Thursday, 30 April 2015

Je suis populaire en Biélorussie.

Les statistiques de blog m’amusent. Je vous écris généralement sur l'histoire et la politique. Le dimanche, il y a habituellement une composante religieuse. Les questions que je adresse sont souvent très spécifiques au Canada ou en partie. Première place pour la page vue est le Canada, sans surprise. Les États-Unis est à la deuxième place. La troisième place de titulaire étrange est la Biélorussie! Les lecteurs y sont soit réellement intéressé ou ce sont des espions. Je l'espère, ils sont les Biélorusses ordinaires vouloir lire opinions et des analyses provenant d'autres parties du monde qui n'a pas été censurés par un gouvernement totalitaire.

  Bonjour les amis en Biélorussie. Je vous souhaite le blog! Prières et meilleurs vœux pour la liberté dans votre pays.

Прывітанне сябры ў Беларусі. Я спадзяюся, вам спадабаецца блог! Малітвы і найлепшыя пажаданні для волі ў вашай краіне.


I'm popular in Belarus.

My blog statistics amuse me.  I generally write about history and politics.  On Sunday's, there's usually a religious component.  The issues I address are often very specific to Canada, the United States or parts of them.  First place for page views is Canada, without surprise.  The USA is in second place.  The strange third place holder is Belarus!  The readers there are either genuinely interested or they’re spies.  I hope they are ordinary Belarussians wanting to read opinions and analysis from other parts of the world that have not been censored by a totalitarian government.

 Hello friends in Belarus.  I hope you enjoy the blog!  Prayers and best wishes for freedom in your country.


Прывітанне сябры ў Беларусі. Я спадзяюся, вам спадабаецца блог! Малітвы і найлепшыя пажаданні для волі ў вашай краіне.

Wednesday, 29 April 2015

The Boon decision; school board is out of touch and shows bad citizenship.

I am a great supporter of public education, but increasingly less supportive of public school boards.  I covered these agencies as a reporter and saw how much was being wasted on administration at the expense of the students and teachers who are the front line of learning.  I also saw how the elected trustees have largely become rubber stamp-wielding trained seals who do whatever the administration wishes.  In Ontario, due to decades of “reforms” and “restructuring” dating back to the era of the John Robarts government, the public education system has become highly centralized with more and more decision making in the hands of bureaucrats in Toronto, regional offices, or school board headquarters.  This has led to a significant disconnect between school authorities and their communities.  Voter turnout in school board elections is miserably low.  In Quebec, the turnout is so low that the Minister of Education is even considering the elimination of school commission elections and just appointing the commissioners.

The Avon-Maitland District School Board in southwestern Ontario serves the Counties of Huron and Perth.  I was around when it was formed in 1997-1998.  In high school, I served for two years as the student trustee representing Listowel District Secondary School.  This was during the era of Premier Mike Harris in Ontario.  In 1997, his government announced a major restructuring plan of the education system. The two person Education Improvement Commission was established and it had significant, arbitrary powers to implement the process.  The Harris argument was typical Conservative bluster.  School boards were too big and bureaucratic.  They had luxurious head offices full of staff who didn’t do anything, the usual false and insulting accusations.  So, Mr. Harris and his gang of angry people set about reducing the number of school boards, and so Avon-Maitland was born.  I was actually appointed as a non-voting member to the Local Education Improvement Commission that oversaw the transition.  Why they ever appointed someone who openly opposed what was happening, I still cannot figure out!  The creation of the new mega school boards did not reduce bureaucracy and waste.  It actually made it worse.  The number of administrative staff increased and even more new, expensive, and often architecturally impressive school board headquarters buildings were constructed.  Avon-Maitland was not exempt from any of this.  The same thing happened with the many municipal governments that were consolidated during those years.  The Conservatives claimed that it would lead to lower property taxes.  Is anyone in Ontario paying lower property taxes today because they live in a municipality that was merged nearly 20 years ago?  There’s a short, two-letter answer to that question.

The disconnect between school boards, front-line staff (i.e. teachers), and the community is exemplified in a recent decision by the Avon-Maitland Board.  Mr. Richard Boon applied for a few days off so that he could travel to The Netherlands later this spring with his 90 year-old father to attend the celebrations marking the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Holland at the end of World War Two.  Mr. Boon senior was one of thousands of Canadian young men who fought in that war and took part in liberating The Netherlands from the Nazis.  70 years later, the Dutch people remain exceptionally grateful for what the Canadians did.  The board outright rejected Mr. Boon junior’s application for leave.  The board continues to stand by the decision.  Public uproar in the Huron-Perth region has followed.  I do not know Mr. Richard Boon or what his personnel file contains, but in this case, if it contains anything negative that could be a factor in denying his request for time off, it should be given secondary treatment to the larger issue.  The decision by the board has shown bad citizenship and disrespect for Canadian history.  This is ironic considering citizenship and history are two things the public education system allegedly is supposed to teach.  The board is showing complete disrespect for the contributions made by veterans of World War II.  Did they not take into consideration that Mr. Boon junior could bring back photos and souvenirs from the celebrations and use them to teach his students, or those of his colleagues about an important component of Canadian history?  There are increasingly very few World War II veterans left in Canada.  Even fewer are able to travel.  The elder Mr. Boon deserves this opportunity and the bureaucratic, disconnected school board is denying him.  This is undoubtedly a serious trip for him to make.  It is not a pleasure cruise in the Caribbean or a Las Vegas casino junket.  This is about commemorating a significant historical event and accepting the continued gratitude of the Dutch people.

The public outrage over the Boon decision has been completely justified.  There are petitions and significant coverage in the local media.  The Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) for Perth-Wellington, which composes the part of the Avon-Maitland territory where Mr. Boon lives and works, has even become involved.  Regular readers of my posts will know I’m not a supporter of the Conservatives, but MPP Randy Pettapiece is in many ways a good fit for the constituents he represents.  He’s down to earth and an ordinary guy from an ordinary background.  He also has good people on his staff.  Mr. Pettapiece is to be congratulated for questioning Premier Kathleen Wynne about the Boon decision in the Legislative Assembly today.  Unfortunately, (and not surprisingly) Ms. Wynne didn’t really answer the question and gave the usual mile-wide-inch-deep Liberal answer stating she still respected the process followed by the Avon-Maitland school board.  She also showed complete ignorance on the question by stating the experience of travelling to the celebration in The Netherlands would be important for “this young man.”  Neither of the two Mr. Boons is likely a “young man.”  The elder is 90 years old!  His son is most likely over 50!  Age and its associated health hazards is precisely why the “young” man needs to accompany his father on the trip!  The Premier should perhaps start reading some of the newspapers from around the province in order to find out what is really happening in communities.


The pressure needs to be kept up, and even intensified on the Avon-Maitland District School Board to reverse its decision and grant Richard Boon the time off to accompany his father to The Netherlands.  Residents of Huron and Perth Counties should be contacting their local trustees.  Members and branches of the Royal Canadian Legion or the Army, Navy, and Air Force Veterans should also be making life miserable for a school board that has acted with complete arrogance and bad citizenship.

Tuesday, 28 April 2015

The "Mighty Maitland."

This is the nickname given to the river that runs through Listowel Ontario, the town where I grew up and have occasionally lived and worked since.  It refers to the Maitland River, specifically the Middle Maitland River (there is a South and North Maitland too).  The headwaters of the Middle Maitland are northeast of town in Maryborough Township (now part of Mapleton) in Wellington County.  From there it meanders in a southwestern direction through Wallace Township, the Town of Listowel, and Elma Township (all now part of North Perth) in Perth County, and then into Grey and Morris Townships in Huron County where it then joins the North Maitland to make its way further southwest to Lake Huron at Goderich.

