Well I see that Denis Lebel, Stephen Harper's Quebec lieutenant, has been forced to beat a humiliating retreat.
After trying to rename Montreal's Champlain Bridge after the famous hockey player Maurice "Rocket" Richard.
Only to fail miserably.
The replacement for the Champlain Bridge will not bear the name of Montreal Canadiens hockey legend Maurice Richard. Federal Infrastructure Minister Denis Lebel made the announcement in Quebec City Thursday morning.
But not before trying to blame others for that absurd idea.
“I find it sad that we’ve put two giants of our history in competition with each other,” said Lebel. “That was absolutely not our goal.”
Not before doing the Cons enormous damage in that province.
The plan – including a formal announcement to be made on Dec. 9, a corny wink to the Rocket’s jersey number – raised a furious torrent of protest from the moment it was leaked to La Presse. Nearly every commentator in the mainstream Quebec media, including the populist tabloids, rose to Champlain’s defence.
News outlets have been flooded with angry letters from readers, insulted by what they see as a crude grasp for votes and an unbearable sign of contempt from the Conservatives.
Not before embarrassing the Richard family.
Even the Richard family appeared embarrassed by the controversy. The Rocket’s children said they were pleased with the honour bestowed on their father but were reluctant to be in the centre of the storm.
And sullying the sacred memory of the great Rocket himself...
Mr. Richard himself would have hated this; he was a modest man who always refused to be seen as a symbol and ferociously stayed away from politics.
And the only surprising thing is that a writer like Lysiane Gagnon would be so naive.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper knows all this. He’s a hockey buff, but he’s also a lover of history.
I wouldn’t be surprised if he overturns this absurd decision, if only to put an end to a controversy that’s already severely hurt his Conservative Party in Quebec.
When who does she think came up with the idea? But Great Hockey Leader himself.
Oh boy. Stephen Harper, not a lover of history.
Not a great leader, just a small grubby one.
And in Quebec at least heading for oblivion...
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8 comments:
Is Harper really a hockey buff, or only thinks he is?
Will he invite hockey players to join him on stage during next year's election campaign? Gretzky no doubt will:
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/canada-politics/harper-receives-high-praise-from-wayne-gretzky-163808977.html
What hockey players would consider appearing with Mulcair? Trudeau? May?
I live thousands of miles from Quebec and I am not a francophone, but I consider Champlain a great explorer and a good man and I don't like hockey pushed at me. I actually don't like the game at alI. I thought it was the worst idea I had ever heard and I am sure it was the great idiot's idea. Thank goodness it fell through.
WHY do "people" want to change everything????? Hmmmmmmmmm..........
The only way to rectify this clusterfeck is for Harper to build a High Speed Rail between Montreal and Toronto and name it the Maurice Richard Rocket Railway.
Hi David...I don't think Harper is a hockey buff. He simply uses the game to make himself look more Canadian, even as he sells us out to foreign interests. As for Gretzky he's just a retired milionaire so what do you expect?
hi anonymous...I have always been fascinated with the story of the great French explorers and Champlain was the greatest of them all. I even spent part of a summer looking for the grave of Étienne Brûlé, the teenager Champlain left with the Algonquin to learn their language and their culture, which has to be one of the great Canadian stories, even if it did end badly...
hi Kathleen...I have no idea why the Cons would even think of changing the name of that bridge. I can only imagine that it must have come from the diseased minds of the freaks in the PMO, who obviously know nothing about Quebec culture, and how proud they are of their roots. Con clownery strikes again...
hi steve...well I'm all in favour of that. I would give anything for a high speed rail line between Toronto and Montreal. Right now although I usually take the train, I sometimes forced to take Porter airways which I hate, because the train trip is just too long...
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