Vive la France.
My beret is off to the Assemblée Nationale which this week passed a law to ban the wearing of the burka in public
It wasn't even close, 335 to 1.
The law was passed the day before Bastille Day, when the French honour "liberté, egalité and fraternité."
The burka is the antithesis of that motto of the 5th Republic
The burka is anti-women, anti-democratic, and an affront to anyone who believes in freedom and equality
Women are not private property, although many fundamentalists see them as non-persons.
The burka, by extension, represents sharia law which again is diametrically opposite to secular values we hold dear.
In a liberal democracy, what you do at home is your business, but showing your face in public is a pretty basic requirement. I certainly cannot walk into a bank or a store wearing a mask.
The Quebec government this year had the courage to table a bill banning face coverings in dealing with public institutions.
Now hearings have been delayed and it appears the Charest Liberals may be having some second thoughts.
Backing down would be absolutely the wrong thing to do now.
The government must be willing to show its determination and show its face
Inept public planning
I sometimes wonder what the people who design public projects in Quebec have been smoking.
It took forever and over $100 million dollars to redesign and rebuild the l'Acadie circle.
It's confusing at the best of times, but downright dangerous at others.
All we need is a big downpour et voila: welcome to the l'Acadie pool. Swim at your own risk.
It has happened just about every year since the thing was built.
They never saw this coming? Come on.
Now Quebec and the City of Montreal will spend three months analyzing the drainage problem: a problem we have had since 2004.
Sometimes, you've just got to shake your head and wonder in disbelief.
Bag people have a point
Well it took a while but the bag people finally got me on their side.
I bought my reusable grocery bags and felt mildly good about using them. Although I still feel undignified when leaving the SAQ if I have forgotten that bag in the trunk: I have about a dozen of them
Now we find out that these grocery bags can be health hazards. A study found bacteria in just about every bag they tested.
So now we have to wash them, which of course uses energy, soap and water.
Just another thing to do and most of us won't do it.
I think I may go back to paying a nickel a bag.
I guess this reusable bag thing seemed like a good idea at the time but really, what's wrong with paper?
All in all a mixed bag indeed.
