Quebec’s government has successfully passed sweeping French language protections that critics warn will reshape all aspects of public life. “Bill 96 is the most significant derogation of human rights in the history of Quebec and Canada,” Marlene Jennings, head of the Quebec Community Groups Network, which promotes the rights of English-speakers in the province, said in … Read more
The tug-of-war over Bill 96, which was approved Tuesday, pitted the majority government and politicians who declared the French language’s viability was at stake against advocates who warned the law could weaken civil liberties in Canada’s second most populous province. “Bill 96 will make it virtually impossible for someone to receive quality health and social … Read more
There will be legal challenges and a public pressure campaign against Bill 96, which was voted into law Tuesday afternoon. The Quebec Community Groups Network has vowed to support any fight against the law, and plans to mount a public awareness campaign, starting with a protest in Montreal set for Thursday evening. Read more
Bill 96, the provincial government’s controversial legislation aimed at protecting the French language in Quebec, has been adopted in the National Assembly. “It’s a sad day. I think it’s a sad day for all of Quebec,” said QCGN director Sylvia Martin-Laforge. Read more
The Quebec government has secured the largest expansion of its language laws in more than 40 years, imposing new rules to reinforce the use of French in the public service, education and business despite bitter opposition from the province’s English-speaking minority. “The mood now in the English-speaking community is quite bleak,” said Joan Fraser, a … Read more
The Quebec Community Groups Network has criticized Bill 96 for many reasons, in part for infringing on citizens’ privacy rights, greatly reducing the ability to receive public services in English and for issuing fines for speaking languages other than French at work. Read more
The minister responsible for the French language says the Legault government has no “hidden agenda” with Bill 96, and insists the status quo will continue for the English-speaking and Indigenous communities when accessing health and social services. Critics including the Quebec Community Groups Network have said that under Bill 96, out of 1.1 million residents … Read more
English-speaking residents outside the greater Montreal area say they feel cut off, even abandoned. For months, they haven’t been able to get their hands on publications of most English-language newspapers. “It really affects the vitality of our community in terms of access to what’s going on,” says Eva Ludvig, a board member of the Quebec … Read more
A protest against Quebec’s proposed overhaul of its language law drew a large crowd in Montreal on Saturday. Marlene Jennings, president of the Quebec Community Groups Network, an anglophone advocacy group, says the law could prevent hundreds of thousands of English speakers from accessing health care in their language. Read more
Premier François Legault accused opponents of Bill 96 of engaging in “disinformation,” saying he heard many express concerns about the bill in recent days that are just not true. Reacting to Legault’s comments, Quebec Community Groups Network president Marlene Jennings turned the tables, saying the government is also spreading false information. Read more
The stereotype of Quebec Anglophones being wealthy, prosperous, and homogenous is a myth, says Sylvia Martin-Laforge, director general of the QCGN. Read more
QCGN President Marlene Jennings discusses Saturday’s rally against Bill 96 on “Weekends with Ken.” Read more
It has been a long time since English-speaking Quebecers have been called upon to come together in great number to defend our rights. All Quebecers of any linguistic background should be deeply concerned, francophones included. But it’s the Quebec Community Groups Network, the umbrella group that represents anglophone interests, that has been leading the charge. … Read more
As Quebec’s contentious language law heads closer to adoption, the province’s business community is growing increasingly anxious about what it could mean for their bottom line, with some companies considering leaving entirely. As it stands, incidents of non-compliance are worked out between companies and the Office québécois de la langue française, with negotiable compliance timelines. … Read more
Access to health and social services in English must be exempted from Bill 96, writes health care advocate Eric Maldoff: “Bill 96 will create serious obstacles to the delivery of safe and effective care for all Quebecers.” Read more
As the Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN) was announcing plans for a protest of Bill 96 last week, a move was afoot to mitigate one of the more troubling irritants to English-speakers contained in the proposed new language law. Read more
The amendment to Bill 96 which softens the requirement for students at English-language CEGEPs to pass three courses is French was a “sensible decision” by the Quebec government, which “starkly shows that many Anglophones, at the end of their secondary education, have not acquired a sufficient knowledge of French,” writes columnist Robert Dutrisac. He goes … Read more
Health care is one of the many areas which will be negatively impacted by Bill 96, the Quebec government’s reform of the French language law. “Health and social services in the province are governed by section 15 of the act respecting health and social services that states individuals can receive services in English where resources, … Read more
English-speaking groups say opposition to Bill 96 extends beyond the minority community and includes groups representing businesses, patients’ rights advocates and others. In an online news conference held Tuesday, the Quebec Community Groups Network said it expects broad support from French community groups as well, because the proposed law would also penalize French speakers in … Read more
Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN) president Marlene Jennings did not hold back as she slammed the province’s new language law, arguing that if Bill 96 is adopted, all Quebecers will be at the mercy of the French language minister. Read more
English groups in Montreal say they plan to protest against Quebec’s Bill 96, which aims to strengthen the province’s French language law. Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN) President Marlene Jennings argues the new language law amendments will be an assault on human rights in the province. Read more
The Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN) is planning to host a rally in mid-May so that those who are opposed to Bill 96 can make themselves heard. “The government has made it very clear that it is not listening,” said Marlene Jennings, QCGN’s President, explaining that the hope is for the public action to help … Read more
Minority rights groups in Montreal will protest Bill 96 in Quebec following concern amongst advocates from different sectors such as health and education. The demonstration will begin at 10.30 a.m. on May 14 in front of Dawson College and will end at Quebec Premier Francois Legault’s office on McGill College Ave. downtown. “As with Bill … Read more
When it comes to the use of the notwithstanding clause, law professors Jason MacLean and Kerri Anne Froc suggest a three-part regulatory framework that might make such use more deliberate. Groups like the QCGN ought to “pressure Ottawa to insist on such a framework being used whenever a province wishes to invoke the notwithstanding clause,” … Read more
Amid growing opposition to Bill 96 among Quebec anglophones, leaders of the English-speaking community are organizing a demonstration in downtown Montreal on May 14. Protesters, many of whom are livid over proposed changes to Quebec’s French Language Charter, will march from Dawson College to Premier François Legault’s office on McGill College Ave., the Montreal Gazette … Read more