Andrew Caddell

By Joel Goldenberg
The Suburban

Andrew Caddell, president of the Task Force On Linguistic Policy, is denouncing Quebec’s system allowing anonymous complaints, whether related to Quebec’s language laws or, in his case, a Quebec Municipal Commission complaint.

“We should be concerned about the use of anonymous complaints and concentration of power as they are signs of authoritarianism,” Caddell wrote recently.

Caddell, who is also a councillor in Kamouraska, has, with the Task Force, been fighting Quebec’s language law Bill 96 in court. A recent Superior Court judgment said that the federal government cannot be forced to become a respondent in that case.

The complaint to the QMC alleges that Caddell breached ethics and professional conduct rules late last year, violating his municipality’s code of ethics. Caddell allegedly posted in defence of the Quebec anglophone community, “go f–k yourself. C’est évident que vous etes un vrai ‘’loser’’ et pleurnichard.” (“It’s obvious you are a real loser and crybaby.”)

Caddell responded that while there have been accusations of “creeping fascism” as relates to the Trump government and right wing voting trends in Europe, “here in the Quebec ‘nation’, we see a rise in authoritarianism, illustrated by Premier François Legault’s government’s embrace of extreme nationalism, and its desire to concentrate power in Quebec City.

“For example, the creation of the new health agency, Santé Quebec, eliminated the autonomy of hospital boards, while the closing of school boards placed authority in the bureaucracy. Furthermore, Bills 21 and 96 became law under the cloak of the notwithstanding clause, imposing rules of dress and language on Quebec’s minorities. And now the government’s new Bill 84 offers directives on behaviour and culture, outlining ‘appropriate’ ways of integrating into Quebec society.”

Caddell also cited the Quebec government’s allowance of anonymous complaints in relation to the language law and, potentially, the secularism law.

Regarding the specific complaint against him, Caddell provided context, saying his postings were in defence of the rights of English Quebecers.

“At the end of December, I was attacked with insults like ‘raciste,’ ‘Rhodesien,’ ‘KKKanada’, and ‘supremaciste.’ Anyone who knows me would attest I am none of those things. I replied I am a francophile with roots back to 1640, who chose to return to Quebec from Ottawa in 2020. I noted my work on Kamouraska town council is entirely in French. As the insults escalated, I ramped up my replies with a few choice words. After a few days, I forgot about it.”

Caddell said he received a call from someone alleging to be from the Quebec Ministry of Municipal Affairs, and he demanded to see the complaint in writing, which he later received.

“Since then, I have been communicating with the Inquiries Division of the Municipal Affairs Commission, expecting they would ignore such a malicious complaint,” Caddell wrote. “Instead, on March 12, they wrote to say they are pursuing me, and I could be fined up to $4,000 or be suspended from my seat on council. An administrative tribunal, conducted in French, will decide my fate. Needless to say, it has been stressful.”

Caddell wrote that some of the evidence against him includes statements he made in his capacity with the Task Force, implying that “there was an ethical conflict between my work as a town councillor and as volunteer head of an organization dedicated to serving Quebec anglophones.

“This whole episode is troubling: the use of anonymous complaints as evidence is contrary to the historic principle everyone has the right to face their accuser in court. And although this is a quasi-judicial proceeding, I have no right under Section 133 of the Constitution to have my hearing in English. It’s appalling someone can attack me with malice aforethought, and I have no recourse to respond.” n