Sherbrooke Record e-Edition

Language advocates frustrated with the passing of Bill 96

By Michael Boriero

The writing has been on the wall for quite a while when it comes to Bill 96, the Quebec government’s legislation bolstering the Charter of the French language, but it still sent shockwaves through the Englishspeaking community when it passed on Tuesday.

Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN) President Marlene Jennings released a personal statement following the announcement from the National Assembly. Despite the QCGN’S best efforts, the government simply ignored the concerns of many Quebecers, she noted.

“We are deeply disappointed and frustrated that Bill 96 was adopted today without any significant improvements since it was first tabled. It does not reflect our vision of an inclusive Quebec where French is the common language,” Jennings said in the statement.

The English-speaking community is in favour of uplifting and protecting the French language in the province and across Canada, she continued. However, Jennings added, there are more effective and inclusive ways of going about it without sacrificing fundamental rights.

“This far-reaching bill affects many areas of activity: commerce, employment, education, access to public services, expression in many contexts and the functioning of our legal system,” said Jennings, adding the government has created a ‘charter free zone.’

She also expressed her frustration with the bill limiting services in English to Quebecers eligible to attend English schools, saying it isn’t “community self-identification” and “revokes the right to access services in English for some 300,000 to 500,000 English-speaking Quebecers.”

According to Jennings, there remains a plethora of concerns. The QCGN is opposed to increasing the powers of the Office de la langue française. The organization also disagrees with “limiting access to justice for English-speaking Quebecers,” and creating more barriers.

“In looking ahead, the QCGN in partnership with others will continue to rally Quebecers against this ill-conceived legislation and to bring attention to its shortcomings,” said Jennings, sharing that the next phase of the campaign will begin on Thursday evening at a protest in Montreal.

QCGN Director General Sylvia Martin-laforge said that after more than a year spent trying to work with the government, none of the organization’s proposed alterations to the legislation were accepted by Quebec. This will impact businesses and human rights, she explained.

“No reasonable amendment or consideration was really taken into account with the passing of this law […] so the disappointment is pretty palpable,” Martin-laforge told The Record in an interview Thursday, adding there is no question that legal challenges are on the horizon.

Townshippers’ Association President Gerald Cutting said that while the bill in its current form protects the French language, it also limits, and in some cases criminalizes, the use of English in certain contexts. He expects to see many challenges, especially in the area of justice.

Although it’s too early to tell what repercussions the bill with have in the province, Cutting believes it will lead to an exodus of “highly qualified, very ambitious, potential leaders” for the English-speaking community. They will in all likelihood want to leave the province, he said.

It’s also effectively closing the door on immigration, Cutting noted, adding that unless a person is already French-speaking, who will really want to come to Quebec now. Immigrants wil l not only need to deal with Bill 96, but there is

also Bill 21 that imposes more restrictions, he said.

“All in all I think there may be victories in the courts and there may be some backpedaling that might be done, but I certainly don’t expect it to happen. I think what we see is exactly what the CAQ government had announced when it came into power,” Cutting said in a phone interview.

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2022-05-27T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-05-27T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://sherbrookerecord.pressreader.com/article/281706913304296

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