Kevin O’Leary is taking a page or two from Donald Trump in the US and trying to position himself for a leadership run to replace Stephen Harper for the Conservative Party.
Like Trump he’s picking off popular topics that are getting him a lot of press.
It’s not rocket science. Hold out hope to large groups of voters for issues they care about even if you most likely will not follow through. Justin Trudeau successfully used this tactic to gain a majority win in the last election.
While the bombastic O’Leary is no Donald Trump on any level really, the trend of populist loud mouths shows the frustration voters have with slickly displayed puppets with ties to the powers that be and how helpless most voters truly feel.
Maxime Bernier, a long time MP and shining star for the Conservatives dropped the gloves and stated that Mr. O’Leary couldn’t lead a party because he’s not bilingual. He called the former anglo Quebecer “a tourist”.
It’s really time for Canada to have a National debate about our bilingual policies that essentially give Quebecer’s an unfair advantage over most Federal jobs, and now many Provincial ones. The cost and over head of mandating bilingualism when Quebec itself is unilingual is clearly at a time for review. If Quebec doesn’t need to be bilingual why would any other province in Canada?
From Supreme Court Judges to high ranking military brass; by demanding bilingualism you are essentially excluding the majority of the most qualified candidates from advancement because of a language that is a small minority in the country.
Bernier talks about stopping bailouts to sacred cows like Bombardier and other Conservative candidates talk about funding for the CBC, but the cost of official bilingualism clearly costs far more than both bailouts and funding the CBC.
It also impacts our society, and has crippled the futures of so many whose only fault is not being able to pass ridiculous Francophone tests that many native French speakers could not pass.
Loading ...Isn’t it time to focus on merit rather than language which has caused such a divide in our great country?
Quebec clearly has made its choice. Isn’t it time for Canada to make it without being told by politicians what our choice is?
Technology in 2016 has made it easy and accessible to provide service in any language conveniently.
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I have something here for all of you to see and I have nowhere else to post it and will let Jamie’s discretion where he wants to post this but part of this story has to do with language and what hard work can do if you have the will and wanting to learn something. I want you to read this and this is the generation of people that my husband and I have high regards for. This man is now deceased just recently after a fall in Florida. This man grew up in the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon and lost his father at age 5 and had to work for a living and did everything to survive. This man was not fighting over language and had to learn English when he left Lebanon at age 20 for Canada. Young people today are mighty lazy and want everything come easy for them and we laugh and poke fun at a lot of young people today. This is the generation who made Ottawa and I said it here before and on other sites. The Saikeley family is very famous here in Ottawa. The same for Paul Anka’s family and many others they worked and succeeded. Our landlord owns our building with his brothers and is putting two sons through as doctors of medicine in very high specialties and one daughter going through as a lawyer. Immigrants work mighty hard and they don’t have the education but they put their children through school and they come out tops and I know I knew many of these people for many years. Read the article too many Canadians are mighty lazy especially the generation of today. Read the article.
Egan: When the sizzle stops – Al ‘steakhouse’ Saikali dies after Florida fall
Ottawa citizen.com/opinion/columnists/egan-when-the-sizzle-stops-al-steakhouse-saikali-dies-after-florida-fall
The same thing when the Jewish people came over to Canada and spoke either German or Polish and other languages like Romanian, etc. and these people worked mighty hard as well and succeeded. It is today’s people who are lazy and want everything easy and can’t make anything out of themselves. I salute Mr. Saikaly, Mr. Naiman among many other good hard working people who were the real pioneers of Canada in the modern age. Stop bickering over language and educate your kids.
Yes we should have a referendum on Bilingualism.
Let us peasants have a choice in direction of bilingualism.
What can best describe our present bilingual policies;
Canada’s Language Caste System!
The original intent with bilingualism was providing Language Services now has morphed to excluding 83% of the population from gainfull employment of government positions.
In any other Country this would be considered Undemocratic but as well discriminatory.
Christopher Cameron you are wrong and I will tell you why. In my husband’s Lebanon in order to work for the federal government you have to know Arabic and French and English is next. Today people know at least three languages. I posted an article about a Lebanese man who was not educated at all and worked hard to support himself and came from a mighty poor area in Lebanon and that is the area where the Syrian refugee camp is located today. Mr. Saikeley learned different things and washed dishes for a living and learned the restaurant business and yes had clients like Pierre Trudeau which is true indeed. Years ago back in the 1970’s when we were first in Ottawa my husband and I along with a friend went to a restaurant that was on Rideau St. back then called Lebanese Village and on the wall was the picture of Pierre Trudeau, his wife Margaret and I think that Justin was in the picture as a very young child – that was mighty long ago. The Lebanese came to Canada mostly illiterate and they had to learn English by ear and were mighty intelligent people and that is the truth. Many came from the poorest of the poor and succeeded. I am not kidding any one of you and I am telling you the truth. A relative of my landlord couldn’t read nor write and she was a wizzard at numbers and ran her store downtown Ottawa. These people came over into unheated and unlit rooms back in the 50’s and never spent anything but the absolute necessity and became filthy rich. I know where the young generation lives today and what a house – almost a mansion on one of the most expensive areas of Ottawa. Canadians? huh they are spoiled rotten to the core and that is the truth and you can ask others who came from other countries. One man that you have in Cornwall Doctor Baitz what a man who had to learn English and made many errors like my husband and learned to be a medical doctor and came from a very poor country of Romania. I had a lot of laughs when he described his mistakes in English and it reminded me of my husband and I can tell you that I am very proud of Dr. Baitz accomplishments and even studied at the Mayo Clinic in the US – the top place. Canadians have it mighty easy and mighty spoiled and that is the truth and that is why they don’t succeed in the same way as foreign people do. I bow to Dr. Baitz and to the Nymans and to the Sakeleys among others that we knew in past years including the original owner of where we get our Lebanese products. When we came back to Ottawa after so many years the man who owned the store where we get our provisions was 90 when he saw us last and he recognized us and he died not too long after. The older generation who have toiled and worked mighty hard in their day and I have a whole history from the Ottawa Citizen with me on the many families who came from Lebanon to Ottawa from the poorest of the poorest village in Lebanon and succeeded to the top. Their kids were the best in the schools and universities and many are today’s doctors, engineers, lawyers, politicians, etc.
Christopher, are you still being denied employment because of your English heritage?
Furtz you do have something wrong here. Christopher is not denied employment because of his English heritage. I am both English and French and went to a French school since kindergarden and I am fully bilingual. This is what hospitals as well as government and many many other places want even the low level jobs want bilingual people. This has nothing to do with heritage. I can be from Timbuktoo and as long as I am bilingual that is what they want not your English or whatever culture you belong to as long as you can communicate in both official languages in a high enough scale of communication.
Furtz ;
I speak English like more then 80% of Canadians ,that does not mean like those 80%+ that they are of English Herritage.
That Chineese person who speaks English is English ?
That Hatian person speaks French is from French Herritage?
Speaking a particular Language does not define as coming from that particular Herritage.
Due to discriminatory Language Legislation many Canadians 83%+ are denied Government Employment.
Jules ;
I respect all Languages.
Our Government in its day made the choice of bilingualism.
An issue that directly effects the Employment of millions should have had a referendum to decide this.
The original intent of providing Language services was to be where numbers warrant.
This has morphed to exclusionary hiring practices whereby 83% of the population are not Qualified based on Skills ,Education or experience but Language !
Speaking for myself and as well a vast quiet majority this practice is discriminatory.
Christopher, where does that 83% figure come from?
I know quite a few unilingual English speakers (including family members) who work at various federal government agencies such as Parks Canada, the RCMP, Transport Canada, and others.
Chris you have one of the hardest jobs on earth and I respect that as well as yourself but the problem is that most Canadians don’t want to learn a second language and that is what I am getting at. Many years ago back in the early 1950’s era my mom saw how French was in demand way back in the good old days of Cornwall not counting the rest of Canada. If you did not have French back then it was tough to get a job. Chris your job is mighty hard and the studies are beyond comprehension and you worked mighty hard to be what you are today. French is a huge asset. I know the mentality of the French people and I went through hell and I mean hell to get the language that I have today. The French people were put down many years ago and former Québec PM René Levesque came out about some of the things that happened and many books were written on the subject about what French Canadians went through with the English Canadians and it was a battle all along right up till today – nothing has changed nor will it – Two Solitudes indeed.
When my daughter was going through her thyroid tests at the Civic Hospital along with some treatments we looked at the board where they post the jobs and that was back in 2006 in the cafeteria. Most RN jobs as well as others were part time. Most jobs today no matter what they are are low paid part time and the economy is in the tank. When things were like that back in 06 can you picture the situation today and things are being made harder and harder on the people and they throw in French as a kind of monkey wrench because they know that very few are fully bilingual so they choose from a smaller portion of people to interview. My eldest sister who was an RN and an administrative supervisor of nurses had to use her basic French way back when but made herself understood. Trying to explain medical terminology in French to someone is very difficult.
Furtz were they recent hires ?as a comparative?
Jules thanks.We live in a multicultural society and A friend who speaks 7 languages with exception of French was applying for a professional job and most are Mandatory bilingual yet not one of her 7 languages is considered an asset .
Her experience and many others with similar experiences have expressed their discust in our Language Caste System.
Fairly recent hires, Christopher.. within the last ten or fifteen years.
I’ll ask again. where did your 83% figure come from?
Chris I sure do know that it is maddening and heart breaking and yes there are many very highly qualified people who can do the job and when they lack the French language then they are shoved aside. Many years ago the French were kept down and now they are getting their revenge. I went through hell in a French school and I know their mentality. We put our daughter through the French as well.
Years ago in the 1970’s era the federal government hired some English people as well as French people and tried to makes some sort of fairness. The French people would work on the French work and the English on the English work unless someone was bilingual. Today you have to have the two official languages no matter what the job. I know it is maddening and difficult.
Do you know what is worse Chris. My supervisor in the fed. govt. had her job since the 1940’s era and as an English woman they forced French on her and she had a heart attack. Another man of 63 or 64 had cancer and was about to retire and they forced him into learning French and he died not long afterwards. Does that sound sane to you?