The protection of the language turns into a confrontation between Valérie Plante and the CAQ government: François Legault accuses the mayor of not defending French while Montreal becomes anglicized.
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“I find it sad. I don’t understand why Valérie Plante or Denis Coderre don’t want to defend French!” said the Prime Minister on Thursday, not sparing the prospective candidate for the Liberal leadership and potential future adversary.
François Legault and his minister responsible for the French language have not digested the recent statements of the mayor of the metropolis, who sees the increase in tuition fees in English-speaking universities as a “direct attack” against her city.
“The mayor of Montreal should be an ally of the government! railed Jean-François Roberge, in a press scrum at the National Assembly. When the mayor poses as the defender of the right of non-Quebecers to study in English in Montreal, I tell her: “No thank you! No thanks!”»
- Listen to the interview with Jean-François Roberge, Minister of the French Language with Mario Dumont via QUB:
Decline of French
Jean-François Roberge asks Valérie Plante to “change her mind”. That Montreal is the French-speaking metropolis of the Americas must be more than a slogan, believes the minister. “We cannot say that Montreal is the French-speaking metropolis of the Americas, and then, afterwards, oppose measures that defend the French fact in Montreal, that makes no sense.”
Its leader emphasizes that this situation is all the more regrettable as the metropolis becomes anglicized, particularly around certain universities.
“There is a decline in French in Montreal. If you go to businesses, for example around McGill, you will see that a lot of things happen in English,” insisted the Prime Minister.
Plant persists and signs
While in Ottawa, Mayor Plante replied that her job consisted of both promoting the French language, but also supporting the institutions that are part of the metropolis’ DNA and contribute to its international reputation.
“That’s important too. So yesterday, what I did was to invite the government to do the same thing!” said the number one of the City of Montreal, on the sidelines of the Summit on car theft.
Valérie Plante has not retracted, on the contrary. She asks Quebec to be sensitive to the concerns of higher education establishments in the metropolis.
“All the elements that we put forward to protect or promote the French language, I am not embarrassed, I am extremely proud of it, but I reiterate [que dans] a government or an administration, there are several things that we must do, and in this case, we must do both: protect the French language, but also support economic vitality and protect reputation [de la métropole]that means supporting THE universities in Montreal.”
Remember that the CAQ government increased the tuition fees for Canadian students from outside Quebec who attend the English-speaking universities of McGill and Concordia from $9,000 to $12,000. The revenue will be redistributed within the French-speaking network.
- Listen to the Lisée – Montpetit meeting with Jean-François Lisée and Marie Montpetit via QUB: