CAQ forced Élections Québec’s hand. Now Fréchette ‘looking at’ reversing French-only flyers
Élections Québec says it asked for exemptions, but it has to respect the law. Quebec Premier Christine Fréchette said Wednesday that her government would “look at” the decision to stop sending English-language election information to voters.
She was responding to the fact that Élections Québec, for the first time, will not send English-language mailouts ahead of the Oct. 5 election. Instead, the agency says voters looking for English information will have to scan a QR code to access the information online.
“I’ve asked to look at that because we want to make sure to do things correctly,” Fréchette said at a morning campaign event in Quebec City. Pressed to explain whether she aimed to reverse the decision, the CAQ leader and premier didn’t respond, saying only that she would give an update following discussions.
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“This is not how we’re going to protect French — by penalizing citizens,” she told reporters. “I’m thinking in particular of seniors who also want to exercise their right to vote but don’t have internet access or don’t know how to use digital technology. They, too, have a right to clear information so they can participate in our democracy.”
Elisabeth Prass, the Liberal MNA for D’Arcy-McGee, said the decision would reduce anglophone Quebecers to “second-class citizens” and could “undermine the democratic participation of nearly one million English-speaking Quebecers.” She added: “We need to think about our seniors, in particular, who may not have a smartphone or access to the Internet to scan a QR code. In a democracy, no one should be left behind.”
A spokesperson for the Conservative Party of Quebec said in an email that Élections Québec in an independent institution, and that must be respected. “English-speaking Quebecers have historical rights. We want to ensure that those who need them have the necessary services to vote by obtaining the required information from Élections Québec. This will be the case, according to our understanding,” the spokesperson said.
Marc Miller, the federal minister for official languages, referred questions to Élections Québec but added: “Our two official languages are at the heart of Canadian identity and are an integral part of what makes Canada strong.”