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Montreal Gazette
14 hours ago
- Politics
- Montreal Gazette
Drimonis: So who gets to celebrate la Fête nationale? (Hint: You do)
With St-Jean celebrations around the corner, I want to set the record straight about who gets to celebrate. Answer: Everyone. Every year I inevitably see a few English-speaking and allophone Quebecers express a mix of trepidation, frustration and uncertainty about whether they should even partake in the June 24 festivities. I'm here to tell you that you should. But I also understand where that confusion stems from. All Quebecers get to celebrate the Fête nationale. The problem is that the word 'Quebecer' doesn't mean the same thing to everyone. To some, it's simply someone who resides in Quebec. If you live, work and pay taxes here, you're a Quebecer. Grab that Fleur-de-lis and prepare to dance a rigodon. Not so fast! To others, the term 'Québécois' encompasses more than just where you live; it's a cultural and linguistic identity, designating the majority French-speaking population. To them, a 'real' Quebecer is someone with French-Canadian ancestry. To others still, it's someone who only speaks and prioritizes French above all. Since my first language (and frankly, not even my second) isn't French, am I one? By those definitions, English-speaking Quebecers, here since the second half of the 18th century, wouldn't qualify as 'real' Quebecers. Quebec's Greek community, which first arrived here in the late 19th century, with some members settling in Montreal as early as 1843, wouldn't be the real deal either. Even if — like all other immigrant groups — we've helped shape Montreal and Quebec. Others say self-identification is key. If you identify as a Quebecer, you are one — even if you 'dial 9 for English' or fast during Ramadan. Any attempt to define the 'right' kind of Quebecer is unhelpful to say the least. The Coalition Avenir Québec's divisive policies, such as Bills 21 and 96, have made many of us question our identity and place here. No matter how deep our roots and contributions, we're left wondering whether we're genuinely considered part of the 'nous' the government says it fights for. Over the years, many nationalists have pointed to my Greek name and my use of English as incriminating evidence against my Québécois credentials. Some even claim federalist Quebecers can't possibly be Québécois. They're wrong. When René Lévesque addressed the English-speaking community in a speech on sovereignty-association in 1980, he couldn't have been clearer: ''Quebecer' is a name that, to us, unites all those who were born or who live in Quebec and it links together their many language, ethnic, cultural, religious, geographic and other differences,' Lévesque said in his address at the Sheraton Mt-Royal Hotel in Montreal. 'It is the mark of belonging to a people and to a land, and the use of the word or its French equivalent 'Québécois' is in no way the exclusive property of one group and much less of one party.' Louder for the people in the back! Of course French is a key element of Quebec's identity, but when I celebrate Quebec culture, I celebrate all of it — all the languages, cultures and religions that find a home here. Despite legislation, policies and rhetoric that risks alienating some of us, there's a commonality we all share that deserves to be celebrated. We, too, have a deep love for this place — and pride in being part of a unique slice of the world that can't be replicated elsewhere. If St-Jean celebrates French-Canadian culture, heritage and identity, then this day is ours too. Because French culture and language are profoundly embedded in our Quebec and Canadian identities. They're non-negotiable elements of who we are as Quebecers and Canadians, regardless of first language or place of birth. I see no contradiction in celebrating both la St-Jean and Canada Day, and no government's exclusionary policies should stop us from embracing — and cheering — a Quebec that belongs to us all. Bonne Fête nationale, everyone!
Montreal Gazette
2 days ago
- Politics
- Montreal Gazette
Quebec transgender inmates will now be detained based on anatomical sex
Quebec's public security minister announced Wednesday that transgender inmates in provincial prisons will now be incarcerated according to their anatomical sex. The announcement follows a high-profile murder case that sparked debate this year about whether transgender inmates should have the option to serve their time in men's or women's prisons based on their gender identity. In a statement issued Wednesday, Public Security Minister François Bonnardel said the change is being made for security reasons. 'The Quebec government is ensuring equity in the treatment of all inmates in Quebec,' Bonnardel said. 'Safety must always come first, for the benefit of correctional officers, our fellow citizens and incarcerated people.' Previously, transgender individuals could request to be incarcerated in the detention facility of their choice. They could also be isolated from the general population for safety reasons. The government says transgender prisoners will still be able to identify with the gender of their choice while detained. As of this month, there were only six transgender inmates in Quebec's provincial prisons, representing 0.1 per cent of the prison population. The issue came to the forefront this year after a Quebecer convicted of killing their wife and two young sons transitioned while in custody and requested to be incarcerated in a women's prison. Mohamad Al Ballouz, who now uses the name Levana, was sentenced last year to life in prison with no possibility of parole for 25 years. Their request was denied. In its announcement on Wednesday, the Quebec government said accommodations will still be made for transgender inmates. Inmates in federal prisons in Canada can be placed in institutions based on their gender identity, regardless of their biological sex.
