We’ve all wanted to go postal (all pun intended) at some time or another. The type of day where you regret even leaving your front door to face the day. The sort of day where you know that whatever you do, you just cannot make any headway nor win your cause in the least bit. We’ve all had those kinds of days whereby, ’ The Shirelles’ invented the song, “Mama Said” to describe them.
And so it was a normal, cool, crisp and sunny Northern Ontario morning last April whenever I left the house to mail a letter at the Post Office. I had not much to do that day; and figured I would take complete advantage of the time I had to run a few errands. My first step was the Post Office.
There was no lineup when I arrived and felt blessed that my luck was so far, so good. I was wrong though. As I approached the mid-age woman working behind the desk I greeted her and wished her a good morning and requested to purchase a stamp in the language of my choice, which happens to be English. She obliged by producing the stamp and not returning the greeting in English nor French. The remainder of our exchange during the few minutes had me requesting my service in English whereby her portion of the exchange was conducted in French.
Now, normally this situation wouldn’t be a problem for me as everyone knows I’m bilingual. But on this particular day, I couldn’t get over the fact that I showed absolutely no inclination at all as to being bilingual. Why wasn’t I served in English when clearly I greeted the worker in English upon the beginning of our exchange? Further, why didn’t the Postal Worker switch to English whenever I was communicating in said language? I could have switched to French but I decided not to. My idea in this decision had to do with the fact that I felt that the worker was obligated to provide me with the service in English simply because I was the customer. This would have been different if at any time she had informed me that she couldn’t speak English and would try to accommodate me by other means. One such solution she could have sought out would be to perhaps seek out the services of another Postal Worker to serve me if she didn’t speak English herself.
In any case, I didn’t complain. That is, I didn’t file a complaint at the Post Office. As an aside, I have come across instances like this a few dozen times during the course of business transactions with civil service workers throughout the years and even some in the private industry. And, after all was said and done, I never complained. I had simply grown accustomed to situations like the one above and there is an argument to be made that I had become somewhat conditioned by these scenarios over the years.
Until now…
Perhaps it’s my newfound sense of fairness and pride that has awakened within me during these past two years. Perhaps now that I’m a little longer in the tooth, I have decided that I no longer will take things lying down as it were.
I’m tired…
It’s one thing to learn a minority language and to enjoy the privileges of being able to read, write and speak in French. But for what purpose and intent? And to who’s benefit is it that I am bilingual? Myself or to those whom I communicate with who have French as a first language? I can honestly state that being bilingual hasn’t furthered my career options nor has it had the desired effect of garnishing career advancement opportunities for me in the job that I do have. Moreover, I get the feeling that being bilingual for many of us Anglophones simply equates to making it easier for the Francophones to not have to learn English in order to communicate with us – such as in daily merchant transactions.
Enough…
It was with all of these thoughts swirling within my consciousness that April day that I made the conscientious decision to file a complaint with Canada’s, ‘Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages’. Before doing so, however, I ensured that I had a valid complaint to begin with and checked out the ‘Filing a Complaint’ section, sub-section, ‘In what situations can I file a complaint’. After reviewing the information, I determined that I did in fact have a valid complaint and filed an online complaint the day of my Post Office visit and an initial response was forthcoming from a representative within a week of filing the complaint.
The representative advised me that in order to solve the dilemma of what had occurred an investigation would take place as to the incident itself. Having said that, keep in mind that my complaint was well documented and filed only after a few hours of the incident taking place. Everything that happened was written succinctly on the initial report!
So, after e-mail and playing telephone tag to which more than a half dozen e-mails and a half dozen telephone calls were sent between myself and the representative detailing what had occurred; I emphasized and re-emphasized that I wanted only one question answered – and that was the following:
Why, was I spoken to in French whenever I clearly communicated in English?
All of this to say that as month 3 was coming around the corner subsequent to the initial incident; I was informed that the investigation was completed and that the results would soon be forthcoming. I have a few questions as to this entire affair after having gone through this experience. One being why haven’t I been provided with a response yet after 3 months? Certainly this is a cut and paste situation?
Why?
Exactly what justifies the creation of an, “Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages” to begin with. As of 2011, there were 518 complaints that the office dealt with having to do with language issues. On October 16, 2012 a Globe and Mail article reported that,
“Almost half of the 518 complaints came from the area around Ottawa and adjacent Gatineau, Que., …” (http://www.theglobeandmail.
Are Canadian taxpayers being led to believe that 518 language-related complaints warrant a full-time staff being paid civil service wages to investigate this? I cannot help but comment that more work is done during an 8 hour shift by a half dozen or less call centre employees who themselves individually handle on average a little more than 100 calls a day. It seems as though by comparing stats, we’re not exactly getting a great bang for our buck. So, I would argue that what we have here is but another example of government incompetence; a type and kind of federal government language police make-work project that our taxes are paying for.
And I’ll say this much. We already have a set of language police in this country. We don’t require the services of another; let alone the foundational Office quebecois de la langue francaise.
Ask yourselves this much: Will it take over 3 months to solve your next computer or cell phone issue by someone making minimum wage? Probably not. So why would something so trivial take so long to conclude by someone being paid so much?
(Comments and opinions of Editorials, Letters to the Editor, and comments from readers are purely their own and don’t necessarily reflect those of the owners of this site, their staff, or sponsors.)
Funny how one can always tell when those who oppose you are getting more and more afraid of the world finally getting a clear picture of what is going on. They begin to realize that the message is getting through and people are waking up.
It is typically at this point that they begin to try to mock you and your message in the various childish ways like we are seeing here in this forum.
Yup, that’s a far cry from debating and healthy dialogue from what i can tell.
The truth about what is going on is your worst enemy. Why? Because you can’t fight the truth. You can’t run from the truth. And, you definitely can no longer pretend anymore because — the truth — is being splashed all over the television and the internet more and more each day.
Lisee and De Courcy are doing back flips trying to contain the international damage and that backwards office of “the screw the English language” has been causing all kinds of damage on the world stage. The wheels are definitely falling off the wagon.
