Bill 96

Federal election Q&A: Bill 96 where parties stand on language

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By Trevor Greenway

The Quebec government passed Bill 96, which restricts the use of English in businesses and public services, using the notwithstanding clause. This allowed the government to bypass the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Bill 96 negatively impacts minority language constituents in their day-to-day lives, such as by restricting access to services. How would your party address this bill and/or improve the situation for the minority language population of this riding?

Claude Bertrand, Green party

Because of its language, culture and unique history within the Canadian federation, Quebec has a special status within Canada. On Nov. 22, 2006, a “Québécois nation” motion was tabled in Parliament by Stephen Harper, then prime minister of Canada. Five days later, on Nov. 27, the motion was approved, 265–16, with support from every party in the House of Commons. Living in a predominantly French-speaking “island” in an otherwise predominantly English-speaking North America (excluding Mexico), Quebecers have managed to this day to preserve their distinct character, language and culture. Like the Green party, Quebecers value inclusion, diversity and social democracy. The Green Party of Canada fully recognizes Quebec’s status as a distinct nation within Canada. We thus recognize the right of Quebecers to decide together their political and constitutional future, including the decision, manifested through their democratically-elected national assembly, to make French the only official language in Quebec.

Brian Nolan, Conservative party

The Conservative Party of Canada is deeply concerned about the use of the notwithstanding clause to override Charter rights. Bill 96 has created real challenges for English-speaking Quebecers, especially in regions like Pontiac–Kitigan Zibi, where bilingualism is a way of life. A Conservative government would work constructively with Quebec to ensure that essential services such as healthcare, education and justice remain accessible in both official languages. We believe in protecting minority rights, supporting language duality and ensuring no one is left behind because of the language they speak. As your local Conservative candidate, I will be a strong voice for all residents of the Pontiac–Kitigan Zibi riding. I will always defend the rights of English-speaking communities and work to ensure they are treated with fairness, respect and equality, because language should never be a barrier to accessing services or opportunities.

Todd Hoffman, People’s Party of Canada (PPC)

The PPC is the best federal party to tackle the question of English minority rights within Quebec. We are the party of freedom of expression, protecting Canadians from censorship and discrimination. The PPC would repeal bad legislation on the federal level. For Bill 96 and the notwithstanding clause, we would review Bill C-13 “Act to amend the Official Languages Act” that our MP, Ms. [Sophie] Chatel, voted in favour of in 2023. This amendment tied a federal act to a discriminatory provincial act, bypassing the Canadian Charter of Rights. A very disappointing vote on her part. My record in advocating language rights is well documented. Like many other local businesses, I have in the past been served with papers from the Office québécois de la langue française (OLF) for a perceived social media violation. My resistance to being put on notice by the OLF was featured in a National Post article in 2024. 

Sophie Chatel, Liberal party (Incumbent)

Bill 96 has created challenges for anglophones in Quebec, including in Pontiac–Kitigan Zibi. The Quebec government pre-emptively invoked the notwithstanding clause to shield the law from Charter challenges, raising significant concerns about its impact on fundamental rights. This use of the clause prevents courts from reviewing whether the law respects the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Liberal party believes in protecting both of Canada’s official languages and supports efforts to promote French in Quebec. But that must never come at the expense of people’s rights. No government should be able to bypass the Charter without accountability. A Liberal government will intervene in any Supreme Court challenge of a government’s pre-emptive use of the notwithstanding clause, as such use would effectively make the Charter of Rights optional. Defending the Charter is how we protect the rights of minority language communities, including in Pontiac–Kitigan Zibi, and ensure their voices are heard.

Gilbert Whiteduck, New Democratic Party (NDP)

NDP leader Jagmeet Singh has recently stated that, if elected government, the NDP would not intervene if a challenge to Bill 96 reached the Supreme Court. I completely sympathize with those, including francophones and anglophones, who feel their native language is under threat. Through colonization, the Algonquin Anishininabeg language, Anishinaabwemowin, was negatively impacted. We collectively continue to work hard to preserve it, but it is still less well-known among some of our members than English or French. I deeply object to those who opportunistically use language politics to divide us. I believe the preservation and growth of our rich and diverse cultural heritages makes us stronger.  Knowledge and appreciation of different languages and cultures enriches us and shouldn’t come at the expense of our native languages. I support all minority language rights and would do whatever I can to protect and support them through federal legislation and financial support.

