“As per Bill 101… [if] your parents went to the English school, you have rights in Quebec and we respect those rights. If you’re a new migrant, we have to talk to them in French, that’s the difference.”

In the same story, Quebec Immigration Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette stated that the government would continue to provide its services in English to “historic Anglophones”, while newly arrived residents would only be assisted in French.

In 1977, the Party Quebecois established Bill 101, making French the official language for the provincial government, its court system and in business.

Pontiac MNA André Fortin said that, for he and the Quebec Liberal Party, the proposition is completely unconstitutional, stating that it goes against the rights of Quebecers.

“Whether they’re new Quebecers that are moving to the province from the rest of Canada, the government is proposing to make a list that would have access to services in English,” he said. “This goes beyond understanding.”

He added that such a law would be inapplicable and that he still doesn’t understand how the CAQ intends on carrying on with the proposition.

“Somebody would call Hydro [Quebec] to say ‘Hey, there’s an outage in my neighbourhood,’” he said. “Then, the receptionist would ask them, ‘Well, are you part of the historic Anglophone minority?’”

He stated that the Liberal Party has found no reason to support the proposition because they have much bigger priorities at hand, such as health care, education and transportation.

“This goes against any principle of good governance and government for the people,” he said. “This is government attacking minority rights, pure and simple.”

Still largely unclear as to what the CAQ plans to do specifically as it pertains to the matter, Fortin isn’t certain as to how it would affect the province’s population, namely residents of the Pontiac.

However, he stressed that those in power in Quebec City need to specify how the law would work and how they would define “historic Anglophones”.

“It simply doesn’t make sense and the government hasn’t detailed how they’ll go about this proposition,” he said. “So, we need to hear more from the government on this because the basic principle that we’ve heard is that if you’re not part of the so-called historic Anglophone minority you wouldn’t have access to services in English.”

“Nobody knows who is part of this Anglophone community, nobody knows what services they’re talking about,” he added.

THE EQUITY contacted the CAQ’s Parliamentary Assistant to the Premier for Relations with English-Speaking Quebecers Christopher Skeete for comment on the matter, but didn’t receive a response in time for print.

Register or subscribe to read this content

Thanks for stopping by! This article is available to readers who have created a free account or who subscribe to The Equity.

When you register for free with your email, you get access to a limited number of stories at no cost. Subscribers enjoy unlimited access to everything we publish—and directly support quality local journalism here in the Pontiac.

Register or Subscribe Today!