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 ...