In my mailbox, I received a very colorful pamphlet with three folds, printed on both sides, offering more than $100 in special offers from Metro.ca/promo-PJC. This is a joint promotion by Metro stores and Jean Coutu Pharmacy. Missing was even a single word in English even though I live in Westmount where there is a significant number of English speaking people. I might have forgiven them for this omission of English if they had a separate mailout for areas in predominantly French populations.
Normally, my first instinct is to send mail of this type directly into the basket beside the mailboxes which is labeled for paper only. Junk mail goes directly into this basket. This time I decided to keep the pamphlet and to do something about it. If my business is not worth speaking to me in my own language then perhaps they can exist without it. There are enough pharmacies and grocery stores to shop at where both languages are used.
Please join me in addressing this issue. I am fluently bilingual and have been since I was a child. I learned to speak French on the street even before I began to learn it in third grade. I respect both solitudes but enough is enough with being bullied by politicians and language laws. Spend your money with merchants who appreciate your business and boycott those who don’t.
