[Canada] Canadian Politics Redux

[garbon]

is their identity such a fragile thing they need article of clothings to bolster it? 

Is the identity of a French speaking person in Quebec so fragile that they need to enact such laws?  And we dont even have to mention the language laws here do we?

Seriously. What a laughable point for him to argue.

[Malthus]

You may have a point.

@BB You did & we're an example of that. Seems we cannot even learn from ourselves. 

Indeed I will go further: this proposal illustrates an inconsistency - Quebec seperatists views RoC's "multiculturalism" as a wimpy cop-out to minorities and immigrants ... except of course when it comes to themselves. In the particular case of Quebec's unique national identity, Quebec seperatists view the RoC as an unstoppable Borg of assimilation, that must be kept at bay with language and cultural laws - and even those are second-best to seperation. 

[crazy canuck]

It seems separatist politicians dont like it when one of their number speaks truth to power.

A sovereigntist Bloc Québécois Member of Parliament who spoke out against the Quebec government plan to ban some personal signs of religious faith from public workplaces has been kicked out of her party caucus.

Maria Mourani, who was one of only five Bloc MPs, was expelled Thursday. On Wednesday, Ms. Mourani described the Parti Québécois plan as discriminatory, probably illegal and strategically disastrous for a sovereignty movement that has struggled to convince Quebec minorities of the allure of national independence.

[Neil]

As for the joke chart - it was funny but not particularly accurate. For example, it tagged Ontario as high-crime, when the reality is that crime in Canada is more severe in the west and north.

http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/85-002-x/2010002/article/11292-eng.htm#a3

Yep.  Young, single men with cash = crime and Indians = crime.

[Neil]

It seems separatist politicians dont like it when one of their number speaks truth to power.

A sovereigntist Bloc Québécois Member of Parliament who spoke out against the Quebec government plan to ban some personal signs of religious faith from public workplaces has been kicked out of her party caucus.

Maria Mourani, who was one of only five Bloc MPs, was expelled Thursday. On Wednesday, Ms. Mourani described the Parti Québécois plan as discriminatory, probably illegal and strategically disastrous for a sovereignty movement that has struggled to convince Quebec minorities of the allure of national independence.

You know, I think the PQ is going about this the wrong way.  They want to make it illegal for muslim women to have jobs, participate in public life or drive a car.  If I was a conservative Islamist, I'd move to Montreal.

[Neil]

On the other hand, the Quebec situation is a very unique one.  They are trying to get people to assimilate in their group, but avoid having their own people assimilate into the English-speaking world.

[Admiral Yi]

What i don't get about Canada is why English is not a required 2nd language for Francophones and why French is not a required 2nd language for Anglophones.

Well that, and why Canadians refuses to admit they say "eh."

[Neil]

Because the British won the war.

[Admiral Yi]

Because the British won the war.

I don't see the connection between that and admitting to saying eh.

[Barrister]

Well that, and why Canadians refuses to admit they say "eh."

Because we don't.

[crazy canuck]

Ya eh, take off you hoser.  If Canadians were so identifiable why have we successfully infiltrated your entertainment industry? Answer, because we sound more like the way Americans think they sound (or perhaps more accurately more like the way Americans wished they did) eh.

[Admiral Yi]

I've got a deal for you Beeb: if we ever meet up, you pay me $5 for each time you say eh, and I pay you $20 if you make it through the encounter without ever using it.

[Barrister]

I've got a deal for you Beeb: if we ever meet up, you pay me $5 for each time you say eh, and I pay you $20 if you make it through the encounter without ever using it.

Done.

[Jacob]

Saying eh is most prevalent amongst small town Ontarians, I think, but I've heard it in all kinds of places in Canada.

[crazy canuck]

Saying eh is most prevalent amongst small town Ontarians, I think, but I've heard it in all kinds of places in Canada.

Yeah, a lot of the language usage Americans like to attribute to Canada comes out of Ontario - aboot is another example. 

Its like saying all people in the US talk like Texans.