Bill 96: Protecting the French language

All apologies to those who glaze over when discussion arises about language or “Distinct Society”, with flashes of Meech Lake and Charlottetown. With Quebec’s Bill-96, that could be where we’re headed.

Quebec provincial Bill-96 will firmly entrench the French language as the only official language of the province. Quebec Premier, Francois Legault, wants to open up the Constitution to recognize the Province as a nation. On the horizon, there may be a Minister of French language as well as a Commissioner of French to enforce the new language rules.

Bill-96 also comes with generous use of the “notwithstanding clause” to get what it wants. It brings up a number of questions… What about Quebec anglophones and their rights? As well, can a province open up the Constitution to make changes and do it without a debate?

Our Unpublished.vote question asks:

• Do you feel Quebec’s Bill 96 will violate the Constitution?
• Yes, No or Unsure?

You can log-on and vote starting Saturday, May 29th at http://unpublished.vote