First elected into office in 1953, under the Liberal government of Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent, the Honourable Allan J. MacEachen was instrumental in designing Canada’s social programmes.
Although he was not reelected in 1958, his only political defeat, he did not leave Ottawa. He worked instead as a special assistant and consultant on economic affairs for the Right Honourable Lester B. Pearson, a Nobel Laureate.
Under Louis St. Laurent, Canada had begun putting into place social programs that would protect Canadians. For Mr MacEachen, this endeavour would culminate in the Medical Care Act, passed by Parliament in 1966, when Mr MacEachen served as Minister of National Health and Welfare (1965-1968). The implementation of Medicare was a major victory for Mr MacEachen and an enormous gift to Canadians. It was, in fact, an major historical moment. A nation was born.
Very few persons could have been as dedicated as Mr MacEachen in his role as Canada’s Minister of National Health and Welfare. Mr MacEachen had worked as professor of Economics at St. Francis Xavier University, which is home to the world-renowned Coady International Institute, founded in 1959 and named after the Reverend Dr Moses Michael Coady, a coöperative entrepreneur who created the Antigonish Movement. On 19 November 2009, during an interview with Steve Sutherland of the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation), Mr MacEachen said he was a “disciple” of Father Coady who wanted to “enable people to get a vision of possibilities. (StFX Digital Archives, Quotes by Rev. Dr. Moses Coady) ”
Moreover, Allan J. MacEachen was born in Inverness, Cape Breton, the son of a coal miner. The coal miners of Cape Breton toiled painfully, and often died, reaping coal deep underground and bringing it to the surface. (Have you seen Margaret’s Museum, a 1995 British-Canadian film based on a story by Sheldon Currie, a former teacher at StFX? When interviewed by Steve Sutherland of the CBC, Mr MacEachen said that the miners of Inverness were “poor” and, that, when they had to retire, they did not have a “pension.” He had witnessed poverty.
The Honourable Allan J MacEachen studied at the Massachusetts Institute for Technology (MIT), and became a professor of Economics. In his CBC interview, he said that people were not interested in what he knew. They wanted to know what he could do for them. They had needs which he understood and he was in a position to help his nation. He had the knowledge and the shrewdness to do so.
During the same interview, Mr MacEachen stated that, as a politician, he had learned that he had to “obey” his constituents. He had learned to “listen” to the people, to “serve” them, and to “take Canada into account.” That interview is a lesson in leadership and nationhood. Mr MacEachen cared for the people, as should all elected officials.
Former US President Bill Clinton is a recent visitor to StFX University. On 11 May 2011, President Clinton opened StFX University’s Frank McKenna Centre for Leadership. That Centre has solid foundations.
The Honourable Allan J. MacEachen was Minister of Amateur Sport, Minister of National Health and Welfare, Minister of Manpower and Immigration, Minister of Finance, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Secretary of State for External Affairs, Deputy Prime Minister of Canada, and a Senator. In this capacity, he was the Leader of the Government in the Senate.
For two decades, the Honourable Allan J. MacEachen was also my next-door neighbour in Antigonish, N. S. and a dear friend. I am honoured to say that he remains a dear friend.
The picture above shows a topsy-turvy world. A Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officer is helping a family cross the U.S.-Canada border. An American border patrol, not shown, is trying to prevent them from entering Canada. They had to go through a gully where they had thrown their belongings. Without the help of the police they could not have entered Canada.
Both the American border patrol and the RCMP officer were doing what they had to do. One should keep in mind that the United States has welcomed people fleeing persecutions and oppression for most of its history. One of our WordPress colleagues remarked that the United States had been a lighthouse, a beacon, to the world. It is inhabited by immigrants and descendants of immigrants, many of whom are or have become prominent Americans.
Matters will be remedied, because Mr Trump’s policies are not “American.” They are a violation of the American Constitution. I watched a video showing a man carrying signatures, a petition, from people who are asking that Mr Trump be impeached.
For the time being, Canadians have been asked to shelter refugees who could be the victims of a particularly harsh winter day. I doubt that this reflects a formal policy, but one rescues people who endangered by a harsh winter and could be deported. However, one also dials 9-1-1 and informs the police.
