4 Muslims spotted by Maine maple sugar workers trying to enter USA

Four followers of the Prophet (three of them named after him) were arrested by the US border patrol near Millinocket ME after having been sportted by alert workers in a maple sugar bush trying to cross illegally from Canada. 

The four are named in an affidavit filed in court by a CBP agent as Ali Mohammed Ali Abdullah, Hameed Mohammed Nagi, Ibrahim Ayyub Khan and Mohammed Sultan Saleh. They are being held (without bail) for trial on charges of entry without inspection. 

According to the affidavit, the four Muslims were spotted last Friday morning walking south along the Golden Road, a private road that stretches between the St-Zacharie QC/Maine border crossing and the town of Millinocket. 

The maple sugar workers "reported that they had heard from a third man that two occupants of a gray Nissan automobile stopped on the Golden Road were asking passersby for fuel and wi-fi to contact people they were supposed to pick up." 

Border patrol officers then headed south and "observed fresh footprints on the soft dirt of the road." Near mile marker 87, they saw the four men trying to hide in vegetation at the side of the road, one of them "acting nervously." When they were taken into custody, they said they were British citizens, "just on a hike", not meaning to cross the border, and that they did not realize they were in the US of A.

However, the CBP officer wrote, the men’s cellphones contained searches made that day for "bangor from my location", "boston from bangor" and "new york from boston", as well as "is st zacherie border crossing still used the one near quebec golden road."

The CBP also found a GoPro video in which one of the men says to the others, "I can confirm you are now on US soil." Another replies, "I'm on U.S. soil?", to which the first says, "You are on US soil. Now we are in the US." Then he exclaims, "We just made it, baby!" The video also shows a phone screen being held up with the GPS location displayed. 

The two occupants of the Nissan identified themselves as American citizens, and were asked to step out of their car. The affidavit continues: "The two complied and before the driver exited the vehicle, the (Customs and Border Protection) officer observed him reach under the driver’s seat. Observing this, the CBP officer checked under the seat and found a loaded 9mm handgun."

The two men, so far unnamed, were then taken to a border patrol station "based on their involvement in a suspected alien smuggling event." If convicted, the four potential Islamic terrorists could face sentences of up to six months in federal prison and a $5000 fine if convicted. It's the US of A, not Canada, so presumably they would be deported once they've done their time.

Québec to force "newcomers" to adopt "common culture"

What follows is excerpted from a report in the Groan & Wail, Canada's national snoozepaper.

Québec’s immigration minister says newcomers to the province need to embrace the “common culture,” as the government looks to put Québec identity back at the forefront of the political agenda. 

The Québec government will table a new bill Thursday on the integration of immigrants, which will require newcomers to adhere to Québec values like gender equality and secularism. 

"We will be pretty clear. We are a nation, we have a culture, we have democratic values," Immigration Minister Jean-François Roberge told reporters in Québec City as the provincial legislature resumed Tuesday following the holiday break. "And people coming here must accept that." (Walt's emphasis.)

M Roberge said the bill aims to prevent "ghettoization" of immigrant communities by defining a social contract that will emphasize French as the official language of Québec. He said Québec has never accepted the concept of Canadian multiculturalism, first outlined in a 1971 policy to promote cultural diversity and enshrined in law in 1988. 

Canada has not defined a common culture for the country, the minister said, and Québec prefers the idea of interculturalism, focused on integrating immigrants into Québec culture. Newcomers have a "moral duty" to adhere to Québec culture, M Roberge said, adding that there will be obligations laid out in the bill – mechanisms to ensure its principles are upheld, though he offered no details.

Walt doubts that most Québécois would equate "gender equality" and "secularism" with traditional Québec values. Obviously M Roberge has in mind the new, woke, "progressive" values which have been imported from the US of A -- the ones he refers to as "democratic values". There should be a capital D there.

Nevertheless, Walt thinks making "newcomers" -- presumably including the bogus refugees and asylum-seekers which Québec is trying to push into other provinces -- adapt to the values and customs of their unwilling hosts, rather than the other way around, is a good idea. Many people in the rest of Canuckistan will wish their governments had the cojones to follow this course. 

Note from Ed.: I had a hard time finding an appropriate illustration of "Québec values". That tells you all ye know and all ye need to know about this subject.

Two more Canuck Liberals run away from party leadership

The field of masochists vying to win the booby prize of leader of the Liberal Party of Canada got smaller today as two more prominent Grits balked at getting into the starting gate. Philippe Champagne, the Minister of Industry in Junior's cabinet, Christy Clark, the former premier of British Columbia both bowed out.

Their departures cast a spotlight on candidates' French language skills, and their ability to organize support in Québec, a province that's critical to the Gliberals' electoral fortunes. 

M Champagne -- a likeable and not hopelessly incompetent gars de chez nous -- said during an armchair talk in Toronto that he plans to focus on ensuring the government [Is dis a government? Ed.] is ready to protect Canadian industry from the trade threats posed by President-Elect Trump. "It was probably the most difficult decision of my life," said Ti-Phil, "but I think it was the right one at the right time. There are many ways to fight for Canada."

Ms Clark said in a statement to her supporters that Blackie McBlackface had called too short a leadership race to allow her to mount a successful campaign and that she did not develop her French skills well enough to be a strong candidate. 

"I have made the difficult decision to step back," she said. "While we have come a long way, in a short time, there is simply not enough time to mount a successful campaign and for me to effectively connect with francophone Canadians in their language. I have worked hard at improving my French but it’s not where it needs to be today."

Yesterday's revelation that that Ms Clark had actually held a Conservative Party membership card for a couple of years didn't help either.

That leaves two -- count `em, 2 -- possible candidates with any name recognition, neither of whom is fluent in la langue de Molière... ou de Chétien. The first is the lovely and talented Chrystia Freeland, the Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister until, just before Christmas, she quit before Blackie could fire her.  "These people are impossible!", she said. "I'm going home to my children!"*

The other is Mark Carney, an Oxbridge type who still carries around the silver spoon which was in his mouth at birth. 

Mr Carney has been -- and "has been" is an appropriate phrase -- Governor of the Bank of Canada and Governor of the Bank of England. A wag [Dogbert? Ed.] has suggested that he probably thinks the vacant position is that of head of the Federal Reserve. Why else would he choose to announce his possible candidacy on The Daily Show?

Neither Ms Freelove nor Squire Carney have said definitely that they're ready, aye, ready to grasp the nettle that is the prime ministership of the Great No-longer-white North. So far, they're just teasing, something in which the lovely Chrystia has form. Both say they will have more to say "later".

* Note from Ed.: I didn't have time to check the date of that quote. Seems to me I read it here some time ago. But never mind. The deadline looms. 

2024 Wally Awards: Most Egregious Reverse Racism

Rather than do a lengthy yearend review of stuff you already know and will read about elsewhere, we've decided to just hand out the coveted Wallies, without further ado. There were plenty of submissions from the US of A for the Wally for Most Egregious Reverse Racism, but they were pipped at the post by news from Montréal of the cancelling of this year's Shake La Cabane FAM-JAM, a community dance planned for December 23rd. Here's a photo of last year's soirée.

The organizers of the Shake La Cabane party said on Instagram, "we looked around and were not satisfied with the diversity of our parties." They quoted an American (of course) group saying, "micro-reparations in the name of solidarity, not charity, like these stand to gesture towards ways we can create more access."

"Micro-reparations"? What did they mean? Just this: White people would have paid a premium to attend the multiculti bash. The cost of a ticket was $15 for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, or People of Colour) adults, but the price jumped close to $26 for adults with paler complexions. 

But wait, there's more! While "racialized" yoofs under 12 could attent for free, their white peers under 18 would have paid $13. 

Reaction from the larger community was instantaneous and negative. Lawyer Julius Grey said the pricing policy was not only discriminatory, but unlawful. "This flies in the face of the Québec Charter of Rights," said lawyer Julius Grey. "All of the charters have exceptions for affirmative action...but this is not one of them." 

Université Laval law professor Louis-Phillipe Lampron called the scheme "a clear cut case of direct discrimination." Mathieu Lacombe, Québec's Minister of Culture, wrote on X, "This is completely unacceptable." Parti Québécois leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon said, "[this] now opens to the door to laws and social programs that would apply by racial group, again increasing tensions and finger-pointing."

On Saturday night, La Cabane posted on Instagram and Facebook that they had cancelled the event after their team was flooded with hateful and "threatening" comments, and would refund all ticket holders. "We received SO much hate and misunderstanding about our BIPOC ticket pricing, that for the safety and security of all, we prefer to stay on the safe side with this one. We really regret this situation and are so deeply disappointed."

Walt hopes receiving the prestigious Wally Award will assuage their hurt feelings.

À nos amis Québécois...

C'est aujourd'hui la Fête nationale du Québec (known originally and still as la Fête Saint-Jean-Baptiste / Saint-John-the-Baptist Day). Throughout la Belle Province and in many communities across Canada, "Canadiens de souche" (old stock francophone Canadians) gather to mark the feast day of the patron of French Canada, and celebrate francophone culture with public events including concerts, parades, and firework displays. Families and neighbourhoods also get together to hold their own smaller celebrations -- picnics, bonfires and barbecues -- for la fête Saint-Jean-Baptiste. 

Walt and (especially) Poor Len Canayen, [and Ed.! Ed.]

wish all our French-Canadian friends and readers

BONNE FÊTE NATIONALE!

Québec election: Anti-immigration sentiment propels CAQ to landslide

Ed. here. Normally we don't cover regional/local politics, but yesterday's election in the province of Québec has implications for all of Canuckistan, so we pressed our National Sports Editor, Poor Len Canadien, into service to analyse the result. Over to you, Len.

Tank youse, Hed. Hier soir au Centre Bell [Len? Len! The election, Len. Not the hockey game! Ed.]

Oh... yeah... Well... Four years and two days ago, François Legault led his fledgling Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ), theretofore barely a blip in the polls, to a surprise victory over the Québec establishment, winning a majority of the seats in the Assemblée Nationale to form a new government.

The CAQ government made good on his promises, passing a number of controversial laws, including Bill 21 on the secularization of the state, which bars public school teachers and government officials in positions of authority from wearing religious symbols, including headgear. The law also denies fully veiled Muslim women access to health care and other government services. 

The very first major piece of legislation passed by the CAQ on coming to power drastically reduced the number of immigrants admitted to Quebec, and requires them to provide evidence that they have learned democratic values and Quebec values.

Last May, M Legault's government passed into law Bill 96, which reinforces the primacy of French, "the official and common language of Québec", making it the only official language of la Belle Province.

All these measures were condemned by English-speaking federal and provincial politicians, the lickspittle media and all progressive thinkers, including Prime Minister Blackie McBlackface, as reactionary, xenophobic, divisive, discriminatory, anti-immigrant, chauvinistic, and (of course) racist. But the Québécois approved overwhelmingly, and the CAQ was almost universally predicted to win a second term in Monday's election.

So last night's result came as no surprise. The only shock was the extent of M Legault's re-election triumph. With most polls reporting (as of 0100 today, EDT), the Coalition Avenir Québec had bagged 89 seats (out of 125) in the Assemblée Nationale, 13 more than they started with, and close to the contemporary record established in 1989.

Both Radio Canada and TVA predicted a CAQ majority within 10 minutes of the closing of the polls at 2000. The only question for the rest of the evening was who would form the official opposition and how many seats would be left for the other three parties. In the end the once-mighty Liberals retained the title with 21 seats, six less than they had when the legislature was dissolved.

It is noteworthy that the Liberals, led by a Woman of Colour who grew up in Haïti, slipped to fourth place in the popoular vote, behind the Parti Québecois and socialist Québec Solidaire. That they got so many seats is due to the concentration of their support in Montréal, where their candidates were elected in predominantly English-speaking, Jewish and immigrant-majority ridings. The Liberals failed to elect a single candidate outside of the Montréal-Laval region. One commentator said (repeatedly), "There are  now two Québecs."

