THE ISSUE OF QUEBEC AND THE ASSAULT AT A TIM HORTON`S This is an outrage, and I hope the Tim Horton`s owner and the offending employee, the customers who committed the assault, the Government of Quebec, and the entire sovereignty movement will be punished for this. They all had a hand in this violation of the law. Here is where I`m at on the issue: I`ve been willing to cut French Canadians a lot of slack. I don`t agree with Quebec`s separatist movement, and any threatened break-up of the country, regardless what the justification is. That goes for any sovereignty-association nonsense too. But, I hold no ill will towards French Canadians or Quebecers, consider them part of the family, and have done my best to keep an open mind and listen to their concerns. I have encouraged the politicians to resolve the issues fueling the separatist movement and address the grievances of French Quebecers. They have brought up a few, like condescension and discrimination issues, employment or promotion problems for non-English speakers in the province, or difficulties in getting an education in their language. I do expect the country to be kept whole, intact and unified, and for Canadian laws to be enforced. I even spent two weeks in Quebec City in 1984, and observed a few things for myself. I understand too that many French Quebecers are embarrassed by their government and the sovereigntist movement. Nowadays, one never hears about grievances or injustice issues concerning Quebec or the French speaking anymore. The only rationale coming from them is aspiration, in other words the threatened break-up of the country or other problems because they wish it, and which I take exception to. I now feel we have been lied to about their alleged grievances, and that there never were any of the injustices, that French Quebecers had claimed. This has cost the sovereigntists/separatists my respect entirely. I don`t like being lied to. Their other argument about the so-called threat posed by being surrounded by a sea of English, is only half true, with regards to being surrounded. But wrong about English posing any threat, and as I mentioned, have observed things for myself. The reason for my 1984 trip to Quebec City, was to see the tall ship event, that marked the 450th anniversary of the arrival of Jacques Cartier, and four and a half centuries of the French presence in Quebec. Later, in 2009, another celebration was held to commemorate four centuries of French settlement. That deserves some thought. During those four centuries, the French had survived the following: survival in the wilderness by the first settlers, and building of the first communities; wars with the natives, like when Champlain himself led Huron warriors in a raid against the Iroguois; war with the English, and defeat on the Plains of Abraham; occupation by the English; the American War of Independence and the threats posed to Quebec and Montreal; attempts at assimilation by the English; being swamped by the English language; German U-boats sinking ships in the St. Lawrence River during World War II, which inspired French Canadians to enlist for military service in unprecedented numbers; alleged education and employment problems, and likewise for condescension and discrimination by English speakers that Quebecers claimed to be victims of; and finally all the constitutional battles. That`s a lot of problems. Frankly I`m surprised the province has managed to cope at all. But it has done more than that. After being besieged by these problems for more than four centuries, it has not only survived, but the French language and culture is strong enough to support a separatist movement; to secure for Quebec its own official language; its own Civil Code; and to generate enough enthusiasm to fuel two celebrations commemorating four centuries of perseverance. All in spite of being surrounded by a sea of English. In other words, the constant talk of being under threat is another fabrication of the truth. There is no threat, and I have seen it for myself. This is all about hate and political power for its own sake, and it has become clear to me that the separatists/sovereigntists, and those gullible enough to listen to them and support their cause, are taking liberties and playing with fire. They are playing a dangerous game, and if they make any more noises about this, they should be called on the carpet for having lied about their motives. There is another problem connected with all this that needs our attention. Canada is by far the best country in the world, but its biggest problem - and the one underlying so many of our issues, is sloppy discipline. The natives have accused us of not keeping treaty promises, but the same thing applies to international agreements (like the Kyoto protocol, the right to property ownership, etc.), as well as to the letter of the law. The latter ranges from criminal behaviour to provincial jurisdictions over too many things, when we hypocritically claim the law applies equally the same to everyone. I`m sorry, but either it does or it does not. Or things like the inclusion of notwithstanding and opting out clauses in our Constitution and Charter of Rights & Freedoms, as if the law has any business being optional for anyone. This problem extends to Quebec, which ironically has a major track record with criminal gangs. Remember the Biker turf wars? The Government of Quebec even defied the Supreme Court`s rulings on the language charter, and got away with it. Now we have the excesses of the language police, and finally this episode at the Tim Horton`s. On the whole, Quebec is proving correct the old saying that he who cannot or will not obey, is not fit to command either. Too many Quebecers, and their government, are obviously incapable of doing both, but do not hold a monopoly within Canada. This applies to a number of other issues too. The bottom line is that we need to put pressure on the politicians and legal authorities, to start enforcing the laws of this country, in a firm and universal fashion. Charging the Government of Quebec with contempt of court over the language charter would a good idea, as well as zeroing in on the Tim Horton`s assault. On a broader scale, Canada as a whole needs to try a lot harder to honour all of its commitments: under the law, the native treaties, and all international agreements signed in good faith. We have gotten too many complaints from other societies around the world about our slack discipline and not sticking to the things that we say we are going to do. Jurgen Braunohler.
Posted on: Sun, 16 Mar 2014 08:41:51 +0000
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