Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has expressed his “sincere regrets” to anglophone advocates in Quebec, after responding in French to an English question at a recent town hall meeting.
The Quebec Community Groups Network, which represents over 50 English organizations, posted a letter from Trudeau to their website on Monday.
The Prime Minister’s Office has confirmed the document’s authenticity to the Star.
“Canada is a bilingual country and, as such, I recognize that I should have answered questions in the language they were asked, be it in Quebec or anywhere else in Canada,” writes Trudeau.
“You can rest assured I will do so in the future.”
Trudeau came under criticism in January when, at an event in Sherbrooke, Que., he offered a French answer to a question about English-speakers accessing mental health services.
James Shea, president of the Quebec Community Groups Network, called the incident “a serious breach of the English language rights,” by the prime minister.
“It was that individual’s right to expect a response in the language of her choice, which clearly was English.”
Shea said he appreciated Trudeau’s letter, though.
“We had written to him, he has responded accordingly very contrite, very supportive of the activity that we have so it’s our intention to move on,” Shea told the Star.
“The letter . . . was rather detailed and indicated his commitment to English language rights in Quebec, so it’s something that we learned from and hopefully he learned from.”
Trudeau drew the ire of French-language rights when, just days before his visit to Sherbrooke, he answered a French question in English at a town hall in Peterborough, Ont.
The Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages said it received a total of 14 complaints fuelled by the separate slip-ups.
In his letter to Shea, Trudeau said both of Canada’s official languages are part of his cultural heritage.
“I grew up in a house where both official languages were commonly used,” he wrote. “My mother is English-speaking and my father firmly believed in the importance of bilingualism, the historical importance of our two official languages, and the richness that resulted from their coexistence.”
Likening the English-speaking population of Quebec to the French-speaking populations of provinces like Manitoba and Alberta, Shea said he was proud to advocate for a language minority.
“The government of Canada is committed to two official languages so it’s very clear that (ours) is not a trite request,” he said. “We’re not a bunch of whiners. We have rights, and we advocate for those rights, and we do it in a very positive manner.”
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