‘It created a discomfort’: Speech mix-up leads Quebec minister to claim Black artist was dead

Lamine Touré, the founder of Montreal’s Nuits d’Afrique festival and owner of Club Balattou, was honoured with le Grand Prix Dynastie 2022 at the group’s annual gala celebrating Black artists in Quebec.

But Touré’s name wasn’t just announced for the award.

During the ceremony Benoit Charette, the minister responsible for the fight against racism in the province, spoke on stage to pay tribute to Black artists who had died in the past year. In that speech he mentioned Touré, who is not only very much alive but was in the audience.

Charette’s mistake has sparked mixed emotions.

Screenshot of video submitted by Claudia-O Larosiliere.

“It underlines that this minister, he did not see fit to revise his speech or to know about the finalist of the gala or the recipient of the tributes,” said Anne-Lovely Etienne, who attended the gala. “Because you have to know that Mr. Touré was gonna be honoured at this particular night for all his contribution for the Black culture in Quebec.”

In a statement posted to Facebook Monday, the Dynastie Gala said the message from the minister on stage “certainly created a discomfort” and added that “it demonstrates the urgent need for the government to forge real ties with the various communities it serves, to listen to them and to recognize their excellence.”

Apparently the audience reacted quote strongly to Charette’s comments.

“I was in the audience and I heard people screaming at Benoit Charette like, ‘Hey, hey, hey!’ And he was like, ‘Oh my God, my sincere condolences,'” said Etienne.

Screenshot of video submitted by Claudia-O Larosiliere.

“He basically took away from some Black voice on the night that was supposed to celebrate the excellence of the beautiful things that happen in the Black community in the last year,” said activist Renzel Dashington. “And unfortunately, he’s not one of those things. He could have been an ally. He might be an ally in the future, but it was to me, a moment of white privilege on steroids.”

In a statement to CityNews, the minister’s office said: “The Minister’s speech contained an ambiguous formula and in trying to get out of his text, he misinterpreted it, leading to the incident in question.”

The minister’s office said Charette’s speech was written as such: “It is a pleasure to meet you this evening and to pay tribute to the men and women of Black communities who shine in the field of arts and culture. You are like Frédéric Pierre and Lamine Touré, but also Karim Ouellet and Don Harley Fils-Aimé who unfortunately left us recently.”

The statement concluded by stating Charette was very sorry for the turn the incident has taken and immediately apologized.

Touré was later welcomed with a standing ovation when being honoured for his contributions to the community.