Blog Post #8 - New Brunswick -- THE CANARY IN -- CANADA'S -- COAL MINE?

edudyorlik's blogspot

Saturday, 28 February 2015

Blog Post #8 - New Brunswick -- THE CANARY IN -- CANADA'S -- COAL MINE?

-- Disclaimer

-- The 80% rule

HEADLINES FROM A STORY OUT OF NEW BRUNSWICK:
(If you wish to read the story it can be found {in light blue} at the end of this post)
The mayor of New Brunswick’s capital city (Brad Woodside) stirred up a hornet’s nest Friday for comments he Tweeted, suggesting duality in government departments should be reviewed.

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QUOTES SURROUNDING THE STORY:

 

--- "Woodside set Twitter on fire Thursday night after tweeting:
“Bilingualism I understand, duality makes no sense. This should be on the table Mr Premier as we look to save money. You asked.”

--- "Woodside said he only raised the duality issue because of Premier Brian Gallant’s public call for citizen engagement in advising the province on how to reduce the deficit and bring down the cost of public spending."

--- “There’s a lot of things that have been in place for a long, long time and we are in over our heads in debt, and we have a provincial government that has asked the public for ideas and suggestions,” Woodside said.

--- “Why can’t the province address the issue and explain to the people of New Brunswick why it’s necessary and why the cost is necessary. I think the vast number of New Brunswickers don’t understand it and don’t support it and it does require dialogue. There’s nothing wrong with dialogue.”

--- “This has to do with government departments and the duality of those. Nobody wants to talk about it because it’s contentious. Dialogue is probably the best way to solve the problem.” 

And these last two final quotes which contain the obligatory -- please don't strip the skin from my living body, I am NOT AGAINST bilingualism, I AM FOR FAIRNESS -- style additions.

--- “My idea is take a look at it. Justify if it’s necessary or possibly could save money. I’ve made it abundantly clear I don’t have a problem with bilingualism."

--- "This isn’t meant to offend or cause problems with the bilingual nature of our province."

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As you can see, the story deals with Mayor, Brad Woodside (you can find Brad Woodside's tweets on twitter) and his mere suggestion that the cost of "duality" in that province should be reviewed as it could save millions.

He was simply trying to identify areas (as requested) where budget money could be saved and have a conversation about those suggestions.

Once again, the "other side" has turned a mere legitimate suggestion of dialogue into an effective way to quell any modicum of talk about how duality and bilingualism has gone completely out of whack in this country.

A conversation that has gone from a completely understandable ideal way that Canadian's could find ways to accommodate one another,  without going further into debt and without services being affected, into a device of power and control with one side {the FPTB} continuing to gain more and more power every single minute of every single day as they desperately cling to those gains by completely stomping out ANY legitimate voices of concern from ALL other sides.

What's worse is they are stomping out these legitimate voices of concern using peer pressure and bullying style tactics which lumps all voices, even those of the legitimate nature, into the the same unsettling incorrect cauldron.

These tactics are familiar because they were the same tactics that were previously -- well used and abused -- {ie: the term "bigot"} back in the mid 70's and 80's by the FPTB in order to quell any opposing views from ANYONE.


CASE & POINT:
The mere "suggestion" that "duality" could be an area that is trimmed to save millions was meet with suggestions that Mr. Woodside was against the French and against bilingualism etc etc etc... Which of course, IS NOT TRUE AT ALL.  Like most of us, he is obviously FOR FAIRNESS and NOT against a healthy form of bilingualism.

Oddly enough, when one takes the opportunity to check, it would seem that, judging from rhetoric like this, 

AND THIS...

 it seems more like they, {the FPTB} are the ONLY ONES who are against bilingualism

              ===========

Maybe, just like how Canadians took back the use of the phrase "Merry Christmas"  with exuberant fervor this past holiday season {I imagine everyone noticed how over the top that was}

the "bees nest" does have to be shaken 

and the "Twitter-verse" does need to be set on fire

  

with a renewed push for a healthy debate about human rights which SHOULD INCLUDE 

--- LANGUAGE RIGHTS in this country.

After all, it's pretty evident how much of a sacred cow bilingualism and language issues are.

When one sees Canadian news personalities {this was on the news last night} getting very heated and worked up {rightfully so} about how the woman in Montreal was discriminated against as she was told she could not proceed and have her court case heard unless she took off her head scarf (Hijab).


But not getting getting "heated and worked up" or giving a damn when well documented cases like the following ---

1) - A  dying man is ordered to speak French to a hospital intern

2) - A woman arrives at a hospital in an ambulance with chest pain but is turned away from receiving treatment because she asks for that treatment in English

AND...



