Blanchet: Lethbridge MP's demand that minister speak English shows a 'lack of respect.'
Published Dec. 2nd, 2023 1:30 a.m. EST
Written by Will Adams
Lethbridge MP pictured in the HOC
The Conservatives had an embarrassing start to December, this should come as a shock to nobody. This isn’t the party of progressive conservatives that Erin O’Toole tried to spearhead in the previous election, this isn’t even the party that Stephen Harper and Peter MacKay founded. These are the Poilievre conservatives, a new logo to boot, all wrapped in Pierre Poilievre's Donald Trump-inspired brand of populism. the Modern day Conservative Party of Canada is out of touch in so many ways, way more so than it was with Harper and that is saying something with how many divisive decisions Harper made in office. With them showing an unwillingness to work with the Bloq Quebecois and form confidence with them, for example. It showcases an inability to take French Canadians seriously, which is interesting because Pierre Poilievre’s given name was (alledgedly) originally Jeff, he changed his name when joining the CPC to appeal to the French, and situations like this one prove why he shouldn’t have bothered in the first place.
Rachael Thomas is a conservative MP from Alberta and at a committee hearing she caused a scene after demanding a French MP answer a question she asked in English. This request kicked off calls for a point of order from NDP, Bloc, and Liberal MPs on the committee, who accused Thomas of insulting francophones and Quebeckers.
"Minister, I noticed that you answered my questions in French, but other questions you answered in English if they're from your Liberal colleagues. I realize it's completely your choice, we're a bilingual country, but if at all possible I'd love to have an English answer," Thomas said.
Source: Montreal Gazette
Bloc Québécois MP Martin Champoux said House of Commons committees have "highly efficient" interpreters.
"The minister has the full right to answer in whichever language she chooses. This is an insult to Quebeckers and francophones," he said.
The Committee chair and Liberal MP Hedy Fry ruled that the minister is free to speak in whatever language they may choose.
"If the minister chooses French, fine. If the minister chooses English, fine. We cannot make her answer in whatever," Fry said.
Yves-Francois Blanchet is not pleased
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet responded to the inappropriate display with a reference to the poem by Canadian writer Michèle Lalond called Speak White, about the oppression of francophones in Canada.
"It is good old Speak White: 'I am an English Canadian, therefore I am somewhat superior to you, you should speak English to me,'" Blanchet said
"It's a lack of respect which does not surprise anybody in Quebec anymore."
Rachel Thomas would not too long after apologize in a written letter to the chair of the Canadian Heritage Committee.
“As you know, Conservatives support official bilingualism, the preservation of the French language in Canada and the right of Canadians to communicate in the language of their choice,” she wrote.