How do we treat our VETS ?

[George Wallace]

This is shameful and speaks of many problems being faced by older Veterans and the attitudes towards them, as well as some other very serious issues that originate from a very ignorant group of people:

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Dying vet ordered to speak French at hospital

Giuseppe Valiante, QMI Agency
Oct 20, 2013, Last Updated:  2:44 PM ET

MONTREAL -- A 77-year-old Canadian navy veteran dying of cancer and his family say they were treated rudely by a hospital orderly last week because they spoke English.

The orderly at the Hull Hospital near Ottawa allegedly snapped at the family of patient John Gervais when he asked to use the bathroom.

Gervais' wife, Iris, told QMI Agency that the orderly had been rough with her husband and rude to the family, and he became particularly hostile after liquid from a bedside tray dripped onto the orderly's shoes.

"(The orderly) said: 'This isn't a hotel. I don't speak English; This is Quebec,'" said Iris Beeler-Gervais.

"You just don't treat people like that," Beeler-Gervais told QMI on Sunday.

Steve Long, Gervais' son-in-law, told QMI Agency that he arrived at the hospital shortly after the initial argument between his family and the orderly.

Long said he confronted the hospital worker.

"Speak to me in French! This is Quebec!" was the reply from the orderly, Long said.

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

Paint and tar a Province and make it seem like we, as a Country, do this to our Vets because of one asshole??

Get a grip George,

 

[George Wallace]

Paint and tar a Province and make it seem like we, as a Country, do this to our Vets because of one asshole??

Get a grip George,

I am not painting a province.  I am painting a group of people who have the impression that they are superior to the ROC and want to separate, not thinking that the Cree, for instance, may also want to separate from them.  They are usually people who have never left the province of Quebec and have very narrow mindsets.  Thankfully, many in the province do not agree with their beliefs.  It is that minority who poison the whole matter. 

But thanks Bruce for thinking that the whole province is to blame, not that ignorant group of people.

 

[krimynal]

I am not painting a province.  I am painting a group of people who have the impression that they are superior to the ROC and want to separate, not thinking that the Cree, for instance, may also want to separate from them.  They are usually people who have never left the province of Quebec and have very narrow mindsets.  Thankfully, many in the province do not agree with their beliefs.  It is that minority who poison the whole matter. 

But thanks Bruce for thinking that the whole province is to blame, not that ignorant group of people.

My whole family is from Quebec , and some of them wants to separate , some of them don't , and to be honest , I feel ashamed of that , I'm someone who think Canada is a great country and I want to say I'm a proud CANADIAN , wether its a French Speaking Canadian or an English Speaking Canadian , I'm still Canadian.

I'm sorry for this vet who encounter a lunatic selfminded prick .... but it happens , its sad , but it does !

 

[Jarnhamar]

Would have been pleasant to read that the orderly got the full bedpan in the face.

They have an online poll whether or not the orderly should be suspended.


yes  98.16%  (1,336 votes)
No  0.81%  (11 votes) 
Maybe  1.03%  (14 votes) 

 

[jollyjacktar]

The Ordely was acting like a douche, that goes without saying.  Job loss for being a douchebag?  No.  I'm sure he'd be a dick in both official languages anyhow.

An administrative kick in the goolies as a lesson?  That punishment would more fit the crime.  Why does everyone seem to think that heads must roll, or a lawsuit must be started at the drop of a hat nowadays? 

 

[Jarnhamar]

Sorry I wrote fired I meant face suspension.

 

[George Wallace]

......  Why does everyone seem to think that heads must roll, or a lawsuit must be started at the drop of a hat nowadays?

Good question.  There is one case that sticks in my mind: the Federal Civil Servant who sued Air Canada because they would not serve him a "7 Up" when he asked for it in whatever the French words for "seven up" would be, not the product name.  But who counts the number of trivial cases facing the courts today, be it Language or Human Rights.  :

 

[Goose15]

I completely agree that the orderly's behaviour at the hospital was despicable. I also agree that there is definitely an issue with how some people treat Veterans. However, I do not believe that this is one of those situations. After reading not only the posted article but others as well; it seems to me that this occurrence could have occurred with anyone not specifically a veteran. In fact in the other articles the reason they mention he is a veteran is a point that they coupled with him being bilingual.

 

[Fishbone Jones]

Perhaps a little education for the misguided soul.