Montreal Gazette
5 days ago
- Politics
- Montreal Gazette
Profile: Quebec Liberal Leader Pablo Rodriguez joined party's youth wing at 16
Quebec Politics By Pablo Rodriguez, 57, was a federal Liberal MP from 2004 to 2011 and from 2015 to Sept. 19, 2024, at which point he decided to sit as an independent while he prepared to launch his bid for the Quebec Liberal leadership, which he won Saturday in Quebec City. During his term in office, he represented the Montreal riding of Honoré-Mercier and held several key roles in then-prime minister Justin Trudeau's cabinet, including as transport minister and minister of Canadian heritage. He also served as government whip and house leader as well as Trudeau's Quebec lieutenant. He is the son of immigrants. When he was eight, his family fled the military junta in Argentina to settle in Quebec. His parents spoke only Spanish. Rodriguez learned French while playing hockey with friends in the arenas of Sherbrooke. It was at the Université de Sherbrooke that he obtained a BA in business administration, starting his career in the field of international development for a Montreal-based NGO. He became a member of the Quebec Liberal Party youth wing at age 16, rising to the post of vice-president. He travelled around Quebec as youth spokesperson for the No camp in the 1995 referendum campaign on independence. Rodriguez and his spouse, Roxane, have one child, Béatrice. Rodriguez is fluent in French and English as well as Spanish. Considered the front-runner in the race for the Quebec Liberal leadership because his political experience gave him a higher visibility than the other candidates, Rodriguez has in the past defended reforms to the Official Languages Act, which recognized French is a vulnerable language. He has also denounced American companies that have complained about French language sign rules, saying they need to adapt. Rodriguez has said he would drop the Coalition Avenir Québec's freeze on CEGEP enrolment included in Bill 96 overhauling the Charter of the French Language, as well as dropping the six-month deadline for immigrants to learn French. At the May English all-candidates debate at John-Abbott College, Rodriguez said French is the official language of Quebec, but there is no need to protect it by attacking the English-speaking community. 'We will always protect French, but not by being against the English community. A Quebecer is a Quebecer is a Quebecer.' He has said win or lose the leadership, he would run for the Liberals in 2026. He has not said where he would run, but said he is mulling over either a riding in the Eastern Townships or Montreal. This story was originally published June 14, 2025 at 5:29 PM.
Montreal Gazette
06-06-2025
- Politics
- Montreal Gazette
Quebec adopts immigrant integration bill with model ‘distinct from Canadian multiculturalism'
Quebec Politics QUEBEC — Immigration Minister Jean-François Roberge conceded Wednesday that Quebec's new immigration integration law may discourage some people from wanting to move to the province. Immigrants scouting countries should be aware that if they choose to come to Quebec, they cannot expect to find the same multiculturalism model that exists in other provinces, Roberge said. That system, he said, has been relegated to the 'limbo of history where it belongs' with the adoption Wednesday of Bill 84, an act respecting national integration. The legislation was voted into law by a vote of 86 to 27, with the Liberals and Québec solidaire opposition parties voting against it. Presented in January, the law obliges the state, its ministries, cities, schools and even community organizations staging festivals that receive public financial assistance to participate fully in the integration of new arrivals. For their part, immigrants are expected to respect a social contract between them and Quebec — to adhere to and respect Quebec's democratic values, to have a knowledge of Quebec and learn the French language if they have not mastered it on arrival. The law states French is the official and common language of integration, Quebec culture is the common culture, women and men are equal, and Quebec is a secular state. 'I can't say how (immigrants) will react,' Roberge said at a news conference after the vote. 'We are changing the contract; we are changing the way we explain our way of life here. 'Maybe some people who never thought about living in Quebec will say, 'Wow, I want to go there, I want to go to Quebec because it reflects my values.' 'Some people may say the exact opposite, that this doesn't fit with me. 'Do I really want to come to Quebec? I have no intention of learning French, I have no interest in learning about a distinct culture.' We'll see.' Roberge refuted accusations levelled by some groups that appeared during hearings into the bill that the exercise is designed to assimilate the cultural identity of new arrivals. Quebec welcomes about 50,000 immigrants every year. 'This is not an assimilationist bill because we say Quebec's culture is our common culture, we are proud of that and we want people to adhere,' Roberge said. 'But we want them to contribute. This word is very important. We want newcomers, everyone in Quebec, to contribute. 'We don't want to just assimilate them and forget who they are. We want them to bring something new. This is a huge part of what it is to be a Quebecer. Quebecers are open-minded.' Immediately after the adoption of the law, Roberge presented a separate motion in the legislature stating Quebec possesses its own model of national integration that favours cohesion and 'opposes isolationism and communitarianism.' It adds that Quebec 'affirms its national model of integration is distinct from Canadian multiculturalism.' The motion was adopted unanimously. The bill was amended along the way during the clause-by-clause examination process by legislators. It still says Quebec culture is the common culture, but that culture is no longer the 'crucible' that enables all Quebecers to form a united nation. It now says Quebec culture is the 'base on which all Quebecers build a united nation.' Another amendment expands the list of organizations the policy applies to. Initially it was government ministries, municipalities, state agencies and professional orders. Added now are colleges, private schools receiving public funds, universities and public daycares. Under the terms of the law, all now become 'engines' in the welcoming and integration process, Roberge said. 'We're changing the narrative. We're changing the social contract,' he said. 'We are returning Canadian multiculturalism where it should have stayed — that is to say, in the limbo of history. It is a model that has always been harmful to Quebec.' Roberge said the details of how the rules will be applied in those institutions will be spelled out in a new integration policy book the government will present within 18 months after consultations. Another clause that would allow the government to withdraw funding to groups organizing festivals that don't respect the integration rules remains, but it's worded differently. It now says an organization that wants to obtain financing for a festival must ensure its request is 'compatible with national integration and its foundation.' 'No organization will see its current funding cut in the middle of the year, but once we will have clarified things, then the articles will be enacted,' Roberge said. There remains only one reference to respecting the institutions of the English-speaking community, and it is in the preamble of the bill. In February, Roberge tangled with Quebec English School Boards Association president Joe Ortona over that decision. Ortona called on the CAQ to give formal recognition to the distinct culture of Quebec's English-speaking community, but Roberge made no changes to the final legislation in that regard. Roberge said he was puzzled by the Liberal and QS opposition to the bill, noting the two parties co-operated in the legislative process. Quebec's Liberals adopted their own policy last October favouring interculturalism, which is the basis of Bill 84. 'I don't understand,' Roberge said. 'They are against the law but were in favour of the motion. It's worse than the mystery of the Caramilk bar.' This story was originally published May 28, 2025 at 4:40 PM.
