Patrick Watson regrets to have been censored during the show virtual Canada day.
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July 3, 2020 9h39
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Canada day: Patrick Watson says she is the victim of censorship
Giuseppe Valiante
The canadian Press
MONTREAL — singer-songwriter Patrick Watson regrets to have been censored during the show virtual Canada day. The artist says that canadian Heritage has cut off a segment of her performance pre-recorded in which it recognized the ancestral rights of indigenous Peoples.
In a long message posted on his page on Facebook, the musician, based in Montreal said he is “deeply disturbed” to learn that his introductory statement at his performance has not been broadcast during the special broadcast that replaced the traditional festivities in Ottawa, due to the pandemic.
The musical performance of Patrick Watson had been pre-recorded at the olympic Stadium, in Montreal, to be broadcast during the virtual event organized by the federal government and coordinated by the agency Tandem event communication.
According to the musician, he took the time to recognize that the place where he recorded his performance was in the mohawk territory not ceded. He added that traditionally, the site of the city of Montreal was recognized as a gathering place for many First Nations. A tradition that he wanted to honor his participation in the Canada day.
Lamenting that his words have been cut out, Patrick Watson has pointed out in his message on Facebook that the fact of recognizing the status to “not give in” indigenous territories, and the colonised is “a basic step in the reconciliation process”.
He added that his intention was to highlight the link between the difficulties experienced by Aboriginal people and the movement Black Lives Matter , as well as to ensure that all people living in Canada feel included.
The mp néodémocrate of Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie, Alexandre Boulerice, has called on the minister of canadian Heritage, Steven Guilbeault, to provide explanations for the disappearance of this segment.
For him, it would be hypocritical for the liberals to claim to defend the process of reconciliation on one side and censoring the artists who express their solidarity with the First Nations on the other.
In the evening, Thursday, the minister Guilbeault responded on Twitter, saying that “canadian Heritage is not, in any circumstances, intervene in the programming, montreal Canada day and is not at the origin of the decision to cut anything in the editing”.
In a second message, he said his ministry “takes no part” in the decisions of the agencies funded for the organization of events by the program, The celebrate Canada.
