Louise Harel unsure of whether to participate in English debate for mayor of Montreal

This is from Radio Canada. The head of the Vision Montreal Party (Louise Harel) has not yet decided whether she will participate or not in the English debate organized by the television channel CTV, given the difficulty she could have in expressing herself in English. It's possible though that she could use simultaneous interpretation to enable her to participate in the debate, which will take place on the 19th of October.

Anybody remember the last time a nationwide election took place with simultaneous interpretation being arranged for the debate? It was when Preston Manning was the leader of the Reform Party, so that would be 1997.

Two nights ago this was also mentioned on Radio Canada's news broadcast and Giles Duceppe was asked about his opinion, and he was pretty ambivalent about the issue, since linguistic skill really is just one part of a politician's appeal to voters and isn't really a political issue. Some comments in the article are of the opinion that she should try her best anyway, and that anglophone voters will appreciate the effort nevertheless.