Archive
Lettres - Letters
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29 août / August 29
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West Quebecers hire new director
West Quebec’s association of English-speaking residents, the Regional Association of West Quebecers (RAWQ) announced August 22 that Richard A. Turcotte has been hired as the new Executive Director. The former director, Brian Gibb, had resigned last May.
RAWQ’s president Nancy Peppy told the media, “ Richard Turcotte’s experience demonstrates his ability to work with government departments, community groups, and the general public, which will serve us well. He will help to guide RAWQ in delivering its five-year strategic plan, developed in consultation with community stakeholders..”
Mr. Turcotte is retired from the federal Department of Justice, after 32 years. He held managerial positions which included overseeing negotiations and delivery of services to First Nations’ communities. This experience enabled him to develop skills in diplomacy and public relations, media relations and provincial government relations, commented Ms Peppy.
Mr. Turcotte remarked, “I look forward to working collaboratively with English-speaking Quebecers in this region as I believe that words describe a vision but people and teamwork make it happen. I have no doubt that the challenges facing our English-speaking community are opportunities for all of us to work hand in hand in the best interest and for the greater good of all Quebecers”.
Turcotte, who was born in Alberta and is a graduate of the University of Alberta in Public Administration, started his career in Western Canada before being posted to the Maritimes and later transferred to this region. Turcotte has been a resident of Aylmer for 15 years and is currently a school commissioner with the Western Quebec School Board. RAWQ is a community-based non-profit organization that serves and supports the English-speaking population of the Outaouais by fostering an environment in which it can thrive. Its key activities are in health, education, culture, and youth affairs. RAWQ also plays a significant role in advocacy on behalf of the English-speaking community. Information: www.westquebecers.com (FR)
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Le 30e anniversaire de la Charte de la langue française
Le 30e anniversaire de l’adoption de la Charte de la langue française est l’occasion justifiée de célébrer les indéniables progrès accomplis. Cependant, l’euphorie n’est pas de mise.
Selon une recherche de C.D. Howe, les unilingues anglophones du Québec ont toujours des revenus supérieurs aux unilingues francophones, soit 34 097$ contre 29 665$ pour les hommes et 23 002$ contre 20 786$ pour les femmes. Toujours selon la même recherche, les allophones parlant anglais ont eux aussi toujours des revenus supérieurs aux allophones parlant français, soit 27 216$ contre 22 233$ pour les hommes et 18 996$ contre 15 551$ pour les femmes.
Une récente étude longitudinale de Statistiques Canada ayant pour objectif “d’étudier le lien entre la connaissance des langues officielles par les nouveaux immigrants et le fait d’occuper un emploi approprié” nous apprend que “plus le niveau d’anglais parlé des immigrants au Québec est élevé, plus leur salaire est élevé”. Par contre, “le niveau de français parlé par les immigrants n’a pas d’effet significatif sur leurs chances d’occuper un emploi approprié.”
Le Conseil supérieur de la langue française nous avait déjà appris que “le pourcentage d’allophones qui travaillent surtout en français n’est que de 45%”.
Dans ce contexte, on comprend l’engouement des allophones et de plusieurs francophones pour la fréquentation du cégep anglophone. Ils représentent près de 50% de leur clientèle.
À moins d’un sérieux coup de barre, nous ne voyons pas comment nous pourrons renverser la tendance constatée lors du recensement de 2001, à l’effet que les allophones francisés ne représentent que 46% de l’ensemble des allophones assimilés, alors que la langue anglaise assimile 54% des allophones.
À l’heure de la mondialisation, si vi sible dans le paysage linguistique avec l’anglicisation des raisons sociales ( Futures Shop, Best Buy, etc. ), une importante mise à jour de la Charte de langue française s’impose.
Une Loi 101 plus plus s’impose!
Jean-Paul Perreault, Président
Imperatif français
Réaction au sarcasme de M. Harper
En voulant ridiculiser l’opposition au partenariat pour la sécurité et la prospérité (PSP), M. Harper n’a réussi qu’à se ridiculiser lui-même. Je n’ai donc qu’une chose à lui dire : il peut prendre ses « jelly beans » et aller jouer quelque part avec son ami George. Nous, pendant ce temps, discuterons de choses importantes telles que la santé, l’environnement, la justice sociale et la paix dans le monde.
Lucie Rochon-Landry
Gatineau (Aylmer)
Report du Salon de l’efficacité énergétique
En raison de différents éléments conjoncturels, du chevauchement de plusieurs évènements dont le CREDDO est partenaire à cette période et afin de ne pas faire concurrence aux organismes oeuvrant dans un domaine similaire, la Direction du CREDDO a le regret d’annoncer qu’elle va devoir reporter le salon à une date ultérieure.
