Leaders of dozens of Quebec-based technology companies warn Prime Minister François Legault that the province’s new language law, known as Bill 96, will make it difficult to recruit talent and threatens to do “enormous damage to the economy” of the province “.
Bill 96 was adopted last month and aims to strengthen Quebec’s language laws, with new and expanded rules for businesses, tougher sanctions for violations and limits on who can access certain government services in English.
Part of the law states that immigrants who have been in Quebec for six months or more will only be able to access most government services in French.
In a letter released Tuesday, more than 30 executives called on Legault and the province to delay the implementation of Bill 96 until better support in French, such as tutorials, is available for workers.
“We have team members who come from South America, who come from Europe. We need to give them more time and more support,” said Lloyd Segal, president and CEO of Repare Therapeutics, a biotechnology company. based in Montreal that develops cancer drugs. and one of the signatories of the letter.
“These phenomenal researchers who agree to come to Quebec, and all about coming to Quebec. They can go anywhere and we don’t want to miss them.”
Montreal’s Repare Therapeutics Laboratory is developing cancer drugs, but the company’s CEO worries that the province’s new language laws will make it harder to hire workers. (Alison Northcott / CBC)
Until now, some of the province’s French language requirements for companies only applied to companies with more than 50 employees. But according to Law 96, these rules will also apply to smaller companies with more than 25 people on staff.
Repare has more than 50 employees, so it has been subject to French requirements since it began operating in Quebec six years ago.
The problem now, Segal said, is that the new law could make his company less attractive for the talent it needs, and he noted that Repare is already competing with companies around the world in the face of a shortage of hands. work in the technology sector.
TARGET | The head of the Canadian Council of Innovators explains the calls to delay Bill 96:
Technology companies say Law 96 could hurt Quebec’s economy
The head of the Canadian Council of Innovators explains why dozens of Quebec technology companies have signed a letter asking the province to delay the implementation of its updated language law.
Benjamin Bergen is the chairman of the Council of Canadian Innovators, the organization behind the letter. He acknowledged the importance of protecting Quebec’s culture, but said the law was hastily prepared and would make it harder for domestic businesses to grow.
“You’re actually damaging your own culture and your own economy,” Bergen said.
“Duty to protect our common language”
Legault has said that strengthening the province’s language laws is a matter of survival when it comes to the French language in Quebec.
“We are proud to be a French-speaking nation in North America and it is our duty to protect our common language,” he said in May, when Act 96 was passed.
His coalition government Avenir Québec (CAQ) has said that the law will not apply for another yearas the province works to create a new French-language ministry to develop language policies for the public service, municipalities and government organizations.
There are several parts of the legislation that will affect businesses, and many companies are now seeking guidance on how to comply, said Brittany Carson, a Montreal-based labor and labor law partner at Lavery.
For example, companies with more than 25 employees will need to ensure that the use of French is widespread in the workplace, a requirement that previously only applied to larger companies with more than 50 employees.
Quebec Prime Minister François Legault, speaking in the Quebec legislature on Friday, has said Bill 96 is needed to protect the French language. (Jacques Boissinot / The Canadian Press)
The Office québécois de la langue française, or OQLF, which enforces the French language charter, will seek to ensure that communication with staff, training materials, policies and contracts is in French, Carson said.
“What does this mean for the person sitting in New York City, who manages employees here in Quebec? Obviously, the Charter will not force them to speak French,” he said.
“I think companies need to start thinking about making sure they are respecting the fundamental right of their Quebec employees to work in French.”
While asking many questions from clients, Carson said he has not heard of anyone considering leaving Quebec because of stricter rules, in part because many larger companies are already subject to French-language rules. the province for decades.
Montreal International, the city’s economic promotion agency, said it has received an influx of calls from investors about Bill 96, with questions and concerns about immigration and French requirements for employees.
But Stéphane Paquet, the agency’s president and CEO, said in a statement that he did not expect the debate over the new law to take away talent.
“Investors take into account multiple factors when evaluating their options for investing in a city, including the current economic climate and the existing ecosystem,” he said, adding that the procurement activities of the agency currently targeting mainly French-speaking talent groups.
For his part, Segal said he hopes the Quebec government will help companies comply and clarify uncertainty about how the law will be enforced and enforced. He has no plans to relocate his business outside of Quebec, but is concerned that other companies may be deterred from moving here.
“I have a deep concern as one of the builders of our biotech community here in Montreal that, without further ado, we are almost certain to lose new businesses that are being formed.”