Dieppe councillor draws harsh words from mayor
Published Friday October 30th, 2009
Mayor Jean LeBlanc suggested Jean Gaudet should consider resigning from committee post
Well-meaning or not, Dieppe City Councillor Jean Gaudet was given a proper dressing down at last night's regular council meeting for going too far in the promotion of French on commercial signage in the city.
Gaudet drew the ire of Mayor Jean LeBlanc for introducing a motion in council calling on all merchants and businesses to utilize both official languages when dealing with the public.
The motion was that a letter on behalf of the mayor be sent to businesses asking owners and managers to "recognize and respect" French, the language of the majority of Dieppe residents, in all facets of their business operations.
Gaudet is the president of the Dieppe Comité de la promotion du français et du patrimoine, which has been a major player in promoting the French language in the municipality for a number of years.
Gaudet said after the council meeting that letters have been sent to merchants promoting French in the past and that it needed to be done soon with the important holiday shopping season just around the corner.
LeBlanc didn't see it quite that way.
The mayor pointed out that a separate committee has been working for 10 months to establish policies and strategies with a final report expected soon.
He said it was disrespectful as well as self-serving of Gaudet to take the action he did and suggested it was perhaps time for Gaudet to resign as president of the committee.
Gaudet disagreed with the mayor's comments and said afterwards he was surprised by the criticism and subsequent action of council.
The motion by Gaudet was seconded by Roger LeBlanc and immediately afterwards an amendment to table the motion for further consideration was moved by Councillor Dave Maltais, also seconded by Roger LeBlanc.
That prompted a procedural check after Deputy Mayor Paul LeBlanc wondered if it was proper for the same councillor to support what seems to be opposite actions.
Mayor LeBlanc allowed the seconder, saying the two motions were separate actions and not opposing views.
The vote to table the motion was passed with four councillors in favour and Gaudet the lone nay vote.
Mayor LeBlanc said after the meeting that he stands by what he said and he added there was no personal animosity between the councillor and himself or council and that everyone works well together.
Council members can disagree at times, he said.
The language debate is important for Dieppe, which prides itself as the biggest Acadian city and "urban capital" of Acadie, said the mayor, adding it also prides itself as a bilingual city. It's a question of identity, he said.
The final report by the language committee will be heard and debated before a public meeting of council before any decisions are taken, LeBlanc added.
Earlier in the meeting, Josée Nadeau reported to council on the P.R.O. Jeunesse program, which raises money to help youngsters participate in organized sporting events.
Council approved a tender bid from J. K. Fraser and Son Ltd. for phase one of site preparation work at the St. Anselme Rotary Park for a recreation area for persons 55 years and older. The tender was for $42,782.30, with the total cast of phase one estimated at $150,000. A similar amount will be spent next year for the second and final phase of work.
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Comments (32)
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It is also totalitarian. To have someone intervene on MY place of business is ludicrous. If I want to speak Arabic and have Arabic singes, that should be MY choice and MY choice only! If you don't like it, STAY OUT... LEAVE... do not support my business. You have that choice... some people seem to forget that.
Now government services, yes both official languages is necessary, but not in MY place of business where I spent my life savings and countless hours of work away from my family to be successful.
Gaudet is the equivalent to what the french call "Bigots".
We need to work together, not against each other. Forcing your beliefs and language only turns us on each other.
However, for the rest of your messages - clearly just another let's bash anything French fiesta. Could both of you have over-reacted more?
How does promoting businesses offer bilingual services somehow "oppress a visible minority"? If you RTFA, he was proposing a MOTION (not a bylaw) that encourages businesses to offer bilingual signage and service by means of sending them a cutesy letter. He wasn't proposing a bylaw that was anything near what Quebec does, nor was he in any way trying to take away rights from anyone. I'm still against what Gaudet was proposing, but could you two have more of a hissy fit over a MOTION? And one that wasn't even passed?
Totalitarian = of or relating to centralized control by an autocratic leader or hierarchy
Oppression = unfair and cruel treatment by a powerful person or government.
Visible minority = Visible minority applies to persons who are identified as being non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour.
Somehow, if your RTFA, I fail to see how Gaudet was anywhere near suggesting a "totalitarian" regime approach, or "oppressing" the population (unless of course you think sending a letter is oppressive). Let alone that he was attacking "visible minorities".
Maybe you should both check a dictionary the next time you decide to spew some more hatred towards anything francophone. At least then you'd come across as a bit more credible, albeit still wrong.
Hatred toward francophone.... your sooo far out in left field that it is difficult to even respond. If I hate anything francophone then I guess I hate my wife and my child as I am trying to raise her in both official languages for her sake.
My totalitarian comment was directed as I always do that this is just one more step towards totalitarianism.
Obviously I did not make any comment about visible minority, that comment I very much disagreed with.
Want another example:
Calling Gaudet a bigot. Definition of a bigot:
"a person who regards or treats the members of a group (as a racial or ethnic group) with hatred and intolerance"
How does putting forward a MOTION that would result in a letter being sent out = Gaudet is a bigot? I'm sure you'll have some other way to dance around your own words (like you did on the totalitarian thing), but the fact is your messages clearly indicate your disgust for anything where french is promoted.
"If he wants signs in French so bad he should pay for it himself. What he is doing is promoting a Quebec style oppression of a visible minority within his community."
I'll ask again if your not anti-french, how is a MOTION that was DEFEATED that would have resulted in a letter being sent to businesses "promoting Quebec style oppression"? It's a stupid letter for goodness sakes! Just like we all do everyday, even if the motion had passed, the business owner could take the letter (like other junk mail our cities send us) and just throw it in the trash. It's not oppressive, it's not precedent setting, it's not a law, it doesn't hurt minorities, it doesn't do anything - it's words on a page! Again, I'll state for the record, I was against this motion, and would be TOTALLY against a bylaw mandating bilingual signage. I truly believe governments need to say away from that type of intrusion...
You seem to want me to hate or attack francophone to make me look bad here for being against the government stepping towards a controlling....or totalitarian regime if you will. Maybe it is you that wants to attack a anglophone... not sure what your doing here or why you feel you need to paint me with that brush.... its clear that I am not against or have any hatred towards francophone, if I did, I wouldn't have married one.