Today’s question on Radio Noon: Is Kent Hughes a Quebecer? Do you feel like one? QCGN President Marlene Jennings challenges Christopher Skeete, the Coalition Avenir Québec’s parliamentary secretary for Relations with English-speaking Quebecers, on whether or not he is defending anglophone Quebecers.
An English-rights advocacy group is looking into what Quebec’s Bill 96 and Ottawa’s Bill C-32 will mean for the province’s English-speaking community.
The Quebec Community Groups Network hosted a conference Tuesday morning with participants from both Ottawa and Quebec taking part.
Federal Official Languages Minister Melanie Joly defended Bill C-32, which includes the strengthening of the Official Languages Act.
It is with the rhetoric and strategy of a beleaguered minority that Quebec’s English-speaking community intends to fight the CAQ government’s Bill 96, which it considers to be an infringement of its rights in several respects.
Under the umbrella of the Quebec Community Groups Network, some 150 people attended a conference on the subject on Monday evening and Tuesday morning. On Tuesday, federal Minister responsible for Official Languages Mélanie Joly and Parliamentary Assistant to Premier François Legault for relations with English-speaking Quebecers Christopher Skeete gave speeches, and participants heard preliminary survey results and panel discussions on the subject.
Despite concerns by anglophone interest groups over the possible infringement of freedoms and rights, Sainte-Rose MNA Christopher Skeete, Premier François Legault’s liaison to Quebec’s English-speaking community, is defending Bill 96, the CAQ government’s proposed new law updating the Charter of the French Language (Bill 101).
“The Quebec Community Groups Network deeply regrets that proposed changes to the Charter of the French Language override fundamental human rights and will erode the vitality of our English-speaking minority community,” the Montreal-based group said in a statement.
(VIDEO) Christopher Skeete, the Parliamentary Assistant to the Premier for Relations with English-Speaking Quebecers, speaks about the outcome of a consultation of English-speaking Quebecers.
Quebec’s point man on English-speaking communities was reacting to a long-awaited report on consultations held in 2019.
Christopher Skeete, the provincial government’s point man on English-speaking communities, says he is confident the CAQ government will start offering free or low-cost French courses to non-immigrant English speakers across the province next fall.
Skeete made the comments to the Montreal Gazette on Saturday as he reacted to a long-awaited report on consultations held in the fall of 2019 by the Secretariat for Relations with English-speaking Quebecers.
Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN), president alleges that the Parliamentary Assistant to the Premier for Relations with English-Speaking Quebecers, Christopher Skeete, encourages the network’s member organizations to leave or disavow their positions if they want to keep their part of public funding.
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Parliamentary Assistant to the Premier for Relations with English-Speaking Quebecers, Christopher Skeete, was interviewed on Breakfast Television about a planned government plan to consult Quebec’s English-speaking community. QCGN President Geoffrey Chambers said he is skeptical about the design of the consultation.
QCGN President Geoffrey Chambers was not impressed by the announcement of a Quebec consultation that would lead to a government action plan for English-speaking Quebecers. He said the QCGN will be critical of a process that is clearly a public relations tour.
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The Coalition Avenir Québec government is planning a province-wide tour aimed at developing an action plan to help the English-speaking community. Quebec Community Groups Network President Geoffrey Chambers previously expressed a sense of anxiety among the English-speaking population.
The QCGN is funded by the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage.
