Jan Wong controversy
Encyclopedia
On September 16, 2006, three days after the shooting at Dawson College
in Montreal, Canada’s nationally distributed newspaper of record
, The Globe & Mail, published a front-page article titled, “Get under the desk,” by Jan Wong
. In the article, Ms. Wong controversially linked all three Quebec
school shootings of the last two decades—1989 École Polytechnique Massacre
(15 deaths), 1992 Concordia University Massacre
(4 deaths), and 2006 Dawson College Shooting
(2 deaths)—to the purported alienation
brought about by “the decades-long linguistic struggle” within the province. Public outcry and political condemnation soon followed in many venues. In response, a Globe and Mail editorial attempted to minimize the controversy as a "small uproar" over journalistic freedom, but this caused further condemnation. Jan Wong maintained her perspective.
was half-Algerian
, Valery Fabrikant
was a Russian Jew, and Kimveer Gill
was of India
n heritage); and they had been alienated by a Quebec society concerned with “racial purity.” Citing the history of the use of the antiquated term “pure laine,” (“pure wool”), Wong postulated the existence of a uniquely Québécois brand of racism, writing: “Elsewhere, to talk of racial ‘purity’ is repugnant. Not in Quebec.”
The article also portrayed school shootings in Canada as a Quebec phenomenon, citing Jan Bryan, columnist for the Montreal Gazette
, saying, “Three doesn’t mean anything. But three out of three in Quebec means something.” It also presented the Montreal anglophone community as a small-town, close-knit community.
, the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society
(SSJB) lodged a complaint to the Quebec Press Council. SSJB president Jean Dorion
declared "There is no obsession for racial purity in Quebec, definitely not. [...] The expression 'pure laine' is absolutely obsolete." The blogosphere
soon saw a flood of posts against Wong's allegations.
Wong received hate mail
, including racist comments about her Chinese ethnicity and post containing excrement. She also received a death threat that resulted in Wong's family contacting the police.
journalist Michel Vastel
, in his blog for the news magazine L'actualité
, called the article "deceitful racism" and the interpretation "repugnant". His opposition was advanced again in a following Journal de Québec
piece by Vastel. Wong's article was condemned by federalist
La Presse editorialist André Pratte
(in a letter to the Globe and a La Presse editorial), journalists Michel C. Auger
of Le Journal de Montréal
, Michel David
and Michel Venne
(sovereigntist
) of Le Devoir
, Alain Dubuc
(federalist), Vincent Marissal, Yves Boisvert and Stéphane Laporte
of La Presse, Josée Legault
(sovereigntist) of The Gazette
, Jean-Jacques Samson of Le Soleil
, sovereigntist militant and author Patrick Bourgeois of Le Québécois
, Gérald Leblanc, retired journalist of La Presse and Joseph Facal
, Journal de Montréal columnist and former Parti Québécois
minister.
The Gazette called it "nonsense" in an editorial. It however found the reaction to be out of proportion, as did Lysiane Gagnon from La Presse, who nonetheless called the theory "delirious". Gazette journalist Don Macpherson
wrote: "By the standards of Wong’s article, one could just as easily blame the [three] shootings on federalism, since all three happened to occur while the Quebec Liberals were in power". He advanced that, on the contrary, the tragedy and the controversy around Wong's article had shown a remarkable unity between French and English-speaking Quebecers. Barbara Kay, author of the "Quebecistan" controversy
, herself criticized Wong, calling the analysis "bullshit". Jack Jedwab, Executive Director of the Association for Canadian Studies in Montreal and former Executive Director of the Quebec Region of the Canadian Jewish Congress
, noted that the expression "pure laine" was "no longer quite common". He also called the analysis "nonsense". The Globe and Mail remarked that "[i]n English Canada, unsurprisingly, the response has been considerably more muted". However, on September 28, 2006, Warren Kinsella
wrote a harsh criticism of Wong's work in The National Post. Kinsella was born in Montreal, Quebec.
Critics of the piece contend that linguistic factors were never claimed by the assassins. According to them, Lépine had a grudge against women and feminists; Fabrikant against rival scholars; and Gill, a bullied child, targeted students and said in his notorious internet blog that Quebec was a “good place to live in.” These critics maintain that it is incorrect to consider Lépine as not having been part of Francophone, Québécois society given that, while he may have been estranged from his Algerian-born father, he was raised mainly by his French-speaking, Québécoise mother, whose name he had adopted (he was born Gamil Gharbi). Moreover, they note that both Fabrikant and Gill targeted anglophones, not francophone
s.
stated that she saw in the arguments something akin to "neoracism", that is to say, a generalization of a cultural trait applied to a given population. "For less than that, minorities go to the courts", she said.
