When Michaelle Jean became Canada's 27th Governor-General five years ago, she did so in a cloud of controversy -- a cloud that extended to her husband, writer and filmmaker Jean-Daniel Lafond. Federalists focused on remarks they had made years earlier about Quebec separatism. Ms. Jean had appeared in one of her husband's documentaries, making a toast to "no more dominated people" in the company of hard-line Quebec separatists, while Mr. Lafond penned these words in a book based on the film: "An independent Quebec? Yes, I applaud with both hands."
To quell criticism of their loyalties, Ms. Jean issued a statement: "I want to tell you unequivocally that both he [Mr. Lafond] and I are proud to be Canadians and that we have the greatest respect for the institutions of our country." This, together with her acceptance of the position as the Queen's representative in Canada, earned the couple the ire of Quebec separatists, who considered them to be turncoats. No one was happy, in other words.
Now -- following five years during which Ms. Jean has served as Governor-General with great aplomb and distinction-- Mr. Lafond has generated fresh controversy among the separatist crowd. In a long interview published this weekend by the French magazine l'Express, Mr. Lafond states that "the fight for a free Quebec" had died during the 1970 October Crisis, and that "as soon as I arrived [from France in 1974], I believed profoundly that the real fight was not for separatism ... but for culture." He also commented that Quebec separatism is "an obstacle to the expansion of Quebec," and bemoaned the decline of French language instruction: "The percentage of people who cannot properly read a newspaper in French in Quebec is huge. It is incredible for a Western society, and it is distressing."
Reaction from separatists has been swift and predictable. Former union leader Gerald Larose, now president of the Quebec Council for Sovereignty, is representative: He accused Mr. Lafond of engaging in revisionism because of his role as Ms. Jean's spouse: "These are not the views that he developed and that he filmed ... It is misinformation. It is his job. He has to produce a work of fiction."
We would like to submit another reaction: applause. The man spoke out in a candid manner about an issue dear to his heart: the preservation of the French language, which, in his view, is being ill-served by Quebec in its current status as a province, never mind as its own country.
Instead of criticizing Mr. Lafond, Quebec separatists should heed his words and direct their "struggle" to more productive ends: building a better education system for their children and a stronger economy for their citizens, free from the threat of breaking this country apart.
Read more: http://www.nationalpost.com/opinion/Lafond+welcome+message/3244104/story.html#ixzz0t5kbnPOP