The Quebec government will finally allow the province’s drivers to express themselves a little bit more.
Next month, Quebec drivers will be able to put vanity license plates on their vehicles.
In Ontario, drivers can personalize their license plates with everything from an Ottawa Senators logo to a dancing couple all the way down to a lowly Toronto Maple Leafs emblem.
But in typical Quebec fashion, a politician decided that, while self-expression is a good thing, too much of it can threaten the very existence of the province’s culture.
The Parti Quebecois (PQ) culture critic Pascal Bérubé lamented the fact that Quebec drivers will be able to choose a personalized plate in *gasp* any language they choose.
Bérubé called it “unacceptable” that vanity plates would be permitted in any language other than French.
Does Bérubé believe that the appearance of English on Quebec license plates could threaten the linguistic integrity of Quebec?
It seems like he’s of the opinion that the French language is on such shaky ground in this province that a vanity license plate could be the straw that broke the camel’s cultural back.
Never mind the fact that the Société de l’assurance automobile du Quebec (SAAQ) reserves the right to reject any language it deems inappropriate.
The SAAQ even said that since the vehicle owner is the one choosing the message, the French language charter doesn’t apply.
The language charter only applies to businesses and not individuals.
Imagine the slippery slope that would be created if something as inane as a license plate were regulated under the language charter.
Would Quebec residents then have to ensure that their bumper stickers include French? How about conversations between two people in that vehicle? Would they have to speak French?
Leave it to Quebec politicians to find a way to throw cold water on something that most people would see as harmless fun.
Predictably, the PQ was the only party to object to the vanity plates, which makes sense.
The PQ has been struggling to maintain legitimacy since the 2014 election when it lost its minority government and posted its worst showing in the popular vote since 1970.
If this is the best that the PQ war room can think up to stay on the province’s political radar, maybe it’s time to go back to the drawing board.
In the meantime, maybe someone can get the words BUG OFF on their new vanity plates as a message to Bérubé.
Chris Lowrey
