Justin Trudeau faces formal language complaints after French-only town hall
“Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is on the receiving end of three formal complaints filed with the federal commissioner of official languages after speaking only French despite English questions at a town hall meeting Tuesday night in Sherbrooke, Que.”
Following the town hall meeting in Sherbrooke, prime minister Justin Trudeau presented some excuses in a press conference saying in retrospect that he could have answered in English during the meeting. His decision to speak only French struck a nerve with members of the English-speaking community in the Eastern Townships.
Reactions from Gerald Cutting, president of the Townshippers’ Association, and James Shea, president of the QCGN, commented by saying how shocking Trudeau’s stance was, even to French-speaking Quebecers. Anthony Housefather, Liberal MP for Mount Royal, considers the event as an anomaly to Trudeau’s “long history of standing up for official bilingualism.”
