government's response to the federal Clarity Act. FULL STORY:
montreal.cbc.ca/cgi-bin/view?/news/2000/12/08/challenge001208
11/Dec/2000 QUEBEC'S ANSWER TO CLARITY BILL NOW LAW
The Quebec legislature passed a bill Thursday outlining Quebec's
response to Ottawa's clarity bill, but it didn't get the unanimous
support Premier Lucien Bouchard wanted. FULL STORY:
montreal.cbc.ca/cgi-bin/view?/news/2000/12/08/bill99001208
11/Dec/2000 Bloc's losses a boon to Charest
By: L. IAN MACDONALD Freelance
Just as there's been a tech wreck in the stock market, there was a Peq wreck in the federal election.
The Pequistes took a huge hit on Nov. 27, when the Bloc Quebecois lost the popular vote to the Liberals and saw the separatist deputation in Ottawa reduced from 44 to 38 seats.
11/Dec/2000 Tread lightly on language, Lisee warns PQ
By: PHILIP AUTHIER The Gazette
In part because of the departure of 600,000 anglophones over the past 40 years, Quebec and Montreal have attained a kind of linguistic equilibrium that should not be disturbed without careful thought, a former adviser to Premier Lucien Bouchard argues in brief to be presented to the estates-general on language today.
Jean-Francois Lisee warns the commission to tread lightly on what he calls Quebec's linguistic consensus and not cave into extremists whOWN to bring back French-only sign rules, withdraw bilingual status from municipalities, or launch other measures "hostile to the English" community.
10/Dec/2000 LANGUAGE MINISTER RENEWS VOW TO BAN ENGLISH-ONLY TOYS
Quebec's language minister, Louise Beaudoin, has no apologies for
parents who can't find toys in Quebec stores that speak English only.
Beaudoin says her language inspectors will continue to ferret out toys
that are not available in a French-language version.
10/Dec/2000 Separatism's out of fashion this season
By: TOMMY SCHNURMACHER Separatism is toast.
While some timid federalists prefer to beat around the bush and pretend it's still relevant, it's increasingly clear that young Quebecers have moved beyond the sterile old debates of their parents' generation.
10/Dec/2000 Wearing a muffler
By: BILL BROWNSTEIN The Gazette
Just when we were beginning to become concerned that this province wasn't making its mark on newscasts beyond its borders comes affirmation that life here really does imitate an Ionesco play. Only in lovably absurdist Quebec, after all, could an innocuous OOglie toy called Quinn get the attention of provincial cabinet ministers because the critter makes the faux pas of babbling a sentence in English. As a consequence, we're back in the saddle again, fulfilling our mandate to supply silly fill on the global news front.
Curiously, Quinn the OOglie's English message is pretty much the same one provincial cabinet ministers have been sending to municipal-merger foes: "See ya later." And once again, a language flap speaks volumes about the art of communication in Quebec.
10/Dec/2000 Quebecers haven't given up on sovereignty
By: JOSEE LEGAULT Freelance
To spend or not to spend public funds on the promotion of sovereignty, that is the question. On the first day of their national-council meeting last weekend, most Parti Quebecois ministers, MNAs and party members supported the idea of investing public funds, with or without a referendum any time soon.
They wondered out loud why the PQ government wouldn't invest public money to promote its constitutional option while Ottawa continues to spend oodles of tax dollars on national unity. But on Sunday, the premier rejected the idea, arguing that Quebecers would reject it, too, at a time when hospitals are still running deficits.
9/Dec/2000 Quebecers haven't given up on sovereignty
By: JOSEE LEGAULT Freelance
To spend or not to spend public funds on the promotion of sovereignty, that is the question. On the first day of their national-council meeting last weekend, most Parti Quebecois ministers, MNAs and party members supported the idea of investing public funds, with or without a referendum any time soon.
They wondered out loud why the PQ government wouldn't invest public money to promote its constitutional option while Ottawa continues to spend oodles of tax dollars on national unity. But on Sunday, the premier rejected the idea, arguing that Quebecers would reject it, too, at a time when hospitals are still running deficits.
