Starting with today's "bend over and get ready for cuts" inaugural speech, this thread will serve as an ongoing chronicle of the many sins of the Couillard Liberal government.
The Official Couillard Liberals Scandal/Outrage Thread
Wed, 2014-04-23 20:31
#1
The Official Couillard Liberals Scandal/Outrage Thread
Wed, 2014-04-23 20:42
#2
alan smithee
This is going to be a very loooong thread.
Thu, 2014-04-24 07:13
#3
We need some popcorn!
Also, a sturdy umbrella, or Tempo Shelter, for the moment when LA MARDE hits the fan...
Thu, 2014-04-24 10:36
#4
see new Cabinet list:
http://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/politique/politique-quebecoise/201404/...
and a factoid worth noting:
On attendait Hélène David, une vice-rectrice de l'Université de Montréal, à l'Éducation, mais elle est finalement à la tête de la Culture et des Communications. Comme secrétaire de la province dans les cabinets Gouin et Taschereau, son grand-père, Athanase David, avait joué le rôle de ministre de la Culture avant que ce poste ne soit créé officiellement et il avait écrit une politique culturelle - un prix littéraire porte son nom. M. Couillard lui a également confié le mandat de ministre responsable « de la Protection et de la Promotion de la langue française ». Elle est la soeur de Françoise David, de Québec solidaire.
Thu, 2014-04-24 16:26
#5
On the cabinet outrage parade, let's start with Sam Hamad, former VP of Roche and famous ignorer of the Duchesneau report, as transport minister -- a back-to-business-as-usual signal to the mob if ever there were one.
Thu, 2014-04-24 16:45
#6
Straight from the Gazette mouthpiece, here comes the pain:
Newly minted Quebec finance minister Carlos Leitao is telling anyone who will listen a budget will be tabled in June and [b]the watchword is austerity[/b]. This echoes what appeared to be heads up given by Premier Philippe Couillard a day earlier, when he said that the time “for marginal or cosmetic measures” is over and the time for difficult decisions had arrived. There’s already talk of a [b]wage freeze[/b] for the public services and that any new government spending would have to come from existing budgets. All of which might take some observers back to 2003 when newly elected premier Jean Charest said it was time to [b]re-engineer the Quebec model[/b]
And as those Liberals in the construction industry could tell you, the best "re-engineering" is done by way of demolition.
Spending cuts will lead way to balanced budget, Leitão says
“We will question the pertinence of all the social programs,” he said. “Some programs would have to be abolished, would have to be changed, would have to be reduced and others might have to be increased.”
Thu, 2014-04-24 16:46
#7
alan smithee
Question is,with Montréal already swimming with a poverty problem and a homelesss epidemic ,how severe will social unrest become and will we see a sharp spike in crime?
The poor are going to really get the brunt of this.
I miss Charest.
Thu, 2014-04-24 22:52
#8
Couillard's priorities are (destroying) the economy, (lack of) transparency
Couillard said he vowed to make his agenda public when the session at the National Assembly begins May 20.
Seems to me like an election campaign would've been a great time to do that, but I guess Couillard is a firm believer in the Kim Campbell school of governance.
"We will use all the tools at our disposal to achieve this important goal, except increase the tax burden of Quebecers and decrease critical services," Couillard said, adding that an early look at the books indicates Quebec's deficit is more than $3.1 billion — rather than $2.5 billion as was previously being reported.
For those of you who use Twitter, I suggest a new hashtag for when something deeply affecting you gets eliminated or slashed to the bone: #NotACriticalService.
Cabinet's already frozen public-sector hiring, and a wage freeze is coming. Is everybody happy we saved the province from an imaginary referendum yet?
And while we're at it: I know the #1 tool in every newly elected government's toolbox is to claim the previous government lied about finances, so you'll have to break all of your promises. But does it seem a little suspicious to anyone else that Couillard is claiming [i]one[/i] PQ budget singlehandedly wrecked the finely balanced books that Charest left behind, thereby justifying bleeding the civil service white?
Fri, 2014-04-25 03:10
#9
alan smithee
He didn't make his agenda clear during the election campaign because he knew he wouldn't have won the election..or at least get a majority.
He's a fuckin' weasel...Come to think of it,he actually looks like a ferret.
Fri, 2014-04-25 14:19
#10
alan smithee
This Barry Wilson guy is a real treat.
http://montreal.ctvnews.ca/postscript-welcome-to-the-return-of-sanity-in...