Many Canadians are protesting against President Trump’s Islamophobia. However, Canada has not escaped a degree of Islamophobia. One Canadian killed 6 Muslims and wounded 5. Investigators reported that Alexandre Bissonnette, the Quebec City shooter, could not be associated to a terrorist organization. He had been influenced by the media as his Facebook accounted reflected. He admired Donald J Trump, the President of the United States, and Marine Le Pen, the leader of France’s Front National. The shooting was investigated immediately and the shooter could not be linked to an Islamic terrorist group. Certain individuals would have liked to link the brutal attack on Muslims in Quebec City to an Islamic terrorist group.
On Thursday, 16 February 2017, Justin Trudeau was in Strasbourg, France, where he addressed the European Parliament, which had ratified the Comprehensive Economic & Trade Agreement (CETA). CETA had been discussed since 2013, when it was proposed by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Mr Trudeau’s predecessor. The agreement had to be modified in order to be ratified by the European Union, hence the delay. CETA must now be passed by the Canadian Parliament (the House of Commons) and approved by Canada’s Senate.
President Trump is promoting protectionism, which places limits on free trade. Canadians promote free trade between Canada and the European Union. However, CETA was not negotiated to oppose President Trump. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Chancellor Angela Merkel
Chancellor Merkel will commit a larger financial contribution to NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (l’Organisation du Traité de l’Atlantique Nord, OTAN). However, Canada will not. It will contribute otherwise. NATO is a military alliance. He met with German Angela Merkel on Friday morning.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau participates in a joint news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany Friday, February 17, 2017. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld)
Chancellor Merkel was close to former American president Barack Obama. Whether or not she will be close to Prime Minister Trudeau remains to be seen, but they had a congenial meeting and she gave him of photograph showing Trudeau père and 10-year-old Justin during a trip to Germany. When leaders talk, ordinary citizens live in a safer world.
Later on Friday, Canada’s prime minister was honoured at Hamburg’s St. Matthew’s Banquet, a black tie and tuxedo event. The Prime Minister did not speak about Mr Trump. However, when asked about Mr Trump, he was reassuring. He has been labelled the Anti-Trump. Not quite. Canada, however, has become home to 40,000 refugees from the Middle East: Syrians, Iraqis and Afghans. (See European migrant crisis, Wikipedia.)
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, centre, Hamburg Mayor Olaf Scholz, right, and German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, left, pose for photographers at city hall in Hamburg, Germany, on Friday. Trudeau later gave a speech talking about warding off populist anger by addressing middle-class anxiety. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld)
Conclusion
During the past week, there were attempts to build bridges. The European Union was weakened by the European migrant crisis, which began in 2015. Brexit showed that people tend to fold up if they feel threatened. Nativism arises. The more salient example of this kind of behaviour is the 2016 American Election. Barring Muslims from entering the United States invites further radicalization and terrorism.
ISIL is a reality, but ISIL is an Islamic terrorist organization. Saying that all Muslims are terrorists is false and it is dangerous. So is building a wall to keep Mexicans out. It is divisive. The better path could be to boost the Mexican economy.
Love to everyone ♥
Homemade music video for Salve Regina by Arvo Pärt. Performed by The Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir. Conducted by Paul Hillier.
(Images: Sátántangó, 1994)
The Charitable Samaritan by Rembrandt, 1638 (WikiArt)
After posting my article about Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s visit to Washington, I started feeling uneasy. Had I intimated that I supported President Trump? No, I fear Mr Trump and Canadians feared the first meeting between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and President Trump. Would Mr Trudeau sell the country? No, but Canada is a signatory of the Paris Agreement. Yet, Trudeau and members of his government agreed to re-open the Keystone XL Pipeline. That worried me. Would our prime minister agree to another arrangement that could cause an environmental accident? The pipeline is in need of repairs. Will this be done? With respect to climate change, experts have determined that we are about two minutes before midnight. (See Doomsday Clock, Wikipedia.)
Prime Minister Trudeau managed his first meeting with President Trump successfully. He achieved this victory by stating that he had not travelled to Washington to “lecture” President Trump on how to govern. He also stated that Canada and the United States had lived in harmony on their respective side of a border that stretches from sea to sea. Canada’s motto is A Mari usque ad Mare (see the Canadian Encyclopedia). Moreover, Americans and Canadians had fought together and died together on various battlefields. D-Day is the foremost example of a combined effort. In short, we have respected one another so Canadians have earned the right to welcome refugees while fighting terrorism.
