Bands can play Fete nationale in English if they choose: Quebec minister

Quebec's culture minister says she has no problem if an Anglo band — such as Grammy-winning Arcade Fire — ever wanted to sing in English at the Fete nationale.

Christine St-Pierre says the idea, when the Parti Quebecois government changed the name of the traditional St-Jean-Baptiste festival to Fete nationale in 1978, was for everyone to feel welcome.

More related to this storyArcade Fire wins Brit Awards two days after Grammy upsetArcade Fire brings artistry back to popular music

Video Arcade Fire burns brightest in MontrealVideo Arcade Fire wins big

Festival organizers have in recent years stated resolutely that the event should be held exclusively in French, in celebration of Quebec's francophone culture.

They let it be known this week that even Arcade Fire — which won the most prestigious prize at the Grammys — could not sing songs in their original English if they ever wanted to play at their hometown festival.

But Ms. St-Pierre dismissed that notion. The Quebec government is a financial sponsor of the June 24 concert in Montreal.

To illustrate her case she invoked the memory of Rene Levesque, the nationalist hero whose PQ government turned the old French-Canadian St-Jean-Baptiste religious celebration into a new civic holiday.

“He wanted a celebration that is very inclusive and a celebration that includes francophones, anglophones and people that are living together in Quebec,” Ms. St-Pierre said.

Her remarks came one day after organizers of Montreal's Fete celebration said that, like any other act hoping to play at the festival for Quebec's annual holiday, Arcade Fire would have to perform in French.

The chief organizer said that the award-winning band would be welcome to play the event, “as long as they conform to certain guidelines.”

The question is, for now, largely hypothetical: Arcade Fire will be on tour in Europe when the Fete is held this June, and it hasn't been invited in any case.

Ms. St-Pierre pointed out that that Fete nationale is a celebration of the French fact in Quebec, noting that only two per cent of North America are French speakers.

However, she wanted people of all origins to feel welcome.

“This is a celebration of all Quebecers,” she said. “This is also a celebration of artists and artists should have the right to express themselves in their own language.

“This is a choice. If an artist decides to express himself in English, I have no problem with that.”

She said she had written to the band to congratulate them on their Grammy win, which she called “truly fantastic.”

The Parti Quebecois voiced a similar sentiment as the government.

While the Fete organization must be free from political interference, the PQ said, it added that it would not object to a more diverse celebration.

“I see nothing wrong with songs being sung in Spanish, English, Italian, Creole, Innu . . . during the Fete nationale, even if the animation, the interventions, and most of the content should, as a simple courtesy, be in French,” said PQ culture critic Yves-Francois Blanchet.

“These voices participate in Quebec's culture and enrich it.”

He added that his party “enthusiastically” shares in Quebecers' pride over Arcade Fire's “tremendous success.”

Arcade Fire does include the occasional French line in its songs but the band, and its U.S.-born frontman, sing almost exclusively in English.

When they took to the stage at the Grammys they expressed thanks, in English and French, to the city of Montreal and later gushed to reporters backstage about their love for the place.

Lead singer Win Butler, who grew up in Texas, has lived for almost a decade in the city where he met his wife and fellow band member, Regine Chassagne.

After winning the best-album Grammy this week, the group went on to England where they were named the top international band at the BRIT awards.

The band has a huge following in Quebec and earned multiple plaudits at home this week, including a congratulatory motion in the provincial legislature.

The City of Montreal also revamped its website to include a “Bravo!” for the band on a banner across its front page.

Read more >>

Bands can play Fete nationale in English if they choose: Quebec minister

Quebec's culture minister says she has no problem if an Anglo band — such as Grammy-winning Arcade Fire — ever wanted to sing in English at the Fete nationale.

Christine St-Pierre says the idea, when the Parti Quebecois government changed the name of the traditional St-Jean-Baptiste festival to Fete nationale in 1978, was for everyone to feel welcome.

More related to this storyArcade Fire wins Brit Awards two days after Grammy upsetArcade Fire brings artistry back to popular music

Video Arcade Fire burns brightest in MontrealVideo Arcade Fire wins big

Festival organizers have in recent years stated resolutely that the event should be held exclusively in French, in celebration of Quebec's francophone culture.

They let it be known this week that even Arcade Fire — which won the most prestigious prize at the Grammys — could not sing songs in their original English if they ever wanted to play at their hometown festival.

But Ms. St-Pierre dismissed that notion. The Quebec government is a financial sponsor of the June 24 concert in Montreal.

To illustrate her case she invoked the memory of Rene Levesque, the nationalist hero whose PQ government turned the old French-Canadian St-Jean-Baptiste religious celebration into a new civic holiday.

“He wanted a celebration that is very inclusive and a celebration that includes francophones, anglophones and people that are living together in Quebec,” Ms. St-Pierre said.

Her remarks came one day after organizers of Montreal's Fete celebration said that, like any other act hoping to play at the festival for Quebec's annual holiday, Arcade Fire would have to perform in French.

The chief organizer said that the award-winning band would be welcome to play the event, “as long as they conform to certain guidelines.”

