http://themetropolitain.ca/articles/topic/1frahttp://themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1289http://themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1289Clearly the letter that Ministers De Courcy and Lisee released was nowhere near enough. Not enough because they failed to address the central point – Bill 14 is not necessary and is nothing but an attempt to solidify the `pur et dur` base through more politics of division. Not enough because the Bill demeans all Quebecers, francophones as well as non-francophones. Not enough because the government is still not willing to stop the economic destruction of Quebec by ceasing to put up these false issues of discord. But let us take another point of view for a moment and make what some of you may consider a strange plea.Beryl WajsmanTue, 21 May 2013 16:54:00 -0400http://themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1283http://themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1283Yes I know. This kind of headline usually has the word "anglophone" in it. Yet last week two incidents demonstrated that politicians of several parties have not understood that the rejection of , and resistance to, Bill 14 may have done more to unite francophones and non-francophones alike in opposition to the politics of fear and the words of demonization than anything we have seen in recent history. And as much as many anglophones may be tired of some politicians taking their votes for granted through a perceived lack of choice, many francophones are tired of some other politicians taking their votes for granted by outdated appeals to prejudice and fear.Beryl WajsmanTue, 07 May 2013 16:29:00 -0400http://themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1277http://themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1277In the words of René Lévesque, “A nation is judged by how it treats its minorities.” Regrettably, linguistic minorities in Canada have often had to fight for just treatment, and that struggle continues against the backdrop of several troubling recent developments that threaten the rights of minority language communities throughout the country. Simply put, it is critical to ensure that minority language communities feel welcome and are able to thrive, and this is as true for Anglophones in Quebec as it is true for French-speakers elsewhere in Canada. l'Hon. Irwin CotlerMon, 22 Apr 2013 15:50:00 -0400http://themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1276http://themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1276 Depuis plus d’années dont je me souvienne, je dénonce l’ambiguïté sémantique imposée par les leaders indépendantistes québécois qui insistent et persistent, sciemment, à n’utiliser que le mot « souveraineté » lorsqu’ils réfèrent à leur projet de faire sécession du Canada.Cette volonté incessante d’occulter la perspective d’une rupture a de tout temps été utilisée par les séparatistes québécois en vue de leurrer leurs concitoyens qui, sondage après sondage depuis près de 40 ans, refusent dans une large proportion d’adhérer à cette option lorsque la question leur est clairement posée.    Bernard AmyotSun, 14 Apr 2013 16:18:00 -0400http://themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1274http://themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1274 Plusieurs tendances lourdes et extérieures à Montréal ont contribué à son déclin depuis la deuxième guerre mondiale, par exemple: voie maritime, avions à long cours, déplacement de l’économie vers l’Ouest.Ces tendances ont été exacerbées par de trop nombreuses blessures que nous nous sommes infligés nous-mêmes, mentionnons le FLQ, la dégradation des standards académiques, les plus hautes taxes, l’immobilisme, les fusions/défusions, les infrastructures, le très mauvais management; en somme, l’absence complète de leadership MIchel DavidSun, 07 Apr 2013 13:09:00 -0400http://themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1271http://themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1271After a provincial election in September where the Parti Québécois spoke of French tests for candidates seeking public office, watering down Montreal’s ethnic communities and ridding the public sector of religious symbols – except for those linked to Catholicism – observers expected Quebec to become, yet again, a national embarrassment. The PQ has not only met, but exceeded expectations with a new round of childish, xenophobic rhetoric this week.Dan DelmarFri, 05 Apr 2013 20:49:00 -0400http://themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1269http://themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1269 As with every type of case heard at the Supreme Court level, our changing social customs, over time, coupled with new appointments at our High Court, usually bring about new judgments on old issues.As a Canadian citizen, I have reached the end of my patience with the time and money wasted on and by the OQLF.Last time I checked, (2 weeks ago), the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guaranteed me, and every other Canadian citizen, even those who live in Quebec, the right to use English. Me.Linda HammerschmidSun, 31 Mar 2013 12:52:00 -0400http://themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1268http://themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1268 Even as English is again under attack at the National Assembly during the hearings on Bill 14, it is perhaps true that most Quebecers have been misled into believing that English is not also an official language of Quebec. But that’s entirely unfounded in fact or in law. English has been an official language of Quebec ever since 1763. Every law passed since then has been passed in English. Every law to be passed by the current Parti Québécois government will be passed in English as well as French, and the English text will be official, just as will be the French.  