IS QUEBEC DESTINED TO BECOME EVEN MORE OF A BACKWATER ?

 MOST LIKELY...AND LET ME COUNT THE WAYS:

First off, it considers itself to be a Nation - so much for a partnership of equals in our Country still known as Canada.

Secondly, Polls show that a majority of Quebecers are xenophobic...they do not like Immigrants and that explains why Bill C-21 has received such vast support.  Since the Quiet Revolution, Anglos have left Quebec in droves and Immigrants will be doing so or either that or not coming to Quebec in the first place. 

Third, is Bill C-21 itself which renders any citizen who wishes to display symbols of their religion to be second class.  The new fast train to Toronto will not want for passengers fleeing the Province. 

And finally, Four, Quebec has made French as its Only Official Language- when English is the main language spoken in North America and where English is the main language of Business throughout the world.  Their people will be at such a disadvantage but I would bet you a dollar to a donut that the children of the Quebec Elite will still find a way to learn both languages...no fools them.  

So add them up; 1+ 2 +3 +4 =  Backwater. 

As proof of this, an article appeared in today's National Post Financial Section that dealt with the current negotiations underway wherein the Canadian National Railway HQ in Montreal is attempting to buy a Railroad based in Kansas.  CNR's rival is the Canadian Pacific Railway based in Alberta.  Negotiations are encountering some rough water from the Kansas City Rail Shareholders due to their concerns over Number 4 - they do not like the fact that English will not be welcomed in the new entity's Head Office.  They are also disillusioned by the fact that they view Quebec to be wedded to Socialism.  Will the merger go through ... possibly but there are rough waters ahead and to me this merely foreshadows much more difficulty for Quebec in the future.

So in its effort to preserve Quebec's language and distinct culture their Government is taking their Province...oh I mean their Nation... Out of Play.   

As I See It ...

K.D. Galagher

WHAT DID US CHRISTIANS EVER DO TO DESERVE THIS ?

 LAST WEEK, IN A FULL PAGE AD, A LARGE NUMBER OF 'DISTINGUISHED' CANADIANS INCLUDING FORMER PRIME MINISTERS HARPER AND MARTIN, CAME OUT AGAINST....ARE YOU READY FOR IT ... DISCRIMINATION.

They opposed Discrimination Against Blacks, Asians, the Indigenous and included in their list were followers of both the Muslim and Jewish Faith.  Missing, was any word of what they thought about Domestic Violence, Workhouses and Debtors' Prisons. 

As I was reading this, I thought to myself 'what a waste of space and money' - and who was paying for this?  From a newsworthy point of view it would only be so if they had all come out in favour of  discrimination.  In other words, their condemnation amounted to little more than apple pie and mother knows best.

But Their Ad was in fact Noteworthy for one reason... Christians were purposely left out !! This despite the fact that our Churches are being burned down or vandalized all over this country.  Not a Word. 

Is it possible that they too believe, as our 'esteemed' Prime Minister believes, that we Christians had it coming and that the burning of our churches in his considered opinion "was understandable".  (Another classic example of His having His Mother's Looks as well as His Mother's Brain). 

As you know, your Mother and I, along with 2 other Catholic Couples held a Rally on Parliament Hill a few years ago to bring awareness to the plight of Christians around the world... especially in the Middle East.  Some 2,000 attended on very short notice and all the major religions were represented, along with all the major political parties...save one - the Liberals. This was not totally surprising to us since one of the reasons we held our Rally was because the Liberals consistently went on about how badly Muslims were fairing over there but never once commented on the numerous deaths and destruction that  Christians were facing at the hands of Islamic Extremists.

Systemic Racism Does Not Exist In Canada.  But Stunts like Harper, Martin et al only serve to reinforce the impression that we are.  And to leave out Us Christians renders their effort even more derisible. 

What we need is greater effort to bring the various factions in Society together to Unite Us All in what is best for Canada and in the end what is Best for Each One of Us.  It comes down to Accentuating the Positive rather than Dwelling on the Negative since the Fact is, We Are ALL Most Fortunate To Live In The Best Country In the World.  

As I See It...

K.D. Bell

THE 905

 We here in Canada are about to have an Election that no one but our esteemed Prime Minister wants to have and only he. since he believes - probably correctly, that it will result in a Majority Government for Him.

