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We promise to keep French on our cereal boxes if we don’t have to subject our children to the joys of ‘French immersion’ programs in our schools. And no Celine Dion. Ever.

Namouh was arrested in September 2007 for engaging in more than 1,000 online conversations and producing videos praising violent attacks on US soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as helping distribute ransom demands for kidnappers of a British journalist in Gaza. In online postings, he also touted his explosives expertise and threatened future attacks in Germany and Austria because of their military roles in Afghanistan. According to prosecutors, Namouh was a member of the Global Islamic Media Front, which is said to be involved in propaganda and jihad recruitment for Al-Qaeda. He faces possible life in prison.

Health Care Systems: A return to private health care is rising from the grass roots north of the border. While we rush headlong toward socialized medicine, Canadians are saying, "No, thanks — been there, done that." We recently told the story of Ava Isabella Stinson, born 13 weeks premature at St. Joseph's hospital in Hamilton, Ontario. She weighed all of two pounds and had no time to be put on a waiting list. But there were no open neonatal intensive care beds for her at St. Joseph's or anywhere else in the entire province of Ontario it seems. Canada's perfectly...

A Beaconsfield, Que., church has gone to the dogs. Really. Christ Church Beaurepaire in the community on the Island of Montreal is about to begin offering a monthly church service that will include dogs. Called Paws and Pray, the communion service will feature bread and wine, as well as doggie treats and bowls of water for the four-legged 'parishioners.' The church's minister, Michael Johnson, said he has always enjoyed doing a pet blessing once a year, so he was open to the suggestion made by an animal-rights activist to include dogs in a church service. "It's to recognize the value...

MONTREAL, August 11, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - An Angus Reid-La Presse poll carried out on August 4 and 5 has found that more than three quarters of Quebecers agree that euthanasia should be legalized in Quebec.Jaideep Mukerji, Vice President of Public Affairs at Angus Reid Strategies, said he was surprised by the results of the poll of 800 adults in Quebec."You'd be surprised how Quebecers are in favor of euthanasia and that their opinion on the subject is clear," Mukerji told La Presse, adding that support for the legalized killing was consistent across most social and economic strata."The responses of Quebecers...

Canada has recorded a case of Tamiflu-resistant swine flu virus, in a Quebec man who had been given the drug to prevent infection. Meanwhile, Japan revealed Tuesday it had found a second such case of Tamiflu resistance, in a person who has no ties to the country’s earlier reported case.

ONE evening last week, almost every seat was occupied at Au Cinquième Péché, a bistro in the bustling neighborhood called the Plateau. And almost every table was sampling an appetizer plate that included a specialty of the restaurant’s French-born chef, Benoît Lenglet: a seared, rare loin, dark red in color, with a texture and taste akin to beef tenderloin. But the meat was not beef. It was seal. Across town, at Les Îles en Ville, Andrée Garcia, an owner and chef, has elevated seal from an occasional specialty to a regular feature. The most frequent preparation there, Ms. Garcia said,...

Divisions, based mostly on historical events and stereotypes, have become entrenched in the very fabric of our culture. West versus East, English versus French, Native Canadians versus the federal government, Quebec versus Ottawa, Alberta versus everybody… Tough love being what it is and all that, here’s five ways to save Canada – or at least make it better.

A Canadian scientist has been arrested for smuggling 22 vials stolen from Canada's National Microbiology Lab, used in Ebola and HIV research, into the United States, Canadian and US officials said Wednesday. Konan Michel Yao, 42, "was taken into custody" while crossing from Manitoba into North Dakota A Public Health Agency of Canada spokeswoman [said] Yao "was working on vaccines for the Ebola virus and HIV, among other things." The Ivory Coast-born scientist is said to have studied at Laval University in Quebec and briefly worked at the University of Manitoba's plant sciences department.