What exactly does this man think are 'entitlements'?
Nevermind,I know what he's refering to.
Fri, 2014-04-25 15:32
#11
"TRIBAL" nationalism? Racist prick (against both francophones and Indigenous peoples).
I sent the following comment, but doubt it will be printed, although I specifically did not call Mr Wilson a racist or redneck.
"Tribal" nationalism? Managing to be offensive both to francophone Québécois and to Indigenous peoples? WASPs, of course, are never "tribal".
I suppose that for Mr Wilson, entitlements are measures such as CPEs, which have contributed to women's equality in the labour force, and actually paid off for the economy?
The entitlements the "friends" of the Liberal party collects are safe, I guess. Business as usual. "Les vraies affaires".
Guess we can agree on the hockey playoffs.
Note that the website says that racist comments will not be printed. I guess that doesn't include those of their staff. Someone should complain about "tribal nationalism" on the basis of the policy stated at their site.
Perhaps here? [email protected]
Fri, 2014-04-25 15:41
#12
Barry Wilson has a week's wrapup on CTV every Friday at 6.30, usually awful....
Fri, 2014-04-25 15:58
#13
Here are the first trial balloons...
[b)Drastic spending cuts and a freeze on the current payroll[/b] are required, they conclude, and Couillard should [b]reconsider his election promise[/b] not to increase the $7 daily charge parents now pay for subsidized daycare to $8 this year and $9 next year.
The Quebec treasury board has identified $1.7 billion in possible cuts, which have not yet been reviewed by the government, and the province needs to find another $1.9 billion, through a combination of more cuts and additional revenues,” Godbout said.
The pair even suggested the government should consider [b]selling off 10-per-cent stakes in Loto Québec and Hydro-Québec[/b] “to give itself some oxygen,” buying back the shares when the province’s finances improve.
Montmarquette said Quebecers do not pay the full cost of the services they get, citing [b]daycare[/b], [b]university tuition[/b] and [b]Quebec’s pharmacare plan[/b], which alone covers 60 per cent of the cost of drugs.
He said Quebec has European-style social programs with an American-style tax regime and that makes no sense.
But recalling the reaction to the decision by the previous Liberal government of Jean Charest to impose a major university tuition hike, Montmarquette said the Couillard government should take care in reining in government spending that its plan enjoys “[b]social acceptance[/b],” saying protests in the streets could create new problems.
Goddamn right. Now let's all get out there and make sure Couillard knows this shit isn't socially acceptable.
Fri, 2014-04-25 18:27
#14
alan smithee
These damn poor people and their entitlements.
What happens to the mentally ill,people who cannot work because they are unemployable via mental or physical health?
It's going to be a joy walking in the city passed people no longer on their meds without any money.
I guess it's 'socially acceptable' to rape and pillage those who have nothing to begin with.
Let me correct myself. Those with nothing but 'entitlements'
Tue, 2014-05-20 13:59
#15
Tony Tomassi will plead guilty to fraud
Former Quebec Liberal MNA Tony Tomassi, who was ousted from cabinet in 2010 after corruption allegations surfaced, will plead guilty to fraud rather than stand trial.
One down, 70 to go. Too bad he'll likely never spend a day in jail.
Tue, 2014-05-20 15:18
#16
I'm rooting for Julie Boulet. Even though they're cut her loose, can you imagine how many she can pull down with her? All she needs is something to shall we say encourage her memory to start working again.
Tue, 2014-05-20 18:02
#17
alan smithee
Are you ready for the summer?
Wed, 2014-05-21 18:39
#18
Wed, 2014-05-21 19:19
#19
alan smithee
and the poor will get the real belt beating...he said 'no one will be spared'..no one but his criminal friends.
in case you missed it,the whole thing was a spectacle with his minions shaking their heads in agreement and applauding every sentence that came out of his mouth like a pack of monkeys.
Am I wrong to think Couillard is the most right wing Premier since Bouchard?...In fact he's looking even further (Tea Bag country)
Wed, 2014-05-21 20:00
#20
More like the most right-wing (and most federalist) since Duplessis.
Wed, 2014-05-21 20:10
#21
alan smithee
More like the most right-wing (and most federalist) since Duplessis.
