Harper and Ignatieff acting like 'rednecks': Duceppe
Published Wednesday June 24th, 2009
MONTREAL - Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe took time out from St-Jean-Baptiste Day festivities to liken his federalist rivals to "rednecks" in their treatment of the French language.
He directed the shot at Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff, upset that they won't extend Quebec language laws to federally run institutions in the province.
Duceppe made the comments during a parade.
"They acted like rednecks," he told reporters at Montreal's annual June 24 event, which draws thousands of spectators.
"(Ignatieff and Harper), two leaders of the most important political parties in Canada, refused to admit that French should be the working language for institutions under the federal jurisdiction."
The reaction from his opponents was swift: a spokesman from the Prime Minister's Office called Duceppe a whiner and suggested he should quit his bellyaching at least during holidays.
"There are certain days in the year when Mr. Duceppe should put aside his whining, his complaining, his constantly seeing the glass as half-empty," Harper spokesman Dimitri Soudas said Wednesday.
"Quebecers see the glass as being half full. Mr. Duceppe just comes across as a big whiner."
Duceppe would like to see Bill 101 extended to airports, ports, banks and the telecommunications sector and says the other federal parties should recognize that the language of business in Quebec is French.
The Bloc sees the issue as a potential win-win, politically: If federalist politicians accept the changes, they can claim a victory in defence of Quebec's French-language culture.
And if the request is denied, they can transform the matter into a hot-button identity issue in the next federal election - just like arts-funding cuts were in the last one.
Parliament rejected the motion in early June but Duceppe has continued lobbying for the change.
He said the prime minister and the Liberal leader should be as open to minorities as provincial politicians have been in the last few days.
Quebec politicians rallied behind two anglophone performers who were almost dropped from a concert for St-Jean-Baptiste-Day - also known as Fete nationale.
"They should take the example of the political leaders in Quebec who stand up for the rights instead of playing rednecks in Ottawa like they did a few days ago," Duceppe said.
On Tuesday, English bands Bloodshot Bill and Lake of Stew drew loud cheers at the end of their sets after some hardline Quebec nationalists tried to disrupt their performances.
Earlier this month, the appearance of the groups' names on posters for the free outdoor show triggered debate in the province as to whether anglophones should play a role in celebrating Fete nationale.
Only a handful of demonstrators openly opposed to the English musicians showed up.
Both Harper and Ignatieff were in Quebec City for Fete nationale celebrations.
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