At the outset of the campaign, Premier Legault proclaimed immigration a key ballot issue. He implored voters to give him a clear majority so he would be in a strong position to demand the federal government cede to the province all but exclusive control over immigration. In a speech to the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal, M Legault said it would be "suicidal" for the Quebec "nation" to increase its intake of immigrants since they are responsible for the decline of French.

This followed earlier remarks in which the Premier associated immigrants with crime and violence, and suggested they were a threat to Quebec values. CAQ Immigration Minister Jean Boulet was forced to apologize after stating in a radio debate, "80 per cent of immigrants go to Montreal, do not work, do not speak French or do not adhere to the values of Quebec society." 

M Legault responded by saying M Boulet had "disqualified" himself from the position of Immigration Minister if the CAQ retained power. Note the careful wording. M Boulet remained the CAQ candidate in the riding of Trois-Rivières, which he won handily, and will probably remain in cabinet, just not in the immigration portfolio.

This photo, of Mounties welcoming "asylum-seekers" (fleeing the racist USA!) at Roxham Road, near Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle QC, illustrates perfectly the unfettered mass migration which Québécois reject. Since 2017, thousands of these "refugees" have crossed the US-Canada border illegally at this "unofficial" point of entry. 

A recent Radio-Canada investigation revealed that the Just In Trudeau's ultra-woke government has spent half a billion dollars on infrastructure and services at the border crossing, to accommodate these illegal aliens in the name of "diversity". 

Québec Conservative Party leader Eric Duhaime (whose party won 0 seats in yesterday's election) condemned illegal immigration and raised the idea of building a wall along the border. Imagine that! M  Duhaime’s rejection of illegal immigration is shared by the vast majority of Québécois outside of Montréal. 

Over the last 15 years, as more and more "refugees" who cannot and will not be assimilated into Québec society have flooded into the province, people have become fed up with unreasonable accommodations being made for religious and racial minorities. 

Call it "white supremacy" or "nationalism" or whatever you like, but the people of Québec, like those of France, Italy and even the American heartland are uniting against multilingualism, multiculturalism and the New World Order. There should be a lesson in that for politicians in TROC (The Rest of Canada). Whether they, especially Pierre Poilievre's Conservatives, will wake up and smell the coffee remains to be seen.

Aux canadien(ne)s "pure laine", BONNE FÊTE NATIONALE

Walt Whiteman, Ed., et surtout "Poor Len" Canayen, vous souhaitent

VIDEO: Tidal wave of illegal immigrants hits southern border

That's not the porous border between Mexico and the Great State of Texas I'm talking about, but the World's Longest Undefended Border -- and that's the problem! -- between Canada and the US of A. 

Maybe the numbers of "refugees" and "asylum-seekers" fleeing "war-torn America" isn't as great as the millions who are inundating the US as part of the Biden/Soros Great Replacement, but the numbers of illegal border crosseings at the notorious Roxham Road entrance to Québec keeps increasing, with a majority of the migrants being unvaccinated.

To make matters worse, the Liberal government of Blackie McBlackface not only doesn't try to stop the unassimilable third-worlders from coming in, it actually welcomes then. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police are there to help them with their bags and direct them to the welfare office at Lacolle. That's because the "refugees" are not supposed to work, but are entitled to generous welfare benefits for as long as it takes to "resolve their cases" (read: give them permnanent resident status).

Does the democratically-elected (by 33% of the voters) Emperor Trudeau II have any plan to stem the flow or otherwise address the growing alarm of native-born Canucks that they're becoming a minority in their country? We asked Alexa... meaning Alexa Lavoie of Rebel News. Here's her report.

Thanks to a backroom deal between the Trudeau Gliberals and the far-left-but-not-quite-communist "New" Democratic Party, the Canadian sheeple won't have any chance to express at the polls their delight (or otherwise) at having to live with -- literally -- 1000s of "refugees" from the shitholes of Africa and the Middle East until 2025. Walt predicts more Freedom Convoys as the snow begins to melt. Lifetime pct .985.

WTF? Liberal MP calls out "divisive" Trudeau

Cazart! Joël Lightbound, the Liberal Member of Parliament for the Québec City riding of Louis-Hébert, is headed for the high jump after telling the meeja this morning that it's time Mr Socks' government stops dividing Canadians on the issues raised by the Covid-19 pandemic.

M Lightbound is no ordinary back-bencher, but chairman of the powerful Québec caucus of the Liberal Party of Canada. If the Gliberals lose Québec, they will lose the country. So M Lightbound's refusal to toe the party line is serious!

Speaking to reporters just as a meeting of the Trudeau cabinet got under way, the dissident MP accused Blackie McBlackface of "demonizing" people who have legitimate criticisms of the way the Wuhan flu pandemic is being managed. He said the government must provide Canadians with "a clear and measurable road map" detailing when federal restrictions -- lockdowns, mandates and other authoritarian measures -- related to the pandemic will be lifted.

M Lightbound accused the Liberal government of having no desire to adapt its policies to reflect the evolving science of the pandemic. He went on to say that Canadians are "confused" to see other countries with lower vaccination rates dropping all restrictions, adding that residents are left wondering where Canada is heading.

Many fed-up Canucks are far from "confused", and will tell anyone who asks that the direction in which their country is being taken is hard left, then straight down the drain. The question now is whether M Lightbound's challenge to Emperor Trudeau II will be echoed by others within his own party, such that he will be forced to resign. `Tis a consummation devoutly to be wished.

Even as M Lightbound spoke, Scott Moe, the Premier (roughly equal to a US governor) of Saskatchewan, announced that his province's vaccine passport system will end at midnight Sunday, making Saskatchewan the first province to the most restrictive public-health measure adopted to contain the kung flu.

Premier Moe said mandatory indoor masking will remain in place until the end of the month. He called on residents to “heal divisions” created over the vaccine passport system, which he said "effectively created two classes" of citizens. At his presser this morning, he said, "I knew that this policy would create deep divisions." But, he said, the benefits of the restrictions no longer outweigh the costs.

