November 24, 2020 – Quebec’s Minister Responsible for the French Language, Simon Jolin-Barrette, announced on Tuesday a plan to table a bill aimed at strengthening French in the province.
“Quebec was born in French, and it will stay French,” Jolin-Barrette said at a news conference on Tuesday. 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
November 24, 2020 – During a recent meeting of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Official Languages, the decline of the French language in Quebec was questioned. Other statements during the hearing suggested that Canada’s English linguistic minority does not exist. Let us quickly deal with this last point. Under the law of Quebec and Canada, there is indeed a linguistic minority community – of more than 1.1 million English-speaking Quebecers. This is Canada’s most bilingual cohort of English-speakers.
The Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN) takes this opportunity to clearly lay out our position on the protection and promotion of the French language. Read more
November 9, 2020 – Tyndale St-Georges and Family Ties New Carlisle have been selected as our charities this holiday season.
Throughout November and December, CBC will collaborate with both charities to showcase stories of people in our communities who are making a difference. Read more
November 18, 2020 – (AUDIO) QCGN President Marlene Jennings was the guest on CBC Montreal’s Radio Noon with Shawn Apel Wednesday. A wide-ranging discussion covered school board elections during the pandemic, QCGN’s relationship with the Quebec government, and the future of the Network. Listen here
November 17, 2020 – We were six long-time friends who would gather regularly for breakfast at Barbie‘s in Dorval. COVID-19 not only put an end to the breakfasts, but sadly closed Barbie’s for good.
When we last met, there was one empty chair. Pat Rourke had left us some time before, after a prolonged battle with cancer. It was not quite the same without him. Read more
November 16, 2020 – Advocates for and officials at Quebec’s English-language school boards are sounding the alarm over the fast-approaching election date to fill any seats that weren’t filled by acclamation this fall.
The province quietly announced late Friday that those elections would be held on Dec. 19 and 20. They were originally scheduled for Nov. 1, but were rescheduled due to the onset of the province’s second wave of COVID-19. Read more
November 16, 2020 – Premier François Legault says he believes elections for Quebec’s English school boards can be conducted safely in December despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
Legault said Monday that public health has fully endorsed the idea of allowing the vote to take place even if it said the opposite in October. Read more
November 14, 2020 – After postponing English school board elections on the advice of public health officials, the Quebec government has done an about-face and announced voting at some English boards will take place five days before Christmas.
Although most positions on the council of commissioners were filled by acclamation in October, the important positions of board chair need to be filled at the Lester B. Pearson and Sir Wilfrid Laurier school boards. Read more
November 14, 2020 – Quebec’s Ministry of Education decided English school board elections will go ahead despite previously postponing them due to COVID-19 health concerns.
The government originally postponed the November English school board elections back in October due to public health recommendations. Affected school boards were however informed Friday evening that despite the continuous rise and spread of the virus, the elections will take place Dec. 19-20, even in designated red zones that are on highest alert. Read more
The QCGN is funded by the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage.
