Tag Archive for: Bill 14

Lettre de Lisée et De Courcy: Les anglophones ne sont pas rassurés

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Journal de Montréal, Giuseppe Valiante

Le gouvernement du Québec n’a pas réussi à rassurer les anglophones du Québec en leur adressant une lettre ouverte pour expliquer le projet de loi 14, affirment deux activistes montréalais qui défendent les droits des anglophones.

L’avocat Brent Tyler et Dan Lamoureux, président du Quebec Community Groups Network, ont dit à l’Agence QMI, samedi, que le gouvernement Marois doit jeter aux poubelles la loi 14 s’il veut véritablement convaincre la communauté anglophone qu’elle est respectée.

La ministre responsable de la Charte de la langue française, Diane de Courcy, et le ministre responsable de la région de Montréal, Jean-François Lisée, ont publié une lettre dans le quotidien de langue anglaise, The Gazette vendredi, pour convaincre les anglophones que la nouvelle loi linguistique ne compromettrait pas leurs droits.

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Le renforcement de la loi 101 ne passe pas, malgré la lettre ouverte du PQ

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La Presse, Hugo Pilon-Larose

Les représentants de la communauté anglophone du Québec demeurent opposés à tout renforcement de la Charte québécoise de langue française, même s’ils saluent la publication d’une lettre ouverte des ministres Jean-François Lisée et Diane De Courcy dans le quotidien The Gazette.

«Personnellement, quand j’ai lu la lettre, j’étais contente. Ça démontre le niveau d’engagement de deux ministres sur les craintes des anglophones envers le projet de loi 14. Écrire ce qu’ils ont écrit, c’était courageux», confie la directrice générale du Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN), Sylvia Martin-Laforge.

«Je ne suis toutefois pas certaine qu’ils pourront aller plus loin. Ils disent vouloir aller chercher l’appui de la Coalition avenir Québec, mais ils ne répondent pas, je pense, à leurs demandes», dit-elle.

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PQ’s proposed changes to Bill 14 leave critics skeptical

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PQ ministers reach out to anglophones in open letter
CBC News

Two Parti Québécois ministers have published an open letter outlining amendments to Bill 14, its controversial proposed legislation that aims to revamp the province’s language laws.

However, critics are skeptical that the minority government is truly addressing concerns of the anglophone community.

The letter appears today in Montreal’s only English-language daily newspaper, the Montreal Gazette.
In it, Language Minister Diane De Courcy and the minister responsible for Quebec’s anglophone community, Jean-François Lisée, review several key issues that affect English-speaking Quebecers.

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Letter: QCGN continues to oppose Bill 14, but recognizes that PQ government’s outreach to anglos

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Quebec Farmers’ Advocate, Dan Lamoureux (QCGN President)

For many, Bill 14 remains an emotional issue, and so it might be difficult to see the positive effects of the consultation process surrounding the proposed legislation. Although the Quebec Community Groups Network remains opposed to the bill–and its individual provisions–we recognize that we as English-speaking Quebecers gained greater recognition of our minority community from the government of Quebec.

Lire la suite…

QCGN opposed Bill 14, but recognizes PQ’s outreach to anglos

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Quebec Farmers’ Advocate, Dan Lamoureux (QCGN President)

For many, Bill 14 remains an emotional issue, and so it might be difficult to see the positive effects of the consultation process surrounding the proposed legislation. Although the Quebec Community Groups Network remains opposed to the bill–and its individual provisions–we recognize that we as English-speaking Quebecers gained greater recognition of our minority community from the government of Quebec.

Read more…

Vues et Voix – “Expression anglaise” Series: Segment #13

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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 thirteenth segment below with Richard Filion, Director General at Dawson College.

Sherbrooke Record: QCGN calls for productive dialogue with English-speaking community

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Special to the Sherbrooke Record 

Quebec City, April 11, 2013 –English-speaking Quebecers are opposed to Bill 14 and believe it should be scrapped. But that does not mean our community does not want to continue dialoging to bridge the gulf of misunderstanding that persists between the Government and its English-speaking minority. That was among the key messages the Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN) delivered to the Committee on Culture and Education that is studying Bill 14.

“More coercive measures will not promote or protect the French language,” said QCGN President Dan Lamoureux, noting that the government is once again failing to distinguish between English-speaking communities and the threat of English as a global language of commerce and mass culture.  “English-speaking Quebecers are not a threat.”

Lamoureux noted that, if passed, Bill 14 would restrict the right of municipalities and their citizens to decide how their own taxpayers will be served. It would revoke the right for French-speaking military personnel who may be transferred to other provinces to send their kids to English schools. It would place a greater burden on all small businesses – French and English – that will have impacts ranging from some enterprises deciding not to expand to others deciding to go to another province where the cost and irritants of doing business are less onerous.

Read more here…

Letter: Counting anglophones in Quebec’s civil service

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La Gazette

In our appearance before the commission studying Bill 14 on Thursday, the question of how many English-speaking Quebecers are working for the provincial civil service was raised.

Counting Quebec’s English-speaking minority population is a tricky business, because who gets counted depends on who is counting.

Using data from the Canadian census, there are generally three ways to count the English-speaking community of Quebec: mother tongue, corrected mother tongue and first official language spoken. Of course Canada has two official languages (English and French), while Quebec only has one (French).

The government of Quebec defines anglophones as citizens whose mother tongue (first language learned and still understood) is English. The data from the 2011 census was 599,225 people. So people using this approach say there are 600,000 anglophones in Quebec.

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Letter: Counting anglophones in Quebec’s civil service

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By QCGN DG Sylvia Martin-Laforge, The Gazette

In our appearance before the commission studying Bill 14 on Thursday, the question of how many English-speaking Quebecers are working for the provincial civil service was raised.

Counting Quebec’s English-speaking minority population is a tricky business, because who gets counted depends on who is counting.

Using data from the Canadian census, there are generally three ways to count the English-speaking community of Quebec: mother tongue, corrected mother tongue and first official language spoken. Of course Canada has two official languages (English and French), while Quebec only has one (French).

The government of Quebec defines anglophones as citizens whose mother tongue (first language learned and still understood) is English. The data from the 2011 census was 599,225 people. So people using this approach say there are 600,000 anglophones in Quebec.

Read more here…

Letter: Why the QCGN rejects Bill 14

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The Gazette, Letter: Dan Lamoureux 

Since Bill 101 was passed some 35 years ago, English-speaking Quebecers have made tremendous efforts to speak the language of Quebec’s majority. We consider French to be the common language of Quebec. Most of us speak French every day, even if we speak English among ourselves, and in the privacy of our own homes. The majority of English-speaking Quebecers — 69 per cent of us — are bilingual. This reflects our integration in Quebec and our commitment to the French language.

In order to maintain a shaky linguistic truce, our post-Bill-101 generation has accepted restrictions on our language. Those who did not leave during the mass exodus of the 1970s have learned to live with Bill 101. However, we are opposed to any new measures that would undermine the vitality of our communities.

The overwhelming reaction of English-speaking Quebecers to Bill 14, the proposed overhaul of Bill 101, or the Charter of the French Language, has been negative.

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