Blogging from Calgary has a pretty good take on the fallen fortunes of Ralph Klein.
And with his habit of backing down when push comes to shove, perhaps it’s not a moment too soon;
The paper argues that the equalization program should be changed by including all provinces in the formula that establishes how much provinces that receive equalization should get from Ottawa. Adding Alberta’s revenue-raising capacity to the mix would vastly increase the average because of its rich oil industry, boosting the program from $9.4-billion to $15.1-billion a year, according to the report.
Michael Cere sees a Liberal in the “Trudeau/Chr�tien tradition”. It doesn’t sound like a compliment.
Mr. Ignatieff proclaims that Canada is his kind of country and Canadians are his kind of people. His big insight about our national spirit is that Canadians are “a serious people.” But he complains that we really “haven’t taken ourselves seriously enough.” He really has been away too long. What about the good-natured humour and self-effacing modesty that adorns most Canadian achievements? The stellar Canadian virtue is that Canadians don’t take themselves “too seriously,” even when they serve with heroism.
If official bilingualism sticks in your craw this is the website for you.
Schnauzerspotting: This is just too cute not to share.
Leave your own in the comments.
The thing about bilingualism is that it’s a choice – you don’t like the fact that you can’t get a government job because you only speak English? Get off your lazy butt and learn French.
We note that in Ralph’s fare well legacy wish list, reforming the equalization formula was not on the agenda….just more spending and some nebulous revival of the heritage fund.
Perhaps he expects Harper to lead the charge on reforming equalization? I agree with the Calgary blogger that this issue will becomke a major economic issue in Alberta as their revenues increase along with the population who have to watch increasing amounts of money leave the province for good to solve no pending crisis in another province other than poor budgeting by a local government.
Ted Morton has a sellable plan on reworking equalization to reflect only ewmergency bail outs…and kill the eternal ant and grasshopper existance of some perenial welfare state wards.
You need to read the a little more about True Billingualism to see that JUST learning french does not guanrantee you a job. Seems like the best ones are going to those from Quebec.
Get of your own butt and take the time and read about it on the ” Canadians for Language Fairness”
You can argue about it all day….but English speaking Canadians are getting shafted to the tune of BILLIONS of $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
http://www.languagefairness.ca/
Here is just one example.
http://www.languagefairness.ca/docs/NewBrunswick.htm
Well I knew Ralph Klien when He was Mayor and I can tell you he was a good man who would rather solve a problem rather than play games. I met quite a few political types in my job and he was the best accross the country I ever had to deal with. Was he a closet Liberal? Who cares, he was a good man and all of Canada will miss him
My uncle left the military when career oppertunities
vanished because of his inability to speak french.His skills or leadership did not diminish, nor did his experience vanish overnight..
He left when he saw less skilled,less experienced French speaking officers take over career jobs in the forces, where there are no unilingual general staff officers.That’s right folks,there are no english only speaking officers in the highest ranks of the CAF.
It is more important to be seen as a bilingual
ass kisser in DND than to actually have any good soldiering qualities.
The schnauzerspotting photo is a winner:
The caption you ask:
In German: “Halt die schnauze!”
Translation: “Shut your yap!”
Re: the Liberal media’s white wash on Ignatieff.
Cere neglects to speak the real reasons Ignatieff is a PET/Cret type liberal AKA(elitist Menshevik)
He is first and formost the more desirable of 2 Desmarais/Powercor anointed liberal candidates who will be fully promoted and financed by Canada’s PMO corporate benefactor…as were PET and Cret ( and Martin).
He is an insufferable elitist who has mostly contempt for the slow workings of democratic processes (like PET)…read some of his writings if you can keep the dust from your eyes ( it’s dry intellectual vacancy) It’s similar to JR Saul’s intellectual wanking but more dry, surreal and rambling….PET would love this type of vacuous intellectual arrogance.
He is a smug internationalst who carries a personal agenda of realizing a global plutocracy over improving domestic deficits in democracy and charter.
