When Is A Religious Symbol Not Religious?

I have been going over the arguments I have presented why it is hypocritical for the PQ to want to eliminate religious symbols in public areas, but yet still keep the crucifix. But after much deep consideration I have come to the conclusion that I am wrong.

Because fundamentally is the crucifix itself being in the national assembly a religious statement, and can symbols that can be characterized as religious be able to get government funds? For example if the crucifix is broken and needs repair should taxpayers pay for it?

In this situation I find myself agreeing with the PQ and complacently disagreeing with my former post. That the crucifix does have historical reasons to be in the national assembly. It is a historical artifact, and like many historical artifacts in the world they do have religious meaning. For example in Mount Royal there is a big cross and many historical places that we preserve can be characterized as religious.

That doesn't mean simply because we invest in repairing or preserving these symbols that we are therefor endorsing a religion or another but rather that we are preserving it's historical meaning. For example the UN does spend money on preserving many very historical sites which can in some cases be a religious site, It doesn't mean that we endorse the religion the symbol may represent to some people but rather the protection of an old historical site.

On the question of whether people should be able to wear religious symbols in public I do still disagree with them, because I believe we should live in a very tolerant society that allows people in most cases (with very few exception) the ability to wear whatever we want as long as it is decent of course. Which means Hijabs, Kipahs, Kirpans etc... should be allowed to be worn by anyone anywhere in public.

In conclusion the crucifix should be allowed to stay in the national assembly, because it is historical.

Premier Legault? Not Happening !!!!!!!!!

With current polls putting Francois Legault a close third to the other two major political parties many are wondering whether Francois Leagualt will be able to make it all the way and win government in this election. There are many reasons to suspect that the CAQ will make major gains in this election and that they will no doubt out do the ADQ, but when it comes to the question of whether they can achieve a government, but I think they won't.

First it's very easy to look at the polls and say that the surge in CAQ support may give Legault the support he needs to form a government. A poll done on August 16th have the CAQ at 27%, QLP at 28% and the PQ at 33%. This poll suggest that the CAQ can make this a three way race, but if we look deaper into the numbers you will know why the CAQ won't end up victories September 4th.

In the Leger Marketing poll they asked people who said they would vote one way if their choice was final or if they could change there minds on election day. The PQ and the PLQ both scored high among there supporters. With 71% of PQ supporters and 64% of PLQ supporters saying that there choice was final. The CAQ  on the other hand has half it's supporters saying they could change their minds on election day. This shows that the CAQ support is weak and that his party's support is the most liquid of the three major parties.  Meaning he has most to lose and the least to gain as  Quebec Liberal supporter and PQ supporters seem to have more then CAQ supporters made up their minds.

Also when asked who in the people's opinion will form the next government the CAQ placed third with 15%, behind the PLQ and PQ with 26% and 37% respectfully. Which shows that a large number of CAQ supporters don't see the CAQ getting elected which means that the party itself isn't sure it will win even though their polling like they could.

Even with all this the CAQ have a lot going for them when asked who can bring better access to health care, who can stop corruption and who can balance the budget Francois Legault wins beating the other leaders by a large margin. But when it comes to election night the CAQ won't reach where they are in the polls as there voters are less sure about the party. When it comes to election night CAQ voters will be more likely to stay at home or change there minds and vote for someone else then PQ or PLQ voters.

See The Poll Here

Charest Will Win

I'm calling it right now. A Liberal minority government. Polls show that the PQ is leading right now with the support of those alienated by Charest's stance on education and their view of him being corrupt. But, I think that when time comes to vote, a significant portion of the PQ support will simply go with what they know best: the Liberals. They will reason that the tuition increases were not all that bad and that Charest didn't do all too bad on corruption. Besides, the PQ wants a referendum and when time comes to actually take action and vote, they will not support the PQ.

And what about the CAQ? Why won't Quebecers vote for Francois Legault's party? Because, so far the party has not proven to be a serious choice. They seem like disorganised buffoons. Charest is just feeding off this. And so, Charest will win the same way Harper did: by making sure that only the Liberals seem in control of the situation while the other parties blow themselves up.

Charest had a field day with this, saying: “If I understand it correctly, François Legault will run the Twitter account and organize cocktail fundraisers, while Jacques Duchesneau will run the rest of the government.” Marois also pounced, accusing the CAQ of “improvisation” and calling them “amateurish.” In other words, not ready to govern.

PQ Proposes New Language Law!

