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Sorry in advance, this sort of... turned into a wall of text before I noticed.

It might sound strange, but L'histoire du Québec pour les nuls was very well received. It was written by historian Eric Bedard who's well know of the public and whose work is respected. Sociologist Mathieu Bock-Côté says he enjoyed the book. Lionel Groulx's Notre grande aventure is more detailed and focused on the 1535-1760 period. It is an overview. I have learned about history through reading the works of Lionel Groulx (Nos luttes constitutionnelles), journalist Pierre Duchesne's excellent biography in three volumes of Jacques Parizeau who was minister of finances during the first referendum and prime minister during the second. There is also Laurent-Olivier David's Les patriotes de 1837-1838 which covers the attempted revolution of 1837. I recently read professor Guy Laforest's Trudeau and the end of a canadian dream which analyses Trudeau's Machiavellian actions in the aftermath of the first referendum and during the process that lead to the repatriation of the Canadian constitution in 1982 (which included a Charter of rights and an amendment procedure) against Quebec's will in spite of Trudeau's campaign promise to renew federalism in favor of Quebec in the event of a No vote.

Social media is a powerful tool. The mainstream media often favors established institutions. Having parallel networks that spread information can definitely help those who work for change. We've witnessed the same phenomenon but on a smaller scale a couple of years ago during what has come to be called Le printemps érable or Maple spring in somewhat clumsy reference to the Arab spring. It was a very large mainly student-based movement opposed to the government's decision to raise tuition fees and demanded not only that the fees stay the same, but also that the whole philosophy behind the higher education system be reviewed. During months, people took to the streets in protest. My university's faculty of law did not participate in the strike. I wasn't exactly opposed to the raise, but I did oppose the government's intransigent position. I followed social media as much as I could. Gatherings spontaneously happened as people tweeted they were starting a protest at this park or on the corner of those streets. It was beautiful to see the will of the people expressed in such a clear and simple way. A real breathe of fresh air in the morose and grey times of post-referendum national discouragement. It wasn't a nationalist movement. It was a left-wing one. But it was encouraging to see that there were still idealists out with convictions and democratic principles strong enough to keep their opposition to the established order mostly civil and peaceful.

If only I had had more time I would have loved to study literature. I try to read a good classic once in a while. What are you currently reading? I should really learn more about Scottish history. I have very vague notions of a William Wallace being a national hero but I don't think having seen Braveheart is really enough to claim knowing anything about it really! If you have recommendations in history or novels you really like, I'm always looking for new books however big the ''unread'' pile may already be!

(this is gonna be long -- I hope you take the time to read it, as you seemed quite eager for me to clarify my position)

That's not my #1 -- not even close. And an odd assumption for you to make. But I'll briefly address it before moving on to the we're a different people thing.

Canada is one of many nation-states on the planet to successfully host regional multilingualism among its population. Although anglo Canada hasn't adopted French en masse, it remains an entirely workable aspect of the federation. The advanced rates of bilingualism among anglo Quebecers (75%) and franco Quebecers (40%) are encouraging. The relative monolingualism of anglo Canada can be ascribed to the fact that English, globally, is just exponentially more useful than French. A unilingual French speaker simply has drastically reduced mobility and opportunity compared to a unilingual English speaker. That's not "Francophobie!!!", it's just a contemporary condition of a world that's increasingly in touch with itself, and has more-or-less settled on English as a common form of communication. Those of us who are bilingual are undeniably the most privileged of all. So, lucky Quebec. That could be a real advantage, moving forward (rather than a threat, as some designate it).

Anyhow, the protection of the French language is better supported by the Canadian federation than it could be by an independent Quebec. The weight of 35 million consumers for whom many importations are required to be bilingual must be measured against the 7 million of a Quebec state. Also, Quebec's increased reliance on the United States for trade and partnerships would undeniably require a greater openness to English than is currently required of cross-national relationships.

So - French? So what. There's nothing about Quebec being mostly French while the ROC is mostly English that prohibits a functioning federation of provinces.

Anyhow, on to ethnic nationalism! The magic of our people, and the shared histories that we've been told about but never experienced, and the structural inequities that no longer exist that we remain persistently indignant about.

The polling on PQ voting intention that came out today is pretty telling. They are behind in every age category but one: 65+. Can you guess why this might be?

First, that generation was the last to actually live the inequality perpetrated by a minority of anglophone factory owners and francophone church officials and politicians. Second, they are of a generation that might maintain certain ontological views that are no longer accepted in 'the West'.

Here is a foundational text that you should look at. It's called Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origins and Spread of Nationalism.

