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Post by kerouac2 on Jul 1, 2017 17:30:36 GMT
I'm surprised that there has been no mention of this here, either for or against today's celebrations.
I found this article on Al Jazeera particularly bitter: Canada @150: Still trying to keep the US happy
Nevertheless, happy 150th! |
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Post by lagatta on Jul 1, 2017 19:26:16 GMT
The less powerful countries in North America (and the tiny ones in Central America) do have to be cautious about how they act with respect to the elephant in the room; that is simply Realpolitik. I share some of the writer's concerns, but it was an oddly virulent article. The celebration is of the 150th anniversary of Canadian Confederation. Canada certainly existed (in the sense of a French, later British colony) long before Confederation which united the province of Canada, which had merged Upper Canada (part of what is now Ontario) and Lower Canada (part of what is now Québec), New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. As some of you might know, Canada Day is not much celebrated here in Québec, even by federalists. Many people in Québec, even those who oppose the idea of independence, tend to think of the terms of Confederation as a bit of a raw deal. But the major opposition to the idea of celebrating Confederation no longer comes from Québec, but from the growing movement for recognition of the rights of Indigenous peoples. An attempt to erect teepees on Parliament Hill met with police repression, but as it was seriously bad press, the authorities allowed the protestors to erect one teepee, where they are taking part in a ceremonial fast. I didn't vote for Trudeau (I voted NDP (social-democratic) and my MP won by a good majority), but to Trudeau's credit, he removed his shoes and entered the ceremonial teepee and exchanged words with the Indigenous delegation, something his predecessor Stephen Harper would never have done. The central celebration is at Ottawa, of course: www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/canada-day/artists.html site en français et en anglais but Toronto is also taking advantage of the event to boost tourism - and perhaps put the notorious mayoralty of Rob Ford behind them. Prince Charles and Camilla are on a royal visit; The Queen is simply getting too old for the strain of cross-oceanic travel. Charlie has to do something, after all; poor fellow still waiting for his job, though he's now a senior citizen... Photos for those who enjoy a bit of pomp: www.cbc.ca/news/photos/royal-visit-2017-prince-charles-and-camilla-tour-canada-1.4185722 And yes, believe it or not, Ontario does now produce some high-quality wines, as does BC. Québec will need a couple more degrees of global warming to produce truly good wines. Canada has also had frequent visits from members of the Dutch royal family, in recognition to sheltering some of its members during the Nazi occupation and to the Canadian role in the liberation of the Netherlands. |
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 1, 2017 19:51:20 GMT
Mitrovica obviously has felt for quite a while that his country needs more concise and informed policies. I don't know enough about the big picture to say whether he's right or wrong, but his credentials are impressive: www.sheridancollege.ca/academics/faculties/animation-arts-and-design/faculty-profiles/andrew-mitrovica.aspx#for those who enjoy a bit of pomp Sorry, LaGatta ~ even my admittedly stupid fascination with the older royals can't get me past my perpetual wonderment over Canada allowing itself to still be part of "the mother country". |
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Post by kerouac2 on Jul 1, 2017 19:54:33 GMT
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Post by lagatta on Jul 1, 2017 20:04:59 GMT
bixa, surely you don't think my posting that was an expression of monarchism! Québec is a hotbed of republicanism (not Republicanism!) I'm just trying to present some of the events in the news around the 150th.
Trump tweets just anything, doesn't he?
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 1, 2017 20:50:32 GMT
No indeed, LaGatta -- I know better.  And yeah -- it's all about *him*.  |
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Post by lagatta on Jul 1, 2017 20:58:48 GMT
Canadian media have corrected Trumps's new found friend to either new-found or newfound, dependinng on their style books. It was an odd error, as it modifies the tonic accent. Romeo Saganash is an MP for the riding (constituency, roughly analogous to US electoral districts)that is pretty much the northern half of Québec. It is a huge and sparsely populated riding, home to several Indigenous peoples and some "southern" mining towns, mostly Québecois francophones and others from all over, but also always an Indigenous contingent. www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/150-years-of-cultural-genocide-today-like-all-days-is-an-insultHe and his siblings were wrenched away from their families to be taken to schools far away, where they were forbidden to speak their own languages (the same happened in Australia, a world away, and doubtless in other countries). In his case, some children were sent to French-language boardings schools, others to English ones, so they no longer had a common language, as they had forgotten James Bay Cree. And one of his brothers died there as a little boy, and the family only discovered the truth much later. I'm not posting this to rain on anyone's parade. On the contrary, I'm heartened by the growing recognition of these outrages and attempts to create right relations. |
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Post by whatagain on Jul 2, 2017 10:45:17 GMT
Most of the French were forbidden to speak their language in order to unify the country.
Flemish Breton Provençal etc were spoken and are de facto dead in france.
Perso I will never understand the need to speak outdated languages. I spoke Walloon but cannot find anybody who speaks it. I find that soanish would have been more useful. My Walloon is from Charleroi and is different from the Walloon of Namur a good 30 kms away.
Respect for culture and recognition of past mistreatment is an entire different matter v
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Post by patricklondon on Jul 3, 2017 8:00:33 GMT
even my admittedly stupid fascination with the older royals can't get me past my perpetual wonderment over Canada allowing itself to still be part of "the mother country". I don't think any more than a minority here thinks of it that way, nor I suspect in Canada, any more than in Australia. The problem is likely to be not being able to agree on an alternative local arrangement that will satisfy everybody - but why whatever local arrangement that currently produces the Governor-General couldn't just produce a President instead is a mystery only the locals know. Inertia counts for a lot - there's always something more important to take up the political timetable. I will never understand the need to speak outdated languages There's always what I call the Joni Mitchell principle - "You don't know what you've got till it's gone". My blog | My photos | My video clips"too literate to be spam" |
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 3, 2017 8:34:42 GMT
Inertia counts for a lot - there's always something more important to take up the political timetable. That sentence certainly resonates with this citizen of a country currently suffering the effects of the #@%^&$* electoral college.   |
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Post by lagatta on Jul 3, 2017 9:08:32 GMT
"President" also has a different resonance in Canada, evoking not only the imperial presidency in the US but also all the presidents in the countries south of there, often very authoritarian...
