The English-Montreal School Board (EMSB) will challenge the “Act respecting the official and common language of Quebec, French” in court, it announced Friday.
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“The EMSB believes that Bill 96 violates the right of the English-speaking community to manage and control its educational institutions under section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms,” the commission pleaded by way of communicated.
A law firm has been hired to conduct the legal proceedings against the law on the protection of French adopted on Wednesday.
While it “actively supports the protection of the French language in Quebec”, the EMSB deems unconstitutional the clauses of Bill 96 that contravene section 133 of the Constitution Act of 1867, which grants the right to use both official languages before all courts in Canada and Quebec, section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which guarantees the right to be taught in the official language of the minority, and Part V of the Constitution Act of 1982, dealing with procedures for amending the Constitution of Canada.
Instead, the board promotes French immersion courses aimed at producing fully bilingual students.
“The EMSB believes that section 133 of the Constitution Act, 1867 cannot be modified or restricted unilaterally by the National Assembly, in particular through a unilateral amendment to the Constitution Act, 1867”, can we read in the press release.
The commission called on “Anglophone institutions and any organization interested in fundamental human rights” to support their cause.
Defended by other organizations
Other organizations, however, intend to defend Law 96, even if they consider it “insufficient”. This is particularly the case of the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society (SSJB), which considers that this legislation is legitimate, although it does not go far enough.
“According to the SSJB, this adoption pushes back the urgency to act for the protection of French in the court of future generations,” the group said in a statement.
The Government of Canada announced on the very day of the adoption of Bill 96 that it was prepared to challenge Bill 21 in the Supreme Court and feared for the rights of minorities in Quebec.
“Even if we believe that this law is not strong enough to curb the decline of French, the SSJB will be there to defend the legitimacy of this law adopted by the National Assembly of Quebec and to protect the gains it represents for the French language,” said the SSJB.
The extension of Bill 101 to the college system and the revision of its “policies relating to temporary residents who attend our school system and who are allowed to circumvent the spirit of Bill 101” are part of the list of prescriptions of the Company.