Francophones and non-francophones are at odds over the Quebec government’s desire to amend the Constitution Act of 1867 to recognize the Quebec “nation” whose “official” and “common” language is French. As many as 79.5% of francophones – but only 25.2% of non-francophones – “strongly” or “somewhat” agree that Quebec should be defined as a nation … Read more
Within hours of the Meech Lake Accord on April 30, 1987, an Angus Reid poll conducted for Maclean’s magazine showed that 51 per cent of Canadians from coast to coast were in favour, 27 per cent were opposed and 22 per cent were undecided. Condemnation of Bill 96 and Quebec’s self-proclamation as a nation was … Read more
Canada’s Commissioner of Official Languages Raymond Théberge is advising the federal government to maintain the equal status of French and English in its coming changes to the Official Languages Act. The Quebec Community Groups Network enthusiastically endorses this advice. In his annual report tabled in the House of Commons today, Commissioner Théberge said he is … Read more
(Audio) Quebec’s Bill 96, which comes with generous use of the notwithstanding clause, would entrench the French language as the only official language of the province and open up the Constitution to recognize the province as a nation. That brings up a number of questions: What about Quebec anglophones and their rights? Can a province … Read more
Some 25 years after an independence bid by Quebec almost broke Canada apart, a new push by the province to strengthen its French-speaking identity poses an awkward challenge for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau months before an expected election. The Quebec Community Groups Network, which seeks to defend anglophones, said Legault’s proposed measures “override fundamental human … Read more
A strong majority of Canadians outside Quebec and a significant minority within this province are concerned about the proposed unilateral amendment to the Canadian Constitution affirming that Quebec is a nation and that its official language is French. That is the finding of a national survey on amending the Constitution and recognizing the Quebec nation … Read more
The results of the poll were collected via a web panel conducted by Léger for the Quebec Community Groups Network and the Association for Canadian Studies among a sample of 1623 Canadians, 18 years of age or older from May 21 to May 23, 2021. For comparison purposes, a probability sample of 1623 respondents would … Read more
A majority of non-francophones feel “less proud to be a Quebecer” as a result of the Legault government’s sweeping new language bill, according to a poll. Nearly 80 per cent of anglophones and 63.5 per cent of allophones gave the above answer in response to the reinforcement of the Charter of the French Language under Bill … Read more
Quebec’s legislation to further enforce the use of French in the province creates an “opportunity” for the federal Liberals as a national election looms this year, says a veteran Quebec senator. “Crisis equals opportunity,” said Dennis Dawson, who was appointed to the Senate in 2005 on the recommendation of then-prime minister Paul Martin after three terms as … Read more
Non-Francophones hold widely diverging views from French-speaking Quebecers on Bill 96, which aims to enforce and reinforce the Charter of the French Language (Bill 101). A majority of Anglophones and Allophones also believe the debate over the proposed legislation will strain relations between the majority and minority communities. That is one of the findings of … Read more
The results of the poll were collected via a web panel conducted by Léger for the Quebec Community Groups Network and the Association for Canadian Studies among a sample of 1501 Quebecers, 18 years of age or older from May 14 to 19, 2021. The survey included a sample of 573 Quebecers with languages other … Read more
In Le Devoir, columnist Konrad Yakabuski notes that QCGN President Marlene Jennings warned the federal government that Bill 96 jeopardizes the constitutional rights of linguistic minorities and imperils the integrity of Canada’s constitutional architecture. Expect more voices to be added to that of Jennings in the coming weeks, he writes, adding that that Prime Minister … Read more