Only the more informed will think of symbolic presidencies in Italy or Israel (where they were important factors of stability) or the ceremonial presidency in Germany and many other democracies.
As for language loss among Indigenous peoples in Canada, as well as in Australia and other places, children were uprooted from their families in a far more brutal way than what occurred in the French school system. In Canadian residential schools, everything a child brought from home (clothing, small possessions) was thrown away and their heads shorn. They were beaten for speaking their language.
Of course the military could be a very brutal way of having to learn a language pronto in Europe, as some troops simply didn't understand their officer's orders, greatly increasing their likelihood of getting killed or wounded.
But ideas about language have also changed; there is no reason one can't speak Breton or Welsh and not speak perfect French or English, as well as other tongues.
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Post by mich64 on Jul 3, 2017 11:52:17 GMT
I was away this weekend visiting with family in Timmins, Ontario! The City hosted an 8 day Festival called Stars and Thunder which featured concerts and an international fireworks competition. Friday night we sat in the rain covering our chairs and legs with plastic garbage bags (worked well for keeping us dry!) As it poured we enjoyed listening to Country musical groups. The weather on Saturday was perfect although we had to wear fleece sweaters and windbreakers but no rain as we listened to Johnny Reid and Keith Urban and then witnessed the most spectacular fireworks we will probably ever see in our lifetime, absolutely incredible!
Our Canada Day 150 was a weekend spent with family and friends.
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Post by lagatta on Jul 3, 2017 12:47:58 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 3, 2017 14:52:04 GMT
What a spectacle, Mich --sounds fabulous!
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Post by mich64 on Jul 3, 2017 23:26:14 GMT
It was indeed Bixa!
Thank you for adding the link Lagatta!
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Post by lagatta on Jul 4, 2017 0:01:07 GMT
I've often found such events more touching in smaller places. I'm old enough to remember the centennial, though I was far from adult. Visiting a place in eastern Ontario where relatives lived, much smaller than Timmins or the somewhat larger city where you live. And of course also here in Mtl with Expo 67 where I played at being an adult.
mich, I'm sure you know that many 14 juillet events are "bals des pompiers" - firefighters. Kerouac has illustrated some of those, but they aren't only in Paris or other very large cities such as Lyon or Marseille. If you and your husband were to go, you'd get a special welcome, especially in places no bigger than Timmins.
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Post by mich64 on Jul 4, 2017 1:46:39 GMT
Lagatta when we travel we try to always get a photo of my husband in front of Fire Stations, we mostly visit really small towns, so they are usually empty (volunteer departments) we always hope to spot someone around! We did have a tour in Stiring Wendel, France, by a cousin of my husband who is a Firefighter/Medic there, that was interesting to compare equipment, procedures and policies and they were all wonderful to us. My husband has given tours to many people who just stop in at his Hall. We look forward to someday visiting during "bals des pompiers" once my husband is retired.
I wanted to do something special for the 150 Anniversary and have always wanted to go to a concert by a musician/artist like Keith Urban (his performance was fantastic!) I have to say the experience was more sensory overwhelming than I expected but it was worth it!
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Post by kerouac2 on Jul 4, 2017 4:36:59 GMT
I don't know what the percentage is in other countries, but I read yesterday that 20% of the firefighters in France are professionals, and 80% are volunteers.
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Post by patricklondon on Jul 4, 2017 11:19:57 GMT
Quite a few local/rural fire services in the UK are mainly volunteers, or were in my childhood - it wasn't uncommon in such places to hear the siren go to call them in for an alert (and our lifeboat services still are volunteers, of course). As it happens I was just reading a piece on the stresses and strains on today's professional firefighters, and noticed just how much paramedical/social work they seem to end up doing, despite being organised as a separate service, unlike in France. My blog | My photos | My video clips"too literate to be spam" |
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Post by lagatta on Jul 11, 2017 12:48:55 GMT
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Post by kerouac2 on Jul 11, 2017 13:51:19 GMT
If New Caledonia were to choose independence in next year's referendum, the name of the independent country would almost certainly be Kanaky.
(At the moment the polls say that independence will be rejected -- all of that money from France is too good of a deal.)
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Post by lagatta on Jul 11, 2017 14:24:59 GMT
Couldn't the Kanaks have more autonomy while retaining the ties with France?
Yes, don't the few colonies that remain enjoy French social legislation, such as education, healthcare and the Revenu social d'insertion?
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Post by kerouac2 on Jul 11, 2017 16:32:05 GMT
The dependencies in the Pacific got very riled up when Chirac resumed nuclear weapons testing on their side of the world ("Why not do it in France?"). In 1988, after much rioting and a terrible hostage situation that ended in the massacre of 19 separatists -- 12 of whom were strangely shot in the head -- the authorities (both in France and the local right wing government at the time) somehow cleverly managed to set the date of the referendum 30 years later. So a whole new generation will be voting with little or no memory of that event.
Actually, besides the ones in the Pacific (New Caledonia, Tahiti, Wallis & Futuna), the only Franch dependency is St. Pierre & Miquelon. All of the other places are French departments and part of the European Union. The only local adaptation of French law is in Mayotte, I think, where girls are still allowed to wear hijabs to school.
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