Route links
- Quebec
- Local news
“There is an urgency to act,” he said, calling for more statistics on the use of French in all aspects of Quebec society, including the home.
Date Posted:
June 1, 2022 • 2 hours ago • 5 minutes reading • 90 comments French-speaking minister Simon Jolin-Barrette says Bill 96 offers Quebec the “tools it needs” to protect and promote French , including the new government ministry he now heads. Photo by Jacques Boissinot / The Canadian Press
Content of the article
QUEBEC – In the hot seat for comparing Quebec’s linguistic situation with Louisiana, Prime Minister François Legault said on Wednesday that he wants a more complete statistical picture of the use of French in all aspects of society.
Announcement 2
This ad has not yet been uploaded, but your article continues below.
Content of the article
“Everyone has to admit that there is a decline” in French, “Legault told reporters as he arrived for question period in the National Assembly. the most widely used language at work is in decline.
“We can’t deny that there is a decline in the place of French in Quebec. It’s a matter of time. If this decline continues, how many years will pass before French is not widely used?
Legault said statistics show that the number of people on the island of Montreal who use French in the workplace has risen from 59.5% to 56.8%. He said this is one of the reasons why his government of the Avenir Québec Coalition passed Bill 96 to strengthen the French Language Charter.
Announcement 3
This ad has not yet been uploaded, but your article continues below.
Content of the article
“There is an urgency to act,” the prime minister said.
Legault, meanwhile, is challenging the federal government to cede more powers over immigration to Quebec. Specifically, he wants the province to have control of the family unification category.
At his party’s political convention over the weekend, Legault said immigration would be a key issue in the fall general election and that gaining more power is a matter of survival for the nation of Quebec.
“If we continue with a system where Ottawa chooses these immigrants and only half speak French, in a matter of time we could become Louisiana,” he told the convention.
At the same time, his government has been trying to alleviate the English-speaking community’s fears about Bill 96. It ran a full-page ad in the Montreal Gazette on Tuesday entitled “Bill 96: the facts.” and stating “various falsehoods have been committed.” circulated ”.
Announcement 4
This ad has not yet been uploaded, but your article continues below.
Content of the article
Experts and critics have complained that the ad does not address the concerns of the English-speaking community.
But Legault tweeted again on Wednesday a comment made by a citizen who complained about the newspaper’s newspaper coverage: “Having to pay for full-page ads in a newspaper to respond to the newspaper’s misinformation,” he said. tweet.
Having to pay for whole pages of a newspaper to respond to the misinformation that this same newspaper does. pic.twitter.com/WZOdIFbi0z
– Jean-François Martin (@ JF_Martin007) May 31, 2022
Announcement 5
This ad has not yet been uploaded, but your article continues below.
Content of the article
All this comes when Legault is accused by the opposition of inventing a crisis over immigration for political reasons while Quebec faces elections.
Liberal MP Saul Polo, who was born in Santa Marta, Colombia, and moved to Quebec 30 years ago, told the legislature on Tuesday that he “refused to accept the label that immigration is a threat to immigration.” nation of Quebec “.
He said it was not the government’s choice to speak Spanish at home and French outside the home. Polo was especially irritated to hear Legault tell the legislature on Tuesday that his success in integrating Quebec society was an “anecdote” and the problem in general continues.
“Being treated like an anecdote by the Prime Minister hurt me deeply,” Polo told reporters. “Many Quebeckers and I have made every effort to integrate and become full citizens.”
Announcement 6
This ad has not yet been uploaded, but your article continues below.
Content of the article
Legault on Wednesday also picked up heat from the opposition by promising Tuesday to cut more checks for Quebecers to deal with inflation if re-elected in October.
But while Legault showed no signs of abandoning the language issue, he did try to explain why he put this issue at the forefront and center of others.
“The data we have, the language spoken at home and the language of work, are important,” he said. “I would like to add another statistic. So I asked (French-speaking minister) Simon Jolin-Barrette and his team for data on the language used in the public sector.
“What we’re saying is that we want French to be the common language. Well, we have to look at what language is at home, what language is at work, what language is in the public sector. They go together.
Announcement 7
This ad has not yet been uploaded, but your article continues below.
Content of the article
“If no one speaks French at home, that means the French will end up disappearing.”
Legault was irritated when a Gazette journalist pressured him to expand on the subject of languages spoken at home.
“Do you agree with me that if in 50 years no one speaks French at home, the future of French would not be good? Do you agree with that? So you have your answer. “
But moments later, D’Arcy-McGee Liberal MP David Birnbaum reported that he had heard Legault comment on West Islanders during question period in the legislature.
“Shameful,” Birnbaum tweeted. “Now François Legault, out of the microphone but audible and twice, said,” C’est le West Island qui s’erver! That was his outrageous response to our question period speech about his attacks on Quebecers whose mother tongue is not French. “
Announcement 8
This ad has not yet been uploaded, but your article continues below.
Content of the article
SHAME! Right now, François Legault, out of the microphone but audible, and twice, was saying, “C’est le West Island qui s’erverve!”. This was his outrageous response to our question period speech about his recorded attacks on Quebeckers whose mother tongue is not French.
– David Birnbaum (@ DavidBirnbaum1) June 1, 2022
Announcement 9
This ad has not yet been uploaded, but your article continues below.
Content of the article
Legault grew up in the west of the island, in Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue.
This earned Legault a strong rebuke from the English-speaking community group, the Quebec Community Group Network, which responded with its own tweet.
“Prime Minister François Legault, officially the minister responsible for relations with English-speaking Quebecers, is showing an incredible disrespect for his constituency,” the tweet said.
Announcements 10
This ad has not yet been uploaded, but your article continues below.
Content of the article
Legault made the comments on the day Bill 96 became law.
In a brief signing ceremony early Wednesday, the lieutenant governor. J. Michel Doyon signed the bill after it was passed last week in the National Assembly. It is the largest revision of the French language charter in 45 years.
Jolin-Barrette also obtained a new title: Minister of the French Language. He was previously known as the Minister responsible for the French language. He now has a full ministry to enforce the new law.
Jolin-Barrette said Bill 96 will give Quebec the “tools it needs” to protect and promote French.
He said some measures would take effect immediately, such as the creation of the French Ministry of Language. Other measures, such as those applied to commercial signs and small business franchising requirements, will be implemented within three years.
Announcement 11
This ad has not yet been uploaded, but your article continues below.
Content of the article
The enrollment ceiling for CEGEPs in English will start next year, but the requirement to take additional French courses will take effect in two years.
Next year, Jolin-Barrette will present a new government language policy.
“Some parts of the bill are being implemented today, others in three years’ time,” he told reporters. “There’s time to do things right and we’re giving people time to adjust.”
pauthier@postmedia.com
twitter.com/philipauthier
-
Experts and advocacy groups announce CAQ Bill 96 in the Montreal Gazette
-
Quebec’s use of non-harmful clause in Bill 96 opens constitutional debate
Share this article on your social network
Announcement 1
This ad has not yet been uploaded, but your article continues below.
Sign up to receive daily news from the headlines of the Montreal Gazette, a division of Postmedia Network Inc.
By clicking the sign up button, you agree to receive the previous Postmedia Network Inc. newsletter. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails. Postmedia Network Inc. | 365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4 | 416-383-2300
Thanks for signing up!
A welcome email is on its way. If you don’t see it, check your junk folder.
The next issue of the Montreal Gazette Headline News will soon be in your inbox.
We encountered a problem registering you. Please try again
Comments
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil discussion forum and encouraging all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments may be …