On September 19, 2006, the Canadian Press
reported that federalist
Premier of Quebec Jean Charest
demanded an apology, calling the article a "disgrace". He sent an open letter to the Globe vigorously defending Quebec's society and its language protection.
Conservative
Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper
called Wong's argument "prejudiced", "absurd", "irresponsible" and "without foundation". He sent the Globe a similar letter. "These actions (the killings) deserve our unqualified moral condemnation, not an excuse for printing prejudices masked in the language of social theory," Harper wrote. Parti Québécois
leader André Boisclair
declared that the journalist had, on the intellectual level, "slipped into the dregs" ("glissé dans les bas fonds"). Former Premier of Quebec Bernard Landry
declared to La Tribune
"if she is of good faith, she will have to apologize [...] It is incredible that it is still possible today to convey such delirious opinions on Quebec. Especially in an era when Quebec is more cosmopolitan than ever. [...] It is insulting for Quebec and dishonouring for Canada. In the same way as if I saw a similar article about Ontario in La Tribune, I would be ashamed for La Tribune."
Cameroon-born
Bloc Québécois
Member of Parliament Maka Kotto
issued a declaration at the Canadian House of Commons stating "to pretend that there could be a link of any kind of cause-and-effect between the dramatic episode of Dawson College and Bill 101 — described as infamous by the journalist — pertains of a defamatory delirium disconnected from the Quebec reality. [...] Quebec is an inclusive, welcoming society where it is pleasant to live. As an immigrant, I felt very rapidly welcome there and I deplore that the openness of the Quebec people can be put into question." He invited the federal government to denounce the writings of Jan Wong as well. On September 20 the House of Commons unanimously passed a motion requesting an apology "to the Quebec people" for the column. Denis Coderre
, the Liberal MP who tabled the motion, called the column "classless". "People feel there's a sort [...] of trend.", he said. "I think that it's enough. We're not "Quebecistan", we're not a people that ostracizes, we're a model of integration." Coderre was in the group of politicians attacked by Barbara Kay in the "Quebecistan" controversy
, also accused of "Quebec bashing
". Marie-Hélène Paradis, press attaché of Quebec Minister of Immigration Lise Thériault
, said "No data can support what Ms. Wong advances." She declared that such allegations feed "the type of fast judgements that lead to discrimination."
Despite having voted for the motion, Conservative Member of Parliament Daniel Petit
declared that there might be a link, as Wong suggested. "I think that the billion (dollars) that we put in [the Canadian gun registry
] should have been put into education and integration of immigrants in Montreal", Petit said. Dimitri Soudas, press attaché for Conservative Prime Minister Harper, said "The comments of Mr. Petit are unacceptable, he should retract them and it does not reflect in any case the position of the government", adding that Petit was met by the Prime Minister's cabinet on the subject. MPs of the House of Commons criticized him for his statements, including Michel Gauthier
, of the Bloc Québécois, and Denis Coderre
, of the Liberal Party of Canada, who demanded apologies. He offered them promptly. "I made inappropriate remarks," Petit said in a statement. "I withdraw them entirely because you cannot draw any link between the integration of immigrants in Quebec and the terrible tragedy at Dawson College."
s Charest and Harper. The editorial validated Wong's claims of alienation in Quebec, which the Globe called "politics of exclusion". Asking whether this exclusion led to marginalization and perhaps alienation, it said that the answer is "arguable". However, it called the marginalization and alienation of the three shooters "obvious". About whether it could be associated with the murders, it answered that "[n]o such evidence exists". In a sentence apparently intended to balance the assertions, it implied at the same time that an even worse discrimination existed in the Quebec of the past, as it wrote: "By the same token, it would be remiss to forget that today’s Quebec is not the Quebec of yesteryear." The Globe and Mail did not issue an apology for Jan Wong's piece, as requested by many, including the unanimous House of Commons.
