In 1974, for the first time, French was declared the official language of Quebec. It is Law 22 which gives it this status. This week marks the 50th anniversary of the submission of this legislative project.
Presented in the spring of that year, this law constitutes in part a response to the Official Languages Act introduced by the federal government led by Pierre Elliott Trudeau. It attempts to affirm the use and place of French on Quebec territory while recognizing historical rights to the English-speaking community. Bill 22 also annuls the previous provincial linguistic law, Bill 63, without however succeeding in establishing itself as a solution to the open linguistic conflicts which tore apart Quebec society during the Quiet Revolution.
In truth, as the historian Jean-Claude Robert summarizes well, this bill tabled in May 1974 “succeeded in displeasing everyone” even if it “effectively proclaimed French as the official language of Quebec”.
The debate for its adoption is particularly heated. Two Liberal MPs, John Ciaccia and George Springate, both lawyers, even ended up joining the opposition in the chamber and voting against.
Between wishes and facts
“We were opposed to Bill 22, but we were happy about it at the same time,” explains political scientist Guy Bouthillier, long one of the leading figures of the French Quebec Movement (MQF).
“That the Liberal Party opened the way to this recognition of French, that federalists in short understood the importance of the linguistic question for the future of Quebec, we were happy. However, although French was proclaimed an official language, why were two languages constantly needed to function in society? Was French enough or not enough? »
Law 22 may well make French the language of administration and services, as well as the language of work, but there is a long way between wishes and facts. And nothing is really in place to change the situation.
In fact, recalls Guy Bouthillier, everything remained in English while the majority of the population was nevertheless French-speaking. In addition, recalls the political scientist, the question of the choice of language in teaching continued to arise bitterly. “The question of choice of language of instruction was not resolved” by the new law 22. On the contrary.
The language of instruction
The report of the Parent commission (which sets out the broad outlines of the Quebec education system) and the creation of a Ministry of Education did not rule out this idea that parents could decide on the language of schooling. of their children, observes Guy Bouthillier.
Which led French, in the excitement of the 1960s, to lose ground.
“In the post-war period, the assimilation of immigrants to the English-speaking world appeared stronger than it had been before,” he recalls. Linguistic transfers work in favor of English-speaking society, well anchored in the context of North America.
The linguistic legislation adopted by the National Union government of Jean-Jacques Bertrand, Law 63, ratified the free choice of the language of instruction based solely on the wishes of the parents. This question gave rise to very lively debates, symbolized by the explosive tensions on the side of Saint-Léonard, a municipality where the anglicization of the community of Italian origin was denounced. Not only did Law 63 not correct the situation, but it also gave rise to an outcry. Which would favor the birth of the MQF.
In 1974, the question of the language of instruction remained at the heart of linguistic debates. Bill 22 adopted by Robert Bourassa’s government, while affirming that French is the “official language of Quebec”, maintains this idea of the free choice of parents, while attempting at most to define it. The decision is now subject to one condition: a child who wishes to attend an institution in the language of their choice must be subjected to exams to judge their knowledge of that language.
In other words, Bill 22 fails to correct a situation to the disadvantage of French. French speakers are offended by this. And on the English-speakers side, the control requirements displease; they see it as a despicable form of authoritarianism.
The place of French
To establish the framework of the new law, finally adopted on July 19, 1974, the government of Robert Bourassa relied on the work of the Gendron commission.
In 1972, under the direction of linguist Jean-Denis Gendron, the Commission of Inquiry into the Situation of the French Language and Linguistic Rights in Quebec submitted three volumes of its report. Created in 1968 by the Unionist government in the wake of the linguistic upheavals that tore apart the political sky in Quebec and Canada, this commission recommended that “the government of Quebec set itself the general objective of making French the common language of Quebecers.” Law 22 goes much further by formalizing the place of French.
The law is based on this report to establish, in 123 articles, the principles of a new language policy in Quebec, with particular attention to what concerns the world of work and business. A French language authority is created. This authority replaces the Office of the French Language, created in 1961 by the Liberals of Jean Lesage. The new structure is entrusted with the responsibility of implementing francization programs in companies and conducting the investigations required by law. The results will quickly be judged very unsatisfactory.
“Even for the world of work, things were still not going well,” said Guy Bouthillier, remembering the positions taken by the MQF. “At the time – we have perhaps forgotten – the MQF brought together, in addition to various personalities and nationalist groups, the trade union centers. It was Louis Laberge and Marcel Pepin who spoke on behalf of the MQF. We forget that the Union of Agricultural Producers and its president, Albert Allain, were also there. We were happy to see that the question of French concerned the farmers, even though they were not experiencing the tense linguistic situation in Montreal. »
Law 22 will be officially sanctioned on July 31, 1974. Reactions to its adoption will not take long. And as the adoption of Bill 63 precipitated the electoral defeat of the Unionist government of Jean-Jacques Bertrand, the adoption of Bill 22 will contribute to doing the same for the Liberals of Robert Bourassa. They bit the dust in November 1976.
All this helped to set the table for new linguistic legislation which would be known, in 1977, as the Charter of the French Language, commonly known as Law 101.