Canada as we know it will soon cease to exist

MONTREAL—As you drive into the Quebec City region on the Trans-Canada Highway, there is a huge sign saying “Bienvenue à la Capitale Nationale” (Welcome to the National Capital). I always thought it was a pretentious sop to Quebec nationalists, or a deliberate ambiguity between the English meaning of the word “nation” (country) and the French (cultural group). But as of June 1, for all intents and purposes, Quebec will be a separate country, and Canada as we know it will cease to exist. Sadly, this state of affairs can be laid squarely on the doorstep of Justin Trudeau. I do not suggest this lightly, but without a constitution—the basic law—does a country exist? Let’s begin with Bill 96, the new Charter of the French Language, which became law on June 1, 2022. It strips all legal and political rights acquired by anglophones since Confederation. The English text of any law is now subordinated to the French version, contrary to Section 133 of the Constitution. Bill 96 allows illegal search and seizure of computers and cellphones, as it is protected by the notwithstanding clause. Similarly, any legal documents cannot be in English alone, destroying 156 years of legal protection. The law goes further in stating the “Parliament of Quebec must … enshrine the paramountcy (of French) in Québec’s legal order.” And then the kicker: the Canadian Constitution is modified to recognize “Quebecers form a nation,” and “French shall be the only official language of Quebec … (and is) the common language of the Quebec nation.” Coming June 1, only 600,000 “historic anglophones” (those educated in English in Canada) will have the right to service from Quebec in their language. Given there are 1.25 million Quebecers who speak English, this is absurd, and the community has risen up to challenge Bill 96 in court. It had to: Ottawa neither challenged it, nor disallowed it within the one-year time frame required by the Constitution. It also failed to challenge Quebec’s Bill 4, giving the National Assembly the unique right to refuse to swear allegiance to the King. As regular readers know, I am no monarchist, but if you want to change the Constitution, you amend it according to the rules, otherwise you do not have a constitution. In Premier François Legault’s “Quebec Nation” that doesn’t matter. The Trudeau government is not only complicit in this gradual slide towards a separate Quebec, it is actively supporting it with its changes to the Official Languages Act, Bill C-13. While Canada recognized the rights to the use of English and French from Confederation to Pierre Trudeau’s push for bilingualism, through to the 1982 Charter of Rights and Freedoms, with one fell swoop, all of that will be lost. Bill C-13 has integrated Bill 96, thanks to Bloc Québécois and Conservative MPs who made the bill worse in committee, and who don’t give a damn about the concerns of Anglo-Quebecers, or the future of Canada. In doing so, the rampant discrimination of Bill 96 and its use of the notwithstanding clause to suppress fundamental rights has been endorsed by Parliament. This is unprecedented and dangerous. While Bill C-13 supports the growth of francophone communities outside Quebec, it provides incentives to francophones not given to Anglo-Quebecers. Last week, in a cynical ploy, the Trudeau government offered hundreds of millions of dollars in grants to gain anglophone support of Bill C-13, while simultaneously undermining their community. Although Quebec nationalists often insult anglophones as “Westmount Rhodesians,” the reality is very different. The vast majority of us speak French, but those who don’t are often Black, Indigenous, elderly, rural poor, and those with physical challenges. Bill C-13 and Bill 96 will openly discriminate against them. There are Quebec MPs who plan to vote against this egregious legislation, and they should be applauded for their courage. But other Liberal, Conservative, and NDP MPs pandering to Quebec will join with the separatist Bloc in a moment of ignominy. Pierre Trudeau should be spinning in his grave. Being a Member of Parliament brings with it extraordinary responsibility: each one took an oath to protect our Constitution and our laws. They have failed miserably to act in the interests of the country we love, and will now reap the whirlwind. Andrew Caddell is retired from Global Affairs Canada, where he was a senior policy adviser. He previously worked as an adviser to Liberal governments. He is a town councillor in Kamouraska, Que. He can be reached at pipson52@hotmail.com. The Hill Times

Canada as we know it will soon cease to exist

The Trudeau government is not only complicit in this gradual slide towards a separate Quebec: it is actively supporting it with its changes to the Official Languages Act, Bill C-13.

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Canada as we know it will soon cease to exist

The Trudeau government is not only complicit in this gradual slide towards a separate Quebec: it is actively supporting it with its changes to the Official Languages Act, Bill C-13.

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