tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90358012204672465392024-02-20T08:29:43.132-05:00Chronicles of a Pure LaineA Québécois Pure Laine reaching out to Anglos and AllophonesMichel Bolduchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07301737603817812981noreply@blogger.comBlogger170125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9035801220467246539.post-9803532306735570822016-12-26T10:02:00.002-05:002016-12-26T14:40:45.720-05:00Je m'excuseEditor's note: this post is an excerpt of a memoir written by Jonathan Kay, editor-in-chief of The Walrus. Click here to read his complete and touching testimony.
To be an Anglo in Quebec during the 1980s was to be born into a multiply nested counterculture. I was a Jew within the Anglo community, an Anglo within Quebec, a Quebecer within English-speaking Canada, and a Canadian within an Michel Bolduchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07301737603817812981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9035801220467246539.post-12477129720665235982016-03-22T19:09:00.000-04:002016-03-22T19:21:34.107-04:00Terry DiMonte: Mister MontréalEditor's note: this post is a translation of an interview with Terry DiMonte, conducted by Marc Cassivi, author of the book Mauvaise langue and columnist at La Presse. Click here to read the original French text.
Terry DiMonte has been hosting the morning show at CHOM-FM since 1984, with a four-year hiatus in Calgary and a few years in competing Montréal stations. The man is from Verdun, born Michel Bolduchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07301737603817812981noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9035801220467246539.post-24040755313211340282014-04-12T19:42:00.003-04:002014-04-13T18:58:12.952-04:00What I would tell an immigrantEditor's note: this post is a translation of an opinion piece written by Boucar Diouf, a stand-up comic, raconteur, biologist and TV host. Click here to read the original French text.
Before leaving Sénégal for Québec in 1991, I was told about culture shock, temperature, freedom, openness, humor and many other aspects of the identity and culture of its people. But nobody told me Michel Bolduchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07301737603817812981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9035801220467246539.post-7439356810298768512014-04-06T17:10:00.001-04:002014-04-10T19:08:25.420-04:00A bird in the handI work in a completely bilingual environment. Anglos and Francos working together speaking whichever of the two languages feels the most comfortable or is best suited for the occasion. Truly a great working experience.
I was having a casual conversation on the current Québec elections with one of my Anglo colleagues this week. He was whining about the general state of political instability the Michel Bolduchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07301737603817812981noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9035801220467246539.post-10070050428412576672014-02-09T10:35:00.001-05:002014-02-09T14:47:26.476-05:00Charter of Values and Québec criticismEditor's note: this post was submitted by Jared Milne.
The debate over Québec's secular Charter of Values has been a heated one. The proposed Charter would restrict public servants from wearing conspicuous religious items such as burqas and niqabs, which many critics say infringes on the rights and freedoms of religious minorities in Québec. Quebecers who support the Charter, in turn, have been Michel Bolduchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07301737603817812981noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9035801220467246539.post-58894535032216687522013-02-24T09:29:00.002-05:002014-04-06T17:02:48.568-04:00Bill 101 and the English pressDid you hear about the pastagate? A Montréal restaurateur wants to give an exotic experience to his clientèle and uses Italian in his menu. A government representative working for the Office québécois de la langue française sees it as an offense against the state and issues a warning. The PQ government denounces the public servant's gesture, deeming it overzealous, and calls off the warning. End Michel Bolduchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07301737603817812981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9035801220467246539.post-57392508852232512732013-01-13T09:12:00.001-05:002013-01-13T09:12:36.747-05:00Foods to eat in QuébecQuébec is renown for its culinary specificity. In a recent edition, the National Geographic lists the top ten foods to eat in the province:
Poutine
Bagels in Montréal
Tire sur la Neige in Montérégie and Laurentians
Cheese in Eastern Townships
Shish Taouk in Montreal
Smoked Meat Sandwich in Montreal
Tourtière in Quebec City
Couscous in Montreal
Haitian Tassot in Montreal
Lamb in Charlevoix
It'sMichel Bolduchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07301737603817812981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9035801220467246539.post-12281205617368318882012-12-05T22:01:00.002-05:002012-12-05T22:01:55.332-05:00Québec nationalists reaching outSovereigntists never took good care of their image outside the French speaking world. Wait... there's one word too many... allow me to rephrase. Sovereigntists never took care of their image outside the French speaking world. I always thought they needed to build bridges (click here for more on the topic) and letting others do what they want with your publicity is definitely not a good way to Michel Bolduchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07301737603817812981noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9035801220467246539.post-58099653837925227262012-12-02T12:17:00.000-05:002012-12-07T18:06:46.731-05:00The Ununited States of CanadaStephen Harper once said that the Québécois form a nation within a united Canada (read about it here). The "united" part of that statement always felt awkward to me... more like wishful thinking than reality. Apparently, I'm not the only one.