So, he sounds like a perfect candidate if you are a stilted liberal dogmatic with your head totally emersed in the Trudeaupian socialist plutocracy myth and can rationalized a corrupt decayed democracy and the loss of national sovereignty to international bureaucies…Moe Strong would love this guy…say I think he does, there were some articles a way back about Ignatieff offering some of his nebulous pie-in-the-sky globalist policy solutions to the UN.
If I had to compare Ignatieff to some one I’d say he was a globalist Noam Chomsky with twice the ego and more aggressive ambitions.
The just-released book “Sorry, I don’t speak French” is a very interesting read. It is available in public libraries (or should be shortly).
OT Just in on CTV: Miss BS is not running for the leader of the Lib’s! Yeah! Yeah! That is the best news of the day!
One more comment which is rather funny considering this post; Miss BS doesn’t speak French! There is one example of when you don’t get the job if you can’t speak French, for once it worked in our favour!
interestinggggg – the day before Iggy makes an official entry into the race and a day after Kennedy announced his position.
Good for whom????? The minophone money is getting poised to back a “winner” and this is not a good sign for the West, I think.
Melwilde said:”Well I knew Ralph Klien when He was Mayor and I can tell you he was a good man who would rather solve a problem rather than play games. I met quite a few political types in my job and he was the best accross the country I ever had to deal with. Was he a closet Liberal? Who cares, he was a good man and all of Canada will miss him ”
I remember Ralph when he was mayor and I also recall Friday afternoons at the Cecil hotel where he would buy “chicken and chips” and a few draft beer for the house….if you had an issue with your property assessment or road or alley negelct in your ward, he would talk about it over a beer and put someone on it to offer a solution…..that was REAL populism….and Ralph had it up to the time he had to do the bidding of the party’s old boy network…then his populism became something Rod love used as a hollow marketing tool. Ralph lost his populism and became a politician out of neccessity.
I still like Ralph and I think he personified a era in Alberta where populist government were the choice of people who did business with a hand shake.
However, having had dealings with Ralph’s caucus over 2 separate federal incusrions into provincial jurisdiction, I can tell you Ralph has a terrible history/habit of blustering in outrage, running theatrical opposotons and paying lip service to opposing the theft of Alberta’s exclusive constitutional powers and then rolling over when the feds turn up the heat. ( Gun Registry, Wheat board, Oil production and well head taxing, Gay political agendas)
The coming decade will see Central Canada urging Ottawa into raiding Alberta’s jurisdictions and revenues more than ever before and we need a different type of leader….lovable ol’ Ralph is no match for the bureaucratic vultures from the federal government’s law firms. When an Alberta premier demands a reveiw of resource taxes and the equalization formula/program, I want someone at the bargaining table that will take back stolen territory, not give it up.
Lawrence Martin, in his pernicious April 6 Globe column,
http://server09.densan.ca/archivenews/060406/GM/060406fm.htm
repeats claims by Eric Margolis
http://www.torontosun.com/News/Columnists/Margolis_Eric/2006/04/02/1515979.html
“…that the government there [Afstan]is a U.S.-installed puppet regime, that the elections were rigged…”
Mr Martin might have spent a little time investigating the facts before repeating Mr Margolis’ nonsense. From a letter to the Ottawa Citizen, April 6, from David Harland, UN department of peacekeeping operations (full text not online):
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/letters/story.html?id=dfc68a34-26ac-4806-8e4f-eb3541440812
“…it was the UN that negotiated the Bonn Agreement [the 2001 agreement creating a provisional Afghan government], which Canada is helping to support. And it was the United Nations that shepherded the loya jirga (grand council), the constitution and two rounds of elections to a successful conclusion.”
Whatever else the UN department of peacekeeping operations may be, it is certainly not a propaganda front for the U.S. The UN was responsible for installing the government, not the U.S. And the UN did not run rigged elections.
