[Canada] Canadian Politics Redux

[Grey Fox]

So I watched this clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KitLiKbIsSU&t=464s by a guy in Van with irritating hair.  TLDNW: the bilingualism requirement is crap.

My question is, for jobs that have a bilingualism requirement, how are they tested?

Fuck that guy.

[Valmy]

Is it really that hard to learn one additional language than the one you were born with? Especially one where about half of its vocabulary is shared by your native language? I mean it is not like you have to learn Finnish here.

Is having to learn skills to get jobs some kind of crazy foreign concept to Canadians?

Edit: Also I am going to go out on a limb here and guess that you really do not have to be some great orator or poet in French either, just not shitty enough to be able to do basic communication and read and writing. Is that right? Which I guess is Yi's question

[Barrister]

So I did not watch the French debate, not speaking French and all.

But the take-aways I've read are:

1. BQ leader Blanchet had perhaps the best performance (of course BQ started out with the fewest seats).
2. Trudeau gets Scheer to admit that he is personally pro-life, even as he continues to say he won't re-open abortion debate; and
3. Scheer gets in the burn of the night for calling out Trudeau for having two campaign planes, one for the media, and one for Trudeau and 'his canoes and his costumes'.


Again I'll ask the peanut gallery: is this pro-life gambit really effective?  Do they really mean to say no observant catholic, which Andrew Scheer is, should be PM because of their belief about abortion?

And Scheer - it's a pretty good line, and it's getting some english media play, but without a better climate change plan I'm not sure just attacking "hypocrisy" goes for the Conservatives.

[Grey Fox]

Again I'll ask the peanut gallery: is this pro-life gambit really effective?  Do they really mean to say no observant catholic, which Andrew Scheer is, should be PM because of their belief about abortion?

Remember, TVA is not a national network.

Yes, yes it is effective at turning CPC voters to the Bloq.

No person that is a forced-birther should be PM or even MP.

[viper37]

My question is, for jobs that have a bilingualism requirement, how are they tested?

French/English interview, written test if more is required.  In business admin in Quebec, bilinguism is required to graduate, so if you have recently graduated, an interview will be sufficient to determine your proficieny in english.
If you graduated 15-20 years ago, they may ask more questions and have you submit to an oral exam (listen to "tapes" and type your answers to the questions).
It's all second hand experience though, I never had to submit to any tests since my skills were sufficient, but I know some friends had to while we were in Gatineau/Ottawa.

[Oexmelin]

Again I'll ask the peanut gallery: is this pro-life gambit really effective?  Do they really mean to say no observant catholic, which Andrew Scheer is, should be PM because of their belief about abortion?

In Quebec, yes.

The matter is sensitive, and Scheer's fallback to his Catholicism to me sounded like an attempt at pandering, through typical miscomprehension of Quebec's "cultural catholicism". Observant Catholics in Quebec are very few, and those that are - like my father - are actually usually soft pro-choice regardless of what the Church's official position is. Remember: this is what got Cardinal Ouellet kicked upstairs in Rome, when he tried the American Catholic anti-choice playbook. I think Trudeau gets this better.

But, again, this had been the conundrum of Paul Martin, too. But the problem of Scheer was not the problem of Martin: the Libs often have had individual members who were anti-choice, but they rarely saw the Liberal party as a choice venue to legislate against abortion. Conservative candidates, however, campaign on this. Hence, when Martin said he would not reopen the debate, he had more credibility on the matter than Scheer, and Scheer's opponents know this.

[viper37]

Is having to learn skills to get jobs some kind of crazy foreign concept to Canadians?

For most of them, yes. Well, most of us.  Many Quebecers (ok, not THAT many, but some) resent having to learn english as a second language.  Like Magua said, white men are lazy

English canadians always make a drama bout being "forced" to learn French, or worst, having to read French beside English in an airport, or being greated in French first while in Montreal.  That's so awful

Edit: Also I am going to go out on a limb here and guess that you really do not have to be some great orator or poet in French either, just not shitty enough to be able to do basic communication and read and writing. Is that right? Which I guess is Yi's question

Depends on the job level requirements.

I was pleasantly surprised to find a French speaking Nova Scotian girl at my last trip to Louisbourg   She had great skills in French, and nearly all the staff were bilingual, but most of them were Acadians.  Anyway, like I said, depends on what is the job.  Working in a Federal park that recreated a famous french city/fortress/port, it's hard to justify english-only.  It kinda breaks immersion    I don't know about other parks, like Banf, never traveled that far.  IIRC, when visiting the Thousand islands, it was english only everywhere, but it's been so long, I can't remember if it was a private facility for the tour or a Federal govt thing.

[viper37]

1. BQ leader Blanchet had perhaps the best performance (of course BQ started out with the fewest seats).

He is the most proficient in French.  Home field advantage&all.  He's also used to communicate his political ideas, having been a minister, than a guest speaker at political shows on RDI.

2. Trudeau gets Scheer to admit that he is personally pro-life, even as he continues to say he won't re-open abortion debate; and

Scheer skillfully dodged the question during the debate (that part I have seen), only admitted it the next morning (this morning) answering the question of a journalist.

3. Scheer gets in the burn of the night for calling out Trudeau for having two campaign planes, one for the media, and one for Trudeau and 'his canoes and his costumes'.

