Once Again, Bill 101 Is a Provincial Matter, Quibbling Over Dumb Slogans And Reviving The Linguistic War As A Campaign Strategy

I’ve got to stop reading the likes of  anti-feminist Babs Kay when I’m drinking hot coffee.  I invariably end up choking, burning myself and getting it all  over the place.  Perhaps today is the day I learn.

Before I start hammering her,  I have to ask, what was the deal with Gilles Duceppe bringing up Bill 101 with his head to head with Jack Layton last night? Was that really necessary? Tom Mulcair, the only Quebec candidate likely to keep his seat, has already spoken publicly and favourably about Bill 101 and maintaining the French language and culture in La Belle Province.  In fact, he did once get wingnutty when he told Tommy Schnurmacher on CJAD, that French was in danger of being lost in la Belle Province when answering a caller’s questions.  I  do support our language laws as they are for the most part, but no, the French language is not in danger of being lost, thanks to those laws.  But I digress. While I did enjoy Duceppe’s performance last night, I did think that  hammering Layton about Bill 101 was like beating a dead horse for the reason I mentioned above and the fact that as Duceppe well knows, Bill 101 is a provincial matter, not a federal one.

In other words, there’s not a damned thing the feds can do about it.  This leads me to my growing annoyance with Harpercons like Ex-Lax Max Bernier, Senator Touchdown Smith, as well as once courted by Harpercons for Mount-Royal,  Robert Libman,  who make idiotic statements like Bill 101 or any language law isn’t ‘necessary’, or there is no need to protect the French language in Quebec or  the Liberals (federal) don’t do enough to protect Anglo rights around here.  They appear to appease and sooth militant Montreal west-end Anglos that  only Harpercons can and will come and save the day for them. It’s blatantly false.  If one comes up to you, go ahead and ask how, exactly, they plan to do just that? I guarantee a lot of hemming and hawing and perhaps a quick speed dial on the cell phone to Stevie’s war room for a pre-scripted answer, if you’re lucky.

This morning,  Babs Kay wrote an insipid article about, well, insipid slogans. In fact, her column was not only insipid, it was downright drivel.  Let’s check out what she says, shall we?

John Ivison dismissed the Conservative party’s campaign slogan, “Here for Canada,” as “insipid.” Well, it may read as insipid in Toronto, Ottawa and Vancouver, but from my perspective here in Montreal, the slogan is refreshing and even courageous. “Canada,” you see, is to many Quebecers a dirty word.

You know that when a Nasty Post’s columnist is slamming the opinion of  wingnut John Ivison,  one can just imagine the stupidity about to follow.  Secondly,  Babs, not sure about the courageous part as in the rest of Quebec including next door to Mount-Royal, in Outremont, where I live,  the Harpercon slogan is “Notre Region au Pouvoir”– Our region in power, loosely translated. Real courageous, Babs!

Furthermore, it is a fact that one can get more services in English in la belle province than there are services in French available in western Canada.

Believe it or not, that was not her dumbest moment.  She started, once again, preaching to her choir about how Quebec Anglos must vote Harpercon if they wish to be represented; more empowered.  Better represented how? More empowered how? I’ve already mentioned that  the feds, no matter what government is in power, can’t do anything about Bill 101.  They can’t touch our language laws. So what are we talking about here?

So far, all I’m noticing is that the Harpercons have been attempting to break the linguistic peace we’ve had in this province for years now.   Pierre Beaudet in his article in The Rabble,

Anglo voters, especially of the younger generation, are certainly less hostile than their parents and ancestors to the Québécois. Many are involved in social and environmental issues and recognize themselves as Anglo-Québécois, working and living in French but able to maintain their cultural inheritance.

This has been true for the most part,  however, it seems that certain Anglos who had been militant in the past, are being stoked by the Harpercons.  They’re calling radio stations and such. They’re on Facebook with their wacky petitions demanding that English be once again, Quebec’s English language.  They’re a tellin’ all to vote Harpercon, because they’ll save the English language in Quebec!  The Liberals are traitors and/or enablers!   Have they swallowed the kool-aid?  Babs seems to think so. According to 308.com, sorry Babs, not so much.

So Babs, this is your idea of this great representation? More typical wedge style politics for Quebec?  Probably.

She also seems to make an even dumber assumption, suggesting that if the Harpercons get their majority, the Bloc will be basically annihilated for good, now, there’s that party annihilation talk again Harpercons and their cheerleaders seem to be so fond of these days.  Further evidence they can’t stand competition. 

But why do Quebec anglos keep voting for the Liberals, who take them completely for granted and ignore their special needs? The anglos seem to believe they will be punished by a sudden rise of referendum fever if they abandon the party of Pierre Elliott Trudeau.

On the contrary, embracing a majority Conservative government would banish the blackmailing BQ to the political fringes where it belongs. Anglos can help make that happen. Will this be the election where anglos finally wake up from their deep slumber and vote their interests?

Are you suggesting that these ‘interests’ are merely getting rid of the competition? How is that in anyone’s interests?  Are you also suggesting that if the Bloc were gone, there would be no more sovereignty referendums? Oh Babs, I do believe you need a civics lesson. The Bloc never could call referendums on sovereignty. Again, that is a provincial matter. Only a sitting provincial government can do that.  The Parti-Quebecois is most likely to come back to power the next provincial election and they can and will call a referendum, whether the Bloc is around or not.  If anything, dear Babs, if your precious Stevie Spiteful does get his coveted majority,  the winning conditions will have been provided for the ‘yes’ side to win the next referendum. 

Or ‘serving their interests’  simply mean  vintage Harpercon blackmail, bribery and pork barreling as suggested by Senator Touchdown last week?  I think we’re a gettin’ warmer.

Oh, and Babs, while we’re on the subject of ‘Dumb slogans’: 

“Let’s talk about Quebec anglos” because “Quebec anglos have the power to change things” and that’s why “Quebec anglos are here for Canada.” It has a certain “je ne sais quoi,” don’t you think?

It’s about as dumb as “Parlons de la Francophonie en Alberta”