Hochelaga

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Sober Thought Province
Name: Hochelaga
Former name: Pensée
Domain name: .ph
Population: 23.3%
Capital: Ville de Hochelaga (1.6%)
Metropolis: Mont Royaume (6.0%)
Leader: Premier ministre
Legislature: Assemblée du Hochelaga
Postal Codes: 4100-5999

The Province of Hochelaga is the second most populous province of Sober Thought with 23.3% of the national population and is where most francophones in the country live. French is the sole official language for the province as a whole, but the charter municipality of Kingsmount gives equal status to English within its boundaries.

Originally called Pensée, it combined with Central Province (then called Sobriety) to form the Community of Sober Thought. Similarly, Hochelaga contributed Comté de Mit-en-Haut and Central Province Bight County to create a neutral federal seat at Capital Province.

Regional geography

Hochelaga is landlocked and contains 23.3% of the population of Sober Thought. The eponymous provincial capital is a respectably-sized francophone city of 1.6%.

The provincial metropolis is the francophone Ville de Mont Royaume of 6.0%. One fifth of the population of Montroy (as the French city is colloquially known), mainly anglophones, seceded from the municipality to create Kingsmount with 1.6%.

Thoughout the rest of the province there are five French-only municipalities: Comté de Caguenai (north of Hochelaga) of 0.5%, Ville de Gouinshau (east of Montroy) of 0.6%, Ville de Longueoreille (south of Montroy) of 1.0%, Comté de Mit-en-Bas (beside Capital Province) 0.3% and Ville de Trifleuville (between Hochelaga and Montroy) of 0.5%.

Economy and culture

The business and cultural elite of Hochelaga are directly represented in the provincial legislature through representatives chosen by their self-governing bodies. Consequentally, legislative log-rolling is common and subsidies to commercial or artistic ventures are high.

Freewheeling capitalists from outside the province are reluctant to invest because of the high tax rate and frequent changes of provincial government. However, domestic investors -- motivated in part by Hochelaga pride -- ensure the economy is vibrant and sometimes reaches the national median.

Government

Federal representatives

Hochelaga has 55 single-member constituencies for which they elect members to federal House of the Federation. Additionally, 14 members are elected proportionally to more closely reflect the popular vote in the constituency elections. Hochelaga gets five seats in the federal House of the Provinces, chosen by the ever-changing provincial premier.

Provincial government

The Assemblée du Hochelaga is large and unwieldy, having seven separate classes of deputés representing various interests. Each of the 127 deputies have an equal voice in the assembly, although the 37 corporatist deputies must of course remember that they can be removed from their positions by their sponsoring body. Consult the chart below for class, number of MAHs, and means of initial election and replacement:

  • Single-Member Districts
  • Province-wide Party List
  • Centrale de la Commerce
  • Centrale du Travail
  • Municipal Governments
  • Centrale des Arts
  • Centrale des Professions

  • 60
  • 30
  • 10
  • 10
  • 7
  • 5
  • 5

  • simple plurality in each district, byelection
  • order chosen by party, next person on list
  • chosen, removed and replaced by executive committee
  • chosen, removed and replaced by executive committee
  • chosen, removed and replaced by city council
  • chosen, removed and replaced by executive committee
  • chosen, removed and replaced by executive committee

Collectively, all deputies are formally responsible for choosing one of their number as the Premier ministre du Hochelaga. In practice, the party leader of the largest party or coalition represented in the Assembly becomes Prime Minister. The Assembly expires in five years, but there have been several unsuccessful and one successful attempt to topple the government before that time.

Municipal governments

Cities with a French speaking majority are governed in a slightly more straightforward manner than the province, although incorporating many similar concepts of representation. The size of the city council varies in its number of councillors depending whether it is for Montroy, Ville de Hochelaga and all the rest. See the chart below:

  • Single-Member Arrondisements
  • Société mun. des Affaires
  • Syndicaux municipaux
  • Voters at-large

  • 20/10/5
  • 8/4/2
  • 8/4/2
  • 8/4/2

  • simple plurality in each ward, byelection
  • chosen, removed and replaced by executive committee
  • chosen, removed and replaced by executive committee
  • simple plurality across the city, byelection

The municipal councils are styled on the model of Conseil de Trifleuville. Although parties are active on the local level, they have no direct reprentation on council. However, since the Maire and Sous-maire are chosen from among its members by simple plurality, non-partisan councillors will find it difficult to be elected to these offices.

