[h2]Boisclair won't apologize[/h2]
[h4]Slanting eyes' remark. Nothing wrong with description of Asians, PQ leader maintains[/h4]
Parti Quebecois leader Andre Boisclair yesterday refused to retract or apologize for saying that when he was a student at Harvard University he was surprised to see so many students "with slant-ing eyes."[/p]Despite calls for an apology from two minority groups that said they found the remark offensive, Boisclair said he has been using the expression - in French - for years and, in his mind, he said nothing wrong.[/p]He said he is not about to start playing games of semantics with reporters, either.[/p]
The closest he came to recognizing there might be a problem with the term "les yeux brides" was to note he did not say it in English, where it might have a different meaning.[/p]"I regularly, frequently use this expression and have absolutely no intention of apologizing," Boisclair said at a news conference where he was informed that an anti-racism group had demanded he retract his words.[/p]"Maybe there's a nuance between the word in French and the word in English, but no way will I excuse myself. These people (of Asian origin) are a source of amazement for me. I've been to Japan. They were my friends, my colleagues."[/p]Full Story:[/p][a href="vny!://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=834fdb7c-d65b-41b4-8a65-689c13df3572&k=37587"]vny!://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=834fdb7c-d65b-41b4-8a65-689c13df3572&k=37587[/a]
