[Canada] Canadian Politics Redux

[Grey Fox]

Hospitals & education in the language of the minority are constitutionally protected rights, anyway.

[Barrister]

Why are you against Federal bilingualism, BB?

It's not exactly a burning issue for me or anything, but  I am a former federal public servant.  In a region as far from Quebec as you could possibly get, with an absolutely miniscule number of French speakers.  Honestly, there were probably more german speakers in the Yukon.  But it was actually a minor emergency when someone realized I had been hired into a bilingual position.  And I would forever have been limited in how far I could advance within the public service by not knowing French.

Like I said, I'm definitely not opposed to offering French language services in places where numbers warrant, or where constitutional issues come into play (like in my line of work - a right to a trial in French means we must have some bilingual prosecutors).  But I do think there should be more flexibility and realism in federal bilingualism policy.

[viper37]

Bilingual trials are guaranteed in the constitution.

Only for criminal trials, and still, some defendants must appeal because their rights are denied.
It's far from a done deal.

Federal bilingualism has nothing to do with those either.

Yes, we know that, the Canadian provinces rarely offer trial in French, and when they do, they do not always translate their laws and documentation (see Alberta and BC cases, of recent memory, talked about here; Alberta does not have to translate its laws and BC does not have to provide bilingual documentation in a case relating to bilingual services of schools).

Yet, we know Quebec would be forced to do it anyway by the Federal government, and they will fund anglo movements seeking extension of english services in the province, while it will not do so for the french minority.

[viper37]

Like I said, I'm definitely not opposed to offering French language services in places where numbers warrant, or where constitutional issues come into play (like in my line of work - a right to a trial in French means we must have some bilingual prosecutors).  But I do think there should be more flexibility and realism in federal bilingualism policy.

the problem, again, is that anglo activism would force Quebec to be bilingual, due to sheer number, yet, French canadians would be denied such rights.  As it was before the official languages act, as it still is in many places in Canada.  French communities still have to fight for decent funding of their schools, compared to english ones. 

And contrary to what Grey Fox says, receiving health care in your own language is not protected by the Constitution.  And there is activism by english-speakers to shut down any such initiatives.  Here is one for Cornwall:
http://www.torontosun.com/2012/02/08/hospitals-bilingual-policy-irks-mayor

[Grey Fox]

It didn't get up to the Surpreme Court but see Lalonde vs Ontario decision from the Ontario court of Appeal.

The principle of respect for and protection of minorities is
a fundamental structural feature of the Canadian Constitution
that both explains and transcends the minority rights that are
specifically guaranteed in the constitutional text. This
structural feature of the Constitution is reflected not only in
the specific guarantees in favour of minorities. It infuses the
entire text, and plays a vital role in shaping the content and
contours of the Constitution's other structural features:
federalism, constitutionalism and the rule of law, and
democracy. The unwritten principles of the Constitution have
normative force. The fundamental constitutional principle of
respect for and protection of minorities, together with the
principles that apply to the interpretation of language rights,
require that the French Language Services Act be given a
liberal and generous interpretation. By enacting the F.L.S.A.,
Ontario bound itself to provide the services offered at
Montfort at the time of designati on under the Act unless it
was "reasonable and necessary" to limit them. Ontario did not
offer the justification that it was reasonable and necessary to
limit the services offered in French by Montfort to the
community.

The lawyer cabal will deny or confirm.

[crazy canuck]

Near the end on a lengthy HuffPo piece on Maxime Bernier puts into words the reason I'm pulling for him as Conservative leader:

Many of the proposals Bernier champions are found in the Reform Party's 1996-1997 policies and principles statement, known as the Blue Book, which was co-written by Harper.

"Ending corporate welfare, it was in the Blue Book. Ending regional development agencies, it was in the Blue Book. Revisit equalization, it was in the Blue Book. Respect the Constitution, it was in the Blue Book. Free trade across Canada, it was in the Blue Book," says Bernier.

"So the English in Western Canada must recognize themselves in my platform, it's ideal platform that Stephen Harper wrote for Reform at the time."

