Federal Liberal elected officials from Quebec implored their colleagues to protect the rights of the English-speaking minority by rejecting Quebec’s demands for the reform of the federal Official Languages Act, during a parliamentary committee on Tuesday.
“It would be a big mistake for us, as federal deputies, on a federal committee, examining federal laws, to leave Quebec free to do whatever it might want to do in terms of language in Quebec,” said argues MP and former minister Marc Garneau. The federal elected official from Notre-Dame-de-Grâce–Westmount spoke in an unusual way before a parliamentary committee of which he is not a member.
The Standing Committee on Official Languages began on Tuesday the examination of the amendments proposed to improve the reform of the federal Official Languages Act, Bill C-13.
About fifteen of these modifications were suggested by Quebec. The Legault government is essentially asking Ottawa not to harm its plan to protect French on Quebec territory, even if it is in the majority there. “French is the only official minority language in all of Canada,” reads a letter dated last June.
Although Bill C-13 officially seeks “substantial equality between the official languages of Canada”, its critics claim that it conflicts with Quebec’s Charter of the French language, in particular by leaving federal jurisdiction to evade it.
Concerns of Anglophones
Two other deputies on Tuesday relayed the concerns of the Anglo-Quebec community by attacking the Act respecting the official and common language of Quebec, French, better known as Bill 96.
Federal law should distance itself from this reform of the Charter of the French language, they argue.
“In my community, I have never seen so much despair, discontent and fear. Bill 96 leads English-speaking Quebecers to wonder who is defending them,” said Mount Royal MP Anthony Housefather.
Like his colleague Marc Garneau — who described the Quebec law as “discriminatory against the English-speaking minority” — Mr. Housefather attacked Quebec’s use of the notwithstanding clause, which “takes away rights without [la population puisse] go to court”. “We should not choose which linguistic minority to protect, which not to protect,” added the elected official before the committee of which he is not a member.
His colleague in the Quebec caucus, Patricia Lattanzio, who is a member of the committee, agreed.
No reform soon
Burdened with these various speeches, the two-hour meeting only allowed the vote on Tuesday of a single amendment, Tuesday, on a list of more than 200 proposed modifications. Despite the Trudeau government’s request to end the committee study of C-13 as soon as possible, it will therefore continue in 2023 for an unknown period.
“Don’t accuse us of obstruction!” ” also launched the Conservative MP Joël Godin to his Liberal colleagues, who opposed extending the meeting as a result.
His amendment, which proposed to include in the text of C-13 a passage referring to respect ” [des] Quebec’s choice with respect to its linguistic planning”, had just been defeated by five Liberal members of the committee and an elected New Democrat who was dissatisfied that an important passage had been replaced in this way. The Bloc member and two Quebec Conservatives voted in favour, while two English-speaking Conservatives abstained.
“We, what we want, is to move the bill forward so that it has teeth — and not milk teeth — to ensure that the decline of French is halted, to promote and protect two official languages in Canada,” explained Mr. Godin to the To have to when leaving the room.
Joined at his home, where he is isolating himself due to a COVID-19 infection, Bloc Québécois MP Mario Beaulieu denounces the government’s eagerness to limit debate on the issue. “Since the very beginning the Liberals have been constantly trying to put the gag on. Above all, they don’t want it to cause too much debate in Quebec. »
The three opposition parties expressed their support for Quebec’s demands. Last week, the Minister of Official Languages, Ginette Petitpas Taylor, refused to explain certain technical aspects of C-13 to the parliamentary press, claiming to rely on the work of the committee.