LeCanardQuoi (y/it/l')

Canada’s bilingualism policy produces some strange spectacles: French schools in the Arctic, French CBC programming for Albertans, prime ministers speaking French in Australia, a $126-million French-language university in Toronto with just 25 students. In an essay for Maclean’s, commentator @JJ_McCullough argues that these are signs of a political doctrine that has become more revered than rationally defended. “State-mandated bilingualism conflicts with Canada’s self-image as a fair and merit-based democracy,” he writes. “And the worst may be yet to come.” McCullough writes that the usual case for bilingualism rests on shakier ground than Canadians like to admit. It’s often justified as a historic obligation to one of the country’s “two founding peoples.” But he points out that Canada was never meaningfully a country of only two peoples. In any case, he argues that official bilingualism was more of an accommodation to keep Quebec nationalism in check. “Official bilingualism nevertheless remains venerated by all manner of Canadian elites as a taboo in the truest sense,” he writes. McCullough’s point is that the language policy merely privileges a narrow pool of bilingual people from the Laurentian region to the upper ranks of politics, government and public institutions. The result, he argues, is a gatekeeping system that shuts many Canadians out of top careers. “This bilingual glass ceiling on political talent has warped Canadian democracy,” he writes. “Review the heads of basically any senior federal institution, be it the courts, Crown Corporations, the military or some major regulatory board and you’ll find a Canadian elite that remains much whiter and much more Laurentian than the country it rules.” In a country that presents itself as multicultural, meritocratic and inclusive, he argues, official bilingualism is becoming harder to defend as anything other than exclusion with financial and cultural costs. macleans.ca/politics/offic…

I think we're a long way from "a complete and total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East." Both the U.S. and #Iran's regime have vastly different conceptions as to what constitutes "a complete and total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East." At least publicly, the U.S. demands are nowhere in the same ballpark as the Islamic Republic's demands. America's demands are a form of regime change on paper. Tehran's demands--guarantees, compensation, closure of American bases--are non-starters. And it's hard to envision this current regime agreeing to limitations on its missile program, which has now surpassed the nuclear file as the top concern, especially in the region. Meanwhile, thousands of U.S. Marines are still en route to the Middle East--which is an important signpost.

La 11e édition du Palmarès des personnalités influentes de la francophonie canadienne se situe sous le signe du dévouement à long terme. #FrCan l-express.ca/palmares-des-p…

#MOBItips Quickly flag a problem rack to others if your ride could not be terminated by tying a helmet over rack latch. Bonus points if reporting via the app "Report Issue" or tweet to @mobi_bikes stating pod location, rack # (left is 1) and bike # failed with. #BikesWeShare