Montreal is an old-school town. I love listening to the local news here. Guy grabbed in a barber shop in St. Leonard, bundled into a van and driven away. Another guy kidnapped and held in Île des Soeurs for a ransom. Good old school craziness. But today's news about the cols bleus was just the best.
The city employees who are responsible for snowplowing, repairing potholes, putting up street signs and all of those other municipal responsibiilites are known as the Cols Bleus. This literally means Blue Collars. They actually wear shirts with that name on it. They are part of a powerful union and, judging by the media, seem to be constantly at war with the mayor's office. Montreal is famous for its potholes and a lot of the anger about the bad streets is directed towards the cols bleus. Every winter, as well, there is always some section of town that isn't getting properly plowed. The mayor goes out to the city yards with a bunch of security guards and confronts the workers.
I sympathize with the working people whose physical labour allows the rest of us to live our lives in comfort. I think they should be paid well, at least as well as a mid-level executive who works in an office, and they should be treated with respect. I'm envious especially of the ones who drive the mini-plows that clear the sidewalk. I always give them the thumbs-up and would love to invite the plowers in for a beer after they've cleared my street.
I don't know any cols bleus personally, and I wish I did because I'd love to hear their position from one of them directly rather than from the union spokesperson. Because more and more, I am losing respect for them. It's always lame to watch government work in action, but it is ridiculous here. Whenever the Ville de Montréal trucks are parked around a job, there are almost always two or three guys just sitting there, smoking. And acting like they should be doing that. How did that culture develop? People work hard in Quebec and they always have. The original french settlers worked famously hard to build a nation. The waves of immigrants since then have all been hard-working. How do the cols bleus become so justified in doing a half-assed job? Especially one that directly benefits the city they live in.
Here is a specific example. The sidewalk at the base of the stairs outside our building was torn up at some point in the past. There is a two meter wide strip that is just gravel and dirt. Probably it's the result of a gas line being put to the building. One day, early last spring, I came out to see a bunch of orange lines spraypainted around the edges of the gap in the sidewalk. Cool, I thought to myself, they are going to repair this. It wasn't a big deal, but it did get muddy in the spring and icy in the winter. The spray paint marks stayed there through the spring and the summer. One day in early September, there was an incredible screeching and grinding noises. I came outside to see a guy with a concrete cutter, slicing into the sidewalk just outside the gap. It was 6 months later, but at least they were going to do the job. Wrong. They cut the concrete and that's it. I'm still waiting.
There is an episode of the Bougons where the uncle, who really does want to work, gets a job with the Cols Bleus. He's so psyched when he gets the job, and is disappointed when they spend the whole day driving around, going to strip clubs and taking naps in the city trucks.
The news that I was so psyched about today was that the city spied on a cols bleus pot-hole team. They punched in, got their trucks, drove directly to a coffee shop, had breakfast for an hour then drove around "aimlessly" for another hour. So good. So busted. How do they feel? Probably resentful and finding some defensive excuse for their behaviour. Already, the union is asking why was management spying on them instead of supervising them. Now that's spin.
Hopefully this will kick those goldbrickers among the cols bleus (because I'm sure there are many hardworking ones - I sure hope so) in the ass and start them doing their jobs. C'mon guys, you've got the greatest city in North America to keep in repair. Go out and do your job!
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Encore à la scène!
Okay, un peu de réussit! I'm climbing back up the ladder of french again. I've had several job interviews and even landed two small part-time jobs dans un milieu francophone! I'm un accompagnateur in an after-school homework help program. Along with about 15 other people, I pick up 3 2nd graders from an elementary school and walk them to a church across the street. In the basement there, I help them with their homework, play games, talk and try to keep them from fighting and climbing all over the tables.
From that job, I came to the attention of the school itself, who needed a temporary replacement for their lunchtime monitor (moniteur à service de diner). I went in today for the first day and a bit of training. Wow! I know you're thinking lunch time monitor, what, you just stand around in the cafeteria and keep an eye on the kids. That's basically it, but this is an amazingly well-run school. There's a whole, tightly-organized system.