Federal election Q&A: Bill 96 where parties stand on language Read More »

Court rejects municipalities’ stay request against Bill 96

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By Joel Goldenberg
The Suburban

Superior Court Judge Silvana Conte rejected a request by 23 municipalities for a stay of various aspects of Quebec’s language law Bill 96 until the challenge can be heard on the merits.

The judge ruled that a stay ahead of a full court hearing should only be granted in urgent circumstances and that no serious effects of the law had been proven. This appeared to concur with the position of the Quebec government, which said Bill 96 did not cause harm to the 23 plaintiffs.

The provisions the cities want declared invalid and inoperative are the prohibition for contracts to be written in a language other than French, “even if both parties agree,”; allowing OQLF inspectors to inspect and seize, at any time without notice, any documents, equipment and computers from any municipal body; that cities have to declare in resolutions that they want to maintain their bilingual status if the English mother tongue population is below 50 percent; that the language minister or another designated minister can withhold provincial government grants to a city if they don’t comply with any provision of the law; and that a city has to punish any employee who does not comply with Bill 96.”

Côte St. Luc Mayor Mitchell Brownstein told The Suburban “we are years away from the hearing on the merits and we requested a stay of the law until then. It was the judge’s opinion that Bill 96 will not cause irreparable prejudice to the plaintiffs if a stay/suspension of the law is not granted, since no cuts in government grants have yet occurred, nor has the government exercised its other new powers under the new law.

“Hopefully, this will send a message to the CAQ not to use Bill 96 to penalize bilingual cities in any way before the hearing on the merits. It is difficult to prove a prejudice before it occurs, which is why stays/suspensions are only granted in exceptional cases. The Court did find that the issue of unilingual French contracts and the search and seizure questions raise serious concerns. The 23 cities will review the decision and weigh their options. Plaintiffs have 30 days to appeal the decision.”

The case, first announced last year, is being brought by municipalities that are officially bilingual because they have more than 50 percent mother tongue anglophone populations, and those which have opted in, declaring to the government they want to remain officially bilingual as they are below the 50 percent mother tongue threshold but were officially bilingual according to previous rules.

The municipalities challenging the law, represented by the Grey Casgrain law firm, are Baie d’Urfé, Beaconfield, Blanc-Sablon, Bonne-Ésperance, Chichester, Côte St. Luc, Dollard des Ormeaux, Dorval, Havelock, Hope Town, Kazabazua, Kirkland, L’Isle Aux Allumettes, Montreal West, Mulgrave and Derry, New Carlisle, Pointe Claire, Senneville, Sheenboro, Shigawake, Stanbridge East, Wentworth and Westmount.

The municipalities say that Bill 96 “compromises the concerned municipalities’ bilingual status, which is intrinsically part of their cultural identity, but the proposed provisions also extend far beyond language rights and undermine constitutionally protected and inalienable rights that belong to all Quebec citizens.” n

Court rejects municipalities’ stay request against Bill 96 Read More »

Gaspé succeeds in reducing residual materials bill in non-residential areas

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Nelson Sergerie, LJI Journalist

GASPÉ – A major turnaround, the Town of Gaspé has reached an agreement with Matrec to reduce the costs of residual material collection for the commercial, institutional and industrial sectors. 

Twelve years ago, the Town had transferred this collection to the private sector and the contractor reached an agreement with the customers for the billing but, in September, the town council announced its intention to take it all under its wing after complaints were received at Town Hall when it was suggested that the bill was doubling, tripling or more. 

A 90-day notice had been adopted by the town council for a change effective in January 2025. 

A clause in the contract allowed the Town to do so. “When Matrec saw that, they were open to negotiating. As part of this negotiation, they agreed to lower the rates for merchants by 34% in addition to bringing the contractual clauses back to September 2026. They committed to freezing the rates for 2025 and increasing them to the cost of inflation in 2026,” explains the Mayor of Gaspé, Daniel Côté. 

“It will also give us time if we repatriate everything into a single contract,” says the mayor. 

Following this negotiation, the gap between what the Town would have billed starting in January via the tax account versus the agreement reached with Matrec no longer justified Gaspé taking over the service. 

“It’s difficult to calculate for each specific case, but overall, it probably would have been the same. But by going back to the same, it would have been a real headache for the Town to repatriate all that and redo the contracts. It would have been much more complicated. The result makes sense. I hope our merchants and industrialists will be happy,” says the mayor. 

Bill 96 

Gaspé’s municipal council has adopted a resolution requesting flexibility in Bill 96, which mandates that all municipal communications be in French. 

