Plains of Abraham re-enactment scrubbed (1 Viewer)

[general_btsherman]

Hey guys,
I just found this article on Canada.com stating that the 250th re-enactment of the Plains of Abraham is being canceled. Here is the article:

Plains of Abraham re-enactment scrubbed
By Ken Meaney, Canwest News ServiceFebruary 18, 2009

The National Battlefield Commission bowed to opposition from Quebec sovereigntist groups Tuesday and cancelled plans to re-enact the Battle of the Plains of Abraham at the site of the conflict in Quebec City this summer.

Commission chairman Andre Juneau said Tuesday the re-enactment portion of events planned to mark the battle--a turning point in French-English relations in Canada -- was dropped because the commission couldn't "guarantee the safety of the public."

Juneau said the plan was distorted by opponents and was the subject of "veiled threats of violence."

The re-enactment had been planned as part of the 250th anniversary celebrations--from July 30 to Aug. 1 -- of the pivotal battle in the French-British struggle for North America. But sovereigntist groups, such as Le Reseau de Resistance du Quebecois, led a vocal campaign against it and threatened to bring out hundreds of demonstrators to disrupt the event. Juneau said the re-enactment was wrongly portrayed as a celebration.

"It was never the intention of the commission to recall the events of 1759-60 as a pretext for a party or celebration," Juneau insisted at a Quebec City news conference.

"Is is an extremely painful page in our history,"he said, noting the commission is mounting historic expositions and a book about the war and siege that led to the battle.

The outcry against the re-enactment caught the commission by surprise.

The battle has been re-enacted three times before, most recently in 2004,luring thousands of tourists to the provincial capital.

But it has become a flashpoint in Quebec, where it is seen as the beginning of assimilation into the English majority.

Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe and Parti Quebecois Leader Pauline Marois supported le Reseau de Resistance in its opposition to the re-enactment, calling it disrespectful.

But federal Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff lamented the debate surrounding the re-enactment of the battle was hijacked by sovereigntists.

"What I don't like, frankly, is that sovereigntists are trying to dominate a free debate. As someone who likes Canada and knows a thing or two about its history, I want to have my say," Ignatieff told reporters at a separate event in Quebec City.

He said he isn't for or against the re-enactment, but stressed any commemoration of this "defeat and tragedy" would need to be dignified.

© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald

 

[Capitolron]

All I can say is .... Give Me a Break !

 

[Scott]

I found this message on a Rev-War Reenactor Yahoo Group I belong to.
Some Rev-War guys do F&I too.The Civil War Reenactors are discussing it as well.

The message was also in French

"Greetings all,
It is with a heavy heart that I put pen to paper.
The National Battlefield Commission (NBC) will announce at 10:30 this morning that the event the 250th Anniversary of the Plains of Abraham will be cancelled.
Due to the continued threats towards the disruption of the event and its volunteer participants, NBC met with the RCMP, Provincial and city police to determine if it would be possible to supply security for 5 days 24/7. Since it was felt that the safety of everyone involved was of the utmost importance to all, the answer was that security could not be guaranteed.We were informed today, that with deep regret, they had no choice but to come to this conclusion.
We have a representative at the news conference to deliver the following on behalf of the QHC:

It is with deep regret that we face the cancellation of the re-enactment portion of the commemoration of the battles of the Plains of Abraham and of Sainte-Foy. We understand the reasoning behind the cancellation and we fully support the National Battlefields Commission in its decision. The Quebec Historical Corps cannot in good conscience allow thousands of dedicated volunteers, not to mention spectators and staff, to potentially put themselves in harm's way by participating in an event which has been the subject of threats of disruption and even violence. While we respect people's differences of opinion, we find it abhorrent that any faction would resort to such measures. It is most unfortunate that the extremist reactions of the few should impede the education and enjoyment of the many.

Horst Dresler,
Corps historique du Quebec"
__________________

 

[chenko123]

All I can say is .... Give Me a Break !

Although i understand what you are trying to say, it's not quite that simple,

The french/english debate is a rather touchy subject in Canada, ESPECIALLY in Quebec,

There are groups and political parties who still wish to seperate from the rest of Canada, so it's just a bit more complicated than "Give Me a Break"

oh well, "is what it is" i suppose

 

[mk26gmls]

I suppose our French brothers don't like to be reminded of their losses.....

It is a shame that it did get axed. I really want to visit Quebec one day.

 

[Scott]

I suppose our French brothers don't like to be reminded of their losses............

I was just looking this up because they were supposed to do this battle reenactment to.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Quebec_(1760)

The Battle of Sainte-Foy, sometimes called the Battle of Quebec, was fought on April 28, 1760 in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada during the Seven Years' War (called the French and Indian War in the United States). It was a victory for the French under the Chevalier de Lévis over the British army under General Murray. When compared to the Battle of the Plains of Abraham of the previous September, this battle proved to be a much bloodier affair in terms of the total number of casualties incurred by both sides - 833 French casualties to 1,124 British casualties. It was the last French victory of the French and Indian War.

