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speakers invited to the hearings, President Marlene Jennings presented QCGN’s position, saying the bill should be withdrawn … Read more
On Tuesday, September 28, QCGN President Marlene Jennings, QCGN legal counsel Marion Sandilands, former Minister Clifford Lincoln, and human rights lawyer Pearl Eliadis appeared before the Committee on Culture and Education to present their brief on Bill 96, An Act respecting French, the official and common language of Quebec. Read our brief Consult our opening … 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
Advocates for access to English-language health and social services are concerned by planned regulatory changes that will affect the structure of the provincial access committee (PAC), the review body which oversees programs developed by regional health authorities to ensure access to English-language health services. Read more
“Bill 96 proposes the most extensive overhaul of Quebec’s legal order since the Quiet Revolution,” says QCGN President, Marlene Jennings, testifying Tuesday at public hearings into the province’s proposed update of its language law. Watch here
The Quebec Community Groups Network is urging the Quebec Government to withdraw Bill 96 and take the time needed to build a consensus on how to best promote French as Quebec’s common language. Appearing before the National Assembly’s Committee on Culture and Education Tuesday, the QCGN also raised significant concerns about the proposed unilateral amendment … Read more
(Video) On the eve of the QCGN’s presentation to the National Assembly Committee on Culture and Education on Bill 96: An Act respecting French, the official and common language of Québec, President Marlene Jennings discusses the impact of the far-reaching language legislation on Quebec’s English-speaking community. She is interviewed by CTV Montreal’s Maya Johnson. The … Read more