Élégant, by Jean Dallaire (1916-1965)

(with permission from La Galerie Klinkhoff, Montreal)

The Offensive

I was delighted that so many of you read my last post and left a “like.”  The tax I wrote about is mostly trivial, but it is a step in the wrong direction.  Moreover, in an article posted below, Madame Marois claims that separation from Canada is an emergency, which is another step in the wrong direction.  She bemoans the fact Quebecers have “two levels of government” and states that the solution is independence from Canada.  Allow me to quote Madame Marois:

• ‘We are on the offensive:’ Pauline Marois claims Quebec sovereignty is an ‘emergency’ (news.nationalpost.com)

To my knowledge, it happened the other way around.  Quebec, not Canada, created a government within a government (i.e. a factious government).  For instance, Quebec failed to sign the patriated constitution (1982).  That gesture alone can serve as proof that the government of Quebec had initiated a separation from Canada and had done so without first obtaining from the people of Quebec a mandate allowing it to start negotiating the terms of a new relationship with Ottawa.  There had been a referendum, but indépendantistes  had not obtained sufficient votes.  So, in 1982, the government of Quebec acted as if Quebec had separated from Canada, when such was not the case.

Ironically, in the 1960s, at the time the Quiet Revolution took place, Quebecers were lulled into thinking they would inhabit a welfare state, but they are now paying taxes to “two levels of government” because its own government put the cart before the horse.  It acted prematurely.  Moreover, because Quebec did not sign the patriated Constitution, there are limitations on the validity of Quebec’s health-insurance card.  When I lived outside Quebec, my health-insurance card was valid from coast to coast.

•  French Canadians are victims of ‘soft ethnocide’ by Ottawa, PQ-funded study claims (news.nationalpost.com)

“The latest outbreak of separatist grievance-mongering comes in the form of a new PQ-funded report that claims Ottawa is allowing Anglophone provinces to commit “soft ethnocide” on French speakers around the country. “We’re reminding people of the evolution of Canada when we systematically eliminated French at the start of the 20th century,” said the lead author this week.” (Feb. 5, 2013)

The School Problem

Regarding the “soft ethnocide” Madame Marois is imputing to Ottawa, need I remind Quebec’s Premier that, traditionally, it has been difficult for French-speaking Canadians to separate language from religion.  They had been taught that language and religion were inextricably linked.  So the reason why French-speaking Canadians living outside Quebec could not receive an education in French has little to do with resistance on the part of English-speaking Canadians and Ottawa.  It has to do with the fact that provincial governments do not fund denominational schools.  Such schools are private schools.

I saw my very own father rebuked and labelled a “communist,” because it was acceptable to him to separate language and religion, or faith and state.  Fortunately, matters changed when Pierre Elliott Trudeau became Prime Minister.  It is now possible for French-speaking Canadians to be educated in French outside Quebec and English-speaking students are eager to enter French-immersion programs.  In other words, there is no “soft ethnocide” of French-speaking Canadians residing outside Quebec, at least not yet.  But there may be an ethnocide if Quebec continues to act recklessly.

Tuition-free education

Let me address this matter once again.  In Quebec, beginning with the Quiet Revolution, the government wanted to give students whose parents had not attended a university a chance to do so.  Students were therefore spared a measure of screening.  It is relatively easy for Quebec students to enter university.  Besides, their tuition fees are half the amount Canadian students pay outside Quebec.  The Quebec government cannot afford what the Parti Québécois peddled so Madame Marois would defeat Jean Charest’s federalist government.  If a referendum were called in the near future, students would not support indépendance.  As for other Québécois and Quebeckers, especially the elderly, they would remember that they are footing the bill so fees paid by students would not rise.  Someone has to foot the bill and, among those who do, too many are living below the poverty line.

The Quiet Revolution took place fifty years ago.  May I suggest therefore that the time may have come for Quebec universities to put into place more selective entrance requirements.  May I also suggest that it is entirely possible for intelligent and hard-working students to obtain a university degree even if their parents have not attended a university.

My father is an intellectual, but my parents did not attend university.  Yet, on the basis of an entrance examination, I earned myself a free education.  Furthermore, when I entered graduate school, I did so at the doctoral level and by invitation.  In my opinion, if a  student’s performance warrants financial help, financial help should be available, as it was for me.

About Quebec universities

I took courses in musicology at a Quebec English-language university.  The department of music had three full-time professors and twenty-two chargés de cours (part-time teachers).  It needed part-time teachers because students were learning to play different instruments, but three vs twenty-two seemed too wide a discrepancy.  Besides, other departments also hired more part-time teachers than full-time teachers.  As a result, many Quebec university teachers have left Quebec and teach in other provinces.  That is a loss for Quebec.  In fact that is not-so-soft ethnocide perpetrated by the Quebec government.