I will not get into the Merits of having an Election right now nor will I even speak of the gross amount of Taxpayer Cash He has been Liberally Spread- and I mean Liberally Spread !! across the Country.

Rather, in this Blog I am going to deal with the Why as in Why he is likely to Win and not only that but Win with a Undeserved Majority.

The Pundits are a twitter - with their predictions - 'the Grits are way out in front in the Polling - the Tories way behind and the Dippers are doing far better than expected '- they are not of course, but that is the swill that they are serving up daily.  In fact, this will be Jagmeet Singh's First Campaign... as well as his Last. 

So let's now take a look at the Country in its entirety:  Atlantic Canada, as it has in recent Elections, will continue to go Red.  The Reason Being - they are addicted to handouts and the Liberals are the best darn hand-outers going. (I must say I love being a Blogger because I can say such Truths without having the Progressive Left swoop down on me demanding retraction).

Quebec will again be split in two between the Liberals and the Bloc.  The Other Two Parties are mere uninvolved Spectators. 

Ontario will as per usual see Tories Elected - in the Rural Parts.  The Grits will take the Urban areas while giving up a few crumbs here and there to the NDP.

Manitoba to the BC border will continue to be predominately Blue.

And then BC will split the bounty between the Three Majors.

So it looks like a Liberal Landslide.

But not so fast - as You might have noticed, I did not mention the Suburban Region around Toronto better known as The 905.  It contains 52 Ridings and could easily make the difference between a Majority Liberal Win or a Minority Liberal Win or even a Minority Conservative Win.

So How will it go?  I have no idea since the Polls that have seen have yet to break-down how that Region is likely to Vote.  All things being equal though, I expect that this Region will go mostly Red and if that turns out to be the case... you can kiss Tory hopes for a Joyful Election Night Goodbye. It will also be goodbye to its Leader Erin O'Toole and rightfully so.

And why do I say that?  As I have mentioned in Previous Blogs - up to 70% of Canadians view themselves as being Progressive - read 'on the left'.  That leaves but 30% up for grabs by the Tories. And the Tories under O'Toole have done themselves a great disservice since instead of putting forward Conservative Thoughts and Principles, they have Aped the Liberals and, if they are anything, it is is but Liberal Lite. 

Given that I would never vote Liberal ...even Liberal Lite, my Vote will go to the Libertarian Party of which I feel mostly at home or even with the Family Party for its Christian Values.

You might be trying to tell me that I missed a Party...namely the Greens.  Rest assured it was on Purpose.

As I See It...

K.D. Galagher

I Honestly Did Not Know That....

That if you are a Christian living in India, your life may be in danger...I would understand it if someone told me that this was the case in China - the most populous Nation in the World but not with respect to its Second Most Populous... India.

So where did I learn of this?

Our Wonderful Priest tipped me to this recently when he told me that he was worried that Catholic Churches would be burned.  I thought he was talking about here in Canada even though his prophesy preceded the spate of Church burnings in this country. "No" he countered - "in my country of birth India".

I was simply astounded.  So I looked into it:

There are numerous religions practiced in India but the top 4 are Hindu (80%), Muslim (14%), Christian with a little over 2%, and Sikh* at slightly less that 2%.  It's Prime Minister - Narendra Modi, is Hindu.

*The history of Sikh discontent living under the Hindu majority rule is widely known but I view this to be more of a political issue since the Sikh's live primarily in the Punjab and are desirous of  gaining independence from India.  

Moreover, studies show that India consistently scores very high for Social Hostilities much of which is directed against the low-caste Dalits** but also includes Buddhists, Christians, Jains, Muslims and Sikhs.

 **Dalit women are disproportionately victims of sexual violence due to their low level caste at the hands of Hindu Extremists. 

Given this background, it is not surprising that I found Father Raymond De Souza's recent article in a National Post Edition entitled 'Death Of Jailed Priest A Stain On India' of great interest.   His article, as the title suggests, was primarily in regard to the death of Jesuit Priest Father Stan Swamy earlier this month but shines a spotlight on Prime Minister Modi's governing Bharatiya Janata Party and how it has become "increasingly authoritarian particularly in its treatment of religious minorities the largest being Muslims...and includes Christians".  

