Opinion

Sheila Goldbloom, a prominent figure within Quebec’s English-speaking community, passed away at age 96. QCGN Director General Sylvia Martin-Laforge comments: “Sheila embodied civility; she was a person of integrity and honour and a particularly effective advocate. She motivated us to care more, to do more, to make a real difference in the lives [of] all … Read more

In an op-ed for the Montreal Gazette, QCGN President Eva Ludvig and Director General Sylvia Martin-Laforge write that Bill C-13, the modernization of the Official Languages Act, offers “an asymmetrical approach in law toward official languages that places the future of our community at considerable risk.” Read more

“A significant portion of Quebec’s labour force suffers from what amounts to a skills gap,” writes Globe and Mail columnist David Parkinson: “The skill in question is French language proficiency. And Bill 96 threatens to widen that gap.” Parkinson adds that anglophone-rights advocates in the province, including the QCGN, are “unsurprisingly, beside themselves” when it … Read more

Under Bill 96, politicians have promised “historic Anglos” they will keep their rights. But many wonder how that will work. “It’s limiting, it’s insulting,” said Eva Ludvig, the QCGN acting president. “It denies the history, the experience, the contribution of English speakers in Quebec.” Read more

The CRTC says the CBC can keep its controversial branded content advertising, ruling that it “remains pertinent” for the federally funded organization’s budget despite serious concerns expressed by media unions, advocacy groups and hundreds of its own journalists. The Quebec Community Groups Network pleaded that Tandem “could have an impact on the journalistic independence and … Read more

It’s no secret that Bill 96, Quebec’s new French-language law, has created an abundance of turmoil in the province — have it be among English-rights groups, health care professionals, educational experts and many others. Eva Ludvig, Quebec Community Groups Network interim president, stresses all Quebecers recognize and agree that the French language needs to be protected … Read more

Speaking with columnist Allison Hanes, former QCGN President Marlene Jennings reflects on her 18 months as head of the organization, and the ongoing battle against Bill 96.  Read more

With the passage of language law Bill 96, the Quebec government plans to issue not only all marriage certificates only in French, but all birth and death certificates, too. “It’s just another example of what we would consider pettiness in dealing with English speakers,” said Eva Ludvig, the interim director of the Quebec Community Groups … Read more

Columnist Emilie Nicolas suggests that groups and individuals opposing Bill 96, including the QCGN, form a coalition to counter the Coalition Avenir Québec’s brand of Quebec nationalism. “For a counter-narrative to emerge, more unity, and stronger coalition-building is necessary,” she writes. Read more

Under the dramatic overhaul of the Official Languages Act currently being considered, the federal government would in effect abandon English-speaking Quebec by discarding the fundamental principle of linguistic duality from coast to coast to coast, QCGN President Eva Ludvig today told the Senate Standing Committee on Official Languages. Read more

The Quebec government wants the proposed federal language law reform to take a different approach toward the province’s English-speaking minority and francophone minorities in other parts of the country. The province has sent 14 suggested amendments to members of a parliamentary committee currently studying the bill. The Quebec Community Groups Network, a Quebec anglophone rights group, described … Read more

The Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN), one of the organizations that are part of Quebecers against Bill 96 – Quebec’s French-language law – launched an Access to Justice website, something they say will work to inform English-speaking communities in the province about their rights to access justice, services, and resources. Read more

Marlene Jennings has announced that she is stepping down as president of the Quebec Community Groups Network, the English-language advocacy group that has been in the spotlight for the past year speaking out against the newly passed language law Bill 96. Read more

Marlene Jennings has stepped down from her role as president of the Quebec Community Groups Network, the QCGN announced Friday. “Thank you for your Herculean efforts these past 18 months,” the group said in a tweet. Read more

Changes are coming to Quebec Community Groups Network, an English-language support group in Montreal. QCGN president Marlene Jennings has decided not to seek another mandate after serving in the post for two years. Read more

“I would like to express our community’s deep disappointment with the federal government’s recognition of the Charter of the French Language as amended by Bill 96 in the Official Languages Bill,” QCGN President Marlene Jennings said in committee on Monday. Read more

D’Arcy-McGee Liberal MNA David Birnbaum, the party’s point person for the English-speaking community, reported hearing Legault make remarks about citizens in the West Island in the legislature during the question period. The premier received a strong rebuke from the Quebec Community Groups Network, the umbrella group for English-language organizations. Read more

Almost as soon as the Coalition Avenir Québec government’s Bill 96 was passed into law on Tuesday last week, Montreal constitutional rights lawyer Julius Grey was announcing the creation of a legal team to contest the legislation updating the province’s 45-year-old Bill 101 language law. “We will also be supporting upcoming legal challenges to the … Read more

English-language advocacy groups and some pundits reacted with dismay and consternation to a full-page advertisement taken out by the Quebec government in the Montreal Gazette Tuesday defending its recently passed Bill 96 legislation. “Just take a look at all the people, learned, credible individuals, who have addressed each of those issues,” said QCGN treasurer Eva Ludvig. … Read more

Toronto Star reporter Tonda MacCharles highlights the growing divisions brought on by Quebec’s Bill 96. She writes: “The Quebec Community Groups Network, a not-for-profit umbrella group, has mobilized against it, organizing two rallies this month, and vowing to mount court challenges.” Read more

Ontario MP Pierre Poilievre is the only candidate in the Conservative leadership race to stay mum on Quebec’s controversial new language law, Bill 96. The law’s consequence to the federal government (touching on official languages and the Constitution) mean “these are not minor questions that nobody really cares about,” said Joan Fraser, a retired Liberal … Read more

Montrealers came out Thursday at Place du Canada to rally against Bill 96, Quebec’s French language reform. The bill was officially adopted at the National Assembly on Tuesday – and leaders of the province’s English-speaking community say they will continue to be vocal against it. “We have a long way to go, but we’re on … Read more

Around 500 people led a protest Thursday against Bill 96 — the province’s new language reform law that brings sweeping new changes that some say it not reflective of an inclusive Quebec. “Premier Legault and the CAQ has completely re-ordered the societal democracy that we have built,” says QCGN President Marlene Jennings, “And when I … Read more

The Coalition Avenir Quebec’s  Bill 96 — aimed at protecting and bolstering the French language in Quebec — may have been passed into law earlier this week, but that has done little to quell the English-speaking community’s opposition to the legislation. Quebecers Against Bill 96, a group created by the Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN) , the … Read more

Leaders of the province’s English-speaking community vowed to speak loudly and often against Bill 96, which was passed in the National Assembly on Tuesday. “We are very concerned about the erosion of rights of all Quebecers that were introduced by a government that seems to care more about scoring political points for the upcoming election than … Read more