Mr Margolis is dead wrong and Mr Martin should have either known it in the first place or checked the facts.
Just another one of our “leading” journalists totally inadequate for the job. Lazy too.
Mark
Ottawa
Never, ever, read Eric Margolis. If you do, remember that he lives in a world devoted to his hatred of the US. Nothing else defines him – other than his exceptional ignorance and indifference to facts.
If Stronach is not running, then, my guess is that the Desmarais/PowerCorp, Magna cartel is putting their money behind Ignatieff. Ignatieff has strong overtones of the Philosopher-King elitism of Trudeau, except that he is not isolationist, as was Trudeau. That will, frankly, HELP Ignatieff..as the result of Harper’s regime will be to move Canada and Canadians back into the global world.
But, I’ll place my bets on Harper getting a majority in the next election. As soon as the Liberals select a leader, they’ll be going ‘all out’ to villify Harper (that’s their only tactic in politics – manipulation by propaganda). I’m saying that it won’t work. Harper’s tactic is not mass manipulation, but, step-by-step realistic leadership.
The Liberals are focused around the population as ignorant sheep to be led via propaganda; the CPC tactic is to treat the population as equals, as all part of that ‘middle middle class’..as shown in their campaign ads about ‘ordinary people’.
With the rising importance of blogs, mass manipulation by centralist propaganda isn’t as easy as it used to be. The Liberals don’t realize this yet.
I think the people in Alberta may just be finding out about what Law S-3 (Amendment to the Offical Languages Act) is all about, the impact it has already had in Alberta, and the impact it is likely to have.
Ted Morton’s wife is a French teacher and his family was schooled in French emersion (web site).
Lyle Olberg has been/still is heavy into education (web site) A new Francophone school was announced a short time ago for Brooks – his riding.
Interesting
My guess is that there was a substanital amount of money transferred rather recently from the Feds to the AB government for the express purpose of moving on Law S-3.
Bill S-3 was given Royal Assent shortly before the writ was dropped for the last election. It did not become part of the last federal election but hopefully it will become part of the AB leadership race.
I think that the Liberal ideology is stuck in Trudeau’s framework –
This is culturally a perspective of Canadians as governed via mass propaganda, which is anti-American and isolationist, and focused around the relativism of multiculturalism. These views are divisive and result in a population with special interest groups clamoring for gov’t laws to privilege their ‘cultural identity’. The setting up of a strawman Evil Other, the USA, has been extremely useful but is losing its effectiveness.
Operationally, bilingualism has effectively disempowered the majority of Canadians from any major role in the economic, military or legislative governance of Canada. Bilingualism is NOT something that one achieves ‘only by work’ and its lack is NOT a sign of ‘laziness’. If you don’t hear, speak and use a language, you will not learn it. After one generation, the percentage of bilingual Canadians is frozen at less than 20%. Yet – our Charter privileges this duality – and thus – the majority of Canadians are disempowered from authority.
Economically the Liberal party is about equalization – which is an agenda of ‘leveling’ all partipants to the same level of economic viability. This tactic, well-known in primitive societies, creates a ‘no-growth’ economy, for no one area can amass enough surplus to invest in high cost, long term investment.
That leaves Canada completely dependent on foreign investment.
And, because equalization operates by setting up externally-created ‘make-work jobs’ in low economic areas, these areas are ungrounded, fragile, and competely dependent on that Central power.
Socially, the Liberals follow this centralist, top-down welfare state ideology, which removes more and more power from the individual – the power of decision-making (via bilingualism); the power of thought (via propaganda) – and the Liberal reliance on gov’t appointments rather than elected officials.
This is, as we’ve seen, a system that is extremely vulnerable to corruption. It is also a system that cannot react to local regional needs, because it is so centralized.
Harper’s decentralization, his accountability act, his return of power to the regions and to the people – are the counter to the Liberal ideology.
Would Canadians want to return to this enslavement?
Ralph didn’t drink and buy chicken and chips at the Cecil Hotel, it was The St Loius Hotel.
