Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the federal government is “closely” monitoring how Quebec’s Bill 96 is being implemented in the province and respects the freedom of members of parliament to protest against it.
Addressing the House of Commons on Wednesday, Trudeau said in French that the Liberal Party would always protect minorities across the country, whether Francophone language minorities outside Quebec or Anglophone language minorities in the province.
His comments came after members of the Quebec Bloc said it was “unacceptable” for a “large contingent” of Liberal MPs to go to Montreal over the weekend to demonstrate against Bill 96.
“As a provocation in Quebec’s jurisdiction, we can’t imagine anything worse than that,” said Quebec bloc chamber leader Alain Terien on Monday. “Don’t get involved in this.”
Anthony Housebatter of Mount Royal, Vaudreuil – Peter Schifke of Sulange, Saint Leonard – Patricia Latanzio of Saint Michel, Annie Kutrakis of Vimi, Emanuela Lambropoulos of Saint Laurent, Lac-Saint-Louis, Emanuela Lambro Francis Scariole Duri-La-Louis-Franjo-La-Louis-Louis-Franjo Samir Zuberi of Dollard attended Saturday’s event.
“I was there to support my community and the electorate. “We are rightly concerned about a law that takes away the historical rights of English-speaking Quebecers and removes the bill from the scope of the Quebec Charter, and which uses the independence clause under the federal charter preventively and in an omnibus manner,” a statement from CTVNews said. .ca by Housefather.
The proposed legislation aims to confirm that the only official and common language of Quebec is French and to this end will make several amendments to the Charter of French or Bill 101. The main objective will be to ensure that French is used exclusively in the workplace and municipalities.
But many argue that this violates the rights of Anglophones and indigenous peoples and will hamper access to basic services, including health care.
Quebec Prime Minister Francois Lego has tried to deal with what he called “disinformation” that revolves around the bill on Tuesday.
I want to assure everyone who speaks English, even if their fathers went to English school or not … [providers] will not refuse to treat a patient in English if necessary, “he said.
“I want to be very clear, there is no change in the actual situation of the services provided to English speakers and immigrants in English in our healthcare system – that is clear.”
Legal experts say it’s not that simple and are skeptical of the bill’s excessive scope.
McGill Dean of Law, Robert Lekey, wrote on Twitter that while there is a provision allowing the civil administration to use another language in addition to French when “health, public safety or the principles of natural justice require it”, it is not read as a general exception.
“To me, this seems much more like a narrow exception on a case-by-case basis, perhaps with a high threshold,” he said. “Read along with the exceptions for public safety and natural justice, the exception for health can be interpreted narrowly – even limited to life and death situations.”
Several Liberal ministers were also asked about Bill 96 on Wednesday and their colleagues’ decision to attend Saturday’s protest.
“MPs have the right to represent whatever the views of their constituents are there,” said Canadian Heritage Minister and Lieutenant Colonel Pablo Rodriguez of Quebec in French.
He added that there is a general consensus that the French language is endangered throughout the country, but it is also reasonable to have questions about the proposed legislation.
Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne reiterated a similar view that there should be a substantial debate on the issue.
“There are elements of this law that I do not think are in line with the will of many Quebecers, and it will be up to the National Assembly to do the job,” he said in French.
With files from The Canadian Press and CTV News Montreal Selena Ross.
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