(Quebec) The Legault government slaps the back of the hand on criticism from people surprised at having to certify in “good faith” that they belong to a group authorized to receive government services in English. The Minister of the French Language, Jean-François Roberge, has advice for those who are tempted to circumvent the law: “You can always lie if you want on a daily basis in your everyday life, but I do not recommend it to you. . You will sleep less well. »
Since Thursday, provisions of Law 96 on the French language concerning the exemplarity of the State have entered into force. The Government of Quebec, Crown corporations and government agencies, as well as municipalities, now have the obligation to serve citizens in French.
Bill 96, adopted during the first mandate of the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) by Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette, provides, however, that citizens who identify with four designated groups can continue to receive services in English: Quebecers eligible for education in English, members of Indigenous peoples and Inuit, immigrants who have been in Quebec for less than six months and all those who communicated in English with the State before May 13, 2021.
“We are not going to issue a card or a file of Quebecers [qui peuvent communiquer en anglais avec l’État] in a register. We’re not going there. I think that trusting the good faith of Quebecers “is the right thing to do, defended Mr. Roberge on Friday.
The Minister added that he was proud of this government direction, as messages have multiplied since Thursday on telephone lines and government websites asking people who use services in English to do so only if they identify with one of the four groups.
“I think it’s the right way to do it!” […] It’s an important message, it’s a change of mentality and I’m not embarrassed to operate it, on the contrary. I am very proud to do so,” said Mr. Roberge.
Côte-Saint-Luc makes fun of Quebec
On the island of Montreal, the City of Côte-Saint-Luc has modified the automatic message that is read to citizens who call its information line to indicate that anyone who wants to communicate with it in English can do so without having to provide genealogical proof that they belong to the historical English-speaking community of Quebec.
During his press scrum, Jean-François Roberge did not comment on the case of Côte-Saint-Luc. On the other hand, the Minister of Finance, Eric Girard, who is also Minister responsible for Relations with English-speaking Quebecers, took care to say that the government would act with “discernment”. According to him, the provisions of Law 96 which have entered into force require a period of adjustment.
“Anglophones who need to have access to services in English, we will continue to serve them with discernment, in an intelligent way, and we will continue to live together and everything will be fine,” said Mr. Girard.
Opposition uneasy
The interim leader of the Liberal Party of Quebec (PLQ), Marc Tanguay, for his part said Friday that the methods of the CAQ to promote French were inadequate. “It is not through such measures that we will advance French,” he said.
Quebec Solidarity MNA Ruba Ghazal, whose party voted in favor of Bill 96, said her party would cancel certain elements of Bill 96, if it forms the government, because they are not applicable.
On the side of the Parti Québécois (PQ), MP Pascal Bérubé recalled that his political party had voted against Law 96 “because it did not go far enough on the essentials [et] too far on things that have no impact”.
” [Ce n’est] not the kind of measures that are likely to create support for French,” he said.