Where’s Kenny? – Has Anyone seen Kenny?

You’ve probably heard the one about – WHERE’S WALDO? This is about Kenny.

Have you seen Kenny? We’re looking for Kenny to have a chat with him about HIS LANGUAGE LAW. But, Kenny doesn’t seem to be around. Or at the very least, it seems that his lawyer Caza isn’t all that keen to be offering him up.

I’m writing about Ken Hill, mayor of the Township of Russell who was the tie-breaking vote for HIS FORCED BILINGUAL SIGN LAW that makes it ILLEGAL to put up an English or French ONLY sign.

You see, Kenny’s lawyers, led by Ron Caza of Heenan Blaikie are spending MANY TENS OF THOUSANDS OF TAXPAYER DOLLARS trying to prove that the French speaking community in Russell Township is vulnerable, with French speakers being at considerable risk of losing their language and their culture.

And that’s why Kenny’s FORCED Bilingual Sign Law is so critical.

As a matter of FACT and RECORD, Caza has three “EXPERTS” to prove this point. Unfortunately for Caza and his case, his experts are so full of crap that they play far better for us than they play for him.

But I sort of digress.

Since this language nonsense is all about KENNY, we want to question him under oath.

We want to know exactly why KENNY passed a FORCED Bilingual Sign Law, since his lawyer Ron Caza wants to convince a judge that it was to protect and promote a very fragile French community in Russell Township.

I was at three of the Council meetings where Kenny BLOVIATED about how wonderful HIS FORCED Bilingual Sign Law was.

He lectured:

1 – It is all about Respect.

2 – It is all about being good neighbors.

3 – It is all about smart business.

What he NEVER said, was that it was about promoting and/or preserving the French language and culture in his Township.

Even if he did claim that it was about protecting and/or promoting the French language and culture in his community, so what? None of that would be true. And even if it was true, that is no reason to strip others and me from our FREEDOM of EXPRESSION.

Unlike Caza’s multi-thousand dollar so-called ‘experts’, our EXPERTS who are free (aka Stats Canada) make the case to the contrary, that the French language and growth of the French community in Russell Township has not only kept up with overall growth, but has actually exceeded the growth of the overall community.

If that wasn’t enough, how’s the tale of competing Russell Township Chambers of commerce as proof positive that the French speakers in the Russell Township are thriving, while the English speakers are struggling?

The French Chamber of Commerce in Embrun claims to be on top of the world, while the mostly English Chamber of Commerce in Russell is in the process of closing its doors as a result of a serious lack of participation.

Do you think there are any municipal, provincial or federal institutions out there who will come forward to save the mostly English Chamber of Commerce, like they would if it was a French Chamber?

BACK TO KENNY:

Kenny’s mouth is the gift that keeps on giving.

The day after Ken Hill passed HIS FORCED Bilingual Sign Law, he couldn’t wait to spread his pearls of wisdom on Mark Sutcliffe’s CFRA (Ottawa) Radio show.

Sutcliffe asked Kenny why he passed the FORCED Bilingual Sign Law since there were no language issues?

Kenny’s answer was basically because his bylaw put in print what was already being practiced in the community. In other words, it felt good, and “that it changed nothing”.

He intimated that the majority of his Council was in agreement with the bylaw, when in fact, nothing could be further from the truth, since 2 out of 4 Councilors voted against Kenny’s bylaw, making his vote the tie-breaker.

Now, how does this square with Caza’s case about the NECESSITY of abrogating FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION (Section 2b) as is guaranteed by Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms, when Kenny says on live radio that “The purpose of this bylaw is not to change anything”?

We can’t wait to get Kenny under oath in Questioning to see just how much more damage he can do to his own unconstitutional language law.

Kenny’s mouth is truly the gift that keeps on giving. And the sooner we get his lips moving under oath, the happier I’ll be.

As a side note: There are a great many people from across Canada who are doing their best to help fund this very expensive challenge. Yesterday, I received a $20 bill from a gentleman in Edmonton Alberta, who wrote in a very scratchy handwriting:

“Dear Sir, I have shingle pain. Writing is not easy and it is painful. Enclosed – $20. It is a bit of a help. You are right as to the value of independent voices.”

He wrote more, but that will remain between him and me.

This ailing gentleman from Edmonton who sent me his $20 bill and a painfully written note of encouragement is the embodiment of the difference between us who are fighting out of our own pockets for everyone’s FREEDOM, and those like Ken Hill and Ron Caza who are fighting to take away everyone’s FREEDOM financed by tax-dollars – yours and mine.

I can’t begin to tell you how proud I am to be a part of all the people who are standing-up to be counted, and how disgusted I am with government and legal bullies who fight against the people with the peoples’ hard earned money.

WE WILL PERSEVERE.

Best Regards . . . Howard Galganov