22 June 2022
Opinion: What role will the courts play in Quebec's French-language law?
For example, the courts will have to clarify their role vis-à-vis a legislature that views them as an irritant, at best, and cares little about fundamental rights.
21 June 2022
If you don’t mean it, why write it?
The CAQ government’s ad taken out in newspapers in Canada and the United States last week sought to clarify what it called “falsehoods” being circulated about Bill 96. But rather than address the issues directly, the message really was, “Don’t worry about what the Bill says, we’re not going to use its powers. Trust us.” Well, if you didn’t mean to use it M.Legault, why write it and pass it? And who is going to trust anything you have to say on minority rights after everything you’ve done?
17 June 2022
Here’s how opponents will use the courts to try to thwart Quebec’s Bill 96
Opponents are expected to file several legal challenges against Bill 96, the controversial, wide-ranging legislation passed in May [2022] that could touch many aspects of daily life, from medical care to how businesses operate to the workings of the court system.
The law further restricts the use of English in Quebec in a bid to boost the French language, with Premier François Legault arguing French is in decline in Quebec , both in workplaces and in homes.
An English Montreal School Board (EMSB) lawsuit filed last week is the first attempt to quash parts of the law.
The Montreal Gazette spoke to legal experts and people working on possible legal action.
Here’s how opponents will use the courts to try to thwart Quebec’s Bill 96 (msn.com)
16 June 2022
15 June 2022
Quebec government designates Louis-Joseph Papineau and a historical figure to mark Patriots' Day
QUEBEC CITY -- Prominent 19th-century French Canadian politician Louis-Joseph Papineau has been designated as a historical figure by Quebec Minister of Culture and Communications Nathalie Roy.
To mark Quebec's National Patriots' Day, minister Roy also announced a notice of intent to designate the Patriots' monument in the Notre-Dame-des-Neiges cemetery in Montreal.
With this designation and notice of classification, the Quebec Government wants to perpetuate the memory and legacy of individuals who played a significant role in Quebec's history and who helped forge the identity of its citizens.
How the CAQ is rebranding Quebec nationalism
The party's laws on secularism and language are at the heart of a push to redefine the nation's identity
How the CAQ is rebranding Quebec nationalism | CBC News
Legal experts fact-check Quebec ad campaign that aims to correct 'falsehoods' on controversial language law
Lawyers say government ad published this week contains falsehoods of its own
Legal experts are slamming a full-page ad from the CAQ government running in both French and English newspapers this week that purports to correct "falsehoods" circulating about the new law to protect the French language, commonly know as Bill 96.
"The ad campaign is misleading," constitutional lawyer Julius Grey told CBC in an interview.
Frédéric Bérard, co-director of the National Observatory on Language Rights, part of the Public Law Research Centre at Université de Montréal, was less diplomatic.
"It's bullshit over bullshit. That's what it is. I mean, it's lying to people with public money," Bérard told CBC.
Martin Patriquin: Another side to the Tamara Thermitus story
It now seems reasonable to believe she was removed from the human rights commission not for being a bad boss, but for being too effective.
https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/martin-patriquin-another-side-to-the-tamara-thermitus-story?fbclid=IwAR37iaetT_1eKrmDnacN85rMDUToLEAO14fweoXpc78GOohHaq6UoK42HuQ
In the annals of Quebec politics, the name Tamara Thermitus came and went quickly, bookmarked by hope
and shame. In February 2017, Thermitus became the first racialized
person (and only the second woman) to preside over Quebec’s human rights
commission. On paper, the Haiti-born Thermitus was a perfect candidate
for the job. A member of the Quebec bar for three decades, she devoted
her career in the federal civil service to the fight against systemic
discrimination. She played a key role in defining the mandate for the
country’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which helped uncover and
document the myriad wrongs the federal government committed against the
Indigenous populations.
