For now, I see no evidence Kelly Burke has much of a grasp of the issues facing the English-speaking community of Quebec. Kelly Burke, a seasoned Ontario bureaucrat, has just been named Canada’s new official languages commissioner. She has a big job ahead of her, and anyone familiar with the language file can only wish … Read more
The OQLF is sending undercover inspectors into thousands of businesses across Quebec to evaluate whether customers are greeted and served in French, as required under the Charter of the French Language. The visits are part of a province-wide study, not an enforcement operation, and businesses will not be fined or publicly identified; instead, the findings … Read more
Des députés et des sénateurs attendent des réponses plus substantielles du Conseil du Trésor sur l’application de la Loi sur les langues officielles. L’étude d’un projet de règlement prend des allures de casse-tête administratif qui «insécurise» davantage les communautés de langue officielle en situation minoritaire, estiment-ils. Des questions ont été soulevées au cours des trois … Read more
In House of Commons testimony, Kelly Burke wouldn’t say whether she would support Quebec anglophones’ legal challenge to the CAQ’s plan to abolish English school boards. The new federal official languages commissioner, set to take office next month, is well-positioned to safeguard Canadian bilingualism and “build a stronger, more inclusive Canada,” Prime Minister Mark … Read more
“The concept of collective rights doesn’t make sense to me when a constitution or charter of rights is supposed to protect the minority against the power of the majority,” Robert Libman says. This week, Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette said anglophones are “invaluable”, helped build the province and are full-fledged Quebecers, amid tensions over language and constitutional … Read more
“The Quebec state recognizes all of its citizens, and in particular the anglophone minority in Quebec, who have participated in, contributed to and helped develop Quebec.” Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette on Tuesday said the Coalition Avenir Québec government recognizes the anglophone community’s “invaluable contribution” to the province, amid tensions over language and constitutional issues. … Read more
Bill 1 ”represents the culmination of the current government’s now well-known and deeply divisive legislative agenda.” An anglophone rights group says it’s not surprised the Coalition Avenir Québec’s proposed constitution would cast the province as “a monolith, where diversity is a detriment and a threat to one culture and one language.” TALQ says the plan, … Read more
Le projet de loi 1 semble s’inscrire dans le climat de division propre à notre époque peu généreuse. Les sociétés fonctionnent mieux lorsqu’elles parviennent à maintenir un certain sens de l’unité, au-delà des querelles inutiles, des griefs amplifiés et d’une politique devenue excessivement conflictuelle. « On peut être en désaccord sans être désagréable », tel était le … Read more
Liberal MP Anthony Housefather says the anglophone community seeks reassurance from the prospective Official Languages Commissioner. The nominee to become Canada’s next Official Languages Commissioner declined Tuesday to say whether she would support the Quebec anglophone community in its legal challenge against the Legault government’s bid to abolish English school boards. Last fall, outgoing … Read more
The provinces’ largest English-language rights advocacy group is raising concerns that the likely future commissioner of official languages comes from outside Quebec’s English-speaking community…. Since the early 1990s, the position has been filled alternately by and anglophone Quebecers and francophones from outside Quebec. The nomination of burke, a Franco-Ontarian, to succeed the Franco-Manitoban Théberge breaks … Read more
As the federal government moves forward with the nomination of Kelly Burke to become Canada’s next commissioner of Official Languages, the head of a Quebec-based minority language advocacy group says English-speaking Quebecers are watching closely and hoping to be understood and respected within Canadas’s evolving language framework. Sylvia Martin-Laforge, Director General of TALQ, said her … Read more
“We want to be reassured that the new commissioner truly understands the situation that Canada’s largest official language minority community is going through here in Quebec.” A Quebec anglophone-rights group says it’s disappointed Ottawa has nominated a francophone to be Canada’s next language watchdog. Since the 1980s, the role of Official Languages Commissioner has alternated … Read more