“We don’t have the same history as Montreal and its suburbs. Here, we have always lived very harmoniously between francophones, anglophones and the Mi’gmaq community,” explains the mayor. 

According to census data, the proportion of English speakers in Gaspé declined from 13% in 2016 to 11% in 2021. 

“It is not in Gaspé that French is in decline. Why apply the same rule to Gaspé where English is in decline in favour of French? Why penalize our anglophone community when the problem is not here?” asks Mr. Côté. 

“I hope that our reality is recognized and that we can have some form of modulation, but honestly, I have little hope for a result,” says the elected official. 

If the law is not changed, Vision Gaspe Perce now has offered its services to translate communications into English. Gaspé does not have bilingual town status. In the 1940s and 1950s, half of Gaspé’s citizens were English-speaking. There are exceptions in the law for emergency measures, tourism and financial information. 

Changes mentioned in minor emergencies 

The mayor of Gaspé is concerned by the Gaspé Peninsula Integrated Health and Social Services Centre’s reflection on the modification of the composition of the teams in the emergency departments at the Murdochville and Grande-Vallée CLSCs. On the sidelines of the organization’s board of directors meeting on November 28, President and CEO Martin Pelletier indicated that services are not being reduced, but he mentioned changes in the way care is provided, such as replacing a nurse with a nursing assistant. 

“We are somewhat afraid of a service cut. These are hubs that are far from the Gaspé and Sainte-Anne-des-Monts hospitals. We are talking about an hour’s drive. A nursing assistant can do some of the work, but cannot do everything that a full-time nurse can do in terms of care,” explained Mr. Côté, who has heard concerns from specialists in the health network. 

This is the third time in a decade that the fate of the 24/7 emergency services at the CLSCs in Murdochville, Grande-Vallée and Paspébiac has been in the news. 

“I hope the inevitable does not happen. With all the projects on the drawing board, there should normally be an economic resurgence in Murdochville and Grande-Vallée, therefore, an increase in the population. An increase in risks related to industrial activities that will require 24/7 services in emergencies. I hope that we will think about the future and that we will not only take into account current demographic data,” notes the mayor who is also prefect of the MRC of Côte-de-Gaspé. 

Work at the Town Hall 

The Town of Gapé is asking the Quebec government to reduce its subsidy to its initial promise due to the additional costs incurred by the work. 

Initially, the project was $4.3 million, but following the calls for tenders, the cost of the work was just over $3 million. The government assistance of 65% had been reduced accordingly. 

In the meantime, an unforeseen amount of $700,000 has arisen. “This unforeseen event that no one saw coming is likely due to a design error. We are asking the ministry to assume part of this additional cost. Initially, it had budgeted $4 million for the project. We assume that it had budgeted that way,” hopes the mayor. 

In the meantime, the claims process against the architectural firm to which the fault is attributed continues. “We hope to reach an agreement with the firm. Except that in any good agreement, will we get 100% of our gain? If not, we turn to the ministry so that it does its part,” notes the mayor. 

Gaspé succeeds in reducing residual materials bill in non-residential areas Read More »

23 Municipalities in court seeking stay against Bill 96

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By Joel Goldenberg
The Suburban

Lawyers representing 23 municipalities were in Quebec Superior Court Monday and Tuesday, presenting a motion for a stay of various aspects of Quebec’s language law Bill 96 until the challenge can be heard on the merits.

The case, first announced at a press conference in Côte St. Luc in June 2023, is being brought by municipalities that are officially bilingual because they have more than 50 percent mother tongue anglophone populations, and those which have opted in, declaring to the government they want to remain officially bilingual as they are below the 50 percent mother tongue threshold but were officially bilingual according to previous rules.

The municipalities challenging the law, represented by the Grey Casgrain law firm, are Baie d’Urfé, Beaconfield, Blanc-Sablon, Bonne-Ésperance, Chichester, Côte St. Luc, Dollard des Ormeaux, Dorval, Havelock, Hope Town, Kazabazua, Kirkland, L’Isle Aux Allumettes, Montreal West, Mulgrave and Derry, New Carlisle, Pointe Claire, Senneville, Sheenboro, Shigawake, Stanbridge East, Wentworth and Westmount.

A statement from Côte St. Luc and the other municipalities points out that the legal action “covers five areas, including contracts and communications, the obligation to adopt resolution to maintain bilingual status, illegal searches and seizures, government grants, and the obligation to discipline employees.”

