La Patrie
Trudeau at Islamic Conference Ignores moderate Muslim Canadian Congress, states he “believes” in the people he sees
Par Beryl Wajsman le 13 mars 2012
So Justin Trudeau finally did speak to the "Reviving the Islamic Spirit" conference in Toronto yesterday while refusing to meet with representatives of the Muslim Canadian Congress and B'nai B'rith who expressed concern that this Conference had been taken over by Islamists.
Trudeau then attacks his critics for practising the politics of division while speaking to Islamists who have made division and exclusion the hallmarks of their public face without uttering a word about that.
L’argument fallacieux
Par Pierre K. Malouf le 12 mars 2012
La bêtise et le mensonge ont la vie dure. Ceux qui se sont donné pour tâche de les combattre auront toujours du pain sur la planche. Dans mon dernier Brasse-camarade, Les troubles continuent sur la rue Saint-Denis. Qui y mettra fin ?, je revenais sur les manifestations organisées chaque samedi sur la rue Saint-Denis dans le cadre de la campagne BDS (Boycott, désinvestissement Sanctions) par l’organisme appelé PAJU (Palestiniens et Juifs Unis). Il faut malheureusement que je revienne à la charge.
Gérald Larose: militance antisioniste. Partie 3 de 4
Par Pierre Brassard le 12 mars 2012
La résolution 3370 de l'ONU -associant le sionisme à une forme de racisme- était adoptée le 10 novembre 1975 et abrogée ensuite en 1991. Cette résolution aété une immense déception pour les partisans du « monde libre ». Mais elle a été très satisfaisante pour les esprits totalitaires à la nuque raide. N’oublions pas l’investissement à cette époque de toutes sortes de groupuscules marxistes-léninistes (trotskistes, maoïstes) qui s'imposaient dans bien des facultés affaiblies (y compris chez les catholiques). Rappelons-nous aussique cette résolution onusienne « antisioniste »aété un vecteur très important pour qui voulait se (re)faire une virginité intellectuelle sans l’empreinte infamante de l’antisémitisme.C’est dans ce contexte bien précis que les écrits de Larose se situent sur l’échiquier national et international.
CEDEC study indicates “…more than a perceived discrimination" against anglophones in the workplace. Bill 101 still contracting community
Par P.A. Sévigny le 12 mars 2012
If you’re an underpaid, under-employed or unemployed middle-aged Anglophone living in Montreal, you’re not alone. Apart from your dismal French, your age and what many would politely describe as ’your limited skill set ‘, the results of a new survey indicate your prospects for a good job are dim-very dim. Based upon results of new research conducted by Montreal’s CEDEC (Community Economic Development and Employability Corporation), anglophones face a serious range of obstacles which can effectively limit, or effectively destroy their employment opportunities in what is already Montreal’s severely depressed labor market.
Power play at the pumps
Par Beryl Wajsman le 12 mars 2012
Short-term memory loss is normally considered a worrisome symptom. But for the companies that sell refined gasoline it is the greatest blessing. To us, the general public that is squeezed everyday by the power play at the pumps, it should be a source of shame. To be a citizen of a democracy requires responsibility. And part of that responsibility is be an educated consumer of public information. We need a populace that can remember the relationship of crude to pump as well as it does the stats of the local hockey heroes. If we don ‘t wake up soon, we won’t be able to afford those tickets to the Bell Centre.
The continuing quest to define what Canada is all about
Par David T. Jones le 12 mars 2012
Now Justin Trudeau seems to be taking a related approach to Canada, Trudeau’s comments, regardless of the context he tried to put them in, are indicative of the existential problem of Canada. While the United State solved its national unity problem with a bloody and long-remembered civil war, Canada’s national unity issue remains extant. Not that anyone would recommend the U.S. solution, but Canada - and some of it's most important sons - are still in search of a solution.
Quebec’s Health tax needs to be cancelled in this month’s budget
Par The Project Genesis anti-poverty committee le 12 mars 2012
Medicare is one of Canadians most cherished programs. Whether rich or poor, Canadians are deservedly proud of the principle that all are treated equally when accessing medical services, irrespective of their income levels. Because everyone pays for Medicare through a progressive tax system, we fund Medicare not based on how much we use the system, but based on our ability to pay. Rich or poor, healthy or sick, we all support it based on our ability to do so.