English-speaking Kingsmount has a more straightforward and transparent municipal legislature: voters in each of the 30 wards with longstanding boundaries return one member per ward, and voters across the city elect the Mayor and Deputy Mayor at-large.

Shared jurisdictions

Garde civile

The Garde civile is trained and equipped at federal expense as part of the Community Defence Forces, but its members are paid by Hochelaga. French is the exclusive language to higher formations and within the first 13 of every 14 battalions raised. The Civil Guard Minister promotes Soldats-maitres, Soldats-chefs and officers in the three lieutenant ranks. The Prime Minister promotes those in the three commandant ranks, assuming the candidates have successfully completed their CDF qualifications. The CDF itself fills the marshal ranks, and brooks no interference with its choices despite frequent attempts to do so by the provincial government.

The organisation of the guard for provincial service is based on a series of Régions gardières based on chartered municipalities and geographic regions of the province, with Kingsmount being considered part of the Montroy Guard Region. The organisation of the guard for federal service is based on the province providing nearly a whole infantry division in the 8 series and the bulk of a mountain brigade in the 7 series.

Disregarding the two bataillons of Chasseurs alpinistes, francophone Hochelaga contributes all but six battalions of troops to the 8 series of infantry divisions: two of the remainder are provided by battalions of the anglophone Kingsmount Regiment (every 12th Civil Guard unit raised, exclusive of HQ, branch or sub-branch appearing parenthetically) and four by the Regular Force Land Service (starting with four of the artillery battalions, exclusive of HQ). The list below is written ignoring these two other sources of troops (and meaning 8e Division d'infanterie unless otherwise specified):

Armoured:

  • 1 bataillon, Les Hussards Mont Royaume (armoured cars), 2e brigade (Infanterie blindé)
  • 1 bat., Les Cuirassiers hochelagais (light tanks), to Demi-brigade (Reserve divisionale)

Infantry:

  • 1 bataillon, Les Chasseurs blindés (armoured infantry), 2e brigade (Infanterie blindée)
  • 1 bat., Les Dragons hochelagais (armoured infantry), 2e brigade (Infanterie blindé)
  • 1 bat., Les Dragons Mont Royaume (wheeled armoured infantry), to Demi-brigade (Reserve divisionale)
  • 1 bat., Les Voltigeurs (motorised infantry), 3e brigade (Infanterie motorisée)
  • 2 bat., Les Chasseurs à cheval (motorised infantry), 3e brigade (Infanterie motorisée)
  • 2 bat., Les Chasseurs alpins (mountain light infantry), to 1ier brigade (Infanterie alpine) of 7e Division d'infanterie alpine
  • 1 bat., Les Fusiliers Mont Royaume (urban light infantry), to 4e brigade (Infanterie légère)
  • 1 bat., Les Chasseurs à pied (urban light infantry), to 4e brigade (Infanterie légère)
  • 1 bat., Les Tirailleurs (urban light infantry), to 4e brigade (Infanterie légère)

Artillery (never air defence):

  • 1ière bataillon, Régiment hochelagais de l'Artillerie (mécanisée), armoured self-propelled artillery, to 2e brigade (Infanterie blindé)
  • 2e bat., RHA (motorisée), towed field artillery, to 3e brigade (Infanterie motorisée)
  • 3e bat., RHA (antichar), towed anti-tank artillery, to 4e brigade (Infanterie légère)

Other:

  • 3 bataillons, Régiment hochelagais de la Génie (combat, civil and maintenance engineers) to Demi-brigade (Génie)
  • 2 bat., Régiment hochelagais des Transports, to Demi-brigade (Logistique)
  • 1 bat., Régiment hochelagais de l'Équipage (supply), to 7e brigade (Logistique)
  • 1 bat., Régiment hochelagais de la Santé (health), reporting directly to divison
  • 1 bat., Bataillon hochelagaise de securité (including companies of the Régiment hochelagais de la Reconnaissance, Régiment hochelagais de la Police militaire et Régiment hochelagais du Deuxième Bureau [military intelligence]), reporting directly to division
  • 1 bat. équivalent, Quartiers-généraux (headquarters), divisional, three brigade and one demi-brigade (divisional reserve) headquarters companies.

