Five years after that Good morning and welcome to Montreal » Publicly launched to welcome three companies in English, the metropolis led by Valérie Plante is a “main partner” of an important artificial intelligence summit called “ALL IN”.
“It’s very disappointing. It does not convey the image of a city, a “French-speaking metropolis of America,” denounced Louise Beaudoin, former Francophonie minister, in an interview with the Journal.
“The first impression must be French for anyone who arrives in Quebec,” she insisted of the two-day event, which cost $1,000 per ticket.
The largest artificial intelligence summit in Canada is taking place in Montreal on Wednesday and Thursday this week and is called “ALL IN,” the English expression sometimes used in poker when you bet everything you have.
Louise Beaudoin, former minister of the Francophonie archive photo, BEN PELOSSE
“The first thing you see is “ALL IN”. We’re not making any progress. We carry on as if it were normal. For me this is not normal,” lamented Louise Beaudoin.
In Mayor Valérie Plante’s office, we said we proudly welcome world-class events like this.
“We strongly encourage private event organizers to use French when naming their events,” it said.
“Montreal is the French-speaking metropolis of America and we encourage all organizers to promote our common language,” we emphasized.
In 2018, French language minister Nathalie Roy called Montreal’s mayor to task after she made a misstep “in English” in the middle of an economic announcement in the metropolis on Tuesday. Photo Francis Halin
What do McGill University, the University of Montreal, the Quebec Innovation Council, Montreal International or Ivado think? They in turn refused to become involved as partners and left the responsibility to the organizers.
The same applies to the Montreal Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce (CCMM), which nevertheless acts as an apostle of Francisization with its language partnership program “I’m learning French”.
The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) declined to comment, but said its participating vice president would actually deliver his talk in French.
The organizers are fighting back
The artificial intelligence supercluster SCALE AI, which has received more than $300 million in public funding in recent years, reiterated, when questioned by Le Journal, that it is aware of the situation in France and that it is providing simultaneous translations free of charge for everyone will offer.
SCALE AI said it chose to use the phrase “ALL IN” to show that the entire AI ecosystem will be present in Montreal over these two days.
Four years ago, Julien Billot, General Manager of Scale AI, launched an English-only program during an English-language event at Espace CDPQ in Montreal. Photo Francis Halin
“We receive participants from more than 17 countries and in this spirit, many presentations are made in the common language of the panelists and understood by the majority of participants,” explained its general director Julien Billot, who organizes the event.
“Our priority is to offer content with high added value for the benefit of all participants, who can enjoy it in the language of their choice thanks to simultaneous translation,” he added.
SCALE AI is co-led by Hélène Desmarais, wife of the CEO, and co-CEO of Power Corporation, Paul Desmarais Jr.
MILA keeps track
And the Quebec Institute of Artificial Intelligence (MILA)?
As co-organizer, MILA stressed that it “insisted on the importance of the availability of the documentation, simultaneous translation, answers to questions and all tools in French,” according to its spokesman Marc-Antoine Guérard.
“The French-speaking representatives of MILA who will take part in the event will ensure that French is present in their contributions. “For MILA, ensuring a strong French-speaking presence in a predominantly English-speaking international ecosystem is a priority,” he continued.
In the office of the Minister responsible for the French language, Jean-François Roberge, we adhere to the Charter of the French Language.
“According to the Charter of the French Language, publications of a commercial nature on a website must be written in French. However, if they relate in particular to a congress or symposium intended exclusively for a specialized or limited audience, they may only be written in a language other than French,” it says.
“Public signage and commercial advertising must be in French. However, if they relate in particular to a congress or symposium intended exclusively for a specialized or limited audience, they may only be written in a language other than French for the duration of these events,” we conclude.
– In collaboration with Rémi Nadeau
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