The Quebec population does not have to blush in front of the hostile press campaign waged against Bill 96, argues the minister responsible for the French language, Simon Jolin-Barrette.
“We don’t have to be embarrassed to pass laws [pour] protect French, ”he said on the sidelines of the national convention of the Coalition avenir Québec on Saturday.
The elected caquiste reacted to the publication of editorials and chronicles in the international press scratching the Act respecting the official and common language of Quebec, French (law 96) starting with those based on “premises” which “are not not accurate”.
Simon Jolin-Barrette said he found it “unacceptable” to see editorialists and media columnists like The Washington Post describe the Quebec government as racist and xenophobic. “We made corrections. We will continue to do so, ”he said in a press scrum.
The minister is not ruling out the possibility of deploying an information campaign on language reform in order to safeguard Quebec’s reputation abroad. “It’s an avenue that could be considered,” he said.
“Quebec is the only French-speaking state in North America. The situation of French will always be vulnerable and we must therefore adopt laws to protect and ensure the sustainability of French,” insisted the author of Law 96, Simon Jolin-Barrette. “We don’t have to be judged by anyone to preserve the specificities of the Quebec nation. We will continue to do so, ”he added before entering the main hall of the Centrexpo Cogeco, in Drummondville.
A museum to make Lord Durham lie
Nearly four months before the general election, some 1,500 members of the CAQ debated there on Saturday 23 oppositions to the attention of the government of François Legault.
In particular, they invited him to set up a museum of the national history of Quebec.
History teacher Samuel Massicotte sees this as an opportunity to prove Lord Durham wrong, according to whom the descendants of the French formed a “people without history and without literature”. “It’s been more than 400 years since our ancestors walked this land to colonize it, to develop it. We are still surviving despite certain attempts by another level of government to deny our language, to deny our rights. We continue to hang on. By creating a museum of national history, we show that we are a proud people”, he underlined.
A referendum proposed, then rejected
The members of the CAQ also asked François Legault’s team “to reiterate its request to the federal government to transfer all immigration powers as quickly as possible to the Government of Quebec”, and this, “in order to preserve the vitality of French and the demographic weight of Francophones”.
Activists have proposed to the Quebec government to hold a “sectoral referendum” in order to establish a balance of power more favorable to its request to obtain control of the family reunification program, but in vain.
“We have repeatedly repeated this request. Canada has said No every time since the government of Robert Bourassa. However, each time we take our hole. One yields for another; sometimes for another six years. Enough foolishness! asserted Terrebonne activist Kevin Serafini.
In his eyes, a transfer of powers from Ottawa to Quebec in matters of immigration should not only be the question at the ballot box on October 3, but also the subject of a popular consultation. “The first initiative of the next legislature should be the organization of a referendum on immigration,” he maintained. ” Cheer ! launched an activist. The staff of the CAQ, however, deemed its proposed amendment inadmissible.
Activist Isabelle Vaillancourt suggested setting in motion “popular referendums” and “demonstrations” in order to increase the pressure of the Quebec government on the federal government.
The CAQ staff also deemed his proposed amendment inadmissible. “We will leave the negotiation between Quebec and the federal government in the hands of the ministers concerned,” indicated MP Joëlle Boutin.