The English-Montreal School Board (EMSB) announced Thursday evening that it will challenge in court the Act respecting the official and common language of Quebec barely two days after its adoption by the National Assembly.
Posted yesterday at 11:35 p.m.
The challenge will mainly invoke section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, section 133 of the Constitution Act of 1867and part V of the Constitution Act 1982, says its president, Joe Ortona. A law firm has been appointed to do this.
“Despite the fact that the EMSB actively supports the protection of the French language in Quebec, in particular by offering solid French immersion programs aimed at helping its students obtain their diploma by becoming perfectly bilingual Quebecers, the fact remains that the protection of the French language in Quebec cannot violate the constitutional rights of Quebecers,” the organization said in a press release.
The decision to lead this challenge was adopted by the commissioners with a majority (twelve votes for, two against) after heated debates at the head office of the organization, rue Fielding, in the borough of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce .
Some of them then expressed doubts as to the availability of funds in the coffers of the EMSB to conduct such a challenge, the cost of which could be high if it ends up in the Supreme Court, a possibility at this stage.
It is the first organization to officially announce that it is contesting the An Act respecting the official and common language of Quebec, French, an update of Bill 101 presented by the Legault government. This important legislative piece adopted by the National Assembly last Tuesday contains more than 200 articles and modifies about twenty existing laws.
“I invite other Anglophone institutions and any organization interested in fundamental human rights to join in or support this legal process,” concludes EMSB President Joe Ortona, as several other such challenges are expected.
Quebec, a province
1er September 2021, the EMSB adopted a resolution asking the Government of Quebec to withdraw Bill 96. The text also called on the federal government to refer this bill to the Supreme Court of Canada for a ruling on its legality.
The authorities were then criticized for “unilaterally rewriting the constitution to recognize Quebec as a nation where the only language is French”.
“Quebec is not a ‘nation’,” read the document. “It is not because we lend ourselves an identity that it becomes ours. […] The Quebec intelligentsia deliberately uses the word “nation” in such a way as to evoke a reality that exists only in its own mirage. The only precise word to use to define the reality of Quebec is “province”. »
“I think these are words that are disconnected. I even look at the federal level, we recognize that Quebec is a nation. […] I think they are disconnected, it’s as if this group had become a radical group, ”reacted the Premier of Quebec, François Legault.
Finally, the EMSB went back on its remarks, saying that some were “unfounded or erroneous” while adding that it remained concerned about the impact of Bill 96 on the English-speaking community of Quebec.