Federal Bill C-13 has two main purposes. The first is to modernize Canada’s Official Languages Act. The second is to enact the Use of French in Federally Regulated Private Businesses Act. Many legal experts, including former Supreme Court Justice Michel Bastarache, have expressed discomfort with the Use of French in Federally Regulated Private Businesses Act. … Read more
Townshippers’ Association co-founder Marjorie Goodfellow is recognized by the Office of the Commissioner for Official Languages for her 40 years of advocacy for the rights of Quebec’s English-speaking community. She encourages anyone who wishes to participate in protecting the rights of English-speaking Quebecers to write to their Member of Parliament, “and support the Quebec Community … Read more
The Liberal MPs who have spoken out against mention of the Charter of the French Language in Bill C-13 have undeservedly raised the ire of many in the French-language media, writes former QCGN president Marlene Jennings. Rather than accusing these MPs of spreading disinformation, critics “should focus their attention on the issues being raised.” Read … Read more
Alix Adrien, a longtime educator and QCGN board member, is named one of the CBC’s Black Changemakers of 2023. Now president of the Quebec Board of Black Educators, Adrien brought an infectious passion to the classroom during his teaching days, as well as patience and understanding for students in difficult situations. Read more
Columnist Michel C. Auger accuses the QCGN, Liberal MPs, and other community organizations advocating for English-speaking Quebecers of spreading misinformation about the Charter of the French Language amid the ongoing debate around the federal Bill C-13. Read more
QCGN President Eva Ludvig thanks the Liberal MPs who “have been very courageous and taking political risk” by defending Quebec’s English-speaking during the study of Bill C-13. Listen here
The Montreal Gazette is “an English language institution,” and a plan to cut a significant portion of the newsroom means that English-speaking Quebecers “will be losing an important voice for the community,” says QCGN President Eva Ludvig. Read more
Including references to Quebec’s Charter of the French Language within the federal government’s Bill C-13 sets a precedent for other provinces in the rest of Canada to use the notwithstanding clause to the detriment of francophone minority communities, warns QCGN President Eva Ludvig. Watch here
QCGN Director General Sylvia Martin-Laforge speaks to The Montrealer about the QCGN’s work in advocating for Quebec’s English-speaking community on the provincial and federal levels, and how the organization has evolved in recent years as linguistic issues have returned to the spotlight. Read more
The QCGN is profoundly disappointed that the House of Commons Standing Committee on Official Languages has allowed references to Quebec’s Charter of the French Language to remain in proposed new federal language legislation to amend Canada’s Official Languages Act, reads an open letter from the QCGN in the Quebec Chronicle-Telegraph. Read more
The concerns about the protection of the rights of English-speaking Quebecers in Bill C-13 voiced by the Quebec Community Groups Network, among others, “have been courageously brought forward in Ottawa by several Montreal Liberal MPs,” reads a piece by the Montreal Gazette Editorial Board. To see these MPs being chastised by fellow Parliamentarians and several … Read more
At the House Committee on Official Languages’ meeting on Jan, 31, 2023, a Bloc Québécois motion to insert “French as the common language of Quebec” into Canada’s Official Languages Act (OLA) was defeated. A majority of MPs on the committee studying Bill C-13, which would amend the OLA were uncomfortable with the concept of a … Read more