The kids come out of their class, go to the bathroom where they was their hands. Their lunches have already been wheeled in on these wooden carts where they deposited them when they came in in the morning. They get their lunch and go to their assigned seats in the gym, where tables have been set up. They are divided by age and there is one monitor for 4 tables. The kids are not allowed to leave their seats and they have to speak quietly. When they need something, they raise their hands. When they have finished their lunch, there are games (mainly cards and Uno) they can play. They are not allowed to eat any chips, candy or soda.
After 45 minutes, the lights are turned off and the kids are supposed to stop talking. When all the tables are quiet, the tables are let out one by one to go get their jackets, gloves, toques, et al. and come back. Then they are led to the bathroom one more time. Finally, we release them into the yard and they go nuts.
It's cold here and there are large patches of ice which they love to slide on. Because a bunch of kids got hurt yesterday, the teachers designated one area with cones where the kids could slide. On the rest of the ice, they weren't allowed to stand up. So you had all these kids wrestling, sliding on their knees, or just lying on their stomachs wriggling around or being dragged by their friends. They get about a half an hour outside, unless the weather is really bad (raining hard in the muddy spring or below -30!) of "unstructured play."
I share this detail with you because it was totally unfamiliar to me. I was really impressed. I taught for four years in the New York City public school system and most schools don't even have an outside, let alone this kind of supervised lunch hour. The school I worked at today is a public school in one of the lower income sections of the city. A majority of the children are immigrants. I came away feeling that this is a society that cares about its children. Equipment, time, structure, attention and lots of people are there for the kids of this school. I don't know if this is the same across the province, but if this is at all indicative of the state of primary education here, I am heartened. No wonder young french-canadians are feeling bullish again about an independent Québec!
An interesting aside, during the training the woman in charge of the service de diner said to me that as an anglophone--and here I thought she was going to say that I might have trouble communicating with the children--I might be tempted to speak english with some of the students. But I must not. If they speak to me in english, I must respond in french. They are only allowed to speak french in the school, except during english class.
I think a lot of Americans would bristle at that idea and the one about what kind of food they are allowed to eat. Personally, I prefer the kind of freedom that comes from giving all children an opportunity to learn. They don't have much of that in the U.S. anymore
From that job, I came to the attention of the school itself, who needed a temporary replacement for their lunchtime monitor (moniteur à service de diner). I went in today for the first day and a bit of training. Wow! I know you're thinking lunch time monitor, what, you just stand around in the cafeteria and keep an eye on the kids. That's basically it, but this is an amazingly well-run school. There's a whole, tightly-organized system.
The kids come out of their class, go to the bathroom where they was their hands. Their lunches have already been wheeled in on these wooden carts where they deposited them when they came in in the morning. They get their lunch and go to their assigned seats in the gym, where tables have been set up. They are divided by age and there is one monitor for 4 tables. The kids are not allowed to leave their seats and they have to speak quietly. When they need something, they raise their hands. When they have finished their lunch, there are games (mainly cards and Uno) they can play. They are not allowed to eat any chips, candy or soda.
After 45 minutes, the lights are turned off and the kids are supposed to stop talking. When all the tables are quiet, the tables are let out one by one to go get their jackets, gloves, toques, et al. and come back. Then they are led to the bathroom one more time. Finally, we release them into the yard and they go nuts.
It's cold here and there are large patches of ice which they love to slide on. Because a bunch of kids got hurt yesterday, the teachers designated one area with cones where the kids could slide. On the rest of the ice, they weren't allowed to stand up. So you had all these kids wrestling, sliding on their knees, or just lying on their stomachs wriggling around or being dragged by their friends. They get about a half an hour outside, unless the weather is really bad (raining hard in the muddy spring or below -30!) of "unstructured play."
I share this detail with you because it was totally unfamiliar to me. I was really impressed. I taught for four years in the New York City public school system and most schools don't even have an outside, let alone this kind of supervised lunch hour. The school I worked at today is a public school in one of the lower income sections of the city. A majority of the children are immigrants. I came away feeling that this is a society that cares about its children. Equipment, time, structure, attention and lots of people are there for the kids of this school. I don't know if this is the same across the province, but if this is at all indicative of the state of primary education here, I am heartened. No wonder young french-canadians are feeling bullish again about an independent Québec!