'The Reform party leader from Quebec'

The similarities are coincidental, Bernier says, noting that they were recently pointed out to him during a trip out west.

It may not be entirely by chance. After all, Masse is a former Reform party member. After giving up on sovereignty in the mid-1990s, Masse decided a decentralized federation could be achieved by uniting with like-minded individuals across Canada. He got a job with the Reform party's Quebec office and ran as a candidate in a 1996 byelection. He won less than one per cent of the vote.

"[Bernier] is like the Reform party leader, from Quebec," Masse says. "It's like the perfect combination."

In Masse's mind, the story of Maxime Bernier is not a comeback tale, but the far-fetched narrative of a Quebecer from a typically socialist province, a former separatist, and a player in one of the biggest political scandals of recent years, who rises to become the new Reform party leader.

"[He is] the ideal leader that they should have had 20 years earlier to win, but didn't," Masse says. Reform had to merge and disappear. Now, he says, Bernier can bring it back.

"That to me is the miracle," Masse says. "It's just totally implausible."

Implausible, perhaps, to everyone but Maxime Bernier.

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2017/05/19/maxime-bernier-conservative-leadership-part-3_n_16694222.html

Ok, so you have confirmed the observation I made upthread that he would appeal to the Reformers but it will be a challenge for him to appeal to anyone else.  One of the things I appreciated about Harper is that his political views matured and, no doubt, that is how he was able to win a majority.  I am not sure why decades old and failed policy initiatives are still attractive to some - but each to their own I guess.

[Jacob]

Fake FB profiles seem to becoming mor active in Canadian political debates: http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/canada/calgary/fake-facebook-accounts-calgary-alberta-politics-1.4128312

[viper37]

It didn't get up to the Surpreme Court but see Lalonde vs Ontario decision from the Ontario court of Appeal.

The principle of respect for and protection of minorities is
a fundamental structural feature of the Canadian Constitution
that both explains and transcends the minority rights that are
specifically guaranteed in the constitutional text. This
structural feature of the Constitution is reflected not only in
the specific guarantees in favour of minorities. It infuses the
entire text, and plays a vital role in shaping the content and
contours of the Constitution's other structural features:
federalism, constitutionalism and the rule of law, and
democracy. The unwritten principles of the Constitution have
normative force. The fundamental constitutional principle of
respect for and protection of minorities, together with the
principles that apply to the interpretation of language rights,
require that the French Language Services Act be given a
liberal and generous interpretation. By enacting the F.L.S.A.,
Ontario bound itself to provide the services offered at
Montfort at the time of designati on under the Act unless it
was "reasonable and necessary" to limit them. Ontario did not
offer the justification that it was reasonable and necessary to
limit the services offered in French by Montfort to the
community.

The lawyer cabal will deny or confirm.

it concerns only Ontario and its F.L.S.A..  Other provinces are unbound by it.  A new Ontarian government could very well decide to repeal the act.  They would likely gain traction in many communities.  Sudbury and Sault-Ste-Marie are still fresh to memory, in my case.  Can't imagine Laval ever doing the same.  Canadian media would be up in arms against racists Quebecers.

[Jacob]

Definitely see your point of view on this viper.

[viper37]

Next G7 summit will be right in front of my house (Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu).     

Well, across the St-Lawrence. 32km away.  Behind the trees and a small hill, so I can't see it.  But still, it's directly up North.  It's the closest I'll ever be to Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron. 

[Grey Fox]

[Josephus]

Next G7 summit will be right in front of my house (Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu).     

Well, across the St-Lawrence. 32km away.  Behind the trees and a small hill, so I can't see it.  But still, it's directly up North.  It's the closest I'll ever be to Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron. 

Can all regulars in this thread come stay with you that week?

[viper37]

Can all regulars in this thread come stay with you that week?

yeah, sure, you can all camp in my backyard

[PRC]

Andrew Scheer wins Conservative leadership: http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/conservative-leadership-race-winner-1.4134575

[Monoriu]

It is my sincere hope that Chinese Canadians will never demand government services in Chinese