On Disqualifying Canadians Because They are Not Bilingual
What follows are a series of posts based on the media reaction to Mike Harris as a possible candidate -- their reaction, especially, on the bilingualism issue.
According to Andre Bachand, Stephane Dion of Quebec, and several political columnists, Mike Harris is unfit to become Prime Minister because he is a unilingual English speaker--he is not bilingual.
If 25-30% of Canadians are Francophone and 90% of them are bilingual, that leaves approximately 10% of that number of Francophone Canadians--that's 2 to 3 of every 100 Francophones--unfit to become Prime Minister for one reason; they are not bilingual.
If 70-75% of Canadians are Anglophones and 10% of them are bilingual, that leaves more than 60% of Anglophone Canadians--or 63 to 68 out of every 100 Anglophones--unsuitable to become Prime Minister for one reason; they are not bilingual.
If unilingual Francophones and unilingual Anglophones together comprise 65 - 71 out of every 100 Canadians -- then 65-71% of Canadian citizens are dismissed from Prime Ministerial leadership consideration SOLELY because they do not speak both languages before anything else is considered. This seems profoundly undemocratic to me. This is what translators are for, isn't it -- so that everyone may be served in his own language? Does this not include strong leadership candidates?
Surely, unilingual Canadians deserve as much consideration for leadership as bilingual Canadians -- all other qualifications being equal? This is a red herring to distract attention from the fact that bilingualism as a job requirement has served Francophones in Canada well -- though it has deprived Anglophone Canada of jobs--even consideration for jobs--in more and more spheres. This red herring is always dragged to the fore--especially by Liberals since so many Quebeckers are Liberals--for it has served Quebec and Liberals well. It is profoundly undemocratic in great swaths of Canada. We have had enough of bilingualism BEFORE all else!
Surely, there are other considerations more important in a leader than bilingualism? Decency? Honesty? Fairness? Steadfastness? Leadership ability? Knowledge of Canadians and what they want and need? Willingness to listen and consult? Willingness to take a stand -- to act when action is needed? Ability to articulate a vision for Canada and make this direction clear in talking to Canadians? Willingness to set aside personal goals for the good of Canada? The list could go on.
Demand for bilingualism as the sole quality that can allow dismissal of a quality candidate BEFORE any other consideration is akin to demanding that a leadership hopeful have charisma without character. It is one part of the whole, not the primary qualification to lead a country -- nor should it be the defining part!
This demand for and implementation of bilingualism in more and more spheres in Canada has served Francophones well for it has garnered all the best jobs for a far greater percentage of Francophones than for Anglophones. Living in English speaking North America, they have had to become bilingual. Is this a fair situation? NO! NO! NO!
According to all the nay-sayers (see one example below), bilingualism is primary; all other considerations are for naught. But, this is why we have translators so every Canadian--unilingual as well as bilingual--may participate in democracy in their own country. Why should a whole country choose its leader from such a small percentage of people simply because they are bilingual?
If the entry of former Ontario premier Mike Harris in the federal arena hinges on the probability that he will one day be prime minister, then he should decline the pressing overtures to run for the leadership of the future Conservative party and get on with his life.
[. . . .]
As for Klein, he has wisely written himself out of the equation. While the Alberta premier would likely sell as well as Harris in the deeply conservative pockets of Ontario, as a non-bilingual leader he would hit a solid Quebec glass ceiling.
A similar fate awaits Harris.
Ever since Quebecers have been on the federal ballot, Quebec has never given a leader from elsewhere in Canada the time of day. Even Joe Clark, whose federal-provincial outlook was more in sync with the province than that of his Liberal competitors, still got the cold shoulder.
Anyone who expects Quebec voters to make an exception for Harris, a premier who demonstrated less sensitivity to his province's role in the greater national picture than any of his modern-day predecessors, probably also believes in Santa Claus.
As for those who would simply write the province off and strive to win without it, let them be reminded that is the very circle the Reform party tried to square, at a time when feelings against Quebec elsewhere in the country ran a lot higher.
The first duty of a prime minister is the unity of the country. Imagine how Canada would have fared in the last two referendums if the prime minister of the day had had to defend it through a translator.
For years now, sovereignist strategists have openly prayed for the day when there no longer is a federal party led by a Quebec leader. But even they know that the advent of an English-only prime minister looks too good for their cause to come true.
Note this:
***Ever since Quebecers have been on the federal ballot, Quebec has never given a leader from elsewhere in Canada the time of day.***
CREDIT: (CP/Andrew Vaughan)Mike Harris, the former Ontario premier, addresses a business luncheon in Halifax on Oct. 22. (CP/Andrew Vaughan)
HALIFAX (CP) - Mike Harris outlined his vision for Canada on Wednesday, striking out at Ottawa rivals and upping speculation the former Ontario premier has his sights keenly set on leading the country's united right.
In a half-hour speech that mixed both humourous jabs and hard-edged assaults on Liberal policy, Harris described an agenda of aggressive tax cuts, an end to corporate handouts and an immigration policy tailored to Canada's economic needs.
