Equalization “dysfunctional”: report

Equalization gives best public services to have-not provinces: report

By Lee Greenberg, The Ottawa Citizen

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/story_print.html?id=2607061&sponsor=

February 24, 2010

TORONTO – Canada’s federal government should freeze its dysfunctional equalization program with an eye toward scrapping it altogether, say the authors of a report being released Wednesday.

According to the report, equalization leads to worse public services in the three “have” provinces – Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia — while “have not” provinces maintain gold-plated public services while egging on free-spending governments.

“The evidence presented in this paper strongly suggests that, in many important areas, levels of government services in donor provinces such as Alberta and Ontario are significantly below those that exist in the major recipient provinces,” the authors, Ben Eisen and Mark Milke, write in the report for the Winnipeg-based Frontier Centre for Public Policy.

Those recipient provinces have more public servants, nurses, doctors, teachers and long-term care beds per capita than in the three major contributors to Confederation. Tuition at universities and colleges, in general, is cheaper. Daycare spots are more plentiful per capita, and the have-not provinces have more long-term care beds

Ontario, Alberta and B.C. are ahead in only one of 10 statistical categories analyzed in the report: subsidies for prescription drugs.

Two other categories — social spending per capita and police officers per capita — were inconclusive.

The report is entitled “The Real Have-Nots in Confederation: Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia. How Canada’s equalization program creates generous programs and large governments in have-not provinces.”

Quebec is the largest recipient of equalization; it will receive almost $8.4 billion in 2009-10 out of a total equalization budget of $14.2 billion for the six receiving provinces. Quebec’s share is nearly 59 per cent of all equalization transfers.

Worse yet, according to the authors, Quebec’s equalization payments have grown by 74 per cent in the last four fiscal years, since 2005-06. (Payments to Manitoba have increased 29 per cent during this period while equalization funding to New Brunswick has jumped by 25 per cent).

Beyond producing better-quality services in “have-not” provinces, the authors argue the program also promotes inefficient government spending and a lack of accountability in recipient provinces.

In the Maritime provinces, federal transfers make up about one-third of provincial revenue. By comparison, federal transfers account for between eight and 16 per cent of provincial revenue in the three donor provinces.

“The situation… is a disaster from the point of view of democratic accountability,” the report states. Voters in recipient states find it difficult “to know who to hold accountable when they are unhappy with provincial government services.”

While Ontario received equalization for the first time in history in 2009-10, the authors consider Canada’s most populous a “have” province because it still contributes substantially more than it receives.

Similarly, Newfoundland is considered a recipient province because although it has not received equalization since 2007-08, it receives another large regional subsidy akin to equalization. That payment will equal $465 million in fiscal 2009-10.

Equalization was introduced in 1957 to promote comparable public services in all 10 provinces. The federal program takes federal tax dollars and distributes them to provinces with lower per-capita fiscal capacity. The formula used to measure fiscal capacity takes account of 33 different revenue sources. A province’s fiscal capacity is then measured against the average of five chosen provinces (B.C, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec) and if it is lower, the province will receive equalization.

“The current system is broken,” the report ultimately concludes, “and the equalization program should be abolished or dramatically reformed to reduce the adverse, unintended consequences that the equalization program creates.”

© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen

The French Whine. Says James Moore, ‘Oui Oui’

Who stands for Canada?

Canadians for Language Fairness

by Kim McConnell

The language issue is divisive – there is no doubt about it.  Every corner of the country has written reams and reams on the criticism by the Minister of Heritage and Culture, James Moore, and the Commissar of Official Languages, Graham Fraser, that there was insufficient French at the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Olympics. 

There is a surfeit of arguments on both sides of the debate – enough for anyone to conclude that, unless and until we solve this problem, we will waste a lot of energy and resources that could otherwise make this a more productive and happier country. 

The rabid Francophones and Francophiles will never be satisfied, no matter what we do. The opening ceremonies were colorful, French was first in the banners preceding each participating country, announcements were made in French first, our esteemed G.G. addressed the ceremony in French first – what else do they want?   

Now Graham Fraser wants to conduct an investigation into the complaint – again wasting time and money on a useless exercise.  In the meantime, VANOC (Vancouver Olympic Committee) will scramble to add more French on the closing ceremonies, again showing that this country is overwhelmingly concerned about French sensitivity!  That’s because English-speaking politicians are still too intimidated to speak up – the Liberals are all for French-domination, so are the NDPs and the Conservatives are afraid of losing votes. 

In the misguided philosophy that “Democracy is all about the rights of the minorities”, they dare not speak up against this powerful group of malcontents.  But whether they notice it or not, more and more Canadians are fed-up and not hesitating to speak up!!  Read the following comment by reader Brett in which he responds to Chantal Hébert. It is classic!!!

If anything can be said about this latest French Whine, it is that it gives the silent majority an opportunity to vent, so please vent away – tell everyone you know that it is time to stop this failed policy!!!  Throwing more money at it won’t solve anything.  Contact your MP and tell him/her – STOP before Canada is totally destroyed with this navel-gazing exercise!!!