The question is, for now, largely hypothetical: Arcade Fire will be on tour in Europe when the Fete is held this June, and it hasn't been invited in any case.

Ms. St-Pierre pointed out that that Fete nationale is a celebration of the French fact in Quebec, noting that only two per cent of North America are French speakers.

However, she wanted people of all origins to feel welcome.

“This is a celebration of all Quebecers,” she said. “This is also a celebration of artists and artists should have the right to express themselves in their own language.

“This is a choice. If an artist decides to express himself in English, I have no problem with that.”

She said she had written to the band to congratulate them on their Grammy win, which she called “truly fantastic.”

The Parti Quebecois voiced a similar sentiment as the government.

While the Fete organization must be free from political interference, the PQ said, it added that it would not object to a more diverse celebration.

“I see nothing wrong with songs being sung in Spanish, English, Italian, Creole, Innu . . . during the Fete nationale, even if the animation, the interventions, and most of the content should, as a simple courtesy, be in French,” said PQ culture critic Yves-Francois Blanchet.

“These voices participate in Quebec's culture and enrich it.”

He added that his party “enthusiastically” shares in Quebecers' pride over Arcade Fire's “tremendous success.”

Arcade Fire does include the occasional French line in its songs but the band, and its U.S.-born frontman, sing almost exclusively in English.

When they took to the stage at the Grammys they expressed thanks, in English and French, to the city of Montreal and later gushed to reporters backstage about their love for the place.

Lead singer Win Butler, who grew up in Texas, has lived for almost a decade in the city where he met his wife and fellow band member, Regine Chassagne.

After winning the best-album Grammy this week, the group went on to England where they were named the top international band at the BRIT awards.

The band has a huge following in Quebec and earned multiple plaudits at home this week, including a congratulatory motion in the provincial legislature.

The City of Montreal also revamped its website to include a “Bravo!” for the band on a banner across its front page.

Read more >>

Former justice minister enters Alberta PC leadership race

She’s pro-choice and a supporter of gay rights and has built a distinguished international legal career while juggling the demands of a young family – Alison Redford conforms to few stereotypes of an Alberta conservative.
The former justice minister, who on Wednesday entered the race to take over the long-governing Progressive Conservatives, is a social liberal who hopes to spark a new era for the party at a time when many want to move it to the right.

More related to this storyTwo more MLAs joins leadership race to replace Alberta Premier Alberta leadership race to pit red Tories against blueAlberta’s one-party system is cracking up

VideoStreetwise - Stelmach stepping downMs. Redford has been expected to run since Premier Ed Stelmach announced last month he'd step down. Her strong résumé, extensive support in Calgary (home to many of the province's political power brokers), platform to turn the province into a “world energy capital” and immense fundraising potential, are seen as giving her strong footing to become her party’s next leader and, as such, the next premier – the first woman to hold either post.
She will, however, have challenges. One is experience – she has been an MLA since just 2008 and is somewhat unknown outside of Calgary (to begin making inroads, her announcement was in Edmonton).
And then there are her Red Tory views, which are offset by her position as a fiscal hawk (she’s biting her tongue about next week’s deficit budget) but would define the party as a big-tent destination to counter the rightward slant of its chief challenger, the Wildrose Alliance.
“It’s got to be big tent. It’s Alberta. Alberta today is not Alberta of 20 years ago in every possible way,” Ms. Redford, 45, told The Globe and Mail, adding, “I don’t know what an average Albertan is any more.”
Before she was elected, she worked as a lawyer in both the federal and provincial governments, for the European Union and the Commonwealth Secretariat.
Ms. Redford, a married mother of an eight-year-old daughter, said that change includes the evolving face of family units and the inclusion of gay and lesbian citizens – and Albertans are “good with all that.”
“The social issues that face Albertans aren’t those issues. They’re mental health issues. [They’re questions like] how are communities dealing with supporting each other when there are challenges. Do people have jobs? Are their roads working? What’s the tax situation? It’s the same issues everywhere.”
Another challenge she faces is the rural vote. Fellow contenders Ted Morton, Doug Horner and Doug Griffiths all have rural ties. Ms. Redford has few, but doesn’t shy away from acknowledging it.
“I think that I have a different view of this province than they do. And I think part of that comes from the fact that I’ve lived in an awful lot of places in the world,” she said.
She also sought to brush aside Danielle Smith, the Leader of the Wildrose Alliance, as a “doctrinaire.”
Albertans need a leader with the “ability not just to say what they stand for, but to demonstrate that they’re able to solve problems that may arise in the future,” Ms. Redford said, adding, “And I think the people of Alberta will have to decide who is best capable of doing that.”
David Taras, a professor at Calgary’s Mount Royal College, said Ms. Redford is in good shape early in a race that won’t end until September, but will have to work hard to raise her profile.
“She has to sell herself to rural Alberta, she has to sell herself in the north, she has to sell herself to Edmonton, and that’s her challenge – or opportunity,” he said.
Her fate will also depend largely on whether former cabinet minister and Calgarian Gary Mar, now the province’s advocate in Washington, steps into the race as many expect he will. If he does, the two will jockey for the same support and donations.
Ms. Redford made her announcement one day after Mr. Griffiths joined the race, pledging strong leadership and a voice for young families. Both bring cleaner slates than Mr. Horner and Mr. Morton.
Mr. Horner is a Northern Alberta farmer cut from the same cloth as Mr. Stelmach, who has middling popularity. Mr. Morton is a polarizing social conservative who opposes gay marriage and abortion.
Mr. Griffiths, 38, has no experience as a minister but has hefty backroom support and a strong online following. Ms. Redford is a technological neophyte; her campaign team bought her an iPad and has begun teaching her how to use Twitter.
The two will battle to be seen as the fresh face of the party that has governed since 1971. It reinvented itself with the election of another Calgarian in 1992, Ralph Klein. Ms. Redford is hoping it will work again.
“Albertans are so diverse,” she said. “We’re all different. And what we can represent as a party is that: that everyone can be part of this.”

