“Can everyone please stop shouting?” » In the Commons, Thursday, the president of a parliamentary committee tried to bring the deputies back to order, but nothing worked. Scandalized, the elected officials shouted loudly. The source of their indignation: an Alberta MP had just asked a Quebec minister to answer her question… in English.
Oh, the right topic for the column, I said to myself at the time. I was already pumped, ready to take up the pen to defend the honor of French speakers, like that, in the heat of the moment. I would have told them: they never believed in us. Well, you know what, man ? Keep your English! We are the fucking champions! Let’s gooo !!!
Except that, like Marc-Antoine Dequoy returning from Hamilton, I had time to come to my senses. I did my little research. And as is often the case, when we verify a story that seems scandalous at first glance, pfffff, the balloon has deflated…
I’m not defending this Conservative MP, Rachael Thomas, who seems quite intense, thank you. She notably promised to make “hell” out of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, in addition to accusing CBC/Radio-Canada of being in the Hamas camp, nothing less.
But it must be admitted that his exchange with Minister Pascale St-Onge is not particularly striking for its “oozing contempt”, as Bloc leader Yves-François Blanchet subsequently described it.
On the contrary, MP Thomas, who had heard the minister respond in English a few minutes earlier, put on white gloves to make her request: “I am aware that it is entirely your choice, we are a bilingual country, but if It was possible for you, I would appreciate it…”
She didn’t have time to finish her sentence, buried by the cries of indignation.
I assume his intention was to broadcast his exchange with the minister for local consumption, in Alberta. It was undoubtedly awkward, surely inappropriate, but contemptuous? It’s not like she barked Speak White ! in the face of the Minister of Canadian Heritage…
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You have noticed ? This happens a lot these days. We all shout at the same time, over stupid things. We are indignant about everything and nothing. We spin stories, we turn anecdotes into scandals. Don’t let the facts get in the way of a good story, as the Chinese say.
It’s like that Christmas story that the Canadian Human Rights Commission apparently wants to see disappear. The Minister responsible for the Fight against Racism, Christopher Skeete, saw fit to table a motion in the National Assembly to remind loud and clear that “Christmas is a tradition celebrated in Quebec”.
The discussion paper that led to this outcry deplores the fact that only religious holidays linked to Christianity, such as Christmas and Easter, are public holidays in Canada. This would be a clear example of “systemic religious discrimination,” “rooted in Canada’s history of colonialism.”
It seems like a joke, but no. It’s infuriating, in the end, this kind of moralizing and guilt-ridden speech. We won’t apologize for celebrating Christmas, anyway. On this, I completely agree.
But from there to table a motion in the National Assembly…
Was it really necessary to denounce at the Salon Bleu a document which had largely gone unnoticed since its publication on October 23, and which would most likely have continued to go unnoticed without this motion? I don’t know about you, but it seems to me that our parliamentarians are slightly exaggerating the importance of this obscure document. Don’t they have better things to do with their time?
Ironically, the motion denounces “any attempt at polarization towards unifying events” like Christmas. But in this case, who exactly is trying to polarize? Who has fun blowing up the balloon? According to some politicians, the Canadian Human Rights Commission is outright accusing good old Santa Claus of being a blatant racist…
I would like to remind you in passing that the only government that canceled Christmas in Quebec was that of François Legault, in the middle of a pandemic. It was justified, to save lives. Thank goodness it’s ancient history. The crisis is behind us.
It’s funny, I sometimes have the impression that we miss those times. We fabricate crises, as if we were desperate to argue…
Hey, just this week, I read a headline denouncing Steven Guilbeault’s more expensive and more polluting business class travel. The scandal, I admit, escaped me. We are still talking about Canada’s Minister of the Environment. Should we stick him at the back of the plane, next to the toilets, to make his travels more acceptable?
I have not forgotten the fresh scandal of Québec Solidaire (QS), which promises to reserve its nominations for women. First reaction, knee-jerk: well, let’s see! The champions of local democracy want to impose their candidates?! What irony!
That said, I understand the trick now: before getting upset, always read the fine print. In the case of QS, nominations will be reserved for women in the event of a by-election, in the next year. In other words, this measure may never be applied. And QS will maintain a very unequal caucus of 12 men and 4 women. Not really enough to cry out for reverse sexism.
But to hell with the nuances, it’s stronger than us: we’re getting really angry, for that as for the rest. Our nerves are on edge. It’s not confusing, even this column which complains about everything annoys me. Can’t wait for Christmas.