• Aboriginals in North America
  • Beast Literature
  • Canadiana.1
  • Dances & Music
  • Fables and Fairy Tales
  • Fables by Jean de La Fontaine
  • Feasts & Liturgy
  • Great Books Online
  • La Princesse de Clèves
  • Middle East
  • Molière
  • Nominations
  • Posts on Love Celebrated
  • Posts on the United States
  • The Art and Music of Russia
  • The French Revolution & Napoleon Bonaparte
  • Ukraine
  • Voyageurs Posts
  • Canadiana.2

Micheline's Blog

~ Art, music, books, history & current events

Micheline's Blog

Tag Archives: Sherbrooke

Veterans Honoured: a Moment of Grace

10 Tuesday Nov 2015

Posted by michelinewalker in Canada, France, Légion d'honneur

≈ 13 Comments

Tags

France, Légion d'honneur, Roland Moisan, Sherbrooke, Veterans, World War II

df924e25-b01b-495f-b6e7-c084bc8a7086_profile

Poppies by Sarah Hair Olson (Photo: youcaring.com)

Veterans honoured in Sherbrooke

http://ici.radio-canada.ca/regions/estrie/2015/11/09/001-anciens-combattants-legion-d-honneur-sherbrooke-deuxieme-guerre-mondiale.shtml?isAutoPlay=1

http://ici.radio-canada.ca/sujet/legion-d-honneur-2015-quebec

Roland Moisan

Roland Moisan

Yesterday, my uncle Roland Moisan, now more than 92 years old, a veteran who survived D-Day, received the Légion d’honneur, France’s highest award, for his role during World War II.

My uncle was a volunteer who left for Europe in 1941. It was a long trip: three weeks. The ships had to avoid German submarines. When they got to Liverpool, bombs were falling.

The day my uncle and fellow soldiers left England, they did not know what duty had been assigned to them. The débarquement, D-Day, had to be a secret. The soldiers loaded what they were told to load unto boats and it turned out their destination was Normandy.

I visited all the beaches and cliffs of the débarquement. How did they survive? My uncle says that those who should be decorated are his fallen comrades. He was then tall, strong, nimble and the soldiers had been well-trained.

There was no disorder, but they were in hell. Men were falling. It must have been horrible to see comrades killed. When this happens, one must wonder why one is spared death.

A Moment of Grace

As the soldiers who had survived travelled north, towards Germany, my uncle was transporting young prisoners of war. Two of them got ahold of him and lowered his head. He lost his rifle. If these prisoners had not lowered my uncle’s head, it would have been severed by a wire. They had saved his life. One of the prisoners then picked up the fallen rifle and returned it to my uncle, smiling.

These soldiers were the innocent victims of Adolf Hitler and his Nazis. That’s what they were, and so was my uncle. Roland Moisan says he will never forget that one moment. It was a moment of grace.

Poppy Field

df924e25-b01b-495f-b6e7-c084bc8a7086_profile© Micheline Walker
9 November 2015
WordPress

45.403816 -71.938314

Micheline's Blog

  • Print
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest

Like this:

Like Loading...

Lac-Mégantic: Comments

13 Saturday Jul 2013

Posted by michelinewalker in Uncategorized

≈ 13 Comments

Tags

Harding, Lac-Mégantic, Lac-Mégantic Quebec, Montreal, Nantes, Quebec, Sherbrooke, The Globe and Mail

The_Scream

The Scream, by Edvard Munch, 1893 (Photo credit: Wikipaintings)
Schools: Symbolism and Expressionism 
 
The Globe and Mail
CBC News
 

Lac-Mégantic

The vigils have begun all over the province.  People have been asked not to converge on Lac-Mégantic itself as the little community cannot accommodate crowds.  Quebecers are therefore praying and lighting candles where they live.

A Story in Progress

I have some information, but what happened has yet to be determined.

For the last several months, the same cab driver picked up Mr Harding, the conductor, in Nantes, where he parked the train, 10 kilometres (6 to 7 miles) outside Lac-Mégantic.  This cab driver, André Turcotte, has said that he is not ready to “crucify” Tom Harding.  Moreover, when he got to his hotel, L’Eau Berge (from “auberge”), a local inn, Mr Harding would often share a beer with François Durand, another customer, before going to his room.  He is a quiet, but likeable fellow.  I now gather, from watching various videos, that Mr Harding has been “suspended” without pay and that his mobility is restricted.  This is, therefore, a story in progress.

The Locomotive and the Brakes

It could be that Mr Harding did not tighten the brakes sufficiently.  However, I have read (La Tribune, 12 July, p. 2) that when a fire started in the locomotive, 10 kilometers away from Lac-Mégantic, in Nantes, firefighters turned off the motor of the locomotive, which may have caused the brakes to loosen up and the convoy of tankers to go down hill on its own.

In other words, did Mr Harding not tighten the brakes or could it be that firefighters inadvertently caused the brakes to malfunction by turning off the motor of the locomotive?  This was a heavy convoy and there was a hill.  The brakes may have failed because of the weight of the convoy and sheer gravity.  Besides, were these brakes adequate and in good order?

At any rate, the tankers went downhill and derailed when they arrived in Lac-Mégantic, which is where the explosions occurred.  According to his taxi driver, when Mr Harding left the train, there was smoke, always.  However, during the night of July 5-6, there was more smoke than was normally the case.

When Mr Harding emerged from the hotel, where he spent one or two nights every week, Catherine Pomerleau-Pelletier, a  waitress at afore-mentioned l’Eau Berge, noticed that the engineer looked aghast.  He had left his convoy parked, unattended, 10 kilometers away from Lac-Mégantic, but it was exploding in the middle of Lac-Mégantic.

The tankers were not safe, nor was the locomotive.  There was smoke all the time.  Moreover, the conductor or engineer was the only person operating the locomotive.  In short, this tragedy is starting to look like a case of negligence.  What are the rules and regulations?

The Ice-Storm

Quebec has teams of persons trained to deal with disasters.  The North-American Ice-Storm of 1998 was a major disaster and an eye-opener.  Some localities were without electricity for three weeks and millions of persons were affected.  Quebec chose the expensive option.  It made sure no ice-storm would cut off the electricity.

So, I hope Quebec chooses the expensive option once again: re-route the tracks, make them safer, impose stiff regulations on railway companies, i.e. safe tankers, safe locomotives, more employees—Mr Harding worked alone!  Moreover, if a train carries crude oil and there is no way of re-routing the railway, that train should not run through a populated area, near houses and businesses.

About Trains

Trains are a precious commodity.  They can travel rapidly if the tracks are properly built.  Entering or leaving Montreal can be a serious undertaking.  A few years ago, friends and I waited four hours before we could cross the Champlain bridge.  Montreal is an island.  We need a fast and secure train linking Montreal and Sherbrooke.  There are too many heavy trucks travelling on our highways, not to mention too many cars.

Four more bodies have been extricated from the débris and there will be more.

I wish all of you a good weekend.

four-girls-in-arsgardstrand-1903.jpg!Large

© Micheline Walker
July 13, 2013
WordPress
 
Fours Girls in Arsgardstrand,
Edvard Munch, 1903
(Photo credit: Wikipaintings)

“Edvard Munch (12 December 1863 – 23 January 1944) was a Norwegian Symbolist painter, printmaker, and an important forerunner of expressionistic art. His best-known composition, The Scream is one of the pieces in a series titled The Frieze of Life, in which Munch explored the themes of life, love, fear, death, and melancholy.”  (Edvard Munch, YouTube)

Related articles
  • A look at Tom Harding, the train driver at the heart of Lac Megantic disaster (o.canada.com)
  • Who is Tom Harding, engineer at centre of Lac Megantic train explosion? (globalnews.ca)
  • A portrait of the train driver at the heart of Lac-Megantic disaster (globalnews.ca)
  • Lac-Mégantic: a Devastated Community (michelinewalker.com)

Micheline's Blog

  • Print
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest

Like this:

Like Loading...

Lac-Mégantic: a Devastated Community

12 Friday Jul 2013

Posted by michelinewalker in Uncategorized

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

Canada, Lac-Mégantic Quebec, Maine Atlantic Railway, Montreal, Montreal Maine & Atlantic Railway, Pauline Marois, Quebec, Sherbrooke, The Globe and Mail

Lac Mégantic

web-megantic-harding11nw1

 
CBC News: Lac Mégantic Explosion: a video of the tragedy
CBC News: Lac Mégantic, before and after
Globe and Mail: a terrified train conductor
Globe and Mail: these are the lost (Éliane Parenteau Bélanger, a grandmother, has been identified.)
Globe and Mail: latest
Globe and Mail: residents of Lac-Mégantic hurled insults at Edward Burkhardt, the chairman of Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway
CTV News: Train Derailment Sparks Explosions in Quebec
See Related Articles: at the bottom of this post
 

Dear Readers,

It has been a difficult week.  As you know, I no longer have a complete WordPress.  I’m being helped but, until now, unsuccessfully.  Fortunately, my fingers know where to go.

Quebec’s Lac-Mégantic Tragedy

On July 6th, a train transporting crude oil derailed and exploded devastating a little town of 6,000 inhabitants: Lac-Mégantic.  Nearly every family in town lost a loved-one.  One body, that of Éliane Parenteau Bélanger, a grandmother, has been identified. DNA samples are required because the bodies of the victims are charred and cannot otherwise be identified.  Some bodies may never be found:  from ashes to ashes.

Newspapers have been covering the event extensively.  Every morning, the front page of my humble Tribune, Sherbrooke’s newspaper, has shown apocalyptic scenes.  In fact, the bulk of the newspaper, six pages this morning, is a chronicle of the tragedy.  Today it featured the worst: grief.  The front page showed people hugging one another.  I was about to write “ordinary people,” but that would be inappropriate.  No one is “ordinary.”

Canada‘s Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, was on the scene shortly after the tragedy.  It helped.  As for Quebec Premier Pauline Marois, she was in Lac-Mégantic yesterday.   This also helped.  However, the very first persons to arrive in Lac-Mégantic were people carrying supplies: food, clothing, bedding.  At the moment, thirty-five psychologists and social workers are in Lac-Mégantic helping the survivors, some of whom had to be hospitalized.  They collapsed.

Imagine the conductor, Mr Tom Harding.   He was spending the night in Lac-Mégantic and was awakened by an explosion.  Ironically, the noise he heard came from his train.  It had exploded.   Mr Harding had stopped the train for the night and left it on a hill.  It seems the brake failed.  Mr Harding has already been relieved of his duties by the Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway Company.  This could be too hasty and insensitive a decision on the part of the Company.  Mr Harding is among the victims of that tragedy.

Mr Edward Burkhardt, the Chairman of the Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway Company, has now travelled to Lac-Mégantic.  People have hurled insults at him. That was a rather ugly scene.

So far, the charred remains of twenty-four victims have been found, but individuals are still missing and a few persons who were presumed dead, are alive.  It would appear fifty persons died.

Logo

Logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

© Micheline Walker
July 12, 2013
WordPress 
 
 
 
Bach-Wood Lament
Sir Henry Wood (3 March 1869 – 19 August 1944)
conductor: Leonard Slatkin (b. 1944)
The BBC Symphony

Sir Henry Wood’s ‘Suite No. 6’ is a set of six Bach transcriptions, arranged from various sources, that includes this heartfelt ‘Lament.’  It is the ‘Adagio’ from Bach’s ‘Capriccio on the Departure of His Most Beloved Brother’ in B-flat major, BWV 992.  (YouTube video)

Related articles
  • Five confirmed dead, more than 40 missing after Quebec explosions – Globe and Mail (theglobeandmail.com)
  • Breakfast with the most hated man in Lac-Mégantic (macleans.ca)
  • Death toll climbs to 24 after Lac-Megantic mayor lashes out at railway exec Burkhardt (globalnews.ca)
  • Lac-Mégantic locals flesh out picture of a terrified train driver (theglobeandmail.com)

Micheline's Blog

  • Print
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest

Like this:

Like Loading...

Reading Quebec: Le Devoir

07 Thursday Feb 2013

Posted by michelinewalker in Canada

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Bill-14, Canada, Clarity Act, François Hollande, Jean Charest, La Classe, McGill University, Pierre Duchesne, Quebec, Sherbrooke

pierre-duchesne-preparant-le-sommet-sur-l-enseignement-superieur

Tuition Fees: Pierre Duchesne getting ready for the Summit (Garnotte 2013-02-05)

For pictures by cartoonist Garnotte, see Garnotte or http://www.ledevoir.com/galeries-photos/les-caricatures-de-garnotte/105537. 
During the 2012 student strike, a red square was worn by students and sympathizers.
(Photo credit: Le Devoir )
 
Carré rouge

Carré rouge

On Tuesday, 5 February 2013, I bought a copy of Le Devoir, Quebec‘ s finest French-language newspaper. As you can see above, the cartoonist, Garnotte, sat Pierre Duchesne, Ministre de l’Enseignement supérieur, de la Recherche, de la Science et de la Technologie (depuis 2012),[i] under a big red block, ready to fall on his head.