The PQ leader Pauline Marois is proposing new language laws and a her version of secularism. Both of which will make Quebec much worse off. The new Language laws or as Marois would like to put it "a new Bill 101" would harm the most vulnerable people in Quebec society. These People are the anglophone population.

New laws like instituting bill 101 in small business that used to be exempts of such laws would make it harder for the anglophone population to get a job or even keep there job. Now business with as few as 11 people would have to comply to bill 101.

But not all the new language laws will  harm the anglophone population. Other rules the PQ are proposing like barring most francophone and anglophones from attending English CEGEP's. Will make it difficult for many to become bilingual. And statistically bilingual Quebecers make more money then there uni-lingual francophone counterparts. This isn't just an issue that will effect anglophones, because trying to reduce the Quebec's populations English language skills will harm the Quebec as a whole.

Yet Marois tries to defend her language laws by using the same old fear tactics that the french language will die if we don't.

"Our identity is so important. We are French people in North America. We are a small minority. If we don't wage this battle, we could lose this identity."

'If we don't wage this battle, we could lose [our] identity,' 

 "We have abandoned the defence of our language," she told reporters, saying the use of the French language is on the decline, particularly in Montreal.

Read More Here

Quebec Solidaire And The PQ

Amir Khadir was the first Quebec Solidaire member of the national assembly, and now the Quebec Solidaire seems poised to try and gain another seat right next to Amir Khadir's. In the riding of Gouin the Co-President of the Quebec Solidaire Francois David is campaigning to try and get her party a second seat in the National Assembly.

In the last election Francois David got 7987 votes while the PQ candidate Nicholas Girard (who is also running in 2012) got 10276 votes. In total that about 2,300 votes difference, which may be a lot for the Quebec Solidaire to get. Especially with the PQ riding higher in the polls then they did in 2008, but the Quebec Solidare seems to be doing a very local campaign. In which they will be concentrating a lot more of there time on Gouin and Mercier (Amir Khadir's riding).

In 2008 Amir Khadir unseated a PQ MNA to get elected, if Francois David get's elected September 4th she will also unseat a PQ member of national assembly. What does this mean to the PQ chances of forming government. In an election so close the Quebec Solidaires two seat could make it or break it for the PQ. Francois David had this to say:

 « Si à la fin de la campagne, il manque un seul comté pour que le PQ forme un gouvernement majoritaire, et bien je suis ouverte à dialoguer avec lui », a-t-elle lancé.

 Which in English means that she would be open to having dialogue with the PQ after the election if they are missing one MNA to form a Majority government. And one would believe it very likely that the Quebec Solidaire would support the PQ form a government.

So now one can safely assume when making riding projections that if their is a minority government one can safely assume that the QS will be supporting the PQ.

Read more here

And They Are Off.. PQ Lead!

In a snap poll done just a few days ago shows the PQ may form the next government. According to the poll the PQ will get 39% and the Liberals will get 38%, while the CAQ will get 14% and the Quebec Solidare as well as the green party will get 4 and 3 percent respectively.

The Reason this shows that the PQ will form the government is, because when only polling francophone people who tend to decide most of Quebec's ridings come election night the PQ have a strong lead. With 43% saying they will vote PQ and only 32% saying they will vote Liberal.The Most surprising thing about this poll is that at the end of July the CAQ was hovering around the low 20's.

Another reason to suspect that the PQ are in the Lead is that according to the survey PQ voters are more excited to vote than Liberal. With 96% of PQ supporters polled said that they were sure they would vote in this election. The Liberals didn't even get close to that number among there supporters.

Still the election is still anyone's game. In Quebec in only takes a few weeks for everyone to change there minds completely .

Read more here

Quebec Students Should Take It!

A tentative deal has been made and agreed by all student groups including La CLASSE. I personally feel that this deal is pointless. It is a political maneuver  to try and claim victory on both sides. Even though Tuition will rise for the next 7 years by over 250$ every year (instead of over 320$ for 5 years ) their will be no increase in the cost of education. Because surcharges will be eliminated which are valued the same amount as the tuition increase. So pretty much everything stays the same our tuition rises, but students won't even have to pay a dime more.

Now all that is left in this conflict seems to be the approval of students associations. Which I didn't think would be too hard. But already yesterday 6 Colleges and 10 university facilities voted against the agreement. I am still amazed by these students who are rejecting an offer to go back to a practical freeze on education cost. I am worried that a protest on tuition hikes will soon become a protest on the idea of tuition at all which will be even more dangerous.

