François Legault is about to name Highway 50 after Guy Lafleur. Legault’s populism has “plucked” with the Quebec highway tunnel: his promises of recovery of powers have “plucked” and now he is reaffirming his populism by hugging a hockey star to revamp himself.
How can a highway be symbolized by a hockey player, even of exceptional talent, even adored? Always go for the Jean-Lesage highway… which paved the way for the Quiet Revolution; for the Félix-Leclerc highway, which has worn out its shoes on the road to Quebec’s cultural modernity. What significance will remain in two, three or four generations of a highway named Guy-Lafleur? Short-sightedness is a profound characteristic of populism!
Here, in Gatineau, we could well have given the name Guy-Lafleur to the new arena, inaugurated two years ago, and which we have decked out with the ridiculous name of “Centre Slush-Puppie”… Yes, again the commercial pollution that invades the public space.
For Autoroute 50, wasn’t it rather a great opportunity to honor the name of one of those many women (they are legion!) who paved the way in countless areas of Quebec history : health, education, culture, economy, politics, journalism, women’s rights, etc. ? But no ! The populism of the hockey fan outweighs any historical consideration. Go Habs Go!
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