declared that he considered the editorial an attempt at justification. "It even suggests there might be some problems in Quebec because of the language laws. It's unacceptable and it's deplorable and it's shameful for a newspaper of that stature", he said. "Try imagining the opposite — If I'd made such nonsensical, absurd remarks (about English Canada). Then all the editorial writers across Canada would get involved." Premier of Quebec Jean Charest was said to be disappointed by the Globe and Mail response. He was also said to be offended by the little consideration the paper gave his open letter, that was published in the readers' opinion page (like the one from Prime Minister Harper). "The (House of Commons) motion is totally ignored", said the Premier's press attaché. On September 23, 2006, the Canadian Press
reported that Edward Greenspon
, editor of The Globe and Mail, expressed regrets. In a Globe and Mail column, without making formal apologies, he wrote that the personal opinions of Wong should have been excised from the piece, not because they were unacceptable, but because they constituted a "thesis", not a "statement of fact". He wrote that "they should have been put into a separate piece clearly marked opinion". He however believed the reaction to be clearly disproportionate. Despite Greenspon's insinuation that the piece was not "clearly marked opinion", it had in fact been accompanied by a headshot of Wong, the traditional means of designating opinion pieces. http://www.davidhayes.ca/wong.htm
to explain herself at the popular Québécois talk show Tout le monde en parle
. She has declared: "I brought forward a point of view [...] and I maintain it." She has claimed that, during the controversy, she was the target of sexist and racist attacks, citing a Le Devoir cartoon that (belying the paper's denial of racism in Quebec) showed her opening a fortune cookie
that said "Beware of Bill 101". The newspaper claimed that it was a reference to the Chinese restaurant
s of her well-known father, Bill Wong, not her ethnicity.
Dawson College shooting
The Dawson College shooting occurred on September 13, 2006 at Dawson College, a CEGEP in Westmount near downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The perpetrator, Kimveer Gill, began shooting outside the de Maisonneuve Boulevard entrance to the school, and moved towards the atrium by the cafeteria on the...
in Montreal, Canada’s nationally distributed newspaper of record
Newspaper of record
Newspaper of record is a term that may refer either to any publicly available newspaper that has been authorized by a government to publish public or legal notices , or any major newspaper that has a large circulation and whose editorial and news-gathering functions are considered professional and...
, The Globe & Mail, published a front-page article titled, “Get under the desk,” by Jan Wong
Jan Wong
Jan Wong is a Canadian journalist of Chinese ancestry. Wong worked for The Globe and Mail, serving as Beijing correspondent from 1988 to 1994, when she returned to write from Canada....
. In the article, Ms. Wong controversially linked all three Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
school shootings of the last two decades—1989 École Polytechnique Massacre
École Polytechnique massacre
The École Polytechnique Massacre, also known as the Montreal Massacre, was a hate crime perpetrated on December 6, 1989 at the École Polytechnique in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Twenty-five-year-old Gamil Rodrigue Liass Gharbi, who had changed his name to Marc Lépine, armed with a legally obtained...
(15 deaths), 1992 Concordia University Massacre
Concordia University massacre
The Concordia University massacre was a school shooting on August 24, 1992 in which Dr. Valery I. Fabrikant, an associate professor of mechanical engineering, killed four colleagues and wounded a staff member at Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He was convicted of murder and...
(4 deaths), and 2006 Dawson College Shooting
Dawson College shooting
The Dawson College shooting occurred on September 13, 2006 at Dawson College, a CEGEP in Westmount near downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The perpetrator, Kimveer Gill, began shooting outside the de Maisonneuve Boulevard entrance to the school, and moved towards the atrium by the cafeteria on the...
(2 deaths)—to the purported alienation
Social alienation
The term social alienation has many discipline-specific uses; Roberts notes how even within the social sciences, it “is used to refer both to a personal psychological state and to a type of social relationship”...
brought about by “the decades-long linguistic struggle” within the province. Public outcry and political condemnation soon followed in many venues. In response, a Globe and Mail editorial attempted to minimize the controversy as a "small uproar" over journalistic freedom, but this caused further condemnation. Jan Wong maintained her perspective.
Article
Wong suggested that the school shootings may have been related to the fact that the perpetrators were not old-stock French Québécois: (Marc LépineMarc Lépine
Marc Lépine was a 25-year-old man from Montreal, Canada who murdered fourteen women and wounded ten women and four men at the École Polytechnique, an engineering school affiliated with the Université de Montréal, in the "École Polytechnique massacre", also known as the "Montreal Massacre".Lépine...
was half-Algerian
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
, Valery Fabrikant
Valery Fabrikant
Valery I. Fabrikant , is a Belarussian émigré and former associate professor of mechanical engineering at Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada...
was a Russian Jew, and Kimveer Gill
Kimveer Gill
Kimveer Singh Gill was the Canadian perpetrator of the Dawson College shooting at Dawson College in Westmount, Quebec, Canada on September 13, 2006. He killed one student and wounded nineteen others before he committed suicide.-Background:Kimveer Gill was a 25-year-old Indo-Canadian born in...
was of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n heritage); and they had been alienated by a Quebec society concerned with “racial purity.” Citing the history of the use of the antiquated term “pure laine,” (“pure wool”), Wong postulated the existence of a uniquely Québécois brand of racism, writing: “Elsewhere, to talk of racial ‘purity’ is repugnant. Not in Quebec.”
