Many issues in the news these days directly relate to Canada’s fundamental structure – the way legislative powers are allocated by our Constitution. Three examples come immediately to mind: how the federal and provincial governments are co-managing the COVID-19 pandemic; the way some provinces are contesting the Government of Canada’s carbon tax; and the application … Read more
Montreal, February 19, 2021 – The Quebec Community Groups Network is pleased that Official Languages Minister Mélanie Joly has reaffirmed the Government of Canada’s continued leadership on matters of official languages. At the same time, the QCGN calls on the federal government to address our community’s longstanding concerns about the provision of public services in English, as well as … Read more
In our last blog, we explained the different variables Statistics Canada uses to classify linguistic minority groups. We discussed Mother Tongue; Language Spoken Most Often at Home; and First Official Language Spoken (FOLS). We also described how these variables are employed to use language as a marker of cultural identity (group identity), or to track … Read more
Last week the Government of Quebec released its position related to the modernization of Canada’s Official Languages Act. Quebec wants French recognized as Canada’s only official minority language, and is seeking exclusive jurisdiction over all matters related to language ‘in the territory’ of the province. A legal analysis of the province’s position by the Quebec … Read more
MONTREAL — The Parti Québécois will table a motion this week to stop the controversial $100 million expansion of Montreal’s Dawson College, an English-language CEGEP. According to party leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, any new money should primarily be directed to the French-speaking college network, in order to balance the number of places in CEGEPs according … Read more
Raymond Théberge, Canada’s commissioner of official languages, expresses public reservations about the desire of Quebec and three federal parties to extend the application of the province’s French language charter — commonly known as Bill 101 — to businesses in Quebec that operate under federal jurisdiction. Read more (en anglais seulement)
La loi des séries stipule que les mauvaises nouvelles se rapprochent à un intervalle de temps rapproché. Bien qu’empirique, cette loi semble être tombée sur l’Ontario français au cours de la semaine. À quelques heures d’intervalle ce lundi, l’Université de l’Ontario français (UOF) et l’Université Laurentienne ont encaissé chacune un coup dur. Read more (In … Read more
In a broadcast interview with CTV Montreal, Marlene Jennings, president of the QCGN, enumerates the array of potential challenges raised for the English-speaking community by a Quebec government push to territorialize official languages in Canada and erode the nation’s linguistic duality. Watch the video here. (En anglais seulement)
Statistics are used to paint a picture – to tell a story. What statistics are presented, and how they are utilized and to what ends, is another matter. They are instruments used at the discretion of the storyteller. Canadians have a special interest in statistics that tell our linguistic story. We pay special attention to … Read more
La communauté anglophone du Québec affirme ne pas faire confiance au gouvernement provincial en matière de protection de ses droits linguistiques et rejette toute diminution du rôle du fédéral dans ce domaine. Dans un document publié vendredi, le gouvernement Legault a déclaré qu’il détenait en premier lieu la responsabilité d’assurer la vitalité de la communauté anglophone … Read more
On discute des grandes orientations que la ministre responsable des Relations canadiennes et de la Francophonie canadienne, Sonia LeBel, a déposé aujourd’hui dans le cadre de la modernisation des langues officielles. Écouter l’extrait audio (In French only)
Marlene Jennings, president of the Québec Community Groups Network (QCGN), talks about what the decision would mean for Quebec’s English-speaking community. Watch video