Félicitations!

As a franco-ontarian and a proud Canadian, I can't love the Bloc Québécois. I just can't.

But I can love Gilles Duceppe and individual MPs from their party. And I do love Duceppe. I really do.

I met him in the context of abortion rights and dude knew his stuff. He admitted to being the first Bloc representative for Status of Women because, by his own admission, the Bloc started off with a crappy record on female representation in the party. He also called on his party to refer to the 'pro-life' movement as 'anti-choicers'. Dude was for real.

He is an also an impeccable dresser. FYI.

So I want to join in on those who are wishing Mr. Duceppe congratulations on 20 years as an MP. As one Globe and Mail comment states, love him or hate him, the other parties would do much better if they had a leader like Duceppe running the show.

Félicitations M. Duceppe!

"Vancouver Games Quickly Turn Sour for Quebec"

Well, that headline SHOULD read “Quickly Turn Sour for French-Canadians” because the argument is that the opening ceremonies and the overall 2010 Olympics are predominantly English.

Fair statement, in my opinion.

Not fair? Constantly equating French Canada with Quebec. These are not synonymous.

And when I say this, I’m not only pointing the finger at the Square Heads of Canada, but at Quebecers, too! In fact, La Belle Province is the absolute worst for this, which doesn’t really help their argument. If in arguing for the visibility of your identity, you must render another identity invisible, then your argument doesn’t really hold much water.

Apples Meet Oranges

Transcript from today's Question Period.

_______

Nicole Demers (Laval, QC, BQ): Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Minister responsible for Status of Women refused to denounce the unacceptable statements made by a Conservative MP who implied that abortions contribute to the development of breast cancer. Besides being wrong medically, this assertion is meant to make women feel guilty. We would expect that the minister would defend women and the right to abortion with vigour rather than saying things worthy of Sarah Palin. When will the minister stop protecting the dinosaurs in her party to the detriment of women's right?

Hon. Helena Guergis (Minister of State for Status of Women): --Very clearly in the house yesterday, this member is actually fully aware that there are elected members in this house who have said very similar things at different times. Members in this house represent their constituencies and they are free to have any opinion that they choose to. It does not mean it represents the government. But please let me highlight one of our most recent achievements to protect women across the country. Recently we revised our citizenship guide. I would like to recognize the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration for the great work he's done in specifically outlining that barbaric practices like female genital mutilation are not tolerated in Canada.

_________

This is ten levels of wrong.

So Many Stories, So Little Time

It’s been an incredibly interesting news day, today. So interesting that I could easily write 4-5 different posts. Instead, I’m going to do a round-up for you.

“Calgary Family Negotiates Homework Ban” – Headline pretty much says it best. A two child household was tired of spending hours on what they saw as “busy work” and so they negotiated with the school to only have them be marked on work they do in class. I think occasional homework is fine but only in high schools. Children need to be engaged in life and homelife in particular and so I say, go Calgary family!

“Better family planning could curb climate change: UN”- A new report by the UN Population Fund suggests making condoms and other family planning services more available will help combat global warming by reducing the world's population. Sex education around the world needs some serious, serious love (pun fully intended) and so whatever the reason, I say bring it on.

“Florida snowbirds take risks with HIV: study” - One more time with feeling, we need better sex education. A recent study has found Canadians age 50+ have skyrocketing rates of HIV, in particular those who vacation in Florida for the winter. The reason being that many of them go down to Florida and live the swinging single life, getting it on and being carefree without protection and thus end up with HIV. The rate of condom use for this age group is dismal. But part of the reason is that if you don’t get quality sex education when you’re young, you probably won’t get it all and yes, people over 50+ still get laid.

Add on that most people only use protection to avoid pregnancy and you’ve got menopausal womyn thinking “I don’t need protection now; I’m good to go!” They’re good alright; at getting the HIV.

And finally,

“McGill anti-abortion student group suspended” - Now, let the record state that I fully support an anti-choice organization's right to express their viewpoints. FULLY. However, in the case of McGill and other similar incidents, the anti-choice organizers were willfully spreading medical misinformation and postering campuses with graphic images in places where people had no choice but to see it. In McGill’s case, after many complaints from students, the McGill student association has suspended their official club status until they can reach some sort of resolution with the student council. Squashing freedom of expression? Not in my view.