But hey, i do so hope y’all have a nice day though 🙂
I must say it’s disheartening to hear the rantings from certain posters when so many people in our community are hurt by these ridiculous Language laws.
I mean think about this, how many RNs, PSW, etc graduate from St.Lawrence College .They train at the local hospital, but can’t work there upon graduation. This needs to be addressed by our politicians, do they not realize the implications of these discriminatory language laws…Cornwall’s brain drain!
For certain posters to make fun & name call is unbelievable.
Would you make fun of a person with a different skin color too?
I refuse to take the bullying & please remember what your Mother taught you-if you can’t say something nice, then don’t say anything at ALL!
stellabystarlight
July 20, 2013 at 10:00 pm
“Why must you dramatize every unfortunate situation to suit your
purpose and agenda?”
Hey folks here is another who doesn’t understand the empathy concept.
It was a fine example of how what happens to Canadians in another province has an impact on Canadians throught Canada.
Funny though how one can propagandize and twist that statement to say to suit my apparent purpose and agenda .
Now Stella keep selling that separatist cool-aid ,that mighty potion of hate ,propaganda and intolerance all in the ethnocentric’s interest.
Still waiting for you to direct your hate spewed comments at the true group trying to separate our country -THE SEPARATISTS -but your agenda doesn’t include bashing your separatist brethren .
Keep passing around that separatist cool-aid :
This statement reminds me much of Stella ,Richard and friends:
“The nationalist not only does not disprove of atrocities committed by his own side ,but has a remarkable capacity for not even hearing about them ” George Orwell
That very well explains how Mr. Gerard LaRose a FLQ member and terrorist has become a hero in the Quebec nationalist eyes even with all those innocent human beings maimed and killed .
Yes a remarkable capacity to over see this ….Keep passing around that Tainted Cool-Aid !
But as Hungry for the Truth….said July 20, 2013 at 7:56 pm
If you are so concerned about Anglo Quebecers why live in ONTARIO. What does it punkin matter to me? WE ARE IN ONTARIO.
I would welcome suggestions from Cory, Highlander, edudyorlik, David, Eric and anyone else who is pro Canadian and pro free choice in language to perhaps suggest means and ways that quebec separation could be accelerated.
For the next referendum, I will go to quebec, take up residence and vote oui, twice if I could . However, In Canada in general and Ontario in particular, how do you think he promotion of quebec separation could best be furthered
Certainly the stats ,laws and recent events in quebec have been designed to eliminate and purge the English out of quebec. This speaks volumes about what the french want.
Politicians, federally, could not care less about the plight of English residents of quebec. they are malingned and disrespected abandoned ,as all the English are in Canada when it comes to their heritage and place in Canada.
So, essentially it is up to us, the people to fight back and rise up in defense of our language,culture and country.
To begin the process, how can we best get quebec out ASAP’ so the bilingual issue will disappear, and Canadians ( English Canadians ) can re-claim the land and country that our ancestors wanted for us, and we in turn want for our children.
I have suggested boycotts, fund raising for media awareness. Simply not participating in all that is bilingual. Like informing a Canada customs officier in Calgary under no circumstance to address me in french, since a full 79% of Canadians are English.
That all that is bilingual be removed from anything outside of quebec, until quebec shows that same respect to the English. these are but a few suggestions. I would love to hear more from the people mentioned above.
This raping of our rights and culture MUST STOP .
@ peter. So, you want to break up Canada because of your inability to get along with others? Good luck with that. I don’t think the vast majority of Canadians would want to break up the country because of your petty problems. Believe it or not, you aren’t that important.
Highlander and ALL
This guy is SPEWING HATRED.
“What punkin difference does it make to me.” Was this not about Cory being denied services in English in ONTARIO. SO what does Quebec have to do with the LTE.
So again what punkin importance does it have to Language Unfairness in ONTARIO? It is obvious from the comments that, these racist opinions have nothing to do with the subject LANGUAGE FAIRNESS IN ONTARIO.
Enough B…S…These are venomous comments aimed at propagation, and are motivated by HATE and BIGOTRY.
NOTHING TO DO WITH FAIRNESS.
BEFORE YOU GO DEFENDING A QUEBEC HATER YOU SHOULD PUT HIS HATE FILLED OPINIONS TOGETHER. They may paint a different picture.
peter July 5, 2013 at 10:56 am
“Please, they ( francophones) know they can get away with anything, but when the shoe is on the foot, this federal government CHOOSES NOT TO PROTECT MAJORITY RIGHTS IN THIS COUNTRY.”
“I’ll give quebec this at least they make no bones about screwing the English, they do it openly and proudly, and we ,like sheep accept this garbage, while the feds duck, bob and weave, so as not to deal with legitimate English complaints.”That is a myth started by the french to gain power and con the politicians into passing these phony anti-English laws, its pure garbage.”
peter July 5, 2013 at 7:01 am
“There has NEVER,EVER been any evidence of the french language being threatened. Not one iota proof that this existed or exists, other than demographics that have existed for centuries, and even then the french not only survived but flourished.”
“Even if it was threatened, why should the English language suffer because we happen to have more people ? its nonsense.
We have been at odds for 400 years, over bilingualism , enough, get quebec, out bilingualism problem solved and see ya later.”
“Independence looks good on quebec, they can then go their own way, and finally be out of our hair, at last.”
peter July 6, 2013 at 12:20 pm
“We are (The English) 28 million strong and we are waking up.
Leadership and political will are the first steps. I recall in 1960, when the separatists first arrived on the scene , and no one, french or English ever took them seriously.”
“Now look how they have come in their cause.”
peter July 16, 2013 at 7:52 pm
“I’d rather it be on Canada’s terms than quebec’s. Since we all CAN’T GET ALONG, lets be sensible here and have them go.”
“As all can see, this language debate is never ending. With quebec out of Canada, this debate, will not be necessary, nor will bilingualism.”
peter July 20, 2013 at 10:51 am
“Not only do I promote separatism, but I encourage it everywhere.”
