Deja Vu In Quebec

With the Quebec election just around the corner its deja vu time once again for residents of this crazy province.   Our Premier Pauline Marois  has just alienated half the province by deciding that there will be a referendum when she gets elected.  Sure we will be able to use the Canadian currency, passport and yes there will be no borders and yes it will be just like they have in Europe and no we won't salute the Queen, and yes we will still take handouts from the rest of Canada. Not so fast Pauline.  You have told us there will be a referendum. Yes ... separation.

Well this time its different.  Last time around most Canadians loved Quebec and really made a genuine outpouring of love and respect in trying to keep Quebec part of Canada.  This time around though the argument has gone stale, the love is gone and the party has moved on.

 No one including Quebecers really care about separation.  The economy in Quebec just got back to a respectful level, the housing market was strong and tourists felt they could go there and have a great holiday and would be respected for speaking their language of choice and spending their money.

This has all changed.  Since the PQ have openly stated they will separate all bets are off.  Investors don't care about investing in province that has higher corporate taxes, harasses businesses for trying to carry out business in the language of their choice, has higher government interference and does not allow business owners the opportunity to get documentation in either English or French.  Nothing wrong with protecting the island, however no one wants to end up on the island anymore, especially if its going to be a pain in the butt.   There are a lot more inviting places and warmer places to start a business why would you want to do it in Quebec, must be the poutine and cheap beer.

Those on the island are making it pretty clear whether they go to school here, or work here, that long term the island is not for them.  They want to explore the world and be part of the modern world not some broken down, island with high debts, failing infrastructure, minimal health care and restricted views.

So this election will be about principle.  No one including business, individuals from other countries hoping to gain employment here or move here wants to live in an oppressive society regardless of whether it calls itself part of Canada or not.  People want to be free.  Free to wear what they want to work, free to order a meal in any language they choose and free to receive correspondence in the language of their choice.  

Its an old record and old song, sung by a Party, the PQ that are out of step with the times and the events of the world.  Canada is a great country, its admired by everyone in the world.  Quebecers have a choice of freedom or oppression.

 In the modern era, governments regardless of what language you speak cannot take your freedoms, your rights and your values away.  Only dictatorships, small minded people and oppressive governments can.  Quebecers won't let it happen.  The Liberals will prevail in Quebec and the PQ will once again take their small minded views and corrupt ways back to the island.  On the island, eventually life has a way of passing you by.  On the island, eventually you run out of food and water and eventually if no one discovers you, you just fade away.  Lets hope the PQ do the same.

French Language Law is a Double Standard for English Canada

I just got home last week from a business trip and opened up my latest corporate tax bill. After years of living in Quebec and getting business correspondence in English or in both languages I was advised in French that in future all correspondence in regards to my business would be in French.  That's OK as long as I read and speak French.  However the changes to my return were in a language I did not understand. 

I now know how a French guy felt when he was on that plane and could not order a soft drink in his own language. The difference is I have no one to complain to and I will not get a settlement of $28,000 since no one is there to listen to me and Anglais ways.

This is the thing that is irritating about the whole language debate.  The French Mafia have convinced everyone in Canada that the cost of doing everything in two language to placate the French in the rest of Canada is alright, but not in Quebec.

The language laws are forcing French on Bilingual communities.  A municipality cannot communicate in both languages, yet on a recent project completed for the City of Ottawa the project costs doubled since the City has to provide bilingual services for 18% of the population.  In Quebec, you need to have a 50/50 English/ French ratio.  Falls below 50/50 and its French only.  Again the French Mafia manages to run the agenda.

In  regards to business the official language of business in Quebec is French.  The official language of business in the world is English.  The French Mafia makes it difficult since they send out the language police, a rather expensive government organization to crack down on websites, brochures, signs and correspondence made up of the dreaded English language. Again the Mafia is at work.

 I am a Canadian ( I would say native, but that too has its own set of issues) born in Canada and love living here in Quebec and love the French language and the life that goes with it.  I am however fed up with the fact that the Federal Government speaks to Canadians and Francophones in two different voices. I would say languages but they preach bilingualism in Canada and let Quebec have its own distinct language.

