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 | | From: | Len McLaughlin | | Subject: | Strickly Canadian- Fwd | | Date: | Sun, 23 Jan 2005 14:40:12 GMT |
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----- Original Message -----
From: CLF-Outside-Ottawa
To: CLF-Outside-Ottawa
Sent: Saturday, January 22, 2005 10:37 AM
Subject: News from around Canada
January 22, 2005
Stories & news from around Canada is an attempt to let Canadians know that
the onslaught is not just happening in Ontario, it is happening all over and
it is always directed by the Federal government, using general taxpayer
dollars to further the cause of ONE linguistic group. Examine every
occasion where French rights are being given priority and funding, you will
always find that no equivalent service or funding is ever given to the
English-speakers in Quebec. This report comes from supporters in Winnipeg,
New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario and B.C. If you have news to report from
your part of Canada where you see this happening, we would love to hear from
you.
Kim McConnell
President
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FROM OTTAWA
Prof. Cammy will have a show on CFRA (www.cfra.com) on Sunday, January 23rd,
at 5:00 pm. Sebastian Anders (spokesperson for CLF) and Terry Kilrea
(candidate for Mayor of Ottawa 2006) will be on against Rick Henderson
(President - Anglo Rights in Quebec) & Jean Poirier (ACFO). You can tune in
to the show and listen to the debate.
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Message from O.H. of Winnipeg
Hi !
I am going to include some correspondence that may interest you that I have
had recently here in Manitoba. The city of Winnipeg constructed a bridge
last year and they wanted to have a restaurant on it. It has become a bit of
a political football because some presure groups have been insistent that it
be bilingual. The city got no response from interested parties and dropped
the bilingual requirement and this brought on an organized protest. There
was a letter in the Winnipeg Free Press today that shed some light on the
origin of the protest and we find out that their objectivity was not genuine
in the need for a bilingual establishment but rather to push their own
personal selfish agenda with no guarantee they would ever support it once
they got their way. Anyway I wrote to Charles Adler a talk show host on
station CJOB here in Winnipeg and drew his attention to the letter which
appeared next to a column he had in the paper. I include copies of both for
your perusal.
Charles,
A letter next to your column in the Free Press sheds light on that
demonstration at the bridge. We find that as per usual the demand for the
bilingual element to the restaurant does not come from popular demand or for
sound economic reasons but by a small pressure group trying to advance their
self serving agenda at somebody elses' expense. What bothers me even more
when I see as I am informed in the letter that taxpayer's money was used to
try and organize this demonstration. It is acts like this that create major
cleavages between our cultural groups and these groups will have nobody to
blame but themselves for the backlash that is sure to occur. I give the
writer of this letter congratulations for his courage and integrity to blow
the whistle on this group even though he leaves himself vulnerable to
attack. This country needs more people like him and fewer of the selfish,
self serving types, a minority trying to foist their agenda on an
unsuspecting public.
OH.
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Wed Jan 12 2005 - Free Press - Winnipeg
Vibrant place better, whatever language
Re: City staff extend proposal deadline for bridge eatery (Jan. 11).
I'd like to point out that not all Francophone residents are angered by the
fact that the city dropped the requirement for bilingual services. I
personally am not shocked to see that, since the francophone organization
that was in charge of finding a business to fill the void of the bridge did
not succeed with a bilingual proposal. This could not be a requirement
anymore, but only an encouragement as specified in Section E2.2.3 of the bid
documents. Which business would deny services in French if a good part of
their business is done in that language?
We saw between 200 and 300 francophone students on the bridge who took part
in a protest that was created after one of their teachers asked them to do
something to show their pride in speaking French. This was all integrated
into a youth parliament event.
An advertisement in the francophone weekly newspaper to promote this protest
was paid by Comite de Developpement Economique du Manitoba and helped by SFM
(owner of the newspaper also). CDEM is basically an organization that helps
to create new businesses and develop existing ones, among many other roles
that can be found at www.cdem.com/english.
I wonder if it's better to honour Louis Riel's memory by having an empty
space rather than a vibrant place full of people, whether they speak English
or French.