And to think I feared Legault 
Wed, 2014-05-21 20:52
#22
Fucking Couillard never had to tighten his belt - I'm sure he eats in the finest restaurants every night, or has a trained chef at home.
I want people to learn as many languages as they can, but the idea that "everyone" should learn English is absurd.
Fri, 2014-05-23 09:08
#23
The Gazette continues hammering home the Liberal message: "It’s going to hurt in the short term but will be worth it in the end." (Note how we never actually get to that "long term".) Québec is "open for business again" and ready for a "long crossing of the desert" of pain.
Don't worry, though. Couillard thinks the word "austerity" is too negative, so he won't use it. The policies will remain unchanged.
Fri, 2014-05-23 12:39
#24
alan smithee
It's easy for those with money to dismiss austerity as 'short term pain'
The Gazette and CTV Montreal are the PLQ's biggest cheerleaders...I wonder if that 'long crossing of the desert' would be worth the pain if the government increased tax on the weathiest and closed all tax loopholes.
That's the alternative but it's much easier to kick someone in the teeth while they're down.
'Courage'....Yeah,the courage to fuck the poor and the ill.
ETA: This is why I hate the English media.
http://montreal.ctvnews.ca/postscript-maxime-bernier-s-common-sense-for-...
Fri, 2014-05-23 15:31
#25
Couillard is the offspring of the PQ's neoliberal betrayal. Québec needs a Quiet Revolution, only maybe not so quiet this time.
Which reminds me, look who's speaking at the International Economic Forum of the Americas June 9-12 in Montréal... Time for some street entertainment, hmmm?
À qui la rue? À nous la rue!
Fri, 2014-05-23 15:42
#26
alan smithee
Couillard is the offspring of the PQ's neoliberal betrayal. Québec needs a Quiet Revolution, only maybe not so quiet this time.
Which reminds me, look who's speaking at the International Economic Forum of the Americas June 9-12 in Montréal... Time for some street entertainment, hmmm?
À qui la rue? À nous la rue!
Trouble is the mere act of assembly is now illegal.
Protest and descent will now cost you over $300....I'm sure the riot police will be ready.
Fri, 2014-05-23 17:46
#27
$637 actually.
Tue, 2014-05-27 16:35
#28
Feeling the heat, there?
Wed, 2014-05-28 19:41
#29
alan smithee
It's all about the mythical middle class
Trudeau and Couillard had a meeting of the 'minds' today coming up with 'good ideas' to help the middle class.
All on the shoulders of the poor.
Wed, 2014-05-28 20:37
#30
Trudeau "represents" one of the poorest ridings in Canada. The people in Park Extension, mostly recent immigrants, work in the harshest jobs. The slight gentrification aka increased housing costs in Villeray should not negate its working-class, francophone, Italian, Lebanese and Portuguese roots or the more recent newcomers.
I'm so sick of the shit about the middle class, when even many educated workers (including myself) are reduced to precarity. I lived in his riding for years, and it is by chance that I'm a couple of blocks south of there, in Boulerice's riding...
Thu, 2014-05-29 16:47
#31
alan smithee
Funny that cutting tax loopholes,collecting corporate taxes and increasing tax on the wealthiest is not an option.
Thu, 2014-05-29 18:54
#32
Liberals kill light rail on Champlain Bridge
They weasel that they want a "hybrid road" that will allow the installation of light rail "eventually". Unless said hybrid includes tracks, it's better-known as a "road".
Coderre, of course, is eating it up:
“The good news is that they are saying ‘Prepare the bridge accordingly.’ I’ve said from the beginning that we are for the light rail system, but there will be a transitionary period. It’s certain there will have to be buses in the beginning,” Coderre said.
Astute historians may recall that the bus lanes on the [i]current[/i] Champlain were also supposed to be temporary, and to give way to a light rail after a few years. Now they look set to outlast the bridge itself.
Fri, 2014-05-30 14:11
#33
Search warrants reveal damning allegations against former AMT chief Joël Gauthier
The head of the region’s commuter rail authority asked his assistant to destroy his cellular phone, fearing what would happen if anyone saw the information it contained.
Sylvie Frenette, a former secretary for Agence métropolitaine de Transport president Joël Gauthier, told police she destroyed his cellphone once. Frenette added that Gauthier was often asking for his phone to be replaced because it “fell in the water.”