The nickname for the most part has always been a slightly sarcastic way of referring to the river.  That's because for most of the year, the Middle Maitland is not that mighty.  During particularly dry summers, it can flow to a trickle and in some places only flow intermittently.  I'm originally from a village called Frankford on the Trent River in Eastern Ontario.  The Trent is a big river.  Boats go up and down it through canals in summer.  There are power dams along it.  Cars have left adjacent highways and plunged into its depths.  Children have drowned while playing near it in spring.  When I moved to Listowel when I was 11 years old, my family tended to quietly laugh at what the locals called "the river."

However, there have been several times during the 150 years of settlement in the area around Listowel that the Middle Maitland was indeed mighty.  The area east of Lake Huron gets a lot of snow in the winter, and it's also flat country.  When the snow melts and spring rains come, all of that water ends up going into narrow, shallow streams like the Middle Maitland River.  This can cause a lot of flooding.  The potential for bad flooding in Listowel got even worse during the early days of the town.  This was long before municipal planning codes and environmental conservation laws existed.  With no rules and regulations to stop them, those who built the downtown business area decided to build over the river, not around it.  They covered the river with a concrete conduit and built shops and offices over it.  A drive through Listowel on Main Street can easily leave someone unfamiliar with the town not even realizing there's a river running through the centre of it.

Not only were there no planning and conservation laws in the late 1800's, there were no rules on how to properly build a tunnel for a small river to run through either.  Building to accommodate spring floods or even regular stream flows was not taken into consideration.  As a result, whenever the spring thaw of water and ice came on the Middle Maitland, major flooding occurred because the tunnel was too small.  By the 1950's, local authorities and the Ontario government wanted something done about this problem.  It was annually destroying and disrupting part of the town.  Businesses were losing money and merchandise and homes were being inundated.  The Ontario Department of Planning and Development commissioned a report on the conservation needs of the Middle Maitland Watershed.  The Middle Maitland Valley Conservation Report was published in 1954.  It recommended major improvements to the watershed in order to reduce or even eliminate flooding in spring, prevent reduced or stagnant flow in summer, and to improve soil and forest conservation.  I happened to find the report unexpectedly today while I was in the basement of the library at Carleton University in Ottawa.  It was on she shelf below the old Ontario Hydro annual reports I was there to look at.  Included in the report are recommendations for complete reconstruction of the tunnel under the town.  Anyone who lived in Listowel through the 1980's and 1990's will remember this.  The first project from the report however was the concrete wall that keeps the river in a deep trench between Inkerman and Elizabeth Streets along Cenotaph Park, the clock tower, and the Veteran's Walkway.  There is actually a plaque on that wall from the late 1950's saying it was a project of the Middle Maitland Conservation Authority.  That organization is now part of the Maitland Valley Conservation Authority which looks after the entire watershed of all branches of the Maitland River.  The creation of the authority resulted from the findings and recommendations in the 1954 report.

The report contains numerous photos of past floods in Listowel and they are included in this post.  I apologize that some of them are not the best quality, but keep in mind they are photos of photos.  I took them with my mobile phone camera. One more significant flood did occur in 1974, just a few years before the major tunnel reconstruction project started.  I worked at the Capitol Theatre downtown when I was in high school.  I noticed a faint line across the screen one day and asked someone what it was from.  "Oh that was the high water mark of the flood in 1974," was the answer I got.  I'm not sure if the screen has been replaced in the 15 years since I worked there.

The 1954 Middle Maitland Valley Conservation Report also included a recommendation that a large flood control dam and reservoir be constructed northeast of town so that spring floodwaters could be released downstream slowly and not cause damaging floods.  The result would have been a huge dam and a lake similar to what is found nearby at Conestogo Lake near Drayton or Wildwood Lake near St. Marys.  If it had been constructed, the project would have had a major impact on the property owners in the eastern part of Wallace Township.  I am not sure what stopped the plans, but it is evident that it was probably not totally necessary in the first place.  The plans for the dam and reservoir are also included for viewing here.

There are also recommendations in the report for reforestation in order to conserve soil, wildlife, and reduce the blowing snow hazards that plague the mostly open and flat countryside in winter.  Unfortunately, most of these were never implemented.  Huron County developed its share of reforestation sites, but Perth never did.  Tree windbreaks surrounding fields keep the high quality topsoil from blowing away or being taken away with runoff water.  They also reduce blowing snow and whiteout conditions that lead to car accidents, closed roads, closed businesses, and school snow days in the winter.  The comparatively small price of planting trees 60 years ago could have greatly reduced the economic impact of bad winter weather in the decades since.

Enjoy a look at these photos, maps, and charts!  Those who remember Listowel in the 1950's will certainly remember some of the images.  Included is a rare look inside the tunnel from the early 1950's.  Also note the changes in street names!  Click on the photos to see a larger version.

Ontario Department of Planning and Development.  Middle Maitland Valley Conservation            Report.  Toronto, 1954.  
 





































Monday, 27 April 2015

Arrêtez de favoritisme pour "la vie grecque."

Je ne l'ai jamais été un partisan des organisations secrètes ou élitistes. Je terminé mon diplôme de premier cycle dans une université qui avait un taux anormalement élevé de la fraternité et sororité "la vie grecque" la participation d'une université canadienne. Deux organisations en particulier fonctionnent comme une machine politique sur le campus. Il n'y avait presque pas de distinction entre leurs chapitres et les clubs politiques conservateurs sur le campus. Le syndicat étudiant était à peu près autant d'un syndicat comme la John Birch Society est. Sa direction et son conseil d'administration se référaient toujours à l'organisation comme une «société» et non pas un gouvernement d'étudiant ou un syndicat. La plupart de ces personnes a étudié les affaires, l'économie ou la science politique. Certains d'entre eux sont maintenant plus susceptibles de travailler pour les grandes entreprises ou pour les politiciens qui adorent sociétés.

Pour moi, rejoindre une organisation secrète juste pour obtenir l'acceptation sociale ou d'avancement scolaire et professionnelle est complètement faux. Elle sape totalement mérite humain et les gens de travail dures engager pour construire leur vie. Il offre également des possibilités de favoritisme et de manière flagrante élitistes à quelques privilégiés. Tout le monde mérite possibilité équitable en fonction de leurs compétences, les connaissances et l'égalité des chances fondée sur le fait qu'ils sont une vie, la respiration humaine. Recruter ou de promouvoir quelqu'un parce que leur curriculum vitae indique qu'ils sont un membre de la même organisation grecque est complètement faux, il a sans doute arrivé depuis des décennies, et continuera malheureusement. Ces organisations conduisent à une stratification sociale, non seulement dans la communauté universitaire, mais dans une plus grande société. En outre, certains d'entre eux ont récemment fait l'objet d'une importante controverse sur le comportement de leurs membres. Voilà un sujet complètement différent pour un autre jour, mais je me souviens de prendre une promenade du soir solstice d'été sur le campus d'une université de premier plan dans l'État de New York en 2009 et a été témoin des indications de comportement qui était moins que de devenir pour les personnes qui le superficiellement désignent eux-mêmes comme "Mesdames et Messieurs.» Quant à l'aspect social, je préfère faire mes amis en fonction de leur mérite en tant qu'individus, et je suis chanceux d'avoir des amis qui ont la même politique. Se soumettre à un groupe comme une fraternité ou sororité enlève l'individualisme, il représente la conformité et de limite à la créativité.