 First I have no hope of ever getting a job in Ottawa with a government organization, association or municipality because, the French Mafia owns that realm as well.  No speaky de Francois, no job.  Also when I go to Quebec, all the road signs are in French while the French Mafia has talked the provinces of Ontario, Manitoba and New Brunswick into spreading the work of the Mafia around.

So Mr. Harper, Mr. Official Person of Bilingualism, ( I would say official languages but there are not two official languages in Quebec)  and members of Parliament, are you going to sit by and watch the French Mafia take over the English language in Quebec and treat the English speaking minority with disdain.

The French Mafia has managed to infiltrate so many government organizations that Canadian Heritage, Official Languages, The N.C.C. and more are filled with Francophones dedicated to making French the official language of Canada.  Quebec laughs in its French accent while the rest of Canada, pays to add the accent.

I guest that guy who got $28,000 for having someone speak to him in English only shows that Canada and English speaking Canadians are already being manipulated by the French Mafia and a double standard indeed does apply.

 Mr. Harper are you listening, or maybe I should say that in French which I think you might just not really understand.

The New Reality of Moving My Head Office to Ontario

So as I have said many times before, I like living in the crazy province of Quebec. I like the people, the crazy way things happen and the fact that I can get a beer on Sunday at the local Depanner.  The only thing I don't like is how they treat business in the province.

On one hand the government is handing out all kinds of money to help people start businesses. The unfortunate part of this is if you speak English, you are a non-business.  This really gets me since business is business. 

With our Business Over Breakfast Clubs, we do business throughout the world.  We look for ways to breakdown the barriers to helping to build a person's business and a world economy. Unfortunately they just have not learned that in Quebec. 

With their preoccupation for forcing the French language on English businesses, most will just move to a more friendly marketplace.  I for one am moving my Head Office to Ontario.  I have decided that after 10 years of running a business here its easier to do it in the language of my choice.  I no longer have to strain through trying to figure out what Revenue Quebec is asking for, I can talk to a real person on the phone, get a straight answer and no longer struggle through Franglais phrases trying to get my point across. 

I mean I tried, however, with this latest round of insults from a basically racist government that is set on trying to out the English, its the last straw.  I will continue to live in the province, pay my taxes and enjoy my surroundings. I will continue to try my French when I can and love and respect my neighbours and my community.  I just will be carrying out my business with people who care and will be giving my corporate tax money and all my business expenses to English speaking business people that care.  Oh and did I mention that gas is 10 cents a litre cheaper in Ontario as well.

So bye bye  Quebec, it you would like to reach Kensel Tracy, The Corporate Coachworkz or Stratejis Disruption and Transformation Strategies, I can be found a 290 Picton Ave., Suite 104 surrounded by other English speaking business people doing business world-wide with people who care.  The number is 819-665-5851 and I will answer the phone with " Hello".

Quebec Election Another Round of Seperation?

A wise man once said, keep trying until you succeed and the same thing holds true with this Quebec election and the separatists.  They are going to keep trying until they succeed.  Free education, tougher language laws and enforcement of French as the business language of choice in Quebec.

That's great if you speak French and want to live on the island, however I think that language and business should not be integrated.  First off in most countries of the world the international business language is English.  Learning a language is not a problem, you should be able to do business in the choice of a language of where your customer lives.

Quebec has a habit of shooting itself in the foot however.  The economy just gets good, real estate prices are high, demand is great and then you elect a separatist government or at least a separatist minority and all your growth goes out the window.

What we need is the "All Canada Party".  The ACP would make English mandatory in Canada and make the language of choice as English and enforce it.  We would scrap all the French services provided at all levels of government in Canada and make everyone speak English.  English this and English that... you would see English everywhere.  Street signs in English, Web sites in English, we would fine people if they did not speak English and boot them out of the country if they did not speak English.  We would make all the world's languages speak English, English English.  

