Anglophone ire

[RE: “Anglo militancy,” Letters, May 8] In his letter, Julien Vallée states, “If I was a unilingual francophone activist making the same kind of demands in Toronto...I’d be an idiot.”

Mr. Vallée ignores a simple, basic truth: according to Statistics Canada, the Quebec anglophone population has the highest rate of bilingualism in Canada. Ergo, when employers discriminate against us, it is not because we are unilingual. It is because we are les maudits anglais. 

Robert Bourassa himself said that here in Quebec our “fundamental liberties” have been suspended. Demographics have proven that French is under no real threat in Quebec, the Bouchard-Taylor commission has proven that bigotry is practically a cottage industry in this province, and the upswing of racist and militant groups like Impératif Français and Mouvement Montréal Français, Jeunes Patriotes du Québec etc., continue to prove that it is the anglophone community, our culture, our history and our heritage in Quebec that is under threat.

Anglo rights activists in Quebec aren’t fighting for unilingual anglo rights; we are fighting for the restoration of our full and equal rights as Canadian citizens, as residents (as we are certainly not considered to be among the Quebecois) of Quebec and as taxpayers. 

We are fighting for our rights, for our dignity and for respect.

>> Steve Karmazenuk

In response to the franco-fâché take on the film Angryphone demanding equal rights, the writer first needs to know the facts before silly assumptions can be made.

First, greater Toronto has a French minority population of 51,000. In comparison, the English-speaking minority in greater Montreal is 778,000. Comparing the two cities’ minority groups is like comparing apples to vacuum cleaners.

As well, Toronto is a designated provincial bilingual area, whereas Montreal is unilingual French. Look it up on the Office of Francophone affairs on the Ontario government Web site.

Last, this film is not about unilingual English-speaking Quebecers demanding jobs without merit based on quota systems. This movie is about the struggle for Canada in Quebec. It’s about English, French and ethnic Canadians in the province of Quebec in the 1980–1990s who struggled for respect and equality.

You should watch the film before judging it.

>> Jimmy K., Angryphone producer

The Main fiasco

Much was said last fall about the gross incompetence of the St-Laurent “construction” disaster, and yet more should be said—especially in light of the outrageously irresponsible re-excavation by Gaz Métro. This city needs to examine the quality, competence and corruption of its planners, engineers and construction partners.

I live and work off the Main and it was disgusting to see how many times holes were dug, filled and dug again. The amount of waste—concrete, materials, gas, time etc.—was sickening, and the attention paid to pedestrian and car traffic safety was appalling. The disregard for tourism and disrespect for local merchants—many of whom didn’t survive—is just sad.

That it took over 18 months to do what could have been done in two points to some major shortcomings in both the intelligence and integrity of those responsible for managing and improving this fine city.

St-Laurent is one of Montreal’s two most important strips! Where’s the pride?! The proposed renaming of Parc Avenue, reworking Notre-Dame “boulevard,” replacing Griffintown with a strip mall, rebuilding Turcotte, ravaging St-Laurent—Montreal’s leadership is seriously slipping when it comes to championing a unique and progressive urban design.

I feel that these projects are collectively damaging a North American city that is different and that holds appeal with tourists, residents and businesses alike.

Who are the people running this city (I mean planners and engineers, not just the obvious politicians) and what are their qualifications? Who runs the involved construction outfits, how much are they making and why are they apparently so bad at what they’re contracted to do? (And, the white elephant in the room, is the mafia involved?)

Why, exactly, was St-Laurent destroyed as it was for so long these past couple of years? And what, if anything, is being done, or should be done, to stop this mess?

>> Stephanie Sade

A cut below

[Re: “The Finkelstein factor,” Letters, May 8] A letter writer compares Finkelstein to a profit (my spelling) of truth. Finkelstein wouldn’t recognize the truth if it were giving him a blowjob. He is assuredly an Israeli hater and, possibly, one of those self-hating types.

Two possibilities. He is either circumcised, like most Jewish males, or not. If so, I think the mohel who did him discarded the better piece. If not, that might explain where his thinking comes from. There are far better critics of Israel than he.

>> Ken Frankel

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