Conclusion

It seems to me that in the interest of peace, growth, and the pursuit of happiness, Madame Marois and her Parti Québécois, should revisit their decision to separate from Canada.  In particularly, they should assign members of the Office québécois de la langue française, OQLF to more positive tasks.  The time has come for a more significant number of Québécois to speak their language correctly.  Québécois do have a territory and that territory is their culture.  Asking restaurant owners to replace WC by toilettes on the door to a restaurant’s facilities is petty in the utmost and it threatens French-speaking Canadians living outside Quebec.

For forty years, I lived in complete harmony with my English-speaking neighbours as well as my English-speaking colleagues.  Yes, I was overworked, which put a premature end to my career as a university teacher, but no one ever forced me to speak English or got upset if I used French words.  On the contrary!

Moreover, the time has also come for Québécois to be taught the history of their country.  They need to know that French-speaking Canadians were not harmed by Britain.  In 1763, France could no longer afford New France so it chose to retain Guadeloupe as a colony rather than New France.  However, under the new régime, French-speaking Canadians kept their farms, seigneuries, religion and their language.  Moreover, in 1774, the Quebec Act put French-speaking Canadians on the same footing as English-speaking Canadians.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with living in a bilingual or trilingual country.  But it is very wrong to foment dissent and unnecessary conflicts.  Madame Marois is calling for an offensive, but I am calling for all Canadians to respect one another.  I am calling for peace, growth and the pursuit of happiness.

Related articles

• ‘We are on the offensive:’ Pauline Marois claims Quebec sovereignty is an ‘emergency’ (news.nationalpost.com)
• Quebec on my Mind (michelinewalker.com)

Reaching for the Sky, by Chantale Jean (2011)

A friend is doing my income tax report.  In a telephone conversation, he told me that Madame Marois, Quebec‘s Premier, was demanding that tax payers provide her government with a new tax for medical care and medication.  Such a tax did not exist in Quebec a year ago and it does not exist outside Quebec.  To my knowledge, no one was told about this new tax.  In my case, it will amount to a minimum of $300.00.

How will persons living on welfare pay this amount of money?  Their monthly income is $600.00 and barely pays the rent.  As well, how will the disabled survive, particularly men?  If a man is disabled but was married at some point in his life, his former wife receives half of his disability benefits.  So, he must live on $300.00 a month.  This decision was one of Madame Marois’ victories.  She was then courting the feminists.  Finally, what about the elderly many of whom are working well into their seventies and early eighties, if they can find employment.

The Economy: 2008 & its aftermath

In fact, what about me?  My pension fund suffered because of George W. Bush’s totally useless wars and it is not growing, not in this economy.  So my current income is a combination of Old Age Security benefits and what little money I withdraw from my pension fund.  I can let it grow until I am seventy-one, which is what I must do if it is to provide me with a decent living when I am older.  Fortunately, I own my apartment and have accumulated good furniture, pots and pans, dishes, kitchen gadgets, books.  My income is therefore adequate, but…

From House to House

As you probably know, I have suffered from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, also called Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, since February 1976 when I had a flu which took away much of my energy.  I could teach despite this illness, provided I was assigned a reasonable workload.  However, the Chair of my department worked me out of my position by asking me to teach a new course: Animals in Literature, i.e. World Literature.  I wish I could have said ‘no,’ but I couldn’t.  He had lost his temper before causing me to faint and I was afraid it would happen again.  Later, when I started feeling extremely tired, he would not allow me to leave the classroom and the results were catastrophic.  I told that story in a post entitled From House to House, but I am trying not to remember.

Back to Madame Marois

To my knowledge the above changes were not announced.  Everything was done behind closed doors.  But I have now learned how Madame Marois will not increase tuition fees.  Quebecers pay higher taxes than other Canadians, 15% instead of 10% of their income, and, beginning now, they must pay an extra tax.

The poor in Quebec are not the students who get a nearly free education compared to Canadians living in provinces other than Quebec. Besides, the students have a future.  The poor in Quebec are the elderly, those who were not members of a powerful syndicate and those who did not have a position that provided fringe benefits, such as a pension plan.  Among the elderly, some find jobs, but indépendantisme has taken its toll.  Quebec could be a very rich province, but who wants to invest in a province that threatens to separate from the rest of Canada.

At any rate, the students are now paying $25.00 more than they did last year or will pay, next year, $25.00 more than they do at the moment.  The money will be taken from tax payers and, among them, needy persons and the elderly.

