Why ‘fling flang’ and ‘brownies’ defined the end of the year in Quebec politics

Those who have been following Quebec politics over the couple of months, have likely heard or read these words: “fling flang” and “brownies.”

“‘Fling flang’ has a long history, it’s more than 100 years old now. I wouldn’t say the same thing for brownie. And people have used ‘brownies’ over the last weeks, but not as often as ‘fling flang’,” said Benoît Melançon, professor emeritus at the University of Montreal’s French language department.

Both terms became de rigueur in describing allegations of vote-buying by Quebec Liberal Party members during Pablo Rodriguez’s leadership race.

With the Liberals plunged into controversy, several ongoing investigations, and increasing pressure on Rodriguez to resign, he stepped down as Liberal leader one week before Christmas. Rodriguez has denied any wrongdoing.

While the expression “fling flang” has been used for years, it won’t be heard during Question Period at the National Assembly anymore. The term was banned from the Legislature by speaker Jacques Chagnon back in 2012.

Like more than 400 other words and expressions, it’s considered “unparliamentary language”. But at news conferences, the term “fling flang” flows freely.

CTV News Montreal did a deep dive into the National Assembly archives and found lots of…“fling flang.”

Watch the video above to see the full report.