The article also portrayed school shootings in Canada as a Quebec phenomenon, citing Jan Bryan, columnist for the Montreal Gazette
The Gazette (Montreal)
The Gazette, often called the Montreal Gazette to avoid ambiguity, is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, with three other daily English newspapers all having shut down at different times during the second half of the 20th century.-History:In 1778,...
, saying, “Three doesn’t mean anything. But three out of three in Quebec means something.” It also presented the Montreal anglophone community as a small-town, close-knit community.
Public reaction
Hundreds of letters of complaints were received by The Globe and Mail. Like in Barbara Kay's caseBarbara Kay controversy
Barbara Kay is a columnist for the Canadian national broadsheet the National Post, wherein she expressed, in a series of three articles, beginning with a column entitled "The Rise of Quebecistan," on August 9, 2006,...
, the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society
Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society
The Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society is an institution in Quebec dedicated to the protection of Quebec francophone interests and to the promotion of Quebec Sovereignism. Its current President is Mario Beaulieu....
(SSJB) lodged a complaint to the Quebec Press Council. SSJB president Jean Dorion
Jean Dorion
Jean Dorion is a Canadian politician, sociologist and a Quebec nationalist leader. He is the current President of the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society of Montreal , a post he held also from 1989 to 1994. He is additionally the treasurer of the affiliated Mouvement national des Québécoises et des...
declared "There is no obsession for racial purity in Quebec, definitely not. [...] The expression 'pure laine' is absolutely obsolete." The blogosphere
Blogosphere
The blogosphere is made up of all blogs and their interconnections. The term implies that blogs exist together as a connected community or as a social network in which everyday authors can publish their opinions...
soon saw a flood of posts against Wong's allegations.
Wong received hate mail
Hate mail
Hate mail is a form of harassment, usually consisting of invective and potentially intimidating or threatening comments towards the recipient...
, including racist comments about her Chinese ethnicity and post containing excrement. She also received a death threat that resulted in Wong's family contacting the police.
Journalistic reaction
A number of Quebec journalists denounced Wong's article. French-bornFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
journalist Michel Vastel
Michel Vastel
Michel Vastel was a Québécois journalist and columnist for Le Journal de Montréal and other medias. He was born in Saint-Pierre-de-Cormeilles, Eure, France and immigrated to Canada in 1970....
, in his blog for the news magazine L'actualité
L'actualité
L'actualité is a Canadian French-language news and general interest magazine published in Montreal by Les Éditions Rogers, which is owned by Rogers Communications. The magazine has over a million readers, according to Canada's Print Measurement Bureau, from its circulation which is mainly...
, called the article "deceitful racism" and the interpretation "repugnant". His opposition was advanced again in a following Journal de Québec
Le Journal de Québec
Le Journal de Québec is a French-language daily newspaper in Quebec City, Quebec . The newspaper is printed in tabloid format and has a the highest circulation for a Quebec City newspaper, with its closest competitor being Le Soleil....
piece by Vastel. Wong's article was condemned by federalist
Quebec federalist ideology
Quebec federalist ideology revolves around the concept of Quebec remaining within Canada, in opposition to the desires of Quebec sovereigntists and proponents of Quebec independence....
La Presse editorialist André Pratte
André Pratte
André Pratte is a journalist and economist. He is the current Editor-in-Chief of the Montreal large-circulation newspaper La Presse. In Quebec, he is a notable voice of the Quebec federalist ideology....
(in a letter to the Globe and a La Presse editorial), journalists Michel C. Auger
Michel C. Auger
Michel C. Auger is a Québécois journalist. He is a political columnist for Le Soleil, though until April 2006 he worked for Le Journal de Montréal...
of Le Journal de Montréal
Le Journal de Montréal
Le Journal de Montréal is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and is the largest-circulation French-language newspaper in North America. Established by Pierre Péladeau in 1964, it is owned by the Sun Media division of Quebecor Media. It is also Canada's largest tabloid...