Gauthier, the former director of the Quebec Liberal Party, ran the AMT for nearly 10 years. He was pushed out of the AMT in January 2012 when more than $300 million in cost overruns were accrued on a new commuter line linking Mascouche and Montreal.
Staff members also told police Gauthier often received gifts, which included tickets to a hockey game. Another staff member told police Frenette often made cash deposits in Gauthier’s account at the Bank of Montreal.
Can we get that light rail back now?
Fri, 2014-05-30 21:03
#34
L'UPAC rencontre le député libéral Germain Chevarie
Les enquêteurs de l'Unité permanente anticorruption (UPAC) ont rencontré vendredi matin le député libéral des Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Germain Chevarie.
Le nom de Germain Chevarie a été entendu la semaine dernière à la commission Charbonneau. Un ex-vice-président de Roche, André Côté, a raconté que la firme de génie avait versé des dons illégaux au député madelinot lors de la campagne électorale de 2008. Germain Chevarie a démenti ces allégations.
Mon, 2014-06-02 13:18
#35
Witness confirms networking for political donations
The woman in charge of political donations for one of Quebec’s largest engineering firms took the stand at the Charbonneau Commission on Monday, kicking off what is expected to be the final month of testimony at the high-profile inquiry.
France Michaud, who until last year was employed by Roche, rested her chin on her hands and struggled to testify in clear, concise sentences as she was questioned by inquiry lawyer Simon Tremblay. Her eyes drooped and she repeatedly slurred her words as she confirmed that she liaised with Violette Trépanier of the Quebec Liberal Party and Ginette Boivin from the Parti Québécois to discuss party financing in the 2000s.
According to the witness, Roche’s employees donated generously and its executives attended fundraisers for MNAs in ridings where the firm was working on contracts. Their presence in Quebec’s political sphere ensured that if there were problems on work sites, a meeting with Transport Quebec could be set up quickly and easily, Michaud testified.
Michaud also confirmed that there were so-called “straw-man” donors at Roche, who gave to the parties and were then reimbursed by the company — but just a handful. Sometimes, she added, the firm awarded “bonuses” to certain employees that were actually destined for the political parties.
Before Michaud took over the firm’s fundraising efforts in the early 2000s, former Liberal MNA-turned-Roche consultant Marc-Yvan Côté allegedly served as the company’s main link to the PLQ.
That's the same Roche that transport minister Sam Hamad was VP of, which apparently has a revolving door for PLQ members (and mobsters, of course).
Tue, 2014-06-03 14:09
#36
alan smithee
Don't forget your Dr.Scholl's
http://montreal.ctvnews.ca/finance-minister-leitao-shows-off-his-new-sho...
Wed, 2014-06-04 17:27
#37
First take on the budget:
Daycare costs are going up, and the planned 30,000 new daycare spaces have been delayed until 2022. So if you have a kid now, you're shit out of luck.
Corporate taxes on PMEs in the manufacturing sector cut 50%.
Alcohol and tobacco taxes going up.
Hiring and wage freezes in the public service. 13/22 ministries making cuts.
All of the infrastructure spending the Liberals promised during the campaign has been cancelled.
I'm sure I'll have more later. This is just a love tap, though -- both the PLQ and the media say the real slaughter begins next year.
Wed, 2014-06-04 18:12
#38
alan smithee
Enjoy the summer and prepare for a cold winter.
Wed, 2014-06-04 18:14
#39
Wed, 2014-06-04 18:31
#40
Are we dissapointed that the price of smokes and booze is going up? Are we not living in a society which is living beyond our means? I don't get the frustration with the budget. 40% of Quebec citizens don't pay income tax. I think that as a society we have made important choices to be attemp to spread the wealth but at a certain point we need to reevaluate things. It doesn't help that every four years or so a governmnet with a separatist mandate is elected further eroding economic confidence in our province. Basically, all of us as Quebeckers are screwed anyways might as well get out the KY.
Wed, 2014-06-04 18:44
#41
alan smithee
The percentage you're paying is too high priced while you're living beyond all your means and the man in the suit has just bought a new car from the profits he's made on your dreams But today you just read that the man was shot dead by a gun that didn't make any noise But it wasn't the bullet that laid him to rest was the low spark of high-heeled boys 
Wed, 2014-06-04 18:50
#42
Are we dissapointed that the price of smokes and booze is going up?