PHILIPPE BARDET
Winnipeg
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From L. M. of New Brunswick
Subject: Coming your way - 'Critical mass'
Below is an interesting read. Here is a Federal agency that makes no
pretence at wanting just bilingual workers, it wants Francophones. Many of
us have said from the beginning that it wasn't about language. The average
'compassionate' Canadian will make excuses for it but I suggest he
substitute Francophone for Anglophone, and visa versa and see how it reads.
I'll comment further at the end.
Len
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NB Telegraph-Journal | News -
As published on page A4 on January 13, 2005
>
RECRUITMENT VIDEO
Agency wants francophone workers
>
BY GREG MERCER
Telegraph-Journal
>
The Canada Revenue Agency in Saint John is hoping the $22,000 it spent on a
recruitment video will help it attract more French-speaking workers to the
city.
>
The federal agency says it commissioned 1,000 copies of the five-minute DVD
for use at college job fairs because of a shortage of francophones applying
for jobs within the Saint John office.
>
It hopes the film will counter perceptions the Port City is a unilingual
town that offers little in the way of a community for francophone residents.
Attracting francophones is particularly important because the Saint John
office covers a territory stretching from Quebec to Newfoundland and it
needs to maintain French-speaking staff levels of about 20 per cent.
>
The agency received the money to produce the film through the Treasury
Board, the federal government branch in charge of managing the public
service.
>
CRA, which employs over 400 staff at its Prince William Street office, hired
local public relations firm Williams PR and Advertising to produce the film.
Williams PR was paid $13,800, while the rest of the money went towards
promoting the film.
>
"We want to increase the number of francophone candidates by 50 per cent
over two years," said Heather Cameron, spokesperson for the Saint John CRA
office. "We also wanted to improve the perception of the Saint John region
to francophones outside the region. I don't know they were aware of the
French community that's already in here."
>
The city office is facing a large number of openings in the coming years,
either through attrition, retirement and expansion, said Ms. Cameron. By
2010, about 80 current staff at the Prince William Street office will be
eligible to retire.
>
Besides noting Saint John's French roots through Samuel de Champlain, the
film also highlights the city's culture, heritage buildings, nightlife and
natural assets such as the Bay of Fundy, Rockwood Park and the Irving Nature
Park. Saint John's quality of life and affordable housing options are also
praised.
>
It also features testimonials from francophone staff at CRA, and promotes
the activities of the local francophone community through the Centre
Communautaire Samuel de Champlain and the local french community
association, l'ARCf de Saint-Jean.
>
Williams PR used another local film production company, Innovative Video
Solutions, to actually make the film. IVS relied on still photographs and
archival footage for much of the content.
>
The film, which was produced over two months last spring, says that the
Greater Saint John region is home to some 17,000 bilingual citizens.
>
Claude Bourque, 42, says today it's much easier for a francophone family to
settle in Saint John than it was when he came to work for Revenue Canada in
1985.
>
"There's a great French school here, there's a strong French community, and
it all builds that support network you need to accomplish that goal of
educating your kids in French," said the father of two. "I wouldn't have any
problem recommending to a family who wants to move here and bring their kids
up in French. It's possible, there's a critical mass here."
>
Mr. Bourque, a Moncton native and manager of human resources at the CRA
office, said there's a more vibrant francophone community in Saint John now
thanks in part to call centres attracting greater numbers of bilingual
workers to the city. And as the number of francophones has grown, so have
the services for them in Saint John.
>
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Comments
Several years ago the Federal government made a big show of moving various
government depts. across the country supposedly to make all Canadians feel
that their government was all inclusive. Having seen the system at work
down here in NB, many of us were suspicious, as it sounded too good to be
true..and it was.
They moved the VA dept to PEI and the Canada Revenue Agency to Saint John
which meant jobs for areas that needed them. However, then they
transferred the bulk of their employees from Ottawa, the majority of whom
just happened to be Francophone. From there things proceeded much as you see
above.
On PEI they now have a French only school which they got through the courts
and are demanding services in French through the community. This of course
then leads to businesses having to hire French clerks, etc. You must all
know the drill by now.
Notice that in the Saint John area, there are 17,000 bilingual people but
that is not enough to fill 80 jobs? So what does bilingualism really mean?
Notice the use of the 20% quota, which many of us have been advocating as
the best solution to the current situation.. When the French numbers are
down, 'quotas' are in. When they are up, they're not interested in talking
quotas at all.
Notice that, as usual, the HR manager is Francophone although the area is
95% English. Control HR and you control all hiring.
Notice that the retirees will be replaced not just by bilinguals, but by
Francophones.
Notice the use of 'critical mass'. Most Anglophones wouldn't recognize the
significance of this, but the French do. That is what Russia tried to do in
the Ukraine- move in enough Russians to control the country, so it's not a
new concept. This is what the Palestinians are accusing the Israelis of
doing with their settlement program.
>
Canadians seem to have adopted a "Fortress Canada" mentality in that the
intrigues of man that occur elsewhere in the world can't happen here.- Len
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Comments From Gary R. from N.B.
Population of N.B. is around 34% French, Saint John is possibly 5%.
I'm very familiar with this agency (see article above) as my wife had an
acquaintance who works there. Her acquaintance was recruited because she is
from Quebec and speaks Quebec style French. The agency was receiving
numerous complaints from Quebec Francophones because they felt that the
French spoken by Acadians was sub par....or insulting as she puts it.
She told my wife that Quebec Francophones get very upset when they cannot
get service in perfect French.
Notice that in the article, the agency is emphasizing their search for
Francophones not bilingual workers, nor is there any mention of what kind of
education or skills the person will need. This woman was hired right out of
Quebec, she couldn't speak a word of English and had limited computer
knowledge when she arrived in Saint John and was told that she would be
trained to do her job, she had received a phone call from her MP and was
asked if she was willing to relocate to N.B.
Revenue Canada's only concern was her ability to speak French. She said
they were in a big panic to hire French Quebecers, some of the Acadians who
were in those bilingual positions and whose language was "sub par", were
re-assigned to answer the English calls.
Revenue Canada is the 2nd largest employer in the city and all those parents
who had dreams of their French Immersion kids using their functional French
in bilingual jobs, are suddenly given a reality check.
Saint John is only an hour's drive from Moncton (which has a huge bilingual
Francophone workforce), so Acadians are well aware of what Saint John has to
offer for French schools and cultural facilities...this recruitment video
was not intended to recruit Acadians, it was geared directly towards
Quebecers.
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From Quebec:
"Four English schools to close"
http://www.canada.com/montreal/montrealgazette/news/montreal/story.html?id=848b980e-f5f2-4d29-acc2-47c85c0417ec
Kim, this is probably one of the most significant articles I have read in
recent memory.
It will not get the attention it needs in Canada. I can look into my
crystal ball and see the future of Canada very clearly.
The closing of the English schools in Montreal is tragic. Montreal was the
last communitiy to have a large thriving English population. Damn those
Liberal bastards who allowed Quebec to do this.
L.J.
Four English schools to close
Enrolment down; Reprieve for 2 elementary schools
ALLISON LAMPERT
The Gazette
January 18, 2005
CREDIT: PIERRE OBENDRAUF, THE GAZETTE
Colleen Dailey bows her head last night as she hears the English Montreal
School Board's vote to close St. Ignatius elementary in N.D.G.
Hailed for the vital role they play in their communities, the last English
schools in Point St. Charles and Pointe aux Trembles were saved last night
by the English Montreal School Board.
St. Gabriel and McLearon elementary schools will stay open next year, while
four other schools will close in June for dwindling enrolment.
"Community schools versus declining enrolment," observed Tony Lacroce,
director general of the EMSB. "Clearly that was the choice and they (board
members) chose the community."
St. Pius X and Wagar high schools, once known for powerhouse basketball
teams and graduating classes with hundreds of students, are closing. Members
also voted to shut two primary schools, St. Patrick and St. Ignatius of
Loyola.
The meeting provoked both sneers from parents at schools that were closed
and calls of "thank you," from members of the schools that remained open.