William JohnsonSun, 31 Mar 2013 12:43:00 -0400http://themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1260http://themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1260 Monday night the usual suspects held a rally in support of Bill 14. You know who they were. Impératif français, Mouvement Montréal français, etc...ad infinitum...ad nauseum. But at the press conference before the rally - a rally attended by only several hundred attesting to francophone fatigue on this issue - one Pierre Dubuc,editor of L'Aut' Journal, decided to unburden himself of his true feelings and blurted out, with unconcealed venom, "If someone can't ask for a Métro ticket in French, let them walk!" Well M. Dubuc, here's a message for you. Why don't you take a walk! Out of here!  Beryl WajsmanThu, 14 Mar 2013 10:29:00 -0400http://themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1250http://themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1250Les gens devraient lire le projet de loi et comprendre que le mal est possible ici. Il n’est pas question de langue dans ce projet de loi. Il est question d’une tentative vénale par un gouvernement qui a dû reculer sur presque toutes ses promesses de tenir la ligne de partie de sespurs et durs grâce à une politique de diabolisation, d’invalidation et d’interposition.Beryl WajsmanWed, 13 Mar 2013 23:30:00 -0400http://themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1253http://themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1253 "Canadian rights in Quebec are in jeopardy," group warns, " and maybe it's time for a Maple Spring." In what many have called the largest gathering against discriminatory Quebec acts that curtail civil rights since Premier Bourassa used the notwithstanding clause in 1989,some 800 people crowded into the downtown Delta Hotel in order to attend a conference staged by CRITIQ ( Canadian Rights in Quebec.) CRITIQ is a broad alliance of anglophones, allophones and francophones dedicated to ensuring that constitutionally enshrined Canadian civil rights - particularly with respect to language - are respected in Quebec.  P.A. SévignyWed, 13 Mar 2013 23:00:00 -0400http://themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1252http://themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1252Angelica Montgomery`s report on CJAD this morning that the CAQ opposes important elements of Bill 14 is gratifying. But this is not over. The CAQ will be voting against Bill 14 because it rejects closing English CEGEPs to francophones, and it supports the right of municipalities to determine and protect their own bilingual status. The CAQ also wants the exemption for soldiers’ children to be maintained.Beryl WajsmanWed, 13 Mar 2013 22:30:00 -0400http://themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1232http://themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1232The man who is arguably Quebec's busiest Minister, and some would say the one holding the brief on the most contentious issues, took time out for a rare weekend interview this past Saturday. Jean-François Lisée, Minister for International Relations, External Trade, La Francophonie and Minister responsible for Montreal, forthrightly addressed concerns on the politics and policies of language of the Marois administration that have many Montrealers, regardless of cultural background, angry and concerned. To his credit, Minister Lisée set no preconditions on the questions that would be posed.Beryl WajsmanWed, 13 Mar 2013 21:30:00 -0400http://themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1236http://themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1236Ever since the PQ returned to power (and in the election campaign beforehand) language has been back on the political agenda.  A draft law with new provisions to bill 101 is presently before the National Assembly,  proposing to tighten the language rules for businesses with at least 26 employees (down from 50) and requiring CEGEPs to give priority to English students first before granting spots to francophones.  In addition, the proposed law -  in a perverse way - guarantees that any French employee cannot be fired because they are unilingual, raising the spectre of an endless parade before the tribunals of wrongful dismissal cases, based on language, and a fear amongst businesses of hiring unilinguals.John N. BuchananWed, 13 Mar 2013 21:00:00 -0400http://themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1247http://themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1247 Was it symbolic? Quebec’s labour minister Agnès Maltais took a plane to the national capital Monday but was unable to land. The airport tarmac was covered with freezing rain making a landing dangerous.The Quebec minister flew to confront Diane Finley, the federal Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development. Maltais insists that Ottawa doesn’t understand Quebec’s labour market. She came intending to set Finley straight and insist that the reformed program for employment insurance that went into effect in January be rewritten to suit Quebec. In fact, the policy of the Quebec government is to demand the total transfer of employment insurance to Quebec, as part of “la gouvernancesouverainiste.”  