Bonjour ! Hi !
Yaniv Loran - A mini bio
For my parents, Nigeria’s January 1966 coup d’état and July 1966 counter-coup were two coup’s too many. When, at the age of four, I was asked where I might want to live instead, I answered “snow land” and to this day I avow that coming to Canada was the best decision my parents ever made.
My profound love of language, spoken and written, dates back to Dr Seuss’ “One Fish Two Fish”. I was the founder/editor of my high-school newspaper "The Wagar Lion", and over the years have been an occasional contributor of Letter's to the Editor, poetry and the like to The Montreal Star, The Montreal Gazette and The Suburban. I am also an active essayist on Quora in both English and French.
My profound love of language, spoken and written, dates back to Dr Seuss’ “One Fish Two Fish”. I was the founder/editor of my high-school newspaper "The Wagar Lion", and over the years have been an occasional contributor of Letter's to the Editor, poetry and the like to The Montreal Star, The Montreal Gazette and The Suburban. I am also an active essayist on Quora in both English and French.
Itching to contribute financially to my struggling family, I landed my first part-time job at the tender age of eight, shrink-wrapping “Hot Wheels” brand cars onto their hanging cardboard backing. I recall that by the end of my first day my thumb hurt so badly I was convinced it would fall off.
Too stubborn not to complete what I started, I graduated with a DEC in Pure & Applied Science and French from Vanier College (from the then Snowdon campus) only to pursue a Bachelor of Commerce Degree in Business Administration, International Business and French at Concordia University and an MBA at HEC Montréal.
I spent a decade and a half in treasury in Montreal and Toronto, first as the Bank of Montreal’s French franc and Italian lira foreign currency trader and then as Vice-President, Foreign Exchange and Money Markets of the Confederation Life Insurance Company of Canada.
A decade in Toronto was more than enough. In 1993 I took a one way trip eastbound along the 401 to marry a Chomedy girl and am now to my utter astonishment the proud father of three young adults.
I was first introduced to Montreal’s special needs community 21 years ago as a member of the Federation CJA's board of directors and of its services committee.
I started off as a Yaldei Development Centre volunteer and then as an employee setting up their special needs summer camp in the Laurentians.
I've been a data analyst for the Miriam Home, a member of Québec’s Health and Social Services network, for the past decade. My current title is Planning, Programming and Research Officer.
My active involvement in politics started in 2016 when I volunteered for Mr Robert Libman’s campaign to secure the nomination to become the Conservative Party of Canada’s candidate for the federal riding of Mount-Royal, and once that was achieved, to win the riding's seat in parliament.
My next kick at the can was in 2017 when I assisted my then 19 year-old son in his run to win a seat on Côte-Saint-Luc’s city council.
Too stubborn not to complete what I started, I graduated with a DEC in Pure & Applied Science and French from Vanier College (from the then Snowdon campus) only to pursue a Bachelor of Commerce Degree in Business Administration, International Business and French at Concordia University and an MBA at HEC Montréal.
I spent a decade and a half in treasury in Montreal and Toronto, first as the Bank of Montreal’s French franc and Italian lira foreign currency trader and then as Vice-President, Foreign Exchange and Money Markets of the Confederation Life Insurance Company of Canada.
A decade in Toronto was more than enough. In 1993 I took a one way trip eastbound along the 401 to marry a Chomedy girl and am now to my utter astonishment the proud father of three young adults.
I was first introduced to Montreal’s special needs community 21 years ago as a member of the Federation CJA's board of directors and of its services committee.
I started off as a Yaldei Development Centre volunteer and then as an employee setting up their special needs summer camp in the Laurentians.
I've been a data analyst for the Miriam Home, a member of Québec’s Health and Social Services network, for the past decade. My current title is Planning, Programming and Research Officer.
My active involvement in politics started in 2016 when I volunteered for Mr Robert Libman’s campaign to secure the nomination to become the Conservative Party of Canada’s candidate for the federal riding of Mount-Royal, and once that was achieved, to win the riding's seat in parliament.