QUEBEC, April 9, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A Gatineau father lost an appeal Monday after a lower court ruled last June that he had issued a too severe punishment against his 12-year-old daughter. The case involves a divorced man who says that in 2008 he caught the girl, over whom he had custody, surfing websites he had forbidden and posting "inappropriate pictures of herself" online. The girl's father told her as a consequence that she would not be allowed to go on her class' graduation trip to Quebec City, even though her mother had already given permission for her to do...

ROME, FEB. 19, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The new religious diversity curriculum introduced in the Quebec school system is a violation of parents' rights and borders on being "anti-Catholic," according to the prefect of the Vatican Congregation for Catholic Education Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski discussed the Canadian province's "Ethics and Religious Culture" program with ZENIT on Monday, after a conference held at Rome's Pontifical Antonianum University on "State Financing of Catholic Schools," hosted by the Acton Institute. In September 2008, the Quebec Ministry of Education introduced the new curriculum into all public and private schools in the province. The mandatory courses replaced the...

The leader of a tiny network of Quebec separatists is taking credit for the apparent scrapping of a re-enactment of the battle of the Plains of Abraham. The re-enactment had been slated as part of 250th anniversary celebrations of the pivotal battle in the French-British struggle for North America. "Yes, it was because of us that they have cancelled it," Patrick Bourgeois, leader of Le Réseau de résistance du Québécois, told The Gazette. "I'm very proud of that." Bourgeois's single-handed Internet campaign and his threats to disrupt the celebrations appeared to have had the desired effect. André Juneau, director of...

An often-quoted Jesuit maxim boasts, "Give me a child until he is seven and I will give you the man." Only seven? Amateurs! Since September all Quebec students from primary school entry to high school graduation, whether enrolled in public or non-funded private schools, must attend Quebec's new Ethics and Religious Culture course (ERC). And teachers, regardless of their beliefs, must teach it. Jonathan Gagne, a courageous teenager at the Joseph-Hermas-Leclerc secondary school in Granby, Que., has just been suspended, and will likely be expelled, for boycotting ERC. He is a hero to thousands of angry, mainly Catholic, Quebecers who...

Seven Christian students in Quebec have been handed suspensions in the last few days – and could face expulsions – for refusing to participate in a new mandatory Ethics and Religious Culture course that, according to a critic, is a "superficial mishmash of trendy theoretical platitudes" with the goal of convincing children that "all religions – including pagan animism and cults – are equally 'true.'"

A new pro-sovereignty left-wing party made its official entrance to the legislature yesterday and what an entrance it was for Québec solidaire's first and only elected member, Amir Khadir. Mr. Khadir resented having to pledge allegiance to the Queen, calling the tradition a "remnant of the archaic British monarchy," during his swearing-in as a member of the National Assembly. His loyalty, Mr. Khadir professed, rested exclusively with the people of Quebec and their quest for social justice and political independence. "Until Quebec becomes a modern and democratic republic, I have to pledge allegiance to the duly constituted authority, the Queen....

Until last year, Hassan Diab was leading the quiet life of a Canadian sociology professor. Prof. Diab was teaching at both Carleton University and the University of Ottawa, was said to be a popular colleague and teacher. After leaving the violence of his native Lebanon and earning his doctorate in the United States, Prof. Diab, 54, received his Canadian citizenship and appeared to settle into Ottawa. There, friends said he was a secular man with an interest in sociology and Middle East studies, and was not without a warm side. "He has a great rapport with students," said Carleton professor...

MONTREAL — A Quebec comedy duo notorious for prank calls to celebrities and heads of state has reached Sarah Palin, convincing the Republican vice-presidential nominee she was speaking with French President Nicolas Sarkozy. In the interview, which lasts about six minutes, Ms. Palin and the pranksters discuss politics, pundits, and the dangers of hunting with Vice-President Dick Cheney. The Masked Avengers, who have a regular show on Montreal radio station CKOI, intend to air the full interview on the eve of the U.S. elections. The well-known duo of Sebastien Trudel and Marc-Antoine Audette have also tricked Rolling Stones singer Mick...

