The potential problems with the application of the new Quebec government law to protect the French language, commonly known as Bill 96, become apparent when imagining the simplest scenario.
Suppose your recycle bin is broken and you want to get a new one.
If you live in Montreal, call 311.
But if you want to speak English with the operator, things get complicated.
Bill 96 will address many aspects of people’s daily interactions with the public service and government institutions, from getting a new recycling bin to applying for parental leave. (Martin Thibault / Radio-Canada)
Under the new law, almost all government services (except health care) must be provided in French.
There are two categories of people who will still be eligible to receive the service in English or other languages: so-called “historical” English speakers (English-speaking people) and immigrants who have been in Quebec for less than six months.
The city of Montreal has wondered what its 311 operators should do when asked about a new recycling bin, or anything else, in English.
“How are you supposed to know who is entitled to receive services in English when you call 311? How can the person answering the phone call verify how we can enforce the law?” Dominique Ollivier, head of the Montreal executive committee, said in an interview with CBC.
Ollivier said the city fully endorses the spirit of the new law, but is awaiting answers on its implementation.
The bill will be approved today in the National Assembly.
Ollivier said so far, the province has not offered any guidance on how to enforce it.
Many organizations have concerns
Not only the city of Montreal wonders.
“Will they issue a government identity card to people who certify that you have the right to service in English? I have no idea how this will work,” said Eric Maldoff, president of the Coalition for Quality Health and Services. Social and a longtime advocate of English-speaking rights, he said in an interview with CBC.
Eric Maldoff, a longtime advocate of English-language rights, says “everyone is scratching their heads” about how Act 96 will be enforced. (CBC)
“Maybe they’re contemplating that people will be questioned on arrival, and then the bureaucrat will decide if they want to serve in another language,” Maldoff said.
Several other organizations raised questions and concerns about how the law would be applied during committee hearings in the National Assembly in January.
“Everyone is scratching their heads about it. And it’s a serious risk to the people who run or work in these institutions,” Maldoff said.
In a written presentation to the committee, the Quebec Union of Municipalities said enforcing the new law would raise “several issues” for its members, “particularly when the health and safety of the population is at stake.”
“Municipalities should therefore have some flexibility in determining the situations in which they can communicate in a language other than French and which take into account the demographic profile of their population,” the union said.
Law 96 sparked protests like this in downtown Montreal in May. (Graham Hughes / The Canadian Press)
The Quebec Human Rights Commission also noted in its presentation that determining who is a historical English speaker or how long a new immigrant has been in Quebec will pose “obvious practical difficulties” in enforcing the law.
The Refugee and Immigrant Organizations Roundtable, which represents more than 150 groups in Quebec, noted in its written submission that the lack of precision in legislation could pose particular problems for immigrants.
“Nowhere does the law mention the definition of ‘immigrant,'” the group said.
The roundtable said it is unclear whether the six-month limitation on receiving government services in a language other than French applies only to permanent residents, or also to temporary foreign workers, and people with disabilities. precarious or non-existent immigration that may already have very limited access to government services.
Law 96 is a comprehensive law that covers almost all government departments, municipalities, and Crown corporations.
So this will come in handy: when people get a new driver’s license, ask questions about their water bill, apply for parental leave benefits, talk to their child’s teacher, what employees are supposed to do. government in all these situations if they “ask you to speak English?
Details are still being worked out
The short answer is that the province does not yet know how the law will be enforced.
Élisabeth Gosselin-Bienvenue, a spokeswoman for the French-speaking minister, Simon Jolin-Barrette, told CBC in an email that Bill 96 will not begin to apply for another year.
Over the next six months, the province will set up a new French-language ministry, and the ministry will draw up a provincial language policy for the entire civil service and all municipalities and government organizations.
These organizations will then have three months to present their own plans to implement the policy in the ministry.
The ministry will then have three months to review, revise and approve these plans.
Finally, around June 1 next year, the law will begin to apply.
Confusion or misinformation?
But the lack of accurate information is now causing problems for the government.
After some high-profile national and international news coverage of the new law last week, Jolin-Barrette suggested that “misinformation” was circulating about the law.
Quebec Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette answered reporters’ questions about Bill 96 when he arrived at the Coalition Avenir Québec convention last Sunday. (Jacques Boissinot / The Canadian Press)
This prompted the government to publish full-page advertisements in English newspapers yesterday and in French newspapers today in an attempt to clear up misconceptions about the law.
But Eric Maldoff believes the government has been deliberately vague about exactly how the law will work.
“I think the way the government expects this law to be enforced is to create enough confusion and enough discretion in the hands of the language police so that people are not sure what they can do,” Maldoff said.
“Therefore, they will refrain from serving in another language to avoid having problems,” he said.
Maldoff noted that under the new law, anyone can file a complaint with the Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF) if they believe a service has been rendered incorrectly in a language other than French.
“You’ll have people working on the system who are of good will, and they’ll look over their shoulder if anyone has heard them speak English, Greek or Italian or whatever,” Maldoff said. .
“All of this will lead to a lot of uncertainty in the minds of people who want to offer the services they are supposed to do: a lot of nervousness, hesitation, hesitation,” Maldoff said.
Jolin-Barrette spokeswoman Élisabeth Gosselin-Bienvenue said this was not true.
“Clear guidelines will be established based on the realities and services offered by the different departments,” he said.