, Michel David
Michel David
Michel David has been a Québécois journalist since 1978, and is currently a columnist for the Montreal newspaper Le Devoir....
and Michel Venne
Michel Venne
Michel Venne is a Quebec journalist, author and intellectual. He is a columnist for the Montreal newspaper Le Devoir. He is founder and director of the Institut du Nouveau Monde...
(sovereigntist
Quebec sovereignty movement
The Quebec sovereignty movement refers to both the political movement and the ideology of values, concepts and ideas that promote the secession of the province of Quebec from the rest of Canada...
) of Le Devoir
Le Devoir
Le Devoir is a French-language newspaper published in Montreal and distributed in Quebec and the rest of Canada. It was founded by journalist, politician, and nationalist Henri Bourassa in 1910....
, Alain Dubuc
Alain Dubuc
Alain Dubuc is a journalist and an economist from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He is a columnist for Montreal's La Presse, Quebec City's Le Soleil and five other dailies in Quebec. He is a notable advocate of center-right fiscal politics and the Quebec federalist ideology.- Biography :Alain Dubuc is...
(federalist), Vincent Marissal, Yves Boisvert and Stéphane Laporte
Stéphane Laporte
Stéphane Laporte is a retired track and field athlete from France, who competed in the men's javelin throw event during his career. He represented France at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, where he didn't reach the final after throwing 69.40 metres in the qualification...
of La Presse, Josée Legault
Josée Legault
Josée Legault is a Canadian journalist. She is currently a political columnist for the English-language Montreal, Quebec newspaper The Gazette...
(sovereigntist) of The Gazette
The Gazette (Montreal)
The Gazette, often called the Montreal Gazette to avoid ambiguity, is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, with three other daily English newspapers all having shut down at different times during the second half of the 20th century.-History:In 1778,...
, Jean-Jacques Samson of Le Soleil
Le Soleil
Le Soleil is a French-language daily newspaper in Quebec City, Quebec. It was founded on December 28, 1896 and is published in compact format since April 2006...
, sovereigntist militant and author Patrick Bourgeois of Le Québécois
Le Québécois
Le Québécois is a political newspaper based in Quebec City. Founded in 2001, it is a medium of the Quebec sovereignty movement. The newspaper also has a militant wing, the Réseau de Résistance du Québécois.- Description :...
, Gérald Leblanc, retired journalist of La Presse and Joseph Facal
Joseph Facal
Joseph Facal is a politician, academic, and journalist in the Canadian province of Quebec. He was a Parti Québécois member of the National Assembly of Quebec from 1994 to 2003 and was a cabinet minister in the governments of Lucien Bouchard and Bernard Landry.-Early life and career:Facal was born...
, Journal de Montréal columnist and former Parti Québécois
Parti Québécois
The Parti Québécois is a centre-left political party that advocates national sovereignty for the province of Quebec and secession from Canada. The Party traditionally has support from the labour movement. Unlike many other social-democratic parties, its ties with the labour movement are informal...
minister.
The Gazette called it "nonsense" in an editorial. It however found the reaction to be out of proportion, as did Lysiane Gagnon from La Presse, who nonetheless called the theory "delirious". Gazette journalist Don Macpherson
Don Macpherson
Don Macpherson is a British screenwriter working in films and television.-Biography:Born in Durham, educated at Nottingham High School and Queen's College, Cambridge where he was awarded an Exhibition to read English.-Journalism:...
wrote: "By the standards of Wong’s article, one could just as easily blame the [three] shootings on federalism, since all three happened to occur while the Quebec Liberals were in power". He advanced that, on the contrary, the tragedy and the controversy around Wong's article had shown a remarkable unity between French and English-speaking Quebecers. Barbara Kay, author of the "Quebecistan" controversy
Barbara Kay controversy
Barbara Kay is a columnist for the Canadian national broadsheet the National Post, wherein she expressed, in a series of three articles, beginning with a column entitled "The Rise of Quebecistan," on August 9, 2006,...
, herself criticized Wong, calling the analysis "bullshit". Jack Jedwab, Executive Director of the Association for Canadian Studies in Montreal and former Executive Director of the Quebec Region of the Canadian Jewish Congress
Canadian Jewish Congress
The Canadian Jewish Congress was one of the main lobby groups for the Jewish community in the country, although it often competed with the more conservative B'nai Brith Canada in that regard. At its dissolution, the president of the CJC was Mark Freiman. Its past co-presidents were Sylvain Abitbol...