She lasted little more than a year. In the fall of 2018, Quebec ombudsman Marie Rinfret wrote a report criticizing Thermitus for “lack of ethical norms,” “bad management” and “abuse of authority.” Thermitus resigned last November before the National Assembly could remove her from the position. Politicians from the CAQ and the Parti Québécois, particularly former PQ justice critic Véronique Hivon, had clamoured for her resignation. The reigning narrative in the wake of her departure was simple and devastating: that Thermitus was a morally questionable boss who stoked frustration and fear among her underlings ...
Is Quebec Premier François Legault the political heir of René Lévesque or Maurice Duplessis?
This year marks the centenary of the birth of René Lévesque – the man who built the modern Hydro-Québec as a Liberal minister, founded the Parti Québécois and was premier of Quebec from 1976 until 1985.
Under his leadership, Quebec banned corporate contributions to political parties; introduced agricultural zoning and government automobile insurance; and, despite his initial reluctance, passed the Charter of the French Language – known in English as Bill 101. There will be a series of conferences, beginning on June 13, commemorating Lévesque’s legacy.
Legault is expected to participate, and he will be able to point to a number of things he has in common with Lévesque. Both men grew up in predominantly English-speaking communities – Lévesque in New Carlisle, and Legault in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue. Both created new parties, bringing together different streams of Quebec nationalists. Both have presided over the introduction of legislation intended to protect the French language, which disrupted and unnerved the English communities of Quebec.
14 June 2022
Canadians consider certain religions damaging to society
Many Canadians now believe Catholicism, evangelical Christianity and Islam are more damaging to society than beneficial, a new survey shows, as people across the country continue to turn their backs on religion.
https://globalnews.ca/news/8759564/canada-religion-society-perceptions/
'Sometimes' OK to play songs containing F-word on French radio: broadcast council
MONTREAL — It's acceptable in most cases for French radio stations to play English songs containing the F-word during the daytime, the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council said Wednesday.
In a written decision, the organization said that when the overall programming is in French, only songs where the word is used frequently or to insult someone breach its code of ethics.
'Sometimes' OK to play songs containing F-word on French radio: broadcast council (msn.com)
A sneak attack on language rights
Tom Mulcair: Bill 96 deserves much more than nodding approval of leaders in Ottawa. Failure to defend rights comes at a cost to our unity and well-being as a country.
Faut-il sauver le Parti Québécois?
Le PQ aura lâché la proie de
l’indépendance pour l’ombre d’une
pseudo-laïcité.
https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2022/06/01/faut-il-sauver-le-parti-quebecois?fbclid=IwAR0_7La3oy0XgFcXOoibceKn7nd1c9I2hgnK5a23mzrS1XE8oktjLVo0czs
13 June 2022
With François Legault in charge, democracy is getting schooled in Quebec
The Quebec government of François Legault pulled one of the more audacious parliamentary stunts in recent Canadian history last week, when it abolished all the school boards in the province with a stroke of the pen.
Opinion: Responses on Bill 96 and health care don't allay concerns
Notwithstanding the government’s claims, the CMQ is correct in its analysis that “the text of the law as formulated maintains grey areas and gives reason to be concerned as to the future ability of patients to use their chosen language with the person providing their care.
12 June 2022
Anglophone groups want court to decide the fate of school-board reform
Quebec passes controversial bill to protect academic freedom
QUEBEC CITY -
Elected officials in Quebec have passed Bill 32 on Friday to better protect academic freedom in the university environment.
The eight Québec solidaire (QS) MNAs who were present showed their opposition by abstaining from voting.
Bill 32 gives the minister of higher education the right to make "necessary corrections" in educational institutions deemed non-compliant.
Quebec passes bill to protect academic freedom | CTV News
'Problematic' and a 'dog's breakfast': Quebec face-covering ban panned by authors of landmark report
Bouchard and Taylor's 2008 report aimed to reconcile Quebec's identity and minority rights
A new Quebec law purported to deal with secularism and the accommodation of minorities is being called a "dog's breakfast" of contradictions by one of the authors of a landmark study of the issue.
The other author of the study says it would be "problematic" in its application.
In their 2008 report, sociologist Gérard Bouchard and philosopher Charles Taylor offered solutions aimed at assuaging concerns about the erosion of Quebec identity while respecting the rights of minorities.