So now that I have that off my chest, I can go back to being a minority by living in Quebec, ducking the French Language Police and sneaking in a little English here and there.   Merci... Canada, its been fun but I am taking my French and going home.   After 25 years of living in this crazy province, nothing suprises me anymore and it should not suprise you either, because what ever happens you will end up paying for it.

Student Protests in Quebec What are they Really All About?

Having lived in Quebec for over 25 years I am not surprised by anything that happens in this province.  When they say Quebec is a distinct society, they really mean it.  For one the province is basically broke ( and so is Ontario for that matter). 

Over 40% of the population do not pay any income tax which means they are on some form of social assistance.  Five dollar a day care started in Quebec as well.  So here you have students who pay the lowest tuition out of any student in any province and they are protesting an increase of less than $500 over 3 years.  What gives?  

Well in my mind this is not about tuition. Like occupy its about a new youth revolution that is being driven by the use of social media.  I call it an experiment really. Social media, twitter, Facebook and the others all allow for conversations to start on various topics.  Its also about exerting your collective power. 

Our younger generations always are interested in personal revolutions of some sort. For example I remember the 70's and the wearing of jeans to school, listening to rock and roll, smoking on school property and not having to wear a tie to an assembly. 

We protested all of these things on top of the war in Viet Nam and having more say on what went on at the campuses of our universities and how the funds were being used.  Our protests were collective however, no one wore a mask, carried a crowbar, set off smoke bombs in subways and smashed stores, or sparred with riot police.   Today's protests are far more violent and premeditated. 

They are supported by unions, lobbyists and potentially separatists and anarchists.  They are labeled protests but are really about exerting power and controlling the balance of the conversation. Its not so much about the tuition fees.  That's secondary, this is about control.  The government is not sure what to do.  Each time they make a concession they lose the power.   This is a test.  If the government cancels the increase the terrorist students have won.   So .. what do we do now?

Social media revolutions have started, they are having some success and its only going to be a matter of time when revolutions will be fought over bigger issues.  They will include, taxes, water, wind turbines, energy, over countries, language resources and social programs.   The bottom line is the provinces in question are broke and if this continues you may just see a new young guard that controls the power.  The power of the twittistphear and using the power of social media, the bulk of the conversation.

So.. as far as protesting tuition goes, most of the people protesting it, are not in school anyway, that's a symbol and a smokescreen.   The future will be about power and who will control it. Based on how governments have been waisting our tax dollars for years on needless programs, the power may just be in hands of the people and few thousand Quebec non-student protesters may just be the canary in the coal mine as to what is to come.

Seth Godin and Daniel Pink Right Brain Thinking is Alive and Well

So this week I just returned from the Odyssey Consultant's Training program a 6-day intensive program directed at becoming a trusted advisor and a better consultant. They say 6 days at Odyssey and you will never be the same and its true.

Right off the bat, I knew this was a different program because there was a lot of honesty and trust in the room. It was demonstrated within the first fifteen minutes of being there. The coolest thing about this program was that after day-one, people kept congratulating me for my skill and my craft of being creative.

Most of my life I have been this way only to be shut down by left brain thinkers trying to keep my creative juices hidden in the box or dismissed for being too far out in left field.

One of the colleagues Kevin, said, you should read Daniel Pink's book "A Whole New Mind", which I quickly down loaded on my Ipad and started reading on the plane back from Phoenix.

Pink thinks ( hey that rhymes) that "right brain thinkers" are poised to take over the world. The right hand side of your brain is responsible for the creative side of most ideas.

Pink also believes that "right brainers" and their creativity are going to be responsible for making the world a better place and will help in getting America out of its current funk. I must admit, America is down. Lots of negativity and left brain thinking in the old United States of America.

A confused left brain government, left brain negative business people and left brain ideas.

Get this for an example: understand how banks deal with people that can not pay their mortgage or who have a house under water ( this means worth less than its mortgage).

The banks use left brain thinking in regards to foreclosures. Here is the current left-brain system.

You have trouble paying your mortgage, we kick you out. You end up the the street, the house goes empty, the bank writes you off on its taxes as a loss. The bank makes money. You end up on the street and need social assistance.

