20 March 2014

Cape May offers tips on French Canadians | The Daily Journal | thedailyjournal.com

Cape May offers tips on French Canadians | The Daily Journal | thedailyjournal.com



Dining is a good example. Wieland said French Canadians have a
European philosophy about dining. It is taken very seriously. They don’t
want to be rushed. They want the waiter or waitress to be informed and
helpful.


Wieland said the tourists are very value-conscious, and
they tip based on the quality of service, starting at 10 percent and
with 15 percent the top end. She noted Americans usually tip at 20
percent no matter how bad the service is.


“They don’t eat — they
dine. If you rush them, which often happens in the summer, they will tip
as they feel is necessary,” Wieland said.

18 March 2014

Intégrisme: la «montée» imaginaire | Jean-François Cliche | Élections québécoises

Intégrisme: la «montée» imaginaire | Jean-François Cliche | Élections québécoises


(Québec) Lundi, en nos pages, la
candidate péquiste dans Bellechasse Linda Goupil disait voir les signes
d'une montée de l'intégrisme religieux au Québec, citant le cas d'une
équipe de l'Université Laval dont un membre dérangeait les réunions pour
aller prier, et celui d'une femme en bikini dans une pataugeoire de
Sillery qui avait senti le besoin de se couvrir après l'arrivée de
femmes voilées.
Mme Goupil n'était pas la première candidate du Parti québécois à
tenir ce genre de discours. La semaine dernière, sa chef Pauline Marois
parlait d'un «risque d'infiltration» par des intégristes musulmans. «On
l'a vu, a-t-elle déclaré. Il y a quelques représentants d'une vision
intégriste de leur religion qui sont venus donner des conférences ou
rencontrer des gens au Québec. Il faut s'en inquiéter.»






Dans tous les cas, ce sont des musulmans qui sont montrés du doigt.
Alors voyons voir si les faits soutiennent l'idée d'une montée de
l'intégrisme islamique.

Councillors, even a mayor, excluded from small town caucus meetings

http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Councillors+even+mayor+excluded+from+small+town+caucus+meetings/9628237/story.html

Too dense. Too loose-lipped. Too contrarian.
Those are some of the excuses town councils have used to justify expelling a local councillor or mayor from the council’s private caucus meetings.
In January, a majority of council members in Senneville and in Town of Mount Royal each barred a local elected official from attending any more of their monthly closed-door gatherings, where they admit they debate and negotiate council business.

17 March 2014

Paul Wells: The legal realities missing from the sovereignty debate in Quebec

The legal realities missing from the sovereignty debate in Quebec


So: U.S. recognition would be “an essential condition” of achieving secession over Ottawa’s objection. And there was no way to obtain it. Secession would happen by negotiation or it would not happen at all. And it’s hardly clear that it could happen by negotiation. Quebec’s PQ government may believe it can ignore Canada’s Constitution, but (a) it’s wrong and (b) the rest of Canada couldn’t. Secession would require constitutional amendments and therefore the consent of every provincial legislature. Alberta and British Columbia require their own referendums before ratifying any constitutional amendment. So a Quebec secession referendum would automatically trigger at least two others, on a deal whose terms are also spelled out in the Clarity Act: “division of assets and liabilities, any changes to the borders of the province, the rights, interests and territorial claims of the Aboriginal peoples of Canada, and the protection of minority rights.”

16 March 2014

10 of the best Tony Benn quotes - as picked by our readers | Politics | theguardian.com

10 of the best Tony Benn quotes - as picked by our readers | Politics | theguardian.com



Tony Benn was known as an eloquent and inspirational speaker. Here are
ten of his most memorable quotes, as picked by Guardian readers

12 March 2014

William Johnson: Hard truths for separatists

http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2014/03/12/william-johnson-hard-truths-for-separatists/

The basic assumption is that the merest majority Oui vote, in a referendum structured entirely by the Quebec government, grants a mandate for Quebec to secede, unconditionally. That assumption is confirmed by a law on the books in Quebec, passed in 2000 under premier Lucien Bouchard, and titled Bill 99, An Act respecting the exercise of the fundamental rights and prerogatives of the Québec people and the Québec State.
This law, now challenged before the courts, was defended by the supposedly federalist government of Jean Charest. It’s generally accepted by Quebec’s public opinion as normal and legitimate, despite the fact that it contradicts head-on the Supreme Court of Canada’s 1998 decision in the reference on Quebec’s secession.

04 March 2014

Bataille linguistique sur Facebook: l'OQLF retire sa plainte | Guillaume St-Pierre | Actualités

Bataille linguistique sur Facebook: l'OQLF retire sa plainte | Guillaume St-Pierre | Actualités

L'Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF) a retiré sa plainte visant une commerçante de Chelsea.
La propriétaire d'une boutique de vêtements, Eva Cooper, pourra continuer de privilégier l'anglais dans ses publications sur la page Facebook de son commerce, mais devra à tout le moins ajouter un mot en français.
«Je suis satisfaite. Je pense que leur position s'est adoucie», a commenté Mme Cooper.

02 March 2014

Le Parti vert du Québec sera éco-socialiste | Métro

Le Parti vert du Québec sera éco-socialiste | Métro



MONTRÉAL – Le Parti vert du Québec entend diversifier ses politiques en vue des prochaines élections, afin d’augmenter ses appuis.
Le nouveau chef Alex Tyrrell, en poste depuis 5 mois, explique que le Parti vert sera une formation éco-socialiste.
Ainsi, l’environnement demeurera sa priorité, mais le parti défendra aussi un système de santé public, et proposera entre autres un programme universel de soins dentaires pour tous les Québécois. Il est également en faveur de la gratuité du transport en commun.