My next kick at the can was in 2017 when I assisted my then 19 year-old son in his run to win a seat on Côte-Saint-Luc’s city council.
I vehemently believe
that our elected representatives'
first and foremost loyalty
MUST be to their constituents
and NOT to their misguided masters
in the National Assembly.
I view our current MNA's failure to stand up for what we, his constituents, believe in as being indicative of a gross lack of integrity and backbone. Any respect that I might have had for the incumbent was lost that day.
I railed against our current MNA’s decision to support the Parti Québécois’ farcical motion insisting that Montreal merchants stop greeting their clients with a bilingual “Bonjour ! Hi !”.
But things went from bad to worse when he then made comments to the effect that:
- ... as the Quebec Liberal Party is the only federalist party in the province, which is false. The Conservative Party is a powerful alternative.
- ... every vote NOT for the QLP is a vote for sovereignty.
Not only am I sick and tired of QLP policies, politics and arrogance, I feel that anglophone, allophone and ethnic constituents deserve an equal degree of respect, consideration and access and not only for a period of six weeks every four years when elections come around.
I also feel that our province has been grossly mismanaged and know that I can do a much better job of it than is being done by our current crop of parliamentarians.
And finally, I have a vision for our future and I know that I will make a substantial and substantive positive contribution to the quality of life of the residents of D'Arcy-McGee and of Québec.
Frequently asked questions
- Name at birth : Yaniv Lorberbaum
- Date of birth : 29th of June, 1961
- Sign of Zodiac : Cancer
- Age : 57 years old
- Place of birth : Lagos, Nigeria
- Date of arrival in Canada : February 1967, just in time for Canada's Centennial and Expo'67/Man and His World
How did I come to be born in Lagos, Nigeria?
My father was a representative of the Zim Shipping Company, from 1960 through 1967.
Why did we leave Nigeria?
Nigeria was never home. We just happened to live there. After two coup d'états too many, my parents set their hearts on a peaceful prosperous progressive place to live and raise a family. Montreal, Quebec, Canada was the obvious choice.
Why did we change our last name?
After the Holocaust and the founding of the State of Israel there was a strong movement advocating cutting all ties to the peoples who inflicted such death and destruction on me and mine. The fact that for many the name was difficult to pronounce and difficult to spell was simply the icing on the cake.
Lorberbaum is a German name which means 'laurel tree'. It was sad to say good-bye to such a venerable name, one that traces back through time directly to Ha Rav Yaakov Lorberbaum of Lissa, the Netivot ha Mishpat.
Loran is a Hebrew name which means 'his song'. It has no roots. It has no history. But with your help we're starting to give it one.
My father was a representative of the Zim Shipping Company, from 1960 through 1967.
Why did we leave Nigeria?
Nigeria was never home. We just happened to live there. After two coup d'états too many, my parents set their hearts on a peaceful prosperous progressive place to live and raise a family. Montreal, Quebec, Canada was the obvious choice.
Why did we change our last name?
After the Holocaust and the founding of the State of Israel there was a strong movement advocating cutting all ties to the peoples who inflicted such death and destruction on me and mine. The fact that for many the name was difficult to pronounce and difficult to spell was simply the icing on the cake.
Lorberbaum is a German name which means 'laurel tree'. It was sad to say good-bye to such a venerable name, one that traces back through time directly to Ha Rav Yaakov Lorberbaum of Lissa, the Netivot ha Mishpat.
Loran is a Hebrew name which means 'his song'. It has no roots. It has no history. But with your help we're starting to give it one.
Why I decided to run
I've long felt that "la Belle Province" is grossly mismanaged and that we, her residents, are egregiously mistreated.
I find it sadly ironic that I, the child of immigrants, have the right to send my children to an English language school, a right NOT shared by the vast majority of citizens.
But like for most of my peers, the situation was never sufficiently dire to do anything much about it. As a federalist, I was ready to suffer silently as long as I believed that our MNA was busy defending our interests. As a federalist, it is not like there was anyone else I could possibly vote for anyway, was there?
With its long history of ...
My roots in Montreal, Quebec, Canada are half a century deep. My wife and children were born here. My in-laws are francophone. I have no intention of leaving Quebec AND I have no intention of NOT being Canadian.
I lived through both referenda. I've had the PQ government and its cronies try to disenfranchise me and all the other like-minded voters who refuse their specious Sophie's choice.
- Yes, our taxes are exorbitant.
- Yes, our students are failing school and our schools are failing our students.
- Yes, our hospitals are in a shambles and wait times are as bad as ever with no improvement in sight.
- Yes, my right to wear a kippah was much debated and almost taken away.
- And yes, our language laws are divisive, petty, onerous and expensive.
I find it sadly ironic that I, the child of immigrants, have the right to send my children to an English language school, a right NOT shared by the vast majority of citizens.
But like for most of my peers, the situation was never sufficiently dire to do anything much about it. As a federalist, I was ready to suffer silently as long as I believed that our MNA was busy defending our interests. As a federalist, it is not like there was anyone else I could possibly vote for anyway, was there?
With its long history of ...
- graft
- scandals
- destruction of evidence
- its intractable refusal to work transparently unless bullied to do so,
My roots in Montreal, Quebec, Canada are half a century deep. My wife and children were born here. My in-laws are francophone. I have no intention of leaving Quebec AND I have no intention of NOT being Canadian.
I lived through both referenda. I've had the PQ government and its cronies try to disenfranchise me and all the other like-minded voters who refuse their specious Sophie's choice.
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But the times they are a-changing. Born in 1998, my middle child, my son Matitya, was developing a passion for history, literature and POLITICS.
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In the summer of 2015, he applied for and was awarded an internship in Jerusalem, in the office of Adon Yuli Edelstein, the Speaker of the Knesset. This was Matitya's first ever active involvement in politics. |
In the autumn of 2015, Matitya and I volunteered to help Mr Robert Libman, a family friend, try and win the Conservative Party of Canada's nomination for the federal riding of Mount-Royal, after which we assisted in Robert's effort to win the riding's seat in parliament. This was my first ever active involvement in politics.
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Robert didn't win the election, an important life lesson for both of us that not everything always goes one's way.
In the spring of 2017, despite being only 19 years old and despite being on the Autism spectrum, Matitya decided to run for Côte-Saint-Luc city council.
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He spent his summer putting together a website, promotional flyers and knocking on doors campaigning.
And he spent his autumn as a McGill freshman working towards a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and knocking on doors campaigning.
Matitya ran in District 7 against the affable M. Sidney Benizri and despite all the challenges managed to secure 20% of the vote. I was and I still am proud to bursting.
After the municipal election, I asked Matitya if he would likely try again in four years' time. He replied "possibly". I then said that the next election was actually the pending provincial election, called for Monday, October 1, 2018. I wondered if he might consider running provincially instead. Matitya replied with an emphatic "no". His immediate goal was to earn his degree.
And that was that. Or so I thought.
And then came the “Bonjour ! Hi !” fiasco.
It didn't offend me that M. Jean-François Lisée, the leader of the Parti Québécois, while he was shopping in a downtown Montreal boutique, found the fact that a salesperson had the temerity to address the right honourable M. Lisée in both of Canada's official languages "irritating".
It didn't offend me that M. Lisée rushed back to the National Assembly and got to work on a resolution urging Montreal merchants to drop the offending English half of the greeting.
It didn't offend me that M. François Legault and his party, the Coalition avenir Québec unanimously supported the motion. I expected no more and I got what I expected.
It didn't offend me that Québec solidaire's three MNAs and the province's five independent MNAs unanimously supported the motion. I would have been astonished had they not.
