by Jack Locke
Canada is gaining a reputation for being the land of peculiar fishing lodge owners.
First there was Red Green, in the TV comedy series of the same name. Now Richard Henry Bain has taken over the unflattering mantel as Canada’s most well-known lodge owner.
Bain, who is currently under arrest for allegedly murdering two persons outside the hall where Premier Pauline Marois was giving her victory speech, has a very serious problem. Numerous serious problems.
Why he went on a hunting trip in the middle of Montreal is a mystery? Perhaps the court’s psychiatric examination that has only now been ordered will explain his action. I do not know how he could have mistaken the two persons for moose? If his intentions were to rid Quebec of evil separatists, he chose a misguided plan.
According to news reports, the murders were not the actions of one man alone. If Bain’s recent court outbursts are correct, Jesus was the mastermind behind the tragic event.
Now, it is well-known that in Quebec the English are treated like les chiens. Of course, in Quebec, dogs at puppy mills are often treated like the English.
It could make a sane man go mad, no doubt. I myself have considered…moving.
The insanity bred from living in remote areas witnessed weekly on television with Red Green, the fictional character played by Steve Smith, at his Possum Lodge is not so far from reality. The characters on this show were fit to be tied—with duct tape, of course.
Now, the Sûreté du Quebec, Quebec’s national/provincial police, use extra heavy-duty duct tape to bind Bain’s wrists together. Now that Bain’s weapons have been removed from his possession, I do not think such measures are necessary. I could be wrong.
Whether lodge owner Bain was politically motivated or psycho-pathologically motivated is a tough question. The nightgown he was wearing on the night of the fracas is perfectly in keeping with Anglophone tradition. I have seen many a neighbour walking the streets of Westmount at night in their nightgowns.
Of course, most neighbours do not carry their loaded handguns on the streets, thank goodness.
It is very presumptuous for Premier Marois to suggest publicly that Bain was out to get her, to assassinate the leader of the National Assembly. Why would any right-minded fishing lodge owner want to prevent further linguistic bullying in Canada?
With Marois’ inappropriate pronouncements, Bain’s opportunity for a fair trial have all been thrust upon the outhouse floor. It will be interesting to see whether his lawyer asks for a change of venue to, let’s say, Toronto.
His legal council, Elfriede Duclervil, was denied access to her client upon his initial confinement, then surprised when her client spoke to a radio station for half-an-hour while under confinement. Obviously, women are not given equal opportunity at the Possum Lodge, nor at La Belle Province jail.
A fair trial will not be possible for Monsieur Bain. Imagine a jury of 12 Parti Quebecois supporters. If the issues were not so serious, they would be serious.
Now, it seems the Gouvernement du Quebec is going full steam ahead to wipe out any remaining rights or opportunities Anglophones may possess. Bill 101 is not the Charter of the French Language, it is the Charter to defecate on the English. C’est ça.
And Bain has become their bane, a scapegoat, a reason to clamp down on legal dissent.
I cannot imagine what kind of treatment Bain would receive if he were declared unable to stand trial due to mental illness. Oh, the separatists at the mental hospital would have a heyday.
He is a man, but we can change that, if we have to, hehehe.
Lokshtanov 