Why using the N-word was a tactic during Quebec's leadership debate
CBC
Warning: This story contains reference to a literary work by Pierre Vallières which contains a racial slur in the title. CBC has decided to publish the name of the book without the offensive word in full.
During the election campaign's first leadership debate, two white men aspiring to be premier of Quebec suddenly blurted out the N-word.
Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon used the slur last Thursday while referring to the book of a famous Quebec author, and then he dared Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois to do the same.
The Québec Solidaire co-spokesperson was explaining the need for academic freedom in schools and universities when TVA anchor and the evening's moderator, Pierre Bruneau, jumped in. He asked Nadeau-Dubois if the title of Pierre Vallières's 1968 book, which features the N-word, can be said in classrooms.
That's when Plamondon pounced.
"N----- blancs d'Amérique, can we say the title of that book?" Plamondon said without warning, before backing Nadeau-Dubois into a corner.
"It's a book pertaining to the history of Quebecers. Are you able to say the title of that book?" Plamondon asked.
This exchange played out on live television with 1.5 million Quebecers reportedly watching and Liberal Leader Dominique Anglade, the first Black woman to ever lead a provincial party in Quebec and take part in such a debate, standing right there.
It was a damned-if-you-do-damned-if-you-don't moment for Nadeau-Dubois, one of the few candidates for premier who acknowledges the existence of systemic racism in the province.
"Of course, we can say the title of the book from Pierre Vallières, N----- blancs d'Amérique, there is no problem," he said before criticizing his opponent for using the word as part of a personal crusade.
The use of the N-word that evening was seen by many people as careless and gratuitous.
"What happened at the leadership debate horrifies me," lawyer and columnist Fabrice Vil wrote in a Facebook post last Friday.
"On a television channel viewed by all of Quebec, during a leadership debate with the main parties, while we have important societal issues, men are insisting on their right to quote a work containing the N-word?"
After the debate, Nadeau-Dubois faced several questions from reporters about why he caved in to Plamondon's pressure. According to one Journal de Montréal columnist, it was a "clever" move by Plamondon to "put a forbidden word, the N-word, in the mouth of Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois."
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued a farewell message to Canadians Thursday as he marks his last full day in office.
The Association of Yukon Fire Chiefs says about 80 per cent of volunteer firefighters in the territory are wearing expired protective equipment, putting them in danger and in violation of occupational health and safety regulations when they respond to emergencies.
Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault will be given a new portfolio in Mark Carney's cabinet, a source with knowledge of the decision told Radio-Canada.
The Alberta government has suspended a loan program at Picture Butte Feeder Cooperative, the province's largest cattle financing cooperative, after an inspection alleged a number of financial mismanagement and regulatory issues.
If you look up at the sky late, late Thursday in the Toronto area, there's a chance you'll be able to see a total lunar eclipse and what's called a blood moon.
When wintertime calls, go where it's warm.
Colby Leamon had lost a close family member, and was looking for a dog to provide emotional support.
The cost of a 24-pack of beer could increase $3 to $5 because of 25 per cent tariffs on aluminum exported to the United States, according to a craft brewery in northern Ontario.
Fire tore through a seafood processing plant in Cape John, N.S., on Wednesday night.
Another of New Brunswick's new municipal councils has become embroiled in drama and bitter conflict.
Tardiness is nothing new at Via Rail, but late arrivals are reaching historic levels in a key corridor since passenger trains have been forced to slow down at hundreds of rail crossings operated by CN Rail.
Walmart Canada will stop selling machetes — a type of weapon frequently used in violent crimes — in stores across the country, after Manitoba's government pressured the retailer to restrict online sales.
The parents of two 15-year-old girls at Evan Hardy Collegiate in Saskatoon say they went to police and the school multiple times between June and August 2024 with concerns about escalating online threats from the student now accused of setting one of the girls on fire in a school hallway.