When it comes to immigration, most of us see that a melting pot for the most part works. While the idea of multi-cultural-ism does not work, as it is just a fact that some cultures clash as they stand for opposite ways of life. Many Islamic laws and cultures are against the laws of West. Examples of this are "honor killings", forced genital mutilations, and being stoned to death for adultery.

A Quebec man has posted messages on the Internet encouraging Al-Qa'ida to attack Canada, the latest in a series of similar sentiments that are worrying counterterrorism officials. The author of the messages, who uses the pseudonym Altar, praised terrorist leader Osama bin Laden and asked why Al-Qa'ida was focusing its efforts only on Europe instead of Canada. "Allah is great and may Allah bless Sheikh bin Laden. May the sword held by the hand of Al-Qa'ida hit not only Europe, but hit all our enemies. Wherever they are," he wrote in a Sept. 25 posting. "Me, I live in Canada...

They deny the nation the chance at a solid and stable government heading into the choppy financial waters. At least we know what they consider important in la belle province. Screw the economy – Quebec needs to pay the buskers!

To the surprise of nobody, many endorsements and opinions in Quebec have been voiced during this federal election campaign, with Conservative Leader Stephen Harper's campaign being one of the central targets. In our effort to give readers a taste of what is being said in the province, we did stumble on one surprise: an influential newspaper that picked none of the parties nor leaders running for office, perhaps a telling sign of a campaign that's done little to impress. Quebec's esteemed newspaper of record La Presse did just that this week, in what editor-in-chief André Pratte called a "sad realization."...

The travelling summer fair was already here when the political circus rolled into this town that time forgot, just west of Quebec City. But there were 1,500 people waiting at the local arena for Stephen Harper, a show of strength arranged Wednesday evening by Jacques Gourde, the sitting Conservative MP for the riding of Lotbinière-Chutes-de-la-Chaudière, 30 km west of South Shore Levis, where the party’s national caucus met over the last two days. The former Bloc Québécois member, Odina Desrochers, whom Gourd defeated in 2006, was among the friendly faces in the rural crowd. The road to a Conservative majority...

MONTREAL — Using pretty women to sell beer is not exactly a novel idea, but Molson finds itself under attack this week for a series of calendars featuring scantily clad Quebec "goddesses." The idea was to highlight the most beautiful women from five Quebec regions, and auditions were held to make the selections. In some cases the winners received a trip to Cuba for the photo shoot. The images (which you can see here, and are only marginally safe for work) are for the most part no racier than what one would find in Sports Illustrated's swimsuit edition (Mind you,...

Cardinal Marc Ouellet faced a daunting task when he became archbishop of Quebec, Canada, in 2003.The province of Quebec, once thoroughly Catholic, with roots in the rich history of French missionaries, had become thoroughly secularized. The 49th International Eucharistic Congress was held in his city June 15-22, coinciding with the 400th anniversary of Quebec’s founding, with hopes that it would provide a way to rekindle the spark of faith there. The cardinal, who is also primate of Canada and was once a missionary in Colombia, took advantage of the opportunity. He set out on a program of pastoral renewal centered...

QUEBEC CITY (CNS) -- Nearly 25,000 Catholics from around the world poured through the narrow streets of Quebec City, accompanying the Eucharist in an outpouring of religious fervor absent from this city for at least half a century. The June 19 procession was one of the highlights of the 49th International Eucharistic Congress June 15-22. The Eucharist, held in an oversized modern monstrance, was driven through the streets on a platform pulled by a truck. Riding with the monstrance were Slovakian Cardinal Jozef Tomko, Pope Benedict XVI's representative to the congress; Quebec Cardinal Marc Ouellet; and Cardinal Theodore-Adrien Sarr of...

OTTAWA (AFP) - A Canadian court has lifted a 12-year-old girl's grounding, overturning her father's punishment for disobeying his orders to stay off the Internet, his lawyer said Wednesday. The girl had taken her father to Quebec Superior Court after he refused to allow her to go on a school trip for chatting on websites he tried to block, and then posting "inappropriate" pictures of herself online using a friend's computer.