The term imagined is key here: the idea that your people group -- that you defend and for whom you so presumptuously speak -- are actually entirely abstract -- a massive group of people whom you can and will never meet, imagined as a conglomeration of your textual experiences, beliefs, and personality. It's a completely fallacious -- though sometimes powerful -- conception.

(I think you can google up a pdf of the introduction, if you're interested):

http://www.amazon.ca/Imagined-Communities-Reflections-Origin-Nationalism/dp/1844670864

Now your next question might be -- so what? What's wrong with this? Well, here's the most important thing you will read this year, that really does a nice job of summing up contemporary Western thought on identity and nation-building:

http://204racethought.wikispaces.com/file/view/Balibar+Is+There+a+Neo-Racism.pdf

Etienne Balibar's "Is There are Neo-Racism" describes the rise of right-wing nationalism in the West, and he suggests that these movements are enabled by new forms of discrimination based on culture and arbitrary definitions of 'belonging' rather than race -- though they function in the same way.

For this kind of nationalism to function, there must be maintained an "inside" and an "outside". Such movements will be eager to publicly delineate which cultural behaviours reflect our proper values. Narratives about the impending repression and assimilation of our culture will be circulated. This all sound familiar?

Now, none of this is to say that there aren't regional difference in resources, climate, political views, and demographics in Canada, or that these views shouldn't be reflected more keenly in the democratic discourse. Does the Canadian federation do a good job of maintaining regional autonomy while redistributing wealth to deal with inequalities? Meh. Sort of. Could be better, surely. Are these technocratic hurdles worth dissolving the federation over? Considering the very real risks and instabilities that this would impose, in a global economy that is not on very stable footing, probably not.

But none of this was about technocratic reasons, anyhow. Quebec has a lot of autonomy in provincial governance, as it is. This is about your assertion that our people require our own country. It's an outdated and ignorant form of argumentation. I think we can do better than this kind of jingoistic, patriotic blather if we're going to ask all citizens of this province to assemble around a project of better governance and equality. Don't you?

It's best to learn as much as you can on your own before you move to the province. Otherwise, especially if you're in Montreal, you might be tempted to keep speaking English because you feel your French is not yet good enough, and that's a vicious circle.

There are lots of free or cheap resources out there to learn French, so it shouldn't be a problem. If you're looking for online lessons, I recommend you check out duolingo. It's completely free. I haven't tried their French course, but the Spanish one is great, so I guess it should be fine.

If you're looking for books, I suggest you look into Hippocrene Beginner's French, Colloquial French, or Teach Yourself French.

Given that I'm a native speaker, I haven't tried these specific books, but those series are extremely well made, so I assume the French ones are equally good.

Anyway, best of luck to you in learning French. Don't give up easily. It might seem hard at first, but with practice you'll see it is in fact a fantastic language.

It's just a dumb-ass suggestion based on my experience in our climate zone (since I'm a camper myself)... But because you'll be in colder weather and in a season when it tends to rain a lot (and maybe even snow), to just make things super easy, have you ever thought of a double tent cot?

1. You're off the ground and dry,
   
   
2. You're off the ground and not cold from the ground,
   
   
3. They're super comfortable because they have a little give (being a cot),
   
   
4. You don't need a ground tarp, and
   
   
5. They can be set up and taken down in 1/3 the time of a regular tent.
   
   As for a fire, I bought an Outland 19" propane fire bowl on Amazon that gives off 58,000 BTU of heat (leg-melting heat).
   
   Just a thought since it can be cold in October. Have lots of fun!! :)

It will expose you to French and force you to use it, but you won't become fluent in French in five weeks nor will your vocabulary/pronunciation/whatever have time to improve significantly unless you do something pretty drastic.

The thing is, unless you spend six or more months living, working and sleeping in French, immersion alone won't do much. Otherwise you have to take a rational approach to learning and use your five weeks as a kind of real life test or laboratory.

Try this :

• First, make sure you know at least the 5000 most frequently used words in Quebec French (maybe use something like this and add Quebec slang from something with a word list and examples, like this). Give precedence to the second, spoken Quebec French list as it will be more useful during your stay.
  
  
• When you learn words, learn them with their determinant since you always need one in French anyway (learn "la chaise" instead of "chaise (feminine)").
  
  
• Learn the stupid French grammar and its plethora of exceptions. Just accept it for the pile of shit it is and don't give it too much thought at first. Most of the really stupid parts don't apply to speech anyway.
  
