The « Fête Nationale du Québec »

When a preceding Government of Quebec changed, probably to get rid of some old clergy relic, the name of “Fête de la Saint-Jean-Baptiste” to “Fête Nationale du Québec”, that government didn’t think (does that happen?) that Quebeckers who speaks another mother tongue then French would also like to celebrate their belonging to Quebec’s territory.

To ear on radio and read on news web sites the comments of Gilles Rhéaume on the “Autre Saint-Jean”, a gathering to be held in Montreal on the 23^rd with mostly non-french party music, I kind of hear a tone similar to some KKK’s leaders. If theirs views are towards “White Power”, Rhéaume’s sounds like “French Power”. If the target of the name change was to appropriate June 24^th for the French speaking “Quebecois”, why was it not called “The National Holiday for the French Speaking Quebeckers that have many generations of roots” …

This writer is proud of his French roots but also recognizes that there is an ethnic diversity caused by immigration. People, like our ancestors, that have chosen a better place to live in and that are also “Québécois”. I think I’ll go and listen to some Beau Bommage or baladi music. I prefer that to the loop of the same three bass notes of rap.

By the way, I’m wondering if Loco Locass that wants to be liberated of the liberals, (cheaply translated title of their song “Libérez nous des Liberaux”) are happy to get paid by a liberal government to sing (?) on June 24^th? (I still don’t know if I should call it St-Jean-Baptiste or Fête Nationale du Québec, so I will only state the date)

Drive safely during these times of celebrations

To translate some words from the show “Les Parlementeries”

SAAQ is the agency that allows you to drive

SAQ is the agency that allows you to drink

SQ is the agency that takes your drivers licence if you drink and drive

Turcot Interchange, Quebec Government Taken Hostage

On that issue, the Quebec Government is taken hostage by many pressure groups. What brought us to this point? The current government is not the only one to blamed but all previous administrations, paid by our taxes. All the Commissions, Public hearings, the weigh of the administration in general when it comes to do road infrastructures.

This interchange may not have been is such a bad shape if a beltway around Montreal, A-30, would have been done when initially planned. It would be outdated today but at least, it would have saved many years of wear on the road infrastructures of Montreal. It took the Natives Crisis in 1990 to have the loop made around the Kanawake Reservation. This is not counting the cost of the law enforcement to protect the perimeter of the reserve, about $30M.

The Turcot interchange is today’s result of the complacency of the Government towards the population. Preferring the citizen that barely uses this infrastructure to the profits, or should I say loses, of the one making the economy go forward. For the trucking and the intermodal industries, the Turcot Interchange is one of the most important road links in the Province. It’s the link to all major container rail yards to the Montreal Harbour and the link between the Atlantic Provinces to the rest of Canada.

Will we have to go trough another tragedy like the overpass of “de la Concorde” to do something? If this happens during the rush hours, it’s by the dozens we will count the fatalities this time. Just like for that overpass that collapsed, an emergency repair plan is going to be made, the work done and nobody will have a say on it.

Other then the A-30, there is many road infrastructure plans that have been put on hold for so long. The day the first vehicle will roll on it, it will be outdated

The Ville Marie Autoroute is another nice example I can comment on with facts. My father was a store owner selling office furniture on Notre Dame Street at the corner of Valois. In early 1972 the business was expropriated to make place for this Autoroute. Today, 37 years later, it is still Notre Dame Street. In 1985, I was a citizen of Laval. We were promised that the A-25 Bridge would be running by the turn of the century. The access roads have been under construction since last year. Nose around and you may find plenty of these.

Let’s all get together and say a big thank you to all these Naysayer groups that opposes anything the government proposes. Issues that can restart the economy here, create jobs and all of that for the sake of their belly buttons or their NIMBY Syndrome (Not In My Back Yard).

Picture LaPresse Archives

Thank You Ministers

I would like to thank the Ministers of transport and of environement of Québec for the announcement today of a $45M budget aimed towards helping all the transport industry to acquire GHG reducing equipments. All the detail are not currently available on the web site of the ministry, the server is off-line.

I can not comment on the ways the funds are going to be distributed but, what is annexed to the press release a $4M part of these budgets is going to the maritime and rail transportation. This leaves a $41M part for the trucking industry. These allowances can go towards the purchases, installations, modifications or replacements of certain devices that will insure a better energy consumption. Among them, on board generators, climate control units, on board computers or aerodynamics improvement devices. When OBAC did its presentation at the National Assembly of Quebec to the Commission of Transport and Environment, on the speed limiter issue, we had made the suggestion to help the small business trucker to purchase these kind of equipments. I see that the idea didn’t stay on a shelve.

In the current state of the economy, these incentives are welcomed. Looked at it from the small business trucker’s seat, it is a wish that it will be evenly distributed among all trucking companies, big or small. Many large carriers have already invested big sums of money to get these devices but the small businesses are still in a struggle. The one more in need are the 5 trucks and less trucking operators.

This arrives at a good time. The price of a barrel of crude is on the rise. This will help one of the most important aspects of the trucking industry and make the difference in passing through the current crisis and going broke to save on fuel.