Déclaration du chef libéral Bob Rae / Statement by Liberal Leader Bob Rae
Par Bob Rae le 11 mars 2012
Statement by Liberal Leader Bob Rae Criticizing Israeli Apartheid Week
OTTAWA- Liberal Leader Bob Rae made the following statement criticizing Israeli Apartheid Week
Déclaration du chef libéral Bob Rae critiquant la semaine contre l'apartheid israélien
OTTAWA - Le chef libéral Bob Rae a fait la déclaration suivante critiquant la semaine contre l'apartheid israélien
St. Denis Street's 'battle of the flags' costs two people their jobs
Par P.A. Sévigny le 7 mars 2012
More than a year after they first raised their flags and banners outside Yves Archambault's Le Marcheur-a shoe store located on one of Montreal's hottest retail shopping strips, more than a few business people with stores located along St. Denis Street wish the Tremblay administration would do something about lawyer 'Bill' Sloan and his group's Saturday afternoon demonstrations. Every Saturday afternoon, Sloan and his tiny little group of so-called political activists known as PAJU (Palestinians and Jews United) stretch their banners and flags along the sidewalk opposite Naot-one of the many shoe stores located along the sunny side of Rue St. Denis.
Big Brother Canadian Style - Too much law, too little justice
Par Beryl Wajsman le 14 février 2012
Today, we in Canada, are threatened with a new legal assault masquerading as a necessary protection against internet predators. The new Conservative legislation allowing security authorities access to information on personal computer use and cellphone conversations without reasonable cause nor necessity of warrant is nothing more than the imposition of constructs, and constraints, of social engineering driven by the proponents of of the politics of fear.
Pour la restoration de l'exceptionnalisme libérale
Par Beryl Wajsman le 10 janvier 2012
Ça fait trop longtemps que le Parti libéral essaie de définir le libéralisme comme un ensemble de pratiques comptables ou de positionnements politiques centristes. Le libéralisme ne peut pas réussir une fois réduit à une stratégie qui plaît à tout le monde. Le libéralisme n'est pas facile, il est difficile. Il est difficile parce qu'il représente surtout l'idéal dont son nom origine : la liberté. Le libéralisme et les libéraux réussissent quand les gens à trouver le courage de surmonter leurs craintes.
The Liberals and the primary option: Open nominations, open society
Par James Morton le 8 janvier 2012
I first heard the idea of using a primary type system to choose the next Liberal leader in April, 2011. By then it was pretty clear we were not going to form the next government; indeed it was apparent we were in danger of losing our spot as official Opposition.
The Fight Against The Payette Plan: A community protected, a battle won, a campaign continued
Par Beryl Wajsman le 16 décembre 2011
We have to give credit where credit is due. When The Suburban’s publisher Michael Sochaczevski and I testified in front of Culture Minister Christine St-Pierre, and her commissioners, hearing testimony on the Payette Report that seeks to institute journalistic accreditation creating two classes of writers, we came with a long list of concerns. Not only those of The Suburban and The Métropolitain but also those of the 31 member Quebec Community Newspaper Association whom we represented.
Minister assures protection for non-francophone media
Par P.A. Sévigny le 16 décembre 2011
During an official government consultation which took place in the Théatre Rouge located in Montreal's Conservatoire D'Art Dramatique, Quebec's Minister of Culture and Communications stated that there would be "no mandatory French language tests," for Quebec's ethnic and Anglophone media.
Ministre Christine St-Pierre is presently leading a province-wide consultation which is examining assorted issues related to Quebec's media following the release of what has come to be known as the Payette Report.
Les troubles continuent sur la rue Saint-Denis. Qui y mettra fin?
Par Pierre K. Malouf le 16 décembre 2011
Il y a eu un an le 2 octobre qu’un marchand de chaussures de la rue Saint-Denis, Yves Archambault, a reçu une mise en demeure d’un organisme appelé Palestiniens et Juifs Unis (PAJU) lui enjoignant de retirer de ses tablettes les souliers BeautiFeel, fabriqués en Israël. Bien que cette marque ne représente que deux pour cent de son chiffre d’affaire, le propriétaire du Marcheur considéra avec raison qu’il était libre de mener ses affaires à sa guise et refusa d’obtempérer. Le jour même, une douzaine de manifestants se massèrent devant sa boutique avec pancartes et banderoles et distribuèrent aux passants de tracts qui dénonçaient la prétendue complicité du Marcheur avec le soi-disant apartheid israélien.
The unilingual Anglophone witch-hunt
Par Dan Delmar le 16 décembre 2011
Out of the clear blue sky, the manufactured chasm between the two solitudes reopened this week with a string of Quebec commentators fanning the flames of intolerance by, essentially, conducting a witch-hunt to find the ubiquitous unilingual Anglophone.
A BAD DAY: WHAT NOW?
