The testimony of a man who was refused service in French in a café in Gatineau, in the Outaouais, strongly reacted to the minister responsible for the region, who deplored the situation at the time when the question of the place of French in Quebec calls out to many citizens.
• Read also: The Caisse de dépôt et placement wants employers to speak French
• Read also: Protest in front of Air Canada headquarters on Saturday
• Read also: French language: the big boss of SNC-Lavalin decides to postpone his speech
“Unimaginable. A customer asks to be served in French in a café in Gatineau. The answer: “If you’re not happy, get the fuck out of here” [Si vous n’êtes pas contents, partez d’ici] and “Fuck you, I can’t even understand what you say” [Allez vous faire voir, je ne comprends même pas ce que vous dites]. I can’t wait for Bill 96, ”Minister Mathieu Lacombe wrote on his Twitter account Monday morning.
Mr. Lacombe then returned to the comments reported by a citizen of Gatineau, who explained that he had not been able to be served in French this weekend in a business located on Boulevard du Mont-Bleu, in the sector of Hull.
“Suddenly [le propriétaire] said something to me, then I didn’t understand. So I ask him, “Can you speak to me in French please?” As soon as I said this sentence, his face changed completely then he replied “I’m not allowed to speak to you in French” [Je n’ai pas le droit de vous parler en français]», Explained the man in an interview Monday morning on radio 104.7 Outaouais.
“My mother tongue is Spanish, I learn French because I live in Quebec, to get quibbled in English,” he also lamented.
The man also told the host that he wanted to file a complaint with Impératif français and other organizations.
The recent linguistic controversy surrounding the speech in English by Air Canada’s president and CEO, Michael Rousseau, had created a wave of protest in Quebec, several citizens having decided to come to the defense of French in the province.
A demonstration also took place on Saturday in front of the head office of the airline in reaction to Mr. Rousseau’s comments on French. Nearly 2,000 complaints had also been reported to the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages as of Saturday.