The War on Womyn Continues

I was on a talk radio show recently about violence against womyn and the conversation quickly turned to why womyn stay in abusive relationships.

THIS is one of the reasons.

Womyn in abusive situations are stuck in a Catch-22. Stay in the relationship and continue to endure abuse and ostracism from others or leave the relationship and possibly have the abuse cease or leave the relationship and have the abuse escalate.

I've said this before and I will say it again: Statistically, a womyn's experiences of violence drastically increase AFTER they leave said relationship. Often, the violence results in murder.

In this latest case, the womyn had separated from her husband, attempted a restraining order and had called the police multiple times. And now, she's dead. According to CBC.ca, her murder is the third family homicide case in Quebec this year alone. Quebec is also currently in the midst of the trial for Ms. Michaud who appears to have been murdered by a neighbour. All this in only one province during one particular frame of time, in a country that apparently prides itself on democracy and keeping the peace.

My heart goes out to the children of Ms. Ghannoum and Ms. Michaud. What unspeakable tragedies.

Canada, Communists and Cry Babies

As a political junkie, I'm a tad overjoyed by the sudden interest in Canadian politics. The left (ie: The NDP and Liberals) are wanting to join together to overthrow the Conservative Minority. They have the numbers to do it apparently and the Bloc won't join but have given their written approval. So it all comes down to a confidence vote next Monday and a decision by the always-elegant Michaelle Jean.

And Canadians are abuzz. For or against, they are abuzz. And I'm digging it, I really am.

And I could go on and on about this coalition business but everyone else has, so I'm gonna shift the focus. I'm gonna shift the focus to where I think it should of seen a hell of a long time ago.

Some Canadians are bitching and complaining that "We elected people for a reason and a coup wasn't it". Well last I heard, I also elected adults and yet all I get is a bunch of whiny children.

Let me demonstrate.

First: We have the hyper paranoid Conservatives who recorded a "secret" NDP meeting where they talked about this infamous coup. Of course, the recordings are now being considered illegal because well.. they are but bossy boots Harper is marching all proud that he really stuck it to 'em. Sure Bud, whatever you say.

Second: The Conservatives have begun referring to the "Left" as "power hungry", which you know.. is hilarious because it's Harper. Like, I squash-civil-liberties-for-breakfast Harper.

Third: The Conservatives are also referring to the "Left" as "communists" and "seperatists". How very 1950s of you, sir.

Especially since, as the Fourth example demonstrates, it's rather ironic that Harper played himself out as the Quebecor Prime Minister who recognized Quebec as a "Nation" and now that they're not getting along, he's throwing that old school label at them. Fancy.

Fifth: Well Harper flat out outdid himself today. This one really makes me happy. Not only did he call this new Coalition the "Alliance of communists and seperatists", he also made a comment about they are so anti-Canada that they were photographed signing this agreement without any Canadian flags in the background. Which you know, is pretty fucking immature and very "well...well.... I know you are but what am I?" to begin with. But then add on the fact that there were actually two Canadian flags in the background and you've just made my day.

Stay classy, Canada. Stay classy.

Instead of focusing on whether or not parties have a right to form this damn coalition, I think we should be questionning some people's ability to even be an MP in the first place. Most of the behaviour these people demonstrate isn't even acceptable for kindergarten kids.

I think it's time we learn to play together in the sandbox.

Ladyfolks and the Canadian Election

So as the Canadian election day gets closer, one can draw some serious patterns of this campaign.

1- Attack ads are all the rage with the Cons. Paging Stephen Harper: A little creativity never hurt. Ask Jack Layton.

2- Every party seems to have an obsession with the image of Stephane Dion shrugging.

3- The only mention of womyn is... wait...there's been mention of womyn?!

There is a complete and total absence of ladyfolk in this current election campaign. There are only a few days left and so I highly doubt we're going to be inundated with a load of womyn-friendly mention and discussion. Sadly I think it's safe to say that womyn have been completely written off the election.

Case and Point: During the French language debate, the word woman-women-girls-female was not mentioned once.

During the English language debate, at 9:19pm Jack Layton spoke of how lack of employment and poverty affects all sectors of Canadian society, specifically womyn. I nearly wet myself I was so excited. THEN at 10:57pm, a whopping 3 mins before the end of the debate, Stephane Dion mentions briefly that his party has put a universal day care plan into their platform.

