CAN THIS WOMAN NOT MAKE A STATEMENT WITHOUT BEING DIVISIVE !!! Yesterday's incident was about SECURITY - not CULTURE ... and a similiar action was in fact taken at a courthouse in Alberta...
There was no basis to refer to the rest of 'multi-cultural Canada' in this context - none - it was a gratuitous slam - in fact Alberta has the same security ban in their courts - so not only is she a sensationalist - she is wrong ... she is NOT leadership material.
I expect to live in a secular society - my point is that those people were not allowed into the National Assembly as a matter of security - not as a cultural issue - but Mme Marois cannot stop deliberatley confusing the two issues, hoping to ignite the passions of the less-informed, promoting unwarranted 'fear' among francophone Quebeckers, her 'little people' as she calls them, and to be as divisive and intolerant as possible while doing it.
The 'values' in Quebec, that Mme. Marois beleives are constantly under attack, are in fact neither 'threatened' or in any provocative. Who can argue with wanting a 'secular' society : seperation of church and state in public and common areas; equality between men and women - hard to believe that one even has to be specified in 2011 and the last : french is the common language - the official language : again understandable in a society where the historical and current environment if french, in a country that has a bilingual heritage. As a Canadian, I've always been proud of the fact that we have that distinction. It sets us apart. I've never met a single person who has visited Quebec and not come away thoroughly impressed and enriched for having had the experience. We don't want 'radical foreign elements' to disturb our culture ... does anyone. We do want to share our culture and welcome anyone and everyone who comes here to celebrate and live it with us.
But that is NOT the impression given to the ROC. We get an angry Gilles Duceppe in Ottawa, constantly playing 'the misunderstood victim' and we get 'Mme. Marois constantly trying to incite civil war ... adn we get Amir Khadir using his position as an MNA to harass a citizen merchant in Montreal who happens to sell shoes made in Israel and we get Jean Charest, arrogant and insulted at the same time over allegations of corruption. Mr. deltell of the ADQ is still a work in progress and we hold out much hope that his will be a style of governance that will in fact reflect the people he represents.
The 'stereotype' the Nation of Quebec is stuck with, in great part due to the irresponsible behaviour of self-serving, publicity-seeking, politicians and their media pundits, is very deceptive. These are not the reasonnable, informed people I engage with everyday. Not by a long shot. The press calls the emergence of a political movement wanting to restore individual rights, personal responsibility and autonomy to the people of Quebec - a move to the EXTREME RIGHT. ANY shift away from the bloated, statist, radical, intolerant, authoratative, incompetence of the traditional political options in Quebec, would have to be a move to the right if we are to have anything resembling common sense, realistic solutions and much needed reform.
Politicians follow public opinion. Fortunately people here are demanding a higher standard of governance. You may not hear about it in the press - the media does not tend to reflect the opinions of 'ordinary people'. But there are alot of very engaged, informed free-thinking people that want their nation back and their elected officials held accountable.
Join the real dialogue in one of our inclusive forums online ... for instance Réseau Liberté Québec on Facebook... ... meet the real people, sometimes very passionate but always welcomingpeople, of Québec and show your support for their cause ... our cause ... to reasonable, responsible, respectful governance.