An interesting aside, during the training the woman in charge of the service de diner said to me that as an anglophone--and here I thought she was going to say that I might have trouble communicating with the children--I might be tempted to speak english with some of the students. But I must not. If they speak to me in english, I must respond in french. They are only allowed to speak french in the school, except during english class.
I think a lot of Americans would bristle at that idea and the one about what kind of food they are allowed to eat. Personally, I prefer the kind of freedom that comes from giving all children an opportunity to learn. They don't have much of that in the U.S. anymore
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
Une intersection fuckée
I got hit by a car last week. I ride through the Ville de Mont-Royal, which cuts a perfect diagonal from Parc-Extension to Ville St. Laurent, where the school I teach at is located. The Ville de Mont-Royal is a city within a city, a rectangle of upper middle-class houses that is independent politically from the City of Montreal. It was built in the middle of the century specifically to house the executives and upper management of CN Rail, who were mostly anglophones (I believe entirely anglophones) and it was specifically designed so that it would be very difficult to for non-residents to find their way around. It's a rectangle divided diagonally by an X of two major thoroughfares. But in between the arms of the X, the streets are all loopy and random. (You can see it here.) It's kind of elegant to look at on a map, but you really can get lost here. I spent about half an hour trying to find my way out and the only thing that saved me was the top of Mount Royal (the mountain, not the town I was lost in!) poking out above the houses.
Montreal, especially outside of the Plateau is one of the most car-oriented cities I've ever been in. It's heinous. The whole north side of the city is divided by the Autoroute 40, which is the ugliest piece of 60's inspired pro-car architecture. Worse, when you drive on it, it's constantly under repair and jammed. It should be torn down tomorrow. They destroyed swathes of beautiful old working class neighbourhoods to build it and created an "across the tracks" situation where the rougher neighborhoods are all north of the freeway.
I give you these details because I blame my getting hit on the way Montreal is designed. I was crossing the street at Graham Boulevard (the southeast corner of Ville Mont-Royal) and Jean-Talon. I was riding slowly on the crosswalk. The light was mine and there was a pedestrian coming towards. All of a sudden, the front grill of a van was coming right at me. I had one of those, "it's going to stop moments" then a "it's not stopping!" moment and the next thing I knew I'm on the ground. The impact was pretty solid, but he was only going around 15 km or so and basically knocked me down. My bike is low to the ground and quite heavy.
I got up, checked myself and started yelling at the driver. He looked pretty shocked. People started honking! This really angered me, but I pulled my bike to the sidewalk and he pulled over. A very nice woman on a bike who was behind me came up and said she'd seen everything. The guy had just made a right turn right into me. He came out of his van and looked so upset that I lost all my anger. He apologized and said that he was occupied with paying attention to the oncoming traffic. He definitely fucked up and should have been looking to his right, but I had to agree with him when he said "cette intersection, c'est fuckée" because it has at least 7 lanes feeding into it and the lights are bizarre. Both of them kept asking if I was okay. I was jittery but fine, except for a slight pain in my ankle.
We took names and numbers and parted. My bike turned out to be kind of busted. The rear wheel rubbed and the gears were all wonky. I made it home and took it to the shop. It turned out the chain stay and the seat stay on the side where I got hit were bent in. The whole repairs were estimated around $100. I came home and called the guy who hit me. He again asked if I was okay and said that he would be glad to reimburse me for the repair cost. He came by the next day, gave me $100 cash and said that he was happy to pay it and would have done the same thing I did if our roles were reversed. He turns out to be a biker as well (and an electrician professionally). We shook hands.
I am physically fine and my bike should be out of the shop soon. I feel that the sum result of this whole accident has been a positive one. The guy who hit me showed himself to be an honorable and civic-minded individual. There was no need for any lawyers or bs like damages and loss of work time. Shit happens and good people respond to it. When he left, he said that if I ever needed an electrician, I should call him. And I would.
Montreal, especially outside of the Plateau is one of the most car-oriented cities I've ever been in. It's heinous. The whole north side of the city is divided by the Autoroute 40, which is the ugliest piece of 60's inspired pro-car architecture. Worse, when you drive on it, it's constantly under repair and jammed. It should be torn down tomorrow. They destroyed swathes of beautiful old working class neighbourhoods to build it and created an "across the tracks" situation where the rougher neighborhoods are all north of the freeway.