What is wrong with this? Government should get out of the business of picking and funding those they want to see as winners in business. How coincidental that so many government funding 'winners' appear to be good Liberals! Let the market operate! As for immigration, those who read my blog know what I--and many Canadians--think about that. Bang on, Mike! NJC
[. . . .]
"Ottawa has not cut taxes to keep our economy strong. They have refused to end corporate welfare. And they have fuelled a massive growth in government spending . . . Canadians deserve so much more than this."
[. . . .]
The former premier's past caught up with him Wednesday when a handful of protesters assembled outside the downtown hotel where he gave his speech.
Note that that was "a handful of protestors", but they serve a purpose to the anti-Harris, anti-conservative Canadians and must be reported on fully. NJC
About six people carried sqeegees and placards that read, "If you want safe streets get Mike Harris off them," in reference to Harris's policy as premier of clamping down on panhandlers and squeegee kids. . . . when Harris was premier. "It was a strategy of attack and scapegoat poor people." [I shall have more to say about this topic in another post I am planning. NJC]
[. . . .]
Political observers say Harris would face a huge obstacle in a bid to lead a national party because of his inability to speak French.
Give us a break on this! There is more to life and leadership than whether you speak French -- though you'd never know it in Canada. NJC
He made a joking reference to it Wednesday when he spoke halting French for a mere three seconds, and then said, "I don't want you to worry - I speak English too."
My Commentary:
The usual suspects have their knives out. Think about who is writing all the negatives; did they thrive under the Liberals? There are perks -- even for reporters and political pundits who support the Liberals. They are less obvious than the perks that come with Adrienne's appointment to the Governor Generalship, but smaler perks for smaller people are still perks in their world. Think about who is commenting before you take what they say at face value. Some of us would like to have seen Harris carry on his "common sense revolution" -- but the unions and the media had it in for him. They will do the same if he takes a run at the leadership. However, there are many Canadians who would like to see a little "common sense" applied in Canada. I, for one, would!
The first [reason Harris cannot win] is history - no Ontario premier, indeed no provincial premier - has ever gone on to be elected prime minister of Canada. The second is language - Harris speaks no French, which doesn't bode well for a televised leaders' debate.
Moreover, he is bitterly remembered among franco-Ontarians as the premier who tried to close their French-language Montfort hospital in the process of creating a superhospital in Ottawa.
Ah, the crux of the matter. Cross the Francophones and you'll pay. That is another ploy that has been used to great advantage by Francophones throughout the country. No matter how ridiculous their demands, they hold a noisy protest; they stick together and usually get their way because no politician dares refuse them. To cross them invites ballot box revenge. Not one of them thinks of costs when they want something; they just bloc vote and to the devil with the rest of Canada. What a recipe for maintaining Francophone power! NJC
And this in a province where they still talk about Regulation 17, the infamous 1912 provincial edict severely restricting the teaching of French in both public and separate schools in Ontario. It's the symbolism, stupid!
A Harris leadership bid would also have to deal with other pages from his history as premier . . . Walkerton . . . Ipperwash. . . .
Do you believe Harris was personally responsible for the brothers who failed to do their jobs in Walkerton? Do you believe that Dudley George who was shot at Ipperwash was not a gun-toting threat confronting police in a violent confrontation when he was shot? I am sceptical based on what I've read of the vaunted Native Warriors movement around Canada to areas of confrontation with non-natives, their anti-non-native speeches, their demands, and their gun-running. NJC
Those are a bunch of reasons for Harris to do some hard thinking about getting into this.
In larger historical terms, Ontario premiers are regarded in the rest of the country as representing the interests of Canada's wealthy industrial heartland.
[. . . . ]
As to his lack of French, it is asking a lot for him to start taking immersion courses at the age of 58. And the Conservative Party thought it had settled that question 20 years ago when it chose Brian Mulroney as its leader.
All through the leadership campaign of 1983, Mulroney in his stump speech always asked English-speaking Canadians if they would vote for someone who spoke no English. They would always shake their heads. Then why, he asked, would they ask French-speaking Canadians to vote for someone who spoke no French? Then Mulroney would throw in the gift of 100 seats in French Canada the Tories always gave the Liberals as a starting point. It was the argument he used to close the deal with the Tory rank and file.
Here it is again -- the poison pill. If leftist media can convince you that he has not a hope in H*** of leading a united right to an election win throughout Canada, particularly because he does not speak French, then, you won't vote for him and the left-wing media have rid the Liberals of a viable opponent. Think about that conservative Canadians. They want you to believe that 70-75% of this country must be bilingual to EVER run the country. Hogwash! This started with Trudeau and it is time it stopped. It has harmed relations across this country, hopefully not irreparably. NJC
Harris represents a different perspective, and he would begin from a position of strength in seat-rich Ontario. But he was also a conviction politician, whose Common Sense Revolution left his province sorely divided about his leadership. Moreover, Ontarians see themselves voting in the larger national interest and they see that as including Quebec, just as Quebecers often look across the Ottawa River to how Ontario is going.