On m'a récemment supervise un examen final à l'université où je étudie. Je suis assis à un bureau de collecte des examens de l'étudiant, ils ont quitté la salle et faire en sorte qu'ils ont montré une pièce d'identité et signer le registre. Je remarqué que certains des étudiants avaient des cartes d'identité universitaires apposées avec un autocollant montrant une abréviation inconnue sur laquelle est imprimé. Demandai-je finalement l'un des étudiants à ce qu'il était. Elle a répondu; "Oh, voilà ce que les membres des sociétés grecques sur le campus obtiennent, nous obtenons des rabais et des choses de cette façon." Je devais probablement un rictus sur mon visage qui dit je ne suis pas impressionné, et que parce que je l'étais pas. Je me suis demandé combien d'étudiants sont autorisés à boire mineurs à certains établissements à cause de cela décalcomanie? Quel genre de réductions obtiennent-ils? Où sont-ils les obtiennent? Quel genre d'achats sont-ils les obtiennent pour? Pourquoi ces personnes devraient bénéficier d'un traitement spécial? Il y a des étudiants là-bas avec des quantités limitées de l'argent. Ils méritent d'avoir un prix abordable de l'amusement et de divertissement aussi. Ensuite, je commencé à penser à combien de ces élèves avec le petit autocollant sur leurs cartes d'identité vont obtenir chances dans la vie que les étudiants ne fait pas partie de ces organisations ne seront pas obtenir. Sera une entreprise d'embaucher un nouveau diplômé parce qu'ils ont vu sur son / son curriculum vitae qu'il / elle est un membre d'une confrérie ou sororité particulier même si il / elle n'a eu une moyenne de C? Je ne l’espère vraiment pas, mais je suis sûr qu'il est passé et continuera malheureusement à se produire. Il est affiliations et des comportements de ce genre qui met immédiatement la majorité des jeunes qui ne font pas partie de ces organisations un désavantage pour l'occasion dans notre société et l'économie.


Universités qui permettent aux membres de fraternités et sororités pour indiquer leur appartenance sur leurs cartes d'identification des étudiants devraient cesser cette pratique élitiste. Aucun étudiant ne devrait être mis à tout avantage social, académique, économique ou sur un autre. "La vie grecque" devrait être limitée à l'étude de la civilisation antique ou de boire de l'ouzo!

Stop favouritism for "Greek life."

I have never been a supporter of secretive or elitist organizations.  I completed my undergraduate degree at a university that had an unusually high rate of fraternity and sorority “Greek life” participation for a Canadian university.  Two organizations in particular operated like a political machine on campus.  There was almost no distinction between their chapters and the Conservative political clubs on campus.  The student union was about as much of a union as the John Birch Society is.  Its executive and board of directors always referred to the organization as a “corporation” and not a student government or a union.  Most of these people studied business, economics, or political science.  Some of them are now most likely working for big corporations or for politicians who worship corporations.

To me, joining a secretive organization just to achieve social acceptance or academic and career advancement is completely wrong.  It totally undermines human merit and the hard work people engage in to build their lives.  It also offers blatantly elitist opportunities and favouritism to a select few.  Everyone deserves fair opportunity based on their skills, knowledge, and equal opportunity based on the fact they are a living, breathing human.  Hiring or promoting someone because their resume indicates they are a member of the same Greek organization is completely wrong, it has doubtlessly happened for decades, and will unfortunately continue.  These organizations lead to a social stratification in not only the university community, but in greater society.  Furthermore, some of them have recently been the subject of significant controversy over the behaviour of their members.  That is a completely different topic for another day, however I recall taking a midsummer evening walk across the campus of a prominent university in New York State in 2009 and witnessed indications of behaviour that was less than becoming for people who so shallowly refer to themselves as “ladies and gentlemen.”  As for the social aspect, I prefer to make my friends based on their merit as individuals, and I am fortunate to have friends who have the same policy.  Submitting oneself to a group like a fraternity or sorority takes away individualism, it represents conformity and limits to creativity.

I was recently supervising a final exam at the university where I study.  I was sitting at a desk collecting the student’s exams as they left the room and making sure they showed proper identification and signed the register.  I noticed that some of the students had university ID cards affixed with a decal showing an unfamiliar abbreviation printed on it.  I finally asked one of the students what it was.  She responded; “oh, that’s what members of Greek societies on campus get, we get discounts and stuff that way.”  I probably had a sneer on my face that indicated I wasn’t impressed, and that’s because I wasn’t.  I wondered about how many students are being allowed to drink underage at certain establishments because of that decal?  What kind of discounts are they getting?  Where are they getting them?  What sort of purchases are they getting them for?  Why should these people get special treatment?  There are students out there with limited amounts of money.  They deserve to affordably have some fun and entertainment too.  Then, I started thinking about how many of these students with the little decal on their ID cards are going to get opportunities in life that students not part of these organizations will not get.  Will a company hire a new graduate because they saw on his/her resume that he/she is a member of a particular fraternity or sorority even though he/she only had a C average?  I really hope not, but I’m sure it has happened and will unfortunately continue to happen.  It is affiliations and behaviour like this that immediately puts the majority of young people who are not part of these organizations at a disadvantage for opportunity in our society and economy.


Universities which allow members of fraternities and sororities to indicate their membership on their student identification cards should discontinue this elitist practice.  No student should be put at any social, academic, or economic advantage over another.  “Greek life” should be limited to studying ancient civilization or drinking ouzo! 

Sunday, 26 April 2015

On reste Hydro-Québécois.

 Le gouvernement du Premier ministre Philippe Couillard à Québec a approuvé un projet de 1,4 milliards de dollars pour Hydro-Québec de construire une nouvelle ligne de transport de la région du Lac St-Jean à Montréal. Monsieur Couillard dit la nouvelle ligne est absolument essentielle pour répondre à la demande dans la région la plus peuplée du Québec et de livrer plus efficacement de l'électricité sur une ligne à haute tension plutôt que plusieurs petits. En bref, le premier ministre a raison. Les grands lignes de la tour ne garantissent plus d'électricité arrive à les endroits où il est le plus nécessaire. L'infrastructure ajoutée améliore la fiabilité globale du système que les utilisateurs de l'électricité dépendent pour leurs maisons et les entreprises.

Cependant, toutes ces maisons et les propriétaires d'entreprises le long de la 400 km proposé un droit de passage ne sont pas trop heureux. Les résidents de la région de Rawdon disent que leurs préoccupations sont ignorées par le gouvernement qui a décidé de la construction accélérée de la nouvelle ligne. Un couple rural a déclaré à Radio-Canada que 20% de leur terre à bois sera coupé si la nouvelle ligne peut être construit parallèlement à un existant construit il y a 20 ans. Un groupe de citoyens se prépare déjà pour protester contre la décision du gouvernement.

Les résidents ruraux opposés d'une ligne de transmission et de hausses de taux récentes ont fait d'Hydro-Québec impopulaire auprès de certains habitants de la province ces derniers temps. Ceci est tout à fait un départ des décennies d'or de l'utilité publique quand il est passé à être un symbole de son économie du Québec, de la technologie, et l'identité culturelle. Une génération entière se souvient de René Lévesque à titre de Ministre des Ressources pendant le gouvernement de Jean Lesage comme le visage de l'offre publique de la mosaïque des services privés qui, auparavant, ont fourni le pouvoir au Québec. Toute personne du Québec dans les années 1960 et 1970 semblait connaître quelqu'un qui était allé au nord pour travailler sur la construction du barrage Manic-5 ou le projet encore plus grand de la Baie James. Durant les années 1970, le slogan d'Hydro-Québec dans la publicité était encore « On est Hydro-Québécois.»  Le slogan indique la place de l'utilitaire comme identifiant du Québec et comme une institution détenue par ses résidents -qui étaient également à ses clients. Le slogan était une indication que, grâce à la baie James, Manicouagan, et l'expansion des années 1960, l'objectif de « Maîtres chez-nous » de Jean Lesage et René Lévesque était accomplie.