He needs to be taught that he has a choice to speak whichever language he likes because of that veteran and those like him.

Most of the Quebec separatist, like this guy, are bred from a one sided history based on a total ignorance of Canadian history, stoked by self absorbed racists as found in their own provincial government.

However, I have no problem with this guy losing his job, and losing any chance at a subsequent government posting if he's a self entitled, arrogant, separatist asshole.

 

[jeffb]

How do we know he's a separatist. Is being a militant franco and a nationalist mutually exclusive?

 

[krimynal]

as long as we don't put all the french people in one basket , Ill be fine with the comments ha ha !

 

[Fishbone Jones]

How do we know he's a separatist. Is being a militant franco and a nationalist mutually exclusive?

Parse it however you want.

Once he became a public servant he gave up the right to treat his clients like a self absorbed asshole.

 

[PPCLI Guy]

Parse it however you want.

Once he became a public servant he gave up the right to treat his clients like a self absorbed asshole.

If a hospital orderly, who probably gets paid $12 an hour, is a "public servant", then so is the cleaner at the airport.

George - your rush to a high dudgeon makes me think that if you were a Franco from Quebec, you might actually be that guy.

 

[Jungle]

George - your rush to a high dudgeon makes me think that if you were a Franco from Quebec, you might actually be that guy.

Well said... if the same incident happened (a hospital orderly treating a Veteran, or any other terminal patient, with disrespect) but without the language angle, the media would not have picked it up and George would not care.

Just like nobody (that includes George) cared when my wife and I were treated with disrespect by ignorant Anglos a few times when posted in Petawawa. But we understand that nobody has a monopoly on stupid. George just has a hate-on for anything French...

 

[George Wallace]

Thank you Bruce.

I see this has spiraled out of control because of your assumption, right off the start, that I was damning all Quebecers for the actions of a person who belongs to an ignorant group of people (who do not make up a majority).  Had I wanted to condemn all Quebecers, I would have written such.  You made that assumption. 

Jungle is correct; there are just as many ignorant Anglos whose similar actions tarnish the name of English Canadians.  Again an ignorant group of people who do not make up the majority. 

This all distracts from the whole theme of this thread; that we are seeing Veterans in hospitals and nursing homes not necessarily getting the best of care. 

 

[Goose15]

This all distracts from the whole theme of this thread; that we are seeing Veterans in hospitals and nursing homes not necessarily getting the best of care.

I acknowledge the fact that there are many Veterans in hospitals and nursing homes who are not receiving the best care and the fact that they are receiving this treatment after serving Canada is awful. However, this seems to be more a general service issue than a Veterans issue. The fact that our Veterans do not get the best treatment they deserve in these situations is awful. However, this treatment happens to non-veterans just the same as it does Veterans and they do not deserve anything less than the best in the same situation as well.

 

[Dissident]

Most of the Quebec separatist, like this guy, are bred from a one sided history based on a total ignorance of Canadian history

As a recovering Frenchman who grew up in Quebec as part of a separatist family, I sadly, could not agree with you more.

 

[Old Sweat]

The patient's son-in-law was interviewed in length of CFRA. A couple of things came out, including that the orderly's rude behaviour continued for several minutes, and was directed at several members of the family. Also, the patient's wife, who was berated a number of times, did not consider it a French-English issue as opposed to abuse of a patient and his family. Finally, a nurse approached the family and offered to testify as a witness.

 

[Jungle]

As a recovering Frenchman who grew up in Quebec as part of a separatist family, I sadly, could not agree with you more.

I also agree, and I grew up in a partly separatist family, in a mostly separatist region. Québec, as a province and as a people, has it's issues, but I am not willing to wash dirty laundry here.

The patient's son-in-law was interviewed in length of CFRA. A couple of things came out, including that the orderly's rude behaviour continued for several minutes, and was directed at several members of the family. Also, the patient's wife, who was berated a number of times, did not consider it a French-English issue as opposed to abuse of a patient and his family. Finally, a nurse approached the family and offered to testify as a witness.

Looks like some reasonable people are making use of common sense here... are we going to debate the first language of the nurse now ??

Don't get me wrong, I am a staunch defender of the 2 official languages, and I disagree with bill 101; people should be free to speak the language of their choice everywhere, especially one of the official ones. But it has to apply to everyone, coast to coast. This is why I am also a supporter of bilingualism.