Quebec constitution fails to recognize anglo, Indigenous minorities, Gaspé group says

Vision Gaspé-Percé Now, representing about 10,000 eastern Quebec anglophones and Indigenous people, presents a brief on the third day of public consultations into the government’s Bill 1.

QUEBEC — The Coalition Avenir Québec government’s proposed new constitution fails to offer proper recognition and guarantees for the rights of the English-speaking and Indigenous communities, a group from the Gaspé region said Tuesday. On the third day of public consultations into the government’s Bill 1, representatives of Vision Gaspé-Percé Now, representing about 10,000 eastern Quebec anglophones and Indigenous people, presented a brief saying the legislation offers no clear recognition of minorities and “risks accentuating” existing inequalities in rural and isolated areas. “A constitution which does not name a community can, without malice, render it invisible in time,” Jessica Synnott, director general of the group, told the committee. “In a rural region, this translates into less financing, fewer services and a reduction of its presence.