11 June 2022
The Anglican Church should follow Jesus’ teachings and welcome equal marriage
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-the-anglican-church-should-follow-jesus-teachings-and-welcome-equal/?fbclid=IwAR0804XhG3OR0oR5tR3W3OMGEOxCgXos6dWiJQlIuVWNUsv7okak3AdSyoo
Robert Libman: CAQ focus should have been on policy, not pride
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/robert-libman-caq-focus-should-have-been-on-policy-not-pride/ar-AAY2VFg?ocid=EMMX&cvid=5eace747a0eb4c5dbbea19ed8151217b&fbclid=IwAR0Q9OJwKgXWrFE_5bu8B3dQDxMnbtKrjmIsNaCqITOZXvCnbMx0jbrms64
Think recognizing the ‘Quebec nation’ is harmless? In fact, the implications for unity are profound
What does Quebec want? That has been the question on earnest Canadians’ minds for the better part of four decades. After Wednesday’s session of the provincial legislature, we need speculate no further: What Quebec wants is a flag emoji.
A Parti Québécois motion demanding the internet (specifically, the Silicon Valley-based Unicode Consortium, which decides such things) devise an emoji for the Quebec flag passed by the usual unanimous vote. Party leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon said the move would give Quebeckers the “right to express our pride” in tweets and Facebook posts.
Add this, then, to the list of Quebec’s historic demands. Perhaps you thought, having just drafted legislation declaring themselves a nation, the province’s political class would have been sated, pride-wise, maybe even take a break for a bit. But the work of preparing Quebec’s rendezvous with destiny never ceases. Each peak scaled only becomes the base camp for further ascents.
Macpherson: In Quebec, the language issues keep getting smaller
https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/macpherson-in-quebec-the-language-issues-keep-getting-smaller?fbclid=IwAR3C3lCC2RZjbVDuZWnKWbXVXN44JBAyLN2o8QqlI51bXcEDyx3jUI_Vvus
This week, after devoting nearly 700 words to the implications of “Megxit,” La Presse’s chief editorial writer regretted that so much attention was being paid to Harry and Meghan, “especially when issues of great importance monopolize the headlines.”
Issues of great importance such as, perhaps, signs on Subway sandwich shops in Quebec that are apparently illegal because they don’t say the shops sell sandwiches, the subject of the Montreal digital newspaper’s lead news item that day.
A La Presse investigation consisting of visits to a few shopping malls had found that — aha! — some store chains are apparently violating a three-year-old Quebec regulation on the language of commercial signs.
Use of French at home is only one indicator of language health: Quebec demographers
Legault declared on Wednesday that "nobody could deny" French is in decline, saying fewer Quebecers were speaking the language at home as well as at work.
His comments — which came after a weekend speech in which he said the survival of the Quebec nation depended on the province gaining greater control over immigration — sparked fiery rebukes from opposition politicians, who accused him of scapegoating immigrants who might speak their first languages at home even if they've learned French.
Use of French at home, the latest polarizing language debate in Quebec | CTV News
08 June 2022
How Quebec’s amendment could sever ties with Canada
'Some sections of Bill 96 could infringe on Section 133 of the Constitution, which entrenches English and French in the provincial courts and legislatures.'
06 June 2022
QCGN Supports Commissioner’s Call for Symmetry in the Official Languages Act
MONTREAL, June 1, 2021 – Canada’s Commissioner of Official Languages Raymond Théberge is advising the federal government to maintain the equal status of French and English in its coming changes to the Official Languages Act. The Quebec Community Groups Network enthusiastically endorses this advice. In his annual report tabled in the House of Commons today, Commissioner Théberge said he is “pleased to see that the Government of Canada’s proposed overhaul is based on the principle of substantive equality, because beyond guaranteeing the equal status of English and French, the new Act must provide the means to actually achieve this equality.” “The Commissioner of Official Languages has taken a principled stand in defence of the equality of Canada’s two official languages,” comments QCGN President Marlene Jennings: “We concur with his recommendation that the government focus on substantive equality rather than legislative asymmetry, in order to foster the development and vitality of both of Canada’s official language minority communities.” Substantive equ
Quebec's use of notwithstanding clause in language law opens constitutional debate
Lametti and other critics of Bill 96 say the government's use of that clause — Section 33 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms — shuts down debate and prevents a proper judicial review of the legislation. The proactive use of Section 33, which permits a government to override certain provisions of the Constitution, is an "unintended negative consequence in our political system," he said.
