What’s in Bill 96, Quebec’s new law to protect the French language | CBC News


Quebec is expected to pass Bill 96 next week, the government’s controversial proposed law to protect the French language in the province.

The bill would reform various pieces of Quebec legislation, including the Charter of the French Language, touching on everything from education and health to the rights of immigrants to be served in other languages.

Simon Jolin-Barrette, the minister responsible for the French language, says that since Quebec is a French province, it must use its official language with the public.

“One thing is certain: if we want to improve the level of French here in Quebec, we must act first in the state,” he told CBC. “If we want citizens to use French more, the one that is supposed to set that example is the state of Quebec.”

However, the bill has since been criticized on several fronts, including for its use of the exception clause, which allows a province to override basic freedoms guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Instead of only applying the clause to specific parts of House Bill 96, the government applied the clause to the entire bill, making all aspects of the far-reaching law immune from legal challenges based on the organic letter.

So what does all this mean for Quebecers? Exactly what is and isn’t in House Bill 96, and how will it work in practice? What parts have critics worried about? This is what we know so far.

Education

The bill will limit the number of students who can enter English-language universities, known as CEGEPs.

The number of students in English-speaking CEGEPs, as a proportion of students in general, cannot be higher than the previous school year and cannot exceed 17.5 percent of the general student population in Quebec.

Once you are in a CEGEP in English, there are also new requirements during your studies. All students must take at least three 45-hour courses in French.

For those with English eligibility, it may be French as a Second Language courses, that is, classes that only teach how to speak and write French.

For those without eligibility, it has to be three courses from your core curriculum. So if you are studying health sciences, three of your health sciences courses must be in French. English Eligibility students can also choose to go this route if they prefer.

Thousands participated in a demonstration against Bill 96 in downtown Montreal last weekend. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press)

Once that is taken care of, there is one more requirement to graduate. Bill 96 says that a student “who does not have the spoken and written knowledge of French required” by the government cannot obtain a diploma.

That means there is a French exam at the end of the CEGEP studies. The exam is the same throughout the province, regardless of whether or not the student attended an English or French CEGEP, and it is necessary to pass to graduate.

However, those with English eligibility are exempt from taking the test.

House Bill 96 does not change who is eligible for an education in English.

Health care

Bill 96 does say that government entities must “in an exemplary manner, use the French language, promote its quality, ensure its development in Quebec and protect it.”

But House Bill 96 also has an exception, saying government agencies can use a language other than French “when required by public health, safety, or principles of natural justice.”

However, another section specifies that a government agency may also not “make systematic use of that other language.”

That’s the part that worries some people. Jolin-Barrette, speaking to CBC News last week, was adamant that when it came to accessing health care, nothing would change for English speakers in the province.

“Anyone who wants to receive health services in English can receive them,” he said. “If you are an English-speaking Quebecer, or a recent immigrant, or a tourist, you can receive it in English. It was like that before. It is like that now. And it will be like that in the future, after Law 96.”

Simon Jolin-Barrette, the minister responsible for the French language, says that since Quebec is a French province, it must use its official language with the public. (Dany Pilote/Radio-Canada)

However, Robert Leckey, dean of the McGill University law school, said it’s unclear when the health care system will be allowed to apply the exemption.

He explained that for Quebec’s religious symbols bill, Bill 21, the government had specifically noted that the entire health system was exempt from the law.

“They are clearly choosing not to do that,” he said.

Leckey said that suggests not everything will be covered by the exemption. Which types of health care would qualify and which would not are not explicit in the bill.

He noted that if Bill 96 were shown to somehow violate Canada’s Federal Health Act, which guarantees access to care, federal law would prevail, but it is unclear whether it would get to that point in practice.

court and justice

Like the health care system, Bill 96 has a “natural justice” exemption, and Quebecers have the right to seek justice in English or French courts. That aspect of the law will not change.

However, how easy it will be to get a judge who speaks English is an entirely different matter.

Bill 96 states that judges will no longer need to have “a specific level of knowledge of a language other than the official language.”

If the French language and justice ministers agree, they may choose to establish a bilingual requirement for a prospective judge, but only after all other options have been exhausted.

So while the right to be heard in English is still entrenched, the reality of how common it will be to have a bilingual judge in the future has been questioned.

Politicians elected to the National Assembly or made ministers will also not be required to have any knowledge of English.

Privacy and the workplace

Bill 96 also addresses French in the workplace and gives extensive new powers to Quebec’s language bureau to investigate businesses suspected of not operating in the province’s official language.

Before Bill 96, only companies with 50 or more employees had to have a plan to ensure that French was the common language in the workplace. That included having a French committee and a government certificate validating that the company’s common language is French.

That will now apply to companies with as few as 25 employees.

In addition, employers may not require knowledge of any language other than French when hiring or promoting employees.

The only exception is if the employer can show that another language is needed for the job and that it “took all reasonable means to avoid imposing such a requirement.”

But constitutional experts are concerned about what could happen when a company is suspected of not being French enough.

montreal sunrise12:03What implications does Bill 96 have on the law?

We spoke to Frédéric Bérard, a lawyer and professor of constitutional law at the Université de Montréal, about Bill 96.

Under Quebec’s Charter of the French Language, inspectors were already allowed to investigate in such cases, including asking to see documents. However, that power was always limited by the Canadian charter, which protects Canadians from unreasonable searches and seizures.

Bill 96 not only grants this power to the Quebec office of the langue française (OQLF), but since it invokes the notwithstanding clause, it can override the basic freedoms guaranteed by the charter.

“Which means that ministers or inspectors can do whatever they want with respect to a seizure, which goes against my conception of the rule of law,” said Frédéric Bérard, a professor of constitutional law at the University of Montreal.

“It’s certainly not a good feeling to see that it’s so easy for those inspectors to come to your house and seize whatever they want without any judicial authorization.”

Newcomers to Quebec

Bill 96 significantly affects the lives of newcomers from outside Canada in Quebec.

Under the new rules, refugees and immigrants moving to Quebec will be able to get services in English or another language for six months after they arrive.

After that, all government services will be exclusively in French, unless they fall under one of the “health, public safety, or the principles of natural justice” exceptions.

Those offering services to newcomers must do so in French.

So, for example, if a government worker was helping an immigrant whose first language is Italian, even if the worker also spoke Italian, the worker would be required to use only French.

CLOCK | Christopher Skeete discusses Bill 96:

Christopher Skeete answers questions about Bill 96

The Parliamentary Assistant to the Prime Minister for Relations with English-Speaking Quebecers addresses workplaces, health care, refugees, and more.

Talking to CBC The current Last week, Christopher Skeete, the prime minister’s parliamentary assistant for relations with English-speaking Quebecers, said that after six months, newcomers are typically settled enough to begin the transition to French.

Skeete noted that in other parts of Canada, from day 1 “you are expected to communicate in English with the Canadian government or the Ontario government.”

“What we’re saying is that you actually have the right here in Quebec for six months to express yourself in another language.”

Janet Cleveland, who researches the health and well-being of refugees and immigrants at the SHERPA University Institute in Montreal, said the key is having permission to use other languages.

“Yes, it’s true: In Ontario, there is no obligation to offer services in languages ​​other than English,” he said. “But there are tons of programs that allow it.”

“Than [Bill 96] what it does is prohibit the use of other languages. That’s the big difference.”



Reference-www.cbc.ca

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