Well, the long awaited update to Quebec’s language charter is here, after being one of the key election planks that the governing CAQ party used to ride to a comfortable majority in 2018. The mammoth piece of legislation (100 pages and 201 articles) was introduced Thursday and is sure to . . .

spark some fireworks when it is debated in the National Assembly in the coming months. Premier François Legault has indicated that he wants to have it finalized by Christmas, and has the majority mandate to push it through on his terms.

While it’s not as bad as some have feared, there’s still a lot to be concerned about.

First off, the silver lining. One aspect of the new legislation, dubbed Bill 96, would mandate free French language classes for any who want them. This addition seems like it was cribbed from Liberal MNA Gregory Kelley, who tabled a similar piece of legislation back in December 2019.

However it ended up in this latest bill, it’s a welcome addition. It should be obvious that to promote and increase the use of French in the province, easy access to language lessons would be a logical place to start. There have been initiatives offering such courses in this region, though they were done through a patchwork of community groups and grant funding. They were incredibly popular, with waiting lists to get a seat. Bilingualism is a valuable asset, whether you’re looking to advance your career, moving to a more Francophone part of the province or just want to impress a special someone. This move by the CAQ might be seen as an olive branch to the English Quebecers, used to smooth over some of the more contentious parts of Bill 96, but it’s undeniably a positive.

Now on to the not so great parts.

Stricter enforcement of regulations on business signage is sure to cause headaches, and will likely re-open some old wounds caused by earlier clashes this community had with Quebec City’s language hall monitors (however, companies will have three years to comply with the law). There are other regulations mandating medium sized businesses communicate with the government exclusively in French, and possible penalties for those that don’t comply or are unable to serve customers in French.

These punitive measures aren’t going to be taken lightly in an environment where plenty of business owners are hurting from numerous shutdowns and restrictions. The timing of it almost feels spiteful, like they’re stepping on the fingers of people who are barely holding on.

Also, the CAQ plan to add two clauses to the Canadian Constitution Act to enshrine that “Quebecers form a nation” and “French shall be the only official language of Quebec. It is also the common language of the Quebec nation.”

It’s not entirely clear that they are even able to take this action unilaterally but it’s sure to make any upcoming federal election an interesting one, since many parties are doing their best to court this province’s voters.

Bill 96 also seeks to re-define which municipalities qualify as bilingual, as some have slipped below the 50 per cent English-speaking threshold since the law was last updated. The only jurisdiction this would effect in this area is the Municipality of Pontiac, and council will have the opportunity to pass their own legislation preserving their status, which allows them to send official communications such as tax bills in both English and French. Putting this change in during an election year is sure to cause fiery debate in some regions, but probably not ours. Any savvy would-be politician in the MoP should be in favour of keeping things as they were, if they wish to avoid getting crucified by the electorate.

Taken as a whole, there are positive aspects to Bill 96, and the few instances of restraint shown by the provincial authorities in some areas are encouraging. Hardliners such as Parti Quebecois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon or the Journal de Montreal’s Mathieu Bock-Côté have screeched that the CAQ did not go far enough with this latest legislation.

However, for the province’s Anglo community, this is another instance of the stick being used more liberally than the carrot, just like many language tussles that have taken place in the past. Punishing life-long Quebecers for growing up in a community that has been predominantly English-speaking since European colonization isn’t defensible. Neither is the government’s willingness to use the notwithstanding clause at the drop of a hat to bypass the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. They’ve already used it (and their dominant majority in the legislature) to ram through Bill 21, a discriminatory law banning religious symbols in the public service, so it doesn’t come as a surprise but it’s disheartening nonetheless. In fact, the hard stance that Legault and his colleagues took on Bill 21 definitely endeared them to their voting base, so Pontiacers should expect more of the same with Bill 96.

“It could be worse” is a bitter consolation, but hey, in this environment you take what you can get.

Caleb Nickerson