3) A Montreal, Quebec paramedic tells 

a worried mother and father that they 

must speak to him in French before he can treat their young daughter who is unresponsive and suffering an unknown (at the moment) health trauma

 
--- occur which involve flagrant discrimination based on language in  --- A PROVINCE (Quebec) which is  INSIDE THE COUNTRY OF CANADA ---

Not one Canadian news personality would even touch the issue of these kinds of "language based" human rights atrocities that were committed against these Canadian citizens in the province of Quebec.

Very few -- IF ANY -- ever mentions these blatant language discrimination cases as "a comparison" in their talking points.

As a matter of fact, these human rights violations based on language rarely receive ANY MENTION AT ALL
once the initial news story is done and over with.


It's as if they cover the story because well, NOT covering the story could cause a worse problem.

Then, they hold their breath and move on to the next story in the hopes that no one really notices and gets mad enough to be politically and socially active.

Not one of these language discrimination situations received even one tenth (I'm being generous) of the attention  coverage from our Canadian media that is now being focused on the story with the woman in Montreal.
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It would seem that Joy Dykeman put it best when she replied with the following.

Joy Dykeman: 

"Listen to the frantic spewing of the francos when it is suggested that the anglos and others no longer accept the status quo and want dualism revisited because it serves only one purpose - to give to the french and take from the English speaking majority. Hope to hell they all cancel their tickets for the meeting in Edmonton - the country would be happy to have a peaceful, quality meeting, open for truth and respect....WAY TO GO BRAD....you have exposed the racist, bigotted radicals among us.....we stand firmly behind you."

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Yes Joy, Canadians do stand firmly behind putting an end to the idiocy of spending billions of scarce tax dollars on programs that are over the top
and OVER serving to a tiny portion of the community.  

Programs that push well beyond the equal rights and needs of the whole community.

We all need to shake the proverbial bees nest and set the twitter verse on fire.

--- Perhaps it IS TIME that we all ACTUALLY DO literally and physically  --- STAND BEHIND --- these people.

The time for saying -- AND NOT DOING -- has passed.

Support MUST BE  --- IN THE FLESH -- 

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PS: For the record.
I admit that I would have much less of a problem with this judges decision if the woman had been wearing the full face covering (Burka)

That may seem hypocritical to some but, I believe there is a level of distinct difference in the two garments AND THUS, I don't believe society (especially in the times we live in right now) should allow full face covering in "public" areas {banks, school yards, courts, etc etc etc)

{unless it's a specific type of parade or festival or whatever which takes place in one area and as one specific type event}.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/24118241

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The original story:

( from Moncton Times and Transcript by reporter Brent Mazerolle). Posted on https://www.facebook.com/groups/englishrightsassociation/permalink/10155448320215179/

The mayor of New Brunswick’s capital city stirred up a hornet’s nest Friday for comments he Tweeted, suggesting duality in government departments should be reviewed.

The New Brunswick Association of Francophone Municipalities vigorously denounced Fredericton Mayor Brad Woodside’s comments.

Woodside set Twitter on fire Thursday night after tweeting: “Bilingualism I understand, duality makes no sense. This should be on the table Mr Premier as we look to save money. You asked.”

The tweet was shared more than 120 times, sparking a lengthy chain of replies.

The association issued a statement Friday, calling upon Woodside to retract his comments.

Richibucto Mayor and association president Roger Doiron said it’s hardly conceivable that Woodside wants to reopen a language rights debate.

“I was at the time surprised and shocked when I learned about the content of the Mayor Woodside (Tweet). This is both unacceptable and irresponsible on his part,” said Doiron in a news release from the association.

“As (Woodside is) president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, which is an organization representative of bilingual French and English municipalities across the country, it has the moral duty to defend the language rights of both official language communities,” Doiron said.

“We ask him to make amends and to retract,” he said in the news release.

He also called upon the federal municipalities group to disavow Woodside if he fails to reaffirm support for language rights.

“It is irresponsible for Mayor Woodside to throw oil on the fire and make comments only serve to identify a scapegoat. Such amalgams, serve to feed the speech of a tiny minority of the population of this province who does not want recognize our rights as Acadian and francophone communities,” said the association president.

Doiron said his association represents 53 francophone and bilingual municipalities in New Brunswick with a population base of 280,000.

Dieppe Mayor Yvon Lapierre suggested a boycott of the national conference of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, scheduled for June 5 and 6 in Edmonton, because of Woodside’s comments.

“I’m certainly cancelling my ticket,” he said, adding he would encourage other mayors to do the same.

