Duke 6.5

Duke is taking advantage of his recovery. I wonder if I can get him qualified for "burnout" leave, which is offered in Quebec if a person is stressed out on the job (this is true...employees are eligible for three weeks PAID burnout leave if a doctor says so). All that time chasing squirrels in the back yard and he's burned out.

When politics crosses the (goal) line

Montreal and the rest of Quebec is all a-buzz with the news of the firing of the Montreal Canadiens coach (a French dude) and the hiring of an interim coach by the name of Randy Cunneyworth. He's a unilingual anglophone -- a fancy way of saying he doesn't speak French.

Cunneyworth comes with great credentials and he was hired from within the Canadiens organization. Everyone should be happy, yes?

Of course not. Now the government is involved and suggesting the team get rid of this unilingual anglophone and instead hire someone who speaks French. They really don't care if he speaks English, as is the case with many people in Quebec, just that he speaks their language.

Separatist groups (the crazies who really do want to separate and have their own country) are insulted and calling for a boycott of Molson beer (the family owns the Canadiens). Personally, I see it as an idle threat because they probably don't drink the beer anyway.

Unfortunately, under Cunneyworth's leadership of three days, they have lost two games. The interesting element will be if he starts winning, will he be worthy? 

Our good friend Mark Kirstein emailed us today and said it best....

"Ok sell the house get back to Blackhawk country. When there is a damn near civil war over the Canadien coach not speaking French it truly has gone too far. And when that shit takes space on my sports page {Chicago Tribune} it is even worse."

Because it's the law

Nothing says "obey the language laws" like making sure a protest is bilingual.

Hannah comes to Canada

Five days...two provinces, three major cities, a little league baseball game, an historical tour, lots of meals out, discovering a new house, tolerating a neurotic dog and keeping an aunt, uncle, two cousins and a mom and dad on their toes...that was our wonderful visit with our beautiful niece Hannah. And of course her parents. We like them too. It was awesome to watch my baby brother, whose diapers I once changed, be a dad. We are so proud of John and Stephanie. While their 16 months with sweet Hannah has not been typical and they have faced hurdles that would make many parents crash and burn, they have taken Hannah's difficulties, focused on her abilities, (which there are MANY) and have become the best parents a child could ever ask for.

We love it when we have visitors. It's a great chance to see the place we live through new eyes. And this was a particular monumental visit since Hannah was traveling to Canada for the first time. For us it was enlightening to watch a 16-month old and her parents....how time flies. Hannah has some respiratory issues so we were quickly taken back to our days with Louis and nebulizer treatments every few hours. It's good for us to see how far Louis has come. And for Louis it was a great time to hang out with his Uncle John who happens to be one of his favorite people. He was thrilled to have his uncle at his baseball games and took some pointers from John, while Hannah was entertained and watched with enthusiasm.

We spent a day in Ottawa at Louis' baseball game and walking around the city. I love this city. It's very regal and a mix of old and new. Danielle joined us for the day.

A quick night at home was followed by a road trip to Quebec City. As many of said, this is the closest to a European feeling and we have to remind ourselves we are in North America. We had a great time walking the city, eating, embracing ourselves in history for a tour (Louis got to play hooky, Danielle had to stay behind for school). It was a wonderful time. Hannah was a rockstar! John was most entertained by the rude, aggressive drivers we experienced while trying to leave the city at rush hour. He opened is window yelling "douche bag" to one driver. I had to laugh when I told him that there are some things that just don't translate and in French, douche means shower, so he just called that dude a shower bag.

Our last day we spent quickly touring Montreal...with drives to the schools to show Uncle John and Aunt Stephanie where Louis and Danielle get their Quebec education. While in Montreal, John was quite patient when an old French guy gave him hell for not speaking french when he asked John a question and he responded with "no hablo fran-say."

We had some time at home and an adult dinner out which was appropriately capped off with Duke getting sprayed by a skunk at 10 pm. For John and Kish, it was just like old times in Arizona.

We had an amazing five days and can't wait to see the Colorado Schmitz family again!

"I'm almost fluent" word of the day 9.7.11

bureaucracy 

a system of government in which most of the important decisions are made by state officials rather than by elected representatives.

• a state or organization governed or managed according to such a system.

• the officials in such a system, considered as a group or hierarchy.

• excessively complicated administrative procedure, seen as characteristic of such a system : the unnecessary bureaucracy in local government.

ORIGIN early 19th cent.: from French bureaucratie, from bureau (see bureau, -cracy ).


Now we really understand the origin of the word. 

Politics as usual

I saw this spruced up political poster in downtown Montreal last night and it made me laugh for a number of reasons. They like to stir things up in Quebec too. I can't figure out the exact translation but I think it has something to do with this dude being a con. If I could vote I would do everything I could to make sure the Bloc is not well represented in Parliament.

Quebec politics....almost as interesting as the recent ridiculous, racially-driven birth certificate dilemma in the U.S. The Bloc Quebecois here is the political party that wants to separate from the rest of Canada and make the entire province exclusively French speaking (even at the risk of losing business and residents) and it's own country. They came very close in the mid 1990s and they are gearing up again.

So Monday is election day here in Canada. All we can do is sit back and watch what happens and where our tax dollars will go....even though we really have no say since we can't vote. We can only be entertained. See, Canada is not that different from the U.S.

Only in Quebec

After over two years of living in Quebec, we finally received a copy of our benefits in English -- supplemental healthcare insurance, life insurance, dental and all that fun stuff. While reading the fine print on the Optional Life Insurance it was oh so entertaining to read..

"If you are employed in Quebec you must also pay 9% provincial sales tax on the monthly premium."

Yes folks, we pay taxes on everything...we even have to pay sales tax to the tax preparer. 

We're getting milked

I've written in the past (click here) about how confusing it was when we first moved to Montreal when it came to buying milk. I had no idea what to do. And I didn't want to ask. Danielle would come home from school and tell me how "it" worked. I have the process covered now, but each and every time I go to the super market it gets me angry. I will never, ever, complain about the price of dairy in the U.S. again. This is crazy! As you can see from the article below, I'm not the only one. The scoop is -- we pay just about $6 a gallon for milk in our area. Yup! And we have to work for it -- putting the darn plastic bags in the pitcher and all that. Really, that's not a big deal, but it's not like we're paying a lot for packaging. 

We've been spending quite a bit of time in the Eastern Townships of Quebec where we ski each weekend. It's a short ride over the border to Vermont. You know how in the U.S. you don't want to do your food shopping at a 7-11 or White Hen because you know you are paying more for convenience? Well, those prices are bargains for us. It's sad when I walk into a Vermont convenience store and feel like I've won the lottery by stocking up on gallons of milk (in plastic containers), chicken, butter and cheese and actually saved money. We always stop at a super market in the U.S. and pick up a turkey or two -- just your average bird can cost $50-$60. Pork is reasonable and then of course there's always rabbit or lamb. (Interestingly, I just read over that post and I thought it was crazy when we were paying 95 cents/litre for gas). Oh, and I can fill up the car with gas on the way home and save a bundle there too -- seriously -- the gas prices yesterday were $1.27 a litre -- with almost four litres to the gallon you can do the math. It's not uncommon for those prices to fluctuate 10 cents/litre from one day to the next so it's a gamble whenever we decide to buy gas in Quebec. We're all about supporting the local economy and all, but this is just crazy.

Quebecers get milked as price increases

Retail price here 40% higher than in rest of Canada

BY ALISON MACGREGOR, THE GAZETTE FEBRUARY 1, 2011

MONTREAL - Quebec families will be hit with higher grocery bills this week, as the retail price of milk increased an average of four cents a litre across the province Monday.

A four-litre package of two-per-cent milk now retails for as much as $7.67 after the increase - significantly more than what consumers pay in other provinces.

