Bonne fête nationale du Québec! Aujourd'hui (today) is St. Jean the Bapiste Day, the national holiday of Quebec.
The Quebec election won't be until October 3. We have some idea of where the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) is approaching the upcoming election. The fact that the singular English language debate has already been cancelled is a tell-tale sign.
Bill 96 is from those who think the infamous Bill 101 is too lenient. The idea of the bill is that services are in French and only French with grand exceptions: "historic" anglophones and immigrants in Quebec fewer than 6 months.
The bill greatly affects health care services as well as limiting English CEGEP (junior college) enrollment and taking more French CEGEP classes.
The argument that immigrants have to learn French in 6 months was something along the idea of "some wanted it to be a year, some wanted it to be no time at all."
What a way to make government policy.
"#Bill96 ignores the struggles that come with getting established in a new country... Rushing vulnerable people into French classes for the sake of meeting some arbitrary deadline is not only unhelpful and unrealistic, it’s inhumane." #qcpoli #AssNathttps://t.co/vahtgILfgm
— @QCGNJustice (@qcgnjustice) June 16, 2022
The government argues that French is in trouble (French is always in trouble) and that if you hate Bill 96, you hate the French language.
There is a lot of confusion even from people who like the bill. How do you know who is "historic" among anglophones? Is the 6-month limit the same for permanent residents, temporary foreign workers, and those without status? The Roxham Road refugees: does the clock start once they cross the road into Quebec?
Bill 96 doesn't make any exceptions for Indigenous populations, where learning French isn't as easy as it might seem for a number of reasons.
Many anglophones outside of Quebec hate the dominance of French language in Quebec and/or are completely ignorant. New Brunswick, the only bilingual province, doesn't have these bills. Canada is filled with francophone communities surrounded by anglophones.
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Looking at Bill 21 in Quebec during a pandemic
Manitoba offers respite for those suffering under Bill 21 in Quebec
Like Bill 21, this is a battle of Montréal versus the rest of Quebec. The idea is to appeal to the rural areas that account for very little English and few immigrants over the more sophisticated Montréal area.
Like Bill 21, Bill 96 was passed with the notwithstanding clause, essentially removing individual rights.
This push got them into office as the government in 2018 and might get them re-elected.
Quebec objectively needs people to live in the province. The CAQ approach wants immigrants if they speak French.
Ontario-Quebec border will close on Monday
We believe in the strength of French in Canada throughout Canada. Canadian history is filled with moments where the struggle was for French speakers in other parts of Canada, such as Manitoba.
We disagree on Bill 21 and Bill 96 not because they claim to be about French in Quebec but because they are about tearing apart people instead of bringing people together.
Even though Bill 96 is law, the CAQ government has said the law won't be applied for another year. So they can brag about the law being passed during the election, get past the election, and only deal with the consequences after the election. Doug Ford might be a little jealous if he understood French.
Tech companies don't like Bill 96 for very good reasons. The idea of the bill will be enough to chase away talent who can easily live in Ontario.
Might be a winning strategy politically but lives are being harmed by Bill 21 and little has been written about this in English or in French.
2022 Canadian politics preview
CanadianCrossing.com Quebec coverage
For those who want to do more research, we have links on Bill 96 enforcement from CBC News and Canadaland.
Quebecois films to watch on Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day 2020
So this isn't all about politics, the pipeline to new Quebecois films in the States has gone rather dry during the COVID-19 pandemic. There are wonderful Canadian films from Quebec to watch even if the above link is 2 years old. See Xavier Dolan's work if you aren't aware. The films of Denys Arcand, Anne Emond, Ricardo Trogi, and many more are worth a look.
We will review Les Oiseaux ivres | Drunken Birds for next week.
photo credit: CBC News
Twitter capture: @qcgnjustice
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