The Legault government will postpone for a year the entry into force of a major amendment to the Charter of the French language, which will oblige the State to communicate “only” in French in writing with all legal persons established in Quebec, a learned The Press.
Posted at 5:00 a.m.
This change had been promulgated by a PQ law in 2002, but the provisions affecting written communications from the state were never implemented. The Minister of the French Language, Simon Jolin-Barrette, finally decreed their implementation in May 2021, almost two decades later. The measures were due to come into force next week.
This decree was followed shortly after by the tabling of Bill 96, which will considerably modify the Charter of the French language. Minister Jolin-Barrette’s law also contains clauses to systematize the use of French in the public service, which will have to be applied from June 2023.
It is to “stitch” the PQ law of 2002 with the new charter that Quebec will postpone for one year the implementation of the article on written communications from the State, said Mr. Jolin-Barrette in a statement. written to The Press.
This linking has “always” been the minister’s intention, but the debates on Bill 96 have taken longer than he expected, according to his cabinet. The CAQ law was sanctioned on 1er last June, and its various clauses will come into force gradually over the next three years.
According to our information, the Council of Ministers will shortly adopt a decree to confirm this one-year postponement.
Complicated history
The exclusive use of French in government written communications was provided for when the Charter of the French language was adopted in 1977, under section 16 of Bill 101. These provisions were lifted in 1993 by the liberal government, a relaxation that contributed to an “institutional bilingualization of the administration”, according to a commission on the future of French set up in 2000.
The PQ government of Bernard Landry consequently adopted the An Act to amend the Charter of the French language in 2002. However, it never implemented the article on written state communications.
The “putting on hold of this article” is coming to an end, argued Minister Jolin-Barrette when he announced his decree in May 2021. The changes that will come into force in June 2023 will be numerous and will come, according to him, “correct this important deficiency”.
All ministries, government, municipal and school bodies as well as health and social services establishments will be required to communicate exclusively in French in writing with the various businesses in the province, as well as with other governments.
Quebec will determine a few “exceptions” to this rule, for example in the tourism sector, but the objective remains to demonstrate the “exemplary” state in the use of French, the cabinet was told. of the minister. “The norm will become French. »
Exceptions will be defined in the future state language policy, which will be developed over the next year. This is to come into force within a year.
Controversial
The 2002 section of the law will not apply to communications between the machinery of government and citizens. Several provisions of the new law on the reform of the Charter of the French language will affect it, however.
For example, immigrants will only be able to communicate in French with the government, six months after their arrival in Quebec.
Many groups, including researchers commissioned by Quebec, consider this requirement inhumane and inapplicable.
Bill 96 also provides for a series of measures to reinforce the use of French in the workplace. SMBs with 25 or more employees – rather than 50 today – will have to submit to increased francization obligations, among other things, and all companies will have to prove that bilingualism is necessary when they require it for a new position.
The business community is worried. A coalition of technology business leaders issued a warning on Tuesday morning about the possibility of a job exodus, a fear immediately brushed aside by Minister Jolin-Barrette.