Now don't get me wrong, I was impressed with some other things that didn't specifically discuss womyn. Layton went on a rant at one point about the plight of Aboriginal peoples in this country and went beyond tired metaphors to bring up real issues like crowded housing, high rates of incarceration and boil water advisories. That was mighty impressive.

And the zinger of the debates, in my opinion, went to Gilles Duceppe in the English debates when he said "You know what's really shocking? The only party that's pushing for a by-Canada plan for the manufacturing sector is the Bloc Quebecois!"

Oooooh the irony.

But beside the occasional mention in debates, there was a whole lotta nothing going on for womyn's issues during the election. Womyn were mentioned briefly at the beginning of the election campaign but only in the form of Harper repeating that "He will not re-open the abortion debate". Wooo.

So as we head to the polls on October 14th, try to think special thoughts about Canada's ladyfolk. Because if you don't, nobody will.

Who is Afraid of Elizabeth May?

I'll tell you who. It's three old white dudes from Canada.

Elizabeth May is the leader of The Green Party; a once marginal party that now has a seat in Parliament. You can thank the green agenda in general for that I’m sure. People are paying attention to environmental issues and the result is the Green Party slowly coming up the ranks.

So last election, May fought to be included in the televised debates. The televised debates are a big deal (well, as big of a deal as can be in a country with a shitty voter turnout, but I digress). But last time around, May was denied on the basis of the fact that she had no seats in Parliament. A slippery slope, they said. Let her debate then you’ll have to include the Marijuana Party, The Rhinoceros Party and every other fringe party out there. Makes sense.

This time, however, ole May’s got herself a seat in Parliament. But that ain’t good enough for three white dudes called Harper, Layton, and Duceppe. They fought her inclusion tooth and nail. They had different excuses, including the idea that May had talked to Dion and decided not to run a member in whichever riding he had. Basically a tag team against Harper. Whether or not that was true, we will never know. Either way, May fired back with the allegation that Harper and Layton said behind closed doors that if May was included, they were boycotting the debates.

Well now it seems that Harper and Layton are “willing” to include May in the debates. Thanks for your fucking generosity, boys.

It’s clear that they really don’t want her there. Why is that? Do they think that their overall dismal environmental records have steered voters to the Green bill? Are they worried that she’ll slam dunk them in the debate? Or do they think she’s just that pesky student in the corner who constantly waves her hand in the air, asking for their attention? Who knows.

But this is what I do know.

I think that not including May in the debates and then threatening to back out if she does join is a slap in the face to democracy. The democratic process is about letting people have their say and letting voters decide what they want. People want to know their options and as far as I’m concerned, leaders should have to attend these things. Question period is a joke and it isn’t until the leaders are on full display in a televised debate do real arguments come forward.

And lastly, how is it a big deal to let Elizabeth May debate but its kosher beans that the Bloc is there and have been since the beginning? They don’t even run any candidates outside of Quebec.

Let’s be real here. If anyone is running a fringe party, it’s Gilles Duceppe. (And this man is an ardent feminist, so it pains me to say this because I love the guy. But let's cut the bullshit).

Oh and as someone who bleeds orange, I’m disgusted with you Layton. Seriously, dude. Get with it. This whole debacle has you looking as childish as Harper and there’s nothing creepier than a kid with a mustache.

BREAKING NEWS!

The Quebec Cabinet is quite possibly revoking their 21 year ban on yellow margarine. Woo!

Quebec still doesn't like the mocking of poutine, the spread of bilingualism, or reasonable accomodation, but they are now down with butter-looking-margarine.

Soon, we will hear Quebecors all across La Belle Province exclaiming "I can't believe it's not butter!"*

* Oh yeah, I went there.

"Et le but!"

I'm French and I'm Canadian so I kinda have no choice but to be a Montreal Canadiens fan. It's in my blood. But being straight up CRAZY is not exactly my style.

The Habs won the first round of the NHL playoffs. They were victorious. And so what do they do? They freakin' riot. I'm talking Seattle 1999 crazyness. And not against Boston or even in Boston. No no. In Montreal. Burning cop cars, chuckin' bricks, lootin', the whole bit. It was a shit show.

And did I mention that they won? If the Habs end up losing in round two, they'll have to reinstate the War Measures Act.