Moralizing "sin taxes" whose impact falls disproportionately on the poor. Another great example of right-wing budget "hard choices" falling on those who can complain and lobby the least.
Are we not living in a society which is living beyond our means?
No. We're living in a society that's choked with corruption, that hands off crony deals to Québecor, that pays twice as much for construction as any other province because of the involvement of organized criminals like Tony Accurso and transport minister Hamad, and whose über-wealthy cavort on mob-owned yachts while evading taxes. Remember Couillard's Channel Islands bank account for laundering his tax-free salary from the Saudi government?
I don't get the frustration with the budget.
Perhaps you can start a "Why the Couillard Liberals are the best government in Québécois history" thread.
It doesn't help that every four years or so a governmnet with a separatist mandate is elected further eroding economic confidence in our province.
The Liberals governed Québec for [i]nine years[/i] before 18 months of a PQ government that everyone knew could never call a referendum. Where was all that supposed growth-from-Reaganomics-cuts then? Or is this an Ayn Rand-type scenario where as long as separatists exist and as long as there's any kind of welfare state, austerity policies can never truly be evaluated?
Basically, all of us as Quebeckers are screwed anyways might as well get out the KY.
Let me guess how you voted.
Wed, 2014-06-04 19:03
#43
Former Normandeau political aide describes favouritism in awarding of public contracts
Michel Binette served as the main conduit between Normandeau’s office and the municipalities applying for provincial funding for construction projects in the late 2000s. He told the Charbonneau Commission on Wednesday that some files sat idle on the minister’s desk awaiting approval because the riding where the project was being carried out was not a Liberal one. The approval might also have been delayed because the firm that was partnered with the municipality applying for a subsidy “wasn’t the right one.”
Binette also told the inquiry on Wednesday that three engineering firms — Dessau, BPR and Roche — snapped up 80 per cent of all provincially-subsidized municipal contracts in Quebec. The firms were in regular contact with the ministry of municipal affairs, the witness said, and even provided Normandeau’s chief-of-staff, Bruno Lortie, with lists of the subsidized projects they were working on.
Again, that's Sam Hamad's Roche. The transport minister. I'm sure he'll be thorough in making sure we get our money's worth.
Wed, 2014-06-04 19:58
#44
The "sin taxes" are not based on cost. The increase in cost of a $100 bottle of wine will be insignificant, that of an $8 bottle of wine huge. And no, I don't think drinking a bit of wine with supper is a "sin".
They are really pigs, and ecocidal pigs.
Wed, 2014-06-04 22:31
#45
Are we dissapointed that the price of smokes and booze is going up?Moralizing "sin taxes" whose impact falls disproportionately on the poor. Another great example of right-wing budget "hard choices" falling on those who can complain and lobby the least.
I think that smoking and drinking is a choice and as citizens we have a choice to partake in these activities. In addition, the cost of smoking is a huge burden on the health system. I think people who smoke now are clearly educated of the risks and ills associated with it and they should pay even more for a pack of smokes.
Are we not living in a society which is living beyond our means?No. We're living in a society that's choked with corruption, that hands off crony deals to Québecor, that pays twice as much for construction as any other province because of the involvement of organized criminals like Tony Accurso and transport minister Hamad, and whose über-wealthy cavort on mob-owned yachts while evading taxes. Remember Couillard's Channel Islands bank account for laundering his tax-free salary from the Saudi government?
There was nothing illegal about what Couillard did; laws are passed to protect the rich and their assets. As for the construction piece, I totally agree with you. The citizens are the innocent victims because we are the individuals being screwed.
I don't get the frustration with the budget.Perhaps you can start a "Why the Couillard Liberals are the best government in Québécois history" thread. I don't think they are a great government at all. Would I vote for the PQ who litterally wanted to throw people out on the streets because of a kippah or a turban, never ever in a million years. PQ wants the people to think the whole world is against the Quebecois people; paints francophones as victims who have no control. As for the CAQ, judging from your comments I can't see you aligning with their ideology.
It doesn't help that every four years or so a governmnet with a separatist mandate is elected further eroding economic confidence in our province.The Liberals governed Québec for [i]nine years[/i] before 18 months of a PQ government that everyone knew could never call a referendum. Where was all that supposed growth-from-Reaganomics-cuts then? Or is this an Ayn Rand-type scenario where as long as separatists exist and as long as there's any kind of welfare state, austerity policies can never truly be evaluated?
