William Johnson: Canadian Multiculturalism Falsified

http://vision.williamjohnson-quebec.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Canadian-Multiculturalism-Falsified-August-10-2019-2.pdf?fbclid=IwAR3AC_CdBuY1CjOY1GRtzkjVQuebULWzEXqd0kIf2vcTWD8ZF6UA9K13h74

The Gazette’s Philip Authier got it wrong. In the edition of August 9, 2019, he wrote: “While multiculturalism is used to refer to a society where people of different cultural backgrounds live side by side without much integration...”

False. Multiculturalism, as vested in Canada’s constitution in 1982, does not isolate cultural minorities. On the contrary, it celebrates their contribution to Canada’s diverse culture. Pierre Trudeau proclaimed it as a national policy in 1971 and explained:

Canada's citizens come from almost every country in the world and bring with them every major world religion and language. This cultural diversity endows all Canadians with a great variety of human experience. The Government regards this as a heritage to treasure and believes that Canada would be poorer if we adopted assimilation programs forcing our citizens to forsake and forget the cultures they have brought to us.

Multiculturalism, as he defined it, was not to be an isolated policy. It was to be “a policy of multiculturalism within a bilingual framework.” 

    He qualified: Although there are two official languages, there is no official culture, nor does any ethnic     group take precedence over any other. No citizen or group of citizens is other than Canadian and all        should be treated fairly.” 

Bill 1: Independence on the Instalment Plan

The “Québec Constitution Act, 2025” -Bill 1 — is not a conventional provincial constitution but a comprehensive, unilateral restructuring of Quebec’s relationship with the Rest of Canada (RoC). It is an aggressive attempt to establish a legal and political foundation for future independence by repudiating core tenets of the Canadian Constitution, subordinating individual rights to a newly defined collective identity, and attempts to seize federal powers. This document represents a direct constitutional challenge, aiming to create a de facto sovereign state through provincial legislation.

  Bill 1: Independence on the Instalment Plan | OP / ED | thesuburban.com

Majority of Quebecers in favour of lowering legal alcohol limit to 0.05 for drivers: poll

 

Contrary to the Legault Government’s stance, a new Léger poll shows that a majority of Quebecers support lowering the legal blood alcohol limit from 0.08 to 0.05.

Commissioned by l’Association pour la santé publique du Québec (ASPQ), the poll reveals that 61 per cent want the limit lowered. This is a seven point jump since last year, where approval rate stood at 54 per cent in March 2024.

As the Journal de Montreal reports, lowering the limit to 0.05 per cent would potentially save nine lives per year.

https://montreal.citynews.ca/2025/05/22/quebecers-favour-lowering-alcohol-limit/

MONEY AND ETHNIC INSTITUTIONS

 

Jack Jedwab, president and CEO of the Association for Canadian Studies and the Metropolis Institute, this week joined hosts Bill Brownstein and Aaron Rand on a new episode of The Corner Booth at Snowdon Deli to share stories about this pivotal moment in Quebec political history, including on Jacques Parizeau’s “money and ethnic votes” comment.

Jedwab also shared a story he had kept largely to himself from his time as executive director of the Quebec region of the Canadian Jewish Congress involving what he said was a threat to cut funding to the Jewish General Hospital.

“ I couldn’t go public with it (at the time) because it was a confidential meeting. Today, the actors are mostly no longer with us. There are a couple who were at the meeting who are still alive, and I validated this with them to make sure my memory of this exchange was correct. It was despicable. Shameful.”[The Gazette]

‘Catastrophic loss’: Former MP says NDP lost touch with core supporters

 

The New Democratic Party ran a leader-focused election campaign and lost touch with core supporters who ended up backing the Conservatives, says a former member of Parliament.

Charlie Angus, who did not run in the last election after representing the northern Ontario riding of Timmins — James Bay for more than two decades, — called the election a “catastrophic loss” following a campaign that spent too much time selling leader Jagmeet Singh and not enough time pitching its policies.

‘Catastrophic loss’: Former MP says NDP lost touch with core supporters - National | Globalnews.ca

New study shows how bilingualism can make the brain be more efficient

 

“When the brain is wiring itself through infancy or early child development, it develops a system for language. So if you have two inputs from different languages, it might build an architecture that is more optimal for learning these languages,” said Xiaoqian Chai, Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery at McGill University.

https://montreal.citynews.ca/2024/10/17/new-study-shows-how-bilingualism-can-make-the-brain-be-more-efficient/

Quebec's historical traditional demands requests

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/senate-expenses-spur-outrage-but-reform-abolition-not-easily-done-1.3031249

The Quebec government has said that any talks about the Senate would have to be broadened to deal with that province's "historical requests," such as recognition of its distinctiveness and demands for more powers — the same divisive issues on which the last two constitutional ventures, the Meech Lake and Charlottetown accords, foundered. First Nations leaders would likely insist that aboriginal issues be part of the mix as well.

- approval over appointment of Quebec judges to the Supreme Court of Canada

- opting out of shared-cost programs within provincial jurisdiction, with full compensation for compatible programs
- recognition of a 'distinct society' in the Constitution of Canada
- more powers (e.g., communications)
- and a veto over constitutional amendments

Bill 21 challenged in court by the lawyer who faced down Bill 62

Catherine McKenzie filed suit in Quebec Superior Court Monday on behalf of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and National Council of Canadian Muslims.

https://montrealgazette.com/news/quebec/bill-21-is-about-to-be-challenged-by-the-lawyer-who-faced-down-bill-62?fbclid=IwAR2MOkUNzD3bgi0DG-KKY5xXdV3NW7QEREy6y59UGsN8XljAHA48XKAlT84

The battle over Quebec’s religious symbols ban is underway.

A legal challenge filed in Superior Court on Monday calls the bill a blatant attack on religious liberty and contrary to the rule of law. It argues that Bill 21 coerces people to abandon their deepest held convictions if they want to belong to Quebec society.

Bill 21 prevents certain civil servants — including police officers, judges and public school teachers — from wearing religious symbols and garb on the job ...

Safe Church Concerns Trouble Montreal Bishop Election

 

As the Anglican Diocese of Montreal plans to elect a new bishop May 3, it faces doubts expressed by 39 of 158 delegates. Their concerns include pressures apparently brought against the search committee, resignations from the search committee, and a murky system for church safety.

“Ongoing uncertainty surrounding the election of our next bishop … has left many people feeling hurt, confused, and unheard,” 39 delegates wrote to diocesan authorities on April 6.

They also requested more information about the “external pressures” described by members of the search committee, nearly half of whom resigned before submitting their final report, as well an enumeration of the committee’s concerns about diocesan canons and safe church policies.

https://livingchurch.org/news/news-anglican-communion/safe-church-concerns-trouble-montreal-bishop-election/

HOUSING CRISIS

 PREDATES RISE IN IMMIGRATION