STM forced to change “Go Habs Go” message
STM buses have put the words “Go Habs Go” up on their buses on and off for years. But an OQLF complaint has put an end to that.
I had to check this wasn’t an April Fool. It isn’t.
The Gazette also reports this, but about “Go CF Montreal Go” which has also been sported from time to time on STM buses.
Update: Someone reminded me that buses never had “Go Habs Go” but in fact “Go Canadiens Go”.
Dany 08:48 on 2025-04-24 Permalink
Defund the OQLF
dwgs 09:05 on 2025-04-24 Permalink
Are they going to shut off the lights and bring the game to a halt when people chant those three words at the Bell Centre?
jeather 09:15 on 2025-04-24 Permalink
We live in a parody.
roberto 09:34 on 2025-04-24 Permalink
Gross government being gross.
Kevin 09:48 on 2025-04-24 Permalink
Something has gone wrong in society. Why do so many village idiots have power?
Kate 10:13 on 2025-04-24 Permalink
Kevin: because people want to feel that the people in charge are no smarter than they are.
DeWolf 10:45 on 2025-04-24 Permalink
I’ve seen a few buses with “Allez Canadiens Allez!” which doesn’t quite roll off the tongue as well.
Joey 11:54 on 2025-04-24 Permalink
The buses didn’t say Go Habs Go, which would have been the obvious thing. Instead they said Go Canadiens Go (and also Go Alouettes Go), which was kinda dumb but OK. Allez Canadiens Allez is absurd. I can only imagine an anglo complained to make the OQLF look bad. Haven’t had a Pastagate in a while.
Between this and the CAQ refusing to budget on the alcohol limit – even after someone was killed by a driver who had been stopped with a blood alcohol level between 0.05 and 0.1 an hour before the incident – it’s seriously time to have a provincial election…
Kevin 12:28 on 2025-04-24 Permalink
Kate
If the people in charge are taking these complaints at face face value then they are in fact missing the forest for the trees.
Nobody is making a complaint about “Go! CF MTL Go” because they’re offended by the language.
They’re making complaints because they’re desperate to interact with anyone in a meaningful fashion.
We should be treating these complaints as cries for help from desperate people.
Blork 17:10 on 2025-04-24 Permalink
They reported this on the CBC national news FFS. But I suppose that’s better than hearing more about tariffs. National comic relief courtesy of your friendly neighbourhood OQLF.
Blork 17:13 on 2025-04-24 Permalink
Also, I’m quite sure I’ve seen GO HABS GO on buses before. But that might have been 20 years ago, or it might have been an RTL bus, or it might have been a real-time AI manipulation beamed directly into my brain. (Sorry, spending too much time on FB.)
Ian 18:54 on 2025-04-24 Permalink
Well here’s a pie in the face for the OQLF… suits ’em, I dig the look.
https://www.montrealgazette.com/news/article894384.html
CE 19:56 on 2025-04-24 Permalink
I saw a 55 bus this afternoon that had a sign in the front window of the bus that said “Go Canadiens Go.” It looked pretty official, it was hard to see from my bike but it looked like the STM logo was underneath the offending message.
MarcG 08:09 on 2025-04-25 Permalink
Common les boys!
MarcG 08:24 on 2025-04-25 Permalink
I wish we could learn to accept who and what we are; Quebec needs therapy.
Ian 12:40 on 2025-04-25 Permalink
Aweille le gang!