The Liberals are useless as well. Do I believe that a Liberal government is better for Quebec than a separatist party? Wholeheartedly. I think Quebeckers need to have skin in the game. We have all these absurd laws in place to discourage business and competition. Also, the public sector breeds laziness and I'm thrilled to back in the private sector where innovation and initiative is valuable.
Basically, all of us as Quebeckers are screwed anyways might as well get out the KY.
Let me guess how you voted. I'd vote Liberal again and again until I leave this province. Until then, I'll always vote Liberal because even though they also discriminate against my rights as a minority, I know they will never insist I be fired because I'm not pure-laien enough.
Wed, 2014-06-04 22:31
#46
Are we dissapointed that the price of smokes and booze is going up?Moralizing "sin taxes" whose impact falls disproportionately on the poor. Another great example of right-wing budget "hard choices" falling on those who can complain and lobby the least.
I think that smoking and drinking is a choice and as citizens we have a choice to partake in these activities. In addition, the cost of smoking is a huge burden on the health system. I think people who smoke now are clearly educated of the risks and ills associated with it and they should pay even more for a pack of smokes.
Are we not living in a society which is living beyond our means?No. We're living in a society that's choked with corruption, that hands off crony deals to Québecor, that pays twice as much for construction as any other province because of the involvement of organized criminals like Tony Accurso and transport minister Hamad, and whose über-wealthy cavort on mob-owned yachts while evading taxes. Remember Couillard's Channel Islands bank account for laundering his tax-free salary from the Saudi government?
There was nothing illegal about what Couillard did; laws are passed to protect the rich and their assets. As for the construction piece, I totally agree with you. The citizens are the innocent victims because we are the individuals being screwed.
I don't get the frustration with the budget.Perhaps you can start a "Why the Couillard Liberals are the best government in Québécois history" thread. I don't think they are a great government at all. Would I vote for the PQ who litterally wanted to throw people out on the streets because of a kippah or a turban, never ever in a million years. PQ wants the people to think the whole world is against the Quebecois people; paints francophones as victims who have no control. As for the CAQ, judging from your comments I can't see you aligning with their ideology.
It doesn't help that every four years or so a governmnet with a separatist mandate is elected further eroding economic confidence in our province.The Liberals governed Québec for [i]nine years[/i] before 18 months of a PQ government that everyone knew could never call a referendum. Where was all that supposed growth-from-Reaganomics-cuts then? Or is this an Ayn Rand-type scenario where as long as separatists exist and as long as there's any kind of welfare state, austerity policies can never truly be evaluated?
The Liberals are useless as well. Do I believe that a Liberal government is better for Quebec than a separatist party? Wholeheartedly. I think Quebeckers need to have skin in the game. We have all these absurd laws in place to discourage business and competition. Also, the public sector breeds laziness and I'm thrilled to back in the private sector where innovation and initiative is valuable.
Basically, all of us as Quebeckers are screwed anyways might as well get out the KY.
Let me guess how you voted. I'd vote Liberal again and again until I leave this province. Until then, I'll always vote Liberal because even though they also discriminate against my rights as a minority, I know they will never insist I be fired because I'm not pure-laien enough.
Wed, 2014-06-04 22:47
#47
Anything we eat or drink beyond bread or water is a"choice".
The idea of depriving us proles of the slightest bit of pleasure is very hautain and contemptuous.
You'd vote for the Fiberals? That is your problem then.
And Québec is a nation, not merely a "province". Did you ever bother to learn French?
I doubt you are really on the right board. Or in the right city. FOAD.
Wed, 2014-06-04 23:18
#48
Before I start: I know the proper use of the quote tag can be confusing, especially to those who aren't technologically oriented, but not using it can make things *really* confusing for other readers, especially after three or four nested comments.
I think that smoking and drinking is a choice and as citizens we have a choice to partake in these activities. In addition, the cost of smoking is a huge burden on the health system. I think people who smoke now are clearly educated of the risks and ills associated with it and they should pay even more for a pack of smokes.
Having children is a choice, too, but we provide subsidized day care, subsidized schools, and endless tax credits to help those who do.
But whether or not it's "a choice" to drink ignores the fact that these taxes, like sales taxes, have a disproportionate impact on the poor, as lagatta outlined so well upthread.
