Unbelievable but true. The federal election campaign, boring at will, awakens the old demons of English Canada against Quebec and leaves Quebec speechless before expressing unbridled contempt for the French language and its culture. No Quebec citizen could remain indifferent to the accusation of mediator Shachi Kurl, of Angus Polls, towards the leader of the Quebec bloc, Yves Francois Blanchett. This ushered in last Thursday’s English debate and gave new impetus to the Quebec bloc’s campaign. Prime Minister Legault’s energetic exit in uniform as a Quebec captain underscored his muscular involvement in a federal election campaign. Free thoughts about elections seem unlikely.

discussions

Last week, we had two election debates from the Media Consortium on Wednesday with the debate in French and Thursday with the debate in English. Discussions, perhaps too powerful a word, to describe the sterile exchange of the cooks present. Had it not been for the widely publicized intervention of moderator Shachi Kurl in the English-language debate, these events would have been non-events. It must be said, as I wrote in my last column, that the current election campaign does not lead to real confrontations of ideas about the real issues that concern Canadians. By way of illustration, it is clear that combating climate change will be a major issue not only for Canada, but for the entire planet. We talk about it of course. We trade on each other’s merits, but lose out in debates about the rate of reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in distant time horizons without saying a word about what low emissions will mean in our daily lives in the way we eat, travel, live in our neighborhoods and even work We are reconfiguring ourselves. The fight against climate change will eventually lead to major changes in our lifestyles. Among the leaders present speaking on these issues. Green Party leader Anami Paul doesn’t even make it her dogma. This says it all.

Firearms, health financing, the pandemic, international politics, immigration, controversies over regional federal jurisdictions, abortion, religious freedom, reconciliation with the indigenous peoples of Canada are all topics that have been touched upon, but are not the subject of real discussions and debates that would allow Canadians to understand the scope of fully raised issues. Leaders’ debates are formulas that must be reviewed and media coverage of election campaigns must make the difference between an approach that encourages discussion and exchange of ideas and one that favors a systematic contrast of party positions in order to promote horse racing where we are. They are invited to predict the winners with the help of analysts and commentators. It would be more appropriate to contextualize the need to preserve French culture and language in North America rather than demonizing an authority that should protect its French community in an English-speaking setting. This would be more convenient than indulging in Quebec bashing…

Quebec bashing

Today it is not the English-Canadian elites, particularly those who come from media or intellectual circles, against Quebec. For a long time, Quebec was seen as Priests’ Riding AssociationIt is inhabited by a kind of mentally retarded people who are forbidden from democracy. The father of the current Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, once wrote that Quebecers do not like democracy. In Canadian political history, it was not only the leader of the Green Party, Annami Paul, who wanted to educate Quebecers. This purely Anglo-Canadian idea that Canada is morally superior to Quebec did not appear last Thursday night. Disdain for Quebec is common in Canada. Let’s remember the Alexandra Duval case, the loud cries of some regarding the national assertion of Quebec by defending its language and culture, and of course all the nonsense about supposed racism in Quebec that is expressed both in Law 21 on Secularism and its refusal to recognize the existence of systematic discrimination on its territory by the government of Quebec. Quebec.

However, that contemptuous view can be self-critical if it bothers itself to consider the facts about the treatment of minorities in history. Quebec certainly has no lessons to learn from the Canadian elites who locked First Nations on reservations and have living conditions that rival those we can find in the world’s poorest countries. Elite Canada is always ready to defend a minority, but it refuses to recognize the systematic discrimination of French Quebec in Canada. If Canada no longer wants Quebec, they should write it down and tell us. What goes wrong with Canadian English is that in Quebec there is a majority French speaking community that has values ​​similar to those of our Canadian neighbours. They have no monopoly on virtue. This translates to contempt…

And die cast

Whatever one thinks about inviting Canadians to the polls or not, we are right there. We must choose a government in the midst of a crisis 4^NS The wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and its variants. Moreover, voting began at the end of last week. I was voted for last Friday at the Sherbrooke Golf Club. At a polling station, everything seems normal. There is a regular crowd at the polling station even if it is too early to know if there is an epidemic effect on voter turnout.

Wine is drawn. We must choose which of the political parties present is best able to fight the epidemic and revive our economy. It is dangerous to think today that we will find our lives before. The current crisis is hitting at the rate of a fourth wave, the wave of the unvaccinated, and the fight against climate change and its devastating effects on our lives is likely to make the current crisis a poor reflection of what lies ahead. second half of 21^NS century in Canada.

The fact remains that choosing which candidate to vote for is a fairly easy exercise if we do it using an analysis network around the essentials for us. Of all the questions currently on the political agenda, the fight against climate change seems to me to be the most urgent. The issue of reconciliation, what a funny word I prefer to admit, with indigenous peoples is also at the top of my list. Financing the healthcare system should also be of concern to Canadians, just as inflation and a balanced budget.

No, I have not found in a political formation in existence something that satisfies all my criteria with all the nuances required by the complexity of reality, and yet I have made an informed decision in my opinion. A choice devoid of any influence, not even the influence of Prime Minister Legault, who told me who does not vote. I trust your judgment and intelligence too much to tell you who or why to vote. I will tell you the results of this strange election in my next column on September 22nd.

In the meantime, I wish you a good vote and I hope that like me you will make an informed choice and decline to vote to give yourself a good conscience…