(CCPJ/IFEX) – The CCPJ has learned that a weekly Quebec newspaper, “The Low Down to Hull and Back News” (“The News”), has been the victim of intimidation and pressure by a government agency. The English-language newspaper (circulation 2,300) is published in the town of Wakefield (in the southwestern part of the Canadian province of Quebec). […]
(CCPJ/IFEX) – The CCPJ has learned that a weekly Quebec newspaper, “The Low
Down to Hull and Back News” (“The News”), has been the victim of
intimidation and pressure by a government agency. The English-language
newspaper (circulation 2,300) is published in the town of Wakefield (in the
southwestern part of the Canadian province of Quebec). The first contact
between the newspaper and the Quebec provincial government agency came on 18
December 1997, when Lucie Couvrette, an inspector with the Office de la
Protection de la Langue Francaise (Commission for the Protection of the
French Language, OLF), visited an antique store adjacent to the newspaper’s
office, both of which are owned by “The News” editorialist Arthur Mantell.
Couvrette was visiting the store to check whether or not it was in
compliance with the commercial language regulations in Quebec’s Charter of
the French language. The Charter is a statute which sets out to protect and
regulate the use of French in Quebec, where a majority of the population are
French speakers. After Couvrette identified herself, Arthur Mantell
instructed a photographer with the newspaper to take her picture as she
inspected his store. When she saw the camera, Couvrette fled. “The News”
later published a photo of Couvrette’s truck as she drove away.
Couvrette returned to the antique store on 14 May 1998, this time armed with
an OLF letter which she presented to “The News.” The letter stated that the
newspaper could not take her picture and cited section 176 of the Quebec
Language Charter, which states that no person may hinder any representative
of the Commission when acting in the exercise of their functions. When
pressed as to the reasons Couvrette did not want her picture taken, she
stated that the newspaper was intimidating her, Arthur Mantell said. “The
News” staff told Couvrette that taking her picture did not interfere with
her ability to do her job, and proceeded to photograph her.
Couvrette’s picture appeared in the 21 May 1998 edition of “The News”, which
was published on 19 May. Arthur Mantell told CCPJ that this represented the
first time a Canadian newspaper had published a photograph of an OLF
inspector doing of their work. On 19 May, “The News” received a fax from
Couvrette, which itself was dated 20 May 1998. The fax demands that the
newspaper deliver all its photographs of Couvrette, along with the
negatives, to her office within ten days. The final sentence of the letter
read: “Govern yourself accordingly.”
Nikki Mantell, publisher of “The News” (and Arthur Mantell’s daughter)
decided to publish the photographs after having obtained advice from Raymond
Brassard, the managing editor and lawyer for the daily “The Montreal
Gazette.” Brassard promised that “The Montreal Gazette” would pay any legal
fees “The News” might face as a result of any legal action brought by
Couvrette or the OLF. Mark Bantey, lawyer for “The Montreal Gazette”, called
the OLF’s actions “government gangsterism.”
Background Information
The Charter of the French language is a Quebec provincial statute, brought
in by the Parti Quebecois, which is currenlty in power in the province. Its
general aim is to take measures to ensure the predominance of the French
language in Quebec, which is the only region in North America with a French
speaking majority population. When Couvrette visited the antique shop owned
by Arthur Mantell, she was looking for violations of the Charter of the
French Language’s “Regulation defining the scope of the expression “markedly
predominant.” The concept behind this Regulation is that French must be the
markedly predominant language on any public signs and posters. The
Regulation defines as markedly predominant any text where the French has a
“much greater visual impact than the text in the other language.” The
criteria for ensuring that French has a greater visual impact are defined as
being met when, inter alia, the French characters are at least twice as
large as the characters of another language.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to authorities:
News” should the demands in Couvrette’s 20 May letter not be met and further
asking them to state the grounds for any such action
Rights, article 19 of which guarantees the right to freedom of expression,
including the right to impart information and ideas of all kinds
Appeals To
Mrs. Louise Beaudoin
Minister responsible for the application of the French Language Charter
Fax: +418 643 9164
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
