10.25.2012 03:11 PM

Oh, look/regarde

A federal politician doing what federal politicians are supposed to do: you know, be leaders. Promote tolerance. Oppose division and nativism. Show courage.

Stephen Harper and Thomas Mulcair? They’re cowards.

(Now, prepare for the braying and screeching of Con and Dipper trolls, who will say: “We shouldn’t needlessly antagonize the separatists!”)

QUEBEC – Justin Trudeau has pressed one of the hottest issue buttons in Quebec, saying there’s no need to toughen the province’s language laws.

During a visit to Quebec City, the Liberal leadership candidate was asked by reporters about plans by the new Parti Quebecois provincial government to create a new Bill 101. The government calls the matter urgent, following census data that suggests a decline in francophones’ demographic weight.

Trudeau’s response: the PQ’s language policy is unnecessary and counter-productive.
His remarks come as a new poll suggested a Trudeau-led Liberal resurgence in Quebec, a province the party once dominated under his father.

His opinion on language also echoes the position of his father, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, who brought official bilingualism to Canada and criticized the French-only policies of the PQ.

The younger Trudeau says adding teeth to Quebec’s Charter of the French Language risks reigniting old battles.

The new Parti Quebecois government has vowed to strengthen the law, saying it needs to protect the French language and culture. It campaigned on a promise to extend the law to junior colleges and smaller businesses. In the wake of this week’s census data, it calls the matter urgent.

35 Comments

  1. Bluegreenblogger says:

    OK, I am impressed. Not surprised that Justin is his fathers son on this issue, but happy that he is not a coward. When is the last time you heard a non-Liberal with the cojones to say it like it is on Quebec language laws? This will almost certainly lead to a small dip in Trudeau support in Quebec, but well worth it in terms of securing a solid base. Let the dippers and bloc beat each other around the ears on who is the biggest anglo basher. The Cons are UTTERLY bankrupt in terms of viability in Quebec, so who even cares what they have to say on it?

    • Emil says:

      Trudeau: “,,, we need to understand that Quebec must remain primarily francophone.””

      There you have it; Quebec is french and the ROC is bilingual. Rotten deal if you ask me.

  2. Dennis Hollingsworth says:

    In Aviation terms my dear friend Robbie Robertson (who was involved in the original Aerial mapping of our Prairie Provinces back in the 40’s & 50’s; and many other early Canadian Aviation HIGH JINKS) would call this “FLYING, BALLS TO THE WIND”, as back in those days the crews would be in the Air for most of the day during the winter months and the airplane heaters were often NON functioning … BUT I DIGRESS …

    I firmly believe Justin’s Bold, Brazen, Gutsy and Ballsy Stands just like this one will Stand Him In Good Stead When It Comes To Ending The Rein Of Misery Wrought Upon Canadians From Sea To Shining Sea, By The HARPER ATTACK PARTY OF Canada … BRAVO JUSTIN !!

  3. Emil says:

    You’re farting in the wind …… Quebec is an ipso facto french nation!

  4. Eric Weiss says:

    I’m glad to see a federal politician taking a position on this issue.

      • Jim Hanna says:

        Ditto ditto. Hey, I gotta live here.

        Justin actually is showing some depth here, and giving the polls today, not taking the safest course. But as Chretien showed, and I’ve said before, Quebec voters respect federalist politicians for being federalists. When they try to play games (Paul, Jean L.) they turn the channel.

        But I expected nothing less from James Sinclair’s grandson. If you think he’s just his fathers son, you sadly underestimate him. He’s also his grandfather’s grandson.

  5. !o! says:

    This is cool, and I’m actually really surprised at the recent poll results. What I’m really really interested in though is how he’ll change the polling landscape in BC and Ontario (and to a lesser extend Sask/Man).

  6. Fred says:

    What is Justin Trudeau saying about the FIPA sellout to China, and Harper’s jackboot endrun around our Constitutional Rights.

    • Tired of it All says:

      What does he have to say about it? Here’s one of those things. He’s neither the gov’t nor the OO. He’s best to sit back and consider. It is, frankly, the right and smart thing to do.

      Incidentally, FIPAs are not, by definition, bad things. They usually help the host country as much as anything else.

      • Fred says:

        Gord, if a Chinese investment company, ie., the Chinese politburo, dictates Canadian policy and law, how is it a good thing?

        If a Quebec language law interferes with a Chinese company’s bottom line, the language law has to go, and no provincial
        legislature or court has any say in it.

        I love how the Harper con-bots like Tired of it All sugar coat toxic public policy.

        Mulcair and Trudeau have 5 days to respond. Step up, or be part of the sell out.

  7. james curran says:

    I had a funny feeling JT would make an excellent leader. But what do I know.

    • Emil says:

      “.. a funny feeling” is also caused by a joke. To be a leader you need followers. Are you ready to follow JT? Are you in favour of “generational change” within the Liberal party?

  8. OMG Warren, how long are you going to put up with this guy?

    Or maybe it is all part of “knowing your enemy”?

  9. Fred says:

    “What if Alberta secedes from Canada and joins the USA, wtf are you gonna do then?”

    Move the Canadian army into Alberta to protect Canadian resources before they begin seceding.

  10. Billy Boy says:

    I could be wrong but did not PET say Bill 101 was “a slap in the face” of federalism? Probably a little more courageous than:

    “Let me say very clearly that I support Bill 101,” Trudeau said Thursday.
    “It is a reality that helps Quebec remain mainly French in a bilingual country. If we want Canada to remain bilingual — and I want it — we need to understand that Quebec must remain primarily francophone.”

    Also in what way was Justin being a federalist when he came to Ontario shilling for McGuinty against the teachers and sent out robocalls decrying NDP as separatist?

  11. Dan says:

    “Trudeau did offer one nod to Quebec nationalists, by expressing support for the old Bill 101 that is the backbone of the province’s current language policies.”

    Trudeau has the superpower to make bold pronouncements about nothing, and then agree with NDP policy.

    Have you ever read a Trudeau speech? It’s always completely empty.

    • Billy Boy says:

      Regrettably Dan, of the relatively few who even see this story only a fraction will get past the headline. Regrettably it is enough to create the illusion that JT was courageous and showed leadership. In reality he did little more than pander to the status quo in QC.

  12. Ronald O'Dowd says:

    Warren,

    I get a laugh watching people getting all in a lather over Bill 101 — strengthened, weakened or even abolished. What we’re really talking about is political theatre and the relative size of the appropriate fig leaf. No language law, no matter how well intended can maintain the fiction of language or cultural security.

    This is really about geography and demography. No law can fix that. Even if Quebec became sovereign and used all the tools at her disposal, Quebec would be no more secure in this area than it presently is as part of the Canadian federation. Those are the plain facts — inconvenient or otherwise.

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