“After returning for an extensive business trip from the U.S. southwest and western Canada, I can assure you and all else here, that Canadians don’t gives a rat’s ass if quebec leaves, most, other than the politicians, couldn’t care less if quebec stays in or out. I also suspect, in casual conversation with people from a broad range and spectrum that most want quebec out. They are simply fed up, as we all are with a province that is Not Canadian and is a albatross around Canada’s neck.”
“With quebec gone, Canada, can finally revamp its constitution to reflect the English majority’s heritage and culture and quebec, can have the nation it has always wanted. Case closed and bon chance”
THEY ARE RACIST, HATE FILLED AND ANTAGANISTIC.
THEY HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH LANGUAGE FAIRNESS in ONTARIO.
If anyone posted comments like this about the ENGLISH you would have already BEEN ALL OVER THEM.
PS…. WHEN DID HE HAVE TIME TO GO ON AN EXTENSIVE TRIP? HE”S BEEN POSTING SINCE THE BEGINING OF THIS LETTER. HE”S TRIPEN…
Got to go now, my Sand box is waiting!
Thank you frutz, coming from you I consider that a compliment.
I did not begin the idea of separation, I did not bomb and murder in the name of quebec independence. I did not adhere to or promote the anti-English and anti democratic laws . I did not put my head in the sand as our politicians did by ignoring, disrespecting and abandoning I million anglos in quebec.
if you had any sense of history and an appreciation of all that the men of three wars fought and died for, you would appreciate that.
No men anywhere should be subjected to the racist discriminatory laws that exist in quebec, a jurisdiction that is supposedly in Canada. When Canadians politicians permit these injustices to be , to a segment of their population, then that jurisdiction should be removed.
make no mistake here sir, it will come. the sooner the better. if your Canada includes a place of racist anti-English, anti-democratic laws, mine does not.
Highlander
“Now Stella keep selling that separatist cool-aid ,that mighty potion of hate ,propaganda and intolerance all in the ethnocentric’s interest.” Highlander July 21, 2013 at 4:35 am
If you consider Stella’s comments to be ethnocentric and intolerant how do you not see that comments like the bellow ones are as equally ethnocentric and intolerant ?
“Not only do I promote separatism, but I encourage it everywhere.”
“With quebec gone, Canada, can finally revamp its constitution to reflect the English majority’s heritage and culture and quebec, can have the nation it has always wanted. Case closed and bon chance” peter July 20, 2013 at 10:51 am
“Still waiting for you to direct your hate spewed comments at the true group trying to separate our country -THE SEPARATISTS -but your agenda doesn’t include bashing your separatist brethren .” Highlander July 21, 2013 at 4:35 am
There is no need for Stella to bash any SEPERATIST, PETER’S VENUMOUS COMMNETS are sufficiently Bashing for a whole group of QUEBEC HATERS !
Got to go now , my Sand box is waiting!
@Peter. Isn’t it funny (in the harshest sense of the word) how “some” take the fact that you are making light of how the English are fed up with having been taken advantage of, and having been ripped off, and having been treated like second class citizens in their own country just because they happen to live in the part of the country that is in the “province” of Quebec, and they turn that around and “try” to say it is “YOU and YOUR” inability to get along?
Makes me wonder.
What is it the Anglo’s are supposed to do in the face of that kind of negative mistreatment ?
Oh yes, i remember now, they are supposed to suck it up and continue taking it just like they have been for the last 30 plus years now.
It seems to me that there comes a moment in time when people say, enough is enough and begin to push back.
As for me, I make every effort to NOT give my money to places like:
Jean Couteau
Dejardins Insurance
and various other institutions that i have seen as contributors to many of the organizations that promote these French ONLY and French first concepts.
Incidentally, FOOD FOR THOUGHT…
Many types of English named companies similar to these in Quebec would either have to change their name or add an French descriptive.
Hi Everyone,
I know this topic is getting heated, but please remember to debate the topic and not bash each other. Please do not make us micro-moderate.
Thanks
As part of my reluctance towards these unfair language laws, while down in Cornwall I refused to utilize the services (when I could) that supports unfair language laws. I instead opted to drop a few hundred dollars on the American side where my siblings have found good nursing jobs
The fact is, the gov will spend our money the way they want…. PERIOD. No one can or will ever stop that.
To even think that because the English are the majority they can dictate how this country should be run is living in a fantasy world. The freedom fighters need to get with the program.
HFTT wrote: If you consider Stella’s comments to be ethnocentric and intolerant how do you not see that comments like the bellow ones are as equally ethnocentric and intolerant ?
Like I said before, highlander only sees what he wants to see. His followers, like him, do nothing wrong. HFTT, their accusations and name calling will be their demise in the long run.
No Gov official will take the freedom fighters seriously, we are
seeing that already. This has been going on for three now where they have been writing to different levels of gov, the UN, the language commissioner, etc…etc… and what have they accomplished? According to them……NOTHING!!
HFTT………STANDING OVATION on your 10:21 post. In case you are relatively new to this debate: I will explain:
In Ontario they were not getting the support they needed, so they started stirring the sh^t in Quebec to try and garner more support……plain and simple.
HFTT wrote: If anyone posted comments like this about the ENGLISH you would have already BEEN ALL OVER THEM.
Yep……once upon a time I told them the same thing. If we were English and speaking out for the freedom fighters…..we would be heroes in their eyes and would be speaking the truth. We would not be ethnocentric, bigots nor any of the other names we have been called.
I agree Admin. But when people start pushing to break up one of the oldest and most successful democracies on the planet, things will get testy. For sure, we currently have some asinine laws and regulations both in Quebec and the rest of Canada, but these things change and evolve over time. It’s not a static situation. If people are unhappy with certain laws and regulations, by all means they should work at getting them changed by pressuring their elected MPs and MPPs, or by supporting or starting a political party that will make the changes. That’s how a civilized democracy is supposed to work. Flinging poo at Quebec and Francophones, and demanding that they separate from Canada is not only short-sighted and offensive to most Canadians, but it borders on insanity. Let’s hope that a united Canada will outlive this current crop of freedom-fighters who want to tear it apart. I think it will.
I did the above because I feel that if I’m not good enough to work in my own hometown then I’m certainly not good enough to spend my hard earned money in it as well.
@ HFTT
Again many thanks for proving to all here how one’s views become misunderstood.
My understanding of a free country, is one in which all are free to express their views. I simply stated that given the history of quebec and its anti-English and anti-democratic laws, then quebec should leave. if Canada is that much of a burden to quebec.
Certainly the English of quebec are treated as second or maybe even third class citizens, and the federal governments DO NOTHING.
Therefore logic and common sense dictate that people, any people, especially those that live in a supposedly FREE society, should not have to tolerate this treatment.
There is virtually NO CONSTITUTIONAL PROTECTION for the English of quebc.. If there was, certainly the federal government would implement these protections
I cannot for the life of me, understand people like HFTT, stella, frutz and trembly, that state we are all free etc. etc. and therefore agree and promote bill 101, bill14, they agree that sick English children ,unless they can speak french are not entilted to health care.
That words like PASTA, and penis ring are a threat to the very existence of french. That people ,actually go around measuring letters to see if they confirm to being half the size of french.
When I shared this recently in Nevada, with many people, they could not believe the English haven’t taken up arms in protest.
So, HFTT, I prefer to eliminate this 400 year old conflict, by having quebec go its own way and bon chance to them
I see no venumous comments here, no bashing of separatists or anything else. I simply want quebec and all it stands for to be out of My Canada.
Am I not ,because I am English permitted to express my political views, or is it only you and what you stand that gets a say??????
kilroy, did walmart change its name, did canadian tire change its name, second cup.
Pete, sick children ? come on you’re making it up as you go along. are you that bitter ? YOu know darn well that if you go to any hospital in Québec, in most places, you ‘ll get serviced in english. In some places like trois rivieres or shawiningan it will take some time if you re willing to wait a couple of minutes. Heck, i waited when i went to the cornwall hospital because I requested service in french. Pete, is the sophia petrillo of the language debates, if you have no experiences on the subject, make it up
Holy Jumpin’, peter. You are so way over the top that any true freedom-fighter would want to distance him/her self from you by a few miles. Are you serious about what you say? Or are you just trying to be as outrageous as possible? If you are trying to sabotage the English rights movement, you are a genius. If not, well, we’ll leave it at that.
@ Cory. I know what it’s like Man. I tried to find work in Moosomin Saskatchewan back in ’74. I had no luck. I haven’t shopped there since. I bet they’re sorry now.
@ frutz
First of all Canada is an extremely young democracy. When a democracy such as Canada permits racist laws ,as currently exist in quebec, and the federal government not so much as lifts a finger to protect 1 million of its citizens, then to me, they have lost all legitimate right to govern, and cannot be considered a successful democracy.
As for informing and writing MPP’S this has been done ad infinitum
There has been no poo flung at quebec or the francophones, as a matter of fact I have more respect for them than the Canadian politicians we elect.
At least with quebec, we ( the English) know where we stand. But the federal politicians have seen fit to stand pat and permit 1 million of its people to be cast adrift.
In addition, the very best outcome would be if quebec separated. This so-called union has been fraught with conflict since the birth of Canada. people can deny all they want, but this is NOT A MARRIAGE made in heaven. people should not always believe the press clippings that make Canada out to be a trouble free all is OK nation.
We are NOT. Canada has as its dirty little secret the fact that the English here, especially in quebec, 1 million of its citizens, have no rights or protections that were accorded prior to the the constitution being repatriated. in 1982.
So please, Canada is not one of oldest and most successful democracies. We are not old and certainly not not of the most successful when 1 milllion + of her citizens have no rights because of the existence of a francophone jurisdiction that neither wants Canada or respects her citizens.
You speak with forked tongue frutz.
@Cory
I agree with you 100%.
I cross border shop & vacation always. If I can’t work in my community then by george I ain’t spending my $$$ there either.
@Stella & others
You guys are really messed up, Quebec wants to separate, so wth is wrong with other people/proviences supporting them??? If you really cared about your fellow Francophones you’d be promoting their separation too.I guess you must be afraid your special distinct status will disappear if The big Q leaves Canada. I say bye bye Quebec, don’t let the door slam u on the way out!!!!
@ audience who reads comments, but doesn’t post just remember this not so many years ago woman could not vote, accordinding to Stella & company the suffrage movement must have been sh** disturbers too….
@admin.
Thanks for supporting Freedom of Speech!!!
HFTT
I have a lab top and Nevada has an array of libraries. Spring Valley on Jones street. In Laughlin NV at the Laughlin library
I constantly refer to this site and have business associates, family and U.S. friends reads the posts here. I thank you all, especially frutz, HFTT, stella and trembly. Your views certainly reflect what Highlander, cory, edudyorlik, eric and my self have stated many times. You views are proof of the actual state affairs here and back up all we have said all along about quebec and the racist discriminatory laws that all of you agree are fair and unbiased.
@furtz
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, even you….
You are very hurtful towards people & their personal tragedies, have a little empathy.People are being forced to leave their English communities/families bc they do not speak a minority language. This is a form of ethnic cleansing. This is real & painful to many, so please have a little respect….
@Richard
Why would you request service in French in Cornwall, you communiate very well in written English, which is more difficult then spoken…Are you “trying to stir the pot” or pushing your around your Francophone special status “rights”?
@ trembly
The incident I referred to happened in Ile Parrout ( apologies if the name was misspelled)
A para-medic was called to an emergency of a two year old girl. the father, who spoke perfect french informed the para medic that he wanted to speak to him in English, because he could better communicate the nature his daughters illness.
The para- medic replied that he would not speak English, nor did he have to.
This was on all the news channels and in the papers.
So, in an emergency situation, there is no guarantee that medical services will be given if you are English.
If you like I can look up the exact dates etc.
hard to believe right, but not in quebec, and they claim to be Canadian, well thats not my Canada.
i don not make things up like you do, by saying the main street in hall have businesses that display English on commercial signs
I am still waiting for you to name those businesses. Me thinks it is you that makes things up
@ frutz
You have absolutely no connection with Canadians that have put up with quebec for over 50 years now and simply are turned off by quebec.
