Joel Goldenberg – The Suburban LJI Reporter
The monthly protests against language law Bill 96 held by the Task Force on Linguistic Policy came to the west end Sunday, with a procession of cars that travelled from Walmart on Jean Talon in Côte des Neiges to Trenholme Park in NDG, attracting hundreds of participants. Other motorists honked in support as the caravan proceeded through the streets, and at Trenholme Park. Previous caravans took place in the West Island, downtown and other locales.
Andrew Caddell, head of the Task Force, told The Suburban at Walmart that “we’re going to be heard, we’re not going away, and we’re going to continue these rallies to raise awareness of all the egregious elements of Bill 96.” At Trenholme Park, Caddell, joined by many other speakers. also discussed the CAQ government’s plan to almost double Quebec university tuition fees for students outside of the province, another of a series of policies after Bills 96, 40 abolishing school boards and 21 banning religious dress for those in authority under provincial jurisdiction and teachers.
“This is another attack on our institutions of the English-speaking community!” he said. “The cavalier rejection of Higher Education Minister Pascale Déry of the compromise position of McGill, Concordia and Bishop’s was a sign of a total lack of compassion, leadership and a lack of respect for our community!” Caddell said the tuition increase is the first step of a 50-point plan to “stop the so-called decline of French on the backs of the anglophone community, as if we were some kind of fifth column that is trying to undermine French rather than the largest bilingual and trilingual community in all of Canada!
“This is unacceptable! This is not time for intolerance on any side! We are better than that!” Caddell said Premier François Legault has said he wants Quebec to be the equal of Ontario.
“But by obsessing over language and attacking our institutions, he is undermining our economy and building an international reputation for bigotry and parochialism. Despite all these negatives, the CAQ doesn’t seem to care!… We are calling on the entire English-speaking community to come together and show we are a united front! We need your voice to join in an overwhelming chorus to say ‘enough is enough!’”
“Enough, enough!” the crowd chanted.
Marc Perez of the Task Force told The Suburban “we have to stop the CAQ’s appetite for intolerance.
“These [policies] all have one goal, to weaken the English community that has contributed enormously to this province. That’s why we have a lot more people, with all the rallies we have been doing, we’ve been raising awareness, people have been donating and calling us with their stories about Bill 96.”
Alex Montagano, a former CDN-NDG candidate, said the political system must be changed.
“We need to find ways to take back control of our city and our province.”
For more information about the Task Force on Linguistic Policy, go to www.thetaskforce.ca. n