Cependant, avec l'opposition à évaluer augmente et de nouvelles lignes de transmission, peut-il être encore honnêtement dire que on est Hydro-Québécois encore?  Est l'utilitaire avec le logo orange distincte "Q" dont la figure en bonne place sur la ville de Montréal siège encore universellement apprécié? Si nous prenons un œil à pourquoi Hydro a pris ces décisions récentes, la réponse devrait être encore oui. Utilitaires de propriété publique servent généralement l'intérêt public beaucoup mieux que ceux de la propriété privée. Hydro-Québec est responsable devant le Conseil exécutif, le ministre des Ressources, et le Premier Ministre. Il est également responsable de la Régie de l'énergie, une commission nommée par le gouvernement qui réglemente les services publics au Québec. Dans les juridictions avec services privés, il y a rarement de cette étendue de la supervision publique. Services privés augmenter les taux afin de faire des profits plus importants pour garder leurs actionnaires heureux. Les services publics augmentent les taux afin de faire des profits plus importants à faire des investissements en capital qui assurent les lumières restent allumées et les machines de l'usine continuent de fonctionner. Les profits d'Hydro-Québec rend vont améliorer la fiabilité des clients de services reçoivent, y compris à travers des projets comme la ligne nouvelle Lac St-Jean à Montréal. Lorsque New York State Electric and Gas augmente ses taux, la plupart des profits supplémentaires va dividendes aux actionnaires. Hydro-Québec est tenu de verser un dividende annuel trop, mais il va au Trésor du gouvernement et obtient utilisé pour les services dont les citoyens ont besoin. Notre compagnie d'électricité contribue à payer pour nos écoles, les routes et les hôpitaux! Serions-nous vivre plutôt en Ontario, où l'utilitaire unique dans cette province a été démantelé et maintenant ses restes sont destinés à être vendus à des intérêts privés? Les hausses de taux ridicules en Ontario au cours de ces dernières années ne sont pas nécessairement motivées par la nécessité de l'amélioration des immobilisations mais sont plutôt de subventionner une politique d'énergie renouvelable mal conçu. Hausses de taux futures de l'Ontario seront malheureusement continuer à subventionner ce programme mal planifié et exécuté, mais maintenant que le gouvernement du premier ministre Wynne privatise Hydro One, les taux vont probablement augmenter à nouveau afin de maximiser les profits et la satisfaction des actionnaires. Les résidents du Québec doivent regarder ce qui se passe en Ontario et dire avec satisfaction, on reste Hydro-Québécois.

Hydro-Québec is bad? It could be a lot worse.

Prime Minister Philippe Couillard’s government in Québec has approved a $1.4 billion project for Hydro-Québec to build a new transmission line from the Lac St-Jean region to Montreal.  Monsieur Couillard says the new line is absolutely essential in order to serve demand in the most populated area of Québec and to more efficiently deliver electricity over a high tension line rather than several smaller ones.  In short, the Prime Minister is right.  Big tower lines do ensure more electricity gets to the places where it is needed the most.  The added infrastructure improves the overall reliability of the system that users of electricity depend on for their homes and businesses. 

However, not all of those home and business owners along the 400 kilometre proposed right of way are too happy.  Residents of the Rawdon area say their concerns are being ignored by the government which has decided to fast-track construction of the new line.  A farm couple told Radio-Canada that 20% of their woodlot will be cut down so the new line can be built parallel to an existing one built 20 years ago.  A citizens group is already planning to protest the government’s decision.

Rural residents opposing a transmission line and recent rate increases have made Hydro-Québec unpopular with some residents of the province lately.  This is quite a departure from the golden decades of the public utility when it rose to be a symbol of Québec’s economy, technology, and cultural identity.  An entire generation remembers René Lévesque as Resources Minister during the Jean Lesage government as the face of the public takeover of the patchwork of private utilities that formerly provided power to Québec.  Anyone from Québec during the 1960’s and 1970’s seemed to know someone who had gone north to work on building the Manic-5 dam or the even bigger James Bay project.  During the 1970’s, Hydro-Québec’s slogan in advertising was even “On est Hydro-Québécois,” meaning “We’re all Hydro-Quebeckers.”  The slogan indicated the utility’s place as an identifier of Québec and as an institution owned by its residents—who were also its customers.  The slogan was an indication that through James Bay, Manicougan, and the expansion of the 1960’s, the Maîtres chez-nous objective of Jean Lesage and René Lévesque was being accomplished. 


However, with opposition to rate increases and new transmission lines, can it still be truthfully said that we are all Hydro-Quebeckers still?  Is the utility with the distinct orange “Q” logo whose headquarters figures prominently on the Montreal skyline still universally appreciated?  If we take a look at why Hydro has made these recent decisions, the answer should still be yes.  Utilities under government ownership generally serve the public interest much better than those under private ownership.  Hydro-Québec is accountable to the Executive Council (cabinet), the Minister of Resources, and the Prime Minister.  It is also accountable to the Régie de l’énergie, a government-appointed commission that regulates utilities in Québec.  In jurisdictions with private utilities, there is seldom this extent of public oversight.  Private utilities raise rates in order to make larger profits to keep their shareholders happy.  Public utilities raise rates in order to make larger profits to make capital investments that ensure the lights stay on and the factory machines keep running.  The profits Hydro-Québec makes are going to improve the reliability of the service customers receive, including through projects like the new Lac St-Jean to Montreal line.  When New York State Electric and Gas increases its rates, much of the extra profit is going to shareholder dividends.  Hydro-Québec is required to pay a yearly dividend too, but it goes to the treasury of the government and gets used for the services citizens require.  Our power utility is helping to pay for our schools, highways, and hospitals!  Would we rather live in Ontario where the single utility in that province was dismantled and now its remnants are to be sold to private interests?  The ridiculous rate increases in Ontario during recent years have not been necessarily motivated by the need for capital improvements but are instead subsidizing a badly devised renewable energy policy.  Future rate increases in Ontario will unfortunately continue to subsidize this poorly planned and executed program, but now that Premier Wynne’s government is privatising Hydro One, rates will likely increase again in order to maximize profits and shareholder satisfaction.  Residents of Québec should look at what is happening in Ontario and say with satisfaction, we remain Hydro-Quebeckers.  

Church itch, hymns are hard work, and Psalm 23

Going to church on Sunday morning is important to me, yet I've always found church to be a peculiar experience physically.  Going to church alone doesn't help this.  It can often feel very lonely in a cavernous building, even though it is supposed to feel welcoming and comfortable.  I've always been fortunate to regularly worship in places where the celebration of the service and the people present help lessen this feeling.

Why do my eyes always water during the church service?  I am not an emotional or charismatic worshipper, nor do I worship in a place where those things are to be found, yet every Sunday, my eyes are watering by the time the sermon is over.  If you have seen me looking like I'm crying on Sunday morning, I'm not.  Oddly, my back also gets incredibly itchy as soon as I sit down in the pew each Sunday.  This does not happen anywhere else I sit during the week.  Is there an itch-producing varnish coating Lutheran pews in the National Capital Region?

I have a strained relationship with singing.  I love listening to beautiful hymns, but I find singing them to be tiring.  It feels like work if I look at the hymnal and see something longer than three verses.  However, I will sing the parts of the liturgy that are meant to be sung.  They're shorter, and are generally prayers containing verses from, or derived from the Bible, so I feel a greater sense of conviction to sing them.  I have past experiences in other branches of Christianity where singing in three or four part harmony was the norm during a church service.  I just couldn't get used to the harmonious Plymouth Brethren and Mennonites who always seem to know what part of the hymn to sing and how.  In my attempts to follow this approach, I felt more like a train that was unable to properly switch tracks.  Singing in those churches always seemed like work.  I go to church to be refreshed, not get tired.  I've spoke about my lack of singing with at least one Lutheran pastor.  He completely understood and said "good, as long as you read along."    Grace figures into Lutheran doctrine pretty strongly, I haven't been struck down from above yet because of my muted participation in the hymns.

Psalm 23 was the focus of the sermon at St. Luke Lutheran in Ottawa today.  Of course, that's the Psalm usually said at funerals because of its words which indicate faith and acknowledgement of God as the shepherd of the life of the Christian believer.  Pastor King, who seldom ceases to keep the attention of this watery-eyed worshipper with an itchy back exclaimed repeatedly that Psalm 23 is not exclusively for funerals at all!  It's words are a statement of faith and reliance upon God that is true at any time in life.  Wise words to remember indeed as we begin a new week.

Saturday, 25 April 2015

The Nepal earthquake and news that matters

The statistics and photos coming out of Nepal today are shocking.  The Himalayan country experienced a 7.8 magnitude earthquake earlier today and at the present time (21:13 Eastern) at least 1,800 people are dead.  The quake triggered a landslide on Mount Everest that also killed several climbers.  The quake also caused deaths in neighbouring India and Bangladesh.  The Canadian Armed Forces is sending its DART (Disaster Assistance Response Team) to help with relief and recovery efforts.  The Department of Foreign Affairs is also attempting to assist the 388 Canadian citizens it was aware of who were in Nepal when the earthquake struck.

When a major natural disaster strikes, it is serious news.  The fact that Nepal is also a developing country with a history of civil instability makes the news even more serious.  Natural disasters and civil unrest are very unfortunate things.  They are also sadly the kind of thing that in the contemporary news business often get secondary attention to to say--a 65 year old former Olympic decathlete who has decided to transition from a man into a woman after decades of capitalizing excessively off of his now nearly forgotten reason for becoming a celebrity in the first place.  Bruce Jenner won the gold medal for the US in decathlon at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal.  Most followers of his current story of switching which restroom he uses were likely not even born then.  The event predates my own birth by nearly three years.  I only remember Jenner as a frequent celebrity pitchman (pitcher?) throughout the 1980's.  Jenner's omnipresence in the commercial world, along with his many appearances on various television series was market saturation other TV peddlers of peculiar products like Ron Popeil of Ronco, and Suzanne Somers with her Thighmaster must have envied.  The current generation of Jenner followers likely only associate him with his most recent affiliation with the Kardashians, a family whose rise to fame still mystifies me.  Although there is arguably a dimension of activism and social justice behind Bruce's switcheroo, it still does not come across as something with a particularly high level of intellect and urgency.  If he/she did not have the Kardashian connection and long ago achievement in the Olympics, Jenner would be just another transgender senior citizen doing what many others have already done.  Jenner's continuous milking of the publicity machine over the past 39 years along with his most recent marriage into the plastic Kardashian family makes the story better fodder for supermarket tabloids than mainstream news and current affairs.  Friday evening's big one-on-one interview between Diane Sawyer and Jenner was the top story yesterday and into the early hours of today.  How sad it is when tabloid fodder takes up prime time on a major television network and also makes the top headlines in all other forms of media!  What is sadder though is that it took a devastating earthquake and the death of nearly 2,000 people to knock it into the second story on the front pages and television newscasts.

Pray for the victims of the Nepal earthquake, their families, and for the recovery efforts.  Give to relief organizations assisting with the disaster response if you are able to.

Friday, 24 April 2015

America's circus

The modern circus has taken a beating in recent years.  Ringling Brother's recently announced they're phasing out elephants due to concerns about cruelty after years of protests from animal rights organizations.  Even Quebec's own Cirque du Soleil, the legendary animal-free acrobatic spectacle has hit hard financial times and has been recently sold.  And of course so-called "freak shows" were rightfully declared completely distasteful and exploitative years ago.

There still is a big circus in the United States though.  It's called the Presidential election campaign.  The election is still over a year away, but this travelling show, complete with it's fair share of ringmasters, carnival barkers, and freak shows is already on the road.  One of the parties (the Republicans) even uses an elephant for its logo!  And trust me, most of what the average Republican candidate says piles as deep and smells as bad as anything an elephant leaves behind.  I'm not excusing the Democratic Party at all here either.  Their logo is a donkey, and that completely explains itself.

So far, nobody running for either of these parties deserves to be President.  At last check, there were 19 people running for the Republican nomination.  The most prominent names are Senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz.  These two men are prominent for all of the wrong reasons.  They represent the most reactionary, angry, contemptuous elements of the Republican Party.  The single positive fact about both of them is that they are Hispanic, and their candidacies are thus a major footnote in American ethnic history.

Due to the US Constitution, it still is not clear if Senator Cruz will even be able to legally run for President.  He was born in Calgary, and the Constitution says the President has to be born in the United States or any of its territories.  Strangely though, there does not appear to be a birther movement opposing Senator Cruz like the one that developed against President Obama, composed of those who insist he he was born in Kenya.  If you thought the Tea Party Republicans of recent years and the administration of George W. Bush were ridiculous, Cruz makes them look sophisticated.  Among his ideas are "voluntary conservation."  That means corporations would only have to preserve the environment if they felt like it.  He also wants the Internal Revenue Service disbanded and a single flat federal income tax.  A flat tax is great if you are rich.  It's a bargain because you end up paying far less of a share than you would under a progressive income tax system.  The poor pay the same amount, even though they don't make nearly as much money.  Cruz's crowd assume that the whole trickle down idea will work instead.  Rich people and corporations will just feel so compassionate and benevolent that they'll instantly burst forth with charity and sprees of job creation.  Yeah, sure, right, and Elvis is still alive.

And then there's Marco Rubio.  He too is a flat taxer, and judging by his views on climate change, he very likely believes the Earth is flat too.  He's known as the "Crown Prince" of the Tea Party movement.  This is an ironic title to have in a country that ditched the British Monarchy during the rule of George III.  He's also continually supported the PATRIOT Act and opposed legislation to deal with violence against women.

The other Republican candidate who is getting some attention is Senator Rand Paul, son of former Representative Ron Paul.  Together they've developed a cult-like following.  Both are doctors, and their possessed fans are always very vehement to refer to either of them as "Dr. Paul."  Senator Paul, like his dear old Dad, thinks that just about anything the US government does is too intrusive.  He has a literal interpretation of the Constitution that if adhered to, would have the US government with less governing capacity than a Board of Selectmen in a small New England town.  To the Paul family, the US Postal Service and the Interstate Highway System are likely intrusive tools of tyranny.  Rand and Ron tend to appeal to a segment of the population who don't like the rule of law.  This includes everyone from far-right conspiracy theorists to aging hippies who just want to spend their declining years stoned.  They have a big following among college students with a rebellious streak, which sort of indicates an immature segment of their fan base.  What happened to the good old days when rebellious college students just staged sit-ins in the Dean's office or trashed a mainframe computer?

Speaking of politics on the family plan, another Bush could be in the running.  George W's more moderate and articulate brother Jeb, a former Governor of Florida.  At first glance, Jeb doesn't look so bad really.  If victorious, he would be only the second Roman Catholic President, and the first Republican Roman Catholic.  Both would be positive firsts, however Jeb has recently proven though that Bruce Jenner is not the only man in his 60's with an identity crisis.  It was recently discovered that in 2009, Governor Bush identified himself as Hispanic on his voter registration card.  No Jeb, you are not Hispanic.  You are from an old, white, English-speaking, Yankee establishment family.  Just because you are married to a Hispanic woman does not mean you are Hispanic too.  And then there's the issue of family dynasties.  One of the reasons behind the foundation of the United States was to get rid of the domination of the political process by wealthy elite families.  Having a President Bush III wouldn't exactly honour one of the reasons behind America's founding.

The same argument applies to the only Democratic candidate so far, former First Lady, Senator, and Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton.  First of all, she's too right-leaning and corporation friendly to be a Democrat, and she's too trigger happy when it comes to military intervention.  Arguably, most of her popularity comes from the fact that she's former President Bill Clinton's wife.  15 years after leaving office, Mr. Clinton remains immensely popular.  The idea of having his wife as President probably makes many Americans nostalgic for the 1990's when the word terrorism seldom got used and the economy was roaring.  And of course Mrs. Clinton, with her steely resolve seemed to take the words of late country music performer Tammy Wynette literally.  When the bad news surfaced that Bill had been a bad boy with Gennifer Flowers, and then Monica Lewinsky in the sex scandal of all sex scandals, Hillary stood by her man.  It would be as unhealthy for American democracy though to have another Clinton as President as it would be to have another Bush (or Kennedy for that matter) as President.  If either Hillary or Jeb are elected in 2016, that will mean that two families will have controlled the White House for 20 of the past 30 years as of 2020.

None of the people who should be President of the United States are running, and if they do run, they don't stand much of a chance.  Their support is too based upon ordinary people, and not the wealthy establishment or the corporations who buy election campaigns with their donations.  Independent Senator and self-proclaimed socialist Bernie Sanders of Vermont has not yet stated his intentions.  Senator Elizabeth Warren, the liberal Democrat from Massachusetts has not indicated her plans either.  Former Clinton-era Labor Secretary Robert Reich has already said he will not run.  There are two Republicans in the should run but would probably lose category.  North Country Public Radio in northern New York recently ran a story indicating George Pataki, who served as New York's Governor during the 1990's is considering a run.  Pataki however would have very few friends in extreme right-wing factions that seem to dominate the Republican Party right now.  The same applies to Ohio Governor John Kasich, an unusually independent Republican who while adhering to many conservative approaches, has however significantly increased funding for Medicaid and public education and has even expressed support for private sector trade unions.

So, there really is a big circus still going in America.  It's almost as loud, obnoxious, tacky, and full of freaks as anything found under a big top tent!  Watch the acts taking place in each ring over the next few months as candidates come and go until there are just two left.  One will be riding a blue donkey and the other a red elephant.

Sharon, Lois, and Bram

Lois Lilienstein of Sharon, Lois, and Bram died yesterday.  I was honestly surprised to read she was 78 years old.  The trio of children's entertainers never seemed like they could ever be senior citizens.  My sister and I loved Sharon, Lois, and Bram when we were kids.  The Elephant Show was regular viewing in our house back when it was on TV Ontario.  I recall when I was about 6 or 7, my parents went out for a Friday evening, probably dinner and some shopping, maybe a movie too.  When I got up on Saturday morning, there was a copy of Sharon, Lois, and Bram's album "One Elephant, Deux Elephants" placed by the stereo, all new in the plastic shrink wrap.  We were so amazed.  I think that record got played twice a day for the following week.  The bilingual album featured the title song, and Skinnamarink, the tune that became Sharon, Lois, and Bram's anthem.

Sharon, Lois, and Bram were not necessarily educational in the way Sesame Street was, but they taught children how to have fun and be creative.  Their songs were often literate adaptations of old folk songs or classical pieces.  The fact that three anglophones from Toronto would even bother recording a bilingual album for children also demonstrates their dedication to Canada.  Before I ever sat through a French class, I was singing the French verses of the songs and reading along with the words in the booklet that came with the album.

The legacy of Sharon, Lois, and Bram isn't going away.  The record still gets played for my niece and nephew when they visit Grandma and Grandpa's house.  My nephew's Kindergarten class also sings one of the songs from the album.  Lois Lilienstein will be missed, as will the entire trio of her, Lois, and Bram.  Their impact however on Canadian children's entertainment is undeniably positive and happily enduring.

Thursday, 23 April 2015

Ontario Budget and how The Hydro could have been saved.

It's no longer snowing.  The sun is actually appearing through the clouds sometimes.

It's budget day in Ontario.  Finance Minister Charles Sousa says the plan is "a forward thinking document."  Forward thinking is just another one of those cliché buzzwords that politicians and businesspeople like to use to make something sound positive.  Could he really be expected to say the budget is backwards?  I do happen to think it is backwards, especially because of the planned privatisation of Hydro One.  I'll fully disclose ahead of time that I have a place in my heart for Ontario Hydro and its remnants.  My father worked there for over 30 years.  It gave him a good career and quality life for his family.  It also inspired me to study what I am studying now.  I loved the Hydro people too.  Even those who had more pronounced flaws than others have provided some amusing memories and direction for how not to do a job or treat others.

The Ontario Liberals say that the revenue from the sale of Hydro One will go to infrastructure.  So far, the emphasis seems to be largely upon infrastructure for the Toronto region.  What about other cities?  What about small towns and rural areas?  Municipalities across the province are having considerable difficulty in maintaining or expanding their roads, sewer and water systems, and public buildings.  It is not much comfort to residents of a small town who cannot afford street repairs while Toronto and its suburbs get new commuter trains.

There was a plan at one time that could have saved Ontario Hydro, but it was never implemented.  In the late 1960's, the provincial government created the Committee on Government Productivity.  It reviewed every agency and department of the government and recommended how they could better function and be restructured.  This is how Ontario ended up with having various "Ministries" to oversee various government responsibilities.  Previously, there were many "Departments," that often had a much more inefficient scope.  The committee created a group called Task Force Hydro in 1969 to examine Ontario Hydro, which was then officially known as the Hydro Electric Power Commission of Ontario.  It recommended that Hydro be converted from a commission composed of members of the government and senior Hydro staff to a crown corporation with a board of directors composed of not just government and senior staff, but also representatives from outside.  This part of the recommendation was implemented and became official in 1974.  Task Force Hydro also recommended that Ontario Hydro divest its distribution systems but keep the transmission and generation systems.  Local distribution would become the responsibility of new regional utility commissions that the government would create to coincide with the new regional municipalities the province was planning to establish to replace all of the counties in southern Ontario.  Regional government was never completely implemented, aside from the Toronto Region, Niagara, and Waterloo.  Others were established in Ottawa, Haldimand-Norfolk, and Sudbury, but have since been disbanded.  Regional utility commissions were only established in a small handful of places.  I believe that if the Task Force Hydro recommendations had been fully implemented, Ontario Hydro might still exist today.  Local distribution and customer service would be in the communities where customers lived and worked.  Costs would still be low because the local Hydro would still be getting its power at cost from Hydro.  Like all of the former municipal utility commissions in Ontario, members would be elected by municipal ballot and therefore accountable to citizens.  Ontario Hydro would be able to focus on generation and transmission.  If Hydro had been able to focus on this more during the 1970's, it may not have become as financially burdened by its nuclear projects as it became.  More creative generation options could have been explored, such as the now shelved plans for a pumped storage generating station in the Blue Mountain area.  The Wesleyville white elephant near Port Hope could have been more effectively used for other purposes too.  It remains half-finished and semi derelict ever since oil prices shot up in 1973.

Ontario residents and business owners should be very concerned about power rates increasing after Hydro One is sold off.  There is not an example of electrical utility privatisation anywhere that led to a rate decrease for customers.  The prices always go up because the motivation is profit and satisfying shareholders.  Electrical infrastructure, something that is already in poor shape in many parts of Ontario could also suffer at the expense of profit over capital investment.

Il neige et "à la maison mon"


Oui, il y a des flocons de neige dans l'air que je regarde par la fenêtre que nous quittons lentement centre-ville de Montréal. Ce est 23 Avril et ressemble plus analogues 23 Novembre à l'extérieur! Dans la zone industrielle graveleuse juste à l'ouest du centre-ville, le gris de l'ascenseur Canada Maltage ou le point de repère le moulin Farine Five Roses correspondent presque de la couleur du ciel. Je profite d'un bon coup d'œil à la gare de triage que nous sommes dans un certain modèle de brassage étrange que nous laissons. Après deux nuits de mauvais sommeil sur un mauvais matelas, je suis impatient d'être de retour "à la maison mon" comme mon neveu de cinq ans serait l'appeler.

On the train in the....snow!

Yes, there are snowflakes in the air as I look out the window as we slowly leave downtown Montreal.  It's April 23 and looks more like November 23 outside!  In the gritty industrial area just west of the downtown, the grey of the Canada Maltage elevator or the landmark Five Roses Flour mill almost match the colour of the sky.  I'm enjoying a good look at the railway yard as we're in some odd shuffling pattern as we leave it.  After two nights of bad sleep on a bad mattress, I'm looking forward to being back at "my home" as my five year old nephew would call it.