The Quebec governments shouldn't make any new concession. This deal is sweet enough. I guess all that is left is too see what the rest of Quebec student facilities have to say.

la CLASSE It's Not About The Money!!

Broad coalition of the Association for a student union solidarity (CLASS) has offered a few ideas to eliminate tuition in Quebec by 2016. They say they have a plan to pay for the increase by:
1. Transfer 142-284 million in research spending towards education 
2. Freeze hiring of some senior executives, wages and eliminate bonuses
3. Stop building satellite campuses (campuses that is physically away from the main university center) 
4. Implement 0.14% tax on financial institutions


For me it isn't about the money it is about the principle. For me the 321 dollar increase is just a matter of the cost of education going up and students paying their fair share. It is no surprise that the cost of education should go up. Simply because of inflation the cost of teachers and education goes up. Likewise so does income (although sometimes not evenly). The fact is that I believe students should pay some part of their education or for that matter parents should. People should invest in their own education.

We shouldn't make education something only the rich can afford we should make education something everybody can afford. I think that even with the increase in tuition education is accessible, because of government grants and the fact that it isn't that expensive. The fact is students should pay for some parts of their education. Under the Charest plan students would in the end pay 17% of tuition. With 35% of the money from the increase going to help low income students pay for university.

The whole argument that accessibility will go out the window is silly. In fact Quebec even at the lowest tuition levels a few years ago had one of the lowest enrollment rate in universities in the developed world. As we can see tuition wasn't a factor other factors are stopping kids from graduating high school.

The Class proposes a solution to eliminate tuition, but for me the money isn't the problem. If the government should do the 4 solutions La Class proposes is irrelevant. It is just a principle that students should pay for some of their tuition. If let's say the government of Quebec finds an extra 200 million dollars in waste that money should either go to eliminating the deficit or better yet spend on eliminating poverty, hiring more doctors, building new hospitals, put into infrastructure etc...  It is a matter of priority of where money should go if any new tax is levied or any spending is cut. It is not the matter of just finding the money.


Read More here

PQ in Hot Water!

With another PQ MP leaving the party Pauline Marois and what is left of the PQ is in hot water. Not to mention that the CAQ is now coming with what some might suspect as a knight in shining armor. Nevertheless the CAQ is just a right wing party that seems to very much mimic the ADQ in many respects. With new poll shows that the CAQ would get 33% of the vote compared to the PLQ which would get 27%. The sovereignty party of Marois is at 19% (that's even worse than the Bloc Quebecois in May). The ADQ of course losses much of it's right wing support to the CAQ so it's left with a meager 6% and in a tie with the Crazy Quebec Solidaire. Interesting enough the person who was in charge during the collapse of 2011 in May is the person many Quebecois want. Gilles Duceppe although doesn't seem interested. It seems my Belle province is in a moment very similar to the Republican primaries south of the border. They are in a moment of not knowing what they want just yet and giving strangely enormous amount of support to any new comer in the race. Pauline Marois party is in for a bumpy ride, because her support is the most vulnerable to the CAQ. The Liberal support no matter what seems to be stuck at the high 20's. The reason the PLQ supporters aren't seperatist so they won't vote PQ, Quebec Solidaire or Option National and They aren't right wing so the ADQ and CAQ for many of them is out of the question. They seem stuck. The PQ has the most to lose from the CAQ, and if more MNA leave the PQ there might just be enough Independents in the National Assembly to be given officail party status.

Read more Here

Let Quebec Pay

The federal government is not only going to destroy the long gun registry, but is going to destroy all the data too. However, Quebec wants to keep the registry and maintain it on its own. They are willing to foot the bill as long as it gets the data.

Why not let them? If Quebec is willing to pay to keep the registry, then the Conservatives should let them. Getting rid of the data is just pigheadedness and unwillingness to arrive at a compromise. If Quebec believes, as do I in the benefits of the long gun registry, then we should be able to pay and keep it for ourselves without the federal government behaving like a baby.

The federal government is undermining Quebec’s ability to create its own long-gun registry by refusing to hand over the data that would allow it to do so, the province’s Public Security Minister says. 

Robert Dutil was in Ottawa Thursday in a bid to convince the government not to destroy the data when it passes a bill to end the registry.

Read more at the Globe and Mail. 

