Public hearings in Quebec City on Bill 96 have wrapped up. Thirty-nine presentations were made over a nine-day period starting Sept. 23. Many people support the proposed legislation that will upgrade Quebec’s language law, Bill 101, but some Anglophone groups have major concerns fearing the bill will weaken English services in health care, the judiciary … Read more
With an opportunity to speak at the Bill 96 hearings on Wednesday, the Townshippers’ Association reiterated its support for strengthening and protecting the French language, but not through the Quebec government’s proposed new language law. Gerald Cutting, president of the association, told the legislative committee in attendance that the bill is challenging the basic rights … Read more
Gerald Cutting’s words were blunt and, as he said, reflect the thoughts of many English-speaking Quebecers staring down the prospect of a tough new language law. “Can we work together to find solutions that give us the impression this bill doesn’t target us,” the soft-spoken 73-year-old president of the Townshippers’ Association told the legislative committee … Read more
LEARN (Leading English Education and Resource Network) has organized and launched the Quebec Online Alliance (QOA), marking the first time seven English school boards have come together to offer a unified online service to students who have been granted a medical exemption for the 2021-22 school year. Read more
In a memorandum presented last week to the National Assembly committee working on the provincial government’s Bill 96 to strengthen Quebec’s language rules, the Quebec Community Groups Network said that even though the French language in Quebec “can and should be protected,” Bill 96 is not the way to go about it. “Bill 96 is … Read more
Quebec’s political theatre continues its three week-run at the National Assembly on Grande-Allée, which aptly can be translated as “Broadway.” The public hearings into the government’s language legislation, Bill 96, heard from the Quebec Community Groups Network on Tuesday, one of just a handful of organizations representing the English-speaking community. Read more
The National Assembly committee hearings on the bill, now two-thirds of the way through, have been anything but reassuring. The QCGN is also right to ask that, concerning health care, it should be made explicit in the bill that its English eligibility restrictions will not apply. It has become an article of faith that French … Read more
The Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN) tabled a brief on Tuesday afternoon at the National Assembly’s special hearings on Bill 96, An Act respecting French, the official and common language of Québec. One of four groups representing English speakers invited to the hearings, President Marlene Jennings presented QCGN’s position, saying the bill should be withdrawn … Read more
Marlene Jennings, president of the Quebec Community Groups Network, says she walked away from a presentation of her group’s views on Bill 96 overhauling the Charter of the French Language dissatisfied. She doesn’t like the way the Coalition Avenir Québec government is trying to redefine who is a Quebec anglophone and thus eligible for English services … Read more
By Marlene Jennings, president, Quebec Community Groups Network Sept. 21 marked the start of hearings of the National Assembly committee on culture and education on Bill 96, An Act respecting French, the official and common language of Québec. This represents a critical part of our democratic process, even though regrettably only a very limited number … Read more
Bill 96, officially titled An Act respecting French, the official and common language of Québec, is now working its way through the legislative process, destined for passage and assent by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, likely before the end of the year. Whether the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government accepts some or any of the … Read more
Advocates for access to English-language health and social services are concerned by planned regulatory changes that will affect the structure of the provincial access committee (PAC), the review body which oversees programs developed by regional health authorities to ensure access to English-language health services. Read more
“Bill 96 proposes the most extensive overhaul of Quebec’s legal order since the Quiet Revolution,” says QCGN President, Marlene Jennings, testifying Tuesday at public hearings into the province’s proposed update of its language law. Watch here
(Video) On the eve of the QCGN’s presentation to the National Assembly Committee on Culture and Education on Bill 96: An Act respecting French, the official and common language of Québec, President Marlene Jennings discusses the impact of the far-reaching language legislation on Quebec’s English-speaking community. She is interviewed by CTV Montreal’s Maya Johnson. The … Read more
Mike Le Couteur of Global News reports on broad concerns over new measures proposed under Bill 96. “What it actually does is eliminate our individual rights and freedoms, and not just for English speakers (but) for all Quebecers,” says Marlene Jennings, president of the Quebec Community Groups Network. Some, including former Parti Québécois language minister … Read more
Speakers at the Quebec Community Groups Network Bill 96 hearing painted a grim picture of what life for English-speakers in Quebec could look like under the sweeping language reform. On Sept. 17, during the final of five virtual hearings organized by QCGN that took place earlier this month, Lord Reading Law Society human rights chair … Read more
Callers and guests talk about Bill 96, the CAQ’s proposed new language legislation, as the government starts a public consultation at the National Assembly. Listen here
What do the federal election results mean to Quebecers? QCGN President Marlene Jennings joins Global’s Laura Casella with her reaction on the latest results. Watch here
Christopher Neal and Julie Barlow, a board member and president of the Quebec Writers’ Federation explain that they feel the need to speak out against Bill 96, even as allies of the French language: “While it claims to protect and promote French, [it] would do so at the expense of truth, rigour and respect for … Read more
French speakers must stand up against the violation of civil rights that would occur if Bill 96 becomes law, says longtime politician Robert Libman. Libman, who started the Equality Party in 1989 in response to anger among the English-speaking community to language laws enacted by Robert Bourassa, spoke during hearings being held by the Quebec Community Groups Network. He said … Read more
The QCGN is set to host its own public hearings on the Legault government’s controversial Bill 96 this week, with testimony from lawyers, academics, former legislators and members of the Indigenous community. The opening day on Thursday, from 10 a.m to 1 p.m., will hear from QCGN President Marlene Jennings, as well as former MNA … Read more
The Quebec Community Groups Network is warning of a new threat to health and social services in English in the province. Over the summer, the government quietly announced its intent to restructure the provincial access committee that for decades has been instrumental in monitoring where, when and how services are delivered to English-speakers across the … Read more
QCGN President Marlene Jennings talks about the QCGN’s plans to is hold its own hearings on Quebec’s Bill 96 in order to gather the opinions of English-speaking Quebecers and organizations who were unable to get an invitation by the parliamentary commission to the hearings at the National Assembly. Listen here
The Quebec Community Groups Network is holding a public consultation for groups and individuals in the second week of September on Bill 96, prior to the Quebec government’s own hearings on the proposed expansion of the province’s language law, which begin Sept. 21. “Despite the far-reaching impact of the Bill, the government has invited only … Read more
The Legault government this week decided to go ahead with the English school board elections after postponing them several times. The elections will be held Sept. 26. Reaction was swift, with the boards expressing disappointment the vote is not being held at the same time as the municipal elections across Quebec, which are set for … Read more