Father Swamy is a particularly sad case of such discrimination.  At the age of 84 and in poor health, he died after 9 months in custody on "unfounded charges" after receiving negligible to no medical treatment.  "A cross party alliance of India's opposition parties denounced his inhumane ...treatment". So what did the Good Father do to deserve such ill treatment?   Why he devoted his life to defending the rights of Indigenous Peoples usually called 'Adivasis'.  For his lifetime advocacy on their behalf, he was accused of Terrorism.

Father De Souza points out in his article that sadly this is not an isolated incident since "more than 300,000 (70%) of India's prisoners are 'Undertrials' prisoners awaiting trial" and held without bail. The majority of the undertrials "come from the socially weaker communities". Given this, maybe we should hereafter refer to Father Swamy as Saint Stan !!

I am bringing this to your attention for two reasons.  First, it exemplifies the good the Church does throughout the World bringing the Love of God and of his Son Jesus to us all. 

But secondly and and perhaps of even greater importance, it demonstrates clearly that even Democratic Countries can foster serious Human Rights Abuses.  I have always thought of India as a peaceful nation ...a counterbalance to equally populous China and an ever more serious military threat for what is left of the Free World. If we lose India and its over 1 Billion population the pendulum will really begin to swing even more toward Authoritarianism.  All the while America is in decline with its Progressive Wokeism. 

So, to conclude, I honestly did not know the truth about India and the abuse of its minorities and I honestly do not have an answer as to what can be done about it.

Sad to Say.

As I See It...

K.D. Galagher

 

The Voice Of One Crying Out In The Wilderness

 And That Voice Belongs To Tarek Fatah !!!

Tarek is a columnist for the Ottawa Sun and in yesterday's edition (July 15) he dealt with Extremism in his Muslim Faith as he so often does.  All of his Columns are good ...and yesterday's was especially so.

But before I get into what he said, I want to deal with the issue of the Muslim Faith generally.

For some reason the Woke Masses have a soft spot for Muslims unlike their distain for Christians and Jews.  This is hard to understand since all three religions pray to the same God.  So why the hypocrisy?

I can think of only one reason; they believe it is in vogue to do so - not that the Progressives are religious by any means but they kowtow to Muslims simply because they are neither Jew nor Gentile. 

And they do that despite the fact that of these three (3) Religions - the Muslim Faith is the only one stuck back in the Middle Ages.  Theirs' is a Paternal Society ...read- the family is run by Da Man and heaven help any family member who defies the Father...especially if they are women or girls. The Quran even allows for the Male Head to Discipline His Wife Physically if She Deigns to Disobey Him.  Look it up. 

And when it comes to Persecution - the Muslims too are cursed but unlike the other religions - the Persecution comes from within their own midst - that is from other Sects and Tribes. 

So with that background let's look at what Tarek Fatah had to say about his own religion;

• He began by quoting "Ordinary Muslims" who have received death threats when simply warning of the dangers posed by Muslim Extremists. 
• Others are quoted as saying Canada's Political Class is being taken over by more extreme voices when it comes to placating Islamism.  (not many years ago one of Ontario's Premiers came a hairs breath away from introducing Sharia Law).
• Fatah notes that while most Muslims came to Canada to escape the tyranny of the Mullahs - Mosques here continue to preach that self same tyranny.
• Even more troublesome, he quotes Intizar Zaidi - editor of Canadian Asian News and a resident of Canada for over 40 years as saying "many second-generation ...(are) more radical than their parents".

Fatah is open to the fact that his own life has been threatened and in danger many, many times for speaking out against Extremism and ends with the following:

"Aqua Parvez, who was killed in Canada for not wearing a hijab...and the forgotten souls of Shafia sisters who were drowned by their own family for simply asking to live like Canadians". 

The Left needs to get its priorities straight and that includes many of our politicians.  By sucking up to the Radicals they are endangering all of us as the day will come only too quickly when Canada is but a mere reflection of the medieval lands from which so many escaped.

To work against this, these Three Religions ...and indeed all Religions, need to get together and collectively work to create a better world here on Earth for all.

As I See It...

K.D. Galagher

USE IT..OR LOSE IT.....

 AS IN ORGANIZED RELIGION.