I give you these details because I blame my getting hit on the way Montreal is designed. I was crossing the street at Graham Boulevard (the southeast corner of Ville Mont-Royal) and Jean-Talon. I was riding slowly on the crosswalk. The light was mine and there was a pedestrian coming towards. All of a sudden, the front grill of a van was coming right at me. I had one of those, "it's going to stop moments" then a "it's not stopping!" moment and the next thing I knew I'm on the ground. The impact was pretty solid, but he was only going around 15 km or so and basically knocked me down. My bike is low to the ground and quite heavy.
I got up, checked myself and started yelling at the driver. He looked pretty shocked. People started honking! This really angered me, but I pulled my bike to the sidewalk and he pulled over. A very nice woman on a bike who was behind me came up and said she'd seen everything. The guy had just made a right turn right into me. He came out of his van and looked so upset that I lost all my anger. He apologized and said that he was occupied with paying attention to the oncoming traffic. He definitely fucked up and should have been looking to his right, but I had to agree with him when he said "cette intersection, c'est fuckée" because it has at least 7 lanes feeding into it and the lights are bizarre. Both of them kept asking if I was okay. I was jittery but fine, except for a slight pain in my ankle.
We took names and numbers and parted. My bike turned out to be kind of busted. The rear wheel rubbed and the gears were all wonky. I made it home and took it to the shop. It turned out the chain stay and the seat stay on the side where I got hit were bent in. The whole repairs were estimated around $100. I came home and called the guy who hit me. He again asked if I was okay and said that he would be glad to reimburse me for the repair cost. He came by the next day, gave me $100 cash and said that he was happy to pay it and would have done the same thing I did if our roles were reversed. He turns out to be a biker as well (and an electrician professionally). We shook hands.
I am physically fine and my bike should be out of the shop soon. I feel that the sum result of this whole accident has been a positive one. The guy who hit me showed himself to be an honorable and civic-minded individual. There was no need for any lawyers or bs like damages and loss of work time. Shit happens and good people respond to it. When he left, he said that if I ever needed an electrician, I should call him. And I would.
Friday, December 02, 2005
Que SIS?
This blog was supposed to be a commentary on the general life of a west-coaster in Quebec, but everywhere I turn are big political issues and I can't seem to keep myself from spouting on about the election or the environment. To try and keep things on track somewhat, I'm going to talk about my ever-evolving position on Quebec independence.
From what I can gather in the media, the Bloc Québécois is using this election primarily to push for sovereignity. The big news (and I suspect this is only a small part of a much more holistic platform) is that the Bloc are calling for a separate intelligence service and separate Quebec teams in the olympics (where they'd probably win more medals than Canada). As I say, I'm sure those ideas have been exaggerated a bit, but when I hear them, I can't help but react negatively to the Bloc.
The thing is, when it comes to individuals, I can sympathize with the movement for Quebec to become a separate country. This sympathy has grown stronger now that I've taught a half-semester of 10th grade Quebec history. At best, French Canada has been an afterthought to the english leaders of the country. Now that it has gained power, it's become an annoyance. Culturally speaking, this creates a very strong feeling of separation among the Québécois. For many of them, they don't understand why they should be part of this thing called Canada when it doesn't really recognize that they exist. These feelings have been exacerbated and strengthened with the success of Bill 101. I think, at this point, that a cultural move towards isolation and a single french language may be a necessary development, a reaction to over 100 years of inequality.
However, I think it is a failure and a loss for Canada and Quebec, to let this trend continue. Despite the powerful cultural differences of language, French-Canadians in Quebec are deeply Canadian, far more than they realize. I've lived for 11 years in the states and I spent a lot of that time noting differences between American and Canadian culture. I can tell you that if we had some language machine and sat down some hoser from Merritt with some tabernaco bonhomme from Chicoutimi and a redneck from Mendocino, CA in the same basement with a case of beer and a hockey game, the two Canadians would bond a lot quicker with each other than with the American.
