People take part in a demonstration against Bill 96 in Montreal on May 14. Graham Hughes / The Canadian Press
The Quebec government has secured the largest extension of its language laws in more than 40 years by imposing new rules to increase the use of French in public services, education and business, despite fierce opposition from the province’s English-speaking minority.
With the passage of controversial Bill 96 on Tuesday, Prime Minister Francois Lego said he sought to strengthen the place of Quebec’s official language amid what he called its decline. Meanwhile, many Anglophones, immigrants and indigenous people in the province say they feel subject to a law that undermines their rights.
After a year of heated debate, the bill was passed by 78 votes to 29 with the support of the ruling coalition Avenir Québec and the left-wing opposition party Québec Solidaire. Provincial Liberals voted against, arguing that the bill goes too far, and the Quebec separatist party, which said it did not go far enough.
In defense of the law, Mr Lego cited the linguistic uncertainty of the French language on the predominantly Anglophone continent.
“I do not know of any linguistic minority that is better served in their own language than the English-speaking community in Quebec,” he said on Tuesday. “We are proud of this and we are also proud to be a Francophone nation in North America and it is our duty to protect our common language.
The struggle for legislation has increased language tensions to a point unseen for decades, some observers say, and has instilled fear and anger in the English-speaking community.
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Among the provisions of the new law are a ceiling for enrollment in English the CEGEP system, as well as three compulsory French language courses for students attending these colleges; a requirement for companies with 25 or more employees to make the French “summary” in the workplace, of 50; and a six-month deadline for new immigrants, after which public services will be offered exclusively in French, with some exceptions.
Office Quebec de la Langue Française, in charge of the implementation of the language laws of the province, will also be given extended powers of search and seizure in the investigation of complaints.
Despite legal concerns, the law will be protected from certain constitutional challenges – based on the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms – due to the reference to the independence clause by the CAQ government.
The passage of the law will have repercussions for the rest of Canada, as Bill 96 claims to unilaterally amend the Canadian constitution to claim that Quebecers “form a nation” and that French is “the common language of the nation in Quebec.” The province’s right to amend the Constitution in this way and the consequences of its amendments are disputed by some lawyers.
In Vancouver on Tuesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau did not say whether his government would intervene against Bill 96 in court.
“The job of the federal government under my supervision is to always be there to protect the minorities in this country, especially the official languages. minorities, “Mr Trudeau told a news conference. “I was a French teacher here in British Columbia, I know how important it is to support Francophone communities outside Quebec, but it is also extremely important to make sure that we defend the English-speaking communities in Quebec.”
Opposition to the bill has erupted in recent weeks as its adoption has become inevitable. Thousands rallied against him on the streets of Montreal on May 14, a protest attended by Quebec Liberal Party leader Dominic Anglad.
“We must stop dividing the Quebeckers; we need to unite the people of Quebec, “she said.
This spring also saw the creation of two new political parties, dedicated in part to opposition to Bill 96, after months of uncertainty on the part of the Liberals, Quebec’s traditional Anglophone party. English speakers have been further stung in recent months by the provincial government’s repeal of a planned expansion of Dawson College in Montreal and Mr Lego’s refusal to take part in the English-language debate during the upcoming provincial election campaign.
“The mood in the English-speaking community now is pretty bleak,” said Joan Fraser, a former senator and editor of the Montreal Gazette, which is now on the board of the Quebec Community Groups Network, an Anglo-advocacy group. “As if we can’t consider ourselves Quebecers, real Quebecers. This may be an exaggeration, but some aspects of this bill encourage this kind of thinking. “
Other critics have argued that the law could jeopardize access to basic services in languages other than French. Robert Lecky, dean of McGill’s law school, said banning judges from requiring them to speak another language unless the minister considers it necessary could harm the fundamental right to interact with the judiciary in English or French.
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It is also unclear whether the bill exempts healthcare from the general requirement for government agencies to use French when communicating with the public, Prof. Leki said. Despite government assurances to the contrary, the result could be sanctioned by doctors or therapists for speaking to patients in another language, he said.
“It says that the civil administration must use French,” said Prof. Leki. “If you want to emphasize that there is an exception for health care, put it in the bill.
The Legault government has insisted that allegations of limited access to health services in English are false – the prime minister recently called them “misinformation” – and cited a provision in provincial health law that allows English-speaking people to receive health services in English, according to the resources of the institution providing them.
Christopher Skeet, Member of the National Assembly and CAQ point on relations with the Anglophones, said critics of the bill exaggerated its dangers due to an emotional response to a sensitive debate.
“What they bring into their discussion is concern, fear and apprehension, and that obscures their ability to see the law as it is,” he said.
Bill 96 has also faced harsh criticism from Quebec nationalists who intend to protect the French. Parti Québécois, along with many sovereign commentators, wanted to see Bill 101, the Charter of the French Language, extended to CEGEP, which would ban Francophones and allophones from attending English colleges. PQ leader Paul Saint-Pierre Plamondon said Bill 96 would not stop the decline of the French in Quebec.
With reports from Ian Bailey and The Canadian Press
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