September Ramblings

Conrad Black. Who left him back into the country? Lord Black, any
relation to Lord Voldamort?

Dog TV?

Someone in Quebec stole $30,000,000 worth of maple syrup. Five hundred
thousand gallons is a major sweet tooth and a few tanker loads of syrup.
Someone tipped off the thieves that this haul was stored in barrels at a
temporary location.

I am reminded of the Newfie Joke that goes:

Little Newfie heard that Quebec was threatening to separate. Good he
says, that way Ontario will be closer to Newfoundland.

Politics in Canada just got more complicated by several orders of
magnitude. Memory serves that what is likely is a PQ Government
pettishly playing the separatist trump card anytime Ottawa doesn't give
the province what it wants. Rene Levesque's PQ's gained credibility with
Quebecers by running good government that showed fiscal responsibility.
If Marois' government can, for example clean up the extreme level of
corruption in the construction industry it will gain a great deal of
prestige. It costs three times as much to build roads in Quebec as
elsewhere because the mafia has the industry locked up. This makes
gasoline far more expensive in Quebec. The repressive Language Laws this
party threatens to make even more restrictive if implemented will have a
similar result as last time. An outflow of Anglophones from Quebec as
well as business and industry, and a lack of new immigrants with the
exception of French Language countries such as Haiti. That fact alone
has resulted in an HIV and hepatitis epidemic in Montreal.

In many ways Quebec already tries to act like an independent nation. On
the world stage it stretches it's Francophone Interests to act in effect
like a sovereign nation. It terms its premier a prime minister. It calls
its provincial parks 'National Parks' and in its tourist literature does
its best to ignore the existence of Canadian National Parks within its
borders, tourist bureaus to not carry information about those parks.
Traffic signs in English have become few and far between save in
Gatineau, as part of the National Capital Region. Crappy Tire is being
hauled into court because its signs are English Only and lack larger
French Lettering that reads Pneu Canadien. They already run a parallel
QPP in place of the Canada Pension Plan and operate a separate Workers
Compensation system. And, as you may remember, the historic Quebec
Charter means that Quebec does not operate under English Common Law but
the Napoleonic Civil Code. Since these courts operate in French little
is known about them outside Quebec. Anyone hauled up on a driving
offence quickly learns the differences. Guilty until proven innocent,
separate maintenance for husband and wife, all leases come due May 1st.

Since the CBC is the only network to provide French Language programming
outside Quebec few are aware of the extent of French Language Culture in
Quebec. They have their own authors, only a small fraction of whom ever
see their works translated into English. Romance novels are even more
popular in Quebec than elsewhere and tabloid journalism rules as nowhere
else. Popular music in Quebec is a unique genre all its own and has been
so since the first settlers arrived on North American soil. The film
industry flourishes fueled in part by a rich dubbing industry which due
to Quebec's linguistic differences does not translate well outside
Quebec. Soap operas in Quebecoise are extremely popular though the
cultural references do not travel well outside Quebec. There are even
biological differences that effect clothing styles and fashion. The
Gallic navel is inches closer to the crotch which has resulted in the
fashion craze for so-called Eurofit Jeans, those uncomfortable looking
low-rise waists that hug the hips. The ascendancy of the Catholic Church
in Quebec society is not what it once was but the now crumbling
monolithic edifices erected in past centuries grace every small hamlet
throughout the province. There are more church goers in Quebec than
elsewhere and the cultural influence of the church outside urban areas
is unparallelled.

Poutine has become a North American phenomenon but it is only one of
many examples of local cuisine, a pogo anyone? Anyone entering an
Epicerie has discovered the more liberal liquor laws in Quebec coupled
with a lower drinking age and more relaxed attitude toward under-age
drinking. The Caisse Populaire is a unique Quebec Financial institution
roughly equivalent to a credit union elsewhere. There is also a unique
tradition of hand carving in wood that can be seen even in Lunenburg
Nova Scotia. For good or ill smoking is still widely acceptable and
popular. There are few pictures of Rene Levesque that do not show a
cigarette hanging out of the side of his mouth. I can still remember
attending a sold-out event at the 4500-seat Salle Wilfred Peltier, Place
Des Arts, Montreal and witnessing the mass exodus of virtually the
entire audience at the interval to have a puff. Anyone attempting to
drive a car in Montreal will quickly discover Gallic Driver Mentality.
Don't even think of running an amber light. And anyone such as myself
who studied French outside Quebec will quickly discover joielle and its
unique mix of English, French and slang. Even French speakers outside
Quebec do not understand it.

As one of German ancestry whose forebears typically assimilate and lose
most of their German identity after two generations I do not understand
the degree to which Quebecers cling to La Langue Francaise. I'm not
saying that they should assimilate, just that I don't have a
comprehension of this cultural imperative. The existence of this unique
and separate cultural entity within Canada has had its effect on our
National identity. The Conscription Crisis of 1917 made Canada more
accepting of pacifist groups particularly in Western Canada and the
Mennonites of Ontario. On the other hand the Quebec Regiment, the
Vandoos, Vingt-Deux Regiment, The Royal 22nd Regiment, have a storied
career. Canadians world-wide are noted for their civility and spirit of
compromise and negotiation. It leads Americans in particular to travel
with a Canadian Flag on their backpacks. In the coming years English
Canadians must do more to make their Quebec brothers and sisters feel
welcome and wanted in the rest of Canada. That the election of a
minority PQ Government was marked by gunfire saddens me and makes me
hope that such events are an anomaly and will not mark a return to
violent protest.

Outside hotbeds such as Quebec City and Montreal politics do not play an
important part in people's lives. One can hope that saner minds prevail
and the current trend is just an expression of tiredness in a government
that had been around too long.