A week from today, Canal D [in French only] will present Les états-désunis du Canada [Google translation], a documentary that sheds a light on Michel Bolduchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07301737603817812981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9035801220467246539.post-75048236709724674772012-05-13T17:56:00.008-04:002012-05-15T05:28:38.759-04:00Chronicles of a HasidimAs it turns out, I'm not the only one who feels his community is misunderstood by observers. I recently stumbled on this blog held by a group of young Hasidim from Outremont who felt an urge for an honest and sincere dialog with its neighbors.We hope this dialog will increase our respect of one another by dispelling some of the myths, misconceptions that we may have towards each other, and in Michel Bolduchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07301737603817812981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9035801220467246539.post-22972401737755472492012-05-09T08:35:00.018-04:002012-05-13T17:55:59.878-04:00Immigration and attitudesCanada prides itself in being a country of immigrants. In recent years, immigration has become an important part of the Canadian identity. This trait is particularly prevalent in provinces other than Québec.The Globe and Mail is currently conducting an on-line survey to capture the attitude of Canadians toward immigration in the country. The National newspaper invites its readers to chart Michel Bolduchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07301737603817812981noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9035801220467246539.post-38796173408583968312012-05-03T08:44:00.002-04:002012-05-03T21:40:03.183-04:00Katimavik: 1977-2012?I'm a Katimavik alumnus. Initially one of the many opportunities I took advantage of to improve my second language, it had a profound impact on my personal life; the young adult that I was in 1984 didn't know much about the world outside the family cocoon. It was also my first close encounter with Canadians who spoke only one of the two official languages... an eye-opening experience.If you're Michel Bolduchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07301737603817812981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9035801220467246539.post-66142983297023482012-04-08T10:35:00.003-04:002012-04-08T10:56:37.637-04:00Playing the identity cardSome 100 years ago, French-speaking inhabitants of this country had very few models to look up to. Poor and undereducated, they followed the path drawn by the Church... raising as many children as possible with very little mean. Life was tough.In 1909, John Ambrose O'Brien entertainded the idea of creating a hockey team to capture francophone interest as a rival for the Montréal Wanderers. Michel Bolduchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07301737603817812981noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9035801220467246539.post-80837399268868893922012-03-26T06:02:00.000-04:002012-03-27T06:07:26.504-04:00Let the awakening begin?Times are good for sovereigntists... sorry for repeating myself. A new survey found that 44.5 percent of Québécois would still support separating from Canada if the Constitution could not be changed enough to satisfy the majority of the province. What's wrong?Following Parizeau's infamous speech in 1995, the PQ has been relatively quiet on the identity front. Since their arrival at the helm, Michel Bolduchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07301737603817812981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9035801220467246539.post-16270687147469936382012-03-25T09:43:00.025-04:002012-04-13T17:46:43.787-04:00Ici, on parle EnglishAs it is often the case when it comes to language perspectives in Montréal, the conclusion of a survey conducted by L'actualité magazine is stirring the pot. You can read it here [Google translation], but it's pretty much the usual stuff for those who mix with both English and French cultures on a regular basis. A lot of huff and puff... one side discovering the limited knowledge of the other Michel Bolduchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07301737603817812981noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9035801220467246539.post-36954786855540593162012-03-20T05:51:00.000-04:002012-03-20T05:55:08.914-04:00Québec votersYesterday, Lysiane Gagnon reported in The Globe and Mail that, according to a recent survey by Léger Marketing, the Bloc has the most support in Québec, at 31 percent, four points ahead of the NDP. The Liberals are lagging behind at 22 percent. And the Conservatives are at the bottom with a miserable 14 percent.Since voters in my province are now back in the old fold of the Bloc Québécois, less Michel Bolduchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07301737603817812981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9035801220467246539.post-25460048167348447792012-03-19T05:44:00.028-04:002012-03-19T18:50:19.901-04:00Halal meat and the federalistsThe PQ feels that halal meat should be labeled for consumers to make an informed decision. Sounds reasonable... no issue here... next! The PQ claims the traditional religious ritual used to kill the animals hurts Québec values because it is inhumane... oops!When I read about it [Google translation] in La presse, I thought: "wow!... this is great material for the federalist press". I was