Conservative Joël Godin, a true apostle of French in Ottawa’s pharmacies, isn’t budging: The new Liberal MP for Notre-Dame-de-Grâce-Westmount, Anna Gainey, is sending the wrong message by entering politics Only in English .
• Also read: The smiling silence of Ms. Gainey and victorious Canada
In her first speech in the House of Commons this week, Ms. Gainey, born in Montreal and fully bilingual, stood to ask Justin Trudeau a written question in advance.
“Mr President, it is an honor to speak on behalf of my constituents for the first time today. As an MP, I promise to be a strong voice for my community,” she said in English, before Justin Trudeau, a long-time friend, also responded in English.
“It is a slap in the face to Westmount-NDG voters who speak French,” a “lack of respect” for the French fact and an “aberration,” said official languages spokesman Joël Godin.
“I don’t demand that she speaks French 100%, but the minimum, the minimum, is that she speaks it in both languages,” he continues in an interview.
An initial event caught Mr. Godin’s attention last week. When formally welcoming the new arrivals at the start of the term, Justin Trudeau gave his presentation to Ms. Gainey only in English.
“He is elected in Quebec and presents an elected representative from Quebec. Quebec is the only province where French is the common language. Delivering his speech in both languages would have been the minimum,” complains the elected official from Portneuf-Jacques-Cartier, who here blames Justin Trudeau.
“Our prime minister will be elected in Papineau, Quebec. If he doesn’t lead by example, who will lead by example? »
After her election in June, Anna Gainey was asked by journalists about her position on the decline of French in the constituency vacated by Marc Garneau, but did not immediately respond.
Ms. Gainey’s office had not responded to our request for comment at the time of writing.
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