The Minister responsible for Canadian Relations and the Canadian Francophonie, Sonia LeBel, virulently denounced the new version of the bill aimed at strengthening the Official Languages Act. It should start with an examination of conscience.
In an ideal world—or if it were sovereign—Quebec would have full jurisdiction in linguistic matters, but it is hard to see how Bill C-13, introduced by Ginette Petitpas Taylor, constitutes such a big step backwards to the one (C-32) that Mélanie Joly presented last June.
In general, the francophone communities outside Quebec, as well as the Commissioner of Official Languages, saw it as progress, even if everyone agrees that it could still be improved.
Unlike the current law, Bill C-13 recognizes that the situation of French, a minority in Canada and North America, cannot be compared to that of English and deserves special attention. Without harboring any illusions, one can only approve of his commitment to “promote equality of status and use of French and English within Canadian society”.
Ottawa also takes note of the fact that the Charter of the French language established French as “the official language of Quebec”. Not the “sole official language,” as stated in Bill 96, currently under consideration by the National Assembly, but there is a recognition that has been waiting for 45 years.
It is certainly regrettable that Ottawa refuses to subject private companies under federal jurisdiction to Bill 101, as Bill 96 also provides. Even the Quebec Liberal Party is not opposed to the province alone sets the rules of the game in terms of language of work.
Since these businesses will remain free to choose between the Official Languages Act and Bill 101, Ms.me LeBel is right to say that they will prefer the one whose provisions are the least restrictive, that is to say the first, even if many companies, especially among the largest ones, have long since agreed to comply with the requirements of the second.
The proposals of M.me Petitpas Taylor, substantially similar to those of Mme Joly, are nevertheless an improvement over the current law. As provided by Bill 101, employers will have to demonstrate the need for sufficient knowledge of English to make it a condition of employment.
To be consistent, M.me LeBel should also have denounced the section of Bill C-13 which would require Ottawa to “support sectors that are essential to the development of Francophone and Anglophone minorities, particularly those of culture, education – from early childhood through post-secondary education — health, justice, employment and immigration, and [de] protect and [de] promote the presence of strong institutions that serve these minorities”. Of course, that would practically be tantamount to questioning federalism itself, which she is clearly not prepared to do.
In reality, she rather gives the impression of attacking Ottawa to make people forget the shortcomings of Bill 96. She prefers to look for the speck in the eye of Ms.me Petitpas Taylor, rather than the beam blocking his view.
Everyone knows that we cannot count on Ottawa to ensure the defense of French in Quebec. It is already difficult to prevent it from causing harm. The Legault government claimed to set itself up as a bulwark, when it must rather defend itself from being too soft by refusing to extend Bill 101 to CEGEPs.
The Prime Minister does not seem to find it abnormal that English-language establishments graduate 52% of college students in Montreal, while Anglophones represent only 17% of the population.
The aberration is not limited to the metropolis. In an open letter published on Wednesday, an economics professor at Cégep Garneau, Gabriel Coulombe, underlines the absurd situation of Champlain St. Lawrence College, in Quebec, where 75% of students are French-speaking and take courses given in English by teachers, 63% of whom are also French-speaking. Find the error !
The ceiling that the government now intends to impose on English colleges will simply have the effect of accentuating elitism which will make them even more attractive, he explains. “For many students admitted to a French-language CEGEP after having been refused in an English-language CEGEP, the erroneous perception that their training is of lesser value sets in. »
Before lecturing Ottawa and demanding new powers, the Legault government should have the courage to use those at its disposal.