Is this true?

[VECHKIN08 0]

So I'm watching the Flyers/Canadiens game, and the announcers bring up a predicament that has come up in Montreal. I wasn't sure if it was true but it's pretty ridiculous.

Apparently Alex Kovalev showed the fans some sort of video(a highlight video?) and it was all in English. A canadian lawyer was upset at this and wanted the video in French and English. Apparently this idea has snowballed and now the Canadiens and the fans want any player who plays on the Canadiens to be bi-lingual!!

I don't know if this is true..can anybody refute this? That is so stupid! You have to speak both French and English just to play on the Canadiens?!?!

Any truth to this? Any Montrealians care to clue me in as to what's going on?

[kosydar 0]

It was Koivu's introducing the team during the first game of the year.

[LoXish 0]

http://tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=221847&hubname=nhl

http://tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=221933&hubname=nhl

[RadioGaGa 162]

Apparently tonight...they played a video of Koivu introducing the team...and he did it in French.

He speaks more French in private than he does publicly...his wife speaks French...his kids attend a school where they learn French, and when he does school/hospital appearances, he speaks French to the kids...

Maybe he just isn't comfortable enough to risk mis-speaking to the media and confusing a translation. He's already speaking his second language...which he didn't even learn until he came to NA.

[mack 44]

I wish Quebec would get a lot of Mexican immigrants because their methods of getting people to adapt to languages should be taught in the States.

[LkptTiger 1]

You're in Alaska. What do you have to complain about where the Mexicans are concerned?

[mack 44]

True, there are maybe 10 in the state one of whom is off playing for the Rangers, but Nashville was becoming...infested.

[B-Nads 0]

Be careful what you wish - I am English - born and raised in Quebec...not always a fun thing. Lets say you move here for a job inMontreal - your kids will go to school in French. They may have never spoken a word of it in their lives, there may be an English school across the street from your house, but that doesn't matter. The politics of this province is so hung up on preserving the "French distinct culture" that the state of the economy, education, health care, and other vital services are all but forgotten - but somehow or other they manage to find a few millions every few years to hold referenda to try and separate...if they ever do fin enough idiots to agree to it I'll be standing on Newfoundland island, waving as the fukker sinks.

[mack 44]

I thought the rest of Canada voted against Quebec seceding out of spite.

[thejackal 46]

guy bertrand (the lawyer in question) and co. should go jump off a bridge.

[camhockey16 5]

guy bertrand sounds like canada's version of jack thompson

and correct me if i'm wrong but aren't the canadians actually playing well lately? - what happened now the public can't complain about losing so they are finding other things to complain about?

i understand they love their hockey and all - but i bet the players feel like they are walking on egg shells and just hoping they aren't the next guy to be singled out

[Chadd 916]

I thought the rest of Canada voted against Quebec seceding out of spite.

I would think that the rest of Canada would be happy to see Quebec go so they don't have to deal with this crap anymore.

[Hidious 0]

You guys make us sound like we're a bunch of trouble starters annoying the rest of the world. Our language is about the only thing we managed to keep from our culture and we should do everything we can to keep it. Without some of those laws, we'd be "americanized" in no time and with such few newborns and so many immigrants, our language is in real danger.

Nobody gives a damn if you speak french or not when playing for the habs. What people don't appreciate about Koivu is that he's been here for more than 10 years and he never even publicly said a word in french until tonight. People would like the Habs captain, who was captain for 7 years, to make an effort an say a couple of words in french, just for the principle. What didn't help Saku here is that romanian Lucian Bute, IBF's new World Champion and awesome boxer, started to give interviews in french only a year or two after moving here (he's Romanian) He now speaks a very good french and many people appreciate his efforts. I know Saku is probably just shy or something but some people can't understand that.

Many of us would like Quebec to be independant and not belong in a country where we're the only "marginals". 1995's referendum was the closest we got, the motion to decide whether Quebec should secede from Canada was defeated by an extremely small margin: 50.58% "No" to 49.42% "Yes". The defeat was due in most part to the ethnic vote, immigrants usually love the sound of Canada. It was hard to accept for the separatists.

It may be hard for you guys to understand but we managed to keep our language for hundreds of year under english domination and we'd like to continue this way. All about proudness. Sure, some politicians here are just looking for trouble and will cry for anything, it happens. It's a very small minority and gives us a bad image. Like the Shane Doan affair, who gives a damn if he said "fuckin frog"? We can take that, that's not a racist comment imo...

And B-Nad, i sure hope you moved from Quebec but on the other side, we're always looking for smartasses englishboys like you to drop the gloves.

[DarkStar50 679]

Saku Koivu- the guy beats f'n cancer and people get pissed because he doesn't say a word in French as the Habs captain! Here's a word from NYC- fuhgedaboudit!! Give me a break.

[DekeHead 0]

Romanian is a Romance language, like French, and was probably significantly easier to pick up for Bute.

[Law Goalie 147]

Yeah, gosh, so sorry he couldn't take a timeout from that silly chemotherapy to learn French. Someone's got to set his priorities straight.

Perhaps he feels his French isn't up to the required standard, and would rather not profane a beautiful language by publicly brutalising it. Wow, how disrespectful to French culture -- respect for the language!

edit: And what DekeHead said, plus the fact that English is a big deal in Finalnd, and Koivu was probably learning that all his life.

[D3nZ 0]

Saku only started to talk in english when he arrived in Montreal apparently. Like they said yesterday on TSN, I don't think anyone would care if he didn't talk any french if the Habs would win the cup. It's really some separatist lawyer from Quebec who wanted a little bit of attention who started this whole thing.

[sjsharks11 0]

guy bertrand (the lawyer in question) and co. should go jump off a bridge.

I agree

[DarkStar50 679]

I think the reason Saku used his English(which he already knew from Finland)when got to North America is because no one spoke Finnish in Montreal. Most young people from Europe can speak their native language and English.

[barrett 0]

It's such a stupid thing to have a huge uproar about. He might not feel comfortable or maybe does not like to speak French so why that is such a big deal beats me.

[Cove 38]

This whole situation is ridiculous, and the main reason I don't like Quebec. In Quebec everything HAS to be in French minus emergency signs, but your store sign MUST be in French. There are the most culturally insensitive province in all of Ontario. Its a joke.

[Neal 41]

There are the most culturally insensitive province in all of Ontario.

Please, please tell me this sentence is a bad joke.

[habsmaniac 0]

its not the team, its these polititions in Quebec and you won't have to speak french to play for the habs.

[thejackal 46]

what saku did with his foundation will save lives and improve others, while him speaking french will only stroke the ego of insecure and pathetic people in the words of don cherry. obviously having both would be nice, but id definitely choose one over the other.

[hunterphfr 12]

its not the team, its these polititions in Quebec and you won't have to speak french to play for the habs.

No you won't have to speak french. But you'll have to read it on menus, store signs and your kids sure as hell will have to speak it. Unless you went to an english school in Quebec your kids MUST go to a french school regardless of wether it is public or semi-private.