(Ottawa) Minister Marc Miller reserves the right not to support the reform of the Official Languages Act during the final vote if the spirit of the bill is too distorted by the amendments of the opposition parties. Several Quebec Liberal MPs, including former minister Marc Garneau, recently tried unsuccessfully to remove any reference to the Charter of the French language from the legislation currently under consideration.
“You will see in time and place,” he replied to a journalist who asked him if he was going to vote for or against Bill C-13. “There are still amendments to be debated and we will see the final product. »
It could thus go against the principle of ministerial solidarity, under which members of the Cabinet must support the decisions of the government or resign from their position if this is not the case.
“You’ll see,” he replied when The Press asked him if he was going to side with the Cabinet. It’s going to be a cabinet decision. »
The reform of the Official Languages Act is a Liberal election promise. It has been long awaited by the Francophone and Acadian communities.
“Yes, it’s an election campaign promise, but obviously in the minority we don’t necessarily control the deal,” argued Minister Miller. There are Bloc amendments [québécois], of the Conservative Party, which obviously completely undermine the spirit of the law. »
The Bloc Québécois is calling in particular for the application of Quebec’s Charter of the French language to private businesses under federal jurisdiction. They would therefore no longer have the choice between using English or French as the language of work in Quebec. This is a request from the government of François Legault.
The Conservative Party and the New Democratic Party would be ready to support it, according to The Canadian Press. The amendment could therefore be adopted since the Liberals are in the minority.
The question of the reform of the Official Languages Act divides liberals. Recently, former minister Marc Garneau and MP Anthony Housefather tried to remove any reference to the Charter of the French language from Bill C-13, which was added by the official languages committee following an initiative of the Bloc Québécois. This recognition of Bill 96, which makes French the only official and common language in Quebec, would endorse the use of the derogation provision, according to them.
MP Emmanuella Lambropoulos has drawn the wrath of many by making comments deemed misleading about the effect of Bill 96 on English speakers in Quebec. In particular, she stated before the parliamentary committee that a citizen of her riding could no longer receive treatment in English because of this law adopted by the Legault government.
“Our job is to defend French outside Quebec first and to ensure that the rights of the English-speaking minority are not violated by trying to have a bilingual country,” said Mr. Miller, who represents the riding of Ville. -Marie–Le Sud-Ouest–Île-des-Soeurs in Montreal.
He also said he feared that an Anglophone province could in turn use the notwithstanding clause to impose English in federal institutions on its territory, which would harm the Francophone and Acadian minorities.
His remarks echo those of Marc Garneau in an open letter published on his website and of which The Press got a copy. He is opposed to a provincial law taking precedence in this way over a federal law.
With Joel-Denis Bellavance, The Press