In fact, this standard is violated because four battalions of artillery (including two air defence artillery) are always provided by the Regular Force, and The Kingsmount Regiment raises two battalions each wave (one armoured or infantry, one artillery or other). The Kingsmount Regiment uses English internally and consists of sequentially numbered anglophone battalions bearing in parentheses the sub-branch or branch they represent.

For the field battalions, one is raised in order in each of the following branches or sub-branches: armoured, armoured infantry, motorised infantry, mountain infantry and light infantry. For the combat and service support, one of: field artillery (self-propelled or towed), combat engineering, security (composite of reconnaissance, military police and intelligence), transport, civil engineering, supply, maintenance engineering and health. In the first ten waves, the following battalions in their respective branches were raised:

  • 1st (Armoured Car) to 2nd Hochelaga Brigade (Armoured Infantry) of 8th Division
  • 2nd (Field Artillery, Self-Propelled Armoured) to 2nd Hochelaga Brigade (Armoured Infantry) of 8th Division
  • 3rd (Tracked Armoured Infantry) to 6th Hochelaga Brigade (Armoured Infantry) of 18th Division
  • 4th (Combat Engineering) to Engineering Demi-Brigade of 18th Division
  • 5th (Motorised Infantry) to 9th Hochelaga Brigade (Motorised Infantry) of 28th Division
  • 6th (Security) directly to 28th Division
  • 7th (Mountain Infantry) to 13th Hochelaga Brigade (Mountain Infantry) of 37th Mountain Infantry Division
  • 8th (Transport) to Logistics Demi-Brigade of 38th Division
  • 9th (Light Infantry) to 16th Hochelaga Brigade (Light Infantry) of 48th Division
  • 10th (Civil Engineering) to Engineering Demi-Brigade of 48th Division
  • 11th (Light Tank) to Divisional Reserve Demi-Brigade of 58th Division
  • 12th (Supply) to Logistics Demi-Brigade of 58th Division
  • 13th (Wheeled Armoured Infantry) to 28th Hochelaga Brigade (Armoured Infantry) of 68th Division
  • 14th (Maintenance Engineering) to Engineering Demi-Brigade of 68th Division
  • 15th (Motorised Infantry) to 30th Hochelaga Brigade (Motorised Infantry) of 78th Division
  • 16th (Health) directly to 78th Division
  • 17th (Mountain Infantry) to 32nd Hochelaga Brigade (Mountain Infantry) of 87th Mountain Infantry Division
  • 18th (Field Artillery, Towed) to 33rd Hochelaga Brigade (Motorised Infantry) of 88th Division
  • 19th (Light Infantry) to 40th Hochelaga Brigade (Light Infantry) of 98th Division
  • 20th (Combat Engineering) to Engineering Demi-Brigade of 98th Division

Education

Tuition-free public education is offered in French only at the primary, intermediate, secondary and college levels. Collèges municipales are located in each chartered French municipality, and tuition costs are waived for those resident at least three years and who graduated from a public secondary school in the province.

Tuition-charging pubic education is offered at the Université du Hochelaga (campuses in all French municipalities) with tuition costs reduced in a similar manner to the national formula. Provincial scholarships can only be redeemed at this university. Kingsmount College was founded by the municipal government and restricts its entrance to English speaking residents and charges about half of its French university counterpart but cannot offer municipal government scholarships.

Private religious education at or below the secondary level is uncommon, although Catholic parochial schools are still active in more rural and conservative areas. The Universités catholiques de Hochelaga and Mont Royaume serve those two cites, the former in the capital being more prestigious.

Private secular education at or below the secondary level is only common for after-hours English classes in Kingsmount. Oddly, while the private secular Université de Mont Royaume University became part of Kingsmount, it retains its traditional name in its new municipality. The French only private business schoool École supérieure du Commerce operates in Mont Royaume proper.