More specifically, the provisions the cities want declared invalid and inoperative are the prohibition for contracts to be written in a language other than French, “even if both parties agree,”; allowing OQLF inspectors to inspect and seize, at any time without notice, any documents, equipment and computers from any municipal body; that cities have to declare in resolutions that they want to maintain their bilingual status if the English mother tongue population is below 50 percent; that the language minister or another designated minister can withhold provincial government grants to a city if they don’t comply with any provision of the law; and that a city has to punish any employee who does not comply with Bill 96.”

The municipalities say that Bill 96 “compromises the concerned municipalities’ bilingual status, which is intrinsically part of their cultural identity, but the proposed provisions also extend far beyond language rights and undermine constitutionally protected and inalienable rights that belong to all Quebec citizens.”

CSL Mayor Mitchell Brownstein said late last week that “municipalities with bilingual status have been waiting for this hearing to ask the Superior Court to suspend the articles of the law that cause harm to our municipalities and that will impose a change that we are confident will eventually be overturned when the case is heard on its merits later on.

“For instance, our future capital projects are at risk because of the power given to the Minister of the French Language to withhold funding to municipalities granted by other ministries of the government. Municipalities need to be able to plan for the future without the threat of withheld funding.”

Dale Roberts-Keats, Mayor of Bonne-Espérance which has a population of 695, says Bill 96 “has created much confusion with regards to the obligation to use French for all contracts. It’s absurd that for our municipality where 99 percent of the population has English as their preferred language, we can’t produce contracts with suppliers in our community in English.” n

23 Municipalities in court seeking stay against Bill 96 Read More »

Bill 96 brings new challenges for anglophones

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Holly Smith, LJI Journalist

GASPE – The winds of change are sweeping through Quebec and, for anglophones in the Gaspé Peninsula. Those winds have never felt so strong. The recent decision by the Town of Gaspé to stop providing written material in English feels like a big change for many anglophones and serves as a strong reminder of the challenges that Bill 96 brings. 

What is Bill 96? 

In June 2022, the Quebec government passed a new law, Bill 96, essentially an amendment to the Charter of French Language, to promote the use of the French language in Quebec and to affirm that French is the common language of Quebec. 

The Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government’s latest attempt was to increase French in Quebecers’ everyday lives. It builds on Bill 101, Quebec’s original language charter, but with stricter rules. Under Bill 96, businesses with 25 or more employees must operate mainly in French. Public documents, municipal communications, and signs must prioritize French, limiting the use of English. Government services in English will only be available to those who qualify as members of Quebec’s recognized English-speaking minority. 

Certain groups are exempt from Bill 96, such as historic Anglophones, so Quebec residents have the right to receive education in English. These are generally people who attended English schools in Canada or whose parents did. Exemptions also apply to Indigenous people. Immigrants can access services in English for up to six months after they arrive in Quebec. After these six months, they are expected to use French services. 

People who ask for English services must “attest in good faith” that they qualify as one of the three exceptions. 

When the Town of Gaspé shared that it would no longer provide public materials in English, the news rippled through the community, hitting close to home for many anglophones not only in the Town of Gaspé but also in other municipalities along the coast. For decades, English-speaking residents have balanced life in a bilingual region, relying on municipal updates, public notices, and services to stay informed and connected. 

For many, this issue isn’t just about language, it’s about feeling included, heard, valued and informed in a place they’ve called home for generations. When reached by SPEC, Jessica Synnott, Executive Director of Vision Gaspé-Percé Now, wanted to reassure the community that her organization is stepping up. “Vision Gaspé-Percé Now will work closely with the Town (of Gaspé) to ensure communications to the public are translated regularly. We are going to try to translate what we can and prioritize documents, and mainly publish them on our (Vision Gaspe-Perce Now) Facebook page and possibly distribute them during some activities,” explains Ms. Synnott. 

The Mayor of Gaspé, Daniel Côte, shared a message on his Facebook, thanking Vision Gaspé-Percé Now for stepping up to help, “Jessica offered to share municipal information, translated by their services, with our English-speaking citizens and organizations. I immediately accepted this helping hand from our partner organization. The Town of Gaspé has lost the right to communicate in English with its residents (except in specific cases) and cannot do so indirectly either… But an organization can, of its own accord, translate our public information! This will undoubtedly provide some relief to our English-speaking community, who deserve to be kept informed, as one of the three founding peoples of our town.” Mr. Côte wrote. 