“One swallow does not a summer make”
No, I have not turned into a supporter of Mr Trump. I fear Mr Trump and reject his belief that all Muslims are terrorists.
However, until President Trump and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met, I believed that solidarity and résistance were the United States’ and the world’s only way of surviving the Trump era. One swallow does not a summer make, but last Monday I saw a relaxed and happy Mr Trump. He was not the man who had been issuing no end of executive orders, as though he did not have an administration and the United States had lost its government. But there had been a dialogue and an acceptance of differences. In other words, Canada could continue to welcome refugees.
Many refugees have now entered Canada illegally and to my knowledge, none have been returned. Two men were outside in the bitter cold when finally a trucker stopped and picked them up. The trucker called 9-1-1. The men were frost-bitten and no one can enter Canada illegally.
To my knowledge, however, refugees have not been returned, but Canada has to amend its immigration legislation to accommodate circumstances it did not expect. President Trump’s Islamophobia and xenophobia are driving people out of the United States.
At the moment, refugees to Canada are applying for refugee status after entering Canada. The Canadian government has yet to amend its immigration laws, so applying after entering is a temporary policy. Authorities are also making arrangements so frost-bitten refugees can be hospitalized at no cost.
No, I have not become a Trump supporter, but it would be my opinion that Justin Trudeau shaped events skillfully. There are times when humans are powerless and times when humans can configure reality. At the moment, Canadians are probably configuring reality.
However will President Trump stop building a wall to keep Mexicans out of the United States ? Will he stop thinking that all Muslims are terrorists and attempt to prevent them from entering the United States, in defiance of the American Constitution and the decision of courts. I don’t know and we don’t know.
On Wednesday, President Trump asked Prime Minister Netanyahu to “hold back” on settlements and told him that it was for the Israeli and the Palestinians to decide whether they would be one state or two states.
“I’m looking at two-state and one-state and I like the one that both parties like. I’m very happy with the one that both parties like,” he said.
President Trump welcomes Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (AP Photo/Andrew Harnick)
Justin Trudeau goes to Washington: a Mouse and an Elephant
Years ago, when Pierre Elliott Trudeau or Trudeau père, was Prime Minister of Canada, he compared Canada to a mouse and the United States, to an elephant. One does not put a mouse and an elephant in the same bed. The mouse would be crushed.
Well, the mouse, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, travelled to Washington to meet the elephant, President Donald J. Trump. Canadians were afraid but all is as well as it can be, under the circumstances.
However, when President Trump met Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Mr Trudeau won his heart, so to speak, and the heart of Canada’s neighbours to the south. Trudeau noted that Canada was very different from the United States but that both countries respected one another despite differences. Canada has welcomed 40,000 refugees from the Middle East: Syrians, Iraqis, Afghans, etc. mostly Muslims, but a few Christians. Canada is nevertheless committed to ending terrorism as are the United States and other countries. Canada did not welcome refugees without the RCMP, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, first looking into their background.
Terrorism is a reality. Justin Trudeau spoke truthfully. He saw the World Trade Centre towers crumble and he knows ISIL has attacked Europe countries several times, France in particular. However, Canadians welcomes refugees and mourned when Muslims were attacked at Quebec City’s main mosque. The shooter was Laval University student Alexandre Bissonnette, a French Canadian who was not associated with an Islamic terrorist organisation. Mr Trump would prefer to prevent all Muslims from entering the United States. This matter was not discussed on 13 February.
A Common Border from the Pacific to the Atlantic
There are differences between Canadians and Americans but Trudeau stated that Canadians and Americans respect one another and that past events have joined them. Americans an Canadians fought together and Americans and Canadians on D-Day. Many died on Normandy’s beaches and steep cliffs.
Mr Trudeau quoted Winston Churchill who praised Canadians and Americans, and vice versa, for sharing peacefully a border that stretches from sea to sea, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. Such words invite the continuation of a good relationship between Canada and the United States.
Winston Churchill, December 30th, 1941 (Yousuf Karsh)
Common Values
The two leaders, the mouse and the elephant, spoke about another common values. Both want to create jobs that will ensure that citizens of both countries will have an income without which they cannot put bread on the family table. Creating jobs was a matter Mr Trump emphasized during his campaign and it is a common value. The maintenance and prosperity of the middle class is important for Mr Trudeau. Canadians and Americans have been good trading partners for a long time and they will continue to work together for the welfare of their nations. Both nations will strive to create jobs.