What did offend me is the fact that M. Philippe Couillard, our Premier, the leader of the Quebec Liberal Party, our province's governing party, a nominally federalist party, AND EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THE LIBERAL MNAs UNANIMOUSLY SUPPORTED M. LISÉE FARCICAL MOTION.
Have they nothing better to do with their votes, their time and our money?
And he spent his autumn as a McGill freshman working towards a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and knocking on doors campaigning.
Matitya ran in District 7 against the affable M. Sidney Benizri and despite all the challenges managed to secure 20% of the vote. I was and I still am proud to bursting.
After the municipal election, I asked Matitya if he would likely try again in four years' time. He replied "possibly". I then said that the next election was actually the pending provincial election, called for Monday, October 1, 2018. I wondered if he might consider running provincially instead. Matitya replied with an emphatic "no". His immediate goal was to earn his degree.
And that was that. Or so I thought.
And then came the “Bonjour ! Hi !” fiasco.
It didn't offend me that M. Jean-François Lisée, the leader of the Parti Québécois, while he was shopping in a downtown Montreal boutique, found the fact that a salesperson had the temerity to address the right honourable M. Lisée in both of Canada's official languages "irritating".
It didn't offend me that M. Lisée rushed back to the National Assembly and got to work on a resolution urging Montreal merchants to drop the offending English half of the greeting.
It didn't offend me that M. François Legault and his party, the Coalition avenir Québec unanimously supported the motion. I expected no more and I got what I expected.
It didn't offend me that Québec solidaire's three MNAs and the province's five independent MNAs unanimously supported the motion. I would have been astonished had they not.
What did offend me is the fact that M. Philippe Couillard, our Premier, the leader of the Quebec Liberal Party, our province's governing party, a nominally federalist party, AND EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THE LIBERAL MNAs UNANIMOUSLY SUPPORTED M. LISÉE FARCICAL MOTION.
Have they nothing better to do with their votes, their time and our money?
I vehemently believe
that our elected representatives'
first and foremost loyalty
MUST be to their constituents
and NOT to their misguided masters
in the National Assembly.
What the positions of the majority of voters in the ridings of Abitibi-Est, Charlevoix/Côte-de-Beaupré or les Îles-de-la-Madeleine might be vis-à-vis “Bonjour ! Hi !” does not concern me in the least.
- It is the responsibility of their elected representatives to divine their electors' views.
- And it is the responsibility of their elected representative to vote accordingly.
What I refuse to accept is the fact that ...
- the MNA for D'Arcy-McGee
- elected by the constituents of D'Arcy-McGee
- knowing full well that the staggering majority of his constituents were in complete opposition to M. Lisée's antagonistic small minded resolution
- in true lemming fashion elected to toe the party line
- thus making the vote for M. Lisée's repugnant resolution unanimous.
Where was his integrity? Is his moral compass broken? Did he ever even have one?
- If our MNA believes in what he voted for I can never support him because we do not share the same values.
- And if our MNA does not believe in what he voted for I can never support him because I cannot support someone who does not stand by his convictions.
I immediately charged over to my son and I insisted that he run for provincial politics. Matitya declined. To say that I was angry with my MNA would be an understatement. To say that I was frustrated by my son's refusal to do as I asked would also be an understatement. But it was what it was and despite my boiling blood, I felt impotent. There was nothing for me to do.
But that's not where the story ends.
In the coming days and weeks, the anger and push-back like-minded Quebeckers directed at their yellowbellied turncoat MNAs was palpable. The MNA for D'Arcy-McGee, in an effort to do damage control, talked up the popularity of Bill 101 and the alleged linguistic peace that has followed its passing.
But unfortunately for him, he didn't know when to stop. He then went on to make statements to the effect that as a representative of the only federalist party in the National Assembly, the federalist residents of federalist D'Arcy-McGee had no choice but to vote for federalist him. He alleged that every vote against the Liberal Party was a vote for sovereignty.