Artwork: with permission from La Galerie Klinkhoff

—  The Conquerors, by Chantale Jean (2012)

The Truth

The truth is as follows.  I  wondered why Quebec’s mighty unions, les syndicats, had not supported the students in their last bid for a tuition-free education.  The reason is that the Unions needed the students to get rid of veteran political figure Jean Charest‘s Liberal and federalist government.  This goal was attained on 4 September 2012, when Madame Marois was elected to the premiership of Quebec.

My dear readers, I wish I could write more today.  We have one more bestiary to look at and there are so many fascinating subjects to discuss, but everything has to wait until tomorrow.

RELATED ARTICLES

• Quebec’s Summit on Education: a “turquerie” 5 March 2013
• Reading Quebec: Le Devoir 7 Feb 2013
• Further Comments on Premier Marois 1 Feb 2013
• Pauline Marois: the Scottish Agenda Concluded 30 Jan 2013
• Pauline Marois’ Scottish Agenda 28 Jan 2013
• From House to House 26 Jan 2013
• More Thoughts on Quebec 25 Jan 2013
• Thoughts on Quebec 23 Jan 2013

Related articles

• ‘We are on the offensive:’ Pauline Marois claims Quebec sovereignty is an ‘emergency’ (news.nationalpost.com)

To Those Who Live in the Present Moment, Chantale Jean, 2012

Last Spring’s Quebec Student Protests

You may remember that last spring students went on strike and started demonstrating because Premier Jean Charest’s Liberal government planned to increase tuition fees from $2,168 to $3,793 between 2012 and 2017 ($1,625 over five years = $325.00 a year).  To my knowledge, Quebec students were then paying less than half the tuition fees students pay in other Canadian provinces.  The increase was therefore reasonable.

Student demonstrations began and events became disorderly.  In particular, students who wanted to complete their academic year were treated like strike breakers or “scabs.”  Consequently, on May 18th, 2012, former Quebec Premier Jean Charest’s Liberal government passed a bill into Law, Bill 78.[i]  The new law, an emergency law, was An Act to enable students to receive instruction from the postsecondary institutions they attend (L.Q., 2012, c. 12 / Laws of Quebec, 2012, chapter 12).  (See Bill 78, Wikipedia.)

However, Bill 78 did not deter students.  On the contrary.  The student demonstrations were led by student unions, such as the Fédération étudiante universitaire du Québec, and supported by workers unions, the Confédération des syndicats nationaux and the Canadian Union of Public Employees.   So the students grew more defiant.  On May 22nd, 2012, between 400,000 and 500,000 people marched in downtown Montreal.”  This march has been called “the largest act of civil disobedience in Canadian History.”  (See 2012 Quebec student protests, Wikipedia.)

Pauline Marois as Fairy Godmother

Suddenly, as demonstrations raged, Madame Pauline Marois, the leader of the Parti Québécois, an indépendantiste party, started supporting the students whose demands grew bolder.  At first, the students were protesting the increase in their tuition fees proposed by Monsieur Charest’s Liberal government, but matters changed.  After Madame Marois stepped in and during the months that preceded the Summit, the students were asking for a tuition-free education.

It would be my opinion that Madame Marois knew very well that Monsieur Charest Liberal government’s proposed increase was altogether acceptable, not to say insufficient.  However, Pauline Marois needed votes and got votes.  On September 4th, 2012, she was elected Premier of the Province of Quebec.

It was not an overwhelming victory.  Pauline Marois leads a minority government, but the students provided enough votes for her to be elected.  She seemed their fairy godmother and when she took office, the students’ planned tuition increases were repealed by a decree from Madame Marois’ Parti Québécois government.  Without the support of Quebec’ students, I doubt Madame Marois would have defeated Premier Jean Charest’s Liberal government.

The Summit on Education

But now, at the conclusion of an expensive Summit on Education, a mere show, Madame Marois has announced that tuition fees would rise by 3 per cent annually.  This increase is almost identical to former Quebec Premier Charest’s proposed increase.  Therefore,  it turns out that Madame Marois misled students into thinking she would protect their interests.

So allow me to bemoan, once again, the behaviour of Quebec Premier Pauline Marois.  She manipulated the students into thinking she would be an ally, and they believed her.  I should think there are more honourable ways of being elected to the premiership of the province of Quebec.

Toronto Star journalist Chantal Hébert has stated that “[i]n the wake of Marois’ victory, the student leadership had cause to believe that it would secure a coveted tuition freeze. The recurrent 3 per cent annual increase that the premier has now resolved to implement does not live up to those expectations.”   I believe Madame Hébert is absolutely right.  The students did believe that, if elected into the office of Premier of Quebec, Madame Marois would be their salvation.