Wednesday, 22 April 2015

Bakeries and the budget

It was a busy day for me here in Montreal.  I spent most of it at two different archives.  Fortunately, things went much faster than I had scheduled for and so I will be returning home a full day earlier.  I hope my next visit to Montreal is for more entertaining purposes.  It was a hectic day, so there really is no great restaurant review to make, although I highly recommend any location of Mamie Calfoutis bakery.  I grabbed a croissant sandwich at the rue St-Denis location and it was excellent, as was the tarte au sucre.

I have not had a chance to share my reaction to the federal budget.  I decided to think about it for a short while and let it digest before saying anything.  Trust me, this was not easy.  I have great difficulty digesting just about anything that comes from the Harper government.  They have given much of the country a long, miserable case of heartburn.  Forget the oil pipelines, what we really need is a pipeline to supply us all with a liquid antacid.

If you are rich, like the rich, and really like war, this is a great budget for you.  It provides more of the same usual tax cuts and credits for those at the top, and continues the tradition of bribing people with their own money by telling them they'll get some of it back as along as they pay it first.  There's a few million in there for an unjust and immoral conflict Canada has no part in.  The Conservatives will argue though that these radicals in the Middle East have declared war on Canada.  The truth is, they've declared war on just about everyone who isn't like them.  Violent and threatening, yes.  Worth being concerned about, absolutely, but going to war over?  No.  The government should be looking after the problems here at home, not somewhere else.  We have enough social, political, and economic problems of our own to look after.  I'd like to know why in the city where I'm spending the night as I type this, there are people living in mansions in some neighbourhoods, but people sleeping on doorsteps in others?  Why is there no inquiry into all of those aboriginal women who have gone missing or were mysteriously murdered? 

Mr. Oliver, the Finance Minister says he balanced the budget.  At what expense did he do this though?  He robbed the government's contingency fund of $2 billion, two-thirds of its balance.  That fund is there for when there are real emergencies that the government needs to pay for.  A major natural disaster or apprehended civil unrest is an emergency, balancing the budget to make your corrupt party look good in an election year is not.  Some funding announced in the budget does not take effect for four or five years either.  This is nothing but a selfish, partisan trick.  The Conservatives are dangling a rotten carrot on a stick in front of you.  Vote for us, we may do something nice in a couple of years...if we feel like it...but we could change our minds.

It's nearly time for tea and then time for bed.

Tuesday, 21 April 2015

La Binerie et l'anniversaire de la Reine


Personne ne pouvait m’accuser d'être un dîner de discrimination. Et ce cliché urbaine « foodie » n'a jamais été utilisé pour décrire mon souci sur la cuisine, ne est pas sur mon propre vocabulaire.


Je passe quelques jours à Montréal pour la recherche et je suis bien sûr de manger dans les restaurants beaucoup plus souvent que je fais à Gatineau et à Ottawa. Mon budget est limité et est donc mon penchant pour les offres culinaires aventureux.


Un livret dans la salle au petit hôtel où je reste sur la rue St-Denis énumère plusieurs options de restauration. Sous la section «Cuisine locale« Je ai remarqué Restaurant La Binerie Mont-Royal, situé sur l'avenue Mont-Royal. J’ai regardé leur site Web et les commentaires en ligne et a décidé de lui donner un essai. Comme son nom l'indique, fèves au lard sont leur spécialité. Ils ont été les servir depuis 1938. Cependant, je ne suis pas un fan de fèves au lard alors je ai décidé d'essayer les nombreuses autres options. Ce restaurant se targue de plaine, une cuisine home stylé de Québécois. L'intérieur de cette reflète complètement l'intention. La largeur du restaurant est probablement seulement environ 20 pieds. La plupart des sièges est au comptoir, même si j’ai un tableau sur le mur opposé qui était seulement environ deux pieds de large. Les sièges comme se ils avaient été faites comme un projet samedi par un membre de la famille du propriétaire en utilisant des matériaux achetés dans un magasin de matériel régulière. Derrière le comptoir, il y avait murales vieilles plaques murales comme une grand-mère aurait accroché au long de sa maison. Il y avait même un crucifix accroché au-dessus de la porte à l'arrière-cuisine. On s'y sent vraiment comme chez quelqu'un. Il ne avait pas été pour le moniteur de l'ordinateur et la machine de débit par l'argent, l'endroit ressemble c’est 1956, Maurice "Le Chef" Duplessis est encore Premier ministre (ils utilisent le titre complet ici) du Québec, «La famille Plouffe» est le la plus populaire émission à la télévision, et tout le monde va à la messe au moins une fois par semaine. Il y a même un cadran rotatif téléphone noir derrière le comptoir. J’ai demandé à la serveuse si elle fonctionne et elle a dit oui. J’ai encore une utilisation à mon appartement à Gatineau aussi. Le mur opposé était couvert de lithographies de la vie en Nouvelle-France.


J’ai décidé sur les boulettes de viande et de la sauce avec pommes de terre et les légumes en purée. Je suis allé pour le repas complet qui était une grande valeur, à venir à un peu moins de $ 14,00 après la taxe de vente. La soupe aux pois qui sont venus avant c’était le meilleur que je n’aie jamais eu. Il n'a pas le goût que la pâte de papier peint Habitant soupe aux pois d'un peut manger Je me souviens comme un gosse. Elle n'a pas non goût de ce que salé, opaque soupe aux pois vert Je ai également eu. Le plat principal vraiment regardé et goûté comme quelque chose qui aurait pu être servi dans toute la maison. Après une journée qui était parfois stressant, nourriture de confort est en effet réconfortant. Trois grandes boulettes de viande qui a effectivement montré des preuves qu'il y avait de la vraie viande en eux. Sauce brune qui était de toute évidence maison. Deux boules de pommes de terre en purée réels. Je pourrais dire qu'ils étaient réels parce qu'il y avait effectivement des morceaux de pomme de terre non-purée en eux. Les légumes ont été coupées en cubes de carottes et le navet. C'était bien. Je sais que les «foodies» et hipsters se moquer de cette dérision, mais c’était fantastique. Le dessert était fait maison de pouding chomeur, ce doux pudding gâteau moelleux dans une sauce de l'érable à sucre brun. Café ou thé a été inclus. J’ai choisi le thé. Je me attendais à Red Rose ou Salada (il est fait à Montréal), mais ce était ironiquement Twinings Earl Grey, mélangé et emballé à Londres en Angleterre, et aussi "rendez-vous à Sa Majesté la Reine." Il semblait tout à fait approprié, je suppose puisque c’est aujourd'hui son 89 e anniversaire réel. Je suis un monarchiste prudent. Je respecte l'institution et ce que cela signifie, mais la générosité et l'élitisme sein ne m’impressionne pas beaucoup du tout. J’aime Elizabeth II cependant, en raison de sa longévité, la foi et la persévérance.


Donc, je ai terminé ma tasse de thé ironique et payé la dame type derrière le comptoir et je ai marché par à l'hôtel. C’était un petit morceau de l'authentique Québec et authentique Montréal. La Binerie Mont-Royal a enduré des décennies de changement dans la société québécoise et les préférences des restaurants convives. C’est  tellement réconfortant de trouver un endroit qui fournit de la nourriture de confort d'une manière réconfortante.

La Binerie and The Queen's Birthday

No one could accuse me of being a discriminating diner.  And that urban cliché "foodie" has never been used to describe my keenness on cuisine, nor is it in my own vocabulary.

I'm spending a few days in Montreal for research and am of course eating in restaurants much more often than I do in Gatineau and Ottawa.  My budget is limited and so is my penchant for adventurous culinary offerings.

