Quebec minister to order probe after complaint about QMJHL English-only playoff garb

Quebec's French language minister says he'll ask the province's language watchdog to investigate after the leader of the Parti Québécois complained about a lack of French on a QMJHL team's playoff garb. Members of the Drummondville Voltigeurs wear shirts reading "Gilles Courteau Trophy playoffs" in an undated handout image published to social media page Facebook. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO - Facebook.com, Voltigeurs de Drummondville

The Quebec government says it will ask the province's language watchdog to investigate after the leader of the Parti Québécois complained about a lack of French on a QMJHL team's playoff garb.

On Wednesday night, PQ Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon complained on X, formerly Twitter, about T-shirts and hoodies reading "Gilles-Courteau Trophy playoffs" worn by players from the Drummondville Voltigeurs. The Gilles-Courteau Trophy is awarded to the team that win's the league championship.

St-Pierre Plamondon posted a second photo that showed players with the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League's Chicoutimi Saguenéens in a room with slogans behind them written in English.

"The QMJHL is the QUEBEC league responsible for the development of our young Quebec players. Its common and official language should be French," he wrote.

On Thursday, French Language Minister Jean-François Roberge said it makes no sense for Quebec teams to have unilingual English on their shirts or in their locker rooms.

"I think that this does not respect — at the very least — the principle of the law," Roberge told reporters in Quebec City, adding he intended to file a complaint later in the day. The province's language law declares that French is the official language of Quebec and "the only common language of the Quebec nation."

Sports Minister Isabelle Charest said she didn't have the ability to impose French on a private league, but called on it to act in good faith. "We're in Quebec and we want our young players to speak French," Charest said.

The Quebec Maritime Junior Hockey League said on Wednesday that it has raised the matter of the English-only shirts with the Drummondville organization. It chalked the matter up to a human error, adding that the shirts should have, at the very least, been bilingual.

In a statement, the Drummondville Voltigeurs organization said new clothing was being ordered and would be distributed to players.

• WATCH: Political analyst's take on English hockey shirts probe

“French has and will always be of capital importance in our organization," said David Boies, director of operations. Internal communications, social media posts, and engagement with fans and partners are done only in French, but as the team is part of league that operates in four province, in some cases interactions with players and signage is in English, he added.

The 18-team league, which includes six teams based in Atlantic Canada, recently added the word Maritime to its name.

Raphaël Doucet, a spokesman for the league, noted that its players come from all over the world and English is often used to communicate with them. The league is also tasked with preparing players to play professionally, where English is the predominant language.

"We must therefore immerse them in an environment similar to that of the leagues in which they dream of playing,” Doucet wrote in a response to St-Pierre Plamondon on X on Wednesday.

But on Thursday the league released a stronger statement, saying it didn't know the Voltigeurs had made team shirts in English only. "As soon as the league was informed, it asked the Voltigeurs to rectify the situation, which will be done."

The statement said French is the "official language" of the league, noting that "everything happens in French at QMJHL headquarters." It said the league will remind its 12 Quebec teams of "the importance of French in their daily operations."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 28, 2024.