Getting a war chest for Harris would be the least of his problems. There is talk in knowledgeable circles on Bay St. that such a pot already exists. . . before corporate donations are phased out in the election and leadership finance reforms take effect at year's end.
So the question for Harris is not whether the money is there, or whether he can win the leadership of a united right. There's no doubt he would begin as the front-runner, although both Stephen Harper of the Alliance and Tory Peter MacKay, among others, might make a spirited run of it.
The question is whether Harris can win the country. Based on Canadian history, as well as his own, the answer is no.
You're not likely to hear anything positive from MacDonald, obviously -- nothing like balance. A serious commentator trying to be fair would include the negative that Harris faced on coming into office, then the positive steps Harris took--and keeping his electoral promises--to rectify the situation of a province running out of control -- thus giving some rationale for his actions in governing Ontario as he did. But there was nary a blip of positive comment nor explanation, was there? NJC
So, take this "maybe" to the bank -- Mike Harris will enter the race for leader of the reunited Conservative party to become the instant front-runner.
The confirmation will come in two or three weeks after the former Ontario premier lets an appropriate period of personal reflection pass.
He can't salivate too openly at the chance to break a jinx that has denied any former premier the keys to 24 Sussex Drive. Harris must appear desperately and dearly wanted by MPs from both parties, needed by both grassroots and backed by the very deepest pockets from Bay Street and the Alberta oilpatch. In just a few weeks, he'll have lined up all three.
This week featured a promised attempt by Harris to learn French, ramped-up speculation by friends and advisers and a suddenly robust schedule of speeches from Alberta to Atlantic Canada. Add it up and you have a leadership bid being tuned up and road-tested.
Ah, the need to cater to 20-25% of Canada if you are ever to lead as Prime Minister of Canada! The threat has been over-used. See rationale for why I say let's nip in the bud this bit of power-wielding on the part of those who have benefitted from bilingualism. Enough, already! There is more to Canada than Quebec -- and there are more Canadians to consider than Quebeckers and those who have managed to make themselves bilingual if they want to work in this country. NJC
"Service to one's country requires careful consideration . . . it's a personal decision . . . must consult with family" . . . blah, blah, blah, Harris said Tuesday. Translation: If things are as they seem, I'm in.
Had there been serious reservations about his commitment, the giddy anticipation of people in his close personal orbit would be tempered with nervous caveats. But, behind the scenes, there's nothing but total confidence in this imminent candidacy.
[. . . .]
To be sympathetic, it must be a very hard decision for a businessman now conditioned to private planes, big pay days and a fresh start with a serious girlfriend. He knows there'll be lingering dirt to shake from two difficult terms as premier. That much was obvious Tuesday when a Quebec cabinet minister slagged Harris for attempting the shutdown of a French-language hospital in Ottawa.
The Francophones of Ottawa were thwarted by Mike Harris--only for a time, of course--over one of their demands; yet, the Francophones will make certain he pays for that. See commentary on this in the top article in this section above.
Note the poison pill again; convince Canadians that he's not one of them. He's been too successful to appeal to ordinary Canadians as
"a businessman now conditioned to private planes, big pay days and a fresh start with a serious girlfriend."***
D*** it! Do we want failures to run for leadership? If Mike Harris has been successful, shouldn't that be a recommendation? NJC
Re: "Klein touts Harris to lead merged party," Journal, Oct. 18.
So Ralph Klein thinks Mike Harris is just the ticket. I would suggest to all those Alliance folks who think this stinker has legs that they hearken back a few years and recall Ralph the Great, standing on the podium and recommending his friend, Stockwell Day. And how the party then, in an ecstasy of dogmatic and religious fervor, turned its brains off and got its butt kicked.
You might remember that the media pilloried the man wherever he went, whatever he did; yet, quietly and without rancour about the past, he has become a forceful and effective Foreign Affairs critic today. What might have happened if the media had not set out at the behest of their Liberal masters to destroy him from the day they could get a photo of him on a Skidoo?
Memo to Canadian voters: Could you stand your worst photograph--that one you turn red over when you think about it--instead of your most flattering--being laughed at by guys who don't want you to win anyway?
Think about that when you vote. It is just one of the leftist media ploys to laugh at a good candidate and crucify him with it through repetition. Remember Stanfield and the football? Don't let the media do it again! Use your brains and dismiss the worst of the media lampoons and criticism and think of what the candidate is and stands for. Do his policies appeal to you? Is he a man who does what he says? That last one will certainly narrow the field of potential Prime Ministers down. NJC
Just in case Klein and the Alliance haven't been keeping up with current events I would suggest looking at the results of the Ontario provincial election. Anyone who spouts that the obliteration of the Tories in Ontario was the fault of Ernie Eves is either a backroom scam-artist or just plain deluded. It's rather like saying that the federal Tories were sent for a swim in the River Styx by Kim Campbell and not Brian Mulroney.
There is more, and it is positively vitriolic! Is this guy the lone Western Liberal on the Prairies, by any chance? One hopes! NJC