Politically speaking the hoser doesn't really care about the french situation, though he'd certanly gripe about the taxes he's paying the feds. The bougon probably doesn't care too much about the language situation either, except that he's paying taxes to some english government out in Toronto. I guess there must be some working class people in Quebec who feel strongly about the protection of the french culture, but most of the noise seems to come from the educated classes, as far as I can tell.
I feel like the Bloc and the Parti are both hitting the separationist card really hard right now because they know it appeals to the emotional side of a lot of older, voting quebecois. I suspect that a lot of them (Boisclair in particular) don't really believe that strongly in true independence for Quebec. They just want to get as much power as possible, as do most of the other provincial leaders, and they just happen to have a very significant cultural and historical reason to fight for it.
I think it's a shame. I think it's the same as the Conservatives still harping on and on about gay marriage. There are real problems in Canada and the federal government needs to be addressing them. The environment, our education system and our health care are crucial and all three are seriously jeopardizing the future of the country. Why can't the Bloc use their power to make some changes for all of Canada. Fight for their platform of social welfare and a clean environment? Ally themselves with the NDP to push for those kinds of changes. Hell, they could even ally with the tories to push for some of this anti-corruption legislation (like the tories even give a shit about that other than as an election issue with which to attack the Liberals). Build up some capital with the rest of the country. Do something!
Then they can turn around and start pushing for independence. When the rest of Canada sees that the Bloc is not just a bunch of whiners whose only position is to gain power in the House so they can leave it, they may be that much more cooperative. They may even get some votes.
Instead, they keep pushing to become a separate nation. They don't even know if their own populace is behind them. And in pushing, they further the divide between cultures of a great country. It's destructive and irresponsible and hurts themselves worse than anybody. I offer myself, an anglophone resident of Quebec who a month ago was seriously considering supporting a sovereign Quebec, simply because they have the right to it. But I'm certainly not going to vote for independence if the leaders of that movement can't demonstrate that they actually care about anything other than independence. Or their own power.
From what I can gather in the media, the Bloc Québécois is using this election primarily to push for sovereignity. The big news (and I suspect this is only a small part of a much more holistic platform) is that the Bloc are calling for a separate intelligence service and separate Quebec teams in the olympics (where they'd probably win more medals than Canada). As I say, I'm sure those ideas have been exaggerated a bit, but when I hear them, I can't help but react negatively to the Bloc.
The thing is, when it comes to individuals, I can sympathize with the movement for Quebec to become a separate country. This sympathy has grown stronger now that I've taught a half-semester of 10th grade Quebec history. At best, French Canada has been an afterthought to the english leaders of the country. Now that it has gained power, it's become an annoyance. Culturally speaking, this creates a very strong feeling of separation among the Québécois. For many of them, they don't understand why they should be part of this thing called Canada when it doesn't really recognize that they exist. These feelings have been exacerbated and strengthened with the success of Bill 101. I think, at this point, that a cultural move towards isolation and a single french language may be a necessary development, a reaction to over 100 years of inequality.
However, I think it is a failure and a loss for Canada and Quebec, to let this trend continue. Despite the powerful cultural differences of language, French-Canadians in Quebec are deeply Canadian, far more than they realize. I've lived for 11 years in the states and I spent a lot of that time noting differences between American and Canadian culture. I can tell you that if we had some language machine and sat down some hoser from Merritt with some tabernaco bonhomme from Chicoutimi and a redneck from Mendocino, CA in the same basement with a case of beer and a hockey game, the two Canadians would bond a lot quicker with each other than with the American.
Politically speaking the hoser doesn't really care about the french situation, though he'd certanly gripe about the taxes he's paying the feds. The bougon probably doesn't care too much about the language situation either, except that he's paying taxes to some english government out in Toronto. I guess there must be some working class people in Quebec who feel strongly about the protection of the french culture, but most of the noise seems to come from the educated classes, as far as I can tell.
I feel like the Bloc and the Parti are both hitting the separationist card really hard right now because they know it appeals to the emotional side of a lot of older, voting quebecois. I suspect that a lot of them (Boisclair in particular) don't really believe that strongly in true independence for Quebec. They just want to get as much power as possible, as do most of the other provincial leaders, and they just happen to have a very significant cultural and historical reason to fight for it.