9/Dec/2000 Pollsters bring glad tidings
By: NORMAN WEBSTER The Gazette
Good news or bad news on the unity front? Mary Poppins or Cassandra? Should federalists be wearing happy grins, or grumping their way morosely through the holiday season?
There's a lot to support the Mary Poppins view. Things are definitely not going the separatists' way.
9/Dec/2000 What the election means to Quebec
By: GRETTA CHAMBERS Freelance
Post-election musings in the francophone press have dealt primarily with the effects of the federal campaign on Quebec's political scene.
"Anxiety overtakes PQ hard-liners," headlined La Presse. To allay these feelings, Premier Lucien Bouchard's explanation of the Bloc's relatively poor showing was that it was due to a low turnout of voters, not to a decline in nationalist fervour. Le Journal de Montreal's Michel C. Auger didn't buy it: "In absolute numbers, it can be shown that people who voted Yes in 1995 are now voting for Jean Chretien. It is hard to claim they are still sovereignists. The sovereignist vote simply stayed home, even though Gilles Duceppe's campaign was just about flawless. So, if there was nothing wrong with the salesman, it must be the product that was at fault."
9/Dec/2000 March for democracy
Full story: and more see Merger Notes
7/Dec/2000 Bouchard's U-turn
By: MICHAEL MAINVILLE The Gazette
A little more than a year ago Premier Lucien Bouchard was saying, in reference to municipal mergers, that "a forced marriage is never good."
Talking to Le Reveil a Jonquiere, a weekly newspaper in his riding, Bouchard said municipal mergers are a good way to promote economic development and should be encouraged, but never imposed, by Quebec.
November 2000
18/Nov/2000 Merger risky for PQ
By: DON MACPHERSON The Gazette
At the Quebec Liberal convention a few weeks ago, a party strategist expressed puzzlement over why the Bouchard government was going ahead with forced municipal mergers.
His reasoning was that politically, the mergers could only hurt the Parti Quebecois. The only voters who felt strongly about the mergers were against them. see Merger Notes for Nov
16/Nov/2000 Bilingual status OK
By: CHARLIE FIDELMAN The Gazette
It could have been worse.
At least Quebec's merger legislation tabled yesterday entrenched bilingual language rights for Montreal Island municipalities that already have bilingual status.
Friday 10 November 2000 In Westmount, words fail Vote notice sent out in mangled English
CATHERINE SOLYOM ..Westmount Mayor Peter Trent couldn't understand it either.
The same form, a poor translation of the original French written by Quebec's chief electoral officer, was sent out last year before Westmount's municipal elections. ..It was obviously not made in Westmount. "I hit the roof when I saw it," said Trent, who prides himself on the quality of English and French in city-hall correspondence. "We were terribly embarrassed. The English is execrable."
www.Wednesday-Night.com is pleased to welcome the Examinerdead on the Web.
We have many pages (84) that are thanks to Wayne Larsen and in time all will link to the new site.
Do see photos of the 600 at Vic Hall or click here to see one very big shot by DTN. If you were there, you are in the picture.
938 February 23 issues of Amalgamation with Westmount Mayor Peter F. Trent on Quebec's nefarious Down-loading & mega-city debate Yvette Biondi "One Island One City" ..Healthcare and Clarity Bill ..David Casgrain 'heritage' Victoria Avenue home by Wayne Larsen
10 Nov 1999 Wed923LR asked that we examine: debt targets, Tax relief / reform, Social infrastructure, Internet & new tech., Productivity?, 30$ our debt owned by foreigners, .. education = we cannot compete, 7.2% unemployment not acceptable, Poverty, jobs, SOLUTIONS:, Air Canada/ONEX/Canadian, John Ciaccia, Jacques Clément, Prof Tony Deutsch, Julius Grey, Simon Potter, Guy Stanley, Robin Wohnsigl
e-mail us
Please phone (514) 934-0023
or Please phone (541) 934-0023 
Please e-mail us your thoughts. 