A court has overturned a father's penalty for his daughter for disobeying his orders to avoid the Internet – the cancellation of a school trip, according to a new report. According to Agence France-Presse, Justice Suzanne Tessier in Quebec Superior Court ordered the grounding for the 12-year-old girl lifted, prompting the father's lawyer, Kim Beaudoin, to warn, "Parents are going to be walking on egg shells from now on." The father had ordered the daughter, who was not identified by the report, to remain off the Internet. She didn't, chatting on websites her father had tried to block and then...

The husband of a 70-year-old grandmother who was killed by a bear in northern Quebec ... Conservation experts set traps after Friday evening's attack, but ... the bear was still at large in the wilds of northern Quebec. As she scouted a fishing hole for walleye, Ms. Lavoie became separated from her husband. Barely 10 minutes later, Mr. Lavoie felt something was amiss and went searching for his wife of 51 years. Metres away he came upon the nightmarish scene of her body being dragged into the forest by a bear. Mr. Lavoie chased the predator for nearly 200 metres...

In 2006, former premier Lucien Bouchard and several business leaders blamed the not-in-my-backyard syndrome - NIMBY - for much of the Montreal metropolitan area's "immobilisme." The criticism followed the cancellation of two projects that had stirred public protests - a casino near Pointe St. Charles and the Suroît power plant. Despite the scolding, citizens remain unrepentant and as pesky as ever. Protests against noisy aircraft over the West Island, for example, are giving headaches to airport officials trying to accommodate increasing numbers of flights. Protests on the North Shore are also causing problems for the expansion of a smelly regional...

MONTREAL, March 30 (UPI) -- A poll in Quebec is bad news for both the nationalist Bloc Quebecois and the Liberal Party. The Conservative Party, now the governing group in Canada, has gained at the expense of the other two, CTV reported. Support for the Bloc has dropped to 30 percent, the CROP poll found, while the Conservatives are now at 29 percent. Liberals are down to 20 percent, and the New Democratic Party is at 15 percent. Among Francophones, about 85 percent of the population of Quebec, support for the Bloc is at 35 percent, for the Conservatives at...

MONTREAL -In a way, Stephane Dion's leadership problems began on Day One, in December, 2006, when 82% of the delegates to the Liberal convention voted for someone else on the first ballot. When Dion stormed from third place to overtake Michael Ignatieff and Bob Rae, there were at least two other guys who thought they should have won. Actually three, counting Gerard Kennedy, who would have been third rather than fourth if a handful of his delegates hadn't parked with Martha Hall Findlay on the first ballot to reward her for an outstanding speech. In that sense, Dion wasn't even...

MONTREAL - Fringe political activists have claimed responsibility for torching police cars, smashing windows and other violence in recent days in Montreal. But police and at least one expert say they don't know if the wreckage is the result of a concerted campaign by a real political movement, or merely isolated acts committed by vandals and claimed by attention- seeking anarchists. "At this moment it's so hard to link the events," said Sgt. Ian Lafreniere of the Montreal police. "It's the first time we heard of these supposed groups. When you look at the motivation they put down in the...

QUEBEC CITY — Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence is a clear example of how powerless the federal government would be to stop Quebec from doing the same, according to influential Quebec City lawyer André Joli-Coeur. Mr. Joli-Coeur, who 10 years ago made the same argument before the Supreme Court of Canada in the Quebec secession reference, said that should Ottawa recognize the declaration of independence of Kosovo, it will have difficulty refusing Quebec the same status should the province eventually declare its independence. "The case of Kosovo clearly demonstrates that the essential factors in the creation of a state are...

...The benefits of such a trade to the United States seem endless. Americans would find it fascinating to see men kissing each other in public (albeit on the cheek). Don’t worry about the rampant anti-Americanism in Quebec, as they already have an ‘in’ with their long-lost relatives in the New Orleans area. And the poutine! Don’t forget about the poutine!...

