New Quebec language bill would allow province to strip anglos of access to services in English

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Sun News

MONTREAL — Quebec’s new language bill would make it easier to strip thousands of anglophone Quebecers of their access to English-language municipal services.

Bill 14, if passed, would force the Quebec government to evaluate all of Quebec’s 90 official bilingual municipalities and remove the special designation if “it considers it appropriate in light of all the circumstances.”

The bill allows the government to remove bilingual status from a municipality if, according to the federal census, less than 50% of the town’s citizens claim to have English as their mother tongue.

Bilingual cities offer their anglophone citizens the right to access services, such as tax bills, newsletters and other official city documents, in English. A city without such a status can only communicate with its citizens in French.

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Previous provincial governments have looked the other way, since removing the bilingual status of a city is a delicate issue, said Dan Lamoureux, president of the Quebec Community Groups Network, an umbrella organization for 41 anglophone groups in the province.

“Before this government, no one wanted to touch this law with a 10-foot pole!” he said.

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Des services municipaux en anglais dans la mire

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Agence QMI

MONTRÉAL – Des milliers d’anglophones du Québec pourraient ne plus avoir accès à des services offerts par leur municipalité dans leur langue, en raison de la nouvelle loi modifiant la Charte de la langue française.

Si le projet de loi 14 est adopté, le gouvernement du Québec devra en effet réévaluer le statut linguistique bilingue qui est accordé à 90 municipalités et retirer cette désignation spéciale, si «cela est considéré comme approprié dans les circonstances».

Le projet de loi accorde au gouvernement le pouvoir de retirer le statut bilingue d’une municipalité si, selon le dernier recensement fédéral, moins de 50% des citoyens de la municipalité ont fait savoir qu’ils avaient l’anglais comme langue maternelle.

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Critics concerned with bill 101’s impact on business and English communities

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Toronto Sun (QMI Agency), Brian Daly

MONTREAL – A beefed up Bill 101 would hurt Quebec’s English community and paralyze small businesses, critics tell QMI Agency.

The Parti Quebecois, citing the “anglicization of Montreal,” tabled a revised language law this week that would impose more French on subsidized day cares and companies with two to four dozen employees.

It’s actually a watered-down version of the PQ’s original proposal that would have barred adult francophones and immigrants from attending English community colleges.

But even in its scaled-back form, opposition parties have demanded amendments while Quebec’s main English-rights group is sounding the alarm.

Sylvia Martin-Laforge, Director General of the Quebec Community Groups Network, tells QMI that the new Bill 101 would hurt English schools.

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English CEGEPs breathe sigh of relief

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The Gazette, Janet Bagnall

MONTREAL — There was good and bad news on the education front for the English community in the Parti Québécois’ new take on Bill 101. The best news for many in the anglophone community was that the government backed away from prohibiting any non-English-speaking students from attending English CÉGEPs.

“That is very good news,” said Gilbert Héroux, director-general of Vanier College. “That would have had a major impact.”

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These measures run counter to the spirit of generosity English Quebecers have the right to expect after Premier Pauline Marois described the anglophone community as a “richness” for the province, said Sylvia Martin-Laforge, director-general of the Quebec Community Groups Network. “Our potential renewal depends on keeping our institutions open and vital,” she said. “The English-speaking communities don’t agree with the premise that the French language is in great peril.”

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Accueil tiède pour la nouvelle loi 101

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Le Devoir, Guillaume Bourgault-Côté

Ni tollé ni grnad enthousiasme: c’est plutôt tièdement que le projet de réforme de la loi 101 présenté par le gouvernment Marois a été accueilli mercredi. Dans le clan des relativement satisfaits, le Mouvement Québec français a salué ce “pas dans la bonne direction”, tout en le qualifiant “d’insuffisant pour assurer l’avenir du français au Québec”.

[…]

Du côté anglophone
Les inquiétudes sont plus systématiques au Quebec Community Groups Network, où la directrice Sylvia Martin-Laforge soutient qu’un “cadre réglementaire plus stric n’est pas nécessaire” dans le contexte actuel.
Mais dans tous les cas, les organismes interrogés mercredi ont affirmé vouloir étudier plus en profondeur les propositions du gouvernement Marois. “Pour le moment, ce n’est pas évident de savoir ce que ça voudra dire concrètement”, dit Mme Martin-Laforge.