Of all the articles I’ve read, only the Ottawa Citizen has shown any sense of balance.  (The Citizen editorial follows Brett’s comment.)  --Kim McConnell

Brett writes: So,  Chantal Hébert thinks that it is the non-French majority in Canada that is intolerant of French people and the use of the language in this country. Well, to quote a lyric..."isn’t it ironic. Don’t ya think"? Chantal has decided to speak for the most narrow minded and self-obsessed people currently existing and living off the kindly handouts of others in the western world. If not for the countless compromises and tens of billions of dollars from English-speaking Canada, French-speaking Canada would barely exist any more. So now, apparently, we are supposed to make 20% equal to 80%??  Not even the most ingenious social engineering project can make that happen. Sorry, Chantal!! As a society, we have been forced to redirect billions of dollars and deny the majority access to jobs simply to appease a demanding minority.  Many of our brightest and best have left Canada for just that reason. Imagine what level of heath care, public education, senior care, day care and military (to name just a few) we would enjoy, not to mention much lower taxes, if we did not fund this unappreciative militant group, many of whom would rather not be part of Canada. Then they wonder why we are fed up!?  Well, they are right.  According to a recent poll, French Canadians were the least liked minority in Canada outside Quebec!!  Gee, I can't seem to understand why???   It certainly can't stem from their attitudes of self-importance and entitlement!! It seems Chantal also laments that Canadians can now freely comment on media web sites as well as blog and tweet opinions. Guess she does not like the fact that Canadians are free to express how they really feel about this issue without going through the editing filter of the Toronto Star, CBC or the Canadian National Film Board. More and more we see Canadians, both old and new, saying, “enough with the French already”.  As the population and the economic strength of the west continues to boom and the number of French speakers and the economic power of Quebec continues to sharply decline, those saying, “enough with the French” will continue to grow.  Get used to it Chantal!!!  To quote another lyric in Canada, "the times they are a changin". Brett N.

(Chantal Hébert’s article follows the Citizen editorial)

Resist the recriminations

 The Ottawa Citizen, Editorial, Feb. 18

Slam poet Shane Koyczan said a lot of nice things about Canada during his performance at the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games in Vancouver, and he deservedly brought the house down.

In his playful poem We Are More he made note that Canadians are a people who value civility -- "something as simple as please and thank you" -- and that "we are vineyards of good year after good year." Sentimental perhaps, but perfect for the moment. When Koyczan was finished, we thanked God that insulin was invented by a Canadian for our veins were chock full of maple syrup. It was impossible not to watch the opening ceremonies and think that this is a fine country.

Unfortunately, Canadians are self-conscious about unconditional celebrations of nationhood, and very soon it became clear that the opening ceremony would be but a short high. Resentment and self-doubt set in.

Even Olympic glory provides no vacation from the divisive politics of language. The tradition in Quebec of being humiliated by this or that slight, real or imagined, is alive and well. Quebec talk shows are full of irate callers angered by the lack of French in the Olympic festivities.

However, these are not Quebec's games, nor Ontario's for that matter. And the truth is that more than 50 per cent of Vancouverites claim a first language that is neither English nor French. Canada is a huge, multi-cultural and frankly multi-lingual nation. It shows bad faith to be in a constant state of surveillance for some offence or oversight.

Read more:

ottawacitizen.com/opinion/Resist+recriminations/2579193/story.html

 

By Chantal Hébert

National Columnist

MONTREAL -  Hours before Quebec's Alexandre Bilodeau struck gold for Canada at the Vancouver Winter Games, a Valentine's Day torrent of anti-Quebec rhetoric was pouring forth unto the websites of some of the country's major media outlets.

Heritage Minister James Moore involuntarily turned on the tap by echoing disappointment at the low French content on offer at Friday's opening ceremony but most writers did not need much of an excuse to lash out at what has become one of the most flogged horses in the Canadian English-speaking media blogosphere.

"Would someone remind Mr. Moore he never received one vote from anyone in Quebec or France during the last election campaign? Or has this egghead from Ottawa forgot (again) who voted him into office?" wrote one contributor to a major newspaper website.

"Western Canada should be able to vote to Evict Quebec. Then all of this crying, whining and nonsense will stop. What is going to happen next? The East Indians or the Chinese wanting language and culture benefits?" added another.

"I certainly hope that there will be no more French spoken at the closing ceremonies ... !!" was one suggestion that came up repeatedly.

There were also many commentaries along the lines of: "I suppose the fact that English was used at all is not acceptable to the franco-fascists."

This is just a sample of about 1,500 comments on just one mainstream media website. On some Quebec websites, writers responded in kind.

Read more: http://www.thestar.com/opinion/article/766674--hebert-truth-comes-last-in-olympic-dustup-over-french

 

Martin Lawrence has struck the right note – tell Quebec that the “era of Quebec grievance” has passed.

Heritage Minister James Moore had a point of sorts in saying there wasn’t enough French content in the opening ceremonies of the Vancouver Olympics. There could have been more.

But it was hard to keep from yawning. His complaint sounded 20 or 30 years out of date, from a bygone era. Bilingualism is still a noble cause but in the public psyche it has faded in importance. It was part of the Quebec grievance era. That era, beginning with the arrival of separatist forces in the early 1960s, spanned almost four decades.