"I am ecstatic," said McLearon parent Fran McIntyre, while embracing Rachel
Bourget, a day-care worker at the school.
"Now we're going to work, work to promote our school," said parent Patricia
Cantwell, whose son James, 6, is in first grade at St. Gabriel.
Yet last night's vote, despite affecting more than 1,000 students, won't
resolve the future of the board's network of schools.
The EMSB is expecting to lose another 400 students next year, raising the
spectre of future school closings. Plus, at least one school is threatening
to go to court on the grounds that the board failed to properly consult
parents, as is required by law.
"Everything is leading in that direction," said Beverley Boyle, a
spokesperson for St. Patrick School, which has stayed open for five years
because of successive legal victories against the board. "We're ready to
roll."
Parents from St. Patrick, along with three other schools, complained they
received insufficient information from the board. Parents from St. Patrick
and Wagar have both filed requests under Quebec's access to-information
laws, after the EMSB denied them minutes of meetings held by the board's
long-range planning committee.
Composed of board administrators, the committee drafts recommendations on
which schools to close. In the past, parents have accused committee members
of changing their recommendations for political reasons.
"The minutes are critical," Boyle said. "We wanted to see if there was any
political involvement. Based on the past we know that the final report is
not necessarily the original report."
Lacroce said the committee keeps notes - not minutes - on its meetings. And
those notes are private: "The (notes) are that of a working committee and I
think that a working committee has the right to discuss things among
ourselves."
Last night's closings are also sparking a new round of consultation. Among
other proposals, the board has suggested relocating Royal Vale elementary
and high schools, from Notre Dame de Grace to Wagar's Cote St. Luc facility.
The board will make a decision on what to do with the building at the end of
March.
alampert@thegazette.canwest.com
Schools on the EMSB's list
Number School
Staying open: of students capacity
St. Gabriel School, Point St. Charles 183 345
McLearon School, Pointe aux Trembles 243 365
Closing:
St. Ignatius of Loyola, Notre Dame de Grace 180 320
St. Patrick School, Plateau Mont Royal 79 560
Wagar High School, Cote St. Luc 302 600
St. Pius X High School, Ahuntsic 230 700
Enrolment figures
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From British Columbia
1. November 2nd, 2004, a delegation from the Nanaimo Francophones to the
Cultural Committee requested that Nanaimo be declared a "Bilingual City"
(not an 'Officially' Bilingual City at this stage, although that may well
come in due course). This to be effective before, during and after the 2010
Winter Olympic Games in Whistler, B.C. to apply to hotels/motels,
restaurants and associated services. They were referred to the Nanaimo
Chamber of Commerce who accepted their request. It now remains to be seen
how many Chamber members supply services in French. We may well wonder
about future developments.
Some concerned citizens have gotten together and letters are being written
to the local media to question this move by the francophones. No letters
have appeared yet but two papers have acknowledged the situation. One
tabloid Asst. Editor has called me for verification of the facts that I have
mentioned. The other, the Nanaimo Daily News had on its Friday 14th Jan/05
front page the headline "Will Nanaimo soon become bilingual". Then about
three column inches of text mentioning roughly what I have said above. If
you like I will get this printed and send you a copy. My letter presumably
jolted the editor into doing something about the subject. We are hopeful
that this week will see our letters published. A copy of my letter follows
on to you. I will appreciate your comments.
2. On Jan. 6th/05 my letter was published in the Daily News about Quebec's
dairy giant buying out Island Farms here on V.I. The subject was not
mentioned in any of the other local papers so I did not write them being
busy with other things (shovelling snow etc !!!).
3. Lafrancophone in B.C. (Columbie Britannique). Economic Diversification
(DEO) 2002 reports that French businesses from Quebec are setting up
offices in B.C. To date, 509 have been set up. Question - how much of the
general taxpayers' money has been given to these companies to establish
offices here?
