Except for a daily 30-minute biking in front of her favourite French TV show, Bambi has not turned the TV on since the beginning of the pandemic. On one hand, she did not have the time yet. On the other, she did not feel that need… and no she has never watched any Netflix movie in her life yet. If you think, she is boring, wait until you hear how many glasses of wine or beer she has consumed, despite weekly virtual Ducky’s with friends on Fridays eve ? (Ducky’s is our pub in town).
Anyhow, she turned the TV on this evening/night to watch “Tout le monde en parle” on the French CBC because she read on the internet that Mr. Justin Trudeau is one of guests.
Well, this is one of the rare times where she saw a natural and apparently human “Justin”. No preaching, no hiding behind words. He seemed to have simply allowed himself to be… himself.
Mr. Trudeau answered all the questions (most, if not all, were tough ones!) from the best of his capacity. He did an excellent job, even on the issues that Bambi did not agree with him on. He even had good words about the provinces and the opposition parties. He also remembered that he is leading a minority government.
Bambi thinks that our PM is at his best when he allows himself to be somehow spontaneous (as much as you can be on TV and when you are an actor by profession).
Thank you, Mr. Trudeau, for not wearing a mask tonight (no, she is not referring to a covid-19 mask!). Bambi means thanks for sounding genuine, even in your eyes we could see authenticity tonight. Indeed, in general, citizens can sense when a politician appears disconnected or not from them.
Perhaps for the first time since this pandemic, Bambi was able to listen to our PM calmly until the end. Yes, it is nice to see him not preaching, not arrogant, answering all the questions. Obviously, all this was in French. So, we did not hear him saying one thing in one language (politically meant for Québec) and the other thing in the other language (politically meant for the rest of Canada). That used to be frustrating for Bambi during the electoral campaign.
Thanks for Mr. Trudeau for taking the time to come to the show. Bambi is sure it has boosted the morale of many viewers.
Of note, it was also nice to hear a federal politician and a provincial minister agree with each other in such a harmonious way (they were not interviewed at the same time, as Mr. Trudeau had to return home, 2 hours further away).
By the way, this Minister was Mr. Pierre Fitzgibbon. He is the Minister of the Economy and Innovation of Québec. He talked about the re-opening of several sectors of the economy. He seems to be a very reasonable man.
Among the guests, there was the inspiring Dr. Joanne Liu, former President of Médecins sans frontières (Doctors without borders). She interrupted her sabbatical leave (devoted to writing a book on the Ebola epidemic in Africa) to rush back to Canada, just to help with the covid-19 pandemic. Thank you!
There was also a fascinating, talented pharmacist, Mr. Olivier Bernard (hosting a scientific and fun show) as well as Ms. France Beaudoin, a Canadian TV host.
The funniest guest was a comedian called, Mr. Arnauld Soly (see the video below… ok the content is in French, sorry, but it is hilarious ?. You can watch him making a parody of a covid-19 conspiracy theory that the coronavirus originated from… Montreal. It seems that his joke went viral on Facebook. Some viewers from abroad truly believed him. Can you imagine?
In addition to this funny comedian, it was good to learn that Ms. Beaudoin will be moderating a TV variety show for Mothers’ Day!
It is also moving to hear how she and her family organized a virtual surprise party for her mom’s birthday (81 years old with 50 family members on Zoom… and the platform did not crash ?)! She also organized a virtual wedding party for her stepdaughter in lieu of a cancelled wedding.
To conclude this post, Bambi will say what she has always thought: She enjoys watching Radio-Canada more than the CBC. Although technically, it is the same public institution, she feels that there is more critical thinking on behalf of journalists and TV show hosts from Québec, compared to those from the English-Canada. Bambi cannot put her finger on the why though. Perhaps because in Québec there is less political correctness still and, thus, more intellectual depth (not just cliché ideas). Perhaps because it is a different culture. Perhaps because the journalists may be truly more independent than many of those hired by the CBC, despite the governmental overfunding as well (the latter financial reality is unfair to other Québec media, which are as talented). Last but surely not least, it remains possible that the increased political diversity of Québec also plays a certain role. For instance, some of the Radio-Canada TV show hosts, or guests, could at times have sympathy for the sovereignty of Québec (even if they love Canada, for sure).
The beauty of Québec is its historic intellectual diversity and flexibility. It is precisely the latter that has allowed Québeckers to culturally survive and even flourish, despite being a minority in North America. Not surprising that when it comes to the “francophonie” of Lebanon, Québec has been a beautiful example.
Just to give you an idea about how reasonable this province is, at the very beginning of the pandemic, it temporarily relaxed its French law (Loi 101) to allow the fast importation of much needed cleaning products without bilingual labels. So, if the Government of Canada cannot ensure a translation now, it is OK. Not a big deal for the government of Québec (even if the Bloc Québécois is also right in wanting to ensure that citizens do understand what they are purchasing for safety reasons).
Enough of blahblahblah, here is the funny video!
