A Korean restaurant in the Cillery section of Quebec at the center of a linguistic controversy is closing its dining room, hit by derogatory comments.
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At the center of a linguistic controversy, a restauranteur of Korean descent had to hang up his phone on Friday due to several threatening messages. He argued that the scores of solidarity in recent hours were comforting to him.
Since Wednesday, Joe – who does not want to give his full name to protect his family – says he has been receiving 10 to 20 phone calls daily with threatening tones.
Photo by Tai Moalla
Korean restaurant owner Bob Chang says he has been targeted with threatening messages since the controversy erupted. In an interview with a TVA reporter, he did not want to be identified for this reason.
The fact that the service was not offered in French at his company, Bob Chang, and that the menu was not entirely written in French put him at the heart of the debate about the place of French in businesses.
“I had to hang up my phone. My restaurant only serves Redi-Go [en ligne] Now. My job is to protect my employees,” Joe said in an interview in English, which slipped away at noon on Friday.
Overwhelmed by events
Although his restaurant opened three months ago on Maguire Avenue, he was so shocked by the events that he admitted he considered moving to Montreal or another Canadian province.
He said the many messages of support have done him a lot of good. He wanted to congratulate the merchants and many anonymous individuals who have volunteered to serve their customers in French since the story broke.
“Two evenings a week, Thursday and Friday evenings, I have a staff member who speaks French. Trust me, it’s very difficult to recruit,” he added.
Support the mayor
Mayor Marchant Benoît Tsonga also received the support of the executive director of the Center RIRE 2000, which has been working since 1996 for the socio-economic integration of members of cultural communities, particularly by promoting suffrage.
According to him, “Owner [du restaurant] He showed some indifference. He should have known [les règles] “.
Although he said he was “not aware of the circumstances” surrounding the matter, Mr. Tsonga said the businessman could have hired the workers by offering “good conditions”.
Benoit Tsonga also ruled that it was “normal” that the mayor was “resolute” in defending the French language.
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