Pierre Duchesne and Jacques Parizeau

During the months and weeks preceding the Summit, Monsieur Pierre Duchesne, Quebec’s Minister of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology, made it very clear that a tuition-free education was not in the works, which should have deterred students.  In fact, he made himself so clear that many Québécois and Quebecers wondered why the Summit was taking place.  It seemed an exercise in futility at a huge expense, which it was.

But, as mentioned above, the students believed Madame Marois.  Moreover, as Pierre Duchesne was stating that a tuition-free education was out of the question, former Parti Québécois leader and Premier of Quebec Jacques Parizeau was expressing the view that “free tuition [was] a realistic option.”  (See the report of Montreal Gazette‘s Quebec Bureau Chief Kevin Dougherty.)

Students were, of course, bitterly disappointed when news came that the Marois government would implement an increase in tuition fee, even if it is lower than the increase Premier Charest’s government had proposed.  This year, the 3 per cent increase will be $65.04.  Some protested and a few paid the price.  On February 25th, there was one arrest (see cbcnews) and on February 26th, there were ten (see presstv.com).  Madame Marois had made false promises and the Summit on Education was yet another political ploy: a turquerie[ii].  Madame Marois was trying to bow out gracefully, but did she?

University students protest against tuition hike in Montreal, Canada, on February 26, 2013 (press.tvcom)

Conclusion

I hope the students will remember that Madame Marois used them to get votes and that, consequently, they will be less likely to support her and her Parti Québécois (PQ) in a future bid for re-election.  I also hope they will be less likely to support separation from Canada in a referendum.

Madame Marois has not announced a referendum, but a referendum usually follows the election to the premiership of Quebec of an indépendantiste leader and Party.  At any rate, a referendum is very much on the mind of former Parti Québécois Premier Jacques Parizeau.  (See Montreal Gazette & Montreal Gazette)

In closing, I wish to reassure you that despite a 3 per cent annual increase to my knowledge, the students of Quebec will still be paying the lowest tuition fees in Canada.  I hope they realize how fortunate they are and that they have learned not to break the law.

Les Indes galantes & le Bourgeois gentilhomme: turqueries

Snow Geese on White Snow, Chantale Jean, 2012

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• Shooter Aimed at Premier-elect Pauline Marois (michelinewalker.com)
• Thoughts on Quebec (michelinewalker.com)
• Madame Marois’ Scottish Agenda (michelinewalker.com)
• Pauline Marois: The Scottish Agenda Concluded (michelinewalker.com)
• More Thoughts on Quebec (michelinewalker.com)

Flag of Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Current Events in Quebec

For those of you who wish to keep up with current events in Quebec, I am listing a number of links.

Yesterday (May 16), the students were prevented from re-entering the classroom by unsavoury and potentially dangerous groups: gangs. 

Given the threat to the students and to their teachers, the Quebec Government has ordered an end to the tuition strike.  There was violence between 1960 and 1970, so the presence of gangs preventing the students from attending their classes has to be taken very seriously.

I saw Madame Marois on television.  She was asking the premier to act as a “good father” (the « bon père » notion of the Quebec Code civil fr/ Civil Code en) to the students and sit with them.  I am hearing the word “negotiations.”  To what extent should a Premier negotiate?  Madame Marois spoke about attentive mothers who talk with their children, etc.

As a bon père, monsieur Charest is putting an end to the academic year and to the strike. I believe monsieur Charest will ask the population to decide: a referendum of some kind.

Here are Civil Code entries (English):

• http://www.justice.gouv.qc.ca/english/sujets/glossaire/code-civil-a.htm
• http://www2.publicationsduquebec.gouv.qc.ca/dynamicSearch/telecharge.php?type=2&file=/CCQ/CCQ_A.html
• http://lawjournal.mcgill.ca/documents/40.Olivier.pdf

Code civil entries in French:

• http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_civil_du_Qu%C3%A9bec
• http://www2.publicationsduquebec.gouv.qc.ca/dynamicSearch/telecharge.php?type=2&file=/CCQ/CCQ.html
• http://www.rdl.gouv.qc.ca/fr/pdf/ccq_du_louage.pdf
• http://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/dossiers/conflit-etudiant/201204/27/01-4519607-droits-de-scolarite-loffre-de-quebec-est-accueillie-froidement.php (old news)

Here are the URLs of newpapers covering the events:

