Quebec seeks to change Canadian Constitution, make sweeping changes to language laws with new bill

Kate McKenna 
POSTMEDIA

© Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press Quebec Premier François Legault, left, and Simon Jolin-Barrette, minister responsible for the French language, have spoken of the need to bolster laws to protect the French language.

The Quebec government has tabled a bill that seeks to change the Canadian Constitution to include a specific clause reiterating the Quebec nation's French-language rights.

That's one part of a sweeping new bill that, if passed, would become the most stringent law to bolster the status of the French language in Quebec since Bill 101 passed in 1977.

The latest bill, called Bill 96, includes the following proposed measures:

Adding clauses to the Canadian Constitution, saying Quebec is a nation and that its official and common language is French.

Applying Bill 101 to businesses with 25-49 employees and federal workplaces.
Forcing all commercial signage that includes non-French-language trademarks to include a "predominant" amount of French on all sign.

Capping the number of students in English CEGEPs at 17.5 per cent of the student population.
Giving access to French language training for those who aren't obligated by law to go to school in French.

Removing a municipality's bilingual status if census data shows that English is the first language for less than 50 per cent of its population, unless the municipality decides to maintain its status by passing a resolution to keep it.

Creating a French Language Ministry and the position of French-language commissioner, as well as bolstering the role of the French-language watchdog, the Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF).

 
Provincially appointed judges will not be required to be bilingual.

Requiring that all provincial communication with immigrants is in French, starting six months after they arrive in Quebec.

Simon Jolin-Barrette, the province's minister responsible for the French language, tabled the bill this morning.

Both he and Premier François Legault have expressed concern about the decline of the French language in Quebec.

"For centuries, we've known that defending the French language is essential to the survival and development of our nation," Legault said during a news conference after the bill was tabled.
Invoking the notwithstanding clause

BEATS ALBERTA TO IT

The new bill pre-emptively invokes the notwithstanding clause of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to protect it from legal challenges.

The notwithstanding clause, officially called Section 33, allows provincial or federal authorities to override certain sections of the charter for a period of five years.

"The notwithstanding clause is a legitimate tool that balances between individual rights and collective rights," Legault said.

"We have the right and we have a duty to use the notwithstanding clause when the basis of our existence as a francophone people on the American continent is at stake."

This is the second time Legault's government has used the notwithstanding clause. The CAQ government used it to shield its law barring some civil servants from wearing religious symbols, known as Bill 21, from legal challenges.

Decline of French in Quebec

The proposed legislation comes after a number of studies from Quebec's French-language watchdog, the Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF), that found the French language is in decline in the province.

A 2018 study projected that the percentage of Quebecers who speak French at home will drop from 82 per cent in 2011 to about 75 per cent in 2036.

The second study, also completed in 2018, examined language spoken in workplaces.

It found that a quarter of Montreal employees surveyed said they use French and English equally at work, and only 18.7 per cent said they speak French exclusively at work.

Quebec's opposition parties have voiced their support for stronger language reforms.

Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, the House leader for Québec solidaire, said the reforms are about protecting and promoting the French language — not picking on anglophone communities.

"The debate around French is not necessarily a divisive debate," Nadeau-Dubois said.

"It can be a unifying debate for Quebec society. I know that a lot of young anglophones in my generation totally agree with the spirit of Bill 101."

Bill 101 a 'watershed' moment

The original law, adopted in 1977 by René Léveque's Parti Québécois government, was a bid to bolster and protect the French language in Quebec.

Bill 101, or the Charter of the French Language, makes French the sole official language of the Quebec government, courts and workplaces.

It includes restrictions on the use of English on outdoor commercial signage and put restrictions on who could study in English in Quebec.

Lorraine O'Donnell, a Quebec historian who runs the Quebec English-Speaking Communities Research Network, said the original Bill 101 has had a lasting impact.

"Bill 101 is seen as a watershed moment in Quebec history," she said. "It has marked the consciousness and the perspective of English-speaking Quebec."