A booklet in the room at the small hotel where I am staying on rue St-Denis lists several restaurant options.  Under the "Local Cuisine" section I noticed Restaurant La Binerie Mont-Royal, located on Ave. Mont-Royal.  I looked at their website and online reviews and decided to give it a try.  As it's name suggests, baked beans are their speciality.  They have been serving them since 1938.  However, I am not a fan of baked beans so I decided to try the many other options.  This restaurant prides itself on plain, homestyle Quebecois cuisine.  The interior of this completely reflects the intention.  The width of the restaurant is probably only about 20 feet.  Most of the seating is at the counter, although I took a table on the opposite wall that was only about two feet wide.  The seats looked like they had been made as a Saturday project by a member of the owner's family using materials purchased at a regular hardware store.  Behind the counter there were wall old wall plaques like a grandmother would have hanging throughout her house.  There was even a crucifix hanging above the door to the back kitchen.  It really felt like someone's home.  Had it not been for the computer monitor and debit machine by the cash, the place looks like it's 1956, Maurice "Le Chef" Duplessis is still Prime Minister (they use the full title here) of Quebec, "La famille Plouffe" is the most popular program on television, and everyone goes to Mass at least once a week.  There's even a black rotary dial telephone behind the counter.  I asked the waitress if it works and she said yes.  I still have one in use at my apartment in Gatineau too.  The opposite wall was covered in lithographs of life in New France.

I decided upon the meatballs and gravy with mashed potatoes and vegetables.  I went for the complete meal which was a great value, coming to just under $14.00 after the sales tax.  The pea soup that came before it was the best I'd ever had.  It did not taste like that wallpaper paste Habitant pea soup from a can I remember eating as a kid.  Nor did it taste like that salty, opaque green pea soup I have also had.  The main course really looked and tasted like something that could have been served in any home.  After a day that was at times stressful, comfort food is indeed comforting.  Three large meatballs that actually showed evidence that there was real meat in them.  Brown gravy that was obviously homemade.  Two scoops of real mashed potatoes.  I could tell they were real because there were actually chunks of un-mashed potato in them.  The vegetables were cubed carrots and turnip.  It was great.  I know that the "foodies" and hipsters would scoff at this derisively, but it was fantastic.  Dessert was homemade pouding chomeur, that sweet soft cake pudding in a maple-brown sugar sauce.  Coffee or tea was included.  I chose tea.  I expected Red Rose or Salada (it's made in Montreal), but it was ironically Twinings Earl Grey, blended and packaged in London England, and also "By Appointment to Her Majesty The Queen."  It seemed quite fitting I suppose since today is her actual 89th birthday.  I am a cautious monarchist.  I respect the institution and what it means, but the largesse and elitism within it does not impress me very much at all.  I do like Elizabeth II however because of her longevity, faith, and perseverance.

So I finished my ironic cup of tea and paid the kind lady behind the counter and walked by to the hotel.  It was a small piece of authentic Quebec and authentic Montreal.  La Binerie Mont-Royal has endured through decades of change in Quebec society and the preferences of restaurant diners.  It's so comforting to find a place that provides comfort food in a comforting way.

The land where boundaries are blurred

The flat land just west of Montreal near the confluence of the Ottawa and St. Lawrence Rivers is one of my favourite places.  Looking across the fields and one could easily think he was in Perth County in southwestern Ontario.  There are lots of big barns and dairy farms.  The only difference is that the fields are narrow remnants of the old seigneuries that formed the basis of contemporary Quebec's municipal and property boundaries back in the French colonial days.  I like this area because I can look out of one window and see to my right the Adirondack Mountains off in the distance in New York State.  To the east I can see the Monteregian hills which lead into the Green Mountains of Vermont.  To the north are the Laurentians.  Straight ahead is where two rivers that served as Canada's early highways of trade meet.  And of course there's Montreal, the colourful, cosmopolitan, and often quirky or corrupt metropolis with a big personality.  This area is more than a confluence of waterways, mountains, and fertile fields.  It's where explorers traveled, it's where colonists colonized.  It's where those rivers were harnessed at Carillon, Cedars, and Beauharnois for electricity.  It's the nexus of the St. Lawrence Seaway too.  There's a sense of connectivity and commonality in this corner of the country.  The boundaries are there, but they seem blurred.  Provinces run together, countries are differentiated, but only out of official necessity.  History and economy seem to transcend them.

On the train

I'm on the train to Montreal for a few days of research.  Half of the car is occupied by a well-behaved group of middle schoolers from Edmonton.  They're on a grade 8 trip.  One of their chaperones joked to me "we're the rowdy bunch."  I've hardly heard a word from any of them since we left the station eight minutes ago.  The funniest comments I heard are; "Our parents cheaped-out.  If they had just paid a little extra we could have gone first class."  " I hear that in first class, you get a free bag of chips."

I love traveling by train.  The scenery seems different, more natural than it does by car.  We're moving along through forest and swamp at the back of Eastern Ontario farms.  Ploughed fields are still muddy, rivers and brooks still running high with rain and runoff.  Enough of the romanticism though.  Why is this form of transport so under-appreciated and under-funded in Canada?  I'm going to Montreal.  I'm staying and working downtown while I am there.  The last thing I want to do is deal with the traffic and construction on the highways and city streets.  The price of parking is ridiculous too.  This is the way to go.

On a more serious note, I want to thank so many of my facebook contacts for their support yesterday after the controversy over my grading-related posts.  Your support and sincerity as friends, family and colleagues was encouraging and affirming.

Sunday, 19 April 2015

The road map to beer

Change, and only in that cautious bureaucratic way that is typical of Ontario, is on the way for how beer is sold in that province.  Soon, it will be possible to buy a case of beer at over 400 grocery stores across Ontario.  If you are hoping that you'll soon be able to grab a can or bottle of your favourite brew at the variety store or gas station on the corner, forget it.  That will not be happening.  The tax Ontario beer drinkers pay will be going up too.  The many retailers in Quebec or states who make a small fortune from selling cheap beer to Ontario residents are not likely in any jeopardy.  This got me thinking though about a peculiar document I have in my collection of old road maps.  During the late 1960's and early 1970's, Brewer's Retail (the official name of "The Beer Store") published road maps so travelers knew where they could buy beer wherever they were in Ontario.

The attitude towards drinking and driving was a lot different back then.  In fact, most people did it to some extent.  Warnings about drinking and driving do not appear anywhere on the map, but store hours and locations are all listed for customer convenience, along with brands available and price lists.  The only warnings on the map are against littering and tell beer drinkers to take their empties back instead of tossing them into the forests and lakes (of course people were tossing them into ditches from their car windows too!)

There was not as great of a selection in 1972 as there is now.  It was limited to the big corporate breweries, but there were more of them.  Molson and Labatt's were still Canadian companies.  Sleeman was still in its post-prohibition dormancy, only to be revived again in the early 1990's.  There was Carling, O'Keefe, Dow, Formosa, and Doran's.  All of these would disappear through merger's, takeovers, or simply just went out of business.  Some of the names survive in brands produced by Labatt's or Molson.  It was these consolidations that made The Beer Store far less competitive and responsive to customer preferences.  This is what led to Brewer's Retail becoming completely anachronistic.  That, and it was a relic from another time when the anti-alcohol lobby was much stronger and there was great skepticism about making it so easily available, even though there's no real proof that alcohol-related crime and social problems are any worse in places where the ability to purchase is easier.

The 1972 Brewer's Retail road map shows towns and cities with a Beer Store location highlighted in orange.  Communities with a Liquor Control Board of Ontario store that sold beer are named inside an orange box.  It was bad social policy but good marketing.  A source once told me he remembered seeing these maps opened on the hoods of cars at baseball games and Junior Farmer's events so the thirsty could find the nearest place to buy beer.  The drinking age had also been lowered to 18 in Ontario that year.  There was a whole young demographic with cars who suddenly could buy beer legally.

This isn't the only promotional road map I have.  Maps issued by oil companies always highlighted the locations of their gas stations.  I even have a map of Ontario from the early 1980's that shows the location of every Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet in the province.  Even after over 30 years, it is still somewhat accurate.  The same goes for the 1972 Ontario Road Map and Brewer's Retail Store Directory.  Several photos of it follow.