This is downright false!
The week before, had you asked me if I could be any angrier I would have retorted "NO !!!". Well, I was most definitely wrong about that, now wasn't I? The week before I had been only extremely angry. NOW I WAS LIVID !!!
I ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY REFUSE TO BE TOLD THAT I HAVE NO CHOICE.
I ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY REFUSE TO BE TOLD THAT I HAVE TO SUCK IT UP AND QUIETLY TOE THE LINE.
This was the last straw. I turned on my heel, marched up to my son and ORDERED HIM TO RUN FOR PROVINCIAL POLITICS! And the son of a gun again said "no". He then had the gumption to ask "if it bothers you this much, why don't you yourself run?"
"I can't run" I shot back. "I'm 56 years old. I have no political experience. Nobody knows me. And furthermore, we are a single-income family. I can't simply give up my day job on a whim and run for government!"
"Well" he replied, "nobody knew me when I ran for city council and I got 20% of the vote. And if that's not enough, you're always telling us ...
- to stand up for ourselves
- not to let ourselves get pushed around
- to get out of our comfort zone
- not to let anything stand in our way
- to do the things we feel that we have to do no matter what.
I hate it when my kids quote me to me. I was astonished (and a little bit pleased if truth be told) that my son had actually been listening to me rant at him over the past 19 years. But be that as it may, whatever happened to "do as I say, not as I do"? I stormed off with a Charlie Brown-like "Aargh", fit to be tied.
But I simply couldn't let it go. The son of a gun was absolutely right. After three or four sleepless nights I couldn't take it anymore. In late December 2017, I reached out to the Conservative Party of Quebec, the only federalist center-right provincial party out there, and submitted my request to be their candidate for the riding of D'Arcy-McGee. |
After a number of follow-ups on my part, in March 2018, the Conservative Party of Quebec contacted me and said "we regret to inform you but we cannot entertain your request to be our candidate for the riding you requested." It turns out that they felt committed to someone who had made a request well before I had.
The CPQ asked me to consider a number of alternate ridings, like Saint-Laurent, Outremont or Mont-Royal. I thanked them kindly but I was adamant, it was D'Arcy-McGee or nothing. I explained that ...
On Monday, July 9, 2018, my cell phone rang. "Mr Loran, my name is Jean-Pierre Fournier of the Conservative Party of Quebec. Are you still interested in the riding of D'Arcy-McGee, because if you are, the riding is yours."
It took me a second to reply because it was all so surreal. But after an instant I said "Yes". It turns out that the party reached out to the prospective candidate and explained the situation to him. He graciously agreed to step aside in my favour.
M. Fournier went on to explain that I would have to submit a very short biography and a professional head shot for the CPQ website in the coming days. And that on their part the CPQ had to do a criminal record verification but if everything went smoothly I would get formal notification in a week to ten days.
Do you have any idea how difficult it is to smile into a camera without looking like you've got indigestion?
On Wednesday, July 18, 2018, I received the booklet I have to complete. I now have to garner the names, addresses and signatures of 200 D'Arcy-McGee electors. If you are a registered voter in the riding, please contact me; I need your signature.
I was confirmed on Wednesday, August 2, 2018.
The CPQ asked me to consider a number of alternate ridings, like Saint-Laurent, Outremont or Mont-Royal. I thanked them kindly but I was adamant, it was D'Arcy-McGee or nothing. I explained that ...
- I had lived in the riding practically all my life.
- My roots are here.
- My history is here.
- My emotional commitment is here.
On Monday, July 9, 2018, my cell phone rang. "Mr Loran, my name is Jean-Pierre Fournier of the Conservative Party of Quebec. Are you still interested in the riding of D'Arcy-McGee, because if you are, the riding is yours."
It took me a second to reply because it was all so surreal. But after an instant I said "Yes". It turns out that the party reached out to the prospective candidate and explained the situation to him. He graciously agreed to step aside in my favour.
M. Fournier went on to explain that I would have to submit a very short biography and a professional head shot for the CPQ website in the coming days. And that on their part the CPQ had to do a criminal record verification but if everything went smoothly I would get formal notification in a week to ten days.
Do you have any idea how difficult it is to smile into a camera without looking like you've got indigestion?
On Wednesday, July 18, 2018, I received the booklet I have to complete. I now have to garner the names, addresses and signatures of 200 D'Arcy-McGee electors. If you are a registered voter in the riding, please contact me; I need your signature.
I was confirmed on Wednesday, August 2, 2018.
Please understand, my decision to run ...
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- ... has a lot to do with the fact that I'm sick and tired of QLP policies, politics and arrogance. I feel that anglophone, allophone and ethnic constituents deserve an equal degree of respect, consideration and access and not only for the six weeks every four years when elections come around.
- ... is fueled by the fact that there are so many things broken here in Quebec that desperately need fixing it is virtually impossible to list them all.
Our healthcare system is simply one of many gravely in need of repair
- Why can't a patient choose where he or she goes for medical care? In my opinion, this is a decision to be made by the patient in consultation with his family and his doctor. I fail to understand why the government has any say in the matter.
- If medical wait times are too long, why not simply allow schools to train more doctors and nurses? I fail to understand why the government has any say in the number of doctors and nurses schools graduate every year.
- Rather than hand over an envelope of cash to medical institutions, why not pay medical centres on a case by case basis, rewarding them for seeing more patients and for offering better quality health care.
- To me it makes sense to set a clinically approved baseline of care. If an individual wants anything not normally clinically justified and has the means to pay for it, I fail to understand why we refuse to offer it. The way I see it, the proceeds made from supplementary, non-clinically justified requests for medical tests will help subsidise the cost of acquisition of additional capacity and of providing clinically necessary procedures to others.
And these are only a few of the ideas I have about one sector in crisis. I would love to talk to you ...
- about our schools
- about immigration
- about transportation
- ... is also driven by the fact that I have a vision for our future and I know that I can make a substantial and substantive positive contribution to the quality of life of the citizens of D'Arcy-McGee and of the province of Québec.
What is absolutely true is that unlike the Liberal incumbent, I haven't been campaigning for the past four years in order to get re-elected. I'm unknown. I'm a political neophyte. But I want to start a conversation with you.
Please reach out to me so that you can get to know me, who I am and what I stand for.
Please reach out to me so that I can get to know you, so that once I am elected I am better attuned to your needs, wants, vision, values and issues in order to better represent and serve you.
By running for the Conservative Party of Quebec, I'm offering all who believe, as I do, in a strong Quebec continuing to be an integral part of a vibrant, open and united Canada a real choice for the very first time. A real alternative now exists.
The Quebec Liberal Party claim that all votes against them are votes supporting sovereignty is unadulterated scare-mongering hogwash. It is simply not true. To borrow an American turn of phrase, the claim that a vote for me is a vote for sovereignty "is a false fact" and false facts and the people who spew them have no place in Canadian politics.
By running for the Conservative Party of Quebec, for the first time ever I'm offering you a real choice. Please take it! Please make it! And please make it count! I'm counting on you. And you can count on me.
D'Arcy-McGee, in a clam shell
- Location : D'Arcy-McGee comprises the towns of Côte-Saint-Luc and Hampstead and sections of the borough of Côte-des-Neiges/Notre-Dame-de-Grâce.
- Total Area : 10.8 km^2
- Number of Registered Voters (2014) : Approximately 41,000
- Demographics
- We are amongst the most polyglot in the country. VIVE LA DIFFÉRENCE !
- We are the only predominantly Jewish riding in Quebec. DITTO !
- Thomas D'Arcy Etienne Grace Hughes McGee (13 April 1825 – 7 April 1868) was an Irish-Canadian politician, Catholic spokesman, journalist, poet, and a Father of the Canadian Confederation