Anglais?

Stupid politics like this are unnecessary.

Here's a guy in Montreal, or rather, a Quebec lawyer by the name of Guy Bertrand. He says that any captain of the Montreal Canadiens should be a francophone, or at least be able to communicate in French because he has the right to be served in his language. Here, he is attacking Saku Koivu 'cuz he did team introductions in English and not French. The guy is Finnish. He came from Finland to play hockey in the NHL and had to learn the language of English first so he can communicate with everyone else.

Sure, Koivu does have a francophone wife in which he does speak a little French to, but is he able to carry a conversation in French? I doubt it.

In my opinion, I think it's not necessary. Sure, French is also an official language in Quebec but that doesn't mean that all Habs captains have to be able to speak French. I mean, if you have the right to be served in your language, then does that mean I also have the right to be served in my native tongue too? Speak Cantonese to me (though I'll probably won't understand most of what you say, unless it's very basic Cantonese you're speaking). Wouldn't it be discrimination to disallow Koivu to be the captain when he's well qualified to do so? What if the Habs go into a season where they have not one player that can speak French? Does that mean that the team will have no leader? No captain, no assistant captains? Moreover, the coach speaks to the media and the fans as well, does the coach also need to be able to speak French?

I think Koivu has the right to do and speak in whatever language he feels comfortable as long as he's able to convey his message. So in the case of the introductions, his English is better than his French.

This Bertrand guy is high maintenance. :P

The article can be viewed here at TSN.ca.