Élections Québec ordered to prepare bilingual reminder cards for voters

It announced in September it wouldn’t send English-language election mailouts.

Élections Québec must prepare a bilingual version of the reminder card mailed to voters ahead of the provincial election, but it won’t have to mail out English versions of the registration notice and voter’s guide, a Quebec Superior Court judge ruled on Wednesday.

The decision comes after a hearing for the lawsuit against the Quebec government and Élections Québec took place last week over French-only mailouts. Judge Sylvain Lussier only ruled on part of the legal challenge, partially granting the demand for a provisional interlocutory injunction.

The 10-day injunction means the provincial election authority must prepare the reminder card, but Lussier says the statutory date for the mailing “falls outside” the duration of his ruling.

“If necessary, the parties may appear before the court to seek a renewal of the order, at which time the court could order the mailing,” Lussier wrote.