How many think Abraham Lincoln, who freed the slaves, was a Democrat? How many think that Pierre Trudeau, who gave us a charter of rights, opposed Bill 101? As we hear about Justin Trudeau’s new-found preoccupation with strengthening French in Quebec, many point out that his support for Bill 101 is a case of unlike … Read more
If Quebec applied Bill 101 to federal entities it would exclude Quebec anglophones from services and opportunities and would be a slippery slope to a national unity crisis. Read more
Since hybrid committee meetings began on Sept. 23, 86 per cent of witness interventions have been in English, with 14 per cent in French, according to the House administration’s findings. Read more
The open letter was signed by former Liberal leaders Daniel Johnson, Jean Charest and Philippe Couillard and their Parti Québécois counterparts Pierre-Marc Johnson, Lucien Bouchard and Pauline Marois. Six former Quebec premiers have signed an open letter supporting a motion by the Legault government calling for a toughening of the enforcement of Bill 101 and extending the … Read more
Marlene Jennings has an extensive career in public service as a member of the Quebec Police Commission, an elected Member of Parliament, and several community groups. She served as a Trustee for the English Montreal School Board and has recently been elected as President of the Quebec Community Groups Network. “I grew up in the … Read more
There is pressure on the Canadian government to subject federally chartered agencies and businesses to Bill 101. It should do no such thing. In recent months there has been a campaign in Quebec, orchestrated by independentist parties and nationalist movements, and now joined by a bi-partisan group of former Quebec premiers, to induce the Canadian government to subject … Read more
December 6, 2020 – Marlene Jennings, a former Liberal MP, is working to unite English-speaking community members in her new role as president of the Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN). QCGN, a non-profit linking 53 English-language community organizations across the province, was subject to a public rift among its members last fall. Several organizations opted … Read more
The Facing Common Challenges for a More Vital Community Consultation was held on December 1, 2020 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. via Zoom with 72 stakeholders in attendance. During the consultation we reviewed the primary themes and challenges identified in the first year of the Community Growth Plan before introducing our objectives for year 2. The first objective is to have a mobilization strategy developed by community partners working in concert. This strategy is to allow stakeholders … Read more
November 24, 2020 – Quebec’s Minister Responsible for the French Language, Simon Jolin-Barrette, announced on Tuesday a plan to table a bill aimed at strengthening French in the province. “Quebec was born in French, and it will stay French,” Jolin-Barrette said at a news conference on Tuesday. Read more
November 25, 2020 – Members of Quebec’s English-speaking community have reacted with skepticism over promises by the Legault government to respect the rights of the minority in its overhaul of the French Language Charter. “We heard the same thing about Bill 40, and the Quebec English School Boards Association is in court now defending our … Read more
During a recent meeting of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Official Languages, the decline of the French language in Quebec was questioned. Other statements during the hearing suggested that Canada’s English linguistic minority does not exist. Let us quickly deal with this last point. Under the law of Quebec and Canada, there is … Read more
November 24, 2020 – The Coalition Avenir Québec government will soon make changes to Quebec’s French language charter. Simon Jolin-Barrette announced that he will table legislation to modify Bill 101 early in the new year. But as Gobal’s Raquel Fletcher reports, he has revealed few details of what that plan will actually look like, which … Read more