Ms.Synnot tells SPEC that accessing important services and information in English was already a challenge, and now those challenges are growing. “One area of concern is navigating government services. The biggest impacts are with government services, RAMQ (Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec) being the one we are hearing the most frequently. Although there is service in English, it is extremely hard to navigate,” explains Ms. Synnott. 

Vision Gaspé-Percé Now is working to help anglophones affected, adding to initiatives they’ve worked on in the past, such as the “Mellow Yellow” initiative, launched in 2006 in partnership with the health system. “With this program, health workers who can serve users in English are identified with a yellow stripe on their name tag,” Ms. Synnott shared, “To navigate the current obstacles, Vision can offer individual support to community members to help them with accessing services in English.” 

The organization also collaborates with government agencies to advocate for English speakers. “Vision works closely with various levels of government, such as the Secretariat for Relations with English-speaking Quebecers, to identify obstacles for the English-speaking community and work towards solutions,” Ms. Synnott explained. 

Vision Gaspé-Percé Now remains committed to ensuring the anglophone community retains access to resources and opportunities. “We will continue working with our partners to support them in their offer to the English-speaking community as well as offering our own programs,” states Ms. Synnott. 

Bill 96 brings changes that affect anglophones, businesses, and community organizations in Quebec. To learn more about Bill 96, visit the Government of Quebec’s website

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‘It’s a language witch hunt!’

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By Joel Goldenberg
The Suburban

The latest of several protests against Quebec’s language law Bill 96 was held this past Sunday outside the Jewish General Hospital by Let’s Talk About Quebec and other groups, attracting nearly 100 people.

Numerous motorists drove by, honking their horns in support.

“We’re contesting the directives,” Marc Perez of Let’s Talk About Quebec told The Suburban. “This is the 10th rally we’ve organized. We want to continue the pressure that we have on the government, and we’ve been saying this for the last three years, that Bill 96 is completely wrong. It’s hurting the anglophone community and it’s so vague that no one knows how to apply it.”

Katherine Korakakis, a candidate for chair of the English Montreal School Board, told The Suburban, “having been one of the main organizers of the first Bill 96 protest in 2022, where we had thousands of people attend, it’s important that we continue to show our discontent to the government of Quebec and to show the ill-effects of this law, which was passed through closure.”

Long-time language activist Antoinette Mercurio of the Unity Group said that when she had to go the JGH in relation to her uterine cancer last year, a male triage nurse insisted on speaking to her in French.

“I’ve always come here, I’ve always been treated fairly… I said if you want to speak French, go work at Charles-Le Moyne Hospital, here it’s bilingual. When you’re sick, this is not when you want to go through!”

The JGH has responded that it can provide services in a language other than French when asked to by a user, and that any complaint should be directed to the ombudsman.

Cosimo La Rosa of the Red Coalition read a statement from organization head Joel DeBellefeuille. The organization recently filed a $1 million complaint with the Human Rights and Youth Rights Commission against Bill 96.

“We’re raising our voices against what has become one of the most divisive, discriminatory pieces of legislation in Quebec’s modern history,” La Rosa said.

DeBellefeuille’s statement says, “Bill 96 is not just about language, let’s not fool ourselves into thinking it’s merely a law to protect the French language. The reality is much darker and much more dangerous. Bill 96 uses a heavy handed power of Section 33 of the Charter, the infamous Notwithstanding clause, uses it to preemptively strike down fundamental rights.

“We’ve all heard the stories of businesses being fined or harassed because their sign wasn’t predominantly in French, or because an employee was overheard speaking in English. It’s a language witch hunt, plain and simple! And it’s tearing at the fabric of our society!” n

‘It’s a language witch hunt!’ Read More »

Heritage College says Bill 96 unfair to students

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By Trevor Greenway

editor@lowdownonline.com

Some Heritage College students will attend school on a weekend this year to prepare for Quebec’s French-language exit exam, a new requirement for those who don’t hold an English eligibility certificate. 

Heritage College’s academic dean Lisa Peldjak said the school is working on a mock exam for this October, where all non-certificate holders show up on a Saturday to measure themselves against the provincial standard in French. Those who struggle in the exam will have time to improve before the actual exam next spring. 

“This is going to be a real snapshot of what the French exit exam will look like,” said Peldjak. “They’re going to be here all day. It’s mandatory for the students to attend. And it’ll be worth grades. But they’re going to grade it like the French exit [exam] to give the students a taste of what the exam will be like.”

