You step inside and quickly the smoke of the ribs greets you. Posters without a word of French suggest eating the “Best Ribs”, trying the “Best Sauce”, the “Fabulous Mac and Cheese” and the “Corn Roasted”. “What do you want, my friend? a chef with sunglasses asks us in front of his grill.
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If you thought this was a scene in the southern United States or Old Orchard Beach, think again. It’s happening here, on the Plateau Mont-Royal, during an event, the RibFest, which will take place throughout the weekend.
The journal went there yesterday morning. Several people were already on the premises in the Provigo parking lot in the Shop Angus sector.
The purpose of the event is to raise money for the organization Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Greater Montreal (GFGSGM).
The director of the organization admits to being amazed to see the large plaques in English and the surroundings almost 100% in Shakespeare’s language.
Ontario company
“We were in shock. We told them and we are completely disappointed with the situation,” said Maxime Bergeron-Laurencelle.
An Ontario company, Ribs Royale BBQ, is responsible for this effort. She has already done business with the West Island GFGSGM, which held a similar event last week.
“They advised us to hire them because the food was good. It’s their first time coming to Montreal and they haven’t adjusted. They usually work on the English side, Ottawa, Greenfield Park, etc,” explained Mr Bergeron.
The company’s owner, who was hit by Le Journal, said he was surprised by the controversy.
You will change
“We went to several places in Quebec, in Sherbrooke, in Mont-Saint-Grégoire, in Saint-Georges-de-Beauce, we were told that everything would be fine if we had the menu in French too,” Gus pointed out sackcloth.
Photo Olivier Bourque
Ribs Royale BBQ owner Gus Sakellis said he was surprised by the controversy and promised the Journal adjustments would be made.
In fact, there is a small sign in French next to the food counters. But, the entrepreneur promises, he will make changes to his facilities.
“We love Quebec. We want to stay here. We will make adjustments to our display,” he said.
It was the Impératif Français organization that first became aware of the existence of this facility.
“The reason behind it is good, but everyone knows it’s illegal under the law, but they do it anyway,” its president Jean-Paul Perreault said in an interview with Le Journal.
French in decline
In his opinion, this comes at a pivotal moment when French is experiencing an inexorable decline. Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census data, released this week, shows the acceleration of that decline.
“Nearly 50 years after the French Language Charter was passed, there are still people committing culturally objectionable and unacceptable acts,” lamented Mr Perreault.
For its part, the Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF) has received a complaint and will carry out checks.
“The charter provides that public signage and commercial advertising must be in French,” spokesman Nicolas Trudel said.
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