right.Michel Bolduchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07301737603817812981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9035801220467246539.post-44612535585992422782012-03-13T19:08:00.021-04:002012-03-13T21:26:00.539-04:00Will Québec save Canada?A recent article [Google translation] published in La Presse states that the Harper Government acknowledges the strategy the PQ has been using for the upcoming provincial election. In essence, Pauline Marois has been putting forward that the Conservatives' right-wing agenda is proof that their is no room in Canada for the distinct province (let it be noted that 60% of Canadians voted against Michel Bolduchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07301737603817812981noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9035801220467246539.post-21810389063888993172012-03-12T06:00:00.041-04:002012-03-12T17:30:20.129-04:00Canadians and Canadian moviesLast week was an important one for the Canadian movie industry. The 32nd Annual Genie Awards, honoring Canada's greatest, was held Thursday. As expected by many, Québécois movies did rather well.Among the many recipients, one particularly caught my attention, Starbuck. It's the story of a perpetual adolescent who discovers that, as a sperm donor, he fathered 533 children. It won the Golden Michel Bolduchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07301737603817812981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9035801220467246539.post-31603683705702849322012-03-11T15:00:00.014-04:002012-03-11T17:34:59.300-04:00Times are good for Sovereigntists - Part 2Léger Marketing published the results of yet another survey concluding that the PQ is in majority territory [in French]. Overall, the CAQ is at 24%, the PLQ at 28% and the PQ at 33%. This lead may not seem important, but one has to keep in mind that support for the PQ among Francophones is at 40% and they basically determine the results in 100 of the province's 125 ridings.It's still a bit Michel Bolduchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07301737603817812981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9035801220467246539.post-91926488463418774002012-03-08T13:02:00.022-05:002012-03-11T10:06:10.022-04:00Times are good for SovereigntistsThree months ago, The Globe and Mail headlined: "Sovereignty on its death bed in Québec" (click here to read my reaction to it). The underlying premise to such a statement is the conclusion much of the English press has reached by equating support for sovereignty with the demise of the Bloc Québécois. This conclusion doesn't hold.A CROP survey, conducted in the weeks that followed the Bloc's Michel Bolduchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07301737603817812981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9035801220467246539.post-33223110749091852742012-02-28T19:35:00.002-05:002012-03-12T05:26:50.015-04:00Quebeckers charged in child-porn caseGlancing through The Globe and Mail, this headline caught my attention: "Five Quebeckers charged in international child-porn case". It felt odd. I wondered what information was being conveyed by using the word "Quebeckers". Or was I simply being too sensitive?I googled the headline to see if other media carried the news. I found out that other publications simply referred to "Quebec men". Michel Bolduchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07301737603817812981noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9035801220467246539.post-60175106690239805142012-02-21T21:38:00.006-05:002012-03-01T20:48:34.086-05:00I don't want to be toleratedI'm no one in particular, yet I sometimes unwillingly become everyone at once. I'm not a victim, yet that's how I'm being portrayed. I'm not a public danger, yet news report how disturbing I am on a quasi weekly basis. Yes, human nature is suspicious of the unknown and is protective of its own values. And it may foster a certain distance, even insults... but the opposite is also true.I Michel Bolduchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07301737603817812981noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9035801220467246539.post-12299229128731965462012-01-21T11:48:00.013-05:002012-01-21T12:14:20.730-05:00Bye Bye, CanadaFrancisco Toro is a Venezuelan journalist, political scientist and blogger. Covering Venezuela as a freelance foreign correspondent from 1999 to 2003, he reported for the Washington Post, the New York Times and the Financial Times. Since 2002, he runs Caracas Chronicles, an English-language blog on all things Venezuelan. He currently writes for the Canadian edition of The Huffington Post.The Michel Bolduchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07301737603817812981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9035801220467246539.post-47109107793989909512012-01-18T06:03:00.000-05:002012-01-18T06:05:34.907-05:00An ironic observationResults of a new study from Concordia University recently reported by The Gazette show that most Canadians still aren't eating enough fruits and vegetables every day. The study also found that the Québécois significantly eat more fresh produce than other Canadians.I wasn't overly surprised by this finding. Having shared many business meals with Torontonians and other Canadians over the years, Michel Bolduchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07301737603817812981noreply@blogger.com2