I criticized your previous show, 10 years ago, saying that you could have allowed yourself to go further in your jokes about Quebecers because we have a lot of self-mockery. But with all the controversy you’ve caused since, I wondered if I was wrong. Is the public able to take it?
I feel it in the rooms. People not only want to laugh, but also want to be pushed around. They know that I’m walking on a minefield, with points of view that are not always said aloud.
And which are very divisive. In particular, you talk about Bill 96 (which modifies the Charter of the French language) in an improvised part of your show bilingual, which you published in social networks…
It happened in Quebec. I saw that as a metaphor. The protection of the French language, I am 100% in favor. I think that’s what makes us unique, what gives us our color. For me, it is a wealth. People who are bilingual have a huge advantage. English is the language of business, it is the language of the internet. It wasn’t me who decided that or a gentleman from Westmount.
It’s here lingua franca From our era…
When we demonize English, we are doing people a disservice, especially young people. René Lévesque was perfectly bilingual. Jacques Parizeau and Pierre Karl Péladeau too. Being bilingual is an adaptation tool. The reason why I am able to adapt in so many countries is because I speak several languages. Studies show that multilingual people are able to adapt much faster than monolingual people to any culture.
There is a tendency among some Quebecers to see English as a threat, but not as an asset. A distinction must be made between individual bilingualism and institutional bilingualism. It is important in Quebec that our official language be French and that we not let our guard down. I grew up in the West Island. I know what the threat of assimilation is. But to speak several languages is to be richer in all these languages. It’s a statement – excuse my Franglais – to do a bilingual show everywhere in Quebec?
It’s not to make a statement. It is often said that artists influence society. We do not influence society. We represent society as it is. I did this bilingual show to sold-out crowds in Montreal, Quebec, Gatineau, Magog, Trois-Rivières. People have gone there. Not only do they communicate in both languages, but they also consume culture in both languages. We are doing people a disservice when we claim that English should be avoided in order to protect French. I agree that we have to protect the French language, that we make it shine. But often it’s done clumsily. There are better ways to do it. By celebrating, for example, a comedian who has a point of view different from the majority and who does it in French…
And who is the archetype of the child of Bill 101. That said, don’t we sometimes minimize the threat to the French language in a context where many young people prefer Netflix or Amazon to what is done on Quebec television?
The question that must be asked is: why are they going to Netflix or Amazon? Why are their needs not met by Quebec television? you gonna tell them to watch two girls in the morning rather than The Mandalorian ? It is not a question of language. They do not recognize themselves in Quebec television.
It’s not just young people who don’t recognize themselves in Quebec television, but half of the population of Montreal who have recently immigrated who ask themselves: “Where are we? Maybe in a bank or phone ad.
We don’t have the right to be in your stories, but we have the right to be consumers! [Rires] Whether [l’émission coréenne] Squid Game can walk anywhere in the world, a guy who writes about how he grew up in Côte-des-Neiges can appeal to a lady from Beloeil.
We underestimate the public.
Absolutely ! Before doing my last round in the region, some people said to me: “You, your show, it works in Montreal, but, in the regions, let it go. If I can adapt to Saudi Arabia, I can adapt to Saint-Jérôme! I’m going to say something maybe controversial. There are columnists who say that it is thanks to Bill 101 and the fact that I learned French in Quebec that I succeeded in France. The reason why I succeeded in France is because I learned English, I speak three languages and my brain adapted. In Quebec, there have been several thousand comedians in history. There are three who have succeeded in France. What do we have in common, Rousseau, Kavanagh and me? We all speak English.
I was going to say you’re handsome guys…
[Rires] We’re aging ! Growing up in Côte-des-Neiges, this multilingual and multicultural showcase on the planet, is what allowed my Quebec humor to be exported and pushed it further. When I was in France, my show was an honest and severe criticism of society. In the United States, it was the same. I said to myself: why not do it here, at home?
So it will be question of the law 21 [sur la laïcité] in your new show?
Everything that no one talks about in the artistic community: Law 21, Law 96, Joyce Echaquan…
Should we expect it to cause controversy?
Absolutely ! I’ve been shopping for a formal notice for 15 years. [Rires]
In Quebec, for some, there is the “good immigrant”. The one who adheres to all these Quebec values dictated by the nationalist parties. The good immigrant is in favor of Bill 21. In Quebec, we like to say that we accept everyone. But don’t you dare, if you are an immigrant or a child of an immigrant, to criticize the society in which you live.
Know your place! You don’t have the right to participate in society or in decisions in the same way as others, but pay your taxes! How do you want people to feel at home if they don’t have the same right to speak or the same opportunities as others because of their identity? Where is the equality? In the long run, it will create even bigger problems.
You won’t agree, but I think that the most effective bulwark for safeguarding Quebec’s language and culture would be Quebec’s independence.
Would it be okay for the sovereignists if we said that Quebec is a country, provided that its leader is Sugar Sammy? [Rires] That’s what’s at stake. I’m not talking about me necessarily, but about someone like me. Is it possible?
You have always clearly displayed yourself as a federalist, unlike François Legault or Bernard Drainville, former PQ ministers who are rarely criticized for having changed their coat.
If I do a joke on the CAQ, I am an anti-Quebec racist. If another Quebec comedian, but white, makes a joke on the CAQ, it is said that he is a committed humorist…
As soon as an immigrant, a child of an immigrant or anyone with a foreign-sounding name dares to criticize his society, some people cry out to Quebec bashing.
What is reassuring, in a way, is that I arouse this same kind of hatred both in France and in Quebec. The difference is that in France, the spelling and grammar are perfect! [Rires]