QCGN’s Access to Justice in English project has released its report on access to health care services for seniors in English through Quebec’s SAPA program (Soutien à l’autonomie des personnes âgées). The issue was selected on the basis of prior research conducted by the AJEQ Project, including a population survey of 1,601 English-speaking Quebecers conducted … Read more
Pontiac MP Sophie Chatal has been a vocal opponent of the pre-emptive use of the notwithstanding clause, yet supported Bill C-13, which makes references to Quebec’s Charter of the French Language. Though Chatal suggests that the new federal law will protect English services in Quebec, the Quebec Community Groups Network has argued that C-13 allows … Read more
Including the references to Quebec’s Charter of the French Language within Bill C-13 “does not provide any additional protections to the French language in the federal law,” Senator Tony Loffreda told his fellow senators before the bill was passed. He pointed out that “Marion Sandilands, a lawyer and member of the Quebec Community Groups Network … Read more
Bill C-13 is set to become law after senators voted in favour of the legislation on Thursday. During the June 5 testimony to the Senate committee studying the bill, lawyer Marion Sandilands, representing the Quebec Community Groups Network, argued that the inclusion of references to Quebec’s Bill 101 within the federal C-13 “impacts the interpretation” … Read more
“There’s a sense, not unjustified, that the federal government is more interested in getting along with the Quebec government than protecting us,” Joan Fraser tells the CBC. The English-speaking community has been left on edge, adds the former senator and editor-in-chief of the Montreal Gazette, now a board member of the Quebec Community Groups Network … Read more
Montreal, June 15, 2023 – The Quebec Community Groups Network is profoundly disappointed that Bill C-13, the overhaul of the Official Languages Act, is now headed for Royal Assent while still containing references to Quebec’s Charter of the French Language. Meanwhile the QCGN applauds Quebec Senators Tony Loffreda and Judith Seidman who stood firm against … Read more
The Senate passed Bill C-13 last night with a vote of 60 to five. QCGN President Eva Ludvig expressed disappointment with the result, as C-13 still includes references to Quebec’s Charter of the French Language. Read more
“Once in each generation, it seems, Quebec’s English-speaking community faces a period of intense stress and strain over language,” writes QCGN President Eva Ludvig in an op-ed for the Montreal Gazette. She lays out the challenges that lie ahead for Quebec’s English-speaking community, which include Bills 23, 15, 40, C-13, “[a]nd of course, the continued … Read more
As Bill C-13, modernizing the Official Languages Act, undergoes its third reading in the Senate, English-speaking Quebecers fear that their concerns have gone unheard. For them, the federal government is playing by the Quebec government’s rules. “Until now, we’ve always hoped that the federal government would be our protector, supporting us as a minority language … Read more
Bill C-13 saw no changes by the Senate, which completed its study of the proposed language legislation yesterday evening. The Quebec Community Groups Network had requested that Senators work to remove all mention of the Charter of the French Language from Bill C-13. Read more
The Senate’s official languages committee hears from individuals and groups – including the Quebec Community Groups Network – concerned with how the inclusion of the Charter of the French Language within Bill C-13 would impact the rights of Quebec’s English-speaking minority. Read more
Joe Ortona, chair of the English Montreal School Board (EMSB) writes to each member of the Senate urging the upper chamber to fulfill its role “as the Chamber of sober second thought” and propose amendments to Bill C-13 “to ensure the rights of minority-language communities in this country are not mutually exclusive.” Ortona’s appeal cites … Read more