“Can everyone please stop shouting?” » In the House of Commons on Thursday, the chairman of a parliamentary committee tried to bring MPs back to order, but nothing worked. Indignant, the elected officials shouted loudly. The source of her outrage: An Alberta MP had just asked a Quebec minister to answer her question… in English.
Published at 7:30 p.m.
Oh, the right topic for the column, I said to myself at the time. I was already excited and ready to pick up the pen in the heat of the moment and defend the honor of French speakers. I would have told them: They never believed in us. You know what, man? Keep your English! We are the damn champions! Here we go!!!
Except that, like Marc-Antoine Dequoy, returning from Hamilton, I had time to come to my senses. I did my little research. And as is often the case when we review a story that at first glance seems scandalous, pfffff, the balloon has deflated…
I’m not defending that Conservative MP, Rachael Thomas, who seems quite forceful, thank you. In particular, she promised to make the devil of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage and accused CBC/Radio-Canada of being in the Hamas camp, nothing less.
However, one has to admit that his exchange with Minister Pascale St-Onge does not stand out for his “dripping contempt,” as bloc leader Yves-François Blanchet later described it.
On the contrary, MP Thomas, who had heard the minister’s answer in English a few minutes earlier, put on white gloves to make her request: “I am aware that it is entirely your decision, we are a bilingual country, but if yes.” possible for you, I would appreciate it…”
She didn’t have time to finish her sentence, buried by the cries of outrage.
I assume his intention was to broadcast his exchange with the Minister of Local Consumption in Alberta. It was undoubtedly embarrassing, certainly inappropriate, but contemptible? It’s not like she barked Speak White! given the Minister of Canadian Heritage…
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Have you noticed? This happens a lot these days. We all scream about stupid things at the same time. We are outraged about everything and nothing. We spin stories, we turn anecdotes into scandals. As the Chinese say, don’t let the facts get in the way of a good story.
It’s like the Christmas story that the Canadian Human Rights Commission apparently wants to make disappear. The Minister in charge of the fight against racism, Christopher Skeete, considered it appropriate to table a motion in the National Assembly to clearly and clearly recall that “Christmas is a tradition celebrated in Quebec”.
The discussion paper that led to this outcry deplores the fact that only religious holidays related to Christianity, such as Christmas and Easter, are public holidays in Canada. This would be a clear example of “systemic religious discrimination” that is “rooted in Canada’s history of colonialism.”
It seems like a joke, but no. It’s ultimately annoying, this kind of moralizing and guilt-ridden speech. We won’t apologize for celebrating Christmas anyway. I completely agree.
But from then on, submit a motion in the National Assembly…
Was it really necessary to denounce in the Salon Bleu a document that had been largely ignored since its publication on October 23rd and which would most likely have continued to be ignored without this request? I don’t know about you, but it seems to me that our parliamentarians are slightly exaggerating the importance of this obscure document. Can’t they use their time better?
Ironically, the motion denounces “any attempt at polarization to unify events” like Christmas. But who exactly is trying to polarize in this case? Who has fun blowing up the balloon? According to some politicians, the Canadian Human Rights Commission is practically accusing good old Santa Claus of being a blatant racist…
By the way, I would like to remind you that the only government that canceled Christmas in Quebec was that of François Legault, in the middle of a pandemic. It was justified to save lives. Thank God it’s an old story. The crisis is behind us.
It’s funny, sometimes I feel like we miss those times. We invent crises as if we really wanted to argue…
Hey, just this week I read a headline decrying Steven Guilbeault’s more expensive and polluting business class travel. I admit, the scandal escaped me. We’re still talking about Canada’s environment minister. Should we put him in the back of the plane near the toilets to make his travels more acceptable?
I have not forgotten the new scandal involving Québec Solidaire (QS), which promises to reserve its nominations for women. First reaction, reflexive: Well, let’s see! The advocates of local democracy want to impose their candidates?! What irony!
Still, I now understand the trick: Before you get upset, always read the fine print. At QS, nominations are reserved for women in the event of a by-election next year. In other words: this measure must never be used. And QS will maintain a very unequal faction of 12 men and 4 women. Not really enough to scream reverse sexism.
But nuance be damned, it’s stronger than us: we get really angry, both about it and about the rest. Our nerves are on edge. It’s not confusing, even this column complaining about everything annoys me. I can’t wait for Christmas.