Youth separatist group claims responsibility for vandalising street signs
By Matthew McCully
Church signs, pride flags and now stop signs?
Thieves and vandals have been busy in recent weeks in the Townships.
Most recently, stickers have been posted on stop signs in Lennoxville reading Arrêt and Loi 101. The stop sign at the corner of Clough and Vaudry also bears the calling card of a group claiming responsibility for the francisation of the signs, La Nouvelle Alliance.
According to the group’s Facebook page, La Nouvelle Alliance is an independence and nationalist movement of young Quebecers.
A recent post on the page includes a photo spread of the vandalism in question, which was done in the early hours of July 12, along with a justification for posting stickers on the universally recognized red octagons.
“We are aware that the word “Stop” is accepted by the Office québécois de la langue française, although it is used exclusively, and in all circumstances, by English-speaking communities on their signage,” the Facebook post reads. “Almost all our municipalities use the name “Arrêt” as a marker of their adherence to the common language. What we’re questioning is the symbol of English cultural disparity in our own land,” it goes on to say, ultimately expressing that the language in Quebec should be French, and French only.
According to Lennoxville Borough President Claude Charron, the City is aware of the vandalism, and a work order has already been placed to remove the stickers, although there is no timeline on when that work will be completed.
Asked if Sherbrooke intends to take any further action given the fact that La Nouvelle Alliance has claimed responsibility for the vandalism on its own social media, Charron said that would be a matter for council to discuss.
The borough president added that he would prefer not to give the recent vandalism more attention than it deserves, preferring to just take the stickers down and move on.
According to Facebook’s guidelines, pages are not permitted to include statements of intent, calls to action, representing, supporting or advocating for harm against property that depicts, admits to, or promotes (among other things) vandalism.
