Candidate Ruby Dhalla wants translator for French-language Liberal Party of Canada debate

Ruby Dhalla, a candidate for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada, said that while she is still working on her French skills, she plans to ask for a translator to help her during the upcoming party debate in French.

Dhalla is among five people in the leadership race who will face off in two debates in Montreal later this month, one in French and one in English.

She said she plans to participate in the French-language debate scheduled to take place in Montreal on Feb. 24 and will deliver her opening and closing statements in French, even though she does not speak the language.

The politician explained that she studied French until grade 12 and is now working with a teacher because she believes it is important to speak both languages.

“I believe that the French language and Francophones play a very important role in our country and that they constitute an important part of who we are as Canadians,” she said.

Liberal MP Chandra Arya drew the ire of Quebec Liberals last month when he said he didn’t think it was essential for a prime minister to be fluent in French.

Businessman Frank Baylis, another candidate in the running, said on Parliament Hill Monday that speaking French was essential to becoming prime minister.

“To demonstrate a certain competence is to demonstrate a certain form of respect. And to arrive at the last minute to say that ‘I’m going to take some French lessons to improve or try to express myself’ I think that’s not the right way to do things,” he said in French.

Candidates Mark Carney and Chrystia Freeland have recently made major efforts to make inroads in Quebec. Early in the campaign, Freeland appeared on the popular French-language talk show “Tout le monde en parle.”

Carney is working to improve his French skills — his campaign says he only speaks with bilingual staff in French — and has stopped in Quebec City and Mauricie.

“Mark Carney knows that our two official languages ​​are at the heart of Canadian identity and that bilingualism is essential for any prime minister to engage with all Canadians,” said campaign spokesperson Emily Williams.

In opposition to the Trudeau administration

Dhalla said she also plans to announce a two-week cross-country tour in the coming days as she seeks to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as party leader.

The former Liberal MP, who represented the riding of Brampton—Springdale from 2004 to 2011, insisted she was the real outsider in the race, having not been part of the Trudeau-era government. 

“The other candidates are career politicians,” she said, noting that Carney advised Trudeau. She also noted that Freeland was a central figure in the Prime Minister’s Office and that Frank Baylis was part of Trudeau’s caucus. “The only outsider in this race is Ruby Dhalla.” 

She said she believed the race would be between her and Carney, a former central bank governor. 

The former Paul Martin-era Liberal MP is running to the right of all other candidates and told The Canadian Press there are thousands of Liberals like her who want to see the party return to the centre. 

But his platform, which promises to deport illegal immigrants and impose life sentences for possession of hard drugs, has some similarities to policies promised by Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre. 

He has promised mandatory life sentences for fentanyl traffickers and the deportation of temporary residents who commit acts of violence or hate crimes. 

“I don’t think the Conservative Party has the opportunity to develop or discuss the issues that Canadian families are facing right now,” Dhalla said. 

“I’ve talked to real people, I’ve gotten to know all their issues. Because I haven’t been in the Ottawa bubble, I’ve actually talked about the issues that Canadians face every day in this campaign.”

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews