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.

“These discussions are taking place as we speak,” she said.

Élections Québec said Tuesday that its hand had been forced by Bill 96, the language reforms brought in under the CAQ. The agency said it had asked for an exemption to the rules, but that the government refused.