A massive piece of legislation to create a new body – Santé Québec – that will oversee the entire health- and social-services network in the province – Bill 15 – faced intense opposition from many quarters before it went through the National Assembly via closure at the end of 2023. Of particular concern to English-speaking ... Read more

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 ... Read more

Both pieces of legislation seek to increase centralized government control of elementary and secondary education in Quebec. Bill 40, adopted in 2020, attempted to abolish school boards and replace them with government-established and run service centres. While it has managed to do that on the French side, a court judgement following a challenge by English ... Read more

WHY Bill 84 IS IMPORTANT Bill 84 on “intégration nationale,” is a broad and powerful bill dedicated to ensuring widespread adherence to an undefined “Quebec culture.” The Bill follows Bill 96 (now known as Law 14) in cementing not only that French is the official and common language of Quebec, but it suggests, in an … Read more

Passed by the first Coalition Avenir Québec government of François Legault in 2019, Bill 21 forbids certain government employees in positions of authority – teachers, judges, police officers, for example – from wearing religious symbols, including hijabs, kippahs, turbans, and such. Ostensibly a measure to support Quebec’s commitment to a secular state, the law was ... Read more

In April 2024, the Coalition Avenir Québec government unveiled its 17-page $603 million Plan d’Action on the preservation of the French language. The plan describes the state of the French language in Quebec as being irrefutably in decline, adding that there is “a sense of urgency on the part of the government that requires immediate … Read more