It was remarkable when you think about it. Quebec angsts, Quebec separatists, Quebec issues dominated the national agenda to an astonishing degree. There was the rise of René Lévesque, the October Crisis, the election of the Parti Québécois, the 1980 referendum, bilingualism uproars, the repatriation debate, Meech Lake, Charlottetown, Jacques Parizeau, Lucien Bouchard, the 1995 referendum, the Clarity Act. There was the run of Quebec-based prime ministers — Trudeau, Mulroney, Chretien, Martin.

Read more:

http://www.metronews.ca/toronto/comment/article/452969--time-to-let-the-era-of-quebec-grievance-pass

Bob Runciman; White Knight?

By Kim McConnell

February 7, 2010

The Liberals, creator of the most divisive policy in Canada, think that they can use the appointment of Bob Runciman, one of the five new senators, to give the Conservatives a black-eye. 

Trudeau, and his many social  engineering programs, thought that the open-hearted and open-minded Canadians would support a policy that he sold as a “unity” measure that would bring French Quebec into the fold of the Canadian family.  He put in the guidelines of “where numbers warrant” and he said, “no English-speaker will lose his/her job” on the basis of this policy. 

English-speaking Canadians believed him and the Liberal Party was given free rein with the implementation of this policy, putting in place senior public servants like Lucienne Robillard, principally from Quebec, to set the policy in motion. 

Slowly but surely, unilingual English-speakers were faced with an impenetrable glass ceiling unless they could master the convoluted French language and pass the French language tests that even French-speakers found difficult to pass.

Now more than 40 years after this disastrous policy was put in place, we have a Conservative government.  Will this government take a look at this policy that has been shown to discriminate against the unilingual English-speaker? 

Does this government understand that this policy has NOT brought about the elusive “unity” of the country which is decidedly more divided than it was 45 years ago? 

Does this government know how expensive this policy is as the demands of the minority French-speakers (3% outside Quebec) for French-only institutions increase because bilingual institutions were not good enough? 

According to a report released in May 2009 by the Fraser Institute, “… Canada’s federal government and other bodies subject to the Official Languages Act spend up to $1.8 billion annually providing French-language services.”

We see signs that this government is starting to see the light and we look upon the appointment of Senator Bob Runciman as proof that Harper is not averse to having someone in a position of influence who was one of the few initial critics of the Official Languages Act. 

The Liberals did us a great favour by high-lighting Bob Runciman’s attempts to point out that this policy in NOT a good policy because it will work against the interests of the majority English-speakers and he’s right.  We bear witness to that fact.

Just a note of clarification; the Alliance for the Preservation of English in Canada (APEC) did not organize that flag-stomping episode – this was proven to be done by English-speaking Quebecers who were so disgusted with the Quebec anti-English laws that they showed it in the only way they could as they had been abandoned by their own government of Quebec and the Liberal government at the Federal level.  -- Kim

****

The Liberal Party, in a post entitled; In their own words: Harper’s newest Senator attacks bilingualism, had this to say about Bob Runciman:

Stephen Harper’s newest Senator, Bob Runciman, has some strong views opposing bilingualism and French-language services, including support for the Alliance for the Preservation of English in Canada (APEC), a notorious anti-French organization that once trampled on and burned a Québec flag.

Runciman’s support for APEC’s campaign against the Canadian government’s policy of official bilingualism:

“Leeds MPP Bob Runciman wrote [APEC] a supportive letter last month ... Runciman will be the English preservation group's guest speaker at its April 27 monthly meeting, according to Garner.” (Kingston Whig-Standard, April 11, 1987)

“It is ‘extremely important’ that the various groups opposed to French-language services ‘pull together,’ said Ontario Progressive Conservative MPP Robert Runciman.” (The Ottawa Citizen, November 6, 1989)

APEC’s tactics:
“APEC is best known in Quebec for television footage of some of its members trampling on a Quebec flag in Brockville, Ont., last summer.” (Toronto Star, November 21, 1990)

“Some members of the Association for the Preservation of English in Canada trampled on the Quebec flag.” (Toronto Star, June 20, 1991)

“On a platform behind the train station, a Quebec flag was spread out. About half a dozen demonstrators took turns stomping and spitting on the Fleur-de-lis before it was set ablaze.” (Ottawa Citizen, October 19, 1992)

Runciman worked with APEC in opposition to French immersion education:
“The Brockville chapter of APEC successfully opposed a petition to introduce French immersion classes in the Leeds and Grenville school district; not that the school board really needed prodding from APEC to turn down French immersion. Bob Runciman, the local MPP, supports APEC and has addressed a meeting of its Brockville chapter.” (Kingston Whig-Standard, July 11 1987)

Runciman helped whip up anti-bilingualism sentiment:
“Runciman has apparently helped whip up the anti-bilingualism sentiment in the area, and [APEC] members claimed 1,400 people have joined the cause in Brockville and 10,000 across the province.” (The Toronto Star, Aug 16 1987)

Runciman on federal bilingualism:
A “supreme exercise in social engineering...Pierre Trudeau's social revolution, whose central, inescapable fact is loss of power for unilingual Canadians.” (Bob Runciman, Ontario Hansard, May 21, 1986)

“There are feelings there underneath the surface. There's a lot of lingering resentment over federal bilingualism.” (Bob Runciman, Windsor Star, July 24, 1987)