Transportation

Railways are used for most long distance cargo transport, but the large cities are choked with cars. Large airports serve the capital and the metropolis while small airstrips serving the remainder of the chartered municipalities and a few unorganized settlements.

Exclusive jurisdictions

Health

Hochelaga has used its exclusive jurisdiction in health to effective eliminate private sector health care in the province. This extends to most branches of health care, including surgical, medicinal, rehabilitative, obstetrical, ocular and dental health. Only practitioners on the margins of health care, for instance dieticians and audiologists, or on or beyond the fringes of science, for instance chiropractors and acupuncturists, are allowed to exist as for-profit, private enterprise operations.

On the plus side, the province has large and heavily subsidised medical schools at the Université du Hochelaga campuses in Mont Royaume and Hochelaga. They have half-year rotations in more isolated areas of the province where they may become acquainted with places they might otherwise have avoided. This helps because the province may direct doctors to practice in isolated or underserviced areas, so some familiarity with them may give the doctors a limited amount of choice in their posting.

Medical students are required to spend two years in the Service sanitaire du Hochelaga for every year of education. This means that most general practitioners are obliged to work twelve years for the government of Hochelaga, and specialists sixteen years. After this period of service, most ambitious or enterprising doctors leave the province, causing a glut of vacancies at the upper echelons which suits the younger doctors just fine. Their social status is high but their pay modest compared to other real world and Sober Thought jurisdictions.

Public access to comprehensive health care is also guaranteed, rationed by medical need rather than financial ability. Public health, dental health and other preventive measures are widespread and freely available. Procedures which are cosmetic or otherwise deemed unnecessary are not performed. Those refused service on these grounds, especially the rich, travel outside the province for their health needs, creating a lucrative market for "medical tourism."

There is one large regional general hospital for roughly every one percent of national population in the province. Metropolitan Mont Royaume (the provincial government tries to ignore as much as possible the existence of Kingsmount) and the provincial capital have pediatric, psychiatric, geriatric, chronic care and oncological hospitals. The other chartered municipalities usually have one of these specialist hospitals serving a larger regional cachement area.

Each person may choose a medical clinic in their municipality or unchartered habitation, and within that medical clinic a primary physician. Each general practitioner serves in rotation as the on-call physician at the clinic. Clinics and physicians are funded by a weighted per capita formula, based on age and previous medical condition of the patients.


Justice

Despite major problems on the law enforcement side, the actual civil law in Hochelaga is very liberal, especially in family law. In many ways, it is the polar opposite of Cholmestay’s highly moralist and controlled civil law. Criminal law (created federally) is unevenly applied in the province. The legislature has a very laissez-faire attitude towards social issues but is business-unfriendly. By controlling appointments to the bench, the legislature ensures that civil law is interpretted by the Service juridique du Hochelaga in a manner consistent with this left-wing attitude.

Law enforcement is the responsibility of the Service policier du Hochelaga (formerly the Sûreté du Hochelaga) and its senior uniformed officer, the commandant chef. While not truly paramilitary like the Police Auxiliary of Cholmestay, special local and flying squads are equipped for public order and heavy assault missions. Inhabitants rightly tend to regard the police as ineffectual if not outright corrupt, but citizens are not unduly disturbed by this and exploit the situation when caught committing so-called victimless crimes.

Police officers report, if they feel like it, to the next highest level in the police hierarchy. The chartered areas of the province each form a secteur under a commandant, and the unchartered areas are formed into four other sectors. Montroy, being so populous, is broken into sous secteurs under commandants adjoints with the same status as sector commanders elsewhere. Each municipal arrondisement has a poste de police under the command of a capitaine with lieutenant's as watch commanders. Unchartered settlements of similar population (but almost always much greater geographic area) also have police stations.


Natural resources

The government had historically mismanaged the natural resources of the province, but it recent times it has taken a more conservation-minded approach to mineral extraction and forestry. Consequently, eco-tourism promoted by the Service environmental du Hochelaga has flourished at little expense to existing industry.