TRUDEAU’S LOST IN TRANSLATION MOMENT
PM: ‘Maybe’ I could have used English
MONTREAL • Quebec’s deep-rooted linguistic tensions flared up in unlikely fashion Wednesday as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was forced to explain why he refused to answer questions in English at a town hall.
The controversy erupted when Trudeau answered English questions in French on Tuesday — including one about how English speakers could get help to gain access to mental-health services.
“Thank you for using our country’s two official languages, but since we’re in Quebec I’ll respond in French,” Trudeau told a woman at a town-hall meeting in Sherbrooke.
His unilingual performance drew an angry response from groups that represent Quebec anglophones, with some calling on the prime minister to apologize for showing what they called disrespect toward the English speakers in the audience.
At first, Trudeau defended his stance when grilled about it at a news conference Wednesday as he continued his grassroots tour. But Trudeau changed his tune a few minutes later when a reporter revisited the topic.
Asked whether the English-speaking people in the audience did not deserve to understand him, he replied: “I understand how important it is in these public meetings to be able to answer questions about people’s concerns.
“So, yes, I maybe could have answered partly in English and partly in French and, on reflection, it would have been a good thing to do,” he said.
Judy Ross, the woman who asked Trudeau the question about mental health, said she “felt disrespected” when he explained why he would answer only in French.
The president of an association representing anglophones in the province’s Eastern Townships said Trudeau should apologize to the English-speaking community. Gerald Cutting said the prime minister’s refusal to use both languages undermined the anglophone community’s long struggle to obtain access to services in their own language. “There were people in that audience who felt they were demoted to second-class citizens, and that needs to be addressed,” he said in an interview.