As stated earlier, I just came back from western US and western Canada. I have taken the political temperature in Canada away from eastern Ontario and believe me, they want quebec gone.
They are fed up paying billions in transfer payments and on unnecessary bilingualism. They feel their Canadian tax dollars should be spent in Canada for Canadians. Not for quebecois who disrespect the English and pass anti- English laws.
It is you frutz that are missing the boat here. just how long do you think the English will be slapped in the face before they re-act, sir.
As for the freedom fighters, many of us want quebec out. Not all state this publically as I do, but it is there big time.
If you think not, then you are out of touch with reality and the grass roots of this nation, this nation frutz, not just eastern Ontario and western quebec.
What ever you say Pete.
Carry on.
ON July 21, 2013 at 8:39 pm Richard tremblay wrote, “kilroy, did walmart change its name, did canadian tire change its name, second cup.”
No Richard. Wal-Mart did NOT change it’s name (yet). And, with the exception of second cup (who added a French descriptive) those others didn’t either.
But, The truth of the matter is …
The whole thing is still, either going through the courts or some form of negotiations. Why? Well because bill 101 has a prevision in it where by the huge trade mark company names WERE given an EXEMPTION (or a pass, if you will) which is explained here by Gerald Paquette who works deals with this.
“Legally we cannot require from such a company that they change their name because it is a registered trade mark.”
http://youtu.be/_a5nrP3qRyU
This was likley dealt with as such within bill 101 because there was an understanding that because bill 101 itself was so divisive and negative already, they (the powers that be) knew there would be a mass exodus of people and companies.
Therefore, in order to soften the blow (so to speak) for the first little while, they would allow the larger companies (the ones more likely to be able to fight back, the ones that likley WOULD if pressed) a pass.
But now, the “the surge” (i like to call it, which is in keeping with another major boondoggle that transpired not long ago where the Bush and Cheney team affected “their surge” in Iraq as a possible “fix it” to what was going wrong there) by the French extremest leaders which is designed to make a final push to get rid of the remaining Ango’s that have struggled through the years of bill 101 and so on and have not been pushed out yet, is being attempted.
This surge includes the office of the sh!t on the English language folks making an attempt to “strong arm” these large companies into adding a French descriptive to their name or changing their name by pretending that the previously exemption which was in bill 101 didn’t say anything about adding a descriptive. In other words, THEY ARE MAKING SH!T up as they go along without actually changing the law as they should if they want to do such a thing. Which, even a mediocre lawyer will tell you, YOU SIMPLY JUST CAN’T DO.
So, they are acting as if they have a legal right to force these companies and fine these companies but legally, that IS NOT THE CASE.
In order to do this legally they would have to actually opening up bill 101 and change it to have that exact wording. But, as i said, they don’t want to do that. Why? Because they know that, just like they are getting resistance for bill 14, if they open bill 101 for changes it will be challenged as well.
Oh and, ON July 21, 2013 at 8:39 pm Richard tremblay wrote, “Pete, sick children ? come on you’re making it up as you go along.”
(Anyone can correct me if i am wrong but, )
I believe Peter was referring to this story http://youtu.be/AFOQjzNK9Ec. And no, it is NOT made up.
Oh and one last thing. Even though i mostly ignore you and certain others and your ridiculous comments, i felt it was important to reply to this direct question you posed to me. Why? For the benefit of anyone who may be reading this forum and saw your question directed at me and may be interested in seeing an answer that is the truth and is backed up with video proof about what is going on with the office of the sh!t on the English language and how they are now going after and trying to push around the large corporations like Wal-Mart without actually changing the law.
@peter RE: response on July 21, 2013 at 9:36 pm
Great post Peter 🙂
Forgot to add the following …
http://youtu.be/_Rbluw7FhVc
“You can’t all of a sudden decide you want to change something without changing the law.”
Pete, just saw the news release in french and in english. In english its the big old bad Quebecer putting the life of a 2 year old in danger. In french its, the little girl got to the hospital quickly, the para-medic couldn’t explain the terms requested in english because he couldn’t translate all the specific terms. The para-medics english is very basic and he made a judgement call to rush the little girl to the hospital instead.
English lassie, because I can. it isn’t a sin to speak french in Ontario. If you’re french, its a sin not to. (my opinion only) I always go by the following saying, use it or lose it. And, to some with french names in cornwall that can’t even speak a word of french, they lost it. Now that is a shame.
stellabystarlight
July 21, 2013 at 4:52 pm
“Like I said before, highlander only sees what he wants to see. His followers, like him, do nothing wrong. HFTT, their accusations and name calling will be their demise in the long run.”
Wow that’s pretty rich coming from IT who has spewed so many lies that it takes lies to cover up lies.
You did call Chris Cameron the KKK for standing up for Equal rights .
You implied threat to Chris Cameron and Family for his standing up for equal rights .
Stella this is all on record ,Don’t assume the people on here are dumb as you have so many times before,for there are many who read but do not write.
Furtz
July 21, 2013 at 5:33 pm
“Flinging poo at Quebec and Francophones, and demanding that they separate from Canada is not only short-sighted and offensive to most Canadians, but it borders on insanity. Let’s hope that a united Canada will outlive this current crop of freedom-fighters who want to tear it apart.”
Flinging poo? Many Canadians remain upset in how Quebec legislation unfairly treats its minority!
So Furtz should Ontario and the other provinces enact similar legislation?
If not why would it be excepted in one province and not the others?
Should Ontario have language laws have English twice the size as french and have English language police enforce this with fines?
Should as madam Marois stated that Quebec civil servants not be bilingual be the same for Ontario?
Being as bill 14 states that Quebec will not have institutionalized bilingualism ,Should Ontario follow the same path ?
Now if one province can do this why cant the others ? Or as many know there are two different
sets of standards ,this really has nothing to do with offering bilingual services as Quebec does not want “institutionalized bilingualism”this is about forcing other provinces to learn french when numbers DO NOT WARRANT.