Par Alex Himelfarb le 16 décembre 2011
C10, the omnibus crime bill, passed third reading and is now over to the Senate for what is supposed to be sober second thought. The vote could only have been a depressing anticlimax for the many Canadians who were fighting to stop or amend this legislation. And the implacable inevitability of its passage must surely lead many to ask, ‘why bother, what’s the point?’
BIXI is dead. Long live BIXI!
Par Dan Delmar le 16 décembre 2011
Another nail was hammered into the coffin of Montreal’s bike-sharing service when BIXI president Roger Plamondon quietly resigned; the news released just like any dignified public figure with a clear conscience would have it – on a Friday evening.
Anguish Over Aboriginals—How Canadian
Par David T. Jones le 16 décembre 2011
One of the enduring elements of Canadian psychic angst is the status of its First Nations.
Over the years, indeed over the decades, an observer can recall the viewing-with-alarm and/or dismay that affect Canadians when one or another instance of ghetto in the woods associated with a First Nation reserve comes to light.
Gérald Larose et les systématiseurs rigoureux - Partie 2 de 3
Par Pierre Brassard le 16 décembre 2011
Dans les années 70, à une époque qui n’est pas si lointaine, M. Larose participait à une petite mouvance de « catholique de gauche » comme prêtre rédemptoriste. Il était en effet membre du Réseau des Politisés Chrétiens et responsable d’une minuscule et pompeuse « commission de théologie ». Dans un article hautement significatif qui est une véritable pièce d’anthologie intitulé Des chrétiens ont choisi le marxisme, Larose exprimait des propos lourdement marxisants. Il constatait que beaucoup de chrétiens, dont lui-même, sont attirés par l'analyse marxiste.
Le Monde a Changé - 9/11 - Ten Years Later
Par Éric Duhaime le 26 octobre 2011
Où étiez-vous à 10h38 le 11 septembre 2001? On s’en souvient tous. J’étais dans mon bureau dans l’édifice du Centre du Parlement canadien à Ottawa. Quelques minutes plus tard, la sécurité faisait évacuer le building. On courait sur la rue Wellington, en panique, devant la Tour de la Paix, comme si un avion allait nous tomber aussi sur la tête.
Ce n’est pas les deux tours du World Trade Center de New York qu’Al-Qaïda a attaquées ce jour-là, mais plutôt notre démocratie, nos valeurs et notre mode de vie occidental. Cette véritable déclaration de guerre bouleversera chacun de nos parcours.
Occupy What?
Par Beryl Wajsman le 26 octobre 2011
Ok, everybody gets it. Economic disparity between the wealthy and the workers is expanding at a faster rate than at any time in the post war period. We have seen the destruction of a free and fair market by rapacious corporate chieftains. But why occupy Wall St.? The problems do not lie in Wall St. or Bay St. and certainly not in Pace Victoria.
If these protestors really understood the markets, they would know that the stock exchanges are the great equalizers. No you can't beat the markets. But if you understand them, then a relatively small amount of money, properly invested, can produce a healthy supplementary income. People should pay as much attention to that as they do to sports.
The case against transparency: Public inquires may not be in the public interest
Par Dan Delmar le 26 octobre 2011
Building one kilometre of road in Quebec costs 37 per cent more than it does in the rest of Canada; in urban areas like Montreal, the gap is wider at 46 per cent, according to statistics from one particuarly troubling Transport Canada study. The numbers speak for themselves. 0 per cent of Quebecers believe that public money is being spent responsibly on infrastructure 100 per cent of the time. The question is: Where is our money going?
Tory Omnibus Crime Bill Will Produce More Crime and Less Justice
Par l'Hon. Irwin Cotler le 26 octobre 2011
The Conservative’s omnibus crime bill will result, sadly, in more crime, less justice. There are six principal problems with the legislation.
To revive our courage to loathe - 9/11 - Ten Years LAter
Par Beryl Wajsman le 26 octobre 2011
No, this is not another essay about the abomination of the modern theocratic kamikazes of the Middle East and why we must remember 9/11 because of them. Enough has been written about that. Legitimacy or condemnation, applause or denunciation, they seem to all assume a single phenomenon at issue: killing for a cause, strategic murder. However, they sadly miss the point. These are very different activities indeed. A new manifestation of an old evil was loosed upon the world that day 10 years ago.
9/11 - Ten Years Later
Par Sid Birns le 26 octobre 2011
Ex-New Yorker, now Montrealer, veteran of Omaha Beach, and postwar NY-based staff photographer for UPI, photojournalist Sid Birns shares his thoughts and images as we commemorate the 10th anniversary of the shock and tragedy that was 9/11.