Hamilton Spectator
06-06-2025
- General
- Hamilton Spectator
Marc Garneau was the first Canadian in space — but what he achieved on Earth is worth remembering, too
If Marc Garneau wasn't the beau ideal of Canadian character, accomplishment and aspiration, then he was surely on the short list. Canada's first astronaut in space, who died on Wednesday at 76 after a short illness, made his name travelling to the heavens. But his was a life that meant so much more, one shot through with examples of courage, adventure, service and resilience here on Earth. 'I didn't set out to be an astronaut, but that's what I became,' Garneau wrote in his 2024 memoir, A Most Extraordinary Ride. 'I also didn't set out to be a politician, but that also happened.' What he did set out to do 'was to live to the fullest of my capabilities rather than shrink from the challenges life threw at me, to stay curious, and to carry myself with dignity.' Garneau also wrote about the odd burst of youthful hell-raising. 'I was immature and lacked judgment,' he later recalled. 'Fortunately, it worked out, and I was able to learn from those experiences.' The son of a francophone infantry officer from Quebec City and an anglo-Canadian nurse from Sussex, New Brunswick, Garneau considered himself a product of both of Canada's fabled two solitudes. 'I was half Quebecer and half Maritimer,' he wrote. 'I believe I get my passion and tendency to argue from my Quebec ancestry and my pragmatism and can-do attitude from the Maritimer in my DNA.' Garneau joined the Royal Canadian Navy at 16, relishing the challenge of navigating vast spaces, relying on his wits. 'I like challenges; I like adventure,' he said last year. 'I'm willing to tolerate a certain amount of risk in my life. Failure does not throw me off, and I learned from failure.' While serving in the navy, he read a newspaper ad from the National Research Council. It was looking for astronauts. Garneau applied. In 1983, he was selected from more than 4,300 applicants to a class of six astronauts. A year later, he became the first Canadian to go to space, as a payload specialist on the NASA shuttle mission. 'I have often used the word euphoria to describe the moment I first saw Earth from space,' Garneau wrote. 'The view that greeted me left me not only breathless, but speechless. Words like incredible, amazing and extraordinary couldn't do justice to what I was seeing.' He wanted NASA to be pleased with his work. And, he said, 'I wanted Canadians to be proud of me.' That they were, and Garneau returned to Earth a national celebrity. He left the astronaut corps after two more missions and became president of the Canadian Space Agency before being recruited into politics. 'The possibility of making decisions that would shape Canada's future appealed to me,' he wrote. Although he lost his first bid for the House of Commons, in 2006, he won in 2008 and remained in office until his retirement, in 2023. He sought the Liberal leadership in 2013 but dropped out of the race that Justin Trudeau eventually won. He would go on to serve as Trudeau's minister of transport and then foreign affairs. Garneau had an edge, disagreeing with his leader on several aspects of foreign policy. He wished that the astronaut culture of honesty, openness, making no excuses and admitting promptly to error prevailed in politics. When he was left out of Trudeau's cabinet in 2021, Garneau more or less masked his sense of betrayal. 'It felt like a punch in the gut,' he wrote — but he carried on. Many of the tributes that have poured in since Garneau's wife, Pam, announced his passing have mentioned his fundamental virtues: humility, modesty, thoughtfulness, grace, courage, hopefulness, decency. Bob Rae, Canada's ambassador to the United Nations and one of Garneau's former colleagues, called him an 'old-fashioned, upfront guy, wise, incredibly hard-working, with deep humility and quiet sense of humour.' Garneau said that when he sat down to write his memoir, 'I realized, my goodness, I did pack a lot in 75 years.' Not least of all inspiring and making proud an entire country.