While four cents might not seem like a lot, Quebecers have been paying higher milk prices for years and a further increase will put an even bigger strain on consumers' budgets.

Over a year-long period, paying more for milk can have a significant financial impact on a family with growing children.

Canada's Food Guide recommends drinking two cups - 500 millilitres - of milk a day as part of a healthy diet. According to this guide, that would mean a family of four should consume 14 litres of milk per week - or 3 1/2 four-litre bags of two-per-cent milk. At $7.67 per bag, that would work out to a total price of $26.85 per week.

A 2008 Montreal Economic Institute (MEI) study found that a family of four in Quebec paid an extra $300 a year for milk, eggs and poultry as a result of Canada's supply management policies.

Agricultural policy expert Sylvain Charlebois, the author of the aforementioned report, found that the retail price of milk was as much as 40 per cent higher in Quebec than in the rest of Canada.

"Are we penalizing consumers with less means?" asked the associate dean of Guelph University's school of management in an interview. "We are talking about a necessity. For pregnant women, it is really important."

Canada's taxpayer-funded supply management system regulates the production and pricing of milk across the country. Critics argue these policies result in inflated production costs and high retail prices.

A more recent MEI report found the cost of milk production in Canada was the third highest among developed nations, behind only Japan and Norway.

Quebec and Nova Scotia are the only two provinces that regulate the retail price of milk: Nova Scotia sets a minimum retail price; Quebec sets a minimum and maximum retail price.

While consumers deal with the increased price of retail milk; restaurant owners are grappling with a hike in industrial milk prices that took effect Tuesday.

The Canadian Dairy Commission (CDC) has increased the price of industrial milk by 1.5 per cent, to the dismay of many restaurant owners. Industrial milk is used to make cheese, yogurt and ice cream. A price increase means more expensive food staples and increased operating costs for restaurants.

In a recent news release, The Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association (CRFA) urged the CDC not to go through with a price increase.

"Record-high dairy prices and low disposable incomes are already driving consumers to choose other menu items in our restaurants," Garth Whyte, president and CEO of the CRFA said in a statement.

"This price increase will drive dairy consumption down even further."

As for the jump in retail milk prices in Quebec, the head of a prominent consumer group said the price hike was unnecessary.

Cran, president of the Ottawabased Consumers' Association of Canada in an interview.

Pierre Nadeau, president of the Conseil des industriels laitiers du Quebec, which represents the interests of Quebec dairy producers, said the price increase was needed to cover the rising cost of producing milk: running the machinery, covering fuel costs and paying salaries to the employees of milk production firms.

He acknowledged that "consumer groups can be upset at an increase in price."

"As a consumer, I can understand," he said.

"There are costs to bring milk to the population and the cost is increasing. The farm costs are increasing. The processing and distribution costs are increasing. We think (the price increase) is justified and maybe they think it is not -that is simply the way it is."

Charlebois said Quebec dairy industry players need to recognize and react to broad changes in the marketplace -such as the fact that Quebecers "are drinking less and less milk."

In the past, milk was an important part of the traditional Quebec diet, he noted.

But Quebec has become much more multicultural and a significant number of today's consumers are from cultures where milk is not an important part of the diet.

As a result, he said, the dairy industry needs to figure out ways to "increase demand" and develop innovate products to attract consumers.

In 2008, Statistics Canada found the average Canadian drank 57.7 litres of milk in a year, a 12.3 litre drop from 70 litres in 1988.

amacgregor@montrealgazette.com

© Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette

 more:http://www.montrealgazette.com/Quebecers+milked+price+increases/4200378/story.html#ixzz1CzbaHT4y

Off to high school

Yes, technically it's high school. Or Grade 7 or Sec. 1 as it's called here in Quebec. High school starts in grade 7 and runs through grade 11 in Quebec in the public systems. This means Louis is starting at a new school, with new friends (many from his elementary school), a locker, a bit more freedom, a cafeteria and more sports opportunities. He's excited and so are we. We decided on the public school because there really are not many options for special education programs. There is one school in Montreal, however, they are still reviewing applications for 2008. Having Louis in the community is just as important for now.

