In Quebec, we have freed ourselves from the Catholic Church and fervently desire a secular state, a clear separation between state and religious powers. Supported by a majority of the Quebec population, Bill 21 responds precisely to this collective need.
Posted at 2:00 p.m.
But, a question of nevertheless bringing together believers, of galvanizing troops if necessary, of creating another form of social fabric, of membership and even a real cult in Quebec, it necessarily takes another binder, another kind of religion, a sporting belief, paying and tricolor. And what better than a national sport like hockey?
That’s awfully good, since our Prime Minister, François Legault, is very fond of hockey, more specifically the Montreal Canadiens and all their heroes from a glorious past.
Mr. Legault also excels in forecasts and statistics: he is “a maniac of hockey pools for a long time”. Yes, our Prime Minister knows his hockey.1
Last November, moreover, François Legault presented a very special project at the Bell Centre, a “committee of experts for the development of our national sport”.2 He even declared, during his press conference, to make it a “personal mission”, wishing, on his retirement from politics, to have “helped that there are more young people who play hockey [au Québec]both for men and women”, hoping to see “more Quebecers in the National League and at the Olympic Games as well”.
“To me, hockey is more than a sport. In Quebec, it’s part of our pride, ”he hastened to add, torso bulging. “Well, we know that. Our great Quebec heroes… when we talk about Maurice Richard, Guy Lafleur… They are hockey players. […] That makes the Quebec people proud to be Quebecers. We saw it with the pandemic. Why did Quebecers listen to the instructions more than elsewhere? Why are more Quebecers vaccinated than elsewhere? It’s because we stick together when things aren’t going well. »3
And that, “sticking together” in politics, in the middle of an election year moreover, is gold in the bar, as they say. It creates a “docile”, “obedient” people who know how to vote “on the right side”.
Guy Lafleur was entitled to a national funeral this week. It is very good. Like any great saint of the glorious skating rink, the departure of the Blond Demon was to be greeted by all his supporters, including the Prime Minister himself.
How many women have been entitled to this honor? Very little – read the article “Women, great forgotten at Quebec national funerals”.4 Not even the great Michèle Lalonde, author of the famous poem Speak Whitedied last summer.
Politically speaking, and even psychologically speaking, don’t you think that this poem had as much impact on the collective psyche and memory, the pride of an entire people and our national identity as many hockey games? It seems not, at least in the eyes of Mr. Legault, and this is a very unfortunate bias.
And watching him go like this, skating proudly until the next election, the wind in his sails as in the blond Demon’s hair, it seems clear that we should not count on Prime Minister François Legault to score points for the women, or even for the arts or culture in general. Like many of his friends and colleagues from the Blue Salon, François Legault sees life in blue-white-red, our sporting religion.