Runciman opposed French-language services in Ontario:
“‘The way Peterson has been introducing and applying French services is going beyond the intent of most members (who voted in favor of the bill),’ Runciman said.  He cited French telephone books and Queen's Park publications as examples of unnecessary measures.” (The Kingston Whig-Standard, Aug 15 1987)

“[Runciman] stands to the right of his Tory colleagues in the degree he thinks bilingual services are needed in Ontario.” (Kingston Whig-Standard, Sep 16 1989)

“Progressive Conservative MPP Robert Runciman today called on Consumer and Commercial Relations Minister Monte Kwinter and LCBO Chairman Jack Ackroyd to explain why the Board intends to hire only 'bilingual' applicants for new jobs at its stores in Cornwall and Ottawa... to require all new employees to speak both languages is preposterous.” (Bob Runciman Press Release, December 16, 1986)

Runciman advocated the shut-down of Ontario’s French-language public broadcaster:
“It's costing us, as taxpayers, something like $35 million a year for the operation of La Chaîne...Why do they need that symbolic gesture out there which is costing millions and millions of taxpayers' dollars and accomplishing virtually nothing?” (Bob Runciman, October 28, 1993)

“They are attempting to appeal to something like 185,000 Franco-Ontarians. That is their audience. ...What we are doing is spending significant sums of taxpayers' money on a network which is really not fulfilling any meaningful need within the province.” (Bob Runciman, Ontario Hansard, October 30, 1991)

Kim continues her campaign with:

I’m circulating two letters written by two very prolific letter-writers from our support base and our hope is that more people will write in to congratulate Senator Bob Runciman. 

You can email him at: info@bobruncimanmpp.com and if that doesn’t work, you can send him a letter.

Send mail postage-free to any Senator at the following address:
The Senate of Canada,
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada
K1A 0A4

From: John Wood
To: Michael Ignatieff; info@liberal.ca
Cc: Prime Minister Harper ; Brian Storseth
Sent: Wednesday, February 03, 2010 3:17 PM
Subject: Re. In their own words;Tit for Tat
Dear Mr. Ignatieff, et al,
Your attack on newly appointed Senator Bob Runciman is pure political partisanship.  Anyone can hire researchers to dig up comments and statements made by politicians, etc.  It is stupid and a waste of the money you solicit from even more stupid party supporters.

Your Liberal party leaders (PMs) hold the record for appointing party faithfuls to the Senate.  How do you think a Liberal majority was attained in the Senate and maintained for so many decades?  It's the nature of the 'game' that political parties play in Canada!  The Senate is nothing but a corrupt retirement home for party hacks, all parties.

As for the anti-bilingual comments by Runciman, it is refreshing to hear from someone with a little common sense on the subject, instead of the same old Liberal racism about minority French rights and national unity. 

There is very little 'democracy' in Canada!  I will simply refer you to any English language dictionary for the definition of the word.  The fact is, Official Bilingualism is the most offensive, divisive, expensive boondoggle in the history of Canada.
Here are a few recorded comments by Liberal notables:

"Unilingual Anglophones will be subjected to a lifetime of job immobility" -- P.E.Trudeau.

"The Canadian community must invest, for the defense and better appreciation of the French language, as much time, energy and money as are required to keep the country from breaking up." -- P.E.Trudeau, PM.

"Given these facts, should French speaking people concentrate their efforts on Quebec, or take the whole of Canada as their base?  In my opinion, they should do both; and for the purpose, they could find no better instrument than Federalism." -- P.E.Trudeau, PM.

"Canada is going to be a French speaking nation, coast to coast and anybody opposed to this is opposed to the best interests of Canada." -- Leo Cadieux.

"There is no way two ethnic groups in one country can be made equal before the law.....and to say it is  possible is to sow the seeds of destruction." -- P.E.Trudeau, 1965.

"I cannot swear it, but I think we were thinking to ourselves,.......we were a small group, Trudeau, Pelletier, Marchand, Lalonde, Chretien, myself and  a few people in the civil services, say 50 all told,......we were bringing off a revolution.  We held the key posts.  We were making the civil service bilingual, kicking and screaming all the time." -- Jean Luc Pepin.

Stop me if these are not Liberals.

"Quebec can make French the only official language in spite of the Constitution." -- P.E.Trudeau.

"The Government of Canada has no right to promote English in Quebec." -- Gil Remillard (Minister for Inter-Governmental Affairs, 1988).

"Bilingualism is unthinkable for Quebec." --Robert Bourassa.

"Why do that (separate) when I can give you all of Canada?" -- P.E.Trudeau (in a speech to the Separatists).

"We (Quebecois?) are never entirely satisfied and we want to promote bilingualism even more then we do now." --Lucienne Robillard, President of the Treasury Board, 2001.

This has been only a few of the hundreds of similar anti-English Canadian comments and statements made by some of your more prominent Liberal colleagues.

"People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones."  "What's good for the goose is good for the gander."
Call Me Canadian!
John M. Wood

From: Elizabeth Trudeau
Sent: February 2, 2010 8:44 PM
To: info@bobruncimanmpp.com
Cc: pm@pm.gc.ca; reids@parl.gc.ca; Pierre Lemieux; info@guylauzon.ca; Poilievre.P@parl.gc.ca;
Subject: Congratulations on becoming senator
Dear Mr. Runciman,
I wished to congratulate you on becoming a senator.  It gives myself and a great many other people that I know, comfort in knowing there is someone in the "house of sober second thought", that MIGHT, MAYBE, find the guts to stand up for the majority of Canadians, which are English speaking Canadians, the most discriminated against group in the federal government because of the language they speak.

I DO know you have spoken out over the years, but sadly find your quotes against official bilingualism seem to end in the 1990's. I am hoping that the attached letters will convince you to become the champion for the English majority again, a champion that elected MP's cannot be as they are afraid to lose votes. 

I am the official spokesperson for the Canadians for Language Fairness, which used to be APEC.  I live in Russell Township where our Mayor Ken Hill forced through a VERY unpopular bilingual sign bylaw, and I work closely with both Howard Galganov and Jean Serge Brisson, who have both challenged this law on the grounds of freedom of expression under our Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

I have included several articles that I have written about both the Canada Post issue as well as on Upper Canada Village and the erosion of the British Loyalist Upper Canada Village. Promised by the government of the time, to be a living memorial to the families of the Lost Villages, located in Stormont, Dundas, Glengarry, who had to leave their homesteads so the St Lawrence could be flooded for a Hydro energy project.

I sincerely hope you can find the time to enlighten yourself on what is happening in Eastern Ontario, to the East of Ottawa and I would be more than willing to discuss this further at your convenience.

Sincerely,
Beth Trudeau
Official Spokesperson for the Canadians for Language Fairness
Embrun, Ontario
613-443-2370
iloveblue.beth@gmail.com

Beth Trudeau can be contacted for any of the articles mentioned in her letter.

Cogeco TV has posted the interview that was done on the Pakenham Post Office issue. 
http://www.tvcogeco.com/renfrew/gallerie/tvcogeco-news/1765-tvcnews-january/13693-bilingual-policies

Oh, by the way,  Giles Duceppe still thinks that Quebec has been short-changed:
http://www.ottawasun.com/news/canada/2010/02/03/12729151-qmi.html
Ottawa Sun Feb 3, 2010
Duceppe: Quebec still being overlooked
By QMI Agency

OTTAWA — Quebec is getting a progressively worse deal within Canada when it comes to the environment and the economy, Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe says.

Speaking to students at the University of Ottawa, home to the first Bloc Quebecois campus club outside Quebec, Duceppe said 20 years after the failure of the Meech Lake constitutional accord, Quebec is not only no closer to a constitutional offer that meets Quebec’s needs, its needs in other areas — from the economy and the environment to language, culture and education — are being ignored.

“It is clear that in Canada there is no political will to respond to Quebec’s aspirations.”

For Quebec to prosper, it should focus on three pillars — education, research and culture, he said. For example, the Bloc would like to see a fiscal incentive of $8,000 over three years to encourage graduates to move to the regions.

However, Duceppe said the federal government has interfered with Quebec’s jurisdiction on student bursaries, cut financing of research and failed to stand up for the French Language Charter, Bill 101.

Duceppe said the Bloc will continue to work to increase Quebec’s room to maneuver within Canada. However, he is convinced Quebecers will eventually realize they can’t reform federalism and they will support Quebec sovereignty.
— QMI Agency

See what I mean?  They can never be satisfied so why are we bending over backwards trying? LET THEM GO!!!  --Kim

$4M to U of Ottawa to pump up French Immersion in Ontario

by Kim McConnell
Canadians for Language Fairness

I was feeling very depressed this morning, thinking of how hard we’re fighting for the rights of English-speakers and how easy it is for the French-speakers to get funding from the government.  Then, as if I didn’t feel bad enough, I received this link from Bob.

http://blog.ottawakiosk.com/?p=3218#more-3218

Once again we see another $4 million (on top of the countless millions already given to the University of Ottawa) in the futile attempt to create more bilingual people.  The billions already spent in countless French Immersion programs across the country didn’t achieve the number of French-speakers necessary to call that a success so, obviously, more had to be done!!! 

This time, Graham Fraser decided to target the university – starting with the University of Ottawa.   Other universities will be pressured into doing the same thing!!!

Then I read the following two articles and suddenly, I wasn’t so depressed anymore!!!  The call for changes to the Equalization Payments program can no longer be ignored – too many provincial premiers - Gordon Campbell, Danny Williams, Brad Wall and even Dalton McGuinty - are not satisfied with the present scheme.

The second article refers to a study by Leger Marketing conducted for the Association for Canadian Studies. It revealed that French Quebecers are the least popular group of people in Canada!!!  This is something we’ve always known but had no proof.  French Quebecers are more selfish and self-absorbed culture than any other Canadian group. They behave without any regard for the effect their behavior has on others.  Being obsessed with one’s language and culture is one thing, but forcing the rest of Canada to pay for it is unacceptable!!!

Now, I’m not saying that ALL Francophones are like that – there are many, many Francophones who are well aware of the unacceptable limits being pushed by the policy of Official Bilingualism and who sympathize with our fight for fairness.  I am, however, pointing to the leaders who are encouraging their followers to keep pushing and pushing, even when it is clear that they’ve gone too far!!! 