Moreover, the United States and Canada will promote the importance of women as leaders, women who share raising a family and working outside their home. Several women are the CEOs of large companies and organisations.
Ivanka Trump (MSN)
Prime Minister Trudeau and President Trump, 13 February 2017 (MSN)
Conclusion
One cannot tell what the future will bring. President Trump has started to deport illegal immigrants, separating families. A daughter watched her mother being led away. Will President Trump continue to build his wall between the United States and Mexico? During the weekend, 22 asylum seekers entered Manitoba at Emerson. They had to call 9-1-1 for help. At this time of the year, the cold weather could have killed them. It seems refugees will be able to enter Canada safely and officially. Canada will remain what it has become: multicultural.
President Trump has found a congenial neighbour in Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The Canadian leader did not utter a word that could be interpreted as divisive during his visit to Mr Trump’s Washington. His meeting with President Trump was in no way confrontational. It was a friendly meeting as I hope further meetings will be.
Justin Trudeau may not be the polished intellectual his father was. But he has a sunny disposition, in two languages, and, during his visit to Washington, his disposition may have served Canadians well. The welfare of the middle class was mentioned, but I believe Wall Street was on many minds. At any rate, President Trump knows that all’s well in Canada and that ‘Justin’ is a mere phone call away. I believe both President Trump and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau were reassured. Ivanka sat at the presidential desk, an agreement having been reached to empower women. That is now on an official agenda, but I suspect Justin Trudeau proposed this agenda to please Ivanka.
Would that her father stopped issuing executive orders as though he were an absolute monarch. Would that he relented on deporting people, forcing them to risk their lives to enter Canada. Would that he no longer looked upon Muslims as terrorists. And would that he could see climate change as a major risk.
A Happy Valentine’s Day. My page entitled “Love celebrated” contains the story of Valentine’s day. ♥
John Lennon and Yoko Ono meeting with Trudeau père
The notion persists, in President Trump’s mind, that all Muslims are terrorists. Moreover, it had been suggested that the shooter in the Quebec City attack was supported by a Muslin terrorist organization, but such is not the case..
The shooter in Quebec City is Alexandre Bissonnette, a student at Laval University. He loved guns and, according to his Facebook account, he was interested in nativistMarine Le Pen, the leader of the National Front, a far-right French political party, and nativist Donald J. Trump, the President of the United States. After the attack, he phone 911, the emergency telephone number, to alert the police and tell where he could be picked up.
But we now have news.
RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson waits to appear before the Senate Committee on National Security and Defense, Monday, February 6, 2017 in Ottawa (Adrian Wyld/THE CANADIAN PRESS)
Alexandre Bissonnette: “non-classic” terrorism
Alexandre Bissonnette is considered a “criminal extremist,” which is a crime that is somewhat new to criminologists. I will quote RCMP [RoyalCanadian Mounted Police] Commissioner Bob Paulson.
RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson is warning about “non-classic” terrorism that feeds on hate and controversy on social media, blaming growing political polarization for the deadly shooting at a mosque in Quebec City.
It was first reported that two men were suspects, one of whom was a Muslim. This Muslim, the “second man,” was not the shooter. He was shoveling snow outside the mosque, heard shots, and entered the building. He saw bleeding bodies and dialed 911, to report that an attack had taken place.
After Mr Bissonnette was taken into custody the “second man” was released. There is no evidence that some Islamic terrorist organization supported Alexandre Bissonnette.Therefore, Alexandre Bissonnette is unlikely to face terror charges.
President Trump’s Islamophobia and the influence he exerts on the media are extremely dangerous and could set the planet ablaze. The Quebec City attack is an example of the harm President Trump’s Islamophobia and xenophobia can cause. Mr Trump is now fuming because, despite the ban, he is hanging on to his conviction that all Muslims are terrorists. Rumour has it that President Trump is also searching the White House to eliminate traces left by President Obama whom he still sees as a Muslim and, therefore, a terrorist.
