New official languages minister Bendayan acknowledges decline of French in Quebec [Video]

The newly appointed Minister for Official Languages, Rachel Bendayan, has backtracked after refusing to acknowledge the decline of French in Quebec despite the fact that all linguistic indicators show this to be the case.

“I didn’t refuse to answer. It’s true that French is in decline in Quebec,” she said as she arrived at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s new cabinet meeting on Friday afternoon.

A few hours earlier, however, Bendayan was far less convinced as she left Rideau Hall, the Governor General’s residence, immediately after being sworn in.

“Quebec has a very important role to play. It is the province that must first and foremost be francophone in order to ensure that the linguistic duality we have here in Canada is protected and maintained,” she initially said.

But the parliamentary journalist who questioned her cut her off, repeating her question a second time. “Is French in decline, yes or no?” …