While 2022 was a year of linguistic tension for English-speaking Quebecers, more of the same is expected to come this year in the form of Bill C-13, writes columnist Robert Libman. The Quebec Community Groups Network is calling on the Senate Standing Committee on Official Languages to refer the bill to the Legal and Constitutional … Read more
Marlene Jennings, former QCGN president and board member of the Red Coalition, is one of three new columnists being welcomed by the Montreal Gazette. “Jennings will be bringing her extraordinary professional and personal experience to bear on, among other things, the once-again tumultuous issue of language in Quebec,” writes Bert Archer, editor in chief … Read more
“No legislation, past or present, will damage our community more than Bill 96,” reads an op-ed by QCGN President Eva Ludvig: “Moving forward the QCGN strongly suggests that [Minister Eric] Girard and his government hold formal consultations on the regulations that implement Bill 96.” Read more
How will Bill 96 affect the English-speaking community in 2023? “The law is being implemented in phases, and I think many of the bigger concerns are down the line,” says QCGN President Eva Ludvig. Read more
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante has no commitment to give on whether the borough of Pierrefonds-Roxboro will retain its bilingual status. A spokesperson for the mayor says that the decision will be made in the new year after consultations with the borough. “We trust that Mme. Plante and her administration will do the right thing and … Read more
The Government of Canada’s Bill C-13 continues to progress slowly through the legislative process in Ottawa. Introduced in March 2022, C-13 now sits with the House of Commons Standing Committee on Official Languages, which began its first of eight meetings for clause-by-clause consideration of the legislation on December 13th. Barring anything extraordinary, the Committee is … Read more
“As another long year in politics draws to a close, the English-speaking community of Quebec finds itself as hard-pressed as at any time in recent history,” writes former politician Tom Mulciar. Among the few bright spots this year, Mulcair adds, is the QCGN’s “well-crafted” open letter to Parliamentarians, calling for the removal of the Charter … Read more
Poll commissioned by the QCGN shows that a majority of French-speaking Quebecers support the rights of English-speaking Quebecers. Read more
Some 90 per cent of Quebec respondents to a Léger survey commissioned by the QCGN say that English-language schools boards are important. About 93 per cent indicate that they feel that the Quebec government’s plan to eliminate these school boards would put minority rights at risk, with only 13 per cent saying they support the … Read more
“English is not a species in peril in Quebec,” says Premier François Legault in response to federal Liberal MPs defending Quebec’s English-speaking community during a committee meeting examining Bill C-13. The QCGN maintains that Bill C-13 tramples on the rights of Quebec Anglophones due to the Bill’s reference to the Charter of the French Language. … Read more
“All Canadians should be outraged by Bill C-13,” writes William Steinberg, former Mayor of Hampstead. “The biggest problem with C-13 can be fixed easily by removing all references to Quebec’s Charter of the French Language. The Quebec Community Groups Network has prepared an open letter to the honourable David T. Lametti,” he adds: “Thousands have … Read more
“We want the stability of having English and French recognized equally in our provinces and as Canadians,” says QCGN Executive Director Sylvia Martin-Laforge, adding that Bill C-13 goes directly against this goal. There’s an asymmetrical approach now to English and French in Bill C-13 and the “Official Languages Act” that we do not agree with,” … Read more