Standing up to Bill 96
The Charter of the French Language was enacted by the Parti Québécois government in 1977 to promote the primacy of the French language. Provisions of the Charter, commonly known as Bill 101, regulate government, commerce, business, education, and the courts. Access to English-language schools is restricted to children with a parent who attended elementary school in English. The Charter required the exclusive use of French on outdoor signs and in advertising. Businesses with 100 employees or more required a francization program.
The Charter was challenged before the courts shortly after its adoption. Several amendments followed. Despite these changes, thousands of English-speaking Quebecers no longer felt welcome and left the province. The percentage of the Quebec population with whose first official language spoken was English plummeted from 16.5 per cent in 1971 to 13.4 per cent in 2011. Today, Quebec’s English-speaking community widely acknowledges the need to protect French. However, the QCGN strongly believes that such protection can be achieved while respecting the institutions of the English-speaking community, which serve all Quebecers in French and English.
Passed in June 2022, as a signature piece of legislation from the first Coalition Avenir Québec government of Premier François Legault, Bill 96 is a massive and draconian overhaul of 1977’s Bill 101. The updated Charter of the French Language further constrains, among other things, the right to use English in obtaining services from and communicating with the Quebec government and the courts; imposes francisation requirements on business of 25 employees or more (the threshold used to be 50); puts limits on enrolment at English-language CEGEPS; and unilaterally establishes constitutional amendments defining Quebec and making French the only official and only common language. Shielded from some court challenges by the invocation of the notwithstanding clause of the Canadian constitution, Bill 96 is nonetheless the subject of several ongoing challenges. Its full effects have yet to be felt, with some measures (toughening of sign laws, for example) not set to take effect until 2025.
CONSULT THE CHARTER OF THE FRENCH LANGUAGE
CONSULT BILL 96 AN ACT RESPECTING FRENCH
BILL C-13 AND THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGES ACT
Canada’s Official Languages Act, which turned 50 in 2020, is the only language-rights legislation that protects the interests of English-speaking Quebecers as a community. It sets out quasi-Constitutional rights for English-speaking Quebecers, including the right to access federal services in English; representation of English speakers within the Canadian government; and the right to work in English in the federal public service. The Act also supports the development of English and French linguistic minority communities and advances the equal status and use of English and French. Moreover, it provides the framework for much-needed financial support for our community’s institutions and networks in a variety of sectors including education, immigration, justice, and health.
Long in the making, Bill C-13 is a major update of the federal Official Languages Act, which was passed in the spring of 2023. It has proved controversial in part because it took an unprecedented asymmetrical approach to the application of language policy and because it incorporated elements of Quebec’s Bill 96. In so doing, it incorporated Bill 96’s pre-emptive use of the notwithstanding clause, which allows government to override rights guaranteed by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Impassioned pleas from some Quebec Liberal MPs and Senators fell on deaf ears and the bill passed in 2023 with only Liberal MP Anthony Housefather standing in the House of Commons to oppose it. The law extends Quebec language regulations to businesses in Quebec like banks and airlines, that are subject to federal regulation.