The sad thing about Alberta dumping Klien is that we in Ontario would be lucky to have him. How bad does your own government have to be before another province’s hand-me-downs look good?
I just have to laugh at all the hypocrisy – it’s OK for Ontario to support the rest of the country for years and years, but when other regions become successful (witness Newfoundland and Alberta), they get to keep their surplus revenues.
I am no fan of equalization, but WTF?
Lew, Ontario has not been a fountain of money for Alberta… ever. We received equalization payments for what, 6 years, 8 years???
Meanwhile, we’ve been chucking in for how long, and how much? You want to have a surplus to keep, elect something other than a Liberal government which cooks it’s books to show a deficit.
Or better yet, ask Quebec to balance their books.
Alberta has given over 240 billion to equalization since 1970, and that’s not including the 50 billion Trudeau stole between 80′ and 83′, meanwhile Quebec has received basically every cent Alberta ponies up.
We already contribute $2900 per person compared to Ontario’s $1900, so when Ontario is doing the same, I’ll feel a little more sympathy for them.
I’ve got no issue with the revamping of the formula, but if Alberta has to include its oil, then every province has to include it’s non-renewable resource.
That means all that lovely hydro in Man., Ont., Quebec, etc…
If we are seeking fairness, then lets get on with the business of fairness. No special deals, no exemptions, no favor of one province over another. Lets just put it all in, and see what comes out.
Bilingualism is NOT something that one achieves ‘only by work’ and its lack is NOT a sign of ‘laziness’. If you don’t hear, speak and use a language, you will not learn it.
Guess what – hearing, speaking and use IS exactly the work necessary to learn a language… and everyone in Canada has those opportunities. Failure to take advantage of them should disqualify people from jobs where they will have to speak to people in both languages.
I have been disappointed in Ralph as of late. In my meeting with him and on occasions, health ministers, they have know for years that our present healthcare system is failing on many fronts and is not sustainable in its present form. I had the distinct impression that he did not want to have the destruction of our “Holy Cow Health Care System” as his legacy even though he knows someone will have to fight that war at some time.
I was hoping he would have the courage to be the needed liberator.
1. That photo of the shnauzer and the cows is a lot like Stephen Harper talking to the Opposition yesterday. “Now listen up, A**hole!” I loved it.
2. My calculations are that somewhere around 33% of the residents of Canada claim either Irish, Scots, or Welsh anticedents. Therefore, GAELIC should be the second language of Canada. If that sounds silly, how do you think having French for a second language sounds.
Mike in White Rock
Brilliant post by my blogging cohort DT:
http://cjunk.blogspot.com/2006/04/leftist-islamist-alliance.html
“The Leftist Islamist Alliance”
“Simple facts, such as the horrific human rights record of each and every Muslim state on the planet are ignored. Instead, every conceivable reason to highlight abuses on the part of western democracies are paraded like trophies in the world press. Even an objective academic examination of Islamic doctrine is avoided, lest it reveal Islam for what it is; the most violent, ethnocentric, exclusive, un-reformed, and anti-democratic religion on earth. And worst of all, catch phrases such as, �the vast majority of Muslims are peaceful� are tossed about like candy for the kiddies, with no supporting data, no supporting evidence, and no supporting religious doctrinal proof. To entertain, for even a nano-second, the notion that it is Muslim doctrine that caused violence, poverty, and religious imperialism, is impossible with leftists. And anyone who does so, is branded a bigot.”
Ian H – No, you are quite wrong. If you live west of the Ottawa River or in PEI, Nfld, NS – how often, in your corner store, do you use, hear French? Almost never.
The use of a second language should not be something for which you have to take special classes during the day or evening classes – (how many have the time or money); it should not be something that is used only in the federal arena, and never, ever, in the daily life, in the market place.
It should not be something that you take up only in your 30’s when you decide that you want to enter into the federal role – as a politician, or a federal lawyer, or any role whatsoever in the federal governance. By that time, it’s too late.
You start from the realities of a population, not from a utopian ideal. Canada is NOT a bilingual population. It never will be. And, forcing the population to be what they are not – and denying them any role in any authoritative area in governance, is tantamount to destroying their democratic rights.
Bilingualism has effectively disempowered the majority of Canadians from governance. They cannot take major roles in the political arena, in the legal system, in the research system (that’s right – to review and allot research monies, you have to be bilingual); in the military, in the bureaucracy.
The result, is a small, self-enclosed, self-defining ‘elite’ in Canada, focused around the Ottawa-Montreal corridor – who provide most of the authority in Canada. That’s not democracy; that’s an oligarchy.
Again – a valid democracy operates from reality. It doesn’t force the population to be what they are not. That’s found in communist/fascist societies. Not in democracies.
If you don’t use a language in your daily life – then, you don’t know it.
Those that deny themselves the benefits of learning a second language only show how feeble their brains are. This goes for immigrants to this country that make very little effort to learn the english language.
Who would want to be a civil servant anyway?
Learn a 2nd language and go get a life.
Much is made above about the Liberal Leadership campaign. Unless the folks in Ontario are really, really dumb, and given the performance so far of the Liberals in Opposition; I’d say the chances of a Liberal election win (as of this moment, at least) are not too good. I wouldn’t stress myself out about them, but pay more attention to the No Discernable Prospects, who may supplant them.
I also notice this morning that a lot more “journalistic pundits” (that’s the wankers we’re paying to write the news and who couldn’t find their A**hole with two hands and a flashlight)are choosing to report more favourably towards the Conservatives. Grudgingly, of course. They’re trying hard to say nothing good, but are forced to admit (or lose their airtime) that the Conservatives look pretty good these dasy.
Ian
How many of the BBB/CCC.or Ex3 coded jobs in the Government of Canada world are going to Francophones and how many are going to Anglophones who have “picked up” French and live outside of the Ont/Quebec “corridor”?
What exactly is the French being taught in schools these days. Is it French as is spoken in Quebec (Quebecois) or is it Francais Standard (some seem to refer to this as patois French). Yes, those from French immersion programs do sound different – in some cases very different, from Francophones.
For to many years, parents in AB have been sucked into believing that if their kids take either French Immersion of French as a Second Language will see them as “eligible” to work in the Gov’t of Canada world. It just is not happening to any great extent.
After 40 years and milions plus millions of dollars – Official Bilingualism is a colossal failure. Apparently even in the bastion of Ottawa, itself, if one moves not far from the government buildings – the functional language is a whole lot of English.
Mike in White Rock: Bang on re the Opposition yesterday. PMSH was in control of the show yesterday. He is going to be very good to watch. For all of the flack that he has taken regarding his stiff demure, he has a very quick witted, funny sense of humour.
1. The response to a statement from the Opposition regarding the seduction of Emerson; PMSH response was priceless. “Mr. Speaker, I don’t think that anyone in this house can accuse me of seducing anyone, not even my wife”.
2. During his speech PMSH was interrupted by a Lib with a comment: “Show us the money!” PMSH response beautiful: “Excuse me Mr. Speaker, but did I just hear a Lib say show us the money? Where is the 14 million dollars that has disappeared?”
I can say that I think that this government will be able to get some serious work done with this leader.
You have got to be f**king kidding me.
Any outside observer, particularly Americans wil tell you (not if you’re a Canadian though) that Canadians are so overbearingly self-righteous and serious. They talk a good line but do actually nothing at all. Does that remind anyone of the self-righteous, overbearing and ineffectual UN? No wonder all the lefties love it so dearly.
Canada has also lost its sense of humor. Since when does juvenile anti-Americanism pass off as “humor”? Canadians have lost any sense of balance. We can thank Trudeaupian Socialism for ruining our society, from the inside out.
