“It’s not a zero-sum game,” says QCGN President Eva Ludvig about Bill C-13, which the QCGN warns will essentially abandon language rights for Quebec’s English-speaking minority in favour of bolstering the French language. Eva speaks at 9:24. Watch here
The QCGN calls for all mention of the Charter of the French Language to be removed from the federal Bill C-13. Former Senator and QCGN Board Member Joan Fraser says that the bill’s acknowledgment of the charter, recently amended by Bill 96, “would be explicitly declaring federal support for this use of the notwithstanding clause … Read more
The QCGN is sounding the alarm on Bill C-13, the federal government’s planned update of the Official Languages Act, which is set to pass before the year’s end. “We feel like we’re being abandoned by the federal government who we look to as our champion,” says QCGN President Eva Ludvig. Read more
“Undermining official languages policy by protecting one linguistic minority in Canada and abandoning the linguistic minority in Quebec is shameful,” writes columnist Robert Libman, commenting on Bill C-13. He adds: “The Quebec Community Groups Network rightly identifies the proposed amendments as a threat to the language rights of the English-speaking minority and an unprecedented constitutional … Read more
The Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN) is pleased that members of the Senate Standing Committee on Official Languages have heard the concerns raised by English-speaking Quebec about the government of Canada’s Bill C-13. This important bill is designed to update the Official Languages Act. In its report released this afternoon, the committee states: “the Official … Read more
Background At the Superior Court, Justice Marc-André Blanchard found that Law 21 violates the right to freedom of religion under subsection 2(a) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Charter). However, Justice Blanchard also ruled that the law, despite its infringement of fundamental freedoms, remains legally valid due to the law’s invocation of the notwithstanding … Read more
English-language school boards must remain exempted from Bill 21, the Quebec Court of Appeal hears. “It is not up to the majority to dictate the definition of the culture of the minority,” says veteran human rights lawyer Julius Grey, who is representing the QCGN. Read more
Bill C-13, An Act to amend the Official Languages Act, is receiving harsh criticism from English-speaking community advocacy groups in Quebec, including the QCGN. Groups express fear that the promotion of the French language comes at the expense of Quebec’s anglophone minority. “It’s not by giving new rights to one group and by taking it … Read more
Leaders of English-speaking Quebec told Parliamentarians in Ottawa this evening that proposed amendments to the Official Languages Act constitute a clear threat to the language rights of English-speaking Quebecers and the vitality of their communities. “Bill C-13 does not reflect our vision of Canada,” said Eva Ludvig, president of the Quebec Community Groups Network. The … Read more
Eric Girard speaks with CBC Montreal’s Debra Arbec about his new role as Minister Responsible for Relations with English-speaking Quebecers. Girard says that he plans to meet with the QCGN to discuss concerns surrounding provincial legislation seen as detrimental to the English-speaking community. Watch here
Quebec Finance Minister Eric Girard now also holds the role of minister responsible for relations with English-speaking Quebecers. “This appointment is a major first step in ensuring the concerns of English-speaking Quebecers are heard,” says QCGN President Eva Ludvig. Read more
Premier François Legault’s new cabinet appears to be smoothing the waters with English-speaking Quebecers, writes the Montreal Gazette’s Philip Authier. The QCGN welcomed the appointment of Finance Minister Eric Girard to the role of minister responsible for relations with English-speaking Quebecers. Read more