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
Prior to the federal government tabling Bill C-32, an Act for the Substantive Equality of French and English and the Strengthening of the Official Languages Act, the Standing Senate Committee on Official Languages studied the original proposed reform document. Although they were unable to meet in the senate, the committee managed to hold two meetings … Read more
Quebec anglophone groups say they will be dramatically under-represented at this fall’s Bill 96 hearings. Out of 50 speakers invited to take part in the hearings for the government’s proposed overhaul of language legislation, Sept. 21 to Oct. 7, there are just three groups representing the anglophone community. “We’re calling for broader participation in those hearings,” … Read more
Bill C-32, which amends the Official Languages Act, has been welcomed by groups representing francophone communities outside Quebec. For Quebec Anglophones, the reception has been much more mixed, although most of their concerns are focused on the Quebec government’s Bill 96 (the reform of Bill 101). Francopresse spoke – in French – with Marlene Jennings, … Read more
Federal minister of official languages Mélanie Joly and MNA Christopher Skeete, parliamentary assistant to Premier François Legault for relations with English-speaking Quebecers, are trying to reassure members of the English-speaking community concerned about recently tabled language legislation. Skeete and Joly spoke on June 22 during a conference organized by the Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN) … Read more
Panelists suggest Trudeau’s support is motivated by ‘political calculation’ After more than a half-century of rising and falling tensions between Quebecers over the use of English and French, concerns are rising among stakeholders that some rights and protections Quebec anglophones fought for since the introduction of Bill 101 more than 40 years ago are threatened … Read more
During a panel discussion moderated by former Alliance Quebec president and radio host Royal Orr at the Quebec Community Groups Network Zoom Conference themed “Our Place in Quebec and Canada,” former MNA and MP Clifford Lincoln says he believes the CAQ government’s long-term plan is to “make Quebec an independent state with French as the … Read more
This weekend marks the unofficial end of the political season. The National Assembly and House of Commons have broken for their summer recesses, and politics takes a deep breath for two months. For Quebec’s anglophone community, however, this is no time to sit back and relax. In the fall, the community will be facing one … Read more
Anglo-Quebecers also reject Bill C-32, but on completely different grounds than the Bloc Québécois. The asymmetrical approach of Bill C-32, which recognizes French as the more endangered of the country’s two official languages, is “a clear attack on the equality of Canada’s official languages,” according to the Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN) “Traditionally, the Official … Read more
If the current draft of Bill 96 passes, language police can come into businesses without a warrant to search through phones, computers, and documents to ensure that communications are in French. This was a main point of discussion during English language advocacy organization Quebec Community Groups Network’s conference on draft Bill 96 on June 21. … Read more
Quebec anglophones have always walked a tightrope when it comes to asserting our rights. This is the conundrum Quebec’s English-speaking community is up against in what may be the fight of our lives — even after 50 long years of language wars. The two bills — Bill 96 and Bill C-32 — were the subjects of … Read more
An English-rights advocacy group is looking into what Quebec’s Bill 96 and Ottawa’s Bill C-32 will mean for the province’s English-speaking community. The Quebec Community Groups Network hosted a conference Tuesday morning with participants from both Ottawa and Quebec taking part. Federal Official Languages Minister Melanie Joly defended Bill C-32, which includes the strengthening of … Read more
It is with the rhetoric and strategy of a beleaguered minority that Quebec’s English-speaking community intends to fight the CAQ government’s Bill 96, which it considers to be an infringement of its rights in several respects. Under the umbrella of the Quebec Community Groups Network, some 150 people attended a conference on the subject on … Read more
Earlier this week the Government of Canada introduced its proposed update of the Official Languages Act, Bill C-32. If passed, the bill will result in the first changes made to the act since 1988, but in the days since its introduction, the proposed legislation has already drawn criticism from a number of groups including the … Read more
The Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN) has warned that if Bill 96 becomes law, it has the potential to create a “rights-free zone” in the province in the name of the protection of the use of French. QCGN president Marlene Jennings made the statement during a bilingual virtual press conference on June 10. The QCGN … Read more
Asked about the issues highlighted last week by the Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN) regarding the province’s proposed language reform, Bill 96, Canada’s Minister of Justice, David Lametti, shared that he plans to continue to study the bill carefully but generally downplayed worries. “We’ll continue to watch the situation, but we’re comfortable to let the … Read more
Since winning power in 2018, Premier François Legault has become a much savvier leader, dialling down his divisive rhetoric from a few years back. But that doesn’t mean he’s changed his stripes. Now that he’s in charge, Legault is pretty much doing all the things he threatened to do when he was a raging populist, … Read more
For over a decade, a dedicated team of volunteers has fought tirelessly to preserve the burial ground of 6,000 Irish migrants who perished after their arrival in the 1800s. At the time, 70,000 Irish refugees arrived in Montreal after leaving their homeland during the potato famine. Many died of typhus either on the boats or … Read more
The Quebec Community Groups Network is seriously concerned about the impact of Bill 96 on Quebec’s English-speaking community and minorities in general. “We need to ask over and over and over: Why does protecting the French language require the blanket suspension of human rights? asks QCGN President Marlene Jennings. Read more