  
• Learn verb conjugation. Concentrate on the spoken forms if you must, they are much easier. What is important : indicatif présent, passé composé, imparfait; conditionnel présent; subjonctif présent; participe passé (usually the same as in the composé). For the future tense, the modern tendency in spoken French is to use "aller", conjugate it in the indicatif présent, then affix the future action verb in the infinitif présent or passé. For example, instead of "je conduirai" (I will drive), you say "je vais conduire", "je vais avoir conduit" for "I will have driven". You can also use "j'allais conduire" (imparfait + infinitif) for "I was about to drive". Btw, "I will go" and "I was about to go" would be "je vais (y) aller" et "j'allais (y) aller" (drop the "y" when making a statement, i.e. "je vais aller à Québec" vs. "je vais y aller à Québec!"). No one says "j'irai".
  
  
• To practice your pronunciation, use some real sentences from French TV (better something real like news even if it's read because it's more natural than most drama dialogues) and shadow them, that is repeat them aloud as the speaker say them, with half a second delay, and try to match the rhythm, pitch and accent (in order of importance). The accent or the actual pronunciation of each syllable in a word in the French way, can be practiced in isolation and differs in every French dialect. You should have already done a lot of that, but if you don't feel confident, practice each word from the example sentence independently before shadowing it.
  
  
• Think reading aloud is hard? Try it in a second (or third) language! Buy both the audiobook and the written version of some modern French or Quebecois piece of literature and try reading it aloud while comparing to what it sounds like when read by a native Frenchman. Or use it as a shadowing tool if you think your pronunciation still sucks too much at that point.
  
  
• Go in the real world and speak some French like a boss (confidence is key).

Je suis à Québec (coin de Limoilou) et keto m'a totalement transformé. L'an dernier, durant exactement un an, j'ai perdu 70 livres (en partant de 230). Mon objectif cette année est de ne pas peser plus qu'au début de l'année. Je suis à -5 livres...

Je serais possiblement partant pour une commande. Il y a des produits que j'aimerais essayer. Tu dois savoir qu'il faut être prudent avec les produits qui simulent ce que tu ne souhaites plus trop manger...À long terme, ce n'est peut être pas une solution. Quand même, on n'est pas en religion. On fait comme on veut! :-)

On peut aussi se donner des trucs pour les lunchs...J'ai pas trop de misères à varier et j'utilise ceci, parce qu'on ne se fait pas de sandwichs, en temps normal! :-) http://www.amazon.com/Zojirushi-SL-JAE14SA-Bento-Stainless-Silver/dp/B000246GSE . Ça fait une belle job!

Si on sent qu'on est mutuellement fiables!, je veux bien prendre une partie de la commande. :-)

Souvent ce que je fini par faire quand Amigo Express marche pas c'est de louer une auto et d'offrir des places pour le trajet que je veux sur kijiji/Craigslist.

Avec un passager pour l'aller ou le retour seulement ton gas est couvert pour l'aller et le retour, avec deux, ton gas et une partie du prix de la location.

La balance revient au prix que t'aurais payer pour toi et ton amie pour être passager de quelqu'un d'autre. Si tu te trouve des passagers pour l'aller et le retour, c'est possible de faire ton trajet au complet gratuitement.


Pour la location, c'est important de:

• booker ton auto à l'avance (je préfère Enterprise ou Pelletier personnellement, mais va y au prix et à la proximité géographique avec ta maison)
  
  
• fait toi pas avoir avec les assurances, inspecte l'auto toi même, vérifie le gas et le kilométrage toi-même.
  
  
• Prend en photo les compteurs avant et après avoir remis l'auto. Idem pour les égratignures.
  
  
• Si ta copine vie à la même adresse t'es pas obliger de payer pour un second conducteur pour qu'elle puisse conduire. Elle sera couverte.
  
  
• Ne prend jamais l'option avec le gas inclut. C'est une arnaque. Gas le char toi même quitte à payer un ou deux dollar extra pour être certain d'être au bon niveau.
  
  
• conduis pas en con, stationnement toi pas serré, utilise ton GPS (celui sur ton téléphone).
  
  
• loue une auto économique (si t'a une carte costco, va sur costcotravel.com pour booké ton auto, tu auras un rabais sur ta location)
  
  
• familiarise toi avec les fonctions et la console de l'auto AVANT de quitter le stationnement du concessionnaire. C'est la responsabilité de ta copine de s'occuper de la navigation et de la musique.
  
  Pour l'annonce:
  
  
• soit flexible pour tes lieux de départ et de débarquement. Considère offrir la possibilité de passer dans une ville sur le chemin.
  
  
• fait des annonces sur les sites de ta ville, mais aussi sur les sites de ta destination et des villes majeurs sur ta route pour avoir des passagers au retour.
  