The Quebec government, meanwhile, says its use of the clause is legitimate and necessary to protect laws that are supported by the majority of Quebecers. The government calls Section 33 "the parliamentary sovereignty provision."
Quebec's use of notwithstanding clause in language law opens constitutional debate | CTV News
05 June 2022
Francophones and anglophones have different views on official languages, poll shows
Francophones across Canada are near unanimous in support of the Official Languages Act.
Francophones and anglophones have different views on official languages, poll shows | Ottawa Citizen
An opinion poll for Canada’s Commissioner of Official Languages shows Canadians are strongly in favour of the objectives of the Official Languages Act, but support is strongest in Quebec.
In the rest of Canada, francophones are much more likely than anglophones (98 per cent versus 78 per cent) to believe it’s important that the prime minister, Supreme Court judges and federal ministers be bilingual.
Geographically, 95 per cent of Quebecers support the act, compared to 87 per cent in Ontario, 86 per cent in Atlantic Canada and 78 per cent in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
As Canadians seek to confront anti-Muslim bias, Quebec's Bill 21 is under scrutiny once again
Bill 21 is facing renewed backlash from the rest of Canada, making even the Quebec law's critics uneasy
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/bill-21-london-attack-1.6059756?fbclid=IwAR3yiZLBeMkXSviNYkBlFdCOnFBPAxJxsr9NMf7hUYL685pZ8IBlxl47lOU
Constitution Act, 1982
Resentment over the events of 1981–82 still lingers among some Quebec nationalists. However, Quebec’s place in the Constitution is no longer at the forefront of Canadian public debate. Public opinion surveys show widespread support for the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in every province, including Quebec.
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/constitution
Minorities risk being excluded by Quebec's proposed language law, Anglo-rights group says
Bill 96 is CAQ government's 2nd use of the notwithstanding clause to override rights charters
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/bill-96-wording-constitution-1.6060457?fbclid=IwAR1pMn_Q95hrdpuyIAyKXOLVsMHOxCVozCC0HekAuFaF1esgZxMqmvDS9Lw
Wording by the Quebec government in its proposed amendment of the Canadian Constitution could exclude many from being defined as a Quebecer, according to an analysis of Bill 96 by the Quebec Community Groups Network.
The QCGN is an umbrella group made up of English-speaking community organizations. It says the proposed new language law would effectively make the province a "charter-free zone" because of its sweeping use of the notwithstanding clause.
Bill 96 was tabled by the Coalition Avenir Québec government May 13. Premier François Legault said he expects his majority government to pass it during the next session at the National Assembly.
Three things most likely to be legally challenged in Bill 96
Even before Bill 96 was adopted earlier this week, changing the scope of Quebec’s language laws, some local lawyers said they were putting together a plan to challenge it.
They were joined two days later by the English Montreal School Board, which said it would launch a legal fight against the bill.
But what in the bill, exactly, will they be attacking? The EMSB so far hasn’t specified, just saying it believes the bill compromises its right to deliver an education system as it chooses to do.
And the group of lawyers, whose spokesperson so far has been
constitutional lawyer Julius Grey, hasn’t laid out their full legal
logic yet -- they’re still working on it and aren’t going to rush it,
Grey says.
https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/three-things-most-likely-to-be-legally-challenged-in-bill-96-1.5922027?fbclid=IwAR1k3w4fmXqHhPHpNUEmnt290A-wX9uwFi_6oQmxKj0mFuYi4w6N4xqY1Ao
03 June 2022
Explainer: What will Quebec's new French language law mean for business, hiring?
Bill 96 opens the door to lawsuits against stores that fail to serve customers in French, one expert says. Previously, Quebecers refused service in French complained to the province's language watchdog.