Three of the injured have been discharged from the L’Enfant-Jésus Hospital, one of three teaching hospitals affiliated with Laval University. Two, however, remain in intensive care. It seems their life is not threatened, but there are complications. Dr Julien Clément was called in. He is a former military surgeon and a trauma specialist who served in the Middle East. Dr Clément originates from Windsor, Ontario, and studied medicine in Sherbrooke, Quebec, and British Columbia. He and his team had difficulty operating because the victims bled profusely. Dr Clément didn’t think he would ever see such carnage in Quebec City.
We must resist President Trump and other nativists and extremists. Allow me to repeat that the suspect in the Quebec City attack is Alexandre Bissonnette, a French-Canadian Laval University student.
I will close by saying that the brutal loss in Quebec City of innocent lives has saddened Canadians “from coast to coast.”
Love to everyone♥
Gregorio ALLEGRI – Miserere Mei, Deus (+ Lyrics / OXFORD, Choir of New College)
Rumour has it that the suspect in the Quebec City shootings, Alexandre Bissonnette, may have had a Muslim accomplice. There is no evidence supporting this rumour and I wish to quell it. In fact, we do not know Alexandre Bissonnette’s motives. All we know is that the suspect is 27-year-old Laval University student Alexandre Bissonnette, a Quebecer. At first, two suspects were named, but this theory was abandoned. Alexandre Bissonnette is the only suspect.
In short, New York Times journalists Craig S. Smith and Dan Levin gave an accurate and balanced description of events. Canada is growing into a multicultural society and Quebec political leaders advocate interculturalism. However, Canada has its share of extremists and Islamophobia exists in my country as it does in other areas of the world.
Alexandre Bissonnette’s Facebook account revealed that he was following Marine Le Pen‘s National Front, a nativistic French political party. Moreover, it seems that Alexandre Bissonnette was a fan of American President Donald J. Trump, a nativist. The suspect may also have shared sovereigntist Parti Québécois‘ ideology, but I haven’t read from a reliable source that he did and the Parti Québécois does not advocate violence. (See Quebec Sovereignty Movement, Wikipedia.) The more pertinent fact is that the Centre Culturel Islamique de Québec has not been identified as an Islamic terrorist cell.
The Migrant Crisis has played a significant role in a shift to Far-Right ideologies in many countries. It started with the inconclusive Brexit vote and, on 8 November 2016, the United States elected Donald J. Trump to the presidency of their country. The United States is resisting and such figures as former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, the daughter of refugees from Czechoslovakia, bemoan the fact that the inhabitants of Syria and six other majority-Muslim countries are temporarily denied entry to the United States. American President Donald J. Trump is keeping his campaign “promises.” On 30 January 2017, the morning after the Quebec City shootings, he announced his anti-immigration and travel policy. Americans are protesting.
Conclusion
We cannot and will not assume that Alexandre Bissonnette was working for a group of Muslim extremists unless clear evidence supports that view. Such a theory is consistent with President Trump’s offensive notion that all Muslims are terrorists. The investigation into the Quebec City attack started as soon as the shootings occurred, but results will not be known until the matter has been fully investigated. It is Canada’s policy to welcome, help and protect its refugees and immigrants, and this will not change. The victims were fine Canadian citizens and Alexandre Bissonnette is the only suspect.
As noted above, events are as described by New York Times journalists Craig S. Smith and Dan Levin.
Quebec City Mosque attack suspect Alexandre Bissonnette (Facebook)
Quebec City mosque attack suspect Alexandre Bissonnette charged with 6 counts of 1st-degree murder – Montreal – CBC News. According to Alexandre Bissonnette’s Facebook page, he followed several profiles with right-wing ideologies, including Marine Le Pen, the far-right leader of France’s National Front. (Facebook)
A 27-year-old Laval University student, Alexandre Bissonnette, has been charged with 6 counts of murder and 5 counts of attempted murder while using a restricted firearm (CBC). The attack is considered an act of terrorism. Alexandre Bissonnette was a fan of Mr Trump.
There were vigils on the evening of 30 January 2017 and both the Ottawa and Quebec Parliament’s flag were flying at half-mast. The current outpouring of sympathy towards the Muslim community will not take the victims back to their family and Muslims are afraid, but I hope it will be of some comfort. Quebec Premier Couillard has made it very clear that Canadians had been killed and wounded. I have yet to hear how Canada plans to protect its Muslim citizens, but I presume police surveillance will be increased. The shootings are particularly egregious since they occurred while Muslims were worshiping. This tragedy has hurt Canadians profoundly, from coast to coast, and especially Quebec Canadians where interculturalism has been adopted.