But wait, there's more! The truckers' protest has once again closed the border with the USA at Coutts AB. And a new blockade has closed the Ambassador Bridge, which connects Detroit with Windsor ON. Truckers in both places say they are in for the long haul, and will only go home when M Trudeau admits he's been wrong and orders an end to all vaccine mandates.  

Yesterday, I would have said the chances of the Liberals heeding the voice of the people were slim and none. But M Lightbound's conversion must surely give hope to the millions of Canadians yearning for freedom from control of their lives by the leftist nanny state.

"Nationwide insurrection!"? In Canada, you say? Really?

Ottawa police chief Peter "Moves" Sloly told his bosses, the Ottawa Police Services Board, that his "resources" are inadequate to evict the Freedom Convoy protesters now in their second week of peaceful demonstrations in the world's second-coldest capital.

Responding to pointed questions from the Board chairthingy, the diversity hire said, "As I look at the definition of adequate and effective policing, there is literally nothing in that definition of adequate and effective policing that could resolve a city under siege, that is a democracy threatened by a nationwide insurrection driven by madness." 

Wait a second. Did Chief Sloly really use the words "nationwide insurrection"?! Yes he did! Let's deconstruct that phrase. We'll ignore the incorrect use of "nation" -- in today's political orthodoxy, Canada comprises at least three "nations" -- and agree that the protests are indeed countrywide. 1000s of truckers, farmers and their supporters gathered yesterday in major cities across Canada, including Vancouver, and provincial capitals Québec, Toronto, Regina, Winnipeg, and smaller centres across Canuckistan. 

But is this photo, taken in Québec City yesterday, a scene from an "insurrection"? Look closely and you will see at least two of the green, white and red Drapeaux des Patriotes (Patriot Flags), featuring Le Vieux de `37. The old man (le vieux) is a depiction of a freedom fighter from the short-lived rebellion of 1837 in which Québécois patriots rose up against the English government of what was then called Lower Canada. There was a similar protest in York (now Toronto) against the Anglican "Family Compact".

What were those "rebels" fighting for? They were not anti-vaxxers! Yet Canada's lickspittle media are now pushing the Liberal Party line that today's protesters are just luddites and science-deniers who don't want to take their jabs. No. The patriots of yesteryear were fighting for freedom, just like those of today. 

Note the word "liberté", on the placard front and centre. That's "liberté" as in "liberté, égalité, fraternité" -- "liberty, equality, brotherhood". That's what this "insurrection" is all about, just as People's Party leader Maxime Bernier told the Ottawa protesters a couple of days ago. That and "Fuck Trudeau!"

Still, "insurrection" is a pretty strong word. The usual definition is: a violent uprising against an authority or government. The only report of physical violence reported so far was in Winnipeg yesterday when someone -- an agent provocateur planted by the authorities? -- drove an SUV into a crowd of protesters. That's it. The protests themselves have been not just "mostly peaceful", but totally peaceful.

The word "insurrection" also suggests organization and leadership, such as that shown at York by the firebrand William Lyon Mackenzie (grandfather of a future prime minister) and in Montréal by Louis-Joseph Papineau, whose name is now that of a Montréal Metro station and a federal electoral district. So far, no such leader has emerged from the throng of freedom fighters. The demonstrations appear to be genuinely spontaneous.

The liberal politicians and media are clutching their pearls and moaning about incipient "Trumpism" and the "death of democracy" in Canada. Some Canadians may wish it so, but we must be careful not to read too much into the present popular discontent. 

History buffs see parallels with the 1980s demonstrations which sparked the downfall of the Communist régimes of Poland, East Germany, Romania etc. But most Canadians are not yet ready to hunt down their near-Communist prime minister (still hiding in an "undisclosed location") and hang him by his heels. Won't happen today... because it's Sunday, and nothing happens on Sunday in Canada. But stay tuned.

Further reading: "Attack of the Transphobic Putin-Nazi Truckers!", on the CONSENT FACTORY, INC. blogsite: "Manufacturing consent for private and public sector clients for over 250 years". Thanks for Arnie at BCF for reposting this. Here's an excerpt.

"This is where we are at the moment. We are in that dangerous, absurdist end-stage of the collapse of a totalitarian system or movement where chaos reigns and anything can happen. The official Covid narrative is rapidly evaporating. More and more people are taking to the streets to demand an end to whole fascist charade … no, not 'transphobic white supremacists' or 'anti-vax extremists,' or 'Russian-backed Nazis,' but working-class people of all colors and creeds, families, with children, all over the world."

À nos amis Québécois... bonne fête Saint-Jean-Baptiste!

Aujourd'hui nous célébrons la fête Saint-Jean-Baptiste, la fête nationale du Québec.

À nos amis de la Belle Province, salut et bonne fête.

Poor Len Canayen reminds us that today would be a supremely appropriate day for the Montréal Canadiens to win their NHL semi-final series against the Las Vegas Golden Knights.  Les Glorieux lead the best-of-seven series three games to two, following a convincing 4-1 win on Tuesday night. You can watch the game on TVA Sports or the USA channel [??? Ed.] beginning at 2000 EDT.

UPDATED: 2 killed, 5 wounded in Québec attack; suspect NOT Muslim

Québec City, capital of la Belle Province and heart of French Canada, has two fewer residents this morning, killed in a horrific attack in the city's old town, near the iconic Château Frontenac and rue du Trésor.

Poor Len Canayen sends news that, besides the two Québécois killed, five were injured by a man dressed in "mediaeval costume" wielding a Japanese katana sword. After a two-and-a-half-hour manhunt, a man was arrested shortly before 0100 in the city's Old Port, about half a mile from the scenes of the crime.

It may be recalled that in January of 2017 six Muslims were killed and 19 others injured when a man opened fire just after evening prayers at a mosque in Sainte-Foy, a suburb of Québec. Alexandre Bissonnette, a white, native-born Québécois, was charged with six counts of first-degree murder. 

