The Legault government is not moved by the inability of the captain of the Montreal Canadiens, Nick Suzuki, to communicate in French, even if it invites professional players to make an effort to learn the official language of Quebec.
• Also read: “I don’t understand that Nick Suzuki, the captain, hasn’t learned French in five years!”
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• Also read: Montreal Canadiens: in French please!
The debate was relaunched with the publication of the book The CH and its people, by English-speaking journalist Brendan Kelly. He believes that CH star players should be able to communicate directly with their French-speaking fans.
“I don’t understand that Nick Suzuki, the captain, hasn’t learned French in five years!”, this daily columnist is surprised. The Gazette.
But the Legault government refuses to cast stones, even though it has been hammering home for years the importance of living and communicating in French in Quebec.
At most, the Minister responsible for Sport, Isabelle Charest, believes that the young Ontario player should try to learn the official language of Quebec, to “make an effort” in this direction.
“But I think it’s not a prerequisite,” says Mme Charest.
She gives the example of Anthony Calvillo, former star quarterback of the Alouettes, who worked in Montreal for a long time without speaking to the media in French. Since he returned to the team as quarterbacks coach, he has demonstrated a certain progression in the language of Molière, she argues.
Voluntary
The Minister of the French Language, Jean-François Roberge, also does not pay too much attention to the domination of English in the CH locker room.
“I want professional team players to learn the language, I understand that it is extremely difficult, they almost have a minister’s schedule. Listen, I think it’s up to the organizations, but I obviously want as many players as possible to learn the language,” says Mr. Roberge.
However, the minister has just launched an advertising campaign inviting Quebecers to demand French, both at work and in other aspects of life in society.
Jean-François Roberge also gave a much more decided speech about Governor General Mary Simon, only two weeks ago.
“This is clearly not acceptable. The Governor General of Canada should be able to express herself in the country’s two official languages. It’s the least we can do. It’s a question of respect for Quebecers and all French-speakers in Canada,” he declared.
Like Crosby?
On the side of the Parti Québécois, MP Pascal Paradis believes that players should “ideally” learn the language of Molière when they come to play in Montreal.
“You know, there was a time when a lot of Canadiens players learned French, including former captains like Bob Gainey,” he pointed out.
At his side, his colleague Pascal Bérubé recalled that Sidney Crosby, originally from Nova Scotia, learned the language during his time in Rimouski, even though he knew that he would quickly be drafted by the National Hockey League.
“He asked to learn French even though he was going to do two years. He said he did this out of respect for the people who welcomed him to Rimouski. He continued to learn French. And, when he was asked, at a large Quebec Major Junior Hockey League banquet, to go and say a word, he said: “I will go if I do it in French”. And, if we told him no, he wouldn’t have done it,” he said.