Estudio espa�ol todos las dias cuando voy a mi trabajo en tren, y por lo tanto lo hablo un poco.
Nunca oigo franc�s en Toronto, pero oigo espa�ol con frequencia.
Pero no puedo conseguir un puesto con el gobierno.
�Porque?
Dr. Wayne – despite your assertion that all that it takes to learn a second language, is an order from someone to do so – that’s not how one learns any language, first, second or third.
You learn it by using it in daily life. Every day. Not from a textbook. French is not used in daily life for over 80% of the Canadian population.
That means that this 80% of the population cannot learn that language except by ‘special instruction’ and then, via an additional immersion. How many people have the luxury, and it is a luxury, in both time, and cost, of learning a second language – one that they do not use, do not hear – in daily life? How many people can find locations for immersion – and can take the time for this from their daily life of earning a living?
The result is – we have set up a government in which the majority of citizens cannot participate. That’s not a democracy; that’s an oligarchy.
No flippant ‘learn a second language’ will overcome these very real obstacles. No accusations of ‘you’re lazy’ can be used to deny these very real obstacles. And, no utopian idealism ought to ignore reality. Reality is that the majority of Canadians are not, and never will be, bilingual. Reality is that the result of such a utopian rule, is that Canada’s governance has passed out of the hands of its citizens and into an oligarchy.
Doug,
It’s people like you that have ruined this country. A sit back do nothing blogger waiting for self-starters to trip up so you can bash them and blame all things bad on Liberals. Shame on all you blame-gamers, it just shows the stuff you’re really made of.
Don’t like what’s going on, get off your lazy butt and do something constructive.
Le Qu�bec au Canada est comme la France en Europe, un bloc de tr�buchement pompous et imp�rieux pour ses voisins. Le Canada sera �teint meilleur quand le Qu�bec n’est plus une r�gion du Canada.
Mississauga Matt,
It’s wonderful you study Spanish on the trian while on the way to work. Unfortunatley it is not an official language of Canada although widely spoken. Maybe if you were to become California Matt you could use it as an aid to get a job.
Discovered: the missing link that solves a mystery of evolution
Scientists have made one of the most important fossil finds in history: a missing link between fish and land animals, showing how creatures first walked out of the water and on to dry land more than 375m years ago.
Palaeontologists have said that the find, a crocodile-like animal called the Tiktaalik roseae and described today in the journal Nature, could become an icon of evolution in action – like Archaeopteryx, the famous fossil that bridged the gap between reptiles and birds.
As such, it will be a blow to proponents of intelligent design, who claim that the many gaps in the fossil record show evidence of some higher power.
The near-pristine fossil was found on Ellesmere Island, Canada
Further to previous post on a missing link between fish and land animals:
Embrace your inner fish
Dr. Wayne:
But how do we make it an official language? As I said, I never hear French in Toronto, but I hear Spanish all the time. No need for me to go to California – it exceeds French right here at home.
Dr. Wayne- what is your data base to provide any grounds to your assertion that Doug is ” a sit back do nothing blogger’ etc, etc.
You have made these assertions, but, assertions are meaningless with evidence. Without evidence, they denigrate to pure ad hominem. Was that your intent?
And, what is your evidence that the Liberal regime is beyond criticism and should not be criticized?
I think languages are great. However, I also think that mandated French/English official bilingualism is totally dysfunctional. The functional language of 80% of Canadians is, and will remain, English. Most everybody immigrating to this country understands this and likely don’t see this is a bad thing – in fact most of them do very well in English.
Forcing Anglos and Allos to learn French is destined to backfire eventually. Where does the military expect to get its recruits from – Quebec/Ont corridor?????? – righttttt!!!!!!
Actually there are quite a few high school students who have dropped French in AB and are taking Spanish – not becuase they have to, but because they are having fun with, it is a very musical language, and probably is not as difficult a language to learn (somebody please enlighten me here). The big plus is that it is not being forced on anybody.
