(Quebec) The Legault government passed Bill 96 on the French language on Tuesday with the support of Quebec solidaire, while the Liberal Party, the Parti Québécois and the Conservative Party voted against. François Legault takes a new step to protect the Frenchman. As the election approached, he opened a front with Ottawa to obtain all powers in immigration. “This is where we have to act,” declared the Prime Minister.
Posted at 10:44 a.m.
Updated at 5:35 p.m.
Bill 96, which updates the Charter of the French language – commonly known as Bill 101 – contains more than 200 articles and modifies some twenty existing laws (see box below). Organizations have already announced their intention to challenge it in court.
For his part, Mr. Legault said Tuesday that the adoption of the linguistic reform led by his Minister responsible for the French language, Simon Jolin-Barrette, marked a “great day for French”. His enthusiasm, however, was not shared by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who assured that Ottawa would respond to protect the rights of English-speaking Quebecers.
PHOTO JESSE WINTER, REUTERS
Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada
“It is extremely important to ensure that we protect English-speaking communities in Quebec. We have concerns about the latest version of Bill 96 […] [et] we will look very carefully at the final version that it will take. We will make our decision based on what is necessary to protect minorities across the country, ”he said while in Vancouver, when asked whether his government would intervene in potential legal battles. .
More immigration powers
Law 96 adopted, François Legault now wants to open negotiations with Ottawa to obtain more powers in immigration. He indicated on Tuesday that he would seek a “strong mandate” during the next election campaign to force the hand of the federal government, which has already closed the door to his demands.
PHOTO JACQUES BOISSINOT, THE CANADIAN PRESS
François Legault, Premier of Quebec
According to Mr. Legault, it is crucial that Quebec has all the powers for the selection of immigrants by adding to its powers family reunification, controlled by Ottawa. From 2018 to 2022, Quebec has increased from 55% to 84% the share of newcomers in the economic class who speak French upon arrival. The Prime Minister wants to replicate the recipe to other categories over which he has no control.
Moreover, the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) will put forward this demand during its pre-election convention this weekend.
Among its 23 resolutions submitted to the vote of the militants, the political committee of the party proposes that the government of Quebec “reiterates” its request to the federal government to “transfer all the powers in immigration as quickly as possible”.
The conference will focus on the theme of “pride” and will be another exercise in the flavor of identity after the adoption of Bill 96. The political commission of the CAQ proposes to introduce a compulsory course in the history of contemporary Quebec at CEGEP which will would “develop a sense of pride in young adults”. He also suggests “increasing the learning of knowledge related to Quebec culture and society in the context of francization courses” intended for newcomers.
The CAQ also wants to review the French programs at the elementary and secondary levels in order to improve language proficiency. She militates for the creation of a Museum of the national history of Quebec and research chairs in universities which “would prioritize, in various fields, the study of Quebec and which would correspond to its priorities”.
The next steps
However, the adoption of Bill 96 does not mark the end of the debates on the protection of French that have divided Parliament in recent months. The Press reported on Monday that legal challenges are brewing, as groups representing English-speaking Quebecers and well-known lawyer Julius Gray deem the law “aberrant”.
The Prime Minister’s parliamentary assistant for relations with English-speaking Quebecers, Christopher Skeete, does not believe that Bill 96 is undermining linguistic peace in Quebec. “We must always build bridges with a population that for the past 50 years has had no interaction with the State of Quebec,” he said.
The minister responsible for the French language, Simon Jolin-Barrette, for his part recalled on Tuesday that Bill 96 provides for the filing within the next year of a language policy which will clarify the scope of the legislative amendments adopted. To measure its success, Mr. Jolin-Barrette intends to follow the evolution of the language transfer rate of immigrants, ie the transfer from a mother tongue to a second language. The Minister has in the past affirmed that this rate currently stands at 53% for French, but that it must reach 90% to ensure the “sustainability of the French language”.
The mixed opposition
For the Parti Québécois, Bill 96 will not reverse the decline of French in Quebec, which explains why the PQ MPs voted against it. On the side of Quebec solidaire, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois said Tuesday that he supported Bill 96 since this reform includes advances. However, the Solidaires undertake to render “inoperative” the six-month period imposed by Quebec on immigrants and refugees after which they are no longer allowed to receive services in a language other than French.
Dominique Anglade’s Liberal Party announced a few weeks ago that it would vote against the bill, deploring in particular the use of the derogation provision (known as the “notwithstanding clause”). The Conservative Party of Quebec, led by Éric Duhaime, is also opposed. “Quebecers have been sufficiently deprived of their rights and freedoms for two years,” he said.
With Tommy Chouinard, The Press
The main measures of Law 96
• Create a Ministry of the French Language and a post of French Language Commissioner;
• Limit language requirements other than French that may be required upon hiring;
• Extend the provisions of Bill 101 to companies with 24 to 49 employees, as well as companies under federal jurisdiction, such as banks;
• Give the Office québécois de la langue française the power to issue orders and broaden its investigative powers;
• Amend the Charter of the French language “to require that French appear clearly predominant” in terms of signage, rather than in “sufficient presence”, as provided for in the current regulation;
• Add articles to the Constitution of Quebec, within the Constitution Act of 1867who recognize that Quebecers form a nation and that the official language of the province is French;
• Freeze the proportion of students in the English-language college network at its current level, then require Francophones and allophones studying in an English-language CEGEP to pass the uniform French test, rather than the English test, in order to graduate;
• Require all students in English-language CEGEPs – including those who received instruction in English in elementary and secondary school – to take three courses taught in French or three complementary French courses;
• Provide that all public services be provided in French, with some exceptions, to the entire population, which includes immigrants or refugees after a six-month period, but which excludes the historic English-speaking community;
• Provide that any judgment rendered in English be “immediately and without delay” accompanied by a French version as soon as the judgment “puts an end to a proceeding or when it is of interest to the public”;
• Provide that a future judge cannot be required to master a language other than French, “unless the Minister of Justice and the Minister of the French Language consider that this knowledge is necessary”.