Prime Minister Just In Trudeau called the shooting a terrorist attack, but M Bissonnette was not charged under the terrorism provision of the Criminal Code of Canada, or described as such by terrorism experts. In February of 2019, he was sentenced to life in prison, with no possibility of parole for 40 years. So for sure he wasn't the perpetrator this time!

It may also be recalled -- if not see "'Allahu akbar!' in Paris - second Islamic terrorist attack in three weeks", WWW 18/10/20 and "Muslim yells 'Allahu akbar!' as 3 stabbed to death", WWW 29/10/20 -- that France has seen two [Make that three! There was another one yesterday! Ed.] attacks on "infidels" (read: non-Muslims), including a Greek Orthodox priest, in October alone. The attackers in each case were Islamic extremists (read: terrorists/jihadis) bent on making the French pay for publishing or looking at cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed in an unfavourable light.

We return now to today's attacks in Québec. At 0400 local time, a spokesthingy for Ville du Québec police issued a tweet saying that although they had the assailant in custody, they could not at this stage release the identity or other details of the individual. "According to our initial information," Inspector Clouseau added, "there is no indication that the suspect may have acted on motives other than personal ones."

So, dear readers in Canuckistan, don't jump to conclusions. The truth will out, and you'll read about it first, right here on Walt Whiteman's World.

UPDATE ADDED at 1140: The suspect has now been identified as Carl Girouard, aged 24, a white, native-born Québécois from Ste-Thérèse, about 30 minutes north of Montréal. The official theory is that he was/is mentally ill.

VIDEO: Faith Goldy talks about the de-Christianization of Québec

Faith Goldy (who is not Jewish, by the way), reports on a letter sent by a group of young French-Canadian Catholic men to their bishops, asking them to teach the traditional Catholic Faith -- the faith of our fathers -- and give the spiritual leadership they say is essential to combat the nihilistic culture that tempts many to despair. That includes allowing access to the traditional Latin Mass.

Twenty-nine men between the ages of 18 to 44, including university students, a doctor and two lawyers, calling themselves "The Disinherited", signed the open letter titled "We Ask for Faith: Open Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church in French Canada". Ms Goldy says the message of the letter "will stir your soul." It stirred mine, and so I share it here.



If God has spoken to you through this message, please pass it on by sharing the link to this post. And do it quickly, before YouTube takes the video down! Saint Joseph, patron of Canada, pray for us.

Thanks to Poor Len Canayen for alerting us to the publishing of this fine video.

Québec to require immigrant wannabes to pass values test

The government of the Canadian province of Québec announced yesterday that it will require immigrants seeking permanent residency to pass a values test to ensure they understand and respect its new secularism law, the provincial government said on Wednesday.

The measure is being implemented by the Coalition d'avenir Québec (CAQ) government of Premier François Legault as part of the plan to make the province totally secular, as promised during last fall's election campaign, in which the CAQ won a majority of seats in the National Assembly. The CAQ -- a nationalist, centre-right party -- ran on a platform which included cutting immigration to the predominantly French-speaking province, in order to protect its distinct identity within the Great No-longer-white North.

The new government was quick to pass Bill C-21, a law banning public employees in positions of authority wearing religious symbols such as Muslim hijabs and Jewish kippahs to work. The values test is intended to make sure that potential immigrants understand that law and its implications, M Legault told reporters on Wednesday. "I think it's important in Québec", he said, "because we are a nation, we are a distinct society, we have our values, we have our charter."

Bill C-21 has been roundly condemned by left-wing human rights activists, both internationally and in the rest of Canaada as infringing on "minority rights", especially the rights of the, errr, Muslim minority. A recent poll showed that over 70% of Québéclois support the law, but what the majority thinks is, of course, irrelevant. During this month's federal election campaign, the leaders of all the federal parties except the Bloc Québécois (the federal version of the provincial Parti Québécois) and Maxime Bernier's People's Party of Canada spoke out against C-21. Strangely, though, none of them went so far as to show support for a court challenge against the law. Mr Socks, however, said he'd think about it.

Premier Legault described the test as similar to one that exists at the federal level, where individuals applying for Canadian citizenship must pass a test on Canada's history and laws, among other topics. An individual must score at least 75% to pass the new Québec test that covers "democratic values and the Québec values expressed by the (Québec) Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms," the government's official publication said. The test will apply only to economic immigrants and their families, not "refugees". So if you cross the open border with the USA illegally, you can keep your hijab or turban on.

Footnote: The green, white and red flag seen in the picture above is not one of the many Arab flags using those colours in a pattern of horizontal bars. It is le Drapeau des Patriotes (avec Le Vieux de '37). I leave it to interested readers to find out what the flag symbolizes. Any resemblance to the Confederate Battle Flag is purely coincidental.

Canadian election: Curses! Fooled again!

Ed. here. I'm stitching together a bunch of text messages and e-mails received from Walt at the Canadian Affairs Desk, somewhere north of the World's Longets Open Border. Interspersed with requests for cash and substances were notes on yesterday's federal election in Canuckistan. The messages stopped coming around 0300 EDT, by which time the issue seemed pretty much decided.

Let me set the table (a new buzz-phrase) for readers outside the Great No-longer-white North. Canadians from sea to sea to sea (Canuck politicians' buzz-phrase) today [Monday. Ed.] to elect a new House of Commons and federal government. 338 ridings [electoral districts. Ed.] were up for grabs. Five parties fielded candidates in most of them. Here are pix and profiles of the leaders.



From left to right (in the picture, not politically) you see: Andrew Scheer (Cuckservative), Maxime Bernier (People's Party of Canada, endorsed by yr obdt servant), Jagmeet Singh (NDP = scary socialist party), Just In Trudeau (Gliberal) and Elizabeth May (Green Loony). Not pictured is Yves-François Blanchet, whose Bloc Québécois ran candidates only in Québec (duh!) but wound up with the third-highest number of seats in the new House.

In "What if no-one wins the Canadian election?" (WWW 19/10/19), Walt predicted a close race between Mr Sheer's Tories and Mr Socks Liberals, ending with neither party obtaining a majority of the seats, and possibly leading to a constitutional crisis as to who would have the right to form the government. (For details of how that works... or not... read the post.)