There was nothing illegal about what Couillard did; laws are passed to protect the rich and their assets. As for the construction piece, I totally agree with you. The citizens are the innocent victims because we are the individuals being screwed.
I think we agree on the first part too. Québec is not "living beyond our means"; we have passed laws that make it perfectly legal for the richest of the rich to avoid paying their fair share. The foremost cheerleader for said laws is the Parti Libéral du Québec.
I don't think they are a great government at all. Would I vote for the PQ who litterally wanted to throw people out on the streets because of a kippah or a turban, never ever in a million years. PQ wants the people to think the whole world is against the Quebecois people; paints francophones as victims who have no control. As for the CAQ, judging from your comments I can't see you aligning with their ideology.
I'll skip over your Gazette-fueled interpretation of the Charter and cheap-weed-fueled paranoia about francophones, and just say that I have pretty clearly endorsed Québec solidaire, and not the PQ, in every Québec thread on this site.
The Liberals are useless as well.
...I'd vote Liberal again and again until I leave this province.
If anyone wonders how the Liberals can get away with being such an abysmal government for so long, the answer is summed up in this quote from a stereotypical anglo Liberal voter.
I think the "until I leave this province" bit is particularly informative. Funny how many angryphones have regarded themselves as temporary residents at best in Québec ever since the Quiet Revolution. As with the pieds-noirs and Rhodesians, though they may have been born here, their allegiance to the land they love so much runs exactly as deep as the colonial power that guarantees their privilege.
Wed, 2014-06-04 23:30
#49
Before I start: I know the proper use of the quote tag can be confusing, especially to those who aren't technologically oriented, but not using it can make things *really* confusing for other readers, especially after three or four nested comments.
I think that smoking and drinking is a choice and as citizens we have a choice to partake in these activities. In addition, the cost of smoking is a huge burden on the health system. I think people who smoke now are clearly educated of the risks and ills associated with it and they should pay even more for a pack of smokes.
Having children is a choice, too, but we provide subsidized day care, subsidized schools, and endless tax credits to help those who do.
But whether or not it's "a choice" to drink ignores the fact that these taxes, like sales taxes, have a disproportionate impact on the poor, as lagatta outlined so well upthread.
There was nothing illegal about what Couillard did; laws are passed to protect the rich and their assets. As for the construction piece, I totally agree with you. The citizens are the innocent victims because we are the individuals being screwed.
I think we agree on the first part too. Québec is not "living beyond our means"; we have passed laws that make it perfectly legal for the richest of the rich to avoid paying their fair share. The foremost cheerleader for said laws is the Parti Libéral du Québec.
I don't think they are a great government at all. Would I vote for the PQ who litterally wanted to throw people out on the streets because of a kippah or a turban, never ever in a million years. PQ wants the people to think the whole world is against the Quebecois people; paints francophones as victims who have no control. As for the CAQ, judging from your comments I can't see you aligning with their ideology.I'll skip over your Gazette-fueled interpretation of the Charter and cheap-weed-fueled paranoia about francophones, and just say that I have pretty clearly endorsed Québec solidaire, and not the PQ, in every Québec thread on this site.
The Liberals are useless as well.
...I'd vote Liberal again and again until I leave this province.
If anyone wonders how the Liberals can get away with being such an abysmal government for so long, the answer is summed up in this quote from a stereotypical anglo Liberal voter.
I think the "until I leave this province" bit is particularly informative. Funny how many angryphones have regarded themselves as temporary residents at best in Québec ever since the Quiet Revolution. As with the pieds-noirs and Rhodesians, though they may have been born here, their allegiance to the land they love so much runs exactly as deep as the colonial power that guarantees their privilege.
I was born in Montreal. I'll leave when I can no longer earn a living or if the situation becomes so intolerable. Quebec has sealed its fate for years with useless governments who place preservation of culture above all else. 30 minutes outside of Montreal and there is only one culture that exists. You are certainly entitled to your opinion but what I find interesting is how people who don't share the same opinions/views as you are wrong for having those beliefs. No need to belittle me because I have different viewpoints than you. I have to read the newest edition of the national post now.
Wed, 2014-06-04 23:41
#50
You mean like you belittle not only sovereigntists, but federalists who care about identity issues?
Thu, 2014-06-05 23:30
#51
swallow
Plenty of other cultures 90 minutes outside of Montreal where I live. We seem to manage OK. Pretty limited Gazette readership though. Maybe that helps.