Local boy turned hockey megastar Vincent Lecavalier will likely be playing in the All Star game here in Montreal January 25 which, sadly, will mark one of the only times you'll ever see him play in Montreal in a role where he isn't trying to beat his hometown Habs.
The pride of Ile Bizard attended John Rennie High School. His father Yvon was a fireman. We don't know Yvon's educational background, nor that of his mom Christiane.
Under Bill 101, the only way Vinnie he could have qualified for John Rennie or any other English public school is if one of his parents served the majority of their time in an English school. Or perhaps Vin's parents used the loophole law and put him in an English private school for a year, thus qualifying him for the English public school system. The loophole is now in jeopardy as the provincial and federal governments are fighting against human rights lawyer Brent Tyler who is in court trying to keep the loophole open.
So should francophone kids like V-Lec be allowed to attend English school? Some anglo imperialists want to deny French speaking kids English language schooling as a way to perpetuate their economic dominance. So they co-opted separatist braintrust into passing schooling restrictions against the French speakers. But let's be generous, the glory of English - the prime method for international communication - is something that can be enjoyed by all, so Coolopolis believes that francophone children shold be allowed to attend English public school if they want.
The downside in this instance is that as a result of his English schooling, Lecavalier became so comfortable in English that even as a teenage rookie he had no trouble fitting in as a resident of Florida and now likes Tampa Bay so much that it's likely he'll never leave to play for the Habs.
In other language politics hockey news, Gary Galley, who played a long, long time in the NHL, credits language politics for his dream career, now over as a star NHL blueliner. One day his father was shopping in a grocery store on the South Shore of Montreal, where the Galleys lived. The cashier was unwilling to communicate in English and that Gary's father was sufficiently infuriated to persuade his family to immediately pack up and move out of the province. The family relocated to a small town in Ontario which offered infinite hockey possibilities to young Gary who went on to become a junior star and then an NHL star, pocketing tens of millions (perhaps hundreds of millions?- Chimples) in hockey salaries before retiring as a broadcaster.
So let's talk about another local stellar NHL defenseman from Montreal. Wally Weir. He had no issues with anything. He played a little hockey while working for Canada Packers. Did a lot of fighting. Caught on in the WHA with the Nordiques and then the NHL. Up in Quebec City if you were on the 'Diques you were local royalty. The hottiest babes would practically camp on your doorstep. He retired, married one of the Matticks daughters - or so we are told - and has a steady job somewhere in the port or someplace like that. Hey Wall, drop us a note sometime.
Local singer Karl Wolf. We're not happy with you. Specifically your heinous decision to redo the song Africa by Toto. Really now. And it's getting a ton of Cancon airplay. Really. Wolf surely doesn't know that the song is the finest example of corporate radio rigging. Music company muscle manipulated the Grammy awards to give these Toto bozos six undeserved Grammy Awards in 1982. This during a time when when legitimately talented inventive songsters (Adam Ant, Specials, Madness, ABC, The Clash, Stray Cats, Billy Idol, etc, etc) were producing some of the best pop music ever made. Toto and their crapola has become the ultimate symbol of repression of merit in music. Karl Wolf wears bad idea jeans.
David Azrieli is the man who demolished the treasured Van Horne Mansion in Montreal in 1974. He has made a lot of money on it and other buildings. He has been described as a philanthropist. We have issues with that terminology. If a billionaire gives .1% of his fortune away (with good lookin' tax breaks in return) he gets tagged with that glorious description, whereas if a person of modest income gives a higher percentage of his cash to the needy he never gets described as a philanthropist. Also, according to the
rules of philanthropy - and yes there are many who study these things - philanthropists can only be described as such if their giving is non-sectarian, rather than aimed as a particular community, not exactly the case with Azrieli. So remember that the Hotel Sofitel was built on the site of one of the biggest development outrages in the history of Montreal engineered by David Azrieli.Thought of the day: The distance between today and Halloween 2008 and is roughly same distance between today and St. Patrick's Day 2009.
The Sofitel is a conversion of an office building, the former HQ of Canadian Liquid Air. Thus, the Van Horne Mansion was not directly torn down to make room for this hotel, but for an office building whose 1960s space was becoming tired and no longer Class A, hence put to another use as a hotel, just as the Texaco Building on Mountain became the Loews, the Bank of Canada building on Victoria Square was flagged as a Starwood W, etc.
ReplyDelete"Some anglo imperialists want to deny French speaking kids English language schooling as a way to perpetuate their economic dominance. So they co-opted separatist braintrust into passing schooling restrictions against the French speakers."
ReplyDeleteI hope this is tongue-in-cheek, 'cause if it isn't, you must have to take a load of anti-depressants just to get up every morning.
Excellent use of referential humour. Bad idea jeans was some fine SNLing.
ReplyDeleteBe careful what you say against Azrielli. Some 20 years ago, Le Devoir was busted for publishing a letter to the editor deploring “the azriellization of the city” (when applied to tearing down architectural heritage).
ReplyDeleteAnd the guy has no small ego, also; witness the granite cornerstone saying his name in huge letters, whilst the architect’s name is in small letters.
(I never miss an opportunity to spit on his name when I pass in front).
In the U.S., blacks have “oréos”: black on the outside, white on the inside (it could be argued that Mr. “O” is an “oréo”).
ReplyDeleteWe have the same thing here, too, french people who do their darnest to look english. Just go in the CNR head-office, and you’ll see plenty of those, for example.
The Lecavalier family is a prime example of that.
(And, yes, there is the opposite too; english people who do their darnednest to appear french – the best example I met is Robin Philpot).
CBC Radio has the worst come-from-away collaborators.
ReplyDeleteRE: the Galley anecdote - it's like the Grosse de chez Eaton reversed!
ReplyDelete....and i figured how often will i get to haiti anyways?
ReplyDeletei still remember watching the Grammys and wondering how those big-haired,bearded no-talentlosers won all those grammies....
Give the man a break. It's been more than 35 years now and people still talk about it like it was yesterday. There's plenty of still-standing great buildings in Montreal. Be grateful for this man, because of what he did we have better respect for our old buildings!! :-)
ReplyDelete