William JohnsonWed, 13 Mar 2013 19:30:00 -0400http://themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1235http://themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1235 I am a Métis from Northern Alberta. My father, Mervin Bellerose, co-authored the Métis Settlements Act of 1989, which was passed by the Alberta legislature in 1990 and cemented our land rights. I founded Canadians For Accountability, a native rights advocacy group, and I am an organizer and participant in the Idle No More movement in Calgary. And I am a Zionist.  Let me tell you why.  Ryan BelleroseWed, 13 Mar 2013 18:00:00 -0400http://themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1255http://themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1255New York - In my last comment in these pages, I cautioned federalists against allowing the Parti Québécois’ underwhelming 2012 election performance to lull them into complacency. Even with a mere minority government, the Péquistes will pounce on any political friction between Quebec and the rest of Canada, the better to roll the referendum dice again. There is no telling what developments may so offend Quebecers as to make a third referendum a realistic possibility. Separatism has appeared to go into terminal decline before and yet still experienced frightening resurgences, usually with little or no warning. It is exactly when separatist sentiment is at low ebb that federalists should prepare a strategy for dealing with the threat if it ever rears its head again.Akil AlleyneMon, 11 Mar 2013 22:00:00 -0400http://themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1259http://themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1259When I think of Bill 14, I think of Sandra. Sandra goes to the English-language Dollard-des- Ormeaux (D.D.O.) school just off Valcartier military base near Quebec City. When I met her, she emotionally asked why she would have to change schools and lose her friends. Her father serves in the military and was wounded in Afghanistan. She lives with her mother, her parents separated partly due to the strain of post-traumatic stress after her father returned from combat. Now, one of the few constants in her life, her elementary school and close friends, could be taken away by Bill 14.Colin StandishMon, 11 Mar 2013 10:13:00 -0400http://themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1258http://themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1258One of Quebec’s recent educational musings is to consider revising the History course presently been taught in schools. Revamping and revising school curriculum should be part of ongoing educational practice; however, when a history course is being changed it requires great scrutiny, for no other course is more susceptible to a government’s manipulation. The oft quoted statement that ‘history is written by the victors ’ can be challenged; history, as  taught in schools, is written not by the victors, but by governments, who have control of the curriculum content, the text books, and the examination format.  Jim WilsonMon, 11 Mar 2013 10:09:00 -0400http://themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1243http://themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1243 So often, we become immune to the nationalist nonsense coming out of Quebec. It all becomes so much white noise. Many would tell us that we've taken so many punches that the latest is simply a distinction without a difference.Once in a long while - sadly - we get off our lethargy and remember that we are Canadians - not just Quebecers - and that we are imbued with inalienable rights. That is what is happening now in the reaction of anglophones and francophones against Bill 14. Our civil rights matter! Beryl WajsmanMon, 11 Feb 2013 16:43:00 -0500http://themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1234http://themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1234When Provincial Health Minister Dr. Réjean Hébert took the unilateral decision last week to pull Lachine General Hospital out of its arrangement with the MUHC, Hébert violated the cardinal promise of the Hippocratic oath. Do no harm!Hébert justified his decision by saying it was necessary to protect Lachine's "francophone vocation." It is true that LG is listed as a franchone institution. But its decision to join the MUHC was based not only on its need for more money and doctors, but also on the fact that the physical proximity of the MUHC was simply closer than the francophone CHUM.Beryl WajsmanThu, 24 Jan 2013 01:29:00 -0500http://themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1231http://themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1231Chief Theresa Spence’s moderate hunger strike is the polar opposite of the war tactics of the 17th and 18th century Indians of James and Hudson’s Bay.  The lowlands of the northern forest, their shorelines and muskegs were hotly contested by the Cree and Inuit prior to the arrival of the Europeans, as the latter moved further and further south.  The fur-traders turned the tide in favor of Indians, who were first able to trade for guns; the Inuit were initially kept unarmed by Hudson’s Bay Company policy.  