English in Quebec was taking more shots this week than Carey Price on a bad night.

The reaction in the French media was bordering on hysteria.


Feeding time at the zoo

I have no idea whether Randy Cunneyworth will help the struggling team win games. But he is quickly learning about la realité Quebecoise.

His hiring probably wasn't well thought out.

Without a shadow of a doubt, the Molsons will hire a bilingual coach when the time comes. And well they should. It's a question of respect.

Let's be honest here. Hockey is a religion but it's also a business. And you don't want to get the customers angry.

Cunneyworth is a rental. So the fever pitch of condemnation was really over the top. It speaks volumes about the political and emotional maturity of many so-called opinion leaders.

The worst part was it just contributed to the growing hostility towards English in Quebec by malcontents.

It was largely but not exclusively led by Quebecor, which is staunchly pro-Canadian, outside of Quebec but feeds on and promotes nationalist outrage inside Quebec. Again, it's business.


Anglo bashing at City Hall

One well-known separatist commentator even managed to get the Holocaust in the same breath as the Anglo coach.So the Habs move just fueled the fire of the growing movement of Anglo bashing.

And the latest, some councillors are now complaining there is too much English at Montreal City Hall.

Perhaps they should study the city flag

There is a Fleur de Lys for the French, a shamrock for the Irish, a thistle for the Scots and and a rose for the English. Yes they all built Montreal. And we all belong here.

Too much English in Montreal? Really? Half a million of us left.


The boogeyman

With sovereignty on life support, the PQ has finally found an issue, the English boogeyman has come back to drive French into the St Lawrence. And so on and so on.

When you ain't got nothing, you got nothing to lose.

And this week the Molsons played right into the hands of those at war with English in Quebec.

Sometimes it feels Quebec is mired in an insoluble situation. A Gordian knot.

Drowning in debt, soaring health costs, high drop out rates inadequate care for the elderly…the list goes on. And all we have are language pit bulls snapping at anything Anglo.


The escalator to nowhere

So perhaps this is a timely symbol for where we are going or not going. This brand new escalator goes absolutely nowhere.

This was supposed to be in the new bus station in the disastrous unfinished Ilot Voyageur Complex.

You paid for it. An escalator not moving. At a standstill. A fitting monument in so many ways.

At this very special time of year, I wish you joy. And I hope you can be surrounded by the ones you love.

That's what it's all about. To everyone, Merry Christmas, Joyeux Noel and Happy Hannukah