Richard tremblay
July 22, 2013 at 7:21 am
“I always go by the following saying, use it or lose it. And, to some with french names in cornwall that can’t even speak a word of french, they lost it. Now that is a shame.”
Its great that you use it -but what of the many Irish and Scottish names for example they no longer speak Gaelic perhaps we need to institutionalize Gaelic and have everyone else learn it as we have done with French ?
It is not the countries responsibility to maintain your culture and language but your family to pass it on.But now people who do not have French heritage must be assimilated to protect a minority who chooses not to pass their culture and language on.
Yes assimilation of those 200 other cultures because the Fancophones do not have enough children and do not pass on their culture and language.
Richard said:
“English lassie, because I can. it isn’t a sin to speak french in Ontario. If you’re french, its a sin not to. (my opinion only) I always go by the following saying, use it or lose it. And, to some with french names in cornwall that can’t even speak a word of french, they lost it. Now that is a shame.”
My,my,my you are really a piece of work. Use your language with your French family & friends & leave healthcare out of it. You are abusing the system Richard!!! Ontario is going bankrupt, thanks to the Liberals & people like you are speeding up the process requesting unnecessary services. Maybe, you should pay out of pocket for your French service. At this point I would love to see a choice of where our tax dollars go a) English healthcare or b) French healthcare, just like the school boards. You seem to like segregation, so I think it’s time for English segregation too!!!!!!!
Lastly, your comment about people with French last names being shameful because they don’t speak French, well that is NOT my problem.Teach it to your kids if your so dam* concerned about it!!!
Hey I have a Irish last name & I’m not crying in my corn flakes because I don’t speak Gaelic. Should I cry to the government like you do???
Please, there are more people in this world then just you &your Francophone needs.GAWD I’ve had it with your kind!!!!
Richard tremblay
July 22, 2013 at 7:21 am
“If you’re french, its a sin not to. (my opinion only) I always go by the following saying, use it or lose it. And, to some with french names in cornwall that can’t even speak a word of french, they lost it. Now that is a shame.”
There are millions even more then French that have Scottish and Irish names yet do not speak Gaelic -Gaelic was used readily in the Canadian government when the country was formed.
But wait here now those decedent’s of the Gaelic language must be assimilated to French for government opportunities because the Francophones do not produce enough children and do not teach it to their own .
This is besides the other 200 languages and cultures that have no French heritage must be assimilated and learn French to have opportunities to work for their own government.
Let it be known this is assimilation ,the same assimilation that Quebec so feels threatened by and legislated only one language for.
So in effect its not fair to assimilate French to English language ,but yet the rest of Canada must assimilate to French .
Do you viewers think this as to be fair?
Should all of Canada learn French to protect a minority language that their own wish not to propagate through birth rates or teaching their own?
Must the rest of Canada be responsible to maintain a culture and language that is not of their own.
It is the responsibility of any culture to maintain its language and not the STATE , for the STATE to do otherwise is SOCIAL ENGINEERING!
You have had it with my kind ? Doesn’t that sound a bit racist ? DIsagree with an opinion but aren’t you the one promoting segregation with, I’m sorry to say, dumb comments like that. You weren’t a victim of assimilation cc2. Furthermore, it could be worst in Ontario. The CONservatives left a mess for the liberals to clean up. Heck, how many nurses did harris-hudak let go ? He closed hospital beds. MGguinty made tons of mistake but under Hudak it would have been 100 times worst. Madame Wynn will prove to be our savior, thank god most of Ontarians are willing to give her a chance.
– howard, close to 10 million people throughout canada can express themselves in french. To forgo their right is as dumb as saying that in Pointe-Claire, Kirkland, or Baie-durfé, you can’t get service in english.
Highlander……{MODERATED} Before you accuse me of saying things that I never said, which by the way, can be proven by the archives you better d@mn well watch what you accuse me of saying. {MODERATED}
Everyone again please note that we do not have time and resources to micro moderate. Please address the issues and not personal attacks.
highlander wrote” Its great that you use it -but what of the many Irish and Scottish names for example they no longer speak Gaelic perhaps we need to institutionalize Gaelic and have everyone else learn it as we have done with French ?
Gaelic is not one of the official languages in this country.
Just imagine. Almost five hundred comments, all because someone spoke to Cory Cameron in French at a post office! Boggles the mind, it does.
And we are back to 2 official languages stellabystarlight. The problem is still government/ laws / policies and how they have been interpreted getting us further from actual customer service and common sense.
Scottish Gaelic in Upper Canada was as plentiful as French in Lower Canada, as was seen with Gaelic only newspapers. Over time English became the common language of communication. The Quebec government is worried about assimilation or getting extra funding I am not sure which, but the people are not as afraid and are learning English.
The rest of Canada does not see the need to learn another language for day to day business and why would they? Vacation in Quebec and all the tourist spots will have staffing for the customer. Until government regulations get in the way of course. Business concerns will adapt as well.
Financially, laws changing peoples’s habits or altering natural progression, that would affect 82.5% of a population, seems like bad novel.
ON July 22, 2013 at 7:21 am
Richard tremblay has
CONVEYED TO EVERYONE THE EXACT ATTITUDE THAT THIS COUNTRY IS DEALING WITH WHEN IT COMES TO HOW -MANY- OF THE FRENCH BELIEVE they deserve to be able to speak FRENCH ONLY in all of Canada.
This is AN ATTITUDE WHICH IS ALSO PREVALENT IN “the province” of QUEBEC AS WELL. A place where the French want NOTHING TO DO WITH the English language or culture.
THIS ATTITUDE CLEARLY DEMONSTRATES SPECIFICALLY WHY THIS SITUATION IS AS WRONG AND OUT OF CONTROL AS IT IS.
IT IS ALSO WHY A GROUNDSWELL OF OPPOSITION TO THIS KIND OF MINDSET being allowed to CONTINUING even one more day in this country MUST TAKE PLACE ASAP.
Richard (and many French) believe that despite the FACT that Quebec is only a province in a country that has English as it’s common language, THEY DO NOT HAVE TO be able to function in the common language of the country they live in.