, noted that the expression "pure laine" was "no longer quite common". He also called the analysis "nonsense". The Globe and Mail remarked that "[i]n English Canada, unsurprisingly, the response has been considerably more muted". However, on September 28, 2006, Warren Kinsella
Warren Kinsella
Warren James Douglas Kinsella , is a Toronto-based Canadian, lawyer, author, musician, political consultant, commentator, and blogger...
wrote a harsh criticism of Wong's work in The National Post. Kinsella was born in Montreal, Quebec.
Critics of the piece contend that linguistic factors were never claimed by the assassins. According to them, Lépine had a grudge against women and feminists; Fabrikant against rival scholars; and Gill, a bullied child, targeted students and said in his notorious internet blog that Quebec was a “good place to live in.” These critics maintain that it is incorrect to consider Lépine as not having been part of Francophone, Québécois society given that, while he may have been estranged from his Algerian-born father, he was raised mainly by his French-speaking, Québécoise mother, whose name he had adopted (he was born Gamil Gharbi). Moreover, they note that both Fabrikant and Gill targeted anglophones, not francophone
Francophone
The adjective francophone means French-speaking, typically as primary language, whether referring to individuals, groups, or places. Often, the word is used as a noun to describe a natively French-speaking person....
s.
Political reaction
Micheline Labelle, director of the Centre de recherche sur l’immigration, l’ethnicité et la citoyenneté (CRIEC, "Centre for research on immigration, ethnicity and citizenship") at the Université du Québec à MontréalUniversité du Québec à Montréal
The Université du Québec à Montréal is one of four universities in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.-Basic facts:The UQAM is the largest constituent element of the Université du Québec , a public university system with other branches in Gatineau , Rimouski, Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec City, Chicoutimi, and...
stated that she saw in the arguments something akin to "neoracism", that is to say, a generalization of a cultural trait applied to a given population. "For less than that, minorities go to the courts", she said.
On September 19, 2006, the Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Canadian Press Enterprises Inc. is the entity which "will take over the operations of the Canadian Press" according to a November 26, 2010 article in the Toronto Star...
reported that federalist
Quebec federalist ideology
Quebec federalist ideology revolves around the concept of Quebec remaining within Canada, in opposition to the desires of Quebec sovereigntists and proponents of Quebec independence....
Premier of Quebec Jean Charest
Jean Charest
John James "Jean" Charest, PC, MNA is a Canadian politician who has been the 29th Premier of Quebec since 2003. He was leader of the federal Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1993 to 1998 and has been leader of the Quebec Liberal Party since 1998....
demanded an apology, calling the article a "disgrace". He sent an open letter to the Globe vigorously defending Quebec's society and its language protection.
Conservative
Conservative Party of Canada
The Conservative Party of Canada , is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. It is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum...
Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper
Stephen Harper
Stephen Joseph Harper is the 22nd and current Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Conservative Party. Harper became prime minister when his party formed a minority government after the 2006 federal election...
called Wong's argument "prejudiced", "absurd", "irresponsible" and "without foundation". He sent the Globe a similar letter. "These actions (the killings) deserve our unqualified moral condemnation, not an excuse for printing prejudices masked in the language of social theory," Harper wrote. Parti Québécois
Parti Québécois
The Parti Québécois is a centre-left political party that advocates national sovereignty for the province of Quebec and secession from Canada. The Party traditionally has support from the labour movement. Unlike many other social-democratic parties, its ties with the labour movement are informal...
leader André Boisclair
André Boisclair
André Boisclair is a politician in Quebec, Canada. He was the leader of the Parti Québécois, a social democratic and separatist party in Quebec....
declared that the journalist had, on the intellectual level, "slipped into the dregs" ("glissé dans les bas fonds"). Former Premier of Quebec Bernard Landry
Bernard Landry
Bernard Landry, is a Quebec lawyer, teacher, politician, who served as the 28th Premier of Quebec , leader of the Opposition and leader of the Parti Québécois .-Personal:...
declared to La Tribune
La Tribune
La Tribune is a French financial newspaper that was founded in 1985. The paper is in tabloid format and has a circulation of around 78,000.- External links :**...
"if she is of good faith, she will have to apologize [...] It is incredible that it is still possible today to convey such delirious opinions on Quebec. Especially in an era when Quebec is more cosmopolitan than ever. [...] It is insulting for Quebec and dishonouring for Canada. In the same way as if I saw a similar article about Ontario in La Tribune, I would be ashamed for La Tribune."
Cameroon-born
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...
