National anthem in English only: shocked Quebecers

No fucking doing the national anthem in both languages ​​…. thank you @NHL???????? #HabsDC

— DenisCoderre (@DenisCoderre) August 2, 2020

–
–
–
–

“Apparently the national anthem was only in English last night at the Canadiens game in Toronto!” Business as usual … ”, commented for his part the member of the Bloc Québécois Denis Trudel, on his Twitter account.

Normal?

As for the organization of the Canadian, it is also said to have twitched when hearing the O Canada on Saturday night.

“Right after that, Geoff Molson (CH owner) texted me to ask the league why it was just in English,” said Paul Wilson, vice president of public affairs for the club.

The National Hockey League (NHL) told him that in theory, Pittsburgh was the host city on Saturday night.

However, when the Sainte-Flanelle is played in an American city, the Canadian national anthem is almost always sung in English only.

“It’s the league that manages that, but in theory, we’re going to be the host city on Wednesday and we’re going to have our singer,” Wilson suggested.

Normally, “O Canada” is sung in both official languages ​​in Montreal and Ottawa.

Even in other Canadian cities – like Edmonton and Toronto, where these exceptional pandemic playoffs take place – this patriotic song is usually performed in English only. Sometimes the interpreter will slip a passage in French if the Habs are the visitor, but this mark of courtesy is not a rule.

Note also that Michael Bublé’s interpretation was pre-recorded and was used both for Saturday’s game between the Montreal Canadiens and the Pittsburgh Penguins and for the one where the Chicago Blackhawks and the Oilers faced each other in Edmonton.

Sensitive subject

Still, for Maxime Laporte, president of the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Montréal, these reasons should not be used as excuses. For him, the unease runs much deeper than the event on Saturday night.

“Not only have we made the national anthem of the francophones of this continent a ‘Canadian’ anthem, but in addition we have bilingual and then anglicized it”, he complained, referring to the story of this song.

Written for the feast of Saint-Jean-Baptiste in 1880 by Adolphe-Basile Routhier, “O Canada” was originally a hymn for French Canadians. At the beginning of the 20th century, English versions began to spread to the rest of the country.

This melody then established itself as the national anthem, but it was not until 1980, after the first referendum, that the federal government of Pierre Elliott Trudeau recognized it as the official anthem of Canada.

Convinced sovereignist, Maxime Laporte admits not being attached to “O Canada”, but believes that the least of things would be that the anthem will be interpreted only in French in the future at the Bell Center.

“But again, we would not be able to correct the misuse of meaning that has taken place over time. Because except the specialists, hardly anyone knows that the Canada which is question in this hymn, it is the French Canada ”, he added.

Jean-Paul Perreault of Impératif français is also shocked, but he is hardly surprised that Michael Bublé only pushed the note in the language of Shakespeare on Saturday.

“In the National League, there is an obvious lack of respect for national differences, for the national language of Quebecers. Even though we have been fighting for years, the league refuses that the referees can render their decision in French in Montreal, ”underlined Mr. Perreault.

–