THIS VERY SAME GROUP of people believe that they SHOULD BE greeted, treated and accommodated in FRENCH everywhere and anywhere they travel in Canada.
THIS CLEARLY demonstrates EXACTLY what we are headed for in this country if this mindset is allowed to continue.
The writing in on the wall. It is AS CLEAR AS DAY.
THIS ISSUE IS NOT about a fair kind of bilingualism and duality AT ALL.
THIS ISSUE is about ultimate TOTAL FRENCH CONTROL of Canada and the uninhibited use of FRENCH ONLY EVERYWHERE.
The proof…
referring to this story… http://youtu.be/AFOQjzNK9Ec
where a 2 year old girl COULD very well HAVE DIED while a paramedic in CANADA was described as
— with a lot of hostility in his voice — said, “no, mi je parle Francais”
This “attitude” is prevalent and promoted by the Quebec government as well as among many French people as well.
Richard tremblay & others in this forum (and in this country who represent the French view — and, i can honestly say this is a prevalent view and attitude which i have personally witnessed myself, and i know of MANY OTHERS who have also)
replied with this asinine view of this interaction with this …
Richard wrote,
“Just saw the news release in french and in English. In English its the big old bad Quebecer putting the life of a 2 year old in danger. In french its, the little girl got to the hospital quickly, the para-medic couldn’t explain the terms requested in English because he couldn’t translate all the specific terms. The para-medics english is very basic and he made a judgement call to rush the little girl to the hospital instead.”
“The paramedic’s English is very basic?”
Just simply using common sense and empathy for the poor parents in this situation who are in a frame of mind that their daughter could very well die on this day (as they don’t know for sure what is going on)
are being forced to deal with a paramedic in — Canada — that cannot speak the — MAIN — common language of the country he lives in, is JUST SO FAR BEYOND ANY FORM OF REALITY THAT SHOULD BE OCCURRING WITH REGARD TO THIS that it completely boggles my mind.
And, before anyone tries to turn this around. IT IS NOT THE SAME AT ALL… THERE IS IN NO WAY AN — EQUAL — COMPARISON based on REALITY can be made here… NONE.
Someone living in Canada that cannot speak English (the main common language of the country) IS NOT THE SAME as someone living in Canada and is not able to speak French. These are two very different things and CANNOT be equally compared.
Despite their dreams of grandeur, and no matter whether all Canadians like the idea of French as a wonderful second language in Canada or not, French is really ONLY a regional language in this country (MOSTLY IN QUEBEC).
The imagined sense of entitlement (which is somewhat common among many French) is further exemplified by Richard when he speaks about how — he speaks French in Ontario even though he is perfectly proficient in English when he wrote,
“English lassie, because I can. it isn’t a sin to speak french in Ontario. If you’re french, its a sin not to. (my opinion only) I always go by the following saying, use it or lose it.”
We can see that Richard fully expects that everyone SHOULD accommodate him while previously saying it’s perfectly fine for a paramedic (no less) to have little to NO knowledge of English in Quebec.
Yeah, it’s clear as day… Despite our acceptance that French is a wonderful language and should indeed have a “proper place in Canada” we wholeheartedly don’t agree that it SHOULD BE in the manor that YOU, AND A SMALL MINORITY, BELIEVE IT SHOULD BE.
I (and many others) have NOTHING AGAINST French people or the wonderful French culture and we are certainly willing and ready to accept that Quebec can be FRENCH ONLY “country.”
This must be clearly defined and accepted in the sense that Quebec becomes it’s own country without this ambiguity that exists now as it is causing major problems and resentment by the Anglophones who are being used and basically forced to subsidize the dreams of the French.
______\||/
_____(o o)
—-ooO-(_)-Ooo——-
And yes, IT IS TIME THAT we accept this NOW… Yesterday even.
To all…
I apologize for the length of this post but this issue is close to the heart and i believe it MUST IMMEDIATELY find a way to get dealt with ONCE AND FOR ALL. What is happening and how it is happening (not to mention the level of blind acceptance is (in my humble opinion) simply crazy.
Stella wrote:
“Gaelic is not one of the official languages in this country”
July 22, 2013 at 11:47 am
And it’s not on the 6 Official languages of the United Nations.
A place that deals with hundreds of languages and have
listed French and English as 2 of the 6 Officials.
Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.
No Gaelic.
Got to go now, my Sand box is waiting!
Oh the horror! A paramedic in Quebec wasn’t fluent in English medical terminology! He/she rushed a child to a hospital where the child was successfully treated. The outcome was excellent, except for the fact that the parents of the child were pissed off because the paramedic lacked fluency in English medical terminology. So rather than being grateful that their child was rushed to the hospital and successfully treated, they went to the press and bitched and squawked because one of the people who helped save their kid wasn’t perfectly bilingual! I really do feel sorry for that kid who has complete ass-hat parents.
@ edudyorlik. How many more times are you going to bring up this story to reinforce your argument that Canada should be broken up?
Edudyorlik
July 22, 2013 at 1:00 pm
AKA King of RANT “I apologize for the length of this post” Self Admittance
AKA Killroy
“Yeah, it’s clear as day… Despite our acceptance that French is a wonderful language and should indeed have a “proper place in Canada” we wholeheartedly don’t agree that it SHOULD BE in the manor that YOU, AND A SMALL MINORITY, BELIEVE IT SHOULD BE.”
Baffled, is the only thing that comes to mind when trying to award merit to DEFENCE of Quebec’s-Anglo oppressions. My inability to reconcile the UNEQUALITY in your attack on THE FRENCH CANADIAN MINORITY, is dumbfounding.
You deem all Laws protecting the use of French in Canada as unconstitutional, unfair and oppressive to the English-speaking MAJORITY.
Quebec’s MAJORITY may choose to deem all Laws protecting the SMALL English minority in Quebec as unconstitutional unfair and oppressive to the French-speaking Majority
Why would Quebec not have the same Right to seek the same as you seek. ERADICATION of CONSTITNIONAL LAWS, in order to give fairness to the MAJORITY as is your position?
