William Johnson: The legal status of English in Quebec

http://www2.canada.com/montrealgazette/features/viewpoints/story.html?id=79c98166-3381-429f-8a64-856ac7f1d527&p=1

During the 1995 referendum, I maintained in The Gazette that a referendum did not confer a right to secede unilaterally and that, if Canada was divisible, Quebec was also divisible. That shocked even good anglos but my position was confirmed in August 1998 by the Supreme Court of Canada ...

In their analysis of Bill 22, Frank Scott, John Humphrey (who had drafted the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights), Irwin Cotler and four others wrote: "Section 1 which provides that French is 'the official language of the province of Quebec' is misleading in that it suggests that English is not also an official language in Quebec, which it is by virtue of Section 133 of the BNA Act and the federal Official Languages Act."

These eminent legal authorities asserted: "To promote the two cultures on the basis of equality and to allow them freedom for their natural growth and development is, we believe, the only proper policy for Quebec and for Canada, and the only one consistent with contemporary international standards of human rights."

In his initial draft of what became Bill 101, Camille Laurin had this in Section 1: "Le français est la seule langue officielle du Québec." But he was persuaded to drop seule when he was told that it would certainly be struck down by the courts, thus confirming that English was also an official language of Quebec ..1

William Johnson: The myth of disestablished English - The Métropolitain

The myth of disestablished English - The Métropolitain

Even as English is again under attack at the National Assembly during the hearings on Bill 14, it is perhaps true that most Quebecers have been misled into believing that English is not also an official language of Quebec. But that’s entirely unfounded in fact or in law. English has been an official language of Quebec ever since 1763. Every law passed since then has been passed in English. Every law to be passed by the current [SIC] Parti Québécois government will be passed in English as well as French, and the English text will be official, just as will be the French. 

English is part of Quebec’s very identity. That part is largely what makes the difference between Quebec and other former colonies of France, such as Guadeloupe, Martinique, Louisiana, Haiti, Vietnam or Algeria. 

So how has the myth been propagated that French is the “sole official language?”  It began with the trickery of Robert Bourassa’s Bill 22 of 1974, the so-called “Official Language Act, which proclaimed – in English as well as French: “French is the official language of the province of Québec.” ...

‘Catastrophic loss’: Former MP says NDP lost touch with core supporters

 

The New Democratic Party ran a leader-focused election campaign and lost touch with core supporters who ended up backing the Conservatives, says a former member of Parliament.

Charlie Angus, who did not run in the last election after representing the northern Ontario riding of Timmins — James Bay for more than two decades, — called the election a “catastrophic loss” following a campaign that spent too much time selling leader Jagmeet Singh and not enough time pitching its policies.

‘Catastrophic loss’: Former MP says NDP lost touch with core supporters - National | Globalnews.ca

MONEY AND ETHNIC INSTITUTIONS

 

Jack Jedwab, president and CEO of the Association for Canadian Studies and the Metropolis Institute, this week joined hosts Bill Brownstein and Aaron Rand on a new episode of The Corner Booth at Snowdon Deli to share stories about this pivotal moment in Quebec political history, including on Jacques Parizeau’s “money and ethnic votes” comment.

Jedwab also shared a story he had kept largely to himself from his time as executive director of the Quebec region of the Canadian Jewish Congress involving what he said was a threat to cut funding to the Jewish General Hospital.

“ I couldn’t go public with it (at the time) because it was a confidential meeting. Today, the actors are mostly no longer with us. There are a couple who were at the meeting who are still alive, and I validated this with them to make sure my memory of this exchange was correct. It was despicable. Shameful.”[The Gazette]

DOES THE BARREAU DU QUEBEC SUPPORT QUEBEC STATE SECULARISM LAWS LIKE BILLS 21 9 94

 The Barreau de Québec (Quebec Bar) has historically raised concerns about the preemptive use of the notwithstanding clause in Quebec secularism laws like Bills 21 and 9. While the Bar recognizes the right of the legislature to pass laws on secularism, its objections primarily center on the protection of the rule of law, potential infringements on fundamental charter rights, and the preemptive override of legal challenges. 

2022: The Liberal stance on Bill 96

 The Liberal stance on Bill 96 | OP / ED | thesuburban.com

 

Repeal the notwithstanding clause;

Repeal clauses limiting access to health and social services;

Repeal provisions that allow searches without a warrant;

Repeal provisions imposing an administrative burden on businesses;

Repeal the six-month deadline imposed newcomers to learn French;

Repeal the freeze on English CEGEP enrolment, give all students back the right to make their own choices about their post-secondary education, and reinstate the urgently needed expansion of Dawson College;

Restore judicial independence and give the magistrature back the right to appoint judges according to their needs;

Finally, Exempt Indigenous Peoples from Bill 96.

 

Majority of Quebecers in favour of lowering legal alcohol limit to 0.05 for drivers: poll

 

Contrary to the Legault Government’s stance, a new Léger poll shows that a majority of Quebecers support lowering the legal blood alcohol limit from 0.08 to 0.05.

Commissioned by l’Association pour la santé publique du Québec (ASPQ), the poll reveals that 61 per cent want the limit lowered. This is a seven point jump since last year, where approval rate stood at 54 per cent in March 2024.

As the Journal de Montreal reports, lowering the limit to 0.05 per cent would potentially save nine lives per year.

https://montreal.citynews.ca/2025/05/22/quebecers-favour-lowering-alcohol-limit/

Canada and Quebec are not immune to an authoritarian drift

Liberal democracy is retreating around the world, giving way to increasingly authoritarian governments. One of the most eloquent examples is of course south of our border with Donald Trump. But are Canada, and Quebec, safe from such a drift? Nothing is less certain, says constitutionalist Louis-Philippe Lampron in his most recent essay “Democracy will not defend itself on its own.”

“Trump can come to us too. All the loopholes he is trying to exploit also exist here,” said the law professor at Laval University in an interview with The Canadian Press.

Canada and Quebec are not immune to an authoritarian drift

Bill 1: Independence on the Instalment Plan

The “Québec Constitution Act, 2025” -Bill 1 — is not a conventional provincial constitution but a comprehensive, unilateral restructuring of Quebec’s relationship with the Rest of Canada (RoC). It is an aggressive attempt to establish a legal and political foundation for future independence by repudiating core tenets of the Canadian Constitution, subordinating individual rights to a newly defined collective identity, and attempts to seize federal powers. This document represents a direct constitutional challenge, aiming to create a de facto sovereign state through provincial legislation.

  Bill 1: Independence on the Instalment Plan | OP / ED | thesuburban.com

23 JUN 2014: Fête nationale strengthens francophone attachment to Quebec, poll shows

 

MONTREAL — Francophone Quebecers are far more likely to experience a sense of attachment to Quebec during the Fête nationale holiday, a new poll shows, while for non-francophones, it’s Canada Day that prompts a surge of patriotism.

In total, 63 per cent of francophones surveyed told pollsters that they agreed with the statement “the Fête nationale strengthens my sense of attachment to Quebec,” while just 27 per cent of non-francophones said the same. The trend reversed when those polled were asked if Canada Day strengthened their sense of attachment to Canada, with 67 per cent of non-francophones agreeing and only 31 per cent of francophones agreeing.

The poll was conducted online between Tuesday and Thursday last week by Léger Marketing for The Association for Canadian Studies.

https://montrealgazette.com/news/fete-nationale-strengthens-francophone-attachment-to-quebec-poll-shows/