November 24, 2020 – The Coalition Avenir Québec government will soon make changes to Quebec’s French language charter. Simon Jolin-Barrette announced that he will table legislation to modify Bill 101 early in the new year. But as Gobal’s Raquel Fletcher reports, he has revealed few details of what that plan will actually look like, which is causing some anxiety in the English community. Read more
November 25, 2020 – Members of Quebec’s English-speaking community have reacted with skepticism over promises by the Legault government to respect the rights of the minority in its overhaul of the French Language Charter. “We heard the same thing about Bill 40, and the Quebec English School Boards Association is in court now defending our constitutional right to manage our own schools,” said Kevin Shaar, vice-president of the Quebec Community Groups Network. Read more
Rather than picking fights with our community, we urge the Legault government to alter course, work with us, and cease defining us as a problem, writes QCGN President Geoffrey Chambers in this opinion piece for The Gazette. Chambers argues that today’s English-speaking community is invested in Quebec. We have encouraged and enabled our children to develop French-language skills. We accept and celebrate the predominance of French as the linguistic and cultural norm here. We don’t see ourselves, our language, or our culture as something bad that must be suppressed. Our community’s bilingualism is an asset to be celebrated — as multilingualism is applauded in any European country. Read more
It is more important to understand why there is a difference in reporting anxiety levels among Quebecers than to deflect, writes Jack Jedwab, President of the Association for Canadian Studies (ACS). An ACS/QCGN survey reveals that some 34 per cent of Quebec anglophones know someone who has been diagnosed with the virus compared with 21 per cent of francophones.That partly explains the differences in levels of anxiety felt by anglophones and francophones, Jedwab writes. Read more
A new poll shows that English speakers in Quebec are significantly more worried about COVID-19 than French speakers, and are almost twice as likely to wear a mask. Faced with these numbers on Wednesday, Legault lashed out at English-language media, saying at a press conference that the Montreal Gazette in particular “has a certain responsibility.” Read more
In the mist of an important internal crisis, the Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN) accused the CAQ government Monday of leading a “clandestine” campaign in an attempt to “destabilize” it.
Read more (In French only)
Premier François Legault rejects allegations his government is attempting to destabilize the leadership of the Quebec Community Groups Network, writes Philip Authier of The Montreal Gazette.
Many prominent members of the English-speaking community criticize difficult relations with the Legault government, saying it’s “disconnected”. At the heart of the problem lies a lack of empathy towards minorities. “It’s very very concerning”, says QCGN president, Geoffrey Chambers.
Read more (In French)
In his weekly column in The Montreal Gazette, Don Macpherson argues that Premier François Legault makes a case against his government’s proposal to abolish school boards by implying that English boards should be abolished because they can go to court to defend the English-speaking community’s schools.
Montreal – February 15, 2019 – Meeting with Premier François Legault on Friday for the first time since his election in October, the Quebec Community Groups Network called upon the Coalition Avenir Québec government to work in a collaborative environment to ensure a more vital and sustainable future for English-speaking Quebecers.
In a cordial face-to-face meeting, QCGN representatives told Premier Legault, who is the Minister Responsible for Relations with English-speaking Quebecers, that our community is concerned about the zealous application of the Charter of the French Language, including a demand to remove English signage in hospitals. Members of our diverse community are also deeply troubled over the proposed ban on religious symbols.
The QCGN is funded by the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage.