Education in Quebec is different. Some things we like and some things we don't. Of course, every student needs to take French and a lot of it -- even if they attend an "English" school like our kids do. Another interesting class that all students take throughout their education is called "Ethics and Religious Culture" or ERC for short. It doesn't matter if it's a public or private school, Catholic or not, everyone takes this class. We were recalling when we toured this public school for Danielle back in August 2008 and they were preparing the classes for the first day of classes. We walked by one classroom and there was a box of Bibles outside the room ready to be loaded into the class. We were all "Huh? Not that we have a problem with this, but isn't this a public school?" We were told of course it's public, but the Bible is used in literature classes. We were fine with that.

I attended a Catholic high school in Tucson. My first real exposure to reading the Bible (remember, back in the 70s we didn't necessarily read the Bible) was Genesis in Humanities World Literature and the Book of Job in another Humanities class. It was not part of religion as I recall unless it was the history part. I thought it was interesting and frankly, since we didn't really study the Bible as Catholics, it was good to pick it apart, line by line.

So this ERC curriculum is interesting. Louis brought home his course outline....

The two main objectives of the Ethics and Religious Culture Course are:

• the recognition of others
• the pursuit of a harmonious society

Under the heading of Ethics education, the students will be able to:

• reflect on values and social prescriptions
• appreciate different views of the world and humanity
• have a well-thought out perspective on moral and ethical issues

Under the heading of Religious Culture education, the students will be able to:

• familiarize themselves with Quebec Religious heritage
• be open to religious diversity
• have a well-thought out perspective with respect to religions and new religious movements

The course competencies are:

• Reflects on ethical question
• Demonstrates an understanding of the phenomenon of religion

We're fine with the class. It's a good thing to have open and honest discussion of ethics and religion -- all religions. When we went to Danielle's curriculum night last year and the ERC teacher was going over details of the class, even we were shocked at first. There were getting into some very controversial subjects. In fact, Danielle had to do a debate last year DEFENDING the use of child labor. Of course, it was debate and someone had to be on the "other side" and unfortunately for Danielle it was her. It was difficult for her (because she did a good job). She hated defending something she did not agree with, but at the same time, it was a very valuable experience.

Would this type of curriculum fly in the the US in a public school? Would it make Glenn Beck cry tears of joy (without Vick's VapoRub)? Well, the word Religious is in the title. But, the phenomenon of religion verbiage might throw him off -- although he seems to think everything related to him is a phenomenon, including a bunch of Canada geese flying over his lawn concert. We had Canada geese every October and November flying over our house in Naperville and we called the flyover an alarm clock. Whatever.

Not everyone in Quebec is happy about the ERC curriculum by the way. And when Canadians are upset about an issue -- they can make some noise.  We're okay with it. It's what makes the our kid's education in Quebec unique. It gets us talking at the dinner table. It exposes the kids to dialogue about religious thinking outside of Christianity. What matters most is the dialogue at home anyway. That's where you start to restore honor...or honour.

We're ready for some futbol!

We're ready! We waited a few days to put out our USA flag. June 24th was Fête de la Saint-Jean-Baptiste day in Quebec and well, it's not wise to get all patriotic about other countries (or even Canada) on that day because it tends to piss off upset certain sectors of the Quebec population who would take it as an insult. Seriously, St. Jean Day is a big deal in Quebec and everything was closed...grocery stores, Home Depot, businesses, you name it. We wanted to go out and get some provisions and Paul came home and said he knows how our Jewish friends must feel like on Christmas day. Although, Tim Horton's was open!

So, to avoid conflict, we waited to show our enthusiasm for the World Cup and our home team.

It's amazing that here in Montreal we can watch each and every game on Canadian Broadcasting (CBC) and other stations and in a variety of languages. Seriously, EVERY game. The other day we wanted to watch the USA game and found ourselves watching again on CBC even though we ASSUMED it would be carried on ABC on our US stations (Boston). I guess the ad revenue from General Hospital is too important. We don't get ESPN here, only TSN -- the Canadian version with lots of hockey news and soccer news these days -- so I'm hoping our friends down south at least saw the game on ESPN. Today we noticed the game will be carried on ABC. That's nice of them. We can also watch on CBC and in several different languages.

But here's the irony -- we have a chance to watch all this World Cup coverage and CANADA DOESN'T EVEN HAVE A TEAM. People all over this city have their homes decorated in colours from different countries, flags on cars, jerseys on kids and adults and general enthusiasm everywhere. We hope it's like that in the States. After all, it is the biggest sport in the world -- even bigger than American Football.

A special competition in Quebec

"Disabilities are yet another manifestation of global diversity. Let us always be committed to the fundamental principles of dignity and equality for all human beings."

Kofi A. Annan, Secretary-General, United Nations

Last weekend Louis participated in the Quebec Provincial Special Olympics ski championship -- and earned GOLD in his division. It was an exciting day for Louis, and for us. We're so proud of Louis, his teammates and the volunteers we spent time with each Sunday this winter getting ready for the final competition of the season. We're especially proud of Danielle who also spent her Sundays skiing with Special Olympians when she could have stayed home and slept or Facebooked all day. 

When you have a child with a disability there are times when you feel like you miss out on the "typical" experiences of raising a child -- like getting excited about a report card or grade, or......come to think of it, while sometimes we wonder how things would be if we were typical, as I write this, there's not that much we are missing. We certainly don't miss the politics of kid's sports and there are times we're thankful we don't have to endure tryouts, traveling teams and all that goes with that stuff which seems so important at the time, but in the long run, it is not. We appreciate each and every accomplishment and we don't take things for granted.  Perhaps we've taken on the mantra "it is what it is" and we're enjoying the"12-year-old pre-teenage years before adulthood" stage of raising a child with a disability. We now focus on Louis' abilities and not his disabilities.


While we love participating in Special Olympics, we have always had Louis involved in "normal" sports as well.  I hesitate to say normal, but it is what it is. As most coaches and teammates will attest, there's not a more loyal teammate than Louis. And as a parent, it's been awesome to sit in the stands at events over the last year and a half we've been in Canada and hear the other parents cheering for Louis...as if they know he's working twice as hard as anyone. During a basketball game last week when his team was clearly in the lead, it was the parents on our team yelling "pass the ball to Louis" and cheering him on saying "way to go" each time he handled the ball.  At the same time we refuse to have him labeled as "special" in the games and unlike other teams, we won't let there be provisions and rules against guarding Louis. In other words, he does not receive any special treatment. And by the way, in his playoff game yesterday he had two great steals and his team won the Bantam championship!

Even though it's Special Olympics, don't think it's not competitive. These kids and adults can ski. They can ski so well it's easy to ask, "should they be in this competition?" And they want to win just like any other athlete. They want to stand on the medal stand.  And yes, some get disappointed and that's not bad either as it's also an important life lesson. One athlete at the competition looked like a member of  the Team USA Hockey Team when he received his bronze medal...he really wanted the Gold. 


We're also proud to be Americans when we participate in Special Olympics...knowing the organization was started over 40 years ago in Eunice Kennedy Shriver's backyard and now involves over 3 million athletes in 150 countries. And kudos to the Canadian government for adding $2 million to Special Olympics Canada over the next two years to help enrich the lives of Canadians with intellectual disabilities through sports. 


If there's a Special Olympics competition in your area, anywhere in the world, stop by. Cheer on the athletes. One thing is for sure, at these competitions everyone is cheering for each other. Parents, coaches, athletes, volunteers and fans. These kids (and adults) have to work harder....not just in sports but in life.