“I know it does not reflect the views of the FCM, but when you have the president making those statements — he’s been travelling the world, literally, as a representative of the FCM and he’s the mayor of the capital of the only officially bilingual province.”

Of Woodside, Lapierre said, “I think he forgets how many hats he’s wearing.”

“I’m sorry my friend Brad is going to be upset with me, but I’m very upset with him right now,” Lapierre said.

But Woodside said he didn’t issue the tweet to spark a debate about bilingualism in New Brunswick.

Instead, he said, he wants a calm discussion about the cost and need for duality in government departments and in public services.

Among the first to reply was Edmundston Mayor Cyrille Simard.

“Dear colleague. You really want to put duality in education on the table?” he tweeted, prompting Woodside to reply with: “Education and health Mr Mayor.”

Simard replied: “Canadian Constitution Act Art. 16.1 (1).” He also said health isn’t really a dual department.

But Simard could not be reached Friday by The Daily Gleaner for further comment.

The Charter of Rights and Freedoms recognizes the uniquely bilingual nature of New Brunswick by singling out the province in a number of articles connected to guarantees of bilingualism.

It is 16.1(1) that declares, “The English linguistic community and the French linguistic community in New Brunswick have equality of status and equal rights and privileges, including the right to distinct educational institutions and such distinct cultural institutions as are necessary for the preservation and promotion of those communities.”

Duality of health care isn’t explicitly called for in the Charter, unless you count hospitals as cultural institutions, another section, 16 (3), says, “Nothing in this Charter limits the authority of Parliament or a legislature to advance the equality of status or use of English and French.”

While New Brunswick’s two health authorities are divided on linguistic lines, there is an expectation of service in both official languages at any provincial health facility.

Woodside said Friday in an exclusive interview with The Daily Gleaner that he didn’t want to continue the discussion because he doesn’t want to continue to fan the flames.

“It’s really a lightning rod and whenever you talk about language, it brings out the best and the worst in people,” the capital city mayor said.

Woodside said he only raised the duality issue because of Premier Brian Gallant’s public call for citizen engagement in advising the province on how to reduce the deficit and bring down the cost of public spending.

“There’s a lot of things that have been in place for a long, long time and we are in over our heads in debt, and we have a provincial government that has asked the public for ideas and suggestions,” Woodside said.

“My idea is take a look at it. Justify if it’s necessary or possibly could save money. I’ve made it abundantly clear I don’t have a problem with bilingualism.

“Why can’t the province address the issue and explain to the people of New Brunswick why it’s necessary and why the cost is necessary. I think the vast number of New Brunswickers don’t understand it and don’t support it and it does require dialogue. There’s nothing wrong with dialogue.”

Woodside said the tweet “certainly has been taken out of context and used for other purposes.”

“I’m surprised how some people have interpreted the response, but once again that’s social media,” he said.

“There’s people coming out on both sides of this issue in a pretty mean way. It wasn’t my intention to get down into the dirt.

This isn’t meant to offend or cause problems with the bilingual nature of our province.

“This has to do with government departments and the duality of those. Nobody wants to talk about it because it’s contentious. Dialogue is probably the best way to solve the problem.”

The Fredericton mayor said he chatted with the mayor of Edmundston.

“I’m only suggesting ways that the province might save some money and this is one of them,” Woodside said.

“Given the constitutional nature of the comments in question, the commissioner believes that it is more appropriate for government and our provincially elected officials to clearly reaffirm the constitutional right of both linguistic communities in New Brunswick to have distinct educational institutions and such distinct cultural institutions as are necessary for their preservation and promotion,” said Hugest Beaulieu, the director of public affairs and research at the Office of the Commission of Official Languages for New Brunswick.

When it comes to the public purse, given the province’s fiscal outlook, nothing should be exempt from a review, Woodside said.

“When they’re discussing these matters and the public brings these matters forward, there should be a reasonable explanation from (the provincial) government.”

“Take out the emotion. Take out the issue of bilingualism and talk about duality and inform the public. That’s all. It’s not a debate between me and people. It’s not my program. It’s a discussion the province should have for the people of New Brunswick,’’ said the Fredericton mayor.

Comments:

·  Joy Dykeman Listen to the frantic spewing of the francos when it is suggested that the anglos and others no longer accept the status quo and want dualism revisited because it serves only one purpose - to give to the french and take from the English speaking majority. Hope to hell they all cancel their tickets for the meeting in Edmonton - the country would be happy to have a peaceful, quality meeting, open for truth and respect....WAY TO GO BRAD....you have exposed the racist, bigotted radicals among us.....we stand firmly behind you.