Using the tools of historical revisionism to teach the ordinary Francophones that they were deprived of their rightful place in our society and encouraged by the damned Socialists to believe that the British colonial powers treated them badly, when, in fact, they exist today only because King George III allowed them to keep their language and their religion. 

They grew up under the protection of the British and should thank their lucky stars that France abandoned them for the more lucrative islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique.  Look at ex-French colonies like Haiti, Somalia and all those failed states that depend on world charity to stay alive.  Without the protection and nurturing under the British system of government, Quebec would not be as well-off as they are now!!!

So, the two following articles made my day!!  I hope they made yours too!!!   Kim

Harper has new equalization opponent

Ottawa Sun : January 29, 2010

By DAVE BREAKENRIDGE, QMI Agency

Prime Minister Stephen Harper is never one to shy away from a political fight. But his next big opponent isn’t likely to be one of the federal rivals.

Ironically, it’s one of his closest political allies.
Ted Morton, who along with Harper co-signed the Firewall Letter urging Ralph Klein to take steps to limit federal intrusions in provincial affairs, was named Alberta’s finance minister last month, with one of his main tasks being stronger advocacy for changes to Canada’s equalization program.

It’s a subject that has caused great tension between the provinces for years, the constitutionally enshrined sacred cow that sees boatloads of cash transferred to poorer provinces.

After the prime minister backtracked on a promise made to premiers a couple of years back not to include resource revenue in a revamped formula, likely to curry favour in Quebec, Alberta may not be alone in fighting the fight.

It’s not that contributors to equalization don’t like sharing, Morton has said.

Read more:-

http://www.ottawasun.com/comment/editorial/2010/01/29/12669946.html

 

English Canadians prefer immigrants to Quebecers Albertans have the least favourable attitude

Cnews : January 26, 2010
 
By ELIZABETH THOMPSON, Parliamentary Bureau

OTTAWA — English Canadians view immigrants and Jews more favourably than they do French Quebecers, according to a new poll.

In fact, the only group further down the list than French Quebecers when it comes to who English Canadians view favourably are aboriginal Canadians.

French Quebecers have a significantly higher opinion of English Canadians than English Canadians have of them. The poll found 75% of French Quebecers have a favourable opinion of English Canadians, but only 60.1% of English Canadians have a favourable opinion of French Quebecers.

In Quebec, French Quebecers are viewed the most favourably, followed by English Canadians, immigrants, aboriginal Canadians, and Jews.

Leger Marketing conducted the poll for the Association for Canadian Studies. It was released exclusively to QMI Agency. Jack Jedwab, executive director of the association, said the finding he found the most surprising was the way English- and French-speaking respondents regarded each other.

“I didn’t think the English Canadians’ perspective on French Quebecers would be as negative as it was,” Jedwab said. Jedwab said the results of how immigrants, Jews and aboriginal Canadians are viewed are similar to those in previous polls.

The poll also found the more time a respondent had spent with Canadians from a different background, the more likely they were to view people from that background favourably.

“It is good news for people who are engaged in promoting exchanges between Canadians of different language backgrounds,” Jedwab said.

Favourable views also increased with the age of the respondent. Across the country, English Canadians were regarded the most favourably by all respondents at 84% — well above immigrants at 70%, Jews at 69%, French Quebecers at 65% and aboriginal Canadians at 56%.

Albertans have the least favourable attitude in the country when it comes to immigrants, French Canadians and aboriginal Canadians, and was narrowly above Quebec when it came to their view of Jews. While 80% of Albertans viewed English Canadians favourably, that dropped to 60% for immigrants, 58% for Jews, 47% for French Canadians and 45% for aboriginal Canadians.

Ontarians had the most favourable views when it came to Jews (78%) and aboriginal Canadians (59%), second most favourable on immigrants (72%) and third most favourable on French Quebecers (60%).

The Leger poll of 1,500 respondents, conducted via web panel the week of Nov. 30, has a margin if error of 2.5 percentage points 19 times out of 20.

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2010/01/26/12622806-qmi.html

Bi-lingualism a constant irritant

January 20, 2010

by Kim McConnell,
Canadians for Language Fairness

There are so many things happening that upset Canadians and it is almost as if we haven’t got enough time in the day to tackle them all. 

We, as a language organization, have taken on the task of informing Canadians about the plight of English-speakers in Canada to the injustice and discrimination perpetrated on us by the Official Languages Act and so we hope that we can provide the leadership to concerned Canadians to right this wrong. 

In the process of fighting for fairness to the English-speaking majority, we will be accused of all sorts of things – we’ve been called all sorts of names but we know that deep-down most Canadians (even many French-speaking ones) know that this policy has gone too far. 

While it started out as a fight for the rights of French-speakers to have government services in their language where numbers warrant, it has been escalated by French-speaking zealots like Lucienne Robillard and Language Commissioners such as Graham Fraser, into a policy that clearly discriminates against the English-speaking majority. The result is a Federal Public Service that is now composed of more than their share of French-speakers in the senior ranks. 

Over 64% of our public service jobs in the National Capital Region have been declared bilingual imperative and most of them are occupied by French-speakers. 

Despite the billions of dollars spent on forcing English-speakers to learn French and to send their children to French-immersion, the rate of self-assessed bilingual citizens declines.  According to Jack Jedwab of the Association of Canadian Studies, the percentage of truly bilingual Canadians stands at around 12%.  This is down from the 17.7% who claimed to be bi-lingual in the 2001 census.

