The Montreal–Philippines cutlery controversy was an incident in 2006 in which a Filipino-born Canadian boy was punished by his school in Roxboro, Montreal, for following traditional Filipino etiquette and eating his lunch with a fork and a spoon, rather than the Canadian tradition of a knife and fork.
In response to the media coverage of the affair, a protest was held outside the Canadian embassy in Manila and the Philippine Ambassador to Canada, José Brillantes, described it as an "affront to Filipino culture." Some commentators saw it as an example of prejudice, nationalism and a culture clash, especially since the school board had previously expelled a Sikh student for carrying a kirpan (Sikh dagger).
Timeline
The boy, John Luke Joachim Gallardo Cagadoc (gallicized as Jean-Luc), was born in 1998 in Manila to Filipino parents from Pampanga and Palawan. The Cagadocs migrated to Quebec, Canada, the same year for job opportunities, settling in Montreal.
In April 2006, schoolteacher Martine Bertrand, who was assigned a role of school lunchroom monitor at École Lalande, sanctioned the then seven-year old Luc on ten separate...