Un retour en arrière qui dérange

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Jean-Virgile Tassé-Themens, Journal de Montréal

Une affiche en anglais accrochée à la vitrine d’un restaurant de gastronomie française qui devrait pourtant rappeler l’héritage francophone de Montréal.

Voilà une situation qui déplait à Mario Beaulieu de la Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Montréal.

L’organisme qui milite depuis des années pour une francisation de l’affichage des commerces se réjouit de l’annonce de la présentation d’une nouvelle loi 101.

Il espère que le gouvernement péquiste osera proposer des modifications qui rendront plus difficile la présence de l’anglais sur des enseignes.

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« Une boîte de Pandore » La communauté anglophone va se battre contre les propositions de Pauline Marois, selon Robert Libman

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Jean-Virgile Tassé-Themens, Journal de Montréal

Le défenseur des droits des anglophones et ancien député du Parti égalité Robert Libman croit qu’une nouvelle loi 101 serait ouvrir une «boîte de Pandore».

Il réagissait ainsi à l’annonce de la première ministre Pauline Marois qui a confirmé, dimanche dernier, sa ferme intention de proposer des changements à la Charte de la langue française.

Durant la campagne électorale, Mme Marois a indiqué qu’elle voulait empêcher les francophones d’aller étudier dans un cégep anglophone, parmi d’autres mesures.

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Jusqu’où faut-il aller ?

Selon le Quebec Community Group Network (QCGN), un organisme voué à la défense des intérêts des anglophones, il faut se questionner comme société sur les choix à faire.

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Vues et Voix – “Expression anglaise” Series: Segment #1

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The Quebec Community Groups Network is working with Vues & Voix, formerly la Magnétothèque, on a series of reports on Quebec’s English-speaking community. The idea behind the weekly conversations with our community is to talk about our preoccupations, our successes, and our challenges. Listen to the first segment introducing Sylvia Martin-Laforge, Director General of the Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN).

Quebec’s ‘Angloman’ wants to talk about language

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The Globe and Mail, Antonia Maioni

This week in Quebec, Pauline Marois formally opened the fall legislative session with a firm tone on two priorities: the fight against corruption, and drafting a budget in the context of a difficult economic situation.

But, with a PQ government, identity and culture can’t be far behind. It’s also expected that before the year is out, a new Charter of the French Language will be unveiled, which will include major reforms to Bill 101 “while respecting the anglophone community” – although Ms. Marois seems to have backtracked on the more controversial of her electoral

In fact, something interesting is happening on the language front. The first signal was the appointment of Jean-François Lisée as minister with a hat trick of new responsibilities: international affairs, the Montreal region, and relations with anglophones.

Mr. Lisée, a former adviser to Jacques Parizeau and architect of Lucien Bouchard’s famous Centaur Theatre address to the English-speaking community in the wake of the 1995 referendum, is a well-known journalist and author. Shedding his former image as an intrepid “Tintin,” ready to solve any backroom problem, he emerged as a star candidate for the PQ this year with his heated rhetoric about the fate of the French language on the island of Montreal.

While Ms. Marois’s forays in la Francophonie, and the inquiry into corruption in Montreal’s construction industry have been keeping the multitasking minister busy, Mr. Lisée – with a new nickname of “Angloman” – is popping up all over the place in the anglophone community. He made a surprise visit to the English Montreal School Board – to the shock of its members, who rarely get such attention. He has sought out the Quebec Community Groups Network, which represents English-language minorities across the province. And, for the past few weeks, he has been holding informal, in camera sessions with English-speaking leaders from a wide swathe of sectors and institutions.

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Census 2011: Most English-speakers in Quebec homes in decades

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The Gazette, Lynn Moore

MONTREAL – Slice them, dice them or drill down into Statistics Canada census figures and the bottom line remains encouraging for English-speaking Quebecers.

There are even “good news” numbers, say those who follow the evolving demographics of the province.

The 2011 census “shows continued growth in real terms” in Quebec’s English-speaking communities, said Jack Jedwab, executive director of the Association for Canadian Studies.

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The stability in the number of English-speaking Quebecers, as shown in the census figures, may reflect “the social capital” of its community, said Sylvia Martin-Laforge, director of the Quebec Community Groups Network.

“Our institutions are still here to service the English community, so people feel that there is more to gain in staying than in leaving,” she said.

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