Media Advisory Fallen Soldier Returning Home MA 07-048 - December 31, 2007 OTTAWA, Ont. - Our fallen soldier, Gunner Jonathan Dion, a member of 5e régiment d'artillerie légère du Canada, based in Valcartier, Quebec, is scheduled to return home to Canada. Where: 8 Wing Trenton, Canadian Forces Base Trenton, Ontario. When: Wednesday, January 2, 2:00 p.m. What: Media are invited to view the arrival; however no interviews will be given. Present to pay their respects will be the Honourable Peter Gordon MacKay, Minister of National Defence and other dignitaries. Gunner Dion was killed December 30, 2007 when the armoured vehicle...

Counter ‘revolution’ brewing in Quebec English-speaking Canada was given further evidence last week that an extraordinary change is taking place in Quebec. A whole generation of young people seems to be discovering the “Quiet Revolution,” conducted in the late 20th century by their elders, was in fact a fraud. Its pretended aim was to preserve the language and culture of Quebec against the assimilating influence of the Anglo-American colossus that threatens it. What it was actually doing was instituting a secular socialist culture that had far more in common with, say, Sweden than anything in the history of Quebec, and...

English-speaking Canada was given further evidence last week that an extraordinary change is taking place in Quebec. A whole generation of young people seems to be discovering the "Quiet Revolution," conducted in the late 20th century by their elders, was in fact a fraud. Its pretended aim was to preserve the language and culture of Quebec against the assimilating influence of the Anglo-American colossus that threatens it. What it was actually doing was instituting a secular socialist culture that had far more in common with, say, Sweden than anything in the history of Quebec, and would have been utterly abhorrent...

Continuing in the fine tradition of Trudeau, Chrétien, and other Eastern Canadians afflicted with delusional self-importance comes the latest example of ‘them’ telling ‘us’ in Alberta how to live. Montreal journalist Bill Marsden’s new book, “Stupid to the Last Drop” targets the most evil of all evils, the Alberta tar sands, and our nonchalance to the impact he claims it is having on our environment. Painting a picture that seems right out of some apocalyptic science-fiction story, Marsden attempts to describe our province as some backwater community whose citizens can’t get the oil out the ground fast enough, trees and...

The latest disclosure came when Radio Canada announced the "Felix" awards for Quebec-generated popular music. A folk-song group calling itself "Mes Aieux" (My Ancestors) had produced what was voted the most popular song in Quebec. It's called "Dégénérations" which (when spoken) could mean either "degeneration," an apt description of what has been happening in Quebec, or perhaps just "generations," a wistful observance of changing times. The words of the song leave no doubt, however, about its message. They recall and extol the old Quebecois, who courageously broke the land and founded French Canada. The song likewise deplores their descendants who...

Across Canada, people of goodwill are cringing as Quebec's identity debate turns toxic. Premier Jean Charest served blunt notice this week that politicians are "fanning the flames of intolerance" toward cultural and religious minorities, and promoting a "siege mentality." That may sound alarmist to those who have not followed the debate. But Charest had reason to speak out. And not a minute too soon. Consider Quebec's two opposition leaders. Mario Dumont of the Action Démocratique party argues that Quebec is "pretty much at capacity, in terms of intake," and wants to block increases in immigration. Parti Québécois Leader Pauline Marois,...

In Defence Of HerouxvilleQuebec isn't swinging right. Muscular mono-culturalism is swinging leftMONTREAL -Nativism is supposed to be a right-wing creed. So why is Quebec, the most socially liberal province in the country, the only place where Canadians are candidly discussing how far we should go to "accommodate" immigrants? Why are Canadian cartoonists putting KKK costumes on the hotheads of Herouxville instead of, say, Calgary or Red Deer? And why is it the PQ-- not some cowboy-hat party out on the Prairies -- that's proposing a two-tier citizenship system? It's not because Quebec is swinging right. It's because mono-culturalism is swinging...

Canadians often grumble about the outsized influence of Quebec in national politics. The province doesn’t even make up a quarter of the country’s population anymore, and yet it seems able to determine the limits of what governments in Ottawa can do on everything, from taxes and spending, to Canadian involvement in Afghanistan, and even Canada’s position on global warming. Americans frequently are told that Canada cannot be more helpful on a particular issue, “…because of Quebec." The Conservative minority government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper made several direct appeals to Quebec voters in its Throne Speech that officially opened a...