Yes, that was a great moment

Again I'll ask the peanut gallery: is this pro-life gambit really effective?  Do they really mean to say no observant catholic, which Andrew Scheer is, should be PM because of their belief about abortion?

That's politics.  That's the line the Bloc and the NDP and the Libs want to push: he can't be trusted because his deeply held religious convictions are against what says.

And Scheer - it's a pretty good line, and it's getting some english media play, but without a better climate change plan I'm not sure just attacking "hypocrisy" goes for the Conservatives.

Yes, that's the problem with the Conservatives, it's like they just don't care, trying to schrug it off, sweeping it under the rug.

[viper37]

No person that is a forced-birther should be PM or even MP.

But you could vote for the NPD with a deeply religious leader whose personal convictions may collide with our ideas of a secular society.  If you can't trust Scheer for his personal convictions, how can you trust the NDP leader when he says he respecsts our desires for secularism?

On the other hand, you got a coke-head, a former cabinet Minister having been accused of DUI (technically, "being in possession of a vehicle with intent to drive") wich he managed to escape by claiming he didn't want to drive... He was just sitting in his car, with his keys...  Anyone else would have been sentenced to lose his driver's license and have a criminal record.  But he got away with it...  Is that social justice for you when the rich can afford the best lawyer and push back a case until they know wich judge will be more inclined to throw away their case?
And all the stuff while he was Éric Lapointe's manager.  If you've seen Omerta 2, you know it wasn't all "romanced".  Lots of it were the truth, all the shady stuff he did, all the people he screwed, all the people he threatened when they talked bad about his "boy".

And of course, the hypocrisy... spends years thrash talking the CAQ, then once he gets chose as leader of the Bloc, suddenly defends all these "bad ideas"...  Who's he, really?

Singh appears very sympathetic when he speaks French.  I wanted to hit that English moron who told him "he'd look more Canadian without his turban", but... Everytime he starts speaking in Englihs, he has a tendancy, a very Liberal tendancy to say the opposite of what he said in French...  That's... disturbing, to say the least.

Trudeau, on the other hand... Can you seriously vote for that guy?  He says he'll plant trees to cover 40% of Canada's target reduction in GHG, but that's a lie, it's only 40% of the lateness we have in reducing our emmisions... That amount for 10-12% of our real target, at most, and being very generous.  A more realistic scenario is around 6%.  If they get planted, if they are "new trees".  If we simply replant what we cut, that's simply neutral.

He says he might tax Netflix and the other GAFA.   Dude has had 4 years to do that and repeatedly said he wouldn't do it.  Now he says he might do?  Well... Judge by yourself.

If honesty is what you valued, Scheer is the only thrustworthy candidate.  However, his climate plan is simply non existant and there's this tendancy of trying to pander to Bernier's crowd that I don't really like.  On the other hand, many people around here seems to want to vote for the Conservative's MP because they fear he could try coming back as mayor of the city...

[Admiral Yi]

French/English interview, written test if more is required.  In business admin in Quebec, bilinguism is required to graduate, so if you have recently graduated, an interview will be sufficient to determine your proficieny in english.
If you graduated 15-20 years ago, they may ask more questions and have you submit to an oral exam (listen to "tapes" and type your answers to the questions).
It's all second hand experience though, I never had to submit to any tests since my skills were sufficient, but I know some friends had to while we were in Gatineau/Ottawa.

Just to be clear, I'm asking about high level government jobs like central bank governor.  Does the same apply?

[Barrister]

French/English interview, written test if more is required.  In business admin in Quebec, bilinguism is required to graduate, so if you have recently graduated, an interview will be sufficient to determine your proficieny in english.
If you graduated 15-20 years ago, they may ask more questions and have you submit to an oral exam (listen to "tapes" and type your answers to the questions).
It's all second hand experience though, I never had to submit to any tests since my skills were sufficient, but I know some friends had to while we were in Gatineau/Ottawa.

Just to be clear, I'm asking about high level government jobs like central bank governor.  Does the same apply?

At a job like that, it's all political anyways.  PM can appoint who they want.

[HVC]

Again I'll ask the peanut gallery: is this pro-life gambit really effective?  Do they really mean to say no observant catholic, which Andrew Scheer is, should be PM because of their belief about abortion?

Does he just say he won't re-open the issue, or does he say he believes it's a right he believes people should have? there's a difference.

[Barrister]

Again I'll ask the peanut gallery: is this pro-life gambit really effective?  Do they really mean to say no observant catholic, which Andrew Scheer is, should be PM because of their belief about abortion?

Does he just say he won't re-open the issue, or does he say he believes it's a right he believes people should have? there's a difference.

"My personal position has always been open and consistent. I am personally pro-life but I've also made the commitment that as leader of this party it is my responsibility to ensure that we do not re-open this debate, that we focus on issues that unite our party and unite Canadians,"

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/scheer-abortion-pro-life-1.5307415

[HVC]

ok, then that's not a good answer. I wouldn't vote for Scheer anyway, but if I was tempted that line would kill that temptation.

[Barrister]

It's a funny switch going on out there.

50 years ago or more people on the right would note vote for a Catholic because they would just be following the Pope's orders.

Then we got over that.

But now a new bigotry is coming up: people on the left won't vote for a Catholic because they'd be following the Pope's orders on social issues.