But Heritage’s director-general Terry Kharyati said he has no idea how many of these students will attend this mock exam in October, as the prospect of non-French speakers taking the same exit exam as their francophone counterparts has been a major deterrent for prospective students. 

“All students have the opportunity to feel welcome, first, and the accessibility to what is a great education,” said Kharyati. “But for some who’ve never taken French, it’s ominous. We see that already from students who are coming here from Ontario or who are from the Glebe High School [Ottawa]. If they come here, they’re considered non-anglo because they don’t have their English eligibility rights.”

“We’re recruiting students for basketball. We have students coming over from Ridgemont High School [in Ottawa],” added Kharyati. “But it’s getting more difficult to recruit from Ottawa schools.”

Part of the problem with the English eligibility certificates is that the Ministry of Education will only give them out to students who are currently enrolled in English high schools in Quebec. Those who have already graduated and request a certificate after they’ve graduated are being denied. Those who attend CEGEPs without the certificate will be required to write the province’s three-hour French exit exam, whereas those who hold the certificate will take an English exam.

The new CEGEP rules are part of the CAQ government’s implementation of Bill 96 – the province’s overhaul of the Charter of the French Language, which requires all non-English certificate holders to take the French exam. Bill 96 became Law 14 after it was passed in 2022, affecting how the charter applies to English CEGEPs in the province. Students who do hold English certificates will also have to take three additional French-language courses or three core courses in French, creating a two-tiered system for students. 

Peldjak explained that the college is using incoming high school grades in French, as well as a college assessment, to determine whether or not a student is placed in the advanced French stream. The advanced stream will allow students to take two French as a second language (FSL) courses, two complementary courses in French and one program-specific course in French. Non-advanced stream students will take a total of five FSL courses within their two years at the college. 

“Depending on the student and their level of French, they’re not all coming in being treated fairly or equally,” she said. 

Peldjak noted that students who are required to take the five FSL courses don’t have the option of taking complementary courses, which give them a “highlight into other interests that they might have.” These students, according to Peldjak, miss out on the entirety of other courses the college has to offer. 

The college won’t know how much of a deterrent these new rules will be on the student population until final enrollment numbers are reported in mid-September.

Heritage College says Bill 96 unfair to students Read More »

New provisions of Bill 96 demands more French on signs

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By Joel Goldenberg
The Suburban

The Quebec government has announced that new sign law provisions of Bill 96 will take effect next June 1, and it focuses on the size and prominence of French on outdoor commercial signs, including in relation to store names trademarked only in English.

On the other hand, the aspect of Bill 96 requiring more French content on engraved markings on appliances has been delayed.

“In Quebec, when Quebecers and tourists stroll through the streets, it must be clear, Quebec is a French-speaking nation,” French language minister Jean-Francois Roberge said last week.

The legislation says French on signs must have a greater impact “in the visual field” than English, and take up two-thirds of the space on the sign.

More specifically, the law says, “where texts both in French and in another language appear on the same sign or poster, the text in French is deemed to have a much greater visual impact if the following conditions are met —the space allotted to the text in French is at least twice as large as the space allotted to the text in the other language; the characters used in the text in French are at least twice as large as those used in the text in the other language; and “the other characteristics of the sign or poster do not have the effect of reducing the visual impact of the text in French.”

The new regulations also tighten up the pre-Bill 96 requirement that a French descriptor accompany a trademark that is only registered in English, such as Best Buy, Winners and Subway, amongst many others. The Quebec government has complained that not all businesses with English trademarked names are respecting the existing regulations. Bill 96 is now requiring that the French aspects of these signs have a greater visual impact, rather than just a “sufficient presence” under the current rules.

Currently, many descriptors, such as “Électroniques” for Best Buy” and “Mode” for Winners, are less prominent than the English-language business name. For instance, the Best Buy descriptor is smaller in font size and is white, while the Best Buy logo is more prominent — not only larger in size but in more visible colours, yellow and black. The “Mode” descriptor is much smaller than the trademark name “Winners” and is below the store name.

Now, the French presence on such signs has to be twice that of the English. A graphic provided by the Quebec government provides two ways the law applies — one is that the descriptor of the store, such as “clothing”, is twice as large as the store name; and the other is that there is more French content, not only a general descriptor, but further descriptions of what the store sells, such as “shoes” and “fashion for everyone.” These do not have to be larger than the English-trademarked name.

