The Hon. Dalton McGuinty
Premier of Ontario
The Hon. Gerry Phillips
Chair of the Cabinet and Minister without Portfolio
Queen’s Park, Ontario
Sirs:
It has come to our attention that speeches delivered at the Ontario Government-hosted reception, on Thursday, September 18, 2008, for the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly delegates, were interpreted simultaneously only into Russian and not into any other language.
This news is of serious concern for our community and other ethnic communities in Ontario. We would kindly like answers to the following questions.
• Why was Russian chosen as the only language to which interpretation was provided?
• Was it assumed that all central and eastern European delegates speak Russian? Why not Finnish, Spanish, Serbo-Croatian or any other language? Why not French, Canada’s official other language?
• Did this decision originate from the government or civil service?
At the very least, most delegates from Central and Eastern Europe were deeply offended. During the politically tense atmosphere following the Russian invasion of Georgia and Moscow’s unilateral recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhaasia as independent states, it was an insult for these delegates to realize that governments in the west consider the Russian language to be the lingua franca of the region.
May we respectfully request answers to these questions promptly.
Sincerely,
The Estonian Central Council in Canada
EKN. Open Letter: (17)
Eestlased Kanadas | 24 Sep 2008 | EWR
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Don't worry anonymous! Although there are a few times when Maxim says things that actually make sense, (and I do grant him that there HAVE been a few times) most of the time we look at his comments in the same way we look at another frequent commentator's comments, in somewhat an uncomfortable way, as we look at those with mental instabilities that we pity, but wish they wouldn't talk to us on the street corner.
Thank you Anna Nüüm for your support. It means a lot to me because, at times, I feel alone in responding to Maxim's irrational attacks on the Estonian people, both at home and abroad.
I'm incapable of ignoring him because he belittles the people that are very dear to me.
Proudly, I've brought many of my non-Estonian friends to see 'The Singing Revolution' and without exception they agree that to be Estonian is a matter for great pride. Maxim thinks that we're genetically inferior to Russians.
Maxim is insane and, for that reason, he can't leave us alone. His education extends to John Lennon singing, "Back in the USSR...you don't know how lucky you are..."
More than twenty years ago, Maxim moved from Toronto to the Estonian SSR with a big chip on his shoulder and, after all that time, he still can't forget us or leave us alone.
He fancies himself a writer, but he can't speak a language and he's never found a publisher. Pretty much any idiotic idea can get published somewhere, so long as it's coherent; but, saying something like, "we stand today on the threshold of change that only seems to be light years away", wont cut it with any publisher, anywhere. So, Maxim crowds his way into this open-to-all space with the belief that he's entitled to monopolize it. And for what? To degrade us and display his deformities with the expectation that we will all watch in silence.
I'm incapable of ignoring him because he belittles the people that are very dear to me.
Proudly, I've brought many of my non-Estonian friends to see 'The Singing Revolution' and without exception they agree that to be Estonian is a matter for great pride. Maxim thinks that we're genetically inferior to Russians.
Maxim is insane and, for that reason, he can't leave us alone. His education extends to John Lennon singing, "Back in the USSR...you don't know how lucky you are..."
More than twenty years ago, Maxim moved from Toronto to the Estonian SSR with a big chip on his shoulder and, after all that time, he still can't forget us or leave us alone.
He fancies himself a writer, but he can't speak a language and he's never found a publisher. Pretty much any idiotic idea can get published somewhere, so long as it's coherent; but, saying something like, "we stand today on the threshold of change that only seems to be light years away", wont cut it with any publisher, anywhere. So, Maxim crowds his way into this open-to-all space with the belief that he's entitled to monopolize it. And for what? To degrade us and display his deformities with the expectation that we will all watch in silence.
It's proof positive that, Anonymous, that you have very little practical knowledge of the workings of Estonian life. To suggest the things you flout in your air of superiority, when Estonian estonians know full well who is who over here is not really a mission about preaching to the converted. Most people in Estonia would find your comments naive and conservative, lacking understanding of the changes taking place in the land of your forefathers. I don't shy one iota from any of my comments here, because anyone living in Estonia knows and believes these things to contain a truth that is beyond reasonable argument. You can continue writing as you wish, but even you should be only too aware that there are numerous gaps in your thinking. Let's invite Daniel Shaer to offer his opinion as well, since he is a man only too well informed about Estonian events. Danny...get into gear and give this folk a lesson about Estonian-Russian past and present relations.
Eestlased Kanadas
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