For the record, my prediction, written down in the records of Tony the Barber and other turf accountants was: Liberals 142, Conservatives 132, Bloc Québécois 35, NDP 20, Greens 6, PPC 1 (Max Bernier's own seat in Québec) and 2 Independents. The final standings [as of 0630 today. Ed.] were... drum roll please.........
Liberals 157, Conservatives 121, Bloc 32, NDP 24, Greens 3, Independent 1 and (sadly) PPC 0.

Yes, that means "Mad Max" lost his own seat, and the People's Party will have no representation in the House of Commons. Agent 78 says that's what happens when you tell the truth about what you will do (or not do) if elected. In M Bernier's case, the deal-breaker, in his own riding and throughout la Belle Province, as his proposal to scrap the supply management system for dairy products -- an arcane point for most Canadians but a very sore point for 1000s of QC farmers. Might want to have another think about that one, Max!

The result are, or should be a great disappointment for the Cuckservatives. The anti-Trudeau sentiment was so strong, in most of Canada outside the Toronto and Montreal conurbations [How long have you been waiting to use that word? Ed.] that it took real creative genius not to win. That genius is the Tories' leader, Andrew Scheer, a one-time insurance salesman from Saskatchewan with all the charisma of a bed of kelp. Mr Scheer and his advisors tried to position themselves as centrists, not true conservatives, and wound up looking like "almost-Liberals" or "liberal Republicans" or "progressive Conservatives", an oxymoronical phrase which was actually the party's previous name. "Red Tories" -- who could believe that?

In fact the Conservatives won the popular vote, with 34.5% to the Liberals' 33%. But, as Hellery Clinton will remember, winning the popular vote is not the same as winning the election. [Didn't she say last week that she could "win again" in 2020? Ed.] Canuckistan doesn't have an electoral college, but what counts is not the percentage of the popular vote but how the votes are distributed. The winner is the party that gets the most seats, not the most votes.

After a tight campaign that saw the two leading parties struggle to break out of the pack, the Liberals held on to just enough seats in Atlantic Canada, Québec and Ontario to secure a minority government. Conservative turnout and support was very high across the prairie provinces. In Alberta, they won almost 70% of the popular vote to 14% for the Liberals. In Saskatchewan, the Tories took 65% of the vote to the Liberals' 10%. But alas, those provinces, being sparsely populated, account for only a fraction of the seats allotted to the Toronto, Montréal and Vancouver conurbations. [That's enough conurbations. Ed.]

So it's a minority government for the Liberals then, with Justin Trudeau, the "preening fraud" (as Andrew Coyne called him in the National Post) remaining Prime Minister of Canuckistan for as long as he can avoid pissing off the NDP and the Bloc. Mr Socks had some help, by the way, in the final week of the campaign, when none other than the Prez tweeted his support for M Trudeau. The bromance continues...

but I do wonder what would happen if M Trudeau should, in the interest of better Canada-US relations, declare  his support for Still-President Trump in about a year's time. Wouldn't that be, errr,foreign interference in the affairs of another country?

There's more, but I can't make sense of it... something about shorting the Canadian dollar. I thought beaverbucks were the same size as real money, only more colourful? Anyhoo, Walt will undoubtedly have more to say after he sleeps off his late night. Ed.

Further reading (added 23/10/19): "The preachy, gauzy, meaningless aphorisms don't suffice, Justin Trudeau", by Neil Macdonald, the CBC's token anti-Trudeau guy, 23/10/19.

Netherlands latest EU country to ban the burqa

The Netherlands today joined a number of other European nations -- and non-EU countries too -- in implementinga law requiring people to show their faces in public, when providing or accessing public services. Clothing that "covers the face" must not be worn in a variety of public spaces, such as schools, hospitals, public buildings and public transport. A similar law was recently passed by the National Assembly of the Canadian province of Québec.

Contrary to the fake news being spread by the usual gang of Islamophiles and SJWs, the ban does not target only Muslim women. It applies equally to men and women, and prohibits not only burqas and nijabs -- see "Hijab, niqab, burqa -- what's the difference?", WWW 28/7/10 -- but any full-face covering, such as a balaclava or motorcycle helmets. [What about a hockey goalie mask? Ed.] Anyone who doesn't comply can be denied access to public areas, and fined up to €150 ($167 in real money).

France was the first country in Europe to ban the veil almost ten years ago. Last year, however, a committee of the United Nations (of course!) ruled that the legislation violated human rights. In spite of the UN's predictable opinion, other European countries have followed suit. In Denmark, the burqa ban has been in effect for a year. And earlier this year, Austria passed a law intended to ban Muslim girls from wearing headscarves in primary schools. The headscarf ruling came in addition to Austria's prohibition of full-face coverings which has been in force since 2017.

The German state of Hesse has implemented similar burqa restrictions for the civil service. Six months ago, full-face coverings were forbidden at Kiel University in northern Germany, citing the need for open communication that includes facial expressions and gestures. However, some politicians (Hello, Angela Merkel!) came out against the move, saying it undermined religious freedom.

The most surprising imposition of a burqa ban comes, however, from the Islamic kingdom of Morocco! As reported in "Burqas banned in... you'll never guess!", WWW 17/1/17, because of concerns about... wait for it... security! A spokesthingy for the Moroccan Ministry of the Interior told AFP, "We have taken the step of completely banning the import, manufacture and marketing of this garment in all the cities and towns of the kingdom, since bandits have repeatedly used this garment to perpetrate their crimes." ("Bandits" is Arabic for "terrorists".)

What are the chances of a burqa ban being enacted in The Rest of Canada (Just In Trudeau, Prop.) or the Paranoid States of America? In today's political climate, where any proposal that smacks of "Islamophobia" is instantly condemned by all progressive, correct-thinking people as "racist" and "divisive", the chances of a burqa ban are slim and none.

Further reading (and viewing): "'Ordinary Muslim' sez banning the burqa makes sense", WWW 18/1/19 - video interview with Toronto Sun columnist Tarek Fatah.