Read more >>

Former justice minister enters Alberta PC leadership race

She’s pro-choice and a supporter of gay rights and has built a distinguished international legal career while juggling the demands of a young family – Alison Redford conforms to few stereotypes of an Alberta conservative.
The former justice minister, who on Wednesday entered the race to take over the long-governing Progressive Conservatives, is a social liberal who hopes to spark a new era for the party at a time when many want to move it to the right.

More related to this storyTwo more MLAs joins leadership race to replace Alberta Premier Alberta leadership race to pit red Tories against blueAlberta’s one-party system is cracking up

VideoStreetwise - Stelmach stepping downMs. Redford has been expected to run since Premier Ed Stelmach announced last month he'd step down. Her strong résumé, extensive support in Calgary (home to many of the province's political power brokers), platform to turn the province into a “world energy capital” and immense fundraising potential, are seen as giving her strong footing to become her party’s next leader and, as such, the next premier – the first woman to hold either post.
She will, however, have challenges. One is experience – she has been an MLA since just 2008 and is somewhat unknown outside of Calgary (to begin making inroads, her announcement was in Edmonton).
And then there are her Red Tory views, which are offset by her position as a fiscal hawk (she’s biting her tongue about next week’s deficit budget) but would define the party as a big-tent destination to counter the rightward slant of its chief challenger, the Wildrose Alliance.
“It’s got to be big tent. It’s Alberta. Alberta today is not Alberta of 20 years ago in every possible way,” Ms. Redford, 45, told The Globe and Mail, adding, “I don’t know what an average Albertan is any more.”
Before she was elected, she worked as a lawyer in both the federal and provincial governments, for the European Union and the Commonwealth Secretariat.
Ms. Redford, a married mother of an eight-year-old daughter, said that change includes the evolving face of family units and the inclusion of gay and lesbian citizens – and Albertans are “good with all that.”
“The social issues that face Albertans aren’t those issues. They’re mental health issues. [They’re questions like] how are communities dealing with supporting each other when there are challenges. Do people have jobs? Are their roads working? What’s the tax situation? It’s the same issues everywhere.”
Another challenge she faces is the rural vote. Fellow contenders Ted Morton, Doug Horner and Doug Griffiths all have rural ties. Ms. Redford has few, but doesn’t shy away from acknowledging it.
“I think that I have a different view of this province than they do. And I think part of that comes from the fact that I’ve lived in an awful lot of places in the world,” she said.
She also sought to brush aside Danielle Smith, the Leader of the Wildrose Alliance, as a “doctrinaire.”
Albertans need a leader with the “ability not just to say what they stand for, but to demonstrate that they’re able to solve problems that may arise in the future,” Ms. Redford said, adding, “And I think the people of Alberta will have to decide who is best capable of doing that.”
David Taras, a professor at Calgary’s Mount Royal College, said Ms. Redford is in good shape early in a race that won’t end until September, but will have to work hard to raise her profile.
“She has to sell herself to rural Alberta, she has to sell herself in the north, she has to sell herself to Edmonton, and that’s her challenge – or opportunity,” he said.
Her fate will also depend largely on whether former cabinet minister and Calgarian Gary Mar, now the province’s advocate in Washington, steps into the race as many expect he will. If he does, the two will jockey for the same support and donations.
Ms. Redford made her announcement one day after Mr. Griffiths joined the race, pledging strong leadership and a voice for young families. Both bring cleaner slates than Mr. Horner and Mr. Morton.
Mr. Horner is a Northern Alberta farmer cut from the same cloth as Mr. Stelmach, who has middling popularity. Mr. Morton is a polarizing social conservative who opposes gay marriage and abortion.
Mr. Griffiths, 38, has no experience as a minister but has hefty backroom support and a strong online following. Ms. Redford is a technological neophyte; her campaign team bought her an iPad and has begun teaching her how to use Twitter.
The two will battle to be seen as the fresh face of the party that has governed since 1971. It reinvented itself with the election of another Calgarian in 1992, Ralph Klein. Ms. Redford is hoping it will work again.
“Albertans are so diverse,” she said. “We’re all different. And what we can represent as a party is that: that everyone can be part of this.”

Read more >>