It is always a pleasure for me to address the Côte Saint-Luc Men's Club, as well oiled a machine as you will find headed by president Sidney Margles. While many of their members are presently enjoying the life of Snowbirds in Florida, they still bring in a pretty impressive crowd for the winter.
I was there wearing my different hats: city councillor in CSL for District 2; communications and marketing specialist for the English Montreal School Board; and columnist/features writer/blogger for The Suburban, The Jewish Tribune and a number of other publications. I asked Syd Wise, long time educator and school commissioner for Côte Saint-Luc to join me.
It was nice to see former Mayor Bernard Lang and former city councillor Henry Marcovitz in attendance. The meeting began with a summary of the last gathering, a preview of programs to come, a bowling league update and some jokes by Mr. Margles.
I took to the stage first, sharing with the members the new portfolios Mayor Anthony Housefather has assigned to me: Library and Culture and Animal Protection. This goes along with Sponsorship, which I maintain and some special events like the CSL Golf Classic and Maisons Fleuries.
Looking out into the audience, I urged members to consider adopting a cat. We have many gorgeous/homeless kittens looking for families. They do make the greatest of pets. No need to walk them. They do their business in a litter box and you can leave them food to aportion as they wish on a given day.
I told the members about Inspirations, a special needs newspaper I publish with great pride. The extra copies I brought were all scooped up and there is now interest to have our managing editor back with some experts to talk in the spring.
There is a provincial election coming and I expressed my deep concern over Philippe Couillard's performance as leader of the Quebec Liberal Party. I remember just a couple of years back, then Quebec Finance Minister Raymond Bachand addressing the Men's Club. His fellow MNA Lawrence Bergman brought him along. Lawrence was right on in supporting Bachand for the Liberal leadership when Jean Charest stepped down. Had more Liberals followed his actions, I believe Bachand would have given the PQ government a run for their money.
I concluded on Bill 60, the Quebec Charter of Values, expressing my shock and dismay how such racist legislation could end up becoming the springboard for the PQ to be on the verge of a majority government. The EMSB took a courageous stand, thanks to the initiative of Syd Wise. We declared that we would never implement such a Charter, forcing staff to remove religious symbols, be it a kippa, hijab, a star of David or a crucifix. I was in Quebec City for the hearings on Bill 60, when Minister Bernard Drainville tried his best to bully Chairman Angela Mancini. He did not succeed. We stood tall.
School board elections will take place next November and I think it is now clear why people need to go out and vote. The EMSB proved how we are much more than a school board; we are a representative body for the entire English community.
Syd Wise stepped to the podium next and explained why he felt the EMSB could not remain silent in this debate. He precipitated the original strongly worded resolution condemning Bill 60. Later on, he proposed the motion which declared that if Bill 60 is ever adopted, the EMSB would not apply it."If we did not stand up, then who would?" he asked rhetorically.