I think it's a shame. I think it's the same as the Conservatives still harping on and on about gay marriage. There are real problems in Canada and the federal government needs to be addressing them. The environment, our education system and our health care are crucial and all three are seriously jeopardizing the future of the country. Why can't the Bloc use their power to make some changes for all of Canada. Fight for their platform of social welfare and a clean environment? Ally themselves with the NDP to push for those kinds of changes. Hell, they could even ally with the tories to push for some of this anti-corruption legislation (like the tories even give a shit about that other than as an election issue with which to attack the Liberals). Build up some capital with the rest of the country. Do something!
Then they can turn around and start pushing for independence. When the rest of Canada sees that the Bloc is not just a bunch of whiners whose only position is to gain power in the House so they can leave it, they may be that much more cooperative. They may even get some votes.
Instead, they keep pushing to become a separate nation. They don't even know if their own populace is behind them. And in pushing, they further the divide between cultures of a great country. It's destructive and irresponsible and hurts themselves worse than anybody. I offer myself, an anglophone resident of Quebec who a month ago was seriously considering supporting a sovereign Quebec, simply because they have the right to it. But I'm certainly not going to vote for independence if the leaders of that movement can't demonstrate that they actually care about anything other than independence. Or their own power.
Thursday, November 24, 2005
Comme j'ai prévu
Comme je vous ai dit,
le bonhomme est ici.
5-10 centimetres aujourd'hui. Un bon début, mais je veux des mètres, 'sti!
le bonhomme est ici.
5-10 centimetres aujourd'hui. Un bon début, mais je veux des mètres, 'sti!
Friday, November 18, 2005
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
The Posters are already up! @%#%$
This is not a regular posting, but I just wanted to alert Montrealers that there are already Federal election posters up on Parc avenue north of St. Joseph. What the hell? Has an election been called? Do they know something we don't? Are they just jumping the gun to ensure that their candidates' annoying will be stuck in our minds for as long as possible?
We still have the majority of posters from the mayoral election still up (though this election isn't actually over thanks to the problems with new voting software). One wonders if there will be enough room on the telephone poles.
It's amazing to see these posters. You can tell which party is which simply by their size and quality. The NDP have little two-tone placards. The PQ posters are big, but just 4 colors (lots of blue of course), with a large full-on headshot. The Liberals are hilarious, the biggest of all, with a beautiful range of colours and completely professional vanity shots, their candidates at 3/4, subtly made up, hair perfect. In the background is a lovely ochre to off-white gradient, suggesting a glowing future. I see those high-quality posters and I think of the lucky printing and design companies that got that contract and I just can't help but think of the Sponsorship scandal.
I haven't come to an intellectual conclusion about whether or not we should have an election right now, but my gut is hoping that those signs up on Parc are a mistake and they'll be coming down quietly next week.
[edit 11/18/05: oops. The signs on Parc are for a provincial bi-election to fill the seat of the PQ Minister of Finance who stepped down last year. I should have known, seeing the PQ rather than Bloc posters, but I always get them confused.]
We still have the majority of posters from the mayoral election still up (though this election isn't actually over thanks to the problems with new voting software). One wonders if there will be enough room on the telephone poles.
It's amazing to see these posters. You can tell which party is which simply by their size and quality. The NDP have little two-tone placards. The PQ posters are big, but just 4 colors (lots of blue of course), with a large full-on headshot. The Liberals are hilarious, the biggest of all, with a beautiful range of colours and completely professional vanity shots, their candidates at 3/4, subtly made up, hair perfect. In the background is a lovely ochre to off-white gradient, suggesting a glowing future. I see those high-quality posters and I think of the lucky printing and design companies that got that contract and I just can't help but think of the Sponsorship scandal.
I haven't come to an intellectual conclusion about whether or not we should have an election right now, but my gut is hoping that those signs up on Parc are a mistake and they'll be coming down quietly next week.
[edit 11/18/05: oops. The signs on Parc are for a provincial bi-election to fill the seat of the PQ Minister of Finance who stepped down last year. I should have known, seeing the PQ rather than Bloc posters, but I always get them confused.]
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