01 June 2022
QESBA: EMSB is right to challenge forced school transfers
https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/opinion-emsb-is-right-to-challenge-forced-school-transfers?fbclid=IwAR2ihYf-lb0DL8MNlI3b80gukmXtwclt_OoKIEgqr_roEG017UuGm-wRWZI
Round one of what will likely be a prolonged legal battle is to conclude on Monday, when a Quebec Superior Court judgment is to address the English Montreal School Board’s (EMSB) request for a provisional stay on the government of Quebec’s cabinet decision transferring General Vanier Elementary School and John Paul I Junior High School to the French sector. The court has been asked to suspend these school transfers pending the hearing of the case on its merits.
The bottom line is that since there are constitutional implications, this matter is not soon to be settled definitively.
Over time, tensions between neighbours will increase, positions will harden and the focus will be taken away from the young people of both linguistic communities ...
Quebec makes progress on less than half of Viens Commission’s 142 recommendations
Two years ago, the Viens Commission laid out recommendations to address violence and discrimination against Indigenous people in Quebec. The provincial government said it has now put into effect, or is actively working on 68 of the 142 calls to action.
Quebec’s Indigenous Affairs Minister Ian Lafrenière said the provincial government is working to improve services for Indigenous people, but he concedes it will take a long time.
Quebec makes progress on less than half of Viens Commission’s 142 recommendations - Montreal | Globalnews.ca
Federal government would join Supreme Court challenge of Quebec’s Bill 21, Justice Minister says
While speaking to reporters in Montreal, Mr. Lametti said that if the case arrives at the country’s top court, it will be, by definition, “a national issue” – adding that “we will be there.”
Since the beginning, he said, the federal government has had concerns about the bill but it left space for Quebeckers to express themselves before the courts on the matter.
History expert pushing back on idea French language in Quebec is in steep decline
A Canadian history expert is pushing back against reports the French language is in steep decline in Quebec in favour of English.
The national assembly will begin public hearings in September for the government’s new language reform.
But is this fear that French could become a minority language really valid? Not everybody thinks so.
History expert pushing back on idea French language in Quebec is in steep decline - Montreal | Globalnews.ca
Allison Hanes: Ottawa finally decides to stand up to François Legault
And a good ol’ fashioned war of words broke out between Quebec and Ottawa on Wednesday. Federal Justice Minister David Lametti indicated he will join the challenge of Bill 21 , Quebec’s secularism law, after all, once it reaches the Supreme Court of Canada. And hey, he’ll be keeping an eye on how the newly minted language law is implemented, too.
Quebec Premier François Legault is our most dangerous politician
'According to Legault, Ottawa has two purposes: to transfer powers to Quebec, or to hand it unlimited amounts of cash, with no strings attached. If you can get both at once, even better.'
Opinion: Bill 96 is more than the sum of its parts
On
the cusp of the adoption of Bill 96
by the National Assembly, many
English community commentators have warned of the bill’s harmful
consequences on education
, health,
social services and
access to justice
in English. The bill will diminish or deny Quebec anglophones the
ability to receive these and other services in English. These criticisms
are all meritorious. But even if somehow these provisions were watered
down, the deleterious effects of Bill 96 would remain. This is because
Bill 96 is greater than the sum of its parts. These parts are but tools
by which Bill 96 will achieve its goal of public francization.
The objective of Bill
96 is to make the French language the public language of Quebec, the
language of work, leisure, culture, integration and public discourse.
The bill achieves these objectives by legislating an overarching
framework, within which are several discrete elements. Let’s call them
tools.
Under Bill 96, French is declared to be the “common language” of Quebec. In order to render it the common language, French is declared to be the pinnacle human right, subordinating all other individual liberties to the right to use the French language. For the first time, there will be a hierarchy of rights instead of the traditional level playing field and balancing between diverse human freedoms. The right to French will be the collective right of the francophone population, while any collective rights of the minority anglophone community are non-existent. The community will be left to rely on its individual liberties of freedom of speech, religion, the media and peaceful assembly, attenuated by the use of the notwithstanding clause from the Canadian Constitution.