  • L’Association pour une solidarité syndicale étudiante (ASSÉ), the core association of La Classe: La Coalition Large ASSE) is ready to go on strike. (La Classe).
  • The business community has refused to pay a tax that would help keep tuition fees as they have been: the lowest in the country.

Jean Charest in France

Former Premier Jean Charest (born 1958) was in France meeting with President François Hollande (born 1954). According to the 5 February 2013 issue of Le Devoir, no one knew what they were discussing, but we were told yesterday, 6 February 2013) that they were discussing business. Monsieur Charest, a veteran politician and the former Premier of Quebec, was not reelected in his own riding: Sherbrooke, Quebec.

Président Holland and Jean Charest, former Premier of Quebec, at l'Elizée

French President François Hollande and Jean Charest, former Premier of Quebec, at l’Élizée (Photo credit: Martin Bureau, Agence France-Presse)

McGill outgoing President on the forthcoming Summit on Education, etc

And, this morning, I am reading that the outgoing President of McGill University, in Montreal, Madame Heather Munroe-Blum, thought that  “contrairement à certains libéraux, elle ne croit [believe] pas que la hausse [rise] proposée par le gouvernement Charest était exagérée.”

  • Madame Heather Munroe-Blum pointed out that, “contrary to certain liberals, she does not believe that the raise proposed by Monsieur Charest’s government [last spring] was too high (exagérée).” In fact, “[i]t wasn’t high enough. « À mon avis, ce n’était pas assez fort », a-t-elle indiqué.” (See Le Devoir.)
  • Madame Heather Munroe-Blum also stated that the Summit on Higher Education was a “une farce,” a joke. (See Le Devoir.)
  • She also mentioned that “[i]n Sherbrooke, we had a Senegalese academic who compared our education system to that of Senegal, twenty years ago.  What do you think of that?). « À Sherbrooke, on a eu un universitaire sénégalais qui a comparé notre système d’enseignement avec le système sénégalais d’il y a vingt ans. Que penser de ça ? »  (il y a = ago) (See Le Devoir.)

There are fewer full-time university teachers in Quebec than outside Quebec.  In Quebec universities, numerous teachers are hired on a part-time basis and must travel between two or three universities to make a meagre living.  Moreover, concessions are made for students who are first generation university students.

Bill 14

I am also sending you an article on Bill-14.  It would transform bilingual communities into unilingual communities, if the English-speaking population drops to below 40% of the total population. (See CTV News.)  Quebec wishes to protect the French language, (as does Canada), but there may be friendlier and more effective ways of doing so than the current attempts to marginalize its English-speaking population.  What about French-speaking Canadians living outside Quebec?

Working Group on Healthcare or the Council of the Federation: Quebec walks out

In yesterday’s Devoir, I also read that Quebec had left a Working Group on Health Care. (See The Globe and Mail.)

The Estates General on Quebec Sovereignty

États généraux sur la souveraineté
Pauline Marois on les États généraux sur la souveraineté

Moreover, the Estates General on Quebec Sovereignty (CTV News) has found that the Federal government blocks Quebec in 92 ways. (See Le Devoir.)

France’s Position on the Question of Quebec Sovereignty

Here is another useful link regarding France’s position with respect to Quebec’s sovereignty. (See The Huffington Post.)

For more information on most of the above, see The Montreal Gazette or The Montreal Gazette (front page, click on tab above the picture.)

Conclusion

I am posting this article because English-speaking Canadians often wonder what Quebecers want? I do not think I can provide an answer to this question.

Reflecting on the possible repercussions of sovereignty for Quebec seems a good idea. There has to be a bona fide (in good faith) assessment of gains and losses should Quebec leave confederation. Indépendantistes must consider the consequences of secession, or a form thereof. Truth be told, it would be in the interest of the rest of Canada to define its position should Quebec chose not to remain within the current confederation. Will the rest of Canada be tolerant or will we face disorder?