It’s a Canadian tragedy reflecting the shift to the Right affecting various countries.
Quebec City mosque shooting victims include businessman, professor and fathers of young children – Montreal – CBC News
The Victims:
Azzeddine Soufiane, 57, was the owner of a halal grocery store;
Khaled Belkacemi, 60, was a professor of Engineering at Laval University;
Aboubaker Thabti, 44, worked in a pharmacy;
Mamadou Tanou Barry, 42, and Ibrahima Barry, 39, brothers
Mamadou Tanou Barry, 42, worked in information technology;
Ibrahima Barry, 39, worked for Quebec’s Revenue Ministry;
Abdelkrim Hassane, 41, was a programming analyst for the Quebec government.
All victims had children and all victims were Canadians, whatever their origin. A fund is being raised to cover funeral costs. We are awaiting details regarding the wounded.
President Trump’s Visit to Canada
United States President Donald J. Trump is scheduled to meet with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau this week. Yesterday, 30 January 2017, President Trump “cracked down on immigration and travel.”
Despite the might of American President Trump, I believe that protection of Canada’s identity, values and environment will be foremost in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s mind. Canadian Prime Ministers must respect and love their American counterparts, they need not please them. Our border both joins and separates us. (See Canada-United States Border, Wikipedia.)
A member of a Quebec police SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) team escorts a woman from houses not far from the scene where two gunmen opened fire inside the Centre Culturel Islamique de Québec (Islamic Cultural Centre of Quebec) during evening prayers on Jan. 29. (André Pichette/EPA)
Six people were killed and 19 wounded in the shooting at the mosque. Here, municipal police patrol outside the Mosque on Monday morning. (André Pichette/EPA)
Six men were killed and five are in serious condition after an attack on Quebec City’s main Mosque. According to Radio-Canada, the French-language CBC, there is one suspect, but we are at an early point in the investigation.
Women and children were not killed as they do not worship in the same room as men. The Mosque had been vandalized earlier when a pig’s head was deposited at the door of the building.
Motivation has yet to be determined with precision, but the target was a Mosque, the most important Mosque in Quebec city.
—ooo—
Quebec Premier, Dr Philippe Couillard, “doesn’t explicitly blame Trump but replies: ‘We are obviously in a world where people tend to divide themselves rather than unite themselves.’”
Premier Couillard “calls on Quebec to be a beacon, to be as inclusive as possible.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is travelling to Quebec city with the interim leader of the opposition, Rona Ambrose. For information on Islamic facilities in Quebec City, please click on the following link.
I would not blame President Trump, but I hope he will soon realize that Islamophobia is putting Muslims at considerable risk around the world. I hope he will also realize that Canadians were attacked. Canada is endangered because it welcomes Muslims and is located immediately north of the United States.
He must reverse his stand on immigration or poison the mind of possible terrorists. If he dares suggest that terrorist attacks are to be expected in countries that welcome Muslim immigrants, he will hear differently.
Meanwhile, we will have to intensify the protection of Canadian Muslims.
Justin Trudeau, Canada’s Prime Minister, was in Sherbrooke last Tuesday, 17 January 2017. There was a town hall meeting and both French-speaking and English-speaking Quebecers were in attendance.
There was an incident. An English-speaking woman asked a question in English, but Trudeau answered in French. French is Quebec’s official language but outside Montreal, inhabited by citizens of the world, Quebecers’ everyday language is French. Prime Minister Trudeau was criticized for answering in French.
Canada is an officially bilingual, bicultural and multicultural country, but Quebec is an officially French-language province promoting interculturalism. Interculturalism is a form of multiculturalism, but not altogether. It encourages interaction and a “cross-cultural dialogue.” Interculturalism’s theoretician is philosopher Martha Nussbaum. Interculturalism recognizes a common bond between all human beings despite different cultural customs. (See Interculturalism, Wikipedia.)
Quebec is officially unilingual because the survival of the French language is threatened in North America. French-Canadians are a minority and most live in Quebec and in the Maritime Provinces. To protect itself, not only is Quebec unilingual, but it has language laws.
Quebec declared itself an officially unilingual province by virtue of its Official Language Act(Bill 22), passed in 1974. Two years later, in 1976, the province elected the Parti Québécois, a separatist party. On 26 August 1977, the Charter of the French Language (Bill 101) was voted into law and granted Royal assent. Several English-speaking Canadians had started leaving Quebec after the October Crisis of 1970, quelled by Trudeau père. English-speaking Canadians left Quebec:
Quebec unilingualism and attendant language laws are reflected in its education system.
Children whose parents are English-Canadians may attend an English-language school.
It may be possible for a child born to French-speaking parents outside Quebec to be educated in English, but the child may have to attend a French-language school.
It is also possible for a child born to mixed parents, such as an English-speaking father born outside Quebec and a French-Canadian mother, born in Quebec, to be educated in English, but problems may arise. The child may have to attend a French-language school.
Language laws also apply in other areas. For instance, a driver is unlikely to see the word “stop,” a French word, on a Quebec stop sign. Moreover, overhead monitors providing traffic information are unilingual. That’s dangerous.
In other words, while they may ensure the survival of a French-language Quebec, the language laws are a hindrance. Out of the 10 Canadian provinces, only New Brunswick is officially bilingual. The only officially bilingual province of Canada is New Brunswick and the only officially unilingual province of Canada is Quebec. Its official language is French.
In the remaining 9 provinces, children may attend an English-language school, a French-language school or a French “immersion” school. Many English-speaking children learn French at an immersion school. To my knowledge, there is no such thing as an English immersion school.
Because Quebec has not signed the Constitution Act of 1982, its Health Insurance Card is not accepted outside Quebec, but hospitalization costs are covered. The Health Insurance Card of residents of other provinces are valid in Quebec. This problem will be solved when Quebec signs the Constitution Act of 1982, which Quebec Premier Dr Philippe Couillard intends to do.
Payingincome tax to both the Quebec government and Canada may also be an irritant. But I should point out that Quebecers are eligible for services not covered in other provinces, such as daycare. The cost of daycare has now been increased, but minimally.
Trudeau père was a blessing to French-Canadians living outside Quebec. He fashioned an officially bilingual and bicultural Canada. Suddenly, one could watch Ici Radio-Canada, the French language counterpart of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (the CBC), from coast to coast. French immersion schools became fashionable. It was a brave new world. Trudeau père was also a blessing to immigrants. We are a multicultural country. No one is a foreigner.
Rights and Reality
Ironically, it is unlikely that in a province other than Quebec, a person could ask a question in French and expect the question to be answered in French. There are exceptions, but English is spoken in 9 of the 10 Canadian provinces, so French-speaking Canadians living outside Quebec may have the “right” to ask a question in French but, unless they are addressing Prime Minister Trudeau or a bilingual political leader, they may not be answered in French, particularly if most persons in at a gathering speak English. If the question is asked in French, both the question and the answer may have to be translated into English. Outside Quebec and Canada’s national capital, Ottawa, the majority of Canadian citizens speak English.
I would not dare say that French-speaking citizens living outside Quebec are victimized, but there can be no doubt that certain theories cannot be put into practice other than exceptionally. Many Canadians are bilingual but most communicate in English rather than French.
But it is possible for English-speaking residents of Quebec to spend their entire life in Quebec without ever needing to learn English.
The 17 January 2017 town hall meeting was held in an officially French-language province. As a Canadian, the lady whose question, asked in English, was answered in French had the “right” to expect being answered in English and could have asked the Prime Minister to do so. It was an informal venue. But the problem is elsewhere. Canada is bilingual, but the province of Quebec is unilingual. So what does one do?
—ooo—
The truth is that Trudeau is very respectful of English-speaking Canadians. His mother is an English-speaking Canadian and Trudeau is very fond of Queen Elizabeth II. It should also be noted that he speaks French and English very fluently. I prefer not to throw stones at him for supposedly letting down English-speaking Canadians living in Quebec. He has not betrayed his father who made this country bilingual, bicultural and multicultural. I would say that he got caught between a rock and a hard place. Had he spoken in English, he could also have been criticized.
All I fear is that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will be intimidated by President Trump.
I edited parts of the article I posted on 18 July and did so a few hours after it was posted. I had sensed a connection between the result of the Brexit referendum and the 2016 Nice attack, but also felt there was a difference. The connection was the “send them back” printed on the shirts of certain British pro-leave voters. France’s Front National‘s is an anti-immigration political party. Britain does not have an anti-immigration or nativist political party, in which it differs from France. However, some leave voters thought, or we led to think, that leaving the European Union meant excluding immigrants.
