JAMES MOORE’S QUEBECOIS FAUX PAS
by Tu Thanh Ha
The Globe and Mail
March 17, 2009 Tuesday
Canada
Sure, there was never a great love affair between Quebec artists and
the Conservatives, but Heritage Minister James Moore initially made
a good impression when he appeared on Tout le monde en parle, the
popular Sunday-night talk show on the CBC’s French-language network.
He spoke good French, said he was pro-choice andwas supportive of
gay marriage.
Alas, host Guy Lepage then gave the minister a pop quiz asking him
to identify various celebrities, mostly from Quebec. Moore recognized
only three out of nine and was lambasted yesterday in Quebec newspapers
and blogs.
Moore managed to identify Quebecor CEO Pierre Karl Peladeau, comedian
Rick Mercer and singer Feist.
Among those he failed to identify were Cirque du Soleil founder Guy
Laliberte, folk singer Felix Leclerc and playwright Robert Lepage.
He couldn’t even recognize Atom Egoyan when given the clues that it
was a filmmaker of Armenian origin whose film The Sweet Hereafter
won eight Genies and was nominated for two Oscars.
"Quick, a catch-up class on Quebec culture for idiots," wrote Richard
Therrien, TV critic for Le Soleil.