C'mon hockey fans: Think of our reputation. Canadians are supposed to be nice and hockey loving, not drunk and dangerous jackasses.

In all seriousness, I echo the sentiments of a Montreal businessman that this is pretty embarassing. Get your shit together, kids. You're messing with my heritage.

The true cost of living

I love this country. I love this country for many, many reasons. But (oh and you knew it was coming...) this country of mine has some got a whole lot of dead skeletons in the closet and far too much dirt under the rug. Example of this?

Asbestos.

What is asbestos? According to the knower of all things wordy : Merriam Webster, asbestos is:

any of several minerals (as chrysotile) that readily separate into long flexible fibers, that cause asbestosis and have been implicated as causes of certain cancers, and that have beenused especially formerly as fireproof insulating materials.

Asbestos has been found to be incredibly toxic, as Mr. Webster points out. The problem with it is that it takes many years before symptoms of asbestos exposure are felt/seen. But nonetheless, the cancer causing asbestos has been exposed in Canada for many years and has been removed from plenty of schools, with strict regulations regarding exposure and so-called “free flowing particles”. Health Canada has dedicated an entire website to the stuff.

However Canada has been sending asbestos off to “Third World” countries for years, because apparently there lives are of no importance. Now don’t get me wrong. This is horrible. Totally horrible. But it’s not just horrible at the other end of the world. How do you think we get this stuff to send to other places?

We mine it here, particularly in Quebec.

“"The findings of the air, soil and dust samples lead us to conclude that the residential environment in areas near Thetford Mines are severely contaminated by asbestos," the report concluded.”

The report concluded that the people of this community of 26,000 are at an elevated risk of developing asbestos related diseases. Diseases like you know… cancer. Shit like that. You know… the stuff that kills you.

The situation is complicated however because this is a small, resource based community. Many of the community members were actually opposed to having the levels of asbestos in their homes measured. They were opposed to speaking to the researchers. Because their situation, like mining families in Sudbury, fishery families in the Maritimes is precarious and they can’t afford to bite the hand that feeds, so to speak.

So what do we do?

Asbestos causes cancer in those who mine it, those who live around it and those who have it in their homes. But people need jobs and people need insulation and both of these groups of people have been put in situations where asbestos related diseases are the lesser of two evils.

We need to call in Erin Brockovich. She’d set this whole thing straight.

&*@# Weather vane!

As a powernerd extraordinaire, I love nothing more than to watch Question Period. You know, those few hours in the middle of the afternoon when a bunch of grown men (and let's face it, womyn only represent 21% of Parliament) yell at each other across a room and pound on their desks like imbeciles. The truth is, I love to watch it for the content because I'm a politics buff (Shocking, I know) but the immaturity grates on my nerves.

These are grown adults who are democratically elected to represent US. I don't know about you, but when I disagree with someone, I don't pound on a table while yelling "SHAME"! But hey, maybe that's just me.

The maturity level is so low in Quebec, for instance, that certain words have been banned from question period. Classy words such as "pig", "buffoon" and "liar" apparently, but I doubt that last one is enforced because sometimes, you just call a spade a spade. Now when grown men need to be legally sanctionned not to call another grown man a pig, there's a problem. But that's not the problem that politicians in Quebec are currently upset about. No no. Politicians in Quebec are upset about weather vanes.

That's right. Weather vanes.

It seems the Liberal premier of Quebec has referred to ADQ leader Mario Dumont as a "weather vane" or "girouette" in French. Reason? The guy is about as consistent as the weather. Clever? I thought so. Hey, this is the same party that refers to the economic development minister as "Good Time Charlie" because of his too-good-to-be-true outlook. But apparently, Quebec legislature president Michel Bissonnet isn't down with their sense of humour.

So what are they doing? Instead of concentrating on where Canada stands in Iraq, our killing of Mother Nature, the rise of fundamentalism in Quebec, racism, world peace, etc the Quebec legislature has just banned the word weather vane from Question Period. But no worries, it's only banned from Question Period. So he can still call him that in interviews or on the street.

That's right ladies and gentlemen of Quebec. Your hard earned tax dollars are being spent on disciplining a bunch of immature old dudes who use meteorological terms inappropriately.

A slap on the wrist for you Mr. Charest and an Oh SNAP from me.


P.S As I've said before, sometimes these people make it too easy for me...