(Laval) Less than a year after adopting Bill 96, which was presented as “the greatest advance for the French language in Quebec since the adoption of Bill 101”, the Legault government is adding to the protection of the French. Jean-François Roberge will announce on Friday the creation of an action group that will determine the means to be taken to curb the decline of French in the province.
In a militant cocktail Thursday in Laval, where the deputies of the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) are gathered in caucus a few days before the return to parliament, Prime Minister François Legault affirmed that his objective is for his government to be included in history books as the one that “stopped the decline of French in Quebec”.
“We will ensure that the percentage of Francophones who make up our immigration is significantly increased,” he added, when he declared a few weeks ago that he was aiming for 100% Francophone or Francotropic immigration. by 2026.
The Minister for the French Language, Jean-François Roberge, who told the Quebec newspaper Thursday that it would submit an action plan by next fall, will carry out a series of consultations with experts in order to establish indicators to measure the vitality of French in Quebec.
Bill 96, adopted in June 2022 in Parliament, also provides for the creation of a post of French language commissioner, whose function must be to monitor the evolution of the linguistic situation in Quebec. The Press revealed last fall that the Legault government wishes to appoint to this position the philosopher and federal civil servant Benoît Dubreuil, co-author of the essay The imaginary remedy – Why immigration won’t save Quebec. The government has since proposed to the opposition to meet its candidate, while the news had cooled certain parties, including Quebec solidaire, which did not find the candidacy unifying.