Politicians, community groups reflect on Legault legacy

TALQ, a federation of groups representing the English-speaking community (formerly the Quebec Community Groups Network), released a brief, conciliatory statement recognizing Legault’s career in public service, but the group’s president acknowledged in a later interview that Legault had a complicated and often disappointing relationship with English speakers.

“At the beginning, the CAQ made a pitch to the English- speaking community … and I can’t speak for everyone, but as I recall, there was some hope that since the party had both feder- alists and nationalists in it, we would be heard,” Sylvia Martin- Laforge told the QCT. “Legault took on the file [of minister responsible for relations with English-speaking Quebecers] himself. Then COVID hit, and then we were all worried about staying alive. Then Bill 96 hit, and then Bill 40, which transformed school boards into service centres, and then Bill 21 [on religious symbols], and he started to lose us with his legislation.” (Although elected francophone school boards were replaced with service centres in 2020, Bill 40 has not been applied to English school boards due to an ongoing court challenge.)