The Runners of the Pasha, Jean-Léon Gérôme (New York Historical Society
Arnaut with two whippet dogs, Jean-Léon Gérôme (Pinterest)
French colonialism
One may wonder why France has been targeted by terrorists three times in the last two years:
These attacks cannot be explained in any satisfactory manner. They are barbaric and senseless. Let’s give love a chance.
However, these attacks may be associated with France’s history as a colonial power. It was in North Africa, Algeria especially. Algiers was captured in 1830, Tunisia was conquered in 1881, and Morocco was a French protectorate from 1912 to 1950.
A long time ago, these countries were inhabited by Berbers. However, Algeria fell to the Arabs (7th century CE) and then to the Ottoman Empire (1560-1830), often referred to as the Turkish Empire. The French captured Algiers in 1830 and walked out of Algeria under Charles de Gaulle. On 18 March 1962, de Gaulle declared the cease-fire that ended the Algerian War (1954-1962). Below is a video of his speech.
However, the violence continued after the cease-fire. Approximately 800,000 Pieds-Noirs had to flee to France. Pieds-Noirs (literally black feet) is the name given French settlers in North Africa. They had lived in Algeria for a long time, several generations. Moreover, many Algerians had been educated in France and identified with France. (See Algerian War, Wikipedia.)
France remained a target. You may remember Air France Flight 8969. The anti-terror unit of the National Gendarmerie killed all four hijackers without further loss of life among passengers and the plane’s crew. Three passengers had been killed by the hijackers. France has been attacked several times. (See List of Terrorist Incidents in France, Wikipedia.)
There are Berbers to this day in North Africa, in the Atlas Mountains in particular, but the population of Algeria was Arabised and so was, to a greater or lesser extent, the population of Tunisia and, less so, the population of Morocco. However, North-African terrorists are Arabised Berbers. The Arab Spring began in Tunisia, on 18 December 2010.
Although ISIL has claimed responsibility for the 2016 Nice attack, the attacker, Mohamed Lahouaief-Bouhlel, lived in France, but was born in Tunisia. The Kouachi brothers (Charlie Hebdo, January 2015) were born in Paris of Algerian parents, but they were radicalized in the Middle East. In France, colonialism and terrorism may therefore be related.
Therefore, when members of the Front National claim that France cannot be multicultural, i.e. nativism, they are expressing their determination not to admit Muslim immigrants into France. At the moment Muslim migrants are flooding Europe. Therefore, Muslims are the immigrants. ISIL and the Syrian Civil War have wreaked havoc on the Middle East and these conflicts are taking a toll on Europe.
The result of the Brexit referendum may reflect the nativism advocated by the Front National.
Marine Le Pen in Quebec
Marine Le Pen visited Quebec recently. A large number of Canadians are refugees or the descendants of refugees, and many are immigrants or the descendants of immigrants. Consequently, although it can only welcome a limited number of Syrian refugees, 25 thousand, the majority of Canadians do not see Syrian refugees as potential terrorists or as persons who will drain Canada’s social programmes. That has not been the Canadian experience so far.
Such is not Marine Le Pen’s opinion. She believes immigrants are impoverishing France and, in an interview with Ici Radio-Canada‘s Anne-Marie Dussault, Madame Le Pen stated that terrorists had entered France with the flow of migrants. She was warning Canadians.
Canadian civil servants flew to Jordan to screen the Syrians who have entered my country and it picked them up in refugee camps. In fact, Quebec is attempting to transform its immigrants into French-speaking Québécois. It may or may not work, but meanwhile Quebec is building bridges.
Conclusion
France has been attacked because of its former colonial empire, which included Indochine (Vietnam). So it has trained personnel to deal with crisis, its Gendarmerie’s Intervention and crisis management unit (GIGN). It is its SWAT team. France is otherwise protected, but terrorist attacks are difficult to prevent. Who would have thought that someone would rent a 19-tonne truck and drive it through a crowd watching a fireworks display?
This act of hate did however bring grist to Marine Le Pen’s mill. I listened to several interviews last weekend. Members of the Front National seemed disturbingly pleased to add this grim trophy to their collection.
Marine Le Pen could be the next President of France.
©Micheline Walker