In the meantime, provinces that are mainly English-speaking, refuse to declare themselves as such even while they watch while Quebec pass more anti-English laws like Bills 22, 101, 178 and declare openly that they are unilingual French and English-speakers can assimilate or leave!!!  More than half a million have.

What is it about English-speaking Canadians that make us so reluctant to speak up or to make this a political issue?  I’m sure many of you will have your own explanations but I forward the following:

1. Canadians are basically a very kind people who are willing to give the shirts off their own backs to keep someone else warm.  This is proven by the generosity with which we approach every human disaster that happens anywhere in the world.  We welcome refugees from all over the world, give them food and shelter and take them into our homes. 
   
   We responded so generously when Pearson and Trudeau said that the French-speakers should be given equal rights to English-speakers and we watched quietly while Canada started the process of making a minority equal to the majority. 
   
   Even after Trudeau warned us that "There is no way two ethnic groups in one country can be made equal before the law....and to say it is possible is to sow the seeds of destruction". (Pierre Trudeau, 1966)
   
2. We, like most people in the developed Western world, are very naïve. We don’t understand that many parts of the world contain people who are hostile to our way of life and would not fit in without drastic changes made to the way we live. 
   
   Many of us don’t understand that countries where the standard of life is low creates a different kind of people and inviting them to our shores just creates more problems for us (as if we don’t have enough already). 
   
   We have been brain-washed by the Socialists into adopting a guilt complex about the 3^rd world, as if we are responsible for all the things that are happening all over the world where people have to live in poverty and misery and we are duty-bound to rescue them. 
   
   Canadians have never gone out to “conquer” the world but we must suffer the consequences because most of our citizens are from past-colonial countries like the U.K, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Portugal.
   
3. A big problem is the media and whoever owns it. They simply refuse to publish or speak the truth on the language issue and the related problems. If they were honest they would publish forums like ours, and welcome honest debate. Instead they paint anyone who does not follow the accepted politically correct line as cranks and bigots.  It is a very effective way to silence any opposition. Why they would want the French and Quebec running Canada is beyond me.
   
4. Many Canadians who are not affected by the language debacle are only vaguely aware of how importing large numbers of French-speakers into Canada will affect them.  As a language group, we are more aware than most that if we increase our French-speaking immigrants into the country and distribute them all across Canada, the chances of them forming lobby groups for more French-language services will be escalated.  Will this be exploited by the French-speaking lobby groups to demand more services and jobs to be made bilingual – you bet!!!
   
5. We know that the government services (Federal, provincial & municipal) in Ontario and New Brunswick are already over-populated by French-speakers;  B.C. has been the target of more French-language services for years and the Franco-Columbians have used the 2010 Winter Olympics to bring in more French-speakers from Quebec, Ontario and New Brunswick to man the many positions that have been made bilingual to serve the French-speakers from Quebec. 
   
   Of course, the private sector is being coerced into hiring bilingual staff as well. Provincial governments in English-speaking Canada look forward eagerly to the money sent by the Federal government in support of all these French-language services so why would they say NO?

So, for those readers who would like to help us with our letter-writing campaign, read on.  We believe that writing to ALL politicians is a waste of time so let’s be smart and target our letters. 

Stockwell Day is the newly appointed Minister for the Treasury Board that is responsible for handing out money to the various government bodies to promote bilingualism.  Target him to make him aware of your discontent with the amount of money being spent promoting bilingualism in the Federal government. 

Target Jason Kenney to discourage him from bringing in huge numbers of Haitians into Canada; send copies of all letters to the PM’s office.  Provincial Premiers and your own MPs should be targeted as they are your direct contact & your vote is needed to return them to power.  Make this an election issue because unless English-speakers wake up soon, the vociferous and well-funded French-language lobby groups will win the day!!!

To locate your own MP:  http://www2.parl.gc.ca/Parlinfo/Compilations/HouseOfCommons/MemberByPostalCode.aspx?Menu=HOC

Points to be used for letters to Stockwell Day:

1. Forced bilingualism throughout Canada while Quebec remains a French-only province. Quebec's language laws, Bill 22, 101, 178 restrict the use of English everywhere in the province of Quebec.
   
2. The exorbitant cost of bilingualism to taxpayers outside of Quebec---up to 16 trillion dollars since 1969.
   
3. Bilingualism discriminates against all English-speaking Canadians. 
   
4. The Official Languages Act has created a privileged class of Francophones who share the exclusive benefits through employment opportunities that favour French-speakers.
   
5. Bilingualism permits the creation of French-only government funded health/social and community services. Francophones can demand French/bilingual services even where numbers do not warrant, for example, The lady in Cornwall who was refused service at a French health clinic because she did not speak French. 
   
6. Stop this policy of social engineering---the re-distribution of small numbers of Francophones to communities throughout Canada in order to claim a French presence thus furthering the demand for bilingual services. We can no longer afford this type of governance in Canada.

