Last Friday, I cried my heart out: “Stop saying Montreal is bilingual!” But today, I want to send another message along the same lines: “Stop saying Canada is bilingual!” Every day, from coast to coast, we have evidence that the French language is denigrated, humiliated, degraded, rejected. I mean I keep asking the question: But what are we still doing in this country? That’s what took me from “En Française sil vous blight” to “En Française, cri***!” made to go to
Three minutes…
If Canada were truly bilingual, a francophone federal minister would make all his speeches in both official languages, right?
Newspaper this week Right The Commissioner of Official Languages, in a preliminary statement, said, “From March to July 2022, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development gave nine speeches on Canadian soil outside of Quebec, where he said only a few words in French. François-Philippe Champagne is a French speaker and represents the Quebec riding of Saint-Maurice-Champlin in the Parliament of Canada.
“Investigation has established that the talks are not held equally in the two official languages.” It’s a shortcoming: the minister spoke for about 93 minutes, including less than 3 minutes in French.
After that, do they look us straight in the eye and say, “French is important to us”?
Two other examples:
1– On Monday, Radio-Canada journalist Thomas Kerbett told a very revealing story on Twitter: “A federal ministry’s response: ‘I can answer you in English, but not in French until tomorrow morning.'” Why would a federal minister from a supposedly bilingual country put English first and French second? Why should French-speaking journalists be disadvantaged in their work in “the best country in the world”? 2- On Tuesday, my financial advisor sends me a form to fill out. Only in English. I tell him that filling out a document that is not in Quebec’s official language is out of the question. After checking, he told me that the head office in Toronto had experienced technical difficulties and that the form available in English from July 15th would not be available in French until July 28th. why How many French-speaking customers have silently filled out a form in English to buy in peace?
Voltaire In France?
Want a funny story? I wrote to Zadig et Voltaire, a clothing store founded in Westmount, that I found it strange that Véronique Cloutier, Lara Fabian or Charlotte Cardin only had their Instagram posts in English. No French word! You should do it, Zadig et Voltaire is a French company! Their response: “You are right, we will continue our publications in French and English. (Smiling Man) Have a nice day”.
This is proof that listening works. But… why ask? Why would a French company, founded in the largest French-speaking city in America, only publish in English about French-speaking artists and animators? Voltaire must be turning in his grave.
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