I sensed something a little different in this year’s St Jean celebrations.

There seemed to be less strident nationalism and perhaps, just perhaps, the beginning of a holiday that embraces inclusiveness.

Maybe after the April 7th election it’s okay to be different again, it's okay to be a federalist in Quebec.

Baby steps indeed.

But there seemed to less of an "us versus them" feeling.

There was even some brave soul at Maisonneuve park waving a Canadian flag.

With the defeat of ugly politics of identity maybe things are beginning to change.

Let’s hope they do so that one day the flag of Quebec once again becomes the flag for everybody, the way it used to be.

Bourassa would not like the controversy

Robert Bourassa would not approve.

He would not approve of any controversy surrounding naming a street after him and neither does his family.

Changing street names can be a reckless venture fraught with division and emotion.

The body of René Levesque was still warm when Dorchester Boulevard was renamed in his honour but perhaps the deep thinkers at that time who breathlessly hurried to make the change didn’t read their history books.

Lord Dorchester, Guy Carleton, saved the French language , the civil justice system and the Roman Catholic religion with the Quebec Act of 1774.

If it hadn’t been for Dorchester there never would have been a René Levesque.

Changing names calls for prudence and wisdom.

I agree that we need to honour Bourassa.

He had detractors, but he also will go down in history as a great premier who held Quebec together during some very challenging times and at great personal cost.

Perhaps the new bridge could be named after him or the new CHUM hospital or a park or something less controversial .

But caution and much thought is needed.

World Class Acting

I love the drama of World Cup. It’s like a Shakespearean tragedy with cheating, biting, bloodshed, heroics and falling on one’s sword to defend national honour.

And the best part is all those fake life-threatening injuries on the field of battle.

The players act like they are being struck down by enemy fire.

Let’s face it, the ref won’t call a foul unless the alleged victim is grimacing in pain as if passing a kidney stone and having a root canal at the same time.

He will make his case through his agony, hoping for consideration for the performance.

And then the miracle happens, it seems, by divine intervention.

The player, even if carried off on a stretcher, is able to rise again and get right back into the game as if nothing happened.

Now that’s entertainment!

Professional wrestling has nothing on these guys.

Foolish blue collar workers

Did you get caught in the rain on Tuesday?

On the wettest day of the year City of Montreal blue collar workers were out watering flowers.

On a day when 40 millimetres of rain fell down.

Guess who is getting soaked again?

One thing about living here, just when you think nothing would surprise you something usually does.

Happy Canada Day! Bonne fete du Canada!