Michel Rochette of the Retail Council of Canada has contended that the sign changes will cost businesses between $20 million and $25 million to comply with the law 11 months from now, as opposed to the Quebec government’s estimate of $7 million to $15 million.The Retail Council had called for the law to take effect three years after its publication, as originally promised, and the organization is also calling for financial aid for its members. n

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Court limits on Bill 96 a “significant win” for EMSB

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By Joel Ceausu
The Suburban

The Quebec Superior Court has provided a partial stay of provisions of Bill 96 and the Charter of the French Language following the EMSB’s challenge to the application of amendments brought into force in June 2023, without any consultation of the English-language community.

EMSB Chair Joe Ortona called the ruling a “significant win,” noting that the Superior Court stayed parts of the law that would require English school boards to communicate exclusively in French when corresponding with key institutions of the English-speaking community, such as the Quebec English School Boards Association. Many critics and even some proponents of a more robust French-language charter found it unreasonable that English educational bodies were forced to communicate with other English educational bodies in French.

While Ortona reiterated the board’s commitment to teaching French, so students “can live and work in Quebec, it is important to emphasize that we are an English-language school board and a key institution of the English-speaking community.”

In the ruling, the court concluded that the term “school service centres” in legislation applies to English-language school boards, despite the fact that Bill 40 does not apply to English-language school boards, which are also not school service centres. The EMSB’s council of commissioners will decide whether to appeal this part of the ruling.

This ruling also benefits other English language boards and the Quebec English School Boards Association.

As for Bill 96 provisions that were not stayed by the Court, the status quo will generally be maintained until there is a final judgment on the law’s constitutionality, Ortona adding that the EMSB can continue to use English exclusively in many situations, “which is good news.” The board challenged the constitutionality of some provisions the day Bill 96 gained assent. The EMSB’s constitutional challenge has been joined with court challenges of other parties and is progressing through the court system and expected to be a lengthy process, he noted. “The EMSB applied for a stay to avoid suffering irreparable harm while the EMSB waits for a final decision on the constitutional challenge.” n

Court limits on Bill 96 a “significant win” for EMSB Read More »

The reality of learning French in six months: In the aftermath of Bill 96, how are people coping to meet Quebec’s tight deadline?

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Graphic Myriam Ouazzani

Leora Schertzer
Local Journalism Initiative

As a pastry cook in the Mile-End, French is part of Louisa Sollohub’s daily life. Her neighbours and coworkers are francophone, and her vocabulary including “derrière” and “chaud” has helped her get by at the restaurant.

However, working in kitchens is not Sollohub’s end goal.

Back-of-house jobs are coveted by Montreal anglophones and allophones who can’t find other work, and Sollohub is among them. She feels her current intermediate level of French is not enough to pursue her ambitions in the film industry or marketing, let alone to obtain permanent residency.  

Sollohub lives in Montreal as an American on a post-graduation work permit with hopes to immigrate to Canada. 

To improve her French, she took publicly funded French classes through Francisation Québec last winter. 

For four months she juggled two day jobs while taking French night school, but was overwhelmed by the amount of work it became. 

To support non-francophones, the Quebec government offers free French language classes through the Ministère de francisation et de l’immigration (MIFI). These French classes are full-time, running Monday through Friday for 25 to 30 hours over a ten-week session. Students can receive up to $230 per week for taking the classes under the condition that they maintain perfect attendance.

“I got burned out after maybe two sessions [of French classes],” said Sollohub. She asked the school to take a break from the classes with the intention of returning after around a month, and they promised to save her spot. However, when she tried to return to the class less than one month later, Sollohub discovered it was not possible.

Quebec implemented Bill 96 in June 2022, placing strict measures on the use of English as well as implementing changes to their public French education program. Enrollment at the public French schools is now controlled by the provincial government through a centralized online portal, Francisation Québec, and out of the hands of the individual schools. In the past, admissions were managed by each French language school. 

With the new enrollment process, Sollohub had lost her spot in the class and was put on a centralized waitlist. She was told by the MIFI that the average wait time to get a spot in the classes was three months. Being put on the waitlist eats halfway through the six-month grace period immigrants now have to access government services in English. 

The pressure for immigrants to learn French in Quebec long predates the bill, but since Bill 96 was introduced 18 months ago, new arrivals to the province now have a deadline. After six months of living in Quebec, they cannot receive any government services—including healthcare, educational services, and housing and tax ministries— in English. At a hospital, for example, doctors and nurses are meant to refuse to speak English to their patient, unless the patient provides proof that they have lived in Quebec for under six months. 

