Ernest Semple is a Montrealer (retired engineer) who is an astute observer of international, national and local politics. Many of his letters have been published on Galganov Dot Com.
I receive a great deal of e-mails concerning Quebec and Quebec language policies that drive people crazy, since the unrestricted use of the English language in the province of Quebec is illegal.
And now, to assuage Quebecois nationalism and French speakers outside of Quebec, the public use of French is being made mandatory throughout Canada, even where there is no significant French speaking population.
Ernest Semple’s latest letter to me bemoans how sad Quebec has become since the introduction of French only language laws. He writes about people and issues that are destroying what was not that long ago Canada’s premiere city (Montreal), which was no more than a generation ago one of the greatest places to live on the planet.
But it isn’t any longer.
Ernest’s letter can be read in its original form at the Letters to the Publisher section found in the MENU to the right of this Editorial under the title: Quebec must come out of its three decade coma!
In response to Ernest’s letter – here is the reality of Quebec as I see it.
Quebec is so broken that it is almost beyond the point where it can be fixed.
The best thing that can happen to Canada, is for Quebec to leave. But I wouldn’t hold my breath for Quebec’s departure any time soon, since they have a really good thing going for themselves within Canada.
The late Quebec Separatist Premier, Rene Levesque, said it best when he said: Quebec should be independent within a strong Canada.
His wish is being realized.
When there is any issue, event or policy that Quebec has in common with the rest of the country, it is always described as Quebec and Canada. Never Quebec within Canada.
To me, this sounds like two countries. I can not recall even once reading or hearing a report that says Ontario and Canada. Or any other Province and Canada. Even in today’s National Post (October 12, 2006), they ran an article that said Quebec and Canada.
Ernest’s line-up of Quebec’s more infamous Anglo and Jew haters, such as Adrian Arcand, Lambert Closse, Andre Laurendeau, and Abbe Lionel Groulx says much about Quebec’s past.
But, as he observed, these men are honored even today as Quebec icons with parks, subway stations, colleges and streets named after them. This says as much about Quebec’s present as it says about Quebec’s racist past.
It also gives us a view into Quebec’s future.
Pierre Elliot Trudeau was one of Quebec’s most noteworthy men of shame (at least to me), even though he is seen by many within Canada as one of the country’s great Prime Ministers.
It was Trudeau who gave us such things as the “Official Languages Act” which has no other purpose other than to promote French in the rest of Canada, while it absolutely ignores English Rights in Quebec.
Trudeau gave us Multi-Culturalism which is gutting English Canada, while at the same time, it was never permitted in his beloved Quebec where French is the ONLY legal language and culture.
Trudeau created the Canadian Constitution and Charter of Rights which gives some Canadians Rights which other Canadians don’t have. And in his “wisdom” he stacked the Supreme Court of Canada with Liberal activist judges who routinely decide upon what constitutes Charter Rights, and what does not.
A perfect example is Quebec’s labor laws, which according to the Supreme Court of Canada violates two of the Charters stated civil liberties. But, because of Quebec’s unique characteristics (according to the Supreme Court), Quebec can continue to violate the rights of Canada’s workers in and outside of Quebec.
And as for the draconian French ONLY language laws within Quebec, Trudeau was silent.
But, when asked to defend their rights to use the English language without restrictions by his predominantly English speaking constituents in the riding of Mount Royal, where he was routinely elected with massive majorities, his response was: “Don’t look to me to fight your battles”.
Trudeau also tore into Western Canada, specifically oil rich Alberta, where he raped their oil wealth to keep his power and influence in Quebec and Ontario. But he never touched his sacred Hydro Quebec.
Trudeau drove huge chasms between Canada and the United States, bringing us ever so closer to South America, Europe and Asia where we get no benefits whatsoever.
And when Trudeau died, no one was more sorrowed to see him go than Castro, who was ever so evident at his funeral in Montreal. Being loved and admired by a brutal dictator is nothing a man of honor would or should want on his resume. Especially a leader of a Democracy.
But Trudeau was indeed admired by Castro. Trudeau’s son Alexandre loves to talk about the wonderful times the Trudeaus spent as Castro’s guests. I guess the Trudeaus never saw that Cuba was a totalitarian bankrupt country where individual Rights didn’t, and still don’t exist.
As a Canadian who happens to be Jewish and a strong advocate of Israel, I hold a special dislike for Trudeau, who successfully hid his absolute contempt for the Jewish state, while at the same time he overtly showed his admiration and respect for Israel’s despotic Arab neighbors and enemies.
And just to illustrate a bit of Trudeau’s psyche: During World War II, instead of signing up to fight the Nazis, Trudeau preferred to dress in Nazi regalia and ride his motorcycle in the Quebec countryside.
He also flirted with the very anti-Semitic and pro Fascist Bloc Populaire. This is the man who won his first election on the platform of “The Just Society”.
I guess his greatest laugh was on the people who lived in the Mount Royal Riding which consisted of Montreal’s most concentrated and wealthiest Jewish population. I’m sure that he’s still laughing at them from his grave.
Trudeau gave us the beginning of a huge debt, where there was no debt before he came to power in the late 1960’s. He also contributed heavily to the something for nothing bunch which continues to drag on our society even today.
He also stewarded the 21% interest rates of the early 1980’s, which literally led to thousands upon thousands of personal and corporate bankruptcies. And we’re still paying obscene taxes for Trudeau’s social engineering incompetence.
If there was a curse from Quebec to the rest of Canada that was greater than all the others, that curse came with the name Pierre Elliot Trudeau.
In my opinion, Trudeau was far more despicable than the Anglo and Jew haters named in the aforementioned paragraph of this Editorial, since his influence went far beyond the borders of Quebec,
Trudeau’s influence has robbed Canada of the most incredible future any country could have hoped for.
Worst of all: We have no one to blame but ourselves.
One Comment
WEST isn’t on the sidelines cheering for Israel for all that the WEST is worth. the WEST DOESN’T GET IT.
I get this all the time when I speak out for Israel. I get condemned for actually having the audacity to site Hamas for who they really are: the new Nazis.
My response to them is simple and a direct challenge: Why the constant double standard for Israel and no other country? What is different about Israel than any other country? Jews! Still think this isn’t about Anti-Semitism? Think ag
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