Exploiting the little guys

In the middle of all this comes the most recent stunt organized and carried out by the Journal de Montreal, the Quebecor-owned daily behemoth whose mass-market tabloid speaks to and for the little guy — the average, hard-working Québecois.

In what can only be seen as a frankly unabashed effort to boost their daily circulation numbers, the Journal sent a modern-day Nelly Bly into several Montreal stores, where she managed to get hired despite an upfront confession that she did not speak French. When the story was published, it caused a huge stir across Quebec, for here was proof that the French language is indeed in trouble in Montreal. Just as everyone expected, the fallout included bitter outcries from the French language lobby groups, who once again rolled out their tired, outdated tirades. We've heard it all before — back in the 20th century — and will be hearing it for quite some time to come.

There can be no doubt that the paper's management knew exactly what would happen when the undercover story came out. Add to that the free, built-in publicity campaign that any Quebec language story attracts, and you have a guaranteed circulation booster.

There is certainly nothing wrong with a journalist working undercover to expose wrongdoing or to come up with a story that would serve the greater good of society, in fact the Journal has a good track record for exposing breaches of security in such sensitive areas as major utilities through its undercover work. Editorial initiative on that scale is to be applauded — but simply stirring up the language tensions for no good reason other than to sell more papers is blatantly exploitive.

The small businesses who hired the Journal reporter in good faith have all been made the hapless victims in this unpleasant business. Their only 'crime' was to hire a new employee at a time when help of any kind is getting harder to find. Let's be honest — most business owners in the same position would have done exactly the same thing.

If that's a crime, moral or otherwise, the Journal's unprovoked attack on the social peace has only served to reinforce a much deeper problem in Quebec society — and such 'exposés' continue to be part of the cause, not the solution.