Quebec Gun registry

If Harper kills the Gun registry then I would fully support a Quebec version of the gun registry. In fact if you calculate it 2 million for all of Canada about a quarter of that if not less would equal $500,000. Which is almost nothing on the provincial budget. The only problem is that our Conservative government will destroy all records to make sure that they make it the hardest possible to try and slow violence. Another problem Quebec will face is guns purchased in Ontario or other provinces. I think Dalton Mcguinty would make a Gun registry for his province, add the NDP premiers of Nova Scotia and Manitoba and probably BC you have practically a nation wide gun registry. With the exception of Saskatchewan and Alberta.  I guess this sort of Primer cooperation  will really put a punch in the Conservatives stomach. But with no old records we have to start the registry from scratch which makes it more expensive, because of start up cost of this program. No help from Harper again! I guess the Harper ideology stays true. Let the provinces deal with it!

Historic change for Quebec.

Since confederation Quebec has always held it's fair share if not even more political power in the house of commons. Now for the first time in history Quebec will have fewer seats in the house of commons. The Conservatives go figure are abandoning there promise to give the province equal representation. Now I can't say that this isn't fair considering Alberta, BC and Ontario will be much more underrepresented then Quebec will, but it still shows that our parliament isn't following since confederation Rep by Pop. For Quebec this will be new to have less political power. Now will this effect the Quebec vote? Well considering only hard core separatist are going to be fighting very hard against this, while more NDP Quebers will be somewhat furriest I think it will be a win for both of them, but mostly for the Bloc. Since the Bloc need some fire I think this one is it at least for the next month if not a part of a Bloc platform in time for the next election. The NDP might scream and rant, but in all they will probably put this issue in a few weeks in the back of there heads. So it's somewhat of a moral booster, but for the Bloc this might be the fuel they are going to try and run on for some time.

Quebec to be Represented in Parliament?

Representation by Population Brown's idea way back to even before confederation. In Canada we are not quite there at total representation. In Canada some Provinces are massively over represented while others aren't. Harper is going to give 30 new seats to the fastest growing provinces of Canada to make things more fair. The only problem is what will happen to the representation of the other provinces. Well Ontario, Alberta and BC will go up. While all the other provinces will go down. meaning that the Atlantic used to hold about 10% of the seats and about 7% of the population. With now 30 new seats the Atlantic will hold about 9.5% of the seats. Still over represented! The parries will also have less influence. They have about 9% of the seats and have 6.7% of the population with this new deal they will have about 8% of the seats. Again over represented!
What about Quebec though? Well under this deal we would get 22.2% of the seats and have 23% of the population. Harper might though give La belle province a few seats like he promised in his platform.

So Is Ontario, BC and Alberta really getting a good deal here? Ontario will have 18 more seats giving it 124 seats now. Ontario holds about 38.5% of the population and would get under this new deal 36.7% of the seats. BC holds about 13% of the population and under this deal it would get 13.0% of the seats.  In Alberta they have 10.4% of the population and would get 9.8% of the seats . Alberta, Ontario would still be under represented under this deal and if Quebec got more seats so would BC. So is this deal really helping out the provinces be more represented not even close! It is a little repair, but the way the demographics are going Alberta, BC and Ontario are going to need more soon. Our system isn't completely Rep by Pop and I don't think Quebec should get more seats if Alberta and Ontario and even BC are going to suffer for it.

NDP On Quebec

The NDP leader Jack Layton said that Quebec would just need 50% +1 to be it's own country. That is just crazy. You can't just destroy and split up a country with a simple majority. I would not accept if just 50% +1 of Quebec wants to be it's own country. You would need much more in order to take apart a country. I think a super-majority (2/3) is a good clear majority in order to take Quebec out of confederation. Anything lower shouldn't be accepted. A simple majority is too little for something too important. In BC you need 60% to pass Single transferable votes. It didn't pass twice in the province even though one time it passed by 58%. So democratic reform is should be harder to pass then independence of a province that has been in the country for over 140 years.

Don't Fund the Arena!

Ignatieff said yesterday that he would fund an arena for Quebec City and anywhere else for that matter as long as its purpose is to "present the culture, to present the economic success of the region." That's great, except that this arena will not be for this purpose. It's no secret: the goal is to lure an NHL team to Quebec City.

But don't get me wrong. I'm all for the government contributing to the new Colisée, except not substantially. It's not in the interest of the government to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on a pro-sports venue. That money would be better spent on local sports facilities, to provide health benefits to all Canadians. The Quebec arena project could provide benefits to the region including an NHL team. But, the money spent on this project by the federal government should be reasonable and relatively little.

A Liberal government would support infrastructure projects including hockey arenas, party leader Michael Ignatieff said Monday. 