The house mean while falls into disrepair, vandals without jobs or a place to live, break into the house and steal all the fixtures. The house is a blight on the neighbourhood, bringing the price of all the houses around it down.

The neighbourhood falls further into disrepair. Price of houses in the area tumble further since this is a neighbourhood in disrepair.The bank then tears the house down because it can't fix it or get anyone to buy it since the neighbourhood is so run down and takes a further tax loss.

The bank pays less taxes to the city because there is no house there only and empty lot. Services and business close or move away because there are no customers or home owners to use their services.

The government takes care of the people on the street, takes a hit on the tax loss from the banks, the city takes less taxes from the banks and the people on the street go to the government for support. This is classic left-brain thinking. People say.. the economy is bad so in this way the left brainers have won once again. We are stupid people.

So here is right brain thinking:

Right brain thinking would have said in the first place - what can you pay, great, let us know. Great we will let you remortgage and be able to stretch your mortgage out as long as you keep the house in good repair. People with homes and mortgages to pay usually get jobs, taxes are paid, people are off the street, communities continue to maintain their standard and banks get some money ( probably not as much as when they foreclose but they get some money) taxes get paid and people look for work and consumer services, neighbourhoods survive.

A simple right brain thought - "lets let them stay for what they can afford, when things turn around we will gradually raise their mortgage and make our money long-term".

Selfish "left brain" America and the banks are driving the country into the ground.

Their thought process is "we could not do this because its not our policy. Why?

Well its just not policy, we compromise our position as banks, we set precedence for everyone and well its just not our policy. What about America and the need for a new policy?

So here we have it, stupid left-brain bankers, unenglightened left brain politicians and lots of old left brain ideas and policy. ( most likely created in the 1920's just before the last crash created by greedy people).

Time to give some of us right brain creatives a chance, we can't screw it up any more than these guys.

Occupy What -- They are After the Wrong Guys

I spent the better part of yesterday trying to get into the Christmas spirit by setting up a few spot lights outside, helping my honey setup the Christmas tree and then sitting down for a quiet scotch. I must tell you that I was happy to have all the things around me that I have and I was particularly grateful for everything I had worked hard for.

It was then that I got to thinking about those people who have been occupying a lot of public spaces hoping to get somebody to change their mind about something.

First of all, what was their purpose and what where they trying to accomplish. At first I thought it was all about taxing the rich. Taxing the rich was not a bad idea but who the hell is rich. How about this one. How about taxing nobody. I mean taxes are really what we should be talking about.

Take the middle class. You earn $49,000 and you pay 49% tax that means that you pay all most 1/2 of what you make in taxes. Gas taxes include provincial taxes and GST on provincial taxes, so again double dipping.

In most municipalities now you can't escape home ownership without paying taxes and school taxes. The average tax in a major urban city is $3000 per year or $250 per month. Add that to the $2500 you have left that you did not give to the feds and then take off 13% of every dollar you spend for GST and provincial tax and you have now given another $325 to the tax man.

That means your $49,000 dollar salary is now worth $25,000 less $3500 for municipal taxes, $700 for school taxes and $3900 for GST and provincial taxes.

That now leaves you with $18,500 for the year or $1541 per month. Out of that I need to pay rent or a mortgage say of around $900, my car insurance of $150, my home insurance of $50 and now I have over priced hydro ( another government tax grab) at $150 per month and I am up to $1250 per month in costs so I have $289 left for food and entertainment.

So I think based on this scenario its probably a whole lot easier to go live in tent somewhere and collect welfare. At least I would get free dental, doctors, eat at the mission and have unions donate power, shitters and electricity and I could be a television star to boot.

Its not that I have anything against people that don't work and protest all the time but I think they are protesting against the wrong guy. Its governments man, check it out -- tax the governments and give it to the middle class, they are the guys that really need it. Yes - so what do I do. I sit back and wonder, maybe I should be occupying something and protesting the taxes I pay.

I turn on the television and what a bunch of people living for nothing, contributing nothing and see my tax dollars supporting nothing, what does that say. Anyway - there is not much I can do unless I can get a bunch of others to join me or get those guys protesting to do it for me.