May 16, 2021
An act respecting French, the official and common language of Québec.
As Canada continues to be seized with COVID 19 & the variants, something very disturbing is developing. Premier Legault is pushing the Province of Québec ever further away from Canada. Not only does Québec already flaunt restrictive social laws, language police and religious intolerance, it is now tabling even more devasting and divisive legislation, Bill 96. The Coalition Avenir Québec Government argues changes are needed to protect the vitality and future of the French language in Québec. While the rest of Canada strives to be bilingual, Québec blatantly snubs this tenet of unity. The 44 year old Bill 101 is bad enough, but Bill 96 is in the extreme. And the then Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s motion in 2006 recognizing the Québécois as a nation within a nation was only fuel for the fire.
Some of the main proposals of Bill 96 are:
- Use of the notwithstanding clause to add two clauses to the Canadian Constitution. (a purpose for which it was not intended)
- Quebecers form a nation
- French shall be the only official language of Québec
- Limit the enrollment in English-language CEGEP
- Reduce access to English-language programs in French CEGEPS
- Limit the enrollment growth of English-language CEGEPS
- Francophone and allophone students in English-language CEGEPS must pass mandatory French-Language exams to graduate
- Right to complain or file civil suit if not served in French
- Increased language policing
- Workplaces with 25 or more employees must use French
- Employers must prove language other than French is necessary
- Remove bilingual status from municipalities with less than 50% English speakers
Québec is obsessed with isolating the province and its residents from the rest of Canada even though their leaders constantly demand more and more from the Federal Govt and the other provinces and territories. In 2018, Québec received 11.7 billion of the total 19 billion federal program funds, and during COVID they demanded more money and blamed the Federal Government .
Merle Haggard got it right in his ‘Fightin’ Side of Me’ hit release, “They like our milk and honey, but they preach about some other way of livin’”. Seems a lot like Québec.
Other views are welcome.