‘I didn’t have to ask ‘why?’’ - Memories from a Times reporter - 9/11 - Ten Years After
Par Robert Frank le 26 octobre 2011
I had been covering terrorism in Canada for The New York Times for the past two years, part of a team around the world working for investigations editor Steve Engelberg. The New York Times was one of the last newspapers to invest heavily in investigative reporting. Its explanatory reporting on terrorism would eventually earn it another Pulitzer. The newspaper had already been building a file on would-be Algerian terrorists for a year before Ahmed Ressam tried to enter the United States with explosives to blow up Los Angeles airport in 1999. In the wake of Ressam’s bumbled bombing, no other news outlet in the world could match the depth of our coverage.
I wasn’t one of the millions whose first reaction was to ask “why?” I already knew the answer.
Both sides wrong
Par Beryl Wajsman le 10 octobre 2011
The excuse used by Mayor William Steinberg to justify the inclusion of the Jewish New Year and Yom Kippur in existing Hampstead anti-noise by-laws was damaging and wrong-headed. Statutory holidays on which municipal workers don’t work is one thing. But to overlay that with a veneer of religion to satisfy specific groups is quite something else. Freedom of religion, in the words of James Madison, is also freedom from religion. The idea is to live and let live. Allow the broadest possible latitude in which everyone can fend for themselves. Religious strictures should never be imposed by any governmental authority.
ALLAH CAFÉTÉRIA!
Par Éric Duhaime le 26 août 2011
Ceux qui suivaient avec passion la comédie dramatique des accommodements raisonnables à l’affiche dans tous les médias québécois en 2006-2007, changez de poste ou lisez maintenant les journaux anglophones. Après avoir injustement accusé les Québécois de quasi-racisme, le Canada-anglais vient de lancer ce qui pourrait fort bien être un film s’intitulant « Les Accommodements 2″. La grande première se déroulait la semaine dernière à Toronto, à la Valley Park Middle School.
From subject to citizen: Keeping the promise of the authentic Canadian liberal revolution
Par Alfred Apps le 26 août 2011
On May 2, 2011, the Liberal Party of Canada suffered the most devastating election defeat of its long and storied history. There can be no doubt about that.
In terms of both elected members and voter support, Liberals swapped places with the NDP. And it all seemed to happen in one fell swoop over the last half of a very short campaign. No sooner had voters pronounced their judgment than the pundits were pontificating.
Canada and arrogance of Amnesty International
Par David T. Jones le 26 août 2011
Washington, DC - All human rights organizations are imperious; didactic; and self-righteous. They perceive their role as afflicting the comfortable and belaboring malefactors whose sins of omission as well as commission demand vitriolic criticism. Amnesty International (AI) is a human rights organization and by definition seeks to criticize: the mote in your eye gets the same intense condemnation as the beam in the eye of another offender.
Capitalism’s insurance not citizens’ ‘entitlements’
Par Beryl Wajsman le 26 août 2011
The global economic crisis has led many commentators and politicians to engage in heated debate over the appropriate balance between increasing government revenues and decreasing government spending. With sovereign debt in doubt throughout the west, the debate is sorely needed. But what is not needed is the hijacking of language and the misrepresentation of the issues that flow from that act by placing the vulnerable among us at the greatest risk.
Jack Layton, a happy warrior
Par Alan Hustak le 26 août 2011
There can be no argument that Jack Layton built a place in history. “Bon Jack”, was today’s NDP.
A cheerful political warrior, Layton’s always positive, often too sunny demeanour resonated with many. In the recent federal election Quebecers felt, because of Jack, that the NDP was a comfortable pace to park their votes and propelled him into the Opposition leader’s seat. And this year, many Ontario Liberals abandoned their leader to become, at least for one election, “Layton Liberals.”
Candles, tears and a song for Jack
Par P.A. Sévigny le 26 août 2011
Three generations after friends and supporters first raised the city’s monument to honor George Étienne Cartier, more than a thousand people came out to honor another great Canadian. As the sun was setting over the mountain, women dressed in black with nothing more than a bright orange scarf began walking down the street towards the monument. Others used the bus while some rode in on their bikes. There were lots of smiles and friendly greetings as everyone caught up on the news after they dropped out of sight after the last campaign. While some women were pushing baby buggies, others were helping their mother shuffle along with her walker. Some were happy to be with friends while others stood alone with their thoughts at the foot of the monument. Candles were lit as someone began to read the letter Jack Layton wrote only hours before he died.
Predictably unpredictable
Par Dan Delmar le 2 août 2011
It is amusing to sift through the thousands of column inches printed in the past couple of months throughout the Rest of Canada as pundits attempt, mostly in vain, to make sense of recent developments in Quebec politics...