Aux canadiens "pure laine", BONNE FÊTE NATIONALE

C'est aujourd'hui la Fête nationale du Québec (known originally and still as la Fête Saint-Jean-Baptiste / Saint-John-the-Baptist Day). Throughout la Belle Province and in many communities across Canada, "Canadiens de souche" (old stock francophone Canadians) gather to mark the feast day of the patron of French Canada, and celebrate francophone culture with public events including concerts, parades, and firework displays. Families and neighbourhoods also get together to hold their own smaller celebrations -- picnics, bonfires and barbecues -- for la Saint-Jean.

Walt and (especially) Poor Len Canayen, [and Ed.! Ed.]

wish all our French-Canadian friends and readers

BONNE FÊTE NATIONALE!

Walt explains the link between events in Hong Kong and Québec

The events of yesterday and today on two opposite sides of the world say something (to those who are paying attention) about the natural desire of "nations" (in the French sense of the word) to protect their culture and identity when threatened with submersion in a larger multicultural society.

At 0400 EDT on Sunday, Québec's National Assembly -- note the term -- passed, not without opposition, Bill 9, which sets out the framework for a Québec values test that all immigrant wannabes will need to pass in order to become permanent residents of la Belle Province. The new law allows the government to cancel some 18,000 applications to immigrate.

The opposition Liberals complained that since putting Bill 9 on the table in February, the Québec government has provided "no credible explanation" for doing that, but the province's Immigration Minister argued that "We are changing the immigration system in the public interest, because we have to make sure that we have an immigration tied to the needs of the labour market."

What does that mean? The opposition whines that the new test will discriminates against prospective immigrants from Third World shitholes, who don't speak French and don't have the European/American work ethic or experience. Being a truck driver in the Punjab or a street vendor in the Congo won't count for much, it seems. Nor will wanting time off to observe religious holy day.

Which brings us to another proposed law, Bill 21, which will come to a vote later today or tomorrow, since closure has been invoked to end any further argy-bargy over what has been nicknamed "the Secularism Bill" or, more tellingly, "the anti-Muslim Bill". Bill 21 is a proposed ban on the display of religious symbols in the public service, included in the proposesd Charter of Québec Values, which Québeckers have been fighting for (or against) for donkey's years.

Under the new law, anyone giving or receiving public-sector services must not display any headgear or other accessories or symbols of any religion. That includes Jewish and Christian symbols like the kippah and the crucifix, but critics whine that the clear target is Muslim women who wear the hijab, niqab or burqa. (If you're not sure what these things are, see "Hijab, niqab, burqa -- what's the difference?", WWW 28/7/10.)

Last Wednesday, the National Assembly spent more than an hour going over just one phrase — "in fact and in appearance" — in the religious symbols bill. Minority groups, legal experts, SJWs, multiculti types and (of course) United Nations human rights monitors have expressed concern that Bill 21 will institutionalize discrimination and... wait for it... racism. Be that as it may, the new régime was one of the main planks of the CAQ election platform, and Québécois voted for it, overwhelmingly, last fall. Now they're going to get what they voted for. Imagine that!

Meanwhile, in "Fragrant Harbour" (aka Hong Kong) today, hundreds of thousands took to the streets again today as the Umbrella Revolution (v.2) continues. On Saturday (local time) it appeared that the pro-Beijing puppet government of the former British colony had caved, as Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced that an extradition bill that would allow some suspects to be sent for trial in mainland China had been "suspended indefinitely". But, the pro-democracy demonstrators say, that's not the same as "withdrawn altogether and forever".

Tens of thousands of Hong Kong residents, mostly clad in black, jammed the city's streets Sunday in a vehement show of opposition to proposed legislation that has stoked fears of expanding control from Beijing. They carried signs reading "Hong Kong is not China!", and that is precisely the issue. When the perfidious British handed the colony over to the Communist Chinese in 1997, the Reds pledged that Hong Kong's "special status" would allow it to keep the Western legal, electoral and social systems and values which had been in place for over a century. Yeah... sure...

The marchers, who numbered over a million earlier last week, are demanding that Hong Kong's leader first scrap the proposed extradition law, then resign. Last week the peaceful protests degenerated into violent clashes with the police, who fired rubber bullets and teargas at the unarmed (except for umbrellas) demonstrators. Several protesters were injured and scores were arrested, in the toughest test of the territory's special status since the Communists took control.

The link between these events is that both betoken the determination of citizens of a part of a larger whole to assert their autonomy, especially when it comes to "values". "Hong Kong is not China!", its people cry, and Québécois said (in French, of course) in last October's election "Québec is not Canada!" They are both examples of a "distinct society", a loaded phrase which carries with it -- if the larger society, China or Canada, denies the special status and rights of the smaller one -- the threat of separation, perhaps even peaceful or not-so-peaceful revolution.

Majority of Québécois want crucifix displayed in National Assembly, religious headgear banned in public sector

During September's provincial election campaign, the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) vowed, if elected, to end once and for all the pandering to minorities that kept both the Liberals and the Parti Québécois from passing lawas to prohibit the display in public places of religious objects, including religious clothing, such as the Jewish kippah, Sikh turban and Muslim burqa/niqab/hijab. Banning such things was, they said, the will of the majority of Québécois, and sure enough, the people of la belle province gave the CAQ a strong mandate.

Ever since, the usual NPCs, SJWs and liberal chattering classes -- not your typical francophone Québeckers, but English speakers -- have been pissing and moaning about "minority rights", Islamophobia, and (of course) racism. Such discriminatory legislation, they whine, is not in keeping with real Québec values, and the election result didn't really reflect the will of the people.

The lamestream meeja and others hired a couple of pollsters to give Québeckers another chance to come up with the politically correct answers to a couple of decades-old questions:
Do you support a ban on the wearing of religious symbols by public-sector workers? and
Should the crucifix be removed from its place of honour above the Speaker's throne in the Assemblée Nationale?
You'll never guess how the real people responded...

