An independent advocacy group came together to counter the proposed Quebec language law Bill 96. The group, called Task Force on Linguistic Policy highlight the discriminatory language used in the bill that was tabled by the Coalition Avenir Quebec (CAQ) Government of Quebec.

The Task Force is made up of a group of concerned community members who have come together to call for the complete repeal of the bill and for an independent legal analysis to be conducted.“We have no government funding, no corporate funding, we’re just a variety of concerned citizens independently lobbying against these bills,” said Colin Standish, Chair of the advocacy group. Other members include Andrew Caddell, Vice-Chair and local Western Quebecer Brian Rock, Secretary.

The group also opposes Bill C-32, a change to the Official Languages Act that would have Quebec’s language law apply to federal institutions in the province, which was tabled Federally in Canada’s Parliament by the Liberal Party of Canada (LPC).

The advocacy group officially launched in June of 2021 and currently has over 1500 members. They have an operating website and logo. Standish explained they are not a government-affiliated group. They have built up an organization from scratch in about six months, and their focus is around linguistic policies specifically focusing on Bill C-32 and 96 rather than other issues.

Their work centres around helping community members understand the law and how it can impact anglophones, he explained. The law, “could pervert and distort all our basic rights and freedoms and take away rights Anglophones have had for centuries.”

Even for a group of lawyers, and professors, Standish pointed out that the bill is a loaded document with a lot to unpack. “It is very difficult to understand even our group, we spend a lot of time and its sort of like an iceberg. You see the tip of it, but 90% of it is below water, and we don’t see what’s really there,” he said.

He pointed out that one of the major aspects he is trying to promote is understanding that being against Bill 96 is not being against protecting the French language. “I’m very much for promoting French in a constructive way without taking away the basic rights and freedoms of all to Quebecers in a punitive, penalizing, and xenophobic way,” he said.

“The bill takes away the rights of all Quebecers,” Standish emphasized.

To read more about what the task force is doing, visit their website at https://protectourrights.ca/bill-96-in-depth/.

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