OMMISSION...ON MY PART: I missed giving you the most important reason for coming to Church since this is where Communion is given and received.  Growing up Protestant, I took Communion but we viewed it as only representing Christ's Body and Blood.  In the Roman Catholic Church, it is viewed as being the Real McCoy.  The Priest Blesses the Bread and Wine and it in doing so Changes It into the actual Body and Blood of our Saviour Christ.  You cannot get that anywhere but in Church with your fellow Parishioners.  This of course originated with the Last Supper where Christ, facing Personal Sacrifice, Blessed the Bread and the Wine and Gave it to His Disciples with the Admonition that this was truly His Body and Blood and that they should all continue to do it in the Future... in Memory of Him.  As a Convert, I do Most Certainly Believe it, and Each Time I Take Communion I Feel Closer to Jesus and to His Father and Hopefully Closer to Qualifying for Eternal Life.  

I read a prediction recently that within 20 years the Anglican Church of Canada will cease to exist.  This interested me for a number of reasons including the fact that I grew up in the Anglican Church and Converted*, as an Adult, to Roman Catholicism,  so I was most sad to learn of my former Church's predicted demise.  (Fyi, the Anglican Church's Mother Church is the Church of England and in the United States it is known as the Episcopalian Church and I would suspect that if the Anglican Church falters, the same fate awaits them as well).

    *One of the main reasons I converted was due to my belief that Religion, with a capital R, was in decline and that the best way to address that was to present a united front... splintering only contributes weakness and to further decline.

Declining attendance is also happening in our own Church as confirmed by a number of Priests I have spoken to as well as in the Muslim Religion by a good friend of mine who is an Imam.  I have also noticed in our own church that attendance is down with the majority of attendees over the age of 70. That said, we are a City Centre Church...with few children in the neighbourhood, but that does not account for so many missing adults under age 70.  Reports from the Catholic Church in America state this trend is evident there as well with attendance down in recent times by well over 20%. 

As we all know, the Roman Catholic Church has been going through a difficult period for some time now with too many of our Priests guilty of pedophilia and more recently, here in Canada, accusations of abuse toward our Aboriginal Children at Catholic run Residential Schools.  This admittedly has not helped preserve robust attendance numbers but it does not change the fact that more and more people are turning away from the Church in large numbers for reasons other than that and it certainly does not explain the drop in attendance at other denominations.

And Despite our Prime Minister glee in trashing Canada, Our Country is one of the greatest in the World or we would not see millions throughout it wishing to come to our Shores.  Our greatness was built upon Judeo / Christian Principles and yet today those Principles are mocked and the adherents of both  ridiculed.  Until Covid came along, I attended a Seniors' Discussion Group and often - too often that is, my Religious beliefs were challenged by two Atheists in the group - not during group discussion but afterwards over coffee.  The fact is, I like both but their constant ribbing did wear thin at times. My stock answer to them was what you might expect ...'if you are correct in believing there is no God you have nothing to fear since if you are right, you will never know you were wrong ...'.  I would then often remind them of the good deeds they did for society...one conducted Karaoke Sessions at local Nursing Homes and the other led Topics of Various Interest at the Seniors' Centre. Then I would say ...'heck and if there is a Heaven, you guys are more Christian-like than me and are likely get to There before me'.  They seemed to like that.

And, I was not being flippant - I truly believe that.  If you live your life well you may well make it to Heaven before or even in place of those who profess to be active Christians but who live their lives being anything but.  I do believe though that it is much harder to achieve Salvation while purporting to be an Atheist and I also believe it is best to pray together as a Community than it is to try to do it all by yourself.  I benefit, You benefit, the Community benefits as does Society in General and we are all better for it. 

Simply stated, The World is Fractured and Pardon my Language...  Going To Hell In A Handcart: "We" and I am speaking Generally Here, have become Self-Centred, and with Life becoming ever more expendable.  Climate, along with Other Causes de Jour and dreamed up by Societies' Majority - The Progressives - have become the New Religions of the Day.  The word "God" is seldom -  if ever - mentioned and when it is ... often in a derogatory way.

But We have much to be thankful for and I truly believe that that has resulted from our belief in God and the power of of Prayer. You well know that without the timeliness of Prayer, I would not be here with you today given my heart issues. God and His Son were with me then and are with you always.   

