Federal budget boosts minority language funding, but raises concerns

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Despite a planned increase in funds directed to official language minority communities from the federal government, there is no guarantee that this will benefit Quebec’s English-speaking community, says QCGN Director General Sylvia Martin-Laforge. “How much English-speaking Quebecers will benefit from the official language investments in this budget is an open question. We hope to see robust measures to support our community when the Action Plan is released in April.”

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English groups ‘apprehensive’ as Ottawa, Quebec reach agreement on use of French in federally regulated businesses

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The QCGN is “apprehensive” about the agreement between the federal and Quebec governments which implements aspects of the Charter of the French Language within Bill C-13, says QCGN President Eva Ludvig. “At the risk of sounding cynical, the provincial government has not been a champion for the English-speaking community.”

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CBC Montreal News March 30, 2023

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QCGN Director General Sylvia Martin-Laforge joins CBC Montreal’s Sudha Krishnan to discuss Bill 15, Quebec’s proposed reform of the health system, and the concerns many in the English-speaking community have about these proposed reforms (Interview begins at 18:10).

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Opinion: Suppressing English won’t achieve goal of promoting French

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“On the one hand, the Quebec government welcomes international organizations and institutions — and their jobs and dollars — with open arms,” writes Matt Aronson, secretary of the Board of the QCGN: “Meanwhile, on the other hand, the government treats the presence of English in Montreal as something to be actively discouraged and barely tolerated.”

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Federal Budget Includes New Money for Official-Language Minorities

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The Quebec Community Groups Network is cautiously optimistic about the federal government’s new Action Plan on official languages as outlined in new spending in today’s 2023 federal budget. The budget includes an additional $1 billion in official-language community investments over the next five years.

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Revamp of the Official Languages Act raises concerns among legal experts and Quebec Anglos

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QCGN President Eva Ludvig explains that English- and French-speaking community associations and groups had been in agreement about what the modernization of the Official Languages Act stood for. “It’s when requests and demands from the Quebec government started being incorporated into it through amendments and through the latest version of the bill [that] things started to deteriorate”.

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QCGN Welcomes Quebec Budget Support for English-speaking Community

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The Quebec Community Groups Network welcomes the allocation of $31.5 million in support of Quebec’s English-speaking community in today’s provincial budget.

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Townshippers’ Co-founder Marjorie Goodfellow recognized for language rights activism

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Townshippers’ Association co-founder Marjorie Goodfellow is recognized by the Office of the Commissioner for Official Languages for her 40 years of advocacy for the rights of Quebec’s English-speaking community. She encourages anyone who wishes to participate in protecting the rights of English-speaking Quebecers to write to their Member of Parliament, “and support the Quebec Community Groups Network”.

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Marlene Jennings: It’s not alarmism when there’s cause for concern

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The Liberal MPs who have spoken out against mention of the Charter of the French Language in Bill C-13 have undeservedly raised the ire of many in the French-language media, writes former QCGN president Marlene Jennings. Rather than accusing these MPs of spreading disinformation, critics “should focus their attention on the issues being raised.”

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The sum of success: This teacher has helped countless students learn to love math

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Alix Adrien, a longtime educator and QCGN board member, is named one of the CBC’s Black Changemakers of 2023. Now president of the Quebec Board of Black Educators, Adrien brought an infectious passion to the classroom during his teaching days, as well as patience and understanding for students in difficult situations.

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