By Michael Boriero
Quebec’s latest attempt to bolster French language laws in the province has caused an uproar in English-speaking circles, as it is seen as another attempt to suppress English language minority rights and services.
“I looked at the bill and it was like receiving a punch in the stomach,” said Townshippers’ Association President Gerald Cutting. “It really struck right at the very core of so much of what we’ve been struggling with as an English community.”
Bill 96, or “an act respecting French, the official and common language of Quebec,” proposes several changes to the Charter of the French Language. It gives more powers to the Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF), the province’s language watchdog.
It proposes alterations to the Canadian Constitution, citing that Quebecers form a nation and making French the only official language in Quebec. It also proposes installing an enrolment cap at English-language cegeps to curtail a dip in numbers at French cegeps.
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