New ads promoting French are tone-deaf
There is one scene that stands out for all the wrong reasons in a new ad promoting French launched this week by the Quebec government.
It shows a presumed immigrant reciting a list of words that rhyme with “Bonjour!” in a francization class.
There would be nothing remarkable about this slice of life — it might even be heartwarming — except that the government is under fire for leaving many newcomers to Quebec in the lurch.
Many fall French courses have been cancelled at the last minute, with no communication about next steps. Without notice, Quebec changed the criteria for financial assistance for those already enrolled in language programs. As many as 35,000 immigrants were waiting for their turn this year — even though the clock is ticking on the six-month grace period new arrivals are allowed to receive public services “in a language other than French” under Bill 96. The Quebec Liberals have denounced the government's poor planning, given the priority it accords to bolstering French.
But the fact Premier François Legault's administration managed to scrape together $2.5 million for an ad blitz extolling the importance of speaking French comes across as particularly tone-deaf when so many people's opportunity to learn the language is on hold and their hopes of integrating and contributing to Quebec society delayed. At a time when Quebec seems to be quietly cutting operational costs, the video capsules could have been axed painlessly.
But it's not the only reason the campaign is off-key. It also smacks of trying to change the channel after a particularly tense summer on the language front.
The government sparked confusion, anger and fear in July when it issued new health directives that repeatedly mentioned eligibility certificates as a means of triaging who qualifies for health care “in a language other than French.” Protesters demonstrated against Bill 96 at the Santa Cabrini and Jewish General hospitals, even as Jeanfrançois Roberge, the minister of the French language, repeatedly denied this was the case. After weeks of gaslighting, he finally acknowledged the policy needs to be rewritten.
The National Assembly last week unanimously adopted a motion introduced by Liberal MNA André Fortin declaring that eligibility certificates for education in English will not be a prerequisite to receiving health care in English. While it's a relief to see elected officials come together to repair some of the damage done, the unease is sure to continue as long as the offending regulations remain in force. (And until the fine print on the revised guidelines can be scrutinized.)
In response to the uncertainty, the West Island health authority felt compelled to run public service announcements of its own informing patients of their rights to receive care in both French and English at its bilingual institutions, like St. Mary's Hospital and the Lakeshore General.
Billboards in the lobbies of those facilities are flashing messages in both French and English that state: “It's your right! Tell the staff which language to speak with you.” It finishes with a quote bubble noting: “Service in French or in English.”
It's in this fraught context that the government's new spot lands.
Credit where due, the contents at least attempt to be inclusive. The ad features a diverse cast of Quebecers, from a taxi driver, to a retailer in a boutique, to an office worker. It sets a positive tone, portraying French as something we all have in common.
“It starts with one word,” the narrator begins. “That's it – just `bonjour.'”
“We learn it,” the voice-over continues. “We choose it ... It depends on us ... It depends on all of us.”
“Just to be clear,” asks a passenger on a crowded Montreal bus near the very end, “It is ...?”
“French!” interjects the narrator, as the man nods knowingly, before the scene cuts to a teen wearing headphones who declares: “That is so it.”
Of course, what goes unsaid is equally potent. In an era where the government is trying to crack down on the use of “Bonjour/hi” in many public settings, especially downtown Montreal, the savvy viewer is left with the implicit understanding that “Hi” is now verboten. How dare we make American or fellow Canadian tourists feel welcome!
Quebec's political class has spent the better part of a decade waging war on the bilingual greeting, passing various unanimous motions in the National Assembly and using it to justify draconian policies like raising tuition for out-of-province university students so they don't anglicize downtown. Even Mayor Valérie Plante has joined in, launching a campaign for the city last spring where she told merchants “Bonjour is better than Bonjour/hi.”
Nevertheless, the latest ad is still better than the condescending campaign that aired in the spring of 2023. It sought to shame young Quebecers for their use of anglicisms, but only managed to make the government look ridiculous. That 30-second clip showed an image of a peregrine falcon while an announcer speaking in franglais described it as a bird of prey that is “assez sick” but also “assez chill” because it is “super quick” in flight, before exclaiming that its “skills de chasse” are “insane.”
The tag line was: “In Quebec, French is in decline. Let's reverse the trend.”
How do you say cringey en français?
That flop might have been quickly forgotten if it weren't for an unscripted moment of hilarity in the National Assembly. On the defensive for scolding young Quebecers, Legault lamented in French: “It's a shame youth find English words `cool.'”
As MNAS erupted in laughter, it finally dawned on Legault that he'd just uttered an anglicism himself.
Given the propensity for gaffes and hypocrisy, it's a wonder the government bothers with such ads when there are so many more constructive ways to reinforce French. Like investing in courses for new immigrants.