4. A request has been made by the Nanaimo Francophone Association for the
City of Nanaimo to be declared "A Bilingual City", The reason given is to
facilitate visitors before, during and after the 2010 Winter Olympic Games
to be held at Whistler, B.C. Initially, to apply to Nanaimo's hotels/motels,
resturants and service related businesses. This raises a number of
questions.
a. Presumably most competitors for the Games, their supporters and others
will be accommodated in areas adjacent to Whistler, Squamish and Vancouver.
It is questionable whether many will visit Nanaimo before, during or after
the Games.
b. It can be presumed that an international language interpretation center
will be established on the mainland to cater to the many nationalities
attending. At the same time it can be expected that English will be
predominant since it is the universal language in most parts of the world.
c. Is it necessary for Nanaimo at any time to become "bilingual" ? If it
can be established that many French only speaking visitors will be visiting
Nanaimo, then we can see no objection to hotels and resturants supplying
services in French or any other languages as appropriate although this may
increase room rates etc. Overall this does not justify the whole city being
embraced in another language. When contemplating this question of languages
it will be noted that Nanaimo is the first city in B.C. to adopt the new
multilingual format for transit services. Other cities are expected to
follow soon using seven languages. The B.C. Elections Office has also used
a multilingual format in some of its publications.
5. Draft letter to Premier Gordon Campbell:-
Dear Premier,
The Canada-BC General Agreement on the Promotion of Official Languages is
due to expire in March 2005 after a one year extension.
It will be recalled that the Agreement was originally signed by the NDP
government just prior to the election in May 2001 and valid for 5 years.
We are frequently reminded that Canada has two official languages, English
and French. Wih this in mind, Richard Stewart, MLA was appointed as the
Francophone Liasion member for francophone affairs in BC. There does not
appear to be a corresponding MLA for Anglophone and Allophone affairs in BC.
The 2001 Census for BC shows:-
Anglophones 2,849,185
Francophones 59,891
Allophones 960,780 (population with non-official languages as
mother tongue)
In view of these figures the question arises, is there a need for the
Agreement in BC and will you consent to a renewal should the Federal
Government require this ? If you agree then it is to be expected that a
Liaison MLA would be appointed for the Anglophones and Allophones.
Your reply is awaited with interest.
Yours truly,
A. S.
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Subject: Welcome from Canadians for Language Fairness .
We are a group of people who have decided that the English-speaking majority
of Canada should not be brow-beaten into accepting the policy of Official
Bilingualism which essentially discriminates against most Canadians.
In the 2001 census, 17.7% of Canadians were self-assessed as "bilingual" -
a recent study by Jack Jedwab said that the actual figure is 12%. Read the
report at:
http://www.acs-aec.ca/Polls/incomplete%20bilingualism.pdf
So essentially, we are allowing a very small portion of Canadians access to
public service jobs that should be open to ALL Canadians.
Official Bilingualism is an affirmative action job program for
French-speakers and bilingualism is becoming increasingly the main criteria
for jobs in the Public Service. Why would a country allow a minority
language, French, to be used to shut out the majority language group?
Gary Robichaud of New Brunswick has decided to fight back by getting his
union to support him - after all, isn't that what unions are for? We are
hoping that other unions in the country will take up this fight on behalf of
their union members who are mainly English-speakers. If we don't fight back
while we still can, very soon unilingual English-speakers will have no
chance at getting jobs in the public or private sector. Gary prepared a
document, written in PowerPoint. If you wish to receive a copy of this
presentation, please email me back and I will forward the attachment. This
document has been forwarded to the national office of the PSAC.
We circulate newspaper articles and letters from our supporters about our
concerns over the language issue. We do not force people to pay attention to
this topic, even though we feel it is very important for the future of
Canadians.
>
If you would like to be placed on our distribution list, you can email me
and let me know if you want to be on the "Ottawa" list or the "Out of
Ottawa" list.
>
Currently, our attention is turning to the plight of English-speaking
Ottawans. The language policy of the city will be entrenched into
provincial law by the McGuinty government unless the citizens support a
campaign to stop this!! Contact me if you want to help us.
For more information about us, please visit our web site at:
www.languagefairness.ca
Thank you for your support.
Kim McConnell
President
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