I love Canadian politics.

[theweaselking]

The Quebec Provincial Separatist Party is complaining that Canada sent OUR HEAD OF STATE to represent the country in France, at the ceremonies commemorating the 400th anniversary of the founding of Quebec, instead of somebody "important" like Quebec Premier Jean Charest or Provincial Separatist Party leader and professional bigot Pauline Marois.

(Marois' sole job, at the moment, being "First Whiner" of the provincial government. She's not even part of the government, she simply leads the Ineffectual Opposition.)

The National Separatist party is further complaining that Her Excellency, while in France, mentioned that there are native French speakers who don't live in Quebec.

EDIT: Wow, I managed to conflate Gilles Duceppe and Pauline Marois, AND confuse Stephane Dion for Jean Charest, in, like, two sentences. That's a low point, even for me. Fixed!

Comments

[aimisdirty.livejournal.com]

Figures.

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

I love the fact that we can always rely on the Parti Quebecois to bring the country together, regardless of their other political disagreements.

[neobitch.livejournal.com]

That's just crazy talk. Everyone knows the second you try to speak French outside of Quebec's borders, you're surrounded by an angry mob of Anglophones and beaten to within an inch of your life.

NOT ALLOWED! NOT ALLOWED!

[kadath.livejournal.com]

They're further complaining that Her Excellency, while in France, mentioned that there are native French speakers who don't live in Quebec.

My mother, for example, lives in the United States.

Don't tell Parti Quebecois.

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

In their defense, as much as it's worth, their complaint is that she mentioned native French Canadians outside Quebec. They weren't actually complaining that she mentioned the French, or the Haitians, or the Algerians, or the Cajuns, or any other non-Canadian groups of native French speakers.

[kadath.livejournal.com]

Mom's a native French Canadian. ;)

[jerril]

Pardon my bitterness and suspicion, but I do wonder how much of his objection to Her Excellency is due to her not being a "pure laine" Quebequois. . . and instead being a black Hatian.

[ironphoenix.livejournal.com]

Dion, not Duceppe, is the current Leader of the Opposition.

This doesn't, however, change the fact that Duceppe is a dingleberry.

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

But unless I'm deeply mistaken about her current location, she's not both
A) in Canada and
B) outside Quebec.

If I am mistaken, then, well, yes, the PQ are pissed that Her Excellency mentioned your mother's existence.

[kadath.livejournal.com]

New Hampshire, Canada...basically not a lot of difference. ;P

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

Dion leads the opposition in The Real Government.

But I was confusing Gilles Duceppe with Pauline Marois and Stephane Dion with Jean Charest. So I fucked up pretty much ALL of my names, there.

[cmseward.livejournal.com]

I will admit that I am seriously a cynic when it comes to our separatist friends in la belle province. My unpopular view is that a group of people who were conquered in 1763 should be happy we let them speak French at all anymore.

[cmseward.livejournal.com]

Also, I love the fact that Nicolas Sarkozy has since mentioned that the separatists need to knock that shit off right now, too.

[sparkindarkness.livejournal.com]

It;s quiote amazing that no matter what happens there will always be someone to bitch about it

(Though this is despite me knowing a very nice French Candaian who always argued FOR the parti quebecois despite not agreeing with seperatism. We always argued in French for the bemusement of our friends and so she could complain about the "overly precise and formal" French that I spoke)

[aimisdirty.livejournal.com]

It's a wonderful thing, really. Their desire to separate unites everyone else.

[glitteringlynx.livejournal.com]

It's the one thing that stays the same in Canada, no matter how much time goes by.

[glitteringlynx.livejournal.com]

They'd probably not like you anyway. The Quebecois seem to hate anyone who leaves Quebec for an English area. :/ My boyfriend met a guy in college who gets treated badly if he returns to Quebec b/c, while he was born and raised there, he and his family left.

It's messed. :/

[glitteringlynx.livejournal.com]

Actually it's just because she's not Quebecois, (and doesn't support the notion of Quebec separating into its own country). The Separatists do not consider themselves part of Canada, only part of Quebec.

[glitteringlynx.livejournal.com]

They should be happy they were allowed to keep their religion, their laws, their language, and their lifestyle. It was the first (and possibly only) time in history that the Brits took over a colony and allowed the natives (to that region/area/whatever) to continue as usual.

[glitteringlynx.livejournal.com]

BTW, don't take my post the wrong way.. I'm agreeing with you. :)

[glitteringlynx.livejournal.com]

Like I said elsewhere, it's actually more to the point that she's not Quebecois. The Separatist party consider themselves part of Quebec, NOT part of Canada. We've had two referendums to see if Quebec should separate and be its own country and each time they were voted down. I think we've finally hit a time when less than half of hte people in Quebec still desire to separate (I believe it started in the 60s or 70s), so hopefully the notion will go away with time.

[kadath.livejournal.com]

I'm first-generation American on Mom's side, and when I visit the Old Country*, people I talk to seem to think it's not my fault I wasn't born in Quebec, and I get encouraged to move "home." Which is kind of sweet, but also really creepy.

* ;P

[jagash.livejournal.com]

Aye, just that Acadians. *raises hand with a faint grumbling annoyance at Marois).

[jagash.livejournal.com]

*We Acadians, not "that".

[cmseward.livejournal.com]

I wonder sometimes how much of it was just the distance from the homeland, and the thought that "We have been fighting you French for so long, can we just stop already? If we let you keep speaking French here, will you just play nice?"

(FWIW, I think it was a good idea, culturally, to let the Quebecois keep their language and culture, I just wish they would realize it did not have to happen like that and smarten up.)

[cmseward.livejournal.com]

I got that, but thanks for the preemptive clarification. :)

[glitteringlynx.livejournal.com]

I just often get reactions of hostility when I say things that I meant to be helpful. LOL It must be the way I structure sentences or something.

[glitteringlynx.livejournal.com]

Yeah, both the British and French colonists were far away from both homelands so.. if they let the French keep their ways, who needs to know? At least, not immediately. ;) That way they can just claim they took it over and hope no one asks too many questions.

I think what the Brits did was also fabulous.. and I think Quebec takes that for granted. :/