Bloc on full offensive over Liberal challenges to Bill 96, as feds keep eye on implementation

The Bloc Québécois is accusing Liberal MPs of “encouraging the anglicization of Quebec,” in response to criticisms of Bill 96, the province’s language bill overhauling the Charter of the French Language. During Question Period on May 30, quoting previous comments made by Quebec Premier François Legault, Bloc Québécois House Leader Alain Therrien (La Prairie, Que.) said the Liberals’ opposition to not only Bill 96 but also to the province's secularism law, Bill 21, showed a “blatant lack of respect ... for Quebecers.” “The Liberals want to stop Quebec from protecting its secular, francophone society,” Therrien said. “They want to stop Quebec MNAs from doing what Quebecers want them to do.” Therrien accused the Liberals of “picking a fight,” calling the governing party's opposition to the two bills and its refusal of Quebec’s demands to manage its own immigration “a slap in the face to democracy in Quebec.” Legault made his original comment on May 25, after Justice Minister David Lametti (LaSalle-Émard-Verdun, Que) spoke to reporters criticizing the recently passed language law and detailing when the federal government could get involved in the legal challenge of the secularism law. "We will keep all options on the table," said Lametti on May 25, noting there "are ways to implement the bill that would safeguard the rights of Quebecers,” both federal rights under the Constitution and also provincially. "We won't eliminate the possibility of joining court challenges where we feel that it's necessary to protect the constitutional rights of Canadians," he said. Noting there are ways to implement Bill 96 without affecting federal jurisdiction, Lametti said he would remain “vigilant” to “protect the rights listed in the Constitution” and would continue to monitor the bill's implementation and federal impact, adding though that the government would “stay in lane.” “We will leave it to Quebecers to decide,” Lametti added, pointing to the concerns expressed by francophone, anglophone, and Indigenous residents in the province. Bill 96, the province’s controversial language bill overhauling the Charter of the French Language which passed in the National Assembly on May 24, limits the use of English in the courts and public services and imposes tougher language requirements on small businesses and municipalities. It also caps the number of students who can attend English-language CEGEPs and increases the number of French courses students at that level must take. Justice Minister David Lametti speaks to reporters in Montreal on May 25, saying the government would remain 'vigilant' in monitoring the implementation of Bill 96, and could potentially join court challenges against it. Screenshot courtesy of CPAC “As a minister, I have concerns ... will this affect access to justice?” Lametti said. “Under Article 133 of the Constitution, people in Quebec have the right to go to court in English or French.” As a citizen of the province, Lametti said he also has concerns about the language bill, pointing to the law's potential effects on immigrants—who will now have six months upon arrival before they must communicate with the province entirely in French—as well as access to health care, and Indigenous rights. Lametti was further critical of the Quebec government's pre-emptive use of the notwithstanding clause with Bill 96, protecting the bill from legal challenges based on the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms as it did with Bill 21. “I recall those debates when the Constitution came into force and the notwithstanding clause was meant to be the last word in an effective dialogue,” Lametti said, adding that its use as part of an omnibus bill cut off the possibility of political debate. “As was noted by the judgment in the Superior Court, in the Bill 21 case, it also cuts off judicial review,” Lametti continued. “Am I any less of a Quebecer because I oppose Bill 96?” Lametti told reporters on May 25, responding to Bloc criticisms that "real" Quebecers would support the bill. “No. The answer is clear. We are all Quebecers, and we all have an obligation to work together to try to protect the French language.” 'A Quebecer is a Quebecer': Rodriguez The Bloc Québécois has gone on the offensive over the federal government's and in particular Quebec Liberal MPs', criticisms of Bill 96, with Therrien calling the “large contingent” of Liberal MPs who took part in a May 14 protest against the bill in Montreal “unacceptable” in a scrum with media on the Hill on May 16. Eight Liberal MPs were present at the march, including: Anthony Housefather (Mount Royal, Que.); Peter Schiefke (Vaudreuil-Soulanges, Que.); Patricia Lattanzio (Saint-Léonard-Saint-Michel, Que.); Annie Koutrakis (Vimy, Que.); Emmanuella Lambropoulous (Saint-Laurent, Que.); Francis Scarpaleggia (Lac-Saint-Louis, Que.); Anju Dhillon (Dorval-Lachine-LaSalle, Que.); and Sameer Zuberi (Pierrefonds-Dollard, Que.). Asked about their participation, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (Papineau, Que.) said he respects their freedom to participate. "As a provocation in Quebec's jurisdiction, we can't imagine anything worse than that," Therrien said on May 16. “Don’t get involved in this.” Following Therrien during Question Period on May 30, Bloc MP Martin Champoux (Drummond, Que.) further attacked the federal Liberals' "actions when it comes to French," pointing to the government's recent call for a new CRTC chair, which stated that proficiency in both languages would be “preferable.” “It is not mandatory, simply preferred,” Champoux said. “The Liberals decided to make French optional for the person responsible for the regulation and future of Quebec television and the entirety of our telecommunications system.” “Do the Liberals realize their actions speak for themselves, and that those actions speak English?” Champoux quipped. Bloc MP Denis Trudel, pictured in the House of Commons during Question Period on May 30. Screenshot courtesy of ParlVu Adding to the Bloc offensive, MP Denis Trudel (Longueuil-Saint-Hubert, Que.) accused the Liberals of “encouraging the anglicization of Quebec,” and showing a lack of respect for the province’s democracy by considering challenging a bill "democratically passed by a majority of elected officials" which "responds to the clearly expressed will of Quebecers to better protect French." “The Quebec National Assembly had not even voted on Bill 96 before the prime minister suggested that he might challenge it in court,” Trudel added. The day after Bill 96 passed in the National Assembly, Housefather, alongside Lattanzio, Scarpaleggia, and fellow Quebec Liberal MP Marc Garneau (Notre-Dame-de-Grâce-Westmount, Que.) co-signed an op-ed in The Montreal Gazette arguing that Bill 96 had exposed “deep divisions” in Quebec society. “French is a minority language in North America and is constantly under threat from the widespread use of English internationally, both in commerce and in culture. But the threats to the French in Quebec are not posed by Quebec’s English-speaking minority community,” the op-ed reads. “We are very concerned that the bill removes certain fundamental rights for English-speaking Quebecers.” In the House on May 30, Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez (Honoré-Mercier, Que.) went further, accusing Bloc MPs of creating “deep divisions” in the province by turning the bill into an “identity debate.” Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez, pictured during a press conference on Feb. 2. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade “It is dangerous to get into an identity debate where the Bloc assumes the right to declare who is a true Quebecer and who is not,” Rodriguez explained. “As Parliamentarians, we must work together for unity and social cohesion. We can have different opinions, but we should never try to divide ourselves like that.” All 35 Quebec Liberal MPs were elected by the will of their constituents and are entitled to speak on the subject, said Rodriguez, adding that doing so "does not mean we are in favour of anglicization or against French." “It is not up to the Bloc Québécois to decide who is a real Quebecer and who is not,” Rodriguez added. “A Quebecer is a Quebecer is a Quebecer.” Bill C-13 a ‘complete disregard for Quebec laws’: Bloc In the House on May 30, Trudel also accused the Liberals of already working to dismantle Bill 96 through Bill C-13, the federal government's proposed reforms to the Official Languages Act. “Bill 96 imposes the Charter of the French Language on federally regulated businesses, but the Liberals are giving them a way out in their own Bill C-13,” said Trudel, arguing the bill “will allow these businesses to continue to work in English, with complete disregard for Quebec laws.” Tabled by Official Languages Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor (Moncton-Riverview-Dieppe, N.B.), the government has pitched Bill C-13 as a way to address the decline of French in Canada by improving the Official Languages Act. On May 30, the bill was adopted at second reading and referred to the Standing Committee on Official Languages. Official Languages Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor, pictured during a press conference in July 2019. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade In the last weeks of the previous Parliament, the Liberals had proposed a similar bill, C-32, introduced by then-official languages minister Mélanie Joly (Ahuntsic-Cartierville, Que.). It died on the Order Paper after the federal election was called in August 2021. In an email response to The Hill Times, Petitpas Taylor’s office defended the bill, saying the governments of Canada and Quebec share a common goal of protecting and promoting the French language in Quebec. “Bill C-13 is doing more to protect the French, but it is not being done at the expense of English-speaking Official Language minority communities,” Petitpas Taylor’s press secretary Marianne Blondin wrote. “Our government has heard the concerns of English-speaking communities in Quebec and we made it clear that both communities will have equal rights under the Act.” sbenson@hilltimes.com The Hill Times

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Bloc on full offensive over Liberal challenges to Bill 96, as feds keep eye on implementation

Bloc MP Denis Trudel recently accused the Liberals of already working to dismantle the controversial language law through the government's proposed reforms to the Official Languages Act.

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