We all need to come together as a strong and faithful Community or the Day will come when it is simply too late and it could be argued that that time has already past.  But I have faith in You and God has Faith in All of You so I know that it is never too late to turn things around, but it does bring to mind the adage from post war Germany which I have taken the Liberty of Paraphrasing:

They came for the Jews but I did not speak out since I was not Jewish;

Then they came for the Muslims but again I did not speak out since I was not Muslim;

Then they came for the Christians but again I did not speak out since I was not a practicing Christian;

Then they came for me but there was no one left willing to defend me.

My Father and Your Mother's Father both fought for Our Freedom in World War Two some 75 years ago.  My Father's Father and his Grandfather did the same for You and Me some 100 years ago in World War One.  We...You and I, Owe it to Our Ancestors' Memories and to Ourselves to do whatever we each can to help restore the Values and Principles that Modern Day Society has so frivolously frittered away.  And a sure fire way to help restore the balance is by going to your nearest House of God on a Regular and Faithful Basis.

In closing, my time here with you is fading but know, I have no fear whatsoever in dying.  And I am content with my own efforts in life - so far - to try to keep alive the values for which our Ancestors fought and for which your Great Uncle Bob paid the ultimate price ...with one of the most important being Freedom of Religion.  Indeed, without that Freedom to Instill Basic Values, all the other Freedoms will Continue to Wither on the Vine. 

With this Blog...I Pass The Torch To Each of You.

God Bless, 

K.D. Bell

 

RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS

JULY 2ND UPDATE:  IN THIS MORNING'S OTTAWA SUN, MARK BONOKOSKI REPORTS THAT BACK IN 2005 THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SPENT $1.5 MILLION IN TRACKING DOWN 5,300 LIVING INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE IMPLICATED IN "PHYSICALLY, PSYCHOLOGICALLY, OR SEXUALLY ABUSING STUDENTS" AT THESE SCHOOLS. YET SOME 16 YEARS LATER, NOT ONE HAS BEEN CRIMINALLY CHARGED.  THIS IS WRONG AND NOW THE NUMBER OF PRIME MINISTERS IMPLICATED IN THIS WRONG TOTALS THEM ALL- FROM MACDONALD THROUGH TO JUSTIN HIMSELF.  FOR ME, MODERN PMs ARE JUST AS BLAMEWORTHY OR PERHAPS EVEN MORE SO GIVEN THEY HAVE THE BENEFIT OF VIEWING THE PAST FROM THE LOFTY PERCH OF THE PRESENT. IN OTHER WORDS, THERE IS LESS REASON FOR THEM TO NOT HAVE ACTED IN BRINGING THE EVIL DOERS TO JUSTICE. 

 OUR LOVELY DAUGHTER-IN-LAW, HEATHER requested that I do a Blog on this most topical of subjects.  Heather has heard so many differing accounts regarding this of late that she asked me for my thoughts.  I thought you might be interested as well.

Anyway, we all know what has brought this back into the daily news; well over 1,000 unmarked graves of Aboriginal Children were discovered recently on the grounds of three former Residential Schools in Western Canada. Native Leadership is rightfully crying out for justice and, of course, many with their usual demand for more money to help survivors and all and sundry cope with the mental stress this has caused them despite the Billions of Dollars paid out to them over the years.

I say this in no way to diminish the sadness of this but I do have some questions:

First and foremost, what was the cause of so many deaths?  Most occurred before the discovery of penicillin and as such it was not unusual for infants and young children to succumb to a vast array of illnesses at that time*. In fact, my own mother lost two of her siblings to illness in the early part of the last century.  If, however they died as result of abuse, then the perpetrators still living should face the full force of our Criminal Law.  Full Stop !!

    *Stats Can reports that in 2019 deaths per 1,000 in children was but one (1).  In the 1930s, it was 80.7 deaths per 1,000.

Second then, for the children who remained on their Reserves and died in childhood, how many were there and what was the primary cause of their deaths?  An arm's length, properly funded Investigation should be able to determine that.  

And Finally Third, it has been declared that the children were buried in unmarked graves at the first site but later reported that initially they were in fact marked but over time the site fell into disuse.  Which is it?  And were others similarly initially marked?  Again an Inquiry would tell us.

