Anglophone community raises concerns about language rights in Quebec
By William Crooks
Local Journalism Initiative
The debate surrounding Quebec’s Bill 96, formally known as the “Act respecting French, the official and common language of Quebec,” remains a heated topic, especially among the province’s anglophone community. The bill, which was passed by the National Assembly of Quebec on May 24, 2022, was intended to consolidate the status of French as Quebec’s common, official language. However, critics argue that the legislation has significant negative implications for English-speaking Quebecers, despite the government’s assurances.
To address concerns and dispel what it described as “falsehoods” about the bill, the Quebec government released a poster approximately two years ago, outlining what it claimed to be the facts about Bill 96. The poster emphasized the following points:
- Health Services: The poster assured that English-speaking citizens would continue to have access to health services in their language, in the same way as before the adoption of Bill 96.
- Education and Institutions: It claimed that the English-speaking communities would continue to benefit from a quality English-language school system, including colleges, universities, and hospitals, at a level unmatched by other French-speaking minorities in Canada.
- Justice: The poster stated that English-speakers in Quebec would still benefit from the same constitutional guarantees concerning their access to justice in their language.
- Indigenous Rights: The legislation, it said, would be applied in a manner consistent with the rights of the First Nations and Inuit communities, ensuring the preservation and development of Indigenous languages and cultures.
- Searches and Seizures: Finally, the poster declared that the Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF) had never, nor would it ever, engage in arbitrary searches or seizures under Bill 96.
Despite these reassurances, Andrew Caddell, president of the Task Force on Linguistic Policy—a group established to oppose Bill 96—remains highly critical of the bill and its implications. In an interview on Aug. 7, Caddell expressed deep concerns about how the bill has been implemented, arguing that it unfairly targets Quebec’s anglophone community.
