Quebec to say ‘bye’ to Montreal’s ‘hi’

This editorial appeared in the Winnipeg Free Press:

It’s a risky business that outsiders engage in when they venture into the cultural affairs of others. Comments are almost certainly destined to be dismissed as uninformed and unwelcome.

Still, it’s hard to resist the urge to weigh in on the Quebec National Assembly’s unanimous adoption of a motion encouraging Montreal businesses to greet customers with a simple, French-only, “bonjour” rather than the slang-hybrid “Bonjour/Hi” that is often heard in that city’s stores and restaurants.

The motion, which passed 111-0 in the assembly but is considered non-coercive, comes in response to recently released Statistics Canada figures that suggest the number of primarily francophone workplaces in Quebec is in decline and, as of 2016, has dropped below 80 per cent.

The Parti Québécois, which introduced the motion, is clearly looking for an issue — any issue — to buoy its sinking popularity, and the non-enforceable “bye” to “hi” effort is a way to score populist points without pushing for legal prohibition. It’s the kind of grassroots initiative that every Quebec politician could — and did — get behind.

But Montreal is a cosmopolitan centre whose demographic mix has become extremely diverse and whose immense tourism industry depends on being seen as inclusive and welcoming to visitors from around the globe. Resecting the “hi” from the “bonjour” will accomplish nothing in the complex and necessary struggle to protect French language and culture in Quebec. Pushing big-city retailers to change the way they greet customers might, in some cases, mean the difference between “buy” and “bye.”