However, Quebec has not seceded and Québécois may well decide to remain a province of Canada.  First Minister Alex Salmond of Scotland has secured an agreement with the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom regarding a referendum. But the people of Quebec have not said yes and under the terms of the Clarity Act (popular in Quebec [See The Globe and Mail.]), passed in the year 2000, independence cannot be a unilateral decision.

“The legislation says secession can occur only through constitutional reform, not a simple vote. It also puts restrictions on the question that can be asked in a referendum and how large a majority is required for a Yes vote.” (See Paul Waldie, The Globe and Mail.)

Much of the above confuses me.

  • Madame Marois is an indépendantiste, but to what extent?
  • A degree of sovereignty has been achieved in Quebec. Why and how?
  • Does Quebec have a mandate to create a government within a government?
  • To what extent can Quebec legislate unilingualism (Bill-14), or has something happened I do not know about?
  • Quebec has not signed the Patriated Constitution (1982)? Why and what does this mean?
  • Do I notice a degree of entitlement on the part of Quebec students not to mention groups (Health Care) in its government?
  • The Clarity Act (Bill C-20)…
 
© Micheline Walker
7 February 2013
WordPress
_________________________

[i] Monsieur Duchesne is the Quebec Government’s Minister of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology.

composer: Edvard Grieg (15 June 1843 – 4 September 1907)
“Peer Gynt Suite Nr. 1 op. 46 – Ases Tod”
artist: Marc-Aurèle Fortin (March 14, 1888 – March 2, 1970)
 
Maison à Sainte-Rose, by Marc-Aurèle Fortin, 1928 (Photo credit: Galerie Valentin

Maison à Sainte-Rose, by Marc-Aurèle Fortin, 1928 (Photo credit: Galerie Jean-Pierre Valentin)

Related articles
  • Madame Marois’ Scottish Agenda (michelinewalker.com)
  • Quebec, meet your neighbour Ontario (theglobeandmail.com)
  • Thoughts on secession (macleans.ca)

Micheline's Blog

  • Print
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest

Like this:

Like Loading...

Now that spring is here…

06 Sunday May 2012

Posted by michelinewalker in Art

≈ 17 Comments

Tags

Arts, Canada, fantasy, Micheline Walker, Mozart, Sherbrooke

Micheline Walker: Fantasy

It’s a spring day in Sherbrooke.  Such days do not last.  So I thought I would celebrate by sending all of you a photograph of one of my little drawings: pure fantasy.  For the first time, I let the camera do part of the work, except that it wasn’t work.  

Please accept this token of my appreciation for your lovely blogs and for the kind messages I receive from you.  I enjoy this exchange.  

This little drawing is, again, pure fantasy.

So let us savour the moment and laugh a little.

 

Mozart: Cosi fan Tutte, Soave sia il vento
 
Micheline Walker©
May 6, 2012
 

WordPress

 

 

 

 

0.000000 0.000000

Micheline's Blog

  • Print
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest

Like this:

Like Loading...

Europa

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 2,469 other followers

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.com

Categories

Recent Posts

  • The Decline of Kievan Rus’
  • Ilya Repin, Ivan IV and his son Ivan on 16 November 1581, Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow
  • Ukraine’s Varangian Princes, its Primary Chronicle, the Russkaya Pravda …
  • Bohdan Khmelnytsky, a Cossack Hetman
  • Ruthenia vs Ukraine
  • Ukraine: … a Genocide?
  • A Brief Disappearance
  • Ukraine: the Battle of Poltava
  • The War in Ukraine: la petite Russie
  • The Art and Music of Russia

Archives

Calendar

May 2022
M T W T F S S
 1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
3031  
« Apr    

Social

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • WordPress.org

micheline.walker@videotron.ca

Micheline Walker

Micheline Walker

Social

Social

  • View belaud44’s profile on Facebook
  • View Follow @mouchette_02’s profile on Twitter
  • View Micheline Walker’s profile on LinkedIn
  • View belaud44’s profile on YouTube
  • View Miicheline Walker’s profile on Google+
  • View michelinewalker’s profile on WordPress.org

Micheline Walker

Micheline Walker
Follow Micheline's Blog on WordPress.com

A WordPress.com Website.

  • Follow Following
    • Micheline's Blog
    • Join 2,469 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Micheline's Blog
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: