The Montreal Biodôme's scarlet macaw named Bouton "will be deported to the Toronto Zoo next Friday after she only spoke English during a government inspection," The Beaverton reported in July 2013. The outlet quoted a government official as saying that the bird "asked for crackers, not craquelins," violating Quebec's laws requiring French in the workplace.
None of that actually happened, of course; The Beaverton is to Canadians what The Onion is to Americans. Though the story of Bouton was "a spoof," The Economist reported, believers were still "shocked" by it. Such is Quebec's reputation for zealously defending the primacy of the French language.
