The owner of the Alouettes, Pierre Karl Péladeau, gives his full support to marauder Marc-Antoine Dequoy, who recently denounced the lack of space given to the French language in the Canadian Football League (CFL).
“We must defend our language and Marc-Antoine has become my spokesperson in this regard,” Mr. Péladeau said on Tuesday. He spoke briefly with The duty in the corridors of the National Assembly, where the Alouettes were honored for their conquest of the Gray Cup.
After his team’s victory in the grand final on November 19, Marc-Antoine Dequoy made a plea in favor of the French language, which he considers to be mistreated in the league in which he plays.
“They never believed in us!” You look everywhere, it’s written in English. Even on the guide [télé] on TSN, it said Argos versus Blue Bombers,” he said. “But you know what? Keep your English, because we won these cups and we are going [les] bring back to Montreal, Quebec. Because we are “fucking” » champions! »
“A lot of pride”
Mr. Péladeau, who was head of the Parti Québécois in 2015-2016, said of the marauder that he “certainly” made a good spokesperson for the French language. “Quite,” he replied, with a smile on his lips, when The duty asked him if he agreed with the player’s comments.
“The deputies underlined it: I think that it raised a lot of pride among Quebecers,” he also said about the Alouettes’ victory in the CFL grand final. A few moments earlier, the deputies gathered in the Blue Room united their voices to congratulate the Alouettes for “their memorable victory in the 2023 Gray Cup final.”
The tribute had a nationalist tenor. “A word, too, to underline the significant effort of the organization to have Quebec players in its lineup,” said for example the Minister responsible for Sport, Leisure and the Outdoors, Isabelle Charest.
The leader of the Parti Québécois, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, recalled that head coach Jason Maas, an American, invites his players to quizzes so that they learn French. “I cannot ignore Marc-Antoine Dequoy’s incredible post-match speech, a historic television moment, and I want to say it here in the National Assembly: Yes, you were right to fart check mark and yes you said out loud what Quebecers are thinking quietly. Thank you for that,” he also said.
“For me, for Québec solidaire and then for many spectators, I think that the most magical moment of all the magical moments of November 19 arrived after the victory,” also underlined solidarity MP Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois. “It’s the frank and contagious pride of Marc-Antoine Dequoy. It’s not for nothing that his words hit the mark. It was not for nothing that we experienced a great collective thrill at that moment. It’s because in Quebec, coming from far away, coming back from behind, we understand what it’s like. »
Liberal MP Enrico Ciccone thanked Mr. Péladeau, “who brought back this Quebec pride within the team by reestablishing the bonds of attachment and trust between football fans and the Alouettes, who desperately needed it “.