For many non-French speaking immigrants, Quebec’s imposed six-month timeline to learn French is not realistic.

According to a 2018 Cambridge study, it takes about 500 hours of guided learning to achieve basic fluency in a language, equivalent to four or five months of full-time Francisation Quebec classes. However, for many immigrants, especially those supporting families, the $230 weekly income is not enough. Sollohub, and others working multiple jobs, say the full-time class schedule is not feasible alongside full-time work.

Maya Tanatwi, an international civil engineering student at Concordia from Qatar, was also told by the MIFI that she would have to wait three months to take French classes. Upon receiving the news, Tanatwi was somewhat relieved. She said she feels overwhelmed taking full-time French classes alongside her full-time Engineering studies. “I’m pushing it, but I think it’s hopefully doable.”

It does not seem like the waitlists will shorten anytime soon. Gabriel Bélanger, the media relations director at the MIFI, confirmed in an email that “there have been no changes to the funding arrangements for French-language learning services for school service centers and school boards in 2023-2024.” He wrote that 41,438 people took Francisation Québec courses from April 1 to Sept. 30 in 2023. Bélanger did not comment on the length of the waitlist.

Stewart, who did not wish to provide his last name for privacy reasons, is the academic coordinator with the Excellence through Quality Improvement Project (E-QIP), a private language school in downtown Montreal. He said he has noticed the stress of his students rise over the last 18 months. 

“Some of the [immigrant students] are with families. Some of them have made quite large sacrifices to come,” he said. “It takes a lot of time and energy to move to another country and take up a position. And then they’re kind of threatened with the prospect of not being able to stay.”

Stewart said that in the past, what drove his students to take French classes was self-motivation. Now he believes, “it’s more of a push, not a pull.”

The high workload and new immigration rules are not the only stressors of learning French amid Bill 96. The bill has also come with a set of bureaucratic barriers.

For Sollohub, the enrollment process for the classes has been “unnecessarily difficult.” She noted that the website has been hard to navigate because ”it’s all in French,” and she still doesn’t know French well enough to understand “specific government details.”

Tantawi has struggled with this same issue. “Every type of communication you want to have with the [MIFI], it’s all in French,” she said. “So if you don’t understand French, it’s almost impossible for you to know what they’re saying.”

Sollohub additionally faced issues with submitting her paperwork required to enrol. She received a confirmation email when she signed up for the classes online but didn’t hear back for several months. 

According to Solluhub, the process to enrol is “supposed to take a long time, so I thought it was normal.” At the three-month mark she called the MIFI. She was told her documents weren’t accepted because they were submitted virtually rather than through the mail. “It was very not clear that you’re supposed to do it through the mail because they had an option to submit it virtually,” Sollohub said. 

Sollohub now has to wait another three months to take the classes.

Bélanger from the MIFI wrote in an email that the new Francisation Québec system “makes it possible to consolidate requests in a single location,” which in turn will “enable better course planning.”

If someone can’t get into the public French courses, it is likely they will have to turn to private lessons, which might not be a feasible option for everybody. The private group classes at the language school E-QIP cost $60 to $75 per person for one 45-minute lesson. For Tantawi, the zero dollar price tag for the Francisation Québec course made it the clear option. She believes, to achieve fluency by taking the private lessons, one ends up paying half of their income. “I wasn’t willing to pay that,” Tantawi said.

The types of students E-QIP attracts has changed, according to Stewart. Since Bill 96, E-QIP has drawn in many business executives and professionals from private companies. Stewart said the students “need to meet the French requirements [to immigrate] and the resources available to them for free are not enough. It won’t get them over the hump in the amount of time they need [to pass the French test for permanent residency].” 

Stewart said they receive many students at E-QIP who are dissatisfied with the public system. He said it is challenging to learn a language with more than eight people in a room, “because you’re just not getting the attention you need.”

With regard to the new language laws, Tantawi said she will leave Quebec if “that’s how they feel about us.”

“If I’m going to get paid almost the same thing in other places, why would I stay here?” 

Despite the barriers with the French language, Tantawi has appreciated the quality of education she has received at Concordia. “We get very good education,” and “we are treated fairly in Canada education-wise.”

For Sollohub, Montreal is home. 

“I have so much motivation to take classes and learn French,” said Sollohub. “I want to have a job where I’m speaking French and be part of [Montreal’s] culture.”

The reality of learning French in six months: In the aftermath of Bill 96, how are people coping to meet Quebec’s tight deadline? Read More »

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