The armed Cree turned with a vengeance on their Eskimo rivals.Nathan ElbergMon, 14 Jan 2013 16:03:00 -0500http://themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1225http://themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1225 Rarely does a piece of legislation come forward that calls for complete rejection. Bill 14 however is just such a piece of proposed law. No Liberal or CAQ MNA should even think of compromise or common cause with the PQ government of Pauline Marois on this regressive and retrograde proposal.Its rejection is compelled not just by the social, cultural and economic damage it will cause; not just by the civil rights - legislative and acquired - that are once again aborted ; but by the sheer transparent political opportunism and venal prejudice that gave it birth. Beryl WajsmanThu, 13 Dec 2012 00:56:00 -0500http://themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1224http://themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1224Mere prescence will be used to validate Conference speakers and sponsoring organizations with Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas tiesLiberal leadership candidate and Papineau MP Justin Trudeau’s decision to give a keynote address at the “Reviving the Islamic Spirit” conference taking place in Toronto Dec.20-23rd  . is a disappointing one and potentially disastrous for liberalism. His mere prescence will be used to validate some of the most retrograde elements on the political landscape that are associated with this Conference. In that he hurts Canada. Beryl WajsmanThu, 13 Dec 2012 00:45:00 -0500http://themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1219http://themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1219Let us be clear. Freedom is indivisible. And perhaps the most indivisible freedom is expression because it is perhaps the most fragile and always the first to be assaulted by tyrants.So where is the line? This has been the subject of endless debates and discussions. But on one aspect, all agree. Overt incitement to violent hatred – and the encouragement of that incitement – clearly and candidly expressed, cannot be tolerated. And more. Those who are in positions to influence public opinion, whether in elected office or in the fourth estate, have a responsibility to maintain a higher standard of vigilance and intelligence....Beryl WajsmanWed, 28 Nov 2012 10:41:00 -0500http://themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1218http://themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1218Another twenty-second of the month has come and gone, and with it, yet another student protest. This latest was two-thousand strong, and was just as demanding as ever. You would figure that now that Pauline Marois is in office and has abolished all proposed tuition increases that the students’ battle would be over. Finally, you’d figure, they could hang up their little red squares and put their parents’ pots and pans back where they belong, but this latest demonstration has proven that they believe their cause is not over. Rather, as one protester stated, it is “just beginning”.Kristy-Lyn KempSun, 25 Nov 2012 14:01:00 -0500http://themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1211http://themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1211  And here we go again! Another incident with a subway ticket taker insulting a customer on language. This time it ended in a fight with possible assault charges against the STM employee.Mina Barak said the incident occurred at the De La Savane métro station (in a predominantly English part of town) when an Opus machine took her money but did not provide transit tickets. When she spoke to the STM employee in the ticket booth in English, harsh words were exchanged. The employee allegedly told her to “go back to your country” and “in Quebec, we only speak French."  Beryl WajsmanTue, 30 Oct 2012 17:19:00 -0400http://themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1209http://themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1209The proposed buyout of Nexen Inc., a Canadian oil and gas company which has been discovering and developing energy resources in some of the world’s most significant basins – including Western Canada, the UK North Sea, offshore West Africa and the Gulf of Mexico – has been causing quite the commotion amongst politicians and the public.  Why is that?  The interested buyer happens to be wholly owned by its government – a government, it can be argued, whose values and beliefs differ greatly from our country, Canada.Hon. Céline Hervieux-PayetteSun, 28 Oct 2012 19:47:00 -0400http://themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1205http://themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1205And now the youngest victim of the nationalist rhetoric of the recent election campaign. The tragedy of two-year old Ella Bergeron this past weekend in Hudson. We say this not to exploit a child. But if the “little children shall lead them,” then the story of little Ella leads us to a hard and bitter truth.Beryl WajsmanWed, 24 Oct 2012 11:21:00 -0400http://themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1202http://themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1202Élu le 4 septembre avec 31,9 % des suffrages exprimés (0,7% de plus que les libéraux)  et 54 sièges sur 125, le gouvernement dirigé par Mme Marois ne pourra pas tenir la plupart de ses promesses. N’étant pas totalement réduit à l’impuissance,  il a quand même pu prendre quelques décisions douteuses découlant de son programme électoral. J’en mentionnerai quelques-unes. Le moratoire complet sur l’exploitation des gaz de schistes annoncé, moins de vingt-quatre après son assermentation, par la nouvelle ministre des Ressources naturelles, Martine Ouellet, est le premier exemple qui me vient à l’esprit.Pierre K. MaloufFri, 19 Oct 2012 23:30:00 -0400