I asked a group of young people why they are not taking French these days. One comment was -who wants to work for the gov’t anyway. One comment was that by Grade 10, if one has not already been exposed to French – to many of the group are far ahead and it is not enjoyable at all. One had taken Japanese 10/20/30 and had a great time – even had an exchange student staying with them.
It is very difficult to get into University these days. Unless someone has a family background in language(s), why should someone interested in business or the sciences risk having a low average because of a French langauge mark. In fact, why would one want to give up the time required to learn/maintain a virtually useless langauge (read French) when this same time can be much more productivly used to get higher marks in maths/science/English – that will determine entrance into most univerities.
For people seeking to go into teaching, I would seriously recommend that they become Catholic (if not so already) and for sure take French along with whatever other kind of minor(s) of interest. Even if you take French, do take another language as well. Not doing this pretty much limits your hiring chances by about 50%.
Dr Wayne..
I did something.. i got off my “lazy butt”
went down to the polling station and struck a vote that helped oust dear leader and his cabal from the corridors of power…
talk about participaction!
Matt,
I agree with you, Spanish by far is more widely spoken in Toronto and in my opinion more wordly and fun.
With no disprespect to anyone I believe the only reason french has reached the status it has in Canada is because of crybabies ramming it down our throats and rubbing our noses in it.
When I was reading Michael Cere’s note, I had to read it a second time because the first time I kept waiting to see how Cere was going to tie Ignatieff to the “Liberal in the Trudeau/Chretien tradition” I was sure he was talking about…Ralph Klein.
My French sucks but I disagree Mystery Meat… I like Quebec in Canada.
Je pr�f�rerais que le fran�ais ait d�pens� leur argent pour garder leur culture, au lieu de payer $4.5 milliard d’une ann�e pour que tout le monde peut atteindre fran�ais sur le niveau d’une 12 vieilles ann�es.
A case in point being my own pathetic attempts at it.
Dr. Wayne, learning Spanish is just as good as French, since you basically learn all romantic languages by learning one.
If you can speak French, or Spanish, most likely you can get along in Italian and Romanian.
I don’t speak French well at all, and I’m probably more fluent in Spanish… but it does allow me to read just about anything.
It’s never a bad idea to learn any second language, but I think it’s wrong to continue the farce of bilingualism in Canada. It’s too expensive, and just not working. Line up a 1000 Albertans and you’ll be lucky if more than 20 of them have better than the grade 3 French shoved down their throats.
The only way to learn a language is by using it, daily. There just isn’t enough opportunity outside Quebec or perhaps New Brunswick to truly immerse yourself in the language.
Additionally, what are you going to say to the Chinese, or the East Indians, when their representative populations rival the French. There is over 1 million Chinese in Canada… would you suggest a Tri-lingual nation then? Or to add a fourth for the East Indians, who are climbing up in population as well… where does it really end?
Whats good for the goose is good for the gander… least ways thats what the constitution says.
A nation needs a unifying language, and almost everyone speaks some English.
OOPS, correction ‘worldly’
What’s becoming Catholic have to do with learning French Clipper?? That’s like saying “If you want to speak English, you should become Anglican”. Last time I checked, Mass is said in English in Calgary, not French. Hell, even in Montreal I have gone to English mass.
additionally, where spanish is spoken in the americas, it’s warm. a couple of hundred million people speak spanish in the americas, but less than 10 million french. our free trade partners here, are spanish and english speaking people. If I was to decide for my children which languages should they study in school, they’re english, y spanish.
kursk,
It’s good you voted, everyone should.
However, participation only is not construction as you’ve really done nothing except to make a statement.
How about developing a framework for a new political party (one that represents your positive views and ideas) then canvassing your riding to get the necessary support to make it a reality.
Paris Stonach not running for Lib. Leader.
I cant get that old “Uncle Bobby Birthday Song” out of my head,
Bimbo Bimbo whatcha gonna do eio.
Bimbo Bimbo crossing the floorio.