Or maybe you will. A CROP poll taken from the 14th to 19th of November estimated that 72% of Québécois supported banning visible religious symbols for judges, 71% supported banning them for prosecutors and police officers, and 65% backed extending the ban to public-school teachers. CROP also found widespread support (55%) for leaving the crucifix in its place in the National Assembly; only 28% wanted to see it removed.

CROP's president told Radio-Canada (the French-language state broadcaster) that the results indicated unprecedentedly high levels of support for banning religious symbols. "I think we can conclude that the average Quebecer really wants to remove religion from the public sphere," he said, "especially for people who hold positions of authority.... The numbers are high but they are the product of a public discussion that has lasted since Bouchard-Taylor," he said, referring to the public commission into reasonable accommodation that wrapped up in 2008.

In the month after the October 1st election, Vox Pop, which polls for the CBC and Radio-Canada, surveyed 4000 people about identity issues. Respondents were shown images of various types of religious clothing and symbols and asked to choose different situations where they should be banned. The results suggested no less than 87% (!) in favour of preventing police officers and judges from wearing the burqa. If you're not sure what that is, check out "Hijab, niqab, burqa -- what's the difference?", WWW 28/7/10.

The number in favour of a ban dropped to only 65% for the turban and kippa. The Vox Pop findings also suggested Québeckers are divided about what religious symbols teachers should be allowed to wear in the classroom. The kippah was opposed by 49%, the turban by 51%, the hijab by 52% a large cross by 53%. Vox Pop summarized its findings by noting that a majority of survey participants -- 55% -- backed the Bouchard-Taylor consensus referred to above.

Tomorrow, the National Assembly begins its first session. The CAQ government has indicated that introducing a bill to replace the previous government's Bill 62 (which was never enforced) would not be its first order of business, but that it would tackle the issue early in the new year, confident that it is doing the will of the people of Québec.

Footnote: The burqa and other Islamic attire has already been banned in the Netherlands, Denmark and even Muslim-majority Morocco. The Québec government is behind the curve of public opinion on this one, but not so much as the government of Canada, which refuses to discuss the issue, let alone admit that the majority of Canadians would support such legislation. M-103.

Right-wing party ousts Liberals in Québec

Walt here, back home after five days touring (not tearing) through les Cantons de l'Est du Québec. It's good to be back in a place where I don't have to think before I speak [or write! Ed.]. How I envy people like my guide, Poor Len Canayen, who can switch effortlessly from French to English and back again.

Another person who can do that is Chantal Hébert, a columnist for the Toronto Red Star and regular guest on the "At Issue" segment of CBC's The National. Around the middle of September, in the middle of the Québec provincial election campaign, Mme Hébert told Agent 3 that immigration to la Belle Province and the resultant anti-immigrant backlash was a non-issue in this election. She called it "the dog that didn't bark."

The issue was raised by the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) led by millionaire businessman François Legault, who promised that his party would cut the number of immigrants coming into the province from 50,000 to 40,000 per year. And it would force them to take an assessment of their knowledge of the French language and of Québec values within three years in order to obtain a Quebec Selection Certificate, which they need in order to get permanent residency from the federal government.

Those vows brought M Legault into conflict other provincial party leaders. The Liberals predictably accused him of not respecting diversity and stirring up divisions. The Parti Québécois accused him of not going far enough.

The lamestream media dismissed the idea of a values and language test as a warmed-up version of the proposed Charter of Québec Values which (they told us) cost the Parti Québécois the provincial election of 2014, won by the moderately progressive Liberals. There's no anti-immigrant sentiment in Québec, they told us. Québécois are just as tolerant as other Canadians, who, as is well known, love immigrants, espeically the bogus "refugees" and asylum-seekers who are crossing the border between Vermont and Québec illegally, at St-Bernard-de-Lacolle, at the rate of over 1000 per month, assisted by the Mounties who carry their bags and direct them to the welfare office. It was to that part of Québec -- the Eastern Townships -- that we went to gauge the sentiment of real habitants, not the chattering classes of Montréal.

In our travels through the ridings (electoral districts, for our American readers) of Brome-Mississquoi, Orford, Sherbrooke, Granby, Saint-François and Mégantic, we saw lots of signs and posters for the CAQ, some for the other parties (notably Québec Solidaire in Sherbrooke) and very few for the Liberals. The people we talked to -- no taxi drivers or media types! -- were surprisingly unemotional, but pretty sure that change was coming, in the form of a CAQ government.

Why? Not because of the economy, which several told us was doing well enough, under the Liberals, but because of "the values thing". No-one actually said "Québec aux Québécois!", but that was the underlying sentiment, as I read it. That part of Québec, sometimes called l'Estrie, went solidly Liberal in 2014. It contains the largest percentage of anglophones (English speakers) outside of Montréal's west island, but even they seemed in the mood for change, so much so that we couldn't even start an argument, let alone get some bets down!

So... it came as no surprise to Poor Len and yr obdt servant that the CAQ swept l'Estrie and virtually all of Québec, apart from the aforesaid west island. There are 125 seats in the Québec Assemblée Nationale. Final count (as of this writing, subject to a couple of recounts): CAQ 74 (a comfortable majority); Liberals 32; Québec Solidaire 10; Parti Québécois (the former separatists) 9. Turns out the dog that didn't bark chose to bite instead!

As with the American election of 2016 and the Ontario election of this past June, the pollsters and meeja pundits got it WRONG, WRONG, WRONG! They were so sure, right through mid-day yesterday, that the "divisive" CAQ, led by a millionaire businessman (cf. Donald Trump and Doug Ford) couldn't win, that their wildest prediction was that the Liberals might be reduced to a minority government.

The looks on the "experts"' faces reminded me of nothing so much as the long pusses displayed by Joy Behar and all the rest on American TV on The Night of the Trump. I hope someone is putting together a highlight reel showing the moment when the CBC realized the CAQ was going to win. It was at 8:19 PM EDT -- 19 minutes after the polls closed. Just In Trudeau and federal Liberals take note -- YOU'RE NEXT!