Contact Stockwell DAY

In Ottawa:
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6
Phone: 613.995.1702
Fax: 613.995.1154
Email: DayS@parl.gc.ca

In the Riding:
Suite 202, 301 Main Street
Penticton, BC V2A 5B7
Phone: 250.770.4480
Toll-Free:1-800-665-8711
Fax: 250.770.4484
Email: days1@parl.gc.ca

Hard copies of your letter are needed to have maximum effect. If you wish us to hand-deliver your letter to Stockwell Day, send your letter to our P.O. box and we will do so.  If our representatives can hand-deliver thousands of such letters to him, we might get some attention.  In politics, number counts and if you want to help make this an issue that our government cannot ignore, please make an effort.

Remember we need to publicly hold those responsible for language policies accountable. We need to embarrass them publicly and the only way to do this is to make it a political issue.     --Kim

Pakenham: Canada Post balking on Postmistress position

This video from Cogeco News; Leo Freemark reporting

Although Jeanne Barr has offered several times to take the bi-lingual course and learn French, Canada Post has yet to respond. 

One is led to speculate that CPO officials are loath to let anyone but a Francophone be appointed to do Ms. Barr’s job. She told Cogeco News that the corporation has sent out some candidates that she was asked to train but they had absolutely no experience in the postal service.

They could, of course, speak French.

http://www.tvcogeco.com/renfrew/gallerie/tvcogeco-news/1765-tvcnews-january/12533-pakenham-postoffice

Federal Government French Hiring Practices

By Beth Trudeau,

Now that the public's eyes have been fully opened to Canada Post's policy of promoting and hiring French speaking postmasters under the guise of "bilingualism", even in towns where "numbers do not warrant", the ensuing outrage had caused Canada Post to rehire Mrs. Barr at lower wages as a part time delivery person, then she was given back her job, until such a time that Canada Post can find another job of equal pay and hours for her to switch to.

There is more to this "ethnic cleansing" going on at Canada Post than has been made public knowledge by the press at the time of this letter. 

On December 19, 2009, the day after Mrs. Barr in Pakenham was temporarily re-instated, the Christmas luncheon for the Canadians for Language Fairness was held

Along with Howard Galganov and Jean Serge Brisson, who are both fighting for our freedom of expression, the other speaker was a Mr. Barr.

No, he was not the husband of the postmistress in Pakenham. He is the husband of a woman who gets up bright and early and goes to the Russell post office to SORT MAIL, part time, before the birds are chirping. A couple of months ago, she was notified that she MUST become bilingual and she has not been called into work since. This is in the town of Russell, you know, the ENGLISH-speaking town in Russell Township.

Being that the names of those involved in both Russell and Pakenham are the same makes one wonder if Canada Post is on a mission at the present time - reviewing English names on their payroll and going after them one by one. They are obviously on the "Bs".

These blatant acts of anti-English-speaker sentiment by Canada Post mirror those of another Crown Corporation, VIA Rail. Very little was reported, as is par in the press, about a legal challenge this summer by VIA Rail employees in Winnipeg, Alberta and British Columbia, attempting to maintain their jobs on the run from Winnipeg to British Columbia, because they did not speak French. Even though there is always AT LEAST one person on every train that speaks French, they lost their lawsuit. Now one cannot even be unilingual English to work on a train, EVEN out west.

Does anyone care how these English-speaking employees fare emotionally?  The stress of knowing your job can be taken away at any time because you are English-speaking.  Knowing that you have never, in three years, had a complaint, but are not good enough to keep it, because of being unilingual English.  Knowing that even with wasting taxpayers' money and doing French language training, in a town where there are no French, how does one retain it?  Only four out of every 100 Ontario residents are French speaking and the proportion is even lower out west.

Are our English-speaking children suffering the same feelings of inferiority and shame if they're not able to handle the French language?  Is that why the bar for provincial testing has been lowered so much?  Is that why our children are not prepared for college or university in basic courses such as math and sciences?  Is French Immersion benefiting or hindering our youth, both educationally and emotionally? 

MP Gordon O'Connor thinks this is acceptable, shifting qualified employees to another job because of being English.  Our organization, Canadians for Language Fairness, say it is absolutely NOT acceptable.  

If one cannot even sort mail without being "bilingual", what job could there be higher up the chain? What jobs does the government social engineers have in mind, exactly, for English-speaking Canadians if we cannot even sort mail?

It is time for those who believe in language fairness and who are against the BILLIONS of OUR tax dollars being wasted in French language training process, to contact Canada Post, Via Rail, MPs, MPPs, and all types of media. 

This discrimination WILL continue unless we say enough is enough and it is time to stop this social engineering.  It happened in Quebec in the 1970's, remember? Quebec said NO to bilingualism and so must we. 

Anyone concerned with Quebec separating should look at what will happen if the western provinces get fed up with this social engineering, and say THEY will separate.  They already have a provincial Wild Rose Party that is leading the Conservatives in Alberta. 

With Richmond British Columbia being requested to put up bilingual signs in their town for the Olympic tourists and given OUR tax dollars to do it, in an attempt to give the illusion that Canada is more French than it really is, along with the hundreds of students from La Cite Collegial that are heading out to work at the Olympics because they are "bilingual", we should be much more concerned with the only "have" province throwing in the towel because of the language issue. 

Then where will we "Eastern Bums and Scums" be?

Beth Trudeau

Official Spokesperson for the Canadians for Language Fairness

Embrun, Ontario