News⁵⁵

Public hearings in Quebec City on Bill 96 have wrapped up. Thirty-nine presentations were made over a nine-day period starting Sept. 23. Many people support the proposed legislation that will upgrade Quebec’s language law, Bill 101, but some Anglophone groups have major concerns fearing the bill will weaken English services in health care, the judiciary … Read more

With an opportunity to speak at the Bill 96 hearings on Wednesday, the Townshippers’ Association reiterated its support for strengthening and protecting the French language, but not through the Quebec government’s proposed new language law. Gerald Cutting, president of the association, told the legislative committee in attendance that the bill is challenging the basic rights … Read more

Gerald Cutting’s words were blunt and, as he said, reflect the thoughts of many English-speaking Quebecers staring down the prospect of a tough new language law. “Can we work together to find solutions that give us the impression this bill doesn’t target us,” the soft-spoken 73-year-old president of the Townshippers’ Association told the legislative committee … Read more

LEARN (Leading English Education and Resource Network) has organized and launched the Quebec Online Alliance (QOA), marking the first time seven English school boards have come together to offer a unified online service to students who have been granted a medical exemption for the 2021-22 school year. Read more    

In a memorandum presented last week to the National Assembly committee working on the provincial government’s Bill 96 to strengthen Quebec’s language rules, the Quebec Community Groups Network said that even though the French language in Quebec “can and should be protected,” Bill 96 is not the way to go about it. “Bill 96 is … Read more

Quebec’s political theatre continues its three week-run at the National Assembly on Grande-Allée, which aptly can be translated as “Broadway.” The public hearings into the government’s language legislation, Bill 96, heard from the Quebec Community Groups Network on Tuesday, one of just a handful of organizations representing the English-speaking community. Read more

The National Assembly committee hearings on the bill, now two-thirds of the way through, have been anything but reassuring. The QCGN is also right to ask that, concerning health care, it should be made explicit in the bill that its English eligibility restrictions will not apply. It has become an article of faith that French … Read more

The Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN) tabled a brief on Tuesday afternoon at the National Assembly’s special hearings on Bill 96, An Act respecting French, the official and common language of Québec. One of four groups representing English speakers invited to the hearings, President Marlene Jennings presented QCGN’s position, saying the bill should be withdrawn … Read more

Marlene Jennings, president of the Quebec Community Groups Network, says she walked away from a presentation of her group’s views on Bill 96 overhauling the Charter of the French Language dissatisfied. She doesn’t like the way the Coalition Avenir Québec government is trying to redefine who is a Quebec anglophone and thus eligible for English services … Read more

By Marlene Jennings, president, Quebec Community Groups Network Sept. 21 marked the start of hearings of the National Assembly committee on culture and education on Bill 96, An Act respecting French, the official and common language of Québec. This represents a critical part of our democratic process, even though regrettably only a very limited number … Read more

Bill 96, officially titled An Act respecting French, the official and common language of Québec, is now working its way through the legislative process, destined for passage and assent by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, likely before the end of the year. Whether the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government accepts some or any of the … Read more