At least they’re admitting that reality. Leaders of the federal political parties are asking that the date for the French language T.V. debate be moved so it doesn’t coincide with a Montreal Canadiens/Boston Bruins game.
“We all know that hockey is very popular in Canada and in Quebec, which is why it would be a better idea to push the French debate back to allow hockey fans to watch the debate as well as the game on Thursday night,” says Gilles Duceppe in a Globe and Mail article. That opinion was mirrored by Jack Layton in the same article, saying, “Were I not in this election, I might well make the same decision,” referring to the decision to watch hockey instead of watch Layton practice his French.
How vote you? Sad political concession, or a practical reality of doing business in Canada? Drawing in viewers for the debates has to be tough on its own, even when you aren’t going against a team tied with the national identity. (I don’t have any means for watching broadcast T.V., so I’ll probably spend the night with Superman: The Animated Series or something.)
Anyone want to place odds on the worlds of sports and politics just merging one day? It’s not far off from a nightmare dystopia you might see in a Paul Verhoeven flick.
Or are we already well on our way to that reality?
UPDATE: The Globe and Mail article now says that they’ve officially switched days.
