MP calling witnesses 'full of s---' was 'a total lack of judgment', says Legault

Liberal MP Francis Drouin during Question Period in the House of Commons on February 2, 2024. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

Premier François Legault on Wednesday condemned remarks made by Franco-Ontarian Liberal MP Francis Drouin to two witnesses campaigning in Ottawa for the protection of the French language in Quebec, calling them "extremist" and "full of s---."

"It's a total lack of judgment," said Legault at a press scrum at the Quebec legislature on Wednesday.

A few minutes earlier, Minister for the French Language Jean-François Roberge called the remarks "absolutely unworthy" and said that by refusing to "condemn" them, Justin Trudeau's entire Liberal government had "an examination of conscience" to make.

"He was presented with a statistical, scientific, mathematical fact, and he responded with insults. Then he was somehow defended or excused by the prime minister and ministers," Roberge said.

The spat took place on Monday at the standing committee on official languages, as two witnesses, a researcher and a CEGEP professor, explained that attending an English-language university or CEGEP significantly increases the likelihood that a francophone or allophone will go on to lead their lives in English.

They had been invited to comment on a study into funding English-language post-secondary institutions in Quebec and French-language institutions elsewhere in the country.

On Wednesday morning, Drouin complained that some people were "extrapolating" by saying that he was insulting those who defend the French language. He believes, however, that the two witnesses gave a "simplistic" explanation that was not "unanimously accepted" by the research community.

"I understand, of course, if there are anglophones who have the early childhood continuum go to school in English, go to elementary school in English, go to high school in English, go to post-secondary education in English. (...) They're going to live their lives in English," he told reporters.

Drouin, who withdrew his remarks immediately after they were made, noted that he would "of course" apologize "if the two witnesses feel offended," which he said did not occur to him.

Asked to comment, Roberge felt that "withdrawing his remarks with a little smile was not enough" and that the MP should apologize.

He also believes Trudeau needs to move from words to deeds by taking concrete action, such as giving the Commissioner of Official Languages new powers.

 When they arrived at the Liberal caucus meeting, as they had the day before, several ministers came to his defence, starting with Official Languages Minister Randy Boissonnault.

"When francophones study in Alberta, as I did at the Saint-Jean campus, it hasn't francisized the province of Alberta. And if you look at the number of students we have in Quebec, it doesn't anglicize the province either," he said.

Bloc calls for resignation

Meantime, the Bloc Québécois is now distributing letters urging the elected official to resign as president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Francophonie (APF).

"Mr. Drouin has disqualified himself from fulfilling his mandate to contribute to the international promotion of the French language by refusing to calmly debate the promotion of the French language here in Quebec, the principal home of the French language in America," said Bloc Québécois MP René Villemure in his letters sent Tuesday evening.

The Trois-Rivières MP, who is also one of the two vice-presidents of the Canadian section of the APF, sent similar letters to the other vice-president, Nova Scotia Liberal MP Darrell Samson, to members of the executive committee and copied to members of the Canadian section of the inter-parliamentary organization.

In it, he criticizes the fact that Drouin "grossly misinformed" the two witnesses and that the elected representative demonstrated "wilful blindness" in a conversation about the decline of French and the responsibility of the federal government.

This conduct and the refusal to apologize for it are "unacceptable and unworthy of the position of defender of the Francophonie,'" wrote Villemure, who not only called for his resignation as president of the Canadian section, but also for him to step down from his duties on the international scene, which would mean he would no longer be at the head of the organization.

"I invite you to think about it," he concluded.

Roberge said he isn't prepared to go "that far" today. And Samson wants to take the time to study the letter.

- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on May 8, 2024. With information from Émilie Bergeron in Ottawa and Caroline Plante in Quebec City