  
• demande une photo du permis de conduire du passager avant d'accepter de l'embarquer. Refuse d'embarquer un passager qui ne match pas le permis qu'on t'a fourni, même s'il a l'argent en main et un autre permis.
  
  
• Rencontre dans un lieu public et paiement au départ, cash, montant exacte seulement.
  
  
• avec une auto de location, je te suggère fortement de refuser les animaux qui ne sont pas dans une cage, et de charger le prix d'un passager pour un animal en cage.
  
  
• envoi par texto une photo de l'auto à l'avance à ton passager.
  
  
• Inclut un screenshot de ton trajet sur google map comme photo de ton annonce avec des X sur les endroits où tu es prêt à arrêter.
  
  
• Soit limpide avec les règles concernant l'identité et le paiement, avec ton trajet et avec tes règles (non-fumeur, une valise/deux valises permises, etc.)
  
  
• Planifie des imprévus, part à l'avance.
  
  
• si tu fini par faire ce genre de voyagement beaucoup, je te suggère d'éventuellement te bâtir un "kit" pour la route, quelque chose comme ça + des plugs pour ton téléphone, un stand à téléphone pour le fixer temporairement, un fil AUX, des bouteilles d'eau, etc.), tous ça dans un petit sac dédié à la conduite.
  
  
• Considère un abonnement communauto, leur forfait longue-distance est raisonnable considérant que tu ne payes pas pour le gas et l'assistance routière est incluse.

(Toi aussi t'as lu The Dictator's Handbook? Excellent bouquin que je recommande à tous ;) )

Il l'est. Ouvre ta session Amazon Prime Canada et va sur Amazon Video. Par contre, c'est juste les Amazon Originals pour linstant, sauf si tu as un VPN avec lequel tu peux acceder a tous les amazon video avec un amazon prime canadien.
https://www.amazon.com/The-Grand-Tour-Season-1/dp/B01J94A5GQ

Viens visiter Montréal :) C'est intéressant de voir la séparation linguistique des différents quartiers, de 99% francophone (Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, Rosemont?) jusqu'à 99% anglophone (Westmount, McGill Ghetto) en passant par des variétés de bilinguisme (Centre-ville, Saint-Henri, NDG).

Recommended reading: http://www.amazon.ca/The-Anglo-guide-survival-Qu%C3%A9bec/dp/0920792332

I'm not sure for which period you are looking for, but this book gives a good historical context.

The Social History of Ideas in Quebec, 1760-1896 by Yvan Lamonde (Sorry second link is in French)

In English, Jane Jacobs' book: https://www.amazon.com/Question-Separatism-Quebec-Struggle-Sovereignty/dp/1926824067

A very good read.

Ce que je me prévoyais d'acheter pour mon Canon :) pas trop $$ en plus. https://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/B00EFILVQU/ref=dp_ob_neva_mobile

No, he is not technically correct and at this point you seem to be too stubborn to see my point. I was explaining the angry mob, I don't think I was especially hostile toward you in this conversation; I myself was trying to explain to you how what the MP said is wrong and why, but I might get there, your tone isn't helping.

We can demonstrate and observe evolution, it doesn't always take a million years for a species to adopt a mutation, be it natural or artificial, read about it. You're looking at evolution like a mathematician look at an equation, biology isn't looking for a formal "proof", biology’s goal is to explain how it all happened. When every single of the thousands and thousands of observations we have all direct us toward the same answer, when every scientific paper written on the subject have the same conclusions and when all the biologists agree on what might be the most important and fundamental discovery of the field, you suck it up and call it a fact, because that's what it is.

Facts don't go away after a debate, theories might change, but the rock will always fall to the ground and species will always evolve according to their environment.

Since you seem to lack in the science department, I'd recommend this read it's all the basics you need to know. There are some big science words in there so you might need a thesaurus though, if you don't know what a thesaurus is, get your dictionary and work your way up.

check v'la ma source, t'en fera ce que tu veux, y'a une différence entre le boston Tea Party (ou ils ont effectivement détruits du thé) et le fait que le commerce de l'opium était calicement lucratif pis que la haute société utilisait l'euphémisme thé pour en parler.

https://www.amazon.ca/China-Mirage-History-American-Disaster/dp/0316196681

There's unfortunately for you very, very little English documentation on the topic if you exclude the crap you tend to see in English Canadian papers.

The best English book on it is probably still the 30 years old The Question of Separatism : Quebec and the Struggle over Sovereignty

It makes lots of parallels with Norway's independence process (process which was successful for them). If you want not to come up with the same old tired point of view, that might be a good start.