Furthermore, if your claim that these Language Laws do in FACT oppress the Quebec-Anglo, then one has to wonder why they would not have manifested their disapproval. Since 1977 they
have had ample time, they do form a Statistical English-speaking minority. Why would they not be leaving by the 10,000’s of thousands?
One would think if there was more legitimacy to your alleged unfairness of a 1,000,000 English speaking Quebecers they would not remain as passive. They would exercise there CONSTSITUTIONAL right to organize in a peaceful demonstration and bring protest to these LAWS that some OUTSIDERS perceive to be unconstitutional ,unfair and oppressive.
Last year 65,000 student found themselves in disagreement with the Quebec Government’s proposed Tuition hikes. They took their Right to PROTEST to the streets. That is usually how perceived unfairness is dealt within a DEMOCRACY. It is voiced by the INSIDERS affected.
Your vivid defence of Quebec’s Anglophone minority is honourable and commendable. Out of Humanitarian concerns, you stand in solidarity for your OPRESSED fellow Canadians.
A true PATRIOTIC gesture.
If FAIRNESS is your GAME, French speaking Canadians are as EQUALLY deserving of a VIVID AND VIBRANT DEFENCE!
Got to go now, my Sand box is waiting!
The UN has 4 offices and use translators for those 6 languages HFTT mentions. Tour guides in Vienna need to speak English and German, even though the main languages of work for the UN are English and French and yes many of them speak 3 or more.
That is a long way from all 4,000 UN employees NEEDING to learn 2 languages for employment, as we see more and more in Canada, but it looks like they have worked on communication issues. We just provide more and more of one language.
Making light of the centuries old language fight does a disservice to Canada.
Eric
July 22, 2013 at 3:28 pm
The official UN Internet site has 6 Official Languages
on their Introduction page. You can choose 1 of the 6
to be served. And declare the 6 are to be the official
languages of business.
Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.
You may want to bring the correction to their attention.
Got to go now, my Sand box is waiting!
I hope David Oldham will give us an update on the treatment of English speaking parrots in Montreal. You still out there Dave? We need your input.
Hungry for the Truth….
July 22, 2013 at 3:19 pm
HftT wrote, “Furthermore, if your claim that these Language Laws do in FACT oppress the Quebec-Anglo, then one has to wonder why they would not have manifested their disapproval.”
Well, interestingly (and somewhat sadly) hungry, this kind of “non reaction” and lack of showing of “disapproval” from the English is ACTUALLY what exemplifies the ABSOLUTE unequivocal difference between the English and the French.
Doesn’t make one better than the other just exemplifies the differences.
My having both French and English blood running through my veins, along with my exposure to both cultures growing up, affords me (i believe) the benefit of a certain level of understanding and appreciation for both sides that perhaps some with either pure French or pure English likely don’t have.
Not that i believe this makes me better, it just simply affords me a window into the mind set and experience of both sides.
The English are more passive, accepting and easy going. Where as the French are more aggressive, in your face and hard line.
No positive or negative judgement for either side intended. Just direct observations.
I readily admit that those French traits are admirable and more likely to get you what you want. And, in all honesty, they are also traits that I admire to some degree.
That being said though. If continuously pushed unjustly the English CAN, WILL and DO stand up for themselves. It just takes a little longer and needs a unifying catalyst for action which, i can honestly say i feel coming right now as the resentment is building in this country.
This is why i suggest that we should take the opportunity now while both sides are amicable to each other to get on with the divorce. Which if you think about it, ultimately affords both sides what they really want with clarity and the genuine possibility for acceptance and understanding by both if done fairly.
Interestingly enough, the more “in your face” French type traits from my French side are the very traits within me which push me to get involved with the struggle for fairness for the English side of this issue.
To further shed even more light on your question, i believe there are two main elements which dampened the outpouring of disapproval from the English in the early years of the repression in Quebec.
One of which is that “politeness” i just spoke of, and the other is a sense that the English have
a) internalized and honestly felt bad for SOME of the not so fair historical acts that took place in the early years of Canadian history. A noble stance i would say.
And b) A genuine sense from the English that they were willing to allow the French to have a degree of “French control” within the province Quebec and “a degree of Frenchness” throughout all of Canada as well as long as it was in the name of the French stemming the loss of their language and culture which they presented arguments for which were deemed to be legitimate by the English.
But, they seem to be going too far now.
And, just like when you are kind and offer someone something only to have them come back to continue to take MORE AND MORE after the fact one MUST, at some point, realize you are being taken advantage of and thus take a stand and say, enough is enough.
hftT wrote, “Since 1977 they have had ample time, they do form a Statistical English-speaking minority. Why would they not be leaving by the 10,000′s of thousands?”
They have and are … You didn’t know?
http://youtu.be/RExZG6Kw9FI
HftT asked, “Why would Quebec not have the same Right to seek the same as you seek. ERADICATION of CONSTITNIONAL LAWS, in order to give fairness to the MAJORITY as is your position?”
If this is within the “province” of Quebec while Canada is paying transfer payments to them as a “province” then NO, it’s not the same in anyway shape or form. Quebec is a province.
If they separate and become a country then YES, by all means.
And that is my vivid and vibrant defense for the French side. BECOME YOUR OWN COUNTRY, fend for yourselves and STOP being a dependent “province” and i will completely defend their right to be FRENCH ONLY if that is what they want and choose.
But, trying to do this on my dime while also diminishing my fellow Canadians in that province while ALSO coming out of Quebec and demanding that i accommodate them with French first and French dominant outside the province of Quebec as well?
Naw, COMPLETELY unacceptable, WAY too unfair … As the French expression goes, assez c’est assez
If everyone reads the above posts , what more proof does one need to see separation of quebec from Canada is the ONLY LOGICAL SOLUTION TO THE LANGUAGE MESS WE HAVE IN CANADA.
Please quebec leave ASAP our sanity is at stake here. Imagine name calling and the like WOW
PS: There are many people who are negatively affected by this to which this is NOT a “game.”
I don’t think promoting the destruction of our country is logical. The majority of our great country is for bilingualism. And think of this, at 1 % of the national budget for 10 million people that can speak the language, heck of a good investment.