Speaking in Quebec City, the Liberal leader says he supports funding for a new arena if it's a multifunctional public space, and that he's said so for more than a year. He admits he hasn't seen the business plan but says there are a number of options and he's open to all of them.

Read more at CBC.

Related articles

• Liberals would fund Quebec arena, Ignatieff says (ctv.ca)
• Feds black out Quebec arena document (theglobeandmail.com)

Secret Toxins

For years, the Quebec government has not revealed what is in one of the most toxic dump sites in Canada, the Mercier lagoons. Yet, there are people living right next to these toxins and government after government has not found it necessary to inform the people living there. I would like to see Jean Charest sleep in a garbage can for twenty years. There have been two studies done on what is in those lagoons and they have used any excuse to be exempt from a Quebec law that says that the population must know what is in those lagoons. This information must be made public. It is our right to know.

Twenty years is a very long time for the Quebec government to deny the residents near the Mercier lagoons information about what exactly lurks in those dumpsites, known to be one of the most toxic in Canada.

Read more at the Montreal Gazette.

Asbestos Must End

The asbestos industry in Quebec must end. Asbestos has been proven to be a harmful mineral that causes more than one disease and also causes suffering. Yet the government in Quebec wants to expand the industry. This mineral used for insulation has long been put out of usage in all of Canada. Instead, we ship asbestos to developing nations, letting them suffer the consequences. And they do not have as good a healthcare system as Canada. It is time to stop the asbestos industry and the accumulation of money at the expense of other people's health and lives.

MONTREAL - More than three-quarters of Quebecers oppose the idea of the Quebec government financing a project to expand the Jeffrey asbestos mine, according to a survey commissioned by the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment.

Read more at The Gazette.

Related articles

• Medical journal slams Canadian 'hypocrisy' on asbestos (nationalpost.com)
• Victims, activists urge Canada to stop asbestos exports (thestar.com)
• Asian anti-asbestos delegation headed to Quebec (ctv.ca)

I See Bias All Around.

Unlike my partner Doggy and Owner I think that there is nothing wrong with having SUN TV come to Canada, Because every publication every news channel every radio network that I know has some sort of bias. That is why rather than trying to find perfect robots to do the news why not just have a sample of all kinds of news. Meaning Sun TV should come to Canada, but since Sun TV will be subsidised by Quebecor's. I think like the CBC they should try to be non biased. Anyways Sun TV isn't even on the air, so how do we know it is really all that biased. I say "don't judge a book by it's cover" let it go on the air, and watch it. If it is too biased for your taste don't watch it or make your own YouTube account about Sun TV biases like Liberal Viewer's. We should be given all around opinions, because there is more than just one side to a story.I know people who think Libertarians are insane, but to them you are crazy. Tell me honestly what's wrong with SUN TV .I do think that there should be some sort of limit on how Biased you can be if the broadcast is subsidized by tax payers.

Doctor Discrimination in Quebec

The Globe hits the bullseye on this one. In today's paper, there is an editorial criticizing the way foreign applicants for residency programs are accepted and rejected. In fact, of the foreign doctors who had passed medical equivalence exams in Quebec, two thirds did not get residency positions. This is unacceptable when there were 85 positions free and there is a shortage of general practitioners. Quebec should move to have more and more foreign-trained doctors working in our hospitals. We need them.

Quebec, a province with a critical shortage of family doctors, discriminates against foreign-trained physicians and makes it difficult for them to become medical residents, the final step to gain a licence to practise medicine. It is a habit that needs to end. In the global competition for talent, Quebec will lose out.

Read more at the Globe and Mail.

Related articles

• Foreign-trained MDs hit wall of bias in Quebec, rights agency finds (theglobeandmail.com)
• Que. schools deny foreign-trained MDs residencies (cbc.ca)

Only in Quebec.

The lasted Ekos polls shows that the Conservatives are still ahead of the Liberals by 6%, but some intersting poll numbers from Quebec just made me laugh. The polls had the Bloc ahead at 37% while in second place the Liberals are at 22%, but third place is the Green party at 13%. The Conservatives are at 12% and so are the NDP. Now to be fair the margin of error is 5%, but to have a poll where the conservatives are behind the Green just shows how much people in Quebec hate the Conservatives. Now Liberals have there own problems in BC where the Green party is at 20% and the Liberals are at 19%. Now In BC the margin of error is 10% twice as high then Quebec. Harper will never have a majority when he has to fight the green Party just to get seats in Quebec. Harper might be winning across the country, but here in Quebec Harper is less populare than the Enviromentalist and is just ahead of the "socialist" (as Harper would call them)