The daily editorial office Montreal newspaper apologizes if he has hurt Quebecers, but has no regrets at all for publishing a cartoon on Tuesday in which we see a dog urinating on the photo of René Lévesque.
• Also read: Pissing on Rene
• Also read: The leader of the Parti Québécois, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, will never allow anyone to “piss” on Quebec’s independence.
• Also read: The Gazette publishes a questionable drawing by Lévesque
“The drawing I saw is not the same as everyone else has seen. For me, the subject of the caricature is not René Lévesque. It is the old lady who is portrayed with no sympathy for him. In my opinion, this cartoon is against her and for Mr Lévesque,” Bert Archer told the Journal.
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Bert Archer/Twitter
Bert Archer, editor of the Montreal Gazette for just four months. Image copyright: Bert Archer / Twitter
The latter, who has been editor-in-chief of the English-language daily for four months, ensures that the cartoon is the subject of a simple “misunderstanding”.
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No regret
It was Jacques Goldstyn, aka Boris, who made this controversial drawing, in which we see an elderly lady with a dog wearing a coat with the image of the Canadian flag on it. The animal urinates on a poster announcing the 100th birthday of René Lévesque, in complete indifference to whoever is holding it on a leash.
Jacques Goldstyn / Facebook
Jacques Goldstyn, cartoonist behind the controversial drawing by René Lévesque in the Montreal Gazette daily.
“No, I don’t regret posting it. He is a francophone cartoonist who likes Mr. Lévesque. I’m sorry for the misunderstanding, but it shouldn’t hurt,” assures Bert Archer.
“The Montreal Gazette team and our readers, we love Quebec the way it is. With a majority of French speakers and of course Anglos rights. I love Montreal and Quebec, I don’t want to change it. I also love Mr Lévesque’s legacy,” says the editor-in-chief.
Jacques Goldstyn defended himself on Facebook for damaging the memory of René Lévesque.
“The cartoon is a snapshot of the history of an old generation (shown here through the illustration of a very old lady) who had no respect for the achievements and memory of René Lévesque,” at-er writes in a post on his site.
Big riot
Leaders of the Parti Québécois (PQ), Québec solidaire (QS), the Coalition Avenir Québec and the Quebec Conservative Party (PCQ) criticized the cartoon Tuesday in the Montreal Gazette.
“I will never let anyone urinate on the memory of independence and the legitimate approach of Quebecers to finally wanting to become a country, a normal society on a democratic level,” said Paul St-Pierre Plamondon of the PQ.
ANNABELLE BLAIS / JOURNAL DE QUEBEC / QMI AGENCY
CAQ’s François Legault and PCQ’s Éric Duhaime called the drawing “bad taste”.
MARC-ANDRE GAGNON/JOURNAL DE QUEBEC
“It’s a shame that we’ve been raising tensions all day around a character that should bring Quebecers together, the character of René Lévesque,” commented Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois of QS.
Photo PATRICK BELLEROSE / JOURNAL DE QUEBEC / QMI AGENCY
A relative of Lévesque reacts
Martine Tremblay, who worked with René Lévesque for fifteen years, admits to the Journal that she “didn’t find Jacques Goldstyn’s work very funny.
“It is up to everyone to appreciate the value of this drawing. René Lévesque was the subject of several caricatures during his lifetime. There is nothing new. It is in the nature of caricature to be provocative or even funny. But personally, from my point of view, it’s just ugly, but no more,” concludes Ms Tremblay.
Our requests to interview cartoonist Jacques Goldstyn went unanswered on Tuesday.
With Annabelle Blais, Gabriel Côté and Marc-André Gagnon
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