Bloc Québécois
Bloc Québécois
The Bloc Québécois is a federal political party in Canada devoted to the protection of Quebec's interests in the House of Commons of Canada, and the promotion of Quebec sovereignty. The Bloc was originally a party made of Quebec nationalists who defected from the federal Progressive Conservative...
Member of Parliament Maka Kotto
Maka Kotto
Maka Kotto , is a provincial level politician from Quebec, Canada and a former member of the Canadian House of Commons. He is the husband of Longueuil mayor Caroline St-Hilaire. He is also a published author and has appeared in film...
issued a declaration at the Canadian House of Commons stating "to pretend that there could be a link of any kind of cause-and-effect between the dramatic episode of Dawson College and Bill 101 — described as infamous by the journalist — pertains of a defamatory delirium disconnected from the Quebec reality. [...] Quebec is an inclusive, welcoming society where it is pleasant to live. As an immigrant, I felt very rapidly welcome there and I deplore that the openness of the Quebec people can be put into question." He invited the federal government to denounce the writings of Jan Wong as well. On September 20 the House of Commons unanimously passed a motion requesting an apology "to the Quebec people" for the column. Denis Coderre
Denis Coderre
Denis Coderre, PC, MP is a Canadian politician from Quebec, Canada. Coderre is the Liberal Member of Parliament for the Montreal riding of Bourassa.-Background:...
, the Liberal MP who tabled the motion, called the column "classless". "People feel there's a sort [...] of trend.", he said. "I think that it's enough. We're not "Quebecistan", we're not a people that ostracizes, we're a model of integration." Coderre was in the group of politicians attacked by Barbara Kay in the "Quebecistan" controversy
Barbara Kay controversy
Barbara Kay is a columnist for the Canadian national broadsheet the National Post, wherein she expressed, in a series of three articles, beginning with a column entitled "The Rise of Quebecistan," on August 9, 2006,...
, also accused of "Quebec bashing
Quebec bashing
Anti-Quebec sentiment is opposition or hostility toward the government, culture, or the francophone people of Quebec.The term Quebec bashing is used in the French-language media to refer to what is perceived and depicted by Quebec nationalists as defamatory anti-Quebec coverage, in the...
". Marie-Hélène Paradis, press attaché of Quebec Minister of Immigration Lise Thériault
Lise Thériault
Lise Thériault is a Quebec politician. She is the current Member of National Assembly of Quebec for the riding of Anjou in Montreal...
, said "No data can support what Ms. Wong advances." She declared that such allegations feed "the type of fast judgements that lead to discrimination."
Despite having voted for the motion, Conservative Member of Parliament Daniel Petit
Daniel Petit
Daniel Petit is a Canadian politician.A lawyer by profession, Petit is a graduate of Université Laval and was called to the Quebec bar in 1973. He is a founder and partner of the firm Petit, Beaudoin, Société nominale d'avocats...
declared that there might be a link, as Wong suggested. "I think that the billion (dollars) that we put in [the Canadian gun registry
Canadian gun registry
The Canadian Firearms Registry is part of the Firearms Act and is managed by the Canadian Firearms Program of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police . It requires the registration of all guns in Canada. It was introduced by the Liberal government of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien and implemented by...
] should have been put into education and integration of immigrants in Montreal", Petit said. Dimitri Soudas, press attaché for Conservative Prime Minister Harper, said "The comments of Mr. Petit are unacceptable, he should retract them and it does not reflect in any case the position of the government", adding that Petit was met by the Prime Minister's cabinet on the subject. MPs of the House of Commons criticized him for his statements, including Michel Gauthier
Michel Gauthier
Michel Gauthier is a Québécois politician, who served as leader of the Bloc Québécois from 1996 to 1997. He was Leader of the Opposition during this time.- Biography :...
, of the Bloc Québécois, and Denis Coderre
Denis Coderre
Denis Coderre, PC, MP is a Canadian politician from Quebec, Canada. Coderre is the Liberal Member of Parliament for the Montreal riding of Bourassa.-Background:...
, of the Liberal Party of Canada, who demanded apologies. He offered them promptly. "I made inappropriate remarks," Petit said in a statement. "I withdraw them entirely because you cannot draw any link between the integration of immigrants in Quebec and the terrible tragedy at Dawson College."