Quebec Mandates Relativistic Ethical and Religious Education For All Students in Province Program includes positive presentation of homosexual families and requires children to question their own religious upbringing By John-Henry Westen QUEBEC CITY, October 4, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - As of the beginning of the 2008 school year, all students in the province of Quebec whether in public school, private school or even homeschooled will be mandated to take a program on "Ethics and Religious Culture" which runs from grade one till the end of high school.  The program is completely relativistic and includes positive presentation of homosexual families and requires...

OTTAWA (CP) — One look at Stephane Dion's grim visage late Monday was all that was needed to discern the dismal state of his Liberal party in Quebec after his first test as leader. In a Liberal nightmare scenario-turned-reality, the party lost a traditional Montreal fortress and was reduced to single-digit support in two other Quebec ridings. A party that owned the province through much of Canada's history has now fallen below what was supposed to be the nadir of the post-sponsorship election last year. Francophones deserted the party in all three ridings on Monday. Their last remaining stranglehold on...

To paraphrase Paul Revere, and with especially good reason: Yanks, the Pope is coming.... The Pope is COMING! Two weeks ago, preliminary plans for Benedict XVI's first US visit were disseminated among a handful of senior hierarchs at a DC meeting. In the days since, a rough sketch of the much-anticipated apostolic journey -- the first since 1999 -- has begun to emerge. Currently slated to take place from 15-20 April 2008, the Tuesday-to-Sunday visit's official centerpiece will be a papal speech before the United Nations General Assembly in New York -- the prime cause for the US tour,...

Wed Sep 12, 8:52 AM By Les Perreaux ADVERTISEMENT MONTREAL (CP) - Quebecers have long led Canada in the modern move away from wedding vows toward common-law coupling, but now the province has roared past Sweden and Finland to lead the world. New data from the 2006 census released Wednesday shows no couples on the planet are known to shack up more than those in la belle province. The dramatic move away from marriage is accelerating wildly in Quebec, with 35 per cent of couples choosing common-law arrangements compared to 30 per cent in 2001, the last time the data...

SHAWINIGAN, Que. -- The day after news was released that a member of the Quebec-based Van Doo regiment had been killed in action in Afghanistan, the mission and Quebecers' view of the war came into sharp focus yesterday. Premier Jean Charest offered a spirited defence of the mission, even though support in the province has consistently rated as the weakest in Canada. "We, as citizens of Quebec, have a duty to support the men and women who are there and who are doing this work in our name and are making the biggest sacrifice that can be asked of a...

MONTEBELLO, Quebec – Leaders of the United States, Canada and Mexico have begun their discussions of the Security and Prosperity Partnership behind closed doors here at the five-star Fairmont Le Chateau resort in Montebello, Quebec. President Bush arrived at mid-afternoon yesterday, with the presidential helicopter landing on the club's golf course, as Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper was waiting to greet him. As the two met, Harper commented that Bush appeared to travel with his own security army of Secret Service. Mexico's President Felipe Calderon arrived later, and could be the first to depart as forecasters estimated Hurricane Dean is...

As the President boarded AF1 at Waco today I would assume he and the First Lady spent the weekend in Crawford Texas at their ranch. Today the President departed for Ottawa, Canada, to attend a two-day summit with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Mexican President Felipe Calderon. Enjoy your visit to Sanity Island

A community of a dozen Mennonite families in Quebec is ready to leave the province rather than succumb to provincial government demands that would require their children to be taught evolution and homosexuality. While the government sees its actions as nothing more than enforcing technical regulations, many view the case as intolerance of Christian faith. The community runs a small Mennonite school out of a church in Roxton Falls where eleven children in elementary grades were expected to commence studies this Fall. Subjects include reading, writing, math, science, geography, social sciences, music and French. However, they are not schooled in...