What is without any doubt is that our current Liberal Government has known of these graves since the issuance of  the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report in the early Fall of 2015 when it pledged $27 million dollars to help with the discovery of their bodies. Now with it becoming front page news the Government has finally begun to mobilize these resources. The question then for Prime Minister Trudeau is... since you pretend to be the Natives' best friend why has it taken you and your Government so long to act on such an important promise? 

Trudeau also promised upon becoming Prime Minister, in that same year, to spare no time and expense in ensuring that our Native Communities gain access to Potable Water.  Many of those communities are still waiting today... still operating under boil water orders.  If I had been Prime Minister I can assure you that this would have been my very first priority.   Indeed, it is a tragedy that many throughout the Third World suffer from the lack of potable water, it is simply a crime for that to happen here in Canada - we are a prosperous First World Nation.  

But this raises the following question; why haven't Indigenous Leaders taken more responsibility for their own peoples' welfare?  Like the Black Leadership in the United State, some prefer to wallow in their perceived Victimization and in both cases we are talking about a timeframe exceeding well over 150 years.  Sadly, this Victimization Mentality is gleefully supported by the Progressive Left and by much of the Media.

Some Natives have asserted and our Prime Minister has agreed, that they have been the subject of Cultural Genocide.  In reality, their Culture, dating back to the Stone Age, was destroyed hundreds of years ago with the coming of the Europeans. Aboriginals have also been put on a Pedestal - not so much by themselves but by the Progressive Left that with the coming of the "White Man" came war and other nefarious activities such as Slavery.  But if you know your History, you will realize that Aboriginals engaged in such practices as well - long before Christopher Columbus reached the shores of America.  I cannot imagine any Native today wanting to return to life as it was pre 1492.  

The Sad Truth in all of this though is that Victimization can be profitable especially for many of their Chiefs and Elders. 

I mentioned above what I would do if I had been Prime Minister but now will change hats and pretend I am now part of the Aboriginal Leadership.  Hopefully, in that capacity, I would have organized natives from coast to coast to find our own buried children and bring them back to the Reserves or to another Special Place of Remembrance.  And contrary to many Media Reports, it is not true that knowledge of the whereabouts of their graves was unknown.  In fact, since this news first broke a few weeks ago, numerous natives have come forward and have made it abundantly clear that they have known all along where these 'unmarked' grave sites are. 

Before I finish, I want to say something about the vilification of our Country's Greatest Statesman, Sir John A. Macdonald.  Simply stated, there would not be a Canada had it not been for him.  Did he support the Residential School System - most certainly, but since the last School was closed in 1996 - so too did all other Prime Ministers up to and including Jean Chretien.  Justin's own father was not only one of those Prime Ministers, he was also a very vocal Proponent of Assimilation.  But the only criticism from the Son is to blame Churches ... especially the Roman Catholic Church. Anger against this Church is rising and as of today some half-dozen of their places of worship have been destroyed by Fire and it seems that as each day goes by another is burnt to the ground.  Added to the sadness of this is that these are where Natives themselves come to pray.  Remember, whatever it turns out actually happened at the Residential Schools ... the Churches were only doing the bidding of the Politicians and Governments of the day.  If it turns out Evil was done - all our Governments - Federal and Provincial and the relevant Church Officials should all apologize and those still living who who were directly involved in any abuse should all be held to account. 

What was done to these innocent children defies words however there is another side to it. Many in Non-Native Society saw a Culture that was broken and this was their attempt to bring Natives into the modern age.  In other words, I believe they were sincere in that belief and I find it quite disingenuous for Progressives today - including our Prime Minister, to cast aspersions on greater men and women than they, from the comfortable perspective of our time.

I have heard and seen Natives in the Media say good things about their time at these Schools, - they attribute their success in life to the education they received there.  But the basic premise remains - it was simply wrong to wrestle these young children away from their parents and we who are living with this today should speak out against what was done. My wife Anne and I can simply not imagine the heartbreak of having had our Children wrestled from us and place in a Residential School.  But with respect to speculation of abuse and how the children died we should await the facts - that is to say - A Well-Funded Arm's Length Independent Inquiry be established forthwith to root out the truth and in so doing find answers to the Three Questions I posed at the beginning of this Blog.

As I See It...

K.D. Galagher