Globe and Mail editorial response
On September 21, 2006, The Globe and Mail published an editorial on the affair. Calling the controversy a "small uproar", it defended the right of the journalist to question such phenomena, the "need to ask hard questions and explore uncomfortable avenues", saying that it "merely wondered". The editor claimed not to be surprised by the hundreds of letters of protest received, including those of First MinisterFirst Minister
A First Minister is the leader of a government cabinet.-Canada:In Canada, "First Ministers" is a collective term that refers to all Canadian first ministers of the Crown, otherwise known as heads of government, including the Prime Minister of Canada and the provincial and territorial premiers...
s Charest and Harper. The editorial validated Wong's claims of alienation in Quebec, which the Globe called "politics of exclusion". Asking whether this exclusion led to marginalization and perhaps alienation, it said that the answer is "arguable". However, it called the marginalization and alienation of the three shooters "obvious". About whether it could be associated with the murders, it answered that "[n]o such evidence exists". In a sentence apparently intended to balance the assertions, it implied at the same time that an even worse discrimination existed in the Quebec of the past, as it wrote: "By the same token, it would be remiss to forget that today’s Quebec is not the Quebec of yesteryear." The Globe and Mail did not issue an apology for Jan Wong's piece, as requested by many, including the unanimous House of Commons.
Reactions to the editorial
Leader of the Bloc Québécois Gilles DuceppeGilles Duceppe
Gilles Duceppe is a Canadian politician, and proponent of the Québec sovereignty movement. He was a Member of Parliament in the Canadian House of Commons for over 20 years and was the leader of the sovereigntist Bloc Québécois for almost 15 years. He is the son of a well-known Quebec actor, Jean...
declared that he considered the editorial an attempt at justification. "It even suggests there might be some problems in Quebec because of the language laws. It's unacceptable and it's deplorable and it's shameful for a newspaper of that stature", he said. "Try imagining the opposite — If I'd made such nonsensical, absurd remarks (about English Canada). Then all the editorial writers across Canada would get involved." Premier of Quebec Jean Charest was said to be disappointed by the Globe and Mail response. He was also said to be offended by the little consideration the paper gave his open letter, that was published in the readers' opinion page (like the one from Prime Minister Harper). "The (House of Commons) motion is totally ignored", said the Premier's press attaché. On September 23, 2006, the Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Canadian Press Enterprises Inc. is the entity which "will take over the operations of the Canadian Press" according to a November 26, 2010 article in the Toronto Star...
reported that Edward Greenspon
Edward Greenspon
Edward Greenspon is vice president, business development for Star Media Group, a division of Torstar Corp. Before that, he was the editor-in-chief of The Globe and Mail newspaper, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada for seven years...
, editor of The Globe and Mail, expressed regrets. In a Globe and Mail column, without making formal apologies, he wrote that the personal opinions of Wong should have been excised from the piece, not because they were unacceptable, but because they constituted a "thesis", not a "statement of fact". He wrote that "they should have been put into a separate piece clearly marked opinion". He however believed the reaction to be clearly disproportionate. Despite Greenspon's insinuation that the piece was not "clearly marked opinion", it had in fact been accompanied by a headshot of Wong, the traditional means of designating opinion pieces. http://www.davidhayes.ca/wong.htm
Jan Wong's response
Jan Wong declined the invitation of host Guy A. LepageGuy A. Lepage
Guy A. Lepage is a Canadian comedian turned producer.-Career:Lepage was one of the five founding members of the Quebec comedy group Rock et Belles Oreilles , and remained with the group from 1981 to 1995.Lepage became a media mogul and...
to explain herself at the popular Québécois talk show Tout le monde en parle
Tout le monde en parle (Quebec)
Tout le monde en parle is a Quebec talk show hosted and co-produced by Guy A. Lepage, broadcast on Radio-Canada since 2004. It has been adapted from the French show of the same name, created and hosted by Thierry Ardisson.- Concept :...
. She has declared: "I brought forward a point of view [...] and I maintain it." She has claimed that, during the controversy, she was the target of sexist and racist attacks, citing a Le Devoir cartoon that (belying the paper's denial of racism in Quebec) showed her opening a fortune cookie
Fortune cookie
A fortune cookie is a crisp cookie usually made from flour, sugar, vanilla, and oil with a "fortune" wrapped inside. A "fortune" is a piece of paper with words of faux wisdom or a vague prophecy...
that said "Beware of Bill 101". The newspaper claimed that it was a reference to the Chinese restaurant
Chinese cuisine
Chinese cuisine is any of several styles originating in the regions of China, some of which have become highly popular in other parts of the world – from Asia to the Americas, Australia, Western Europe and Southern Africa...
s of her well-known father, Bill Wong, not her ethnicity.