• CBC http://www.cbc.ca/news/
• CTV http://www.ctvnews.ca/
• Global Montreal http://www.globalmontreal.com/
• Le Devoir http://www.ledevoir.com/societe/education/350234/conflit-etudiant-haute-pression (French)
• La Presse: http://www.lapresse.ca/ (French)
• Le Soleil: http://www.lapresse.ca/le-soleil/actualites/education/201205/16/01-4525999-conflit-etudiant-quebec-pret-a-imposer-une-loi-speciale.php (French: Quebec City)
• The Montreal Gazette http://www.montrealgazette.com/index.html
• The Globe and Mail http://www.theglobeandmail.com/ 
  
   

Le Code civil

De Gaulle, après Mai “68, a limogé son Premier Ministre Pompidou alors que tout – loyauté, compétence, relations – suggérait qu’il lui renouvelât sa confiance. Pourquoi l’a-t-il fait ? Beaucoup ont dit à l’époque qu’il le jetait en pâture aux fauves, pour que les résultats dérisoires de cette spectaculaire insubordination à laquelle ils s’étaient livrés ne leur crée pas de rancœur. Mais ce n’était pas ça. Il mettait simplement sont atout-maitre « en réserve de la République ».

Il l’a dit exactement en ces mots d’ailleurs… mais ils ne l’ont pas cru. Ce n’est que quand Pompidou a succédé à de Gaulle à la Présidence de la République qu’ils ont compris que le Général avait mis sagement son dauphin à l’abri des luttes fratricides et des coups fourrés, durant cette période ou il fallait raccommoder pour faire du neuf sans que le tissu social ne se déchire. C’est une tunique bien proprette que l’Auvergnat a finalement endossée ..

François Legault m’apparaît aujourd’hui une tête au-dessus de tous les autres dans l’arène politique provinciale : il n’y a personne pour lui barrer la route. Pourtant, il se retire… et, dans la conjoncture actuelle, je crois qu’il a raison.

Le problème n’est pas Jean Charest ni le Parti Libéral. Charest est là et sa popularité a même augmenté, mais je n’y vois que le soutien par défaut de ceux qui refusent l’alternative péquiste. Le Parti Libéral ennuie et il sera battu dès qu’il y aura une autre option crédible.

Ce n’est pas non plus sa position minoritaire au sein du PQ qui est l’obstacle à la montée de Legault. Madame Marois suscite si peu d’enthousiasme, surtout après l’échec cinglant dans Rivière-du-loup, qu’un putsch dans la tradition péquiste pourrait la déloger rapidement. Duceppe ? Il y a bien longtemps qu’on le voit. Il n’a plus cette nouveauté « Jument verte » qui, dans un monde d’Internet, fait élire en triomphe des Obamas, parce que c’est leur ascension même qui séduit.

Si quelqu’un barrait la route à Legault au sein du PQ, il pourrait sans doute écarter cet obstacle. Mais il n’a pas intérêt à le faire, car le problème, c’est qu’il n’y a simplement plus d’avenir pour le Parti Québécois. L’idée de l’indépendance est minoritaire et le restera pour l’avenir prévisible. Le PQ perdra d’autant plus sûrement les élections qu’il mettra de l’avant son option indépendantiste… et se désintégrera d’autant plus vite qu’il la mettra sous le boisseau.

Le problème, pour François Legault, c’est qu’il n’y a pas de structure partisane sur laquelle il pourrait s’appuyer pour accéder au pouvoir. Plus rien de passionnant à l’ADQ, rien de crédible à QS ni chez les Verts.

De la France à la mort de De Gaulle, Pompidou avait dit qu’elle était « veuve ». On ne peut même pas dire des Québécois qu’ils sont orphelins, car ceux qui pourraient leur servir de pères spirituels ne sont pas morts… ils sont à la retraite. Les Québécois sont, en politique, comme ces enfants des rues de Mumbai/Bombay dans ce film qu’on vient d’« oscariser ».

Dans ce contexte, il est probable que le PQ se scindera bientôt entre une gauche – qui rejoindra QS et pourra parler d’autant plus aisément d’indépendance qu’elle ne sera pas une option réaliste de gouvernance – et une droite qui absorbera l’ADQ, substituera la notion de souveraineté/autonomie à celle d’indépendance et, libérée de ce boulet, redeviendra le parti de l’alternance.

Il est bon que Francois Legault ne vive pas ces déchirements. Le temps passant, il ne peut que grandir en stature, comme Pompidou. Comme Robert Bourrassa durant ses années d’exil/pèlerinage. Il devient « en réserve » de quoi que ce soit qui se créera au Québec pour faire face à la crise et, surtout, pour proposer un projet de société motivant et RASSEMBLEUR qui nous sortira de l’insignifiance.

Pierre JC Allard