Nous attendons encore la confirmation officielle de notre partenariat avec la Ville de Gatineau mais le salon devrait se dérouler dans le premier semestre 2008, plus précisément entre février et avril 2008.
La direction du CREDDO est sincèrement désolée du désagrément que cette annonce pourrait vous causer. Nous espérons que malgré ce revirement, votre engagement indéfectible pour la cause de l’efficacité énergétique n’en sera pas affectée et que nous pourrons compter sur votre soutien et votre participation à l’édition 2008.
Romuald Wera, Consultant
Gatineau
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Dog parks were promised . . .
Ms. Beauvais (and many others, including myself) have pointed out to Mayor Bureau the necessity of dog parks and/or areas in which we must be allowed to exercise and socialize our pets. When will city council recognize this need? Quebec has to be the least dog-friendly province in Canada.
We pay taxes, and at least half the population of Gatineau are dog owners. As for maintaining the parks, this is what our taxes are for, and I certainly don’t see the children and/or parents maintaining the parks that they use for their various activities. In fact, the trash, broken bottles, food and damage done to facilities by children is cleaned up by the dog owners and/or city employees. Does it cost more to maintain a dog park than a park that is used for children’s activities? How so? At least feces can be washed away by rain - not so for broken bottles, plastic, etc.
Mr. Bureau should be aware that dog owners are very unhappy with his lack of response to our continued requests for action in this matter.
Wendy Ramsey
Aylmer
Vote on SPP with your wallet
I too was present on Parliament Hill, August 19, and witnessed the wonderful message that was read from William Commanda. Could this message be sent to our newspapers, MP’s and others to pass o? My thanks for whomever was responsible for this message setting the tone, and the many who came to show their concern through peaceful presence.
The 10 Canadian CEOs who will be deciding the policies government will then duly implement can be sent a message by the public: “Support the SPP and we won’t support you.” My suggestions: switch from Bell to another Canadian phone company, then phone Bell and tell them why. Shop in Rona or Reno Depot, not Home Depot. Buy Lindt or Cadbury’s rather than Ganong chocolates. Avoid Sunoco gas stations. Buy wood not produced by Canfor . The other companies are CN, Scotia Bnnk, Linamar Corporation, Manulife Financial, and the Power Corporation of Canada (owns Power Financial, Gesca newspapers, PTIC, Great-West Lifeco Inc. and IGM Financial, Power Financial, Great-West Life Assurance, Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance, London Insurance Group, London Life Insurance; Canada Life Financial, Canada Life Assurance.)
Keeping people informed to make clear choices on what to buy into, is integral to this process. Keep up the great work to help create a better world.
Judith Matheson
Heart + Soul Light Centre
Aylmer
Agents provocateurs
I am disgusted, but not surprised, that police agents provocateurs attempted to discredit the peaceful demonstrations at the Montebello summit last week.
I was at the Seattle WTO meeting in 1999 as an accredited observer, and I followed the events there closely. Although that event is always referred to in the media as “the battle of Seattle” and the epitome of violence, the only violence on the part of the hundreds of thousands of demonstrators was the trashing of a small coffee shop and the breaking of a few store windows by a few “anarchists” who were unknown to the legitimate demonstrators. There was speculation that they were either agents provocateurs or local hoodlums trying to cause trouble, but there was no proof.
In Seattle, violence on the part of the demonstrators was so hard to find that for hours the TV stations showed a small newspaper vending machine smoldering in a vacant intersection, presumably as a symbol of the non-existent “violence”. The police violence was extraordinary.
A large contingent of police went to Capitol Hill, a mixed residential and commercial area, and for hours fired tear gas at anyone who moved on the street. They made life miserable for the hundreds of people living in the area. Ever since then, demonstrators have been categorized as violent and as justifying the Darth Vader-clad riot police who are always deployed against them. However, demonstrator violence has been very hard to find despite the rough treatment by the police.
I am glad that police provocateurs have at last been unmasked, and I sincerely hope that this revelation will cause police all over the world to rethink their practice of provoking violence to discredit peaceful demonstrations. The dozens of peaceful demonstrations against war and the global corporate agenda have often involved hundreds of thousands of people, but all the peaceful demonstrations together have done less total damage than the average soccer riot.
I hope that in the future peaceful demonstrations will be treated by the government and the media as what they are - the peaceful assembly of large numbers of concerned citizens expressing legitimate and widely held points of view. Peaceful demonstrators deserve to be praised and heeded, not falsely portrayed as agents of violent irrationality.
Caspar Davis
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