MONTREAL, April 14, 2022 – English-speaking Quebecers are deeply disappointed that the Coalition Avenir Quebec (CAQ) government has refused to correct an ill-advised measure in Bill 96 that would impact the educational success of our youth.
On Sunday, Quebec Liberal Party Leader Dominique Anglade responded to a rebuke sent her way by the Quebec Community Groups Network, which was not amused by her comment Saturday that, push come to shove, anglophones are better off with the Liberals than the CAQ .
“Epic failure to listen to Quebec anglos who are worried about Bill 96,” the QCGN tweeted.
“I disagree with the comment that was made by QCGN,” Anglade said after running down the list of actions the party has taken to stand up for English voters.
Despite a lack of concrete proposals aimed at the English community, Liberal Leader Dominique Anglade on Saturday said anglophones are still better off with her party than the Coalition Avenir Québec.
Anglade’s comments sparked a sharp rebuke from the umbrella group representing English-Quebecers, the Quebec Community Groups Network.
In a tweet, the QCGN accused the Liberals of “steering around a debate” for political reasons.
“Dans un revirement qui pourrait être historique, des anglophones frustrés pensent délaisser le Parti libéral du Québec aux prochaines élections provinciales. Ils s’estiment tenus pour acquis.”
Many English-speaking Quebecers expressed the possibility to vote for another party than the Liberal Party of Quebec which has gained the electoral support of the community for the last 40 years. Citizens such as Gary Shapiro and former Equality Party MNA Robert Libman talked about the issue in the article.
QCGN Director General Sylvia Martin-Laforge nuanced the possibility stating that all parties have something to offer, and that the Coalition Avenir Québec doesn’t have everything set.
“The next Quebec election is still eight months away, but already it’s starting. The quadrennial flirtation between political parties and Quebec anglophones, that most awkward and unfulfilling of courtships, is upon us again.”
Montreal Gazette columnist Allison Hanes is asking Quebec’s political parties to do better if they hope to gain the vote of English-speaking Quebecers. Notably, Hanes presents Coalition Avenir Québec leader François Legault promises at a radio interview to CJAD’s Leslie Roberts as disconnected and the Quebec Liberals’ past actions on Bill 10, school boards reform and Bill 62 as far from heartfelt for the English-speaking community.
Hanes refers to an editorial board meeting with the Quebec Community Groups Network where the organization suggested the new Secretariat must be enshrined in law by the National Assembly. The QCGN said the secretariat is key to ensuring community interests are considered, especially by people in the civil service who draft policy and design programs.
Angelica Montgomery, CJAD
The ruling Liberals rejected a request from two anglophone organizations who wanted to take part in the bill 10 hearings on major changes to the health care system, a source within an opposition party has told CJAD.
Bill 10 will revolutionize how Quebec’s health care system will be managed, by scrapping the administrations of nearly every hospital and health institution, and replacing them will large regional centres called CISSS’s.
Most of Quebec’s bilingual institutions are set to have their management taken over by the new, large structures.
The Montreal Gazette and the Sherbrooke Record have already voiced concern in their editorials that the move could dilute the level of influence the community has over its institutions, particularly in regions where anglophones are a small minority, like in Quebec city and the Eastern Townships.
The QCGN is funded by the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage.
