Mulcair: French-only notices may put validity of Quebec election into question

The Supreme Court of Canada has set out clear rules for what legislated documents must be produced in English and French.

In its announcement this week that voting information would be sent out in French only, Élections Québec pointed the finger at the Coalition Avenir Québec and indicated the government’s language reforms under Bill 96 left it no choice.

The independent agency even suggested it had done all it could to stop the move, saying it had written to the ministry in charge of the French language to seek an exemption, but was rebuffed.

However, it’s clear to me that Quebec’s chief electoral officer, Jean-François Blanchet, failed to do his job as prescribed by law — and now the very validity of the Oct. 5 general election could be called into question.

The directeur général des élections (DGE) derives his power from a key piece of legislation — Quebec’s Election Act. That law sets out his duties.