[HyperionTheEvil]

I found this particularly amusing, its always amazed me how a province of over 7,000,000 people can still be considered a 'have not' province. I guess now we know. I also wonder how these comments would have been reacted to if an anglphone said them?

QUEBEC - A former Quebec premier struck a nerve with Quebecers Tuesday after suggesting in a media interview that they don't work as hard as their neighbours in Ontario and the United States.

''We need to work more. We don't work enough. We work less than Ontarians, and infinitely less than the Americans,'' Lucien Bouchard told the TVA network, adding that Quebecers are creating a difficult future for themselves.

Bouchard made the remarks in an interview leading up to the one-year anniversary of a manifesto he co-signed calling for radical change in Quebec to face an aging population and soaring debt.

The manifesto, tagged Pour un Quebec lucide, proposed the elimination of the debt mainly through substantial increases in electricity rates and a massive investment in education financed in part by sharp increases in tuition fees.

Bouchard's comments Tuesday prompted angry responses from union leaders and politicians alike.

''There are plenty of workers who have two jobs,'' said Confederation des syndicats nationaux labour federation vice-president Louis Roy. ''There are plenty of workers who work part time. Those people would love to work full time.''

Quebec Health Minister Philippe Couillard also differed with Bouchard.''We work pretty hard in Quebec,'' he told reporters.

Without naming Bouchard directly, Quebec Premier Jean Charest said during the opening day of the National Assembly that he wants to help Quebec's forest industry, which has lost thousands of jobs in recent months, but he also wants to spend the taxpayers' money wisely.

''When I hear lobbyists on television or the opposition leader asking the government to set up programs to help the (forest) industry, they are asking every Quebec citizen who, as far as I am concerned work pretty hard, to put their hands in their pockets and give money to companies in the forestry sector,'' Charest said.

Montreal Gazette

http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news ... 66&k=94383

[fatbasturd]

Yes I found it quite amusing myself.

[Rihx]

Its what happens when Unions are allowed to run rampant and overall productivity is stifled... I dont think the problem is that they Qubecers are lazy, I know alot that are anything but... its that they are to Left of centre.

[Knoss]

I think a problem is Quebecs undemocratic and unconstituitional language policy has denied a generation of Quebecers Engligh language skills which are essental in the North American ecconomy.

[Rihx]

Knoss Knoss:

I think a problem is Quebecs undemocratic and unconstituitional language policy has denied a generation of Quebecers Engligh language skills which are essental in the North American ecconomy.

Well... English is the international language of buisness. I wonder if anyone ever told them :p

[HyperionTheEvil]

Knoss Knoss:

I think a problem is Quebecs undemocratic and unconstituitional language policy has denied a generation of Quebecers Engligh language skills which are essental in the North American ecconomy.

Its not only that, but if im owning a business. Why on earth would i want to relocate to a province with my company were if the french letters in my sign aren't bigger than the french letters in my sign i can be charged with a crime.


thank god for the language police

[SJ-24]

I'm not surprised the ex-Premier has such a negative view of his own people. He's got a yank for a wife and he has always been a very outgoing man in business, traveling all over the world. It seemed to me the reason he pulled out of politics was because he saw how totally out of touch the unions and communists were that are running the province from their hidden perches. He realized there was no way the province could survive if they did win the "yes" vote.

If Quebec wants to get out of the have not status they will have to do what BC and Alberta are doing, dumping the Unions and kicking the communist/socialist back to the East coast where they belong. Fact is, Canada as a whole has raised a few generations of lazy people. People that got used to taking money from the government and never worrying about actually working for a living. Some of the provinces are winning the "lazy war" and have motivated the people to actually really work for a living. Quebec is a long ways from winning any war on the lazy. I have always respected Lucien Bouchard for his political judgement. I hated it that he was a seperatist, but even happier when he realized that you are better to work with the system sometimes instead of working against it. To bad his fellow Sepratist haven't figured that out yet because Quebec want have any success until they dump the move to leave Canada...and dump the lazy ones!

[Wally_Sconce]

I don't think that all quebecers are lazy......I think all the hard working ones have jobs in Alberta.

[Proculation]

Rihx Rihx:

Knoss Knoss:

I think a problem is Quebecs undemocratic and unconstituitional language policy has denied a generation of Quebecers Engligh language skills which are essental in the North American ecconomy.

Well... English is the international language of buisness. I wonder if anyone ever told them :p

We are a french province. There's no problem to do business in french.

The problem is not the language. That's totally stupid. All companies can do business in english if they want. They just have to offer a french service in the province.

The problem is the big businesses and how to get them here. The problem is structural. The chinese language did not stop anyone to move to China...
We need to change the laws to allow businesses to prosper, not taxing them to death.

[Clogeroo]

$1:

The chinese language did not stop anyone to move to China...

Well we colonised Hong Kong if that’s what you mean. So they "could" trade with us even if they didn't really want too. I don't think there are very many Anglo-Saxons living in China either. Doesn’t mean we can’t use them for their cheap labour though I suppose we could do the same to Quebec. Quebec is not the worst place to do business. The one advantage it is cheap office space. It is cheaper to have a business in Quebec City than lets say Calgary or even Vancouver. But if they didn't force the whole French thing it would be even cheaper. Quebec could be doing a better job though and it could easily become the financial capital of Canada if they put their policies towards that.

[SJ-24]

Proculation Proculation:

Rihx Rihx:

Knoss Knoss:

I think a problem is Quebecs undemocratic and unconstituitional language policy has denied a generation of Quebecers Engligh language skills which are essental in the North American ecconomy.

Well... English is the international language of buisness. I wonder if anyone ever told them :p

We are a french province. There's no problem to do business in french.

The problem is not the language. That's totally stupid. All companies can do business in english if they want. They just have to offer a french service in the province.

The problem is the big businesses and how to get them here. The problem is structural. The chinese language did not stop anyone to move to China...
We need to change the laws to allow businesses to prosper, not taxing them to death.

Well, I know of one interior design firm that considered opening an office in Montreal and decided that additional costs in advertisement, signage, and hiring people from outside the five person team just to answer the phone in french, as required by law, well it was a $145,000 addition to the office budget no one wanted to put out. Fact is, your Bill 101 is what is killing your province. Until you wake up to that, and the many other barriers, you have put up, you will continue to be seen as a place no sane business excutive would care to spend money to make money. I work on a twenty to one ratio. For every dollar i spend I expect atleast a return of twenty in return. If I have to send an additional five just to pay for someone to say "Bonjour!", well I'll go elsewhere, as my friends have.

I have a relative that runs an office in Hong Kong and they don't advertise in Chinese, nor do they have anyone answer the phone in anything other than English. Sign hanging the front door is all English. All the staff in the office are from Canada and none speak anything other than English. They run the HK office the same as anywhere else. The people who come to them in Hong Kong seeking their Engineering advice come with a translator if they don't speak English themselves. The burden of communication is the buyer's problem, not the businesses problem. I'm sure the 101 police in Quebec would never go for that.

Now tell me, would you still say your system is not fucked up when a place like the city of Hong Kong (Proper) has far more foreign investment that all of Quebec put together! I wonder what is stopping Quebec?!

[SJ-24]

Ouch! Now this has got to be helping that seperatist cause something alwful! Let's see, forestery in the crapper. Aerospace technologies in the crapper. New ports opening on the west coast that is seen to be twice as profitable than Montreals ports..... Foreigners immigrating that are not french....this really has got to be a rough ride for those that wanted their own fatherland!

MONTREAL (CP) - Bombardier Inc. (TSX:BBD.B) announced Tuesday it is cutting 1,330 aerospace jobs in Montreal and Belfast, Northern Ireland, as it reduces regional jet production in response to flagging demand.

http://money.canoe.ca/News/Sectors/Indu ... 34-cp.html

[Proculation]

SJ-24 SJ-24:

Proculation Proculation:

Rihx Rihx:

Knoss Knoss:

I think a problem is Quebecs undemocratic and unconstituitional language policy has denied a generation of Quebecers Engligh language skills which are essental in the North American ecconomy.

Well... English is the international language of buisness. I wonder if anyone ever told them :p

We are a french province. There's no problem to do business in french.

The problem is not the language. That's totally stupid. All companies can do business in english if they want. They just have to offer a french service in the province.

The problem is the big businesses and how to get them here. The problem is structural. The chinese language did not stop anyone to move to China...
We need to change the laws to allow businesses to prosper, not taxing them to death.

Well, I know of one interior design firm that considered opening an office in Montreal and decided that additional costs in advertisement, signage, and hiring people from outside the five person team just to answer the phone in french, as required by law, well it was a $145,000 addition to the office budget no one wanted to put out. Fact is, your Bill 101 is what is killing your province. Until you wake up to that, and the many other barriers, you have put up, you will continue to be seen as a place no sane business excutive would care to spend money to make money. I work on a twenty to one ratio. For every dollar i spend I expect atleast a return of twenty in return. If I have to send an additional five just to pay for someone to say "Bonjour!", well I'll go elsewhere, as my friends have.

I have a relative that runs an office in Hong Kong and they don't advertise in Chinese, nor do they have anyone answer the phone in anything other than English. Sign hanging the front door is all English. All the staff in the office are from Canada and none speak anything other than English. They run the HK office the same as anywhere else. The people who come to them in Hong Kong seeking their Engineering advice come with a translator if they don't speak English themselves. The burden of communication is the buyer's problem, not the businesses problem. I'm sure the 101 police in Quebec would never go for that.

Now tell me, would you still say your system is not fucked up when a place like the city of Hong Kong (Proper) has far more foreign investment that all of Quebec put together! I wonder what is stopping Quebec?!

Like I said, there's no law that stop companies to do business in english. They just have to offer a french services inside Quebec. I agree with you that's a cost. But, if a company is looking for a place to invest, they will find that there is different cost for every places. It really depends on how big you are going to invest.

So, i repeat, what is stopping quebec is the structural and economic context. The high taxes, the government-controlling unions, the poor services and crumbling infrastructures, etc, etc.
That's the "modèle Québécois" itself.

[TheGup]

Quebec is responsible for this mess themselves.

Oh, well. I suppose that this lesson needs to be learned the hard way, and perhaps then they'll come around.

I watched Politics last night and Gilles Duceppe was insisting Quebec put more money into confederation than it recieved, which is bull.

[HyperionTheEvil]

Proculation Proculation:

SJ-24 SJ-24:

Proculation Proculation:

Rihx Rihx:

Knoss Knoss:

I think a problem is Quebecs undemocratic and unconstituitional language policy has denied a generation of Quebecers Engligh language skills which are essental in the North American ecconomy.

Well... English is the international language of buisness. I wonder if anyone ever told them :p

We are a french province. There's no problem to do business in french.

The problem is not the language. That's totally stupid. All companies can do business in english if they want. They just have to offer a french service in the province.

The problem is the big businesses and how to get them here. The problem is structural. The chinese language did not stop anyone to move to China...
We need to change the laws to allow businesses to prosper, not taxing them to death.

Well, I know of one interior design firm that considered opening an office in Montreal and decided that additional costs in advertisement, signage, and hiring people from outside the five person team just to answer the phone in french, as required by law, well it was a $145,000 addition to the office budget no one wanted to put out. Fact is, your Bill 101 is what is killing your province. Until you wake up to that, and the many other barriers, you have put up, you will continue to be seen as a place no sane business excutive would care to spend money to make money. I work on a twenty to one ratio. For every dollar i spend I expect atleast a return of twenty in return. If I have to send an additional five just to pay for someone to say "Bonjour!", well I'll go elsewhere, as my friends have.

I have a relative that runs an office in Hong Kong and they don't advertise in Chinese, nor do they have anyone answer the phone in anything other than English. Sign hanging the front door is all English. All the staff in the office are from Canada and none speak anything other than English. They run the HK office the same as anywhere else. The people who come to them in Hong Kong seeking their Engineering advice come with a translator if they don't speak English themselves. The burden of communication is the buyer's problem, not the businesses problem. I'm sure the 101 police in Quebec would never go for that.

Now tell me, would you still say your system is not fucked up when a place like the city of Hong Kong (Proper) has far more foreign investment that all of Quebec put together! I wonder what is stopping Quebec?!

Like I said, there's no law that stop companies to do business in english. They just have to offer a french services inside Quebec. I agree with you that's a cost. But, if a company is looking for a place to invest, they will find that there is different cost for every places. It really depends on how big you are going to invest.

So, i repeat, what is stopping quebec is the structural and economic context. The high taxes, the government-controlling unions, the poor services and crumbling infrastructures, etc, etc.
That's the "modèle Québécois" itself.

while you maybe right about the union situation in quebec, the fact still stands that it is the union and other extreme socilaist groups that push the agenda of social programs that Quebec simply cannot afford. And one of these programs is the language law in quebec. You also say at how much a company wants to invest, part of that cost is still being forced to comply with a law that mandates that companies must do business in both languages that in all of North America it remains the only area where one can be charged with a crime for not having frend letters on your signange, and french speakers for the office. While that maybe good for the Quebec nationalists, it adds tothe investment costs of companies considering operating in quebec, and in business its the cost - the bottom line tht ultimately counts.

Would i as a potential business owner while in addition to my other worries about making aprofitable business want to worry about whether some government functionary is out looking at my sign with a meassuring tape, then to some into my place of business and give me a fine fbecause my french letter weren't bigger than my english ones? not a chance.

In North america there are approximately 300 million people, and the law of the land in North america is that English is the langauge for about 97% of the population. If a stroe or business owner chooses to do business in a language other than english - that is thier choice. they are not charged with a crime if english speaking people choose not to do business there. We're seeing this on a vastly larger scale in Quebec where businesses are refraining from going to to quebec because of its absurd social programs and that includes bill 101.

Quebec is an economic basket case because of prgrams like bill 101. almost a decade after all the other provinces saw the wisdom of balanced budgets, quebec when blithley on spending money it didt have, and couldnt and cant attract enough investment to create the financial resources to have a province where the amount of money going in, is the the same as the money going out. Instead a province with the second highest population in Canada is still a 'have-not' province. to me that smacks of stupidity, arrogance and as Mr bouchard said a basic laziness in dealing with the real world of business.