The Government of Quebec has introduced a vague bill at the Assemblée Nationale that will reshape integration policy and place a strong emphasis on Quebec’s nationhood and assimilation, without providing clear details as to how this will be accomplished, the Quebec Community Groups Network said today. “The law at this stage is deceptively benign, opening … Read more
The Quebec Community Groups Network is pleased to see Quebec voices at the federal cabinet table. They are familiar with the issues that touch our Official Language Minority Community and our community’s everyday lives. Read more
Federal recognition of a 10-year economic development plan aimed at Quebec’s English-speaking community was welcomed by two major groups last week. The Community Economic Development and Employability Corporation (CDEDC)’s report to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Official Languages, entitled Economic Development of Official Languages Minority Communities in Canada, stressed a “collaborative approach when implementing … Read more
The Quebec Community Groups Network welcomes the latest (and last) report on the status of Canada’s official-minority-language communities from Commissioner of Official Languages Raymond Théberge, as his term draws to a close in 2025. “This report underlines repeatedly what we and other English-speaking community groups have been saying for years: we are not the enemy … Read more
The Quebec Community Groups Network is heartened to see significant progress on the divisive issue of how English and other languages may be used in Quebec’s health and social services network. “The revised directives on language permissions go a long way toward assuaging the fears and concerns of the 1.3-million member English-speaking community of Quebec,” … Read more
The Quebec Community Groups Network is very pleased to see the National Assembly unanimously pass a motion telling the government to not require “English-speaking to obtain a certificate of eligibility for English-language education, in order to have access to English-language health care and social services in Quebec.” The motion went on to demand that any … Read more
The Quebec government’s new directives dictating when languages other than French can be used in health and social services settings should be scrapped, not edited to make them “clearer” to the English-speaking community, Quebec Community Groups Network Director General Sylvia Martin-Laforge said in a press release. Read more
We were not surprised to be left off the list of hand-picked invitees for a meeting about language directives in the health-care system by French Language Minister Jean-François Roberge’s office. We have made it clear from the outset the importance of meeting with Christian Dubé, the minister of Health and Social Services. This is a … Read more
QCGN Director General Sylvia Martin-Laforge was responding to a Montreal Gazette article today about an OQLF inspection scheduled for Montreal’s Santa Cabrini hospital. “We thought former Quebec premier Lucien Bouchard had had the last word on language and health care in Quebec when he said in 1996: ‘when you go to the hospital and you’re … Read more
In focusing on finding common cause with Quebec’s francophone majority population, the Quebec Community Groups Network is on the right track, the organization’s annual general meeting heard today. Read more
There is a lot of good news in a new report from the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages (OCOL) that confirms two key things about the English-speaking community of Quebec (ESCQ), Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN) President Eva Ludvig said today. “First, the report shows clearly that on an individual basis, English- and … Read more
Will the Quebec government set French up to fail? QCGN President Eva Ludvig raised that possibility today as Jean-François Roberge, Minister for the French Language, and other ministers presented the government’s long-delayed Plan d’Action for the protection and promotion of French. “What’s new in today’s presentation,” Ludvig said, “is the report card, or dashboard, M. … Read more
The Quebec Community Groups Network is pleased to see a modest increase in the budget for organizations and institutions serving the community with an additional $825.000 in the budget of the Secretariat for Relations with English-speaking Quebecers. We are also pleased to see the 2024-2025 provincial budget has maintained its commitment to supporting wellness centres … Read more
The Quebec Comunity Groups Network is profoundly disappointed by today’s ruling on Bill 21 by the Quebec Court of Appeal. Unfortunately, the justices’ hands were tied by the Quebec Government’s use of the notwithstanding clauses of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms. Bill 21 prohibits … Read more
The Government of Quebec must always consider the financial impacts of all government legislation, regulations, policies and programs on all Quebecers – and particularly on minority communities, the Quebec Community Groups Network told Finance Minister Eric Girard Monday afternoon. “Meanwhile support should be provided to our school boards, CEGEPs, universities and other institutions to deal … Read more
The Quebec Community Groups Network is bitterly disappointed that the Legault government appears to be continuing along a path that could bring ruin to Quebec’s three English universities. News reports suggest the government has determined its final position on tuition increases for out-of-province students. Measures would include a 33 per cent tuition increase for undergraduate … Read more
Legislation is more about command and control than care and compassion. The Quebec Community Groups Network thanks the more than 6,400 Quebecers who signed a petition demanding the provincial government put the brakes on Bill 15 – a hefty and complex piece of legislation that will massively centralize our health and social services networks. “We … Read more
There is fresh urgency to sign a petition demanding the Quebec government slam the brakes on its massive Bill 15, which is designed to create a vast centralization of our health and social-services network. The imperative arrives in the form of a last-minute, government-proposed amendment, suspended for the moment, that would give its new central … Read more
The Quebec Community Groups Network takes issue with a report released this morning by Bloc Québécois MP Mario Beaulieu in which he condemns legitimate federal support for the vitality of our minority-language community as nothing more than support for the anglicization of Quebec. It is a false equivalency. Support for Official Language Minority Communities (OLMCs) … Read more
The Quebec Community Groups Network urges all Quebecers to quickly sign a petition demanding the provincial government put an immediate hold on its proposed Bill 15, which would launch a massive centralization of health-care management and dramatically reduce community roles in the governance of health and social services institutions everywhere in Quebec. Read more Sign … Read more
More than 150 concerned Quebecers attended a Quebec Community Groups Network webinar on Wednesday, November 9 on the anticipated impact of Bill 15, An Act to make the health and social services system more effective. Moderated by former reporter Elysia Bryan-Baynes, webinar speakers were Quebec Liberal Health Critic André Fortin; health care advocate Eric Maldoff; … Read more
The Committee has been authorized to examine and report on minority-language health services, including matters related to the inclusion of language clauses in federal health transfer. Our brief augments the brief submitted by Community Health and Social Services Network (CHSSN) on May 1st, 2023, and will focus on the inclusion of language clauses in federal … Read more
The QCGN makes an appearance as a witness for the Senate Standing Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology’s study of Bill C-35, An Act respecting early learning and child care in Canada. Read more Watch a recording of the hearing
The Quebec Community Groups Network is alarmed that a recent move by the government of Premier François Legault to hike tuition fees for out-of-province students will spur young English-speaking Quebecers to leave the province. And it will stop talented young people in other provinces and beyond from coming here. Read more
The Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN) congratulates Members of Parliament who have been appointed or re-appointed as Parliamentary Secretaries in the Trudeau government. Parliamentary secretaries serve as key representatives of the government, assisting their Ministers in the House and committees. Read more