 

[mk26gmls]

That was just a little joke. Yeah, I don't understand why this is such an issue. Of course I am not a Canadian or French.

 

[general_btsherman]

Although i understand what you are trying to say, it's not quite that simple,

The french/english debate is a rather touchy subject in Canada, ESPECIALLY in Quebec,

There are groups and political parties who still wish to seperate from the rest of Canada, so it's just a bit more complicated than "Give Me a Break"

oh well, "is what it is" i suppose

I never realized these political issues existed in Canada. But that’s not any reason to threaten violence. I guess that there is some talk of moving the re-enactment somewhere else. I say move it to the US. I would also like to visit Quebec and I was thinking of going to the re-enactment. Now I’m going to think twice before visiting.

 

[debrito]

I suppose our French brothers don't like to be reminded of their losses.....

It is a shame that it did get axed. I really want to visit Quebec one day.

It is a bizarre thing. This was 250 years ago and it was the French who loose the war, not Les Québécois.

I say that because IMHO Québécois is not French at all.

They have French names, language and they are Catholics, there are more Québécois decent from Irish and Indian-native people than French. In the colonial period (18th Century) only 11 000 French people came to La Nouvelle France and most of then were sailors from Basque Country, Normandy and Bretagne with a different dialect

My Definition of a Québécois is:

An English (because they live in a Commonwealth Country, Canada), who speaks French whit American Culture, nothing to do with France and Europe. In Quebec we play Hockey, Football, baseball and they call European football (like anybody in North America,) SOCCER

Cheers.

 

[chenko123]

I never realized these political issues existed in Canada. But that’s not any reason to threaten violence. I guess that there is some talk of moving the re-enactment somewhere else. I say move it to the US. I would also like to visit Quebec and I was thinking of going to the re-enactment. Now I’m going to think twice before visiting.

well it sure do,

LOL, there is no reason not to visit, not like there is a "WAR" going on, just politically it's a touchy subject,

there is some great history in Quebec, Montreal is a great city, lots of history great cultural diversity,

don't let some radical group dissuade you from visiting (although backed and supported by a provincial and federal political party, as the above quotes mentioned)

i was just merely pointing out to Ron that it's not that simple, that's all

 

[general_btsherman]

Maybe they should move the reenactment next to a Molson or Labatt’s brewery. Now that would be a great reenactment.

 

[debrito]

Maybe they should move the reenactment next to a Molson or Labatt’s brewery. Now that would be a great reenactment.

Always someone will complain. Beer is an English thing…..in la Nouvelle France they used to drink wine and cider (grapes or apples) after the British take over they forbidden the Cider and introduced Beer.

Guys, I don’t complain or even try to underestimate Them, I am married with a Québécoise and I am very happy with 2 children half Brazilian and other half Québécois, but sometime is very annoying see all these going on.

Cheers again

 

[Scott]

I know...I was just showing off my "mad" researching skills.

 

[Combat]

There are some people who will complain about anything. It's up to the politicians to have common sense on when to listen. Besides, the French could win this time.

 

[mikemiller1955]

How many guys do we need?

Maybe we can do this ourselves.

:

I don't think so.

 

[marco55]

People in this world today need to get over what happened hundreds of years ago.I'm very interested in colonial Canada and America in the 17th and 18th century.All the people that were involved in conflicts and rivaleries during that time are DEAD.The French and the Canadiens fought well but lost.The French crown gave up Canada for a couple islands in the West Indies.The British treated the Canadiens fairly when they took over (Not the Acadians).These people in Quebec are still mad that the British took over.Do they want them to leave?Well if that's the case they should leave too as this was once Indian land.Grow up a move on to the future.
Mark

 

[ssorc1]

Being a Canadian and growing up in a city and province that was 50% french regarding it's inhabitants: schools, language (French is mandatory in Canadian schools and Government jobs), certain areas of the city only recognized French etc. etc. I am not surprised at all. It would be akin to the French re-enacting Waterloo, or the British re-enacting Ticondergoa for a more closely-related example. The French, though not the first Canadians by far claim this land as their own as far back as Cartier and before even. The British came, conquered and "won it fair and square" (or as fair as force allows - ask an Acadian how they feel about it) but it doesn't remove the resentment - think Middle East, Gaza strip, Palestine etc. Yeah they could have just bit their lip but this is not a new issue. Every election the French want to split from Canada - though I wish them good luck supporting themselves - and we have had our own internal terrorism over the French/English ownership debate as near as the early 70's. All I know is we finally have a western Prime Minister - one of the first I believe in a long while and we are happy with that. Quebec is a beautiful city with an amazing amount of history and should be seen for that, politics aside. They handed the English their collective ***** many times during the FIW, maybe they can celebrate one of those victories instead and we can all go, have a great time and see some exciting history unfold. Cheers, ssorc1