‘We’re here, we count’: Anglo groups push back on election language rules

English-language rights have emerged as an issue in the lead-up to Quebec’s Oct. 5 provincial election.

“We’re here, we count and we’re important.”

That’s the message English advocacy organization TALQ is pushing one week before the Quebec provincial election. It comes after Élections Québec directed polling staff not to speak English to voters in the upcoming Oct. 5 vote.

Following the Quebec Superior Court’s decision to suspend part of the province’s Charter of the French Language to mandate the election authority to send voter reminder cards in both languages, the CAQ government announced that it would appeal the decision. Days later, Élections Québec ordered staff not to speak English at polling stations, unless voters could prove they are a “historic anglophone.” (A historic anglophone is a Quebec resident who did the majority of their schooling in English.)

In a portion of the directive, Élections Québec explained to staff what to do if they encounter a voter who is speaking another language other than French: “Ask the voter if communication can take place in that language. Check whether the voter has been deemed eligible for English-language education or is a member of an Indigenous group,” the directive says.

TALQ president Eva Ludvig told the Low Down that her organization was hoping the CAQ and Élections Québec would “see the light” following the Superior Court decision.

“It just kind of makes you feel that our English-speaking Quebecers are second-class citizens,” said Ludvig. “Are we not like other Quebecers? And what about our democratic rights? I mean, it raises all those kinds of questions.”