وبلاگ

In the Ford case, the Supreme Court ruled in December 1988 on sections 58 and 69 of the Charter of the French Language, which required the exclusive use of French on commercial signs and corporate names. The Supreme Court ruled that these sections violated the freedom of expression set out in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms. On December 22, 1988, the newly installed Bourassa Liberals voted in favour of Bill 178. This law required signs to be in French, except in certain cases, depending on the size of the business and the number of employees, where both languages were allowed provided that French prevailed. The dissatisfaction is palpable: Anglophones feel betrayed and Francophones fear the return of bilingualism. 17. In June 1993, Bill 178 was replaced by Bill 86, which reaffirmed the principle of bilingual signage with priority for French people in public places. The preamble to the Charter states that the National Assembly has decided to “make French the language of government and law, as well as the normal and everyday language of work, education, communications, commerce and business.” It also states that the National Assembly pursues this objective “in a spirit of fairness and open-mindedness” and “recognizes the right of the Americans and Inuit of Quebec, the first inhabitants of this country, to preserve and develop their language and culture of origin.” [4] The Canadian Constitution was adopted in 1982 when the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed the Canada Act 1982. This Act enacted the Constitution Act, 1982 for Canada (including the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms); Article 23 introduces the concept of “minority language right to education”. This opened another door to a constitutional dispute over the Charter. In Quebec, many still see maintaining the French language as a challenge to keeping the French language strong and dynamic. Language debates continue, stirring up passions and controversy.

Questions on language of instruction and signage remain relevant. For example, in 2012, the Parti Québécois proposed excluding francophones and allophones from participation in English-language CEGEPs. The proposal met with strong opposition and the party was forced to back down on the issue. Although section 58 allows the provincial government “to determine by order the place, case, condition or circumstance. where French does not need to be widespread or where such signs, posters and advertisements can only be written in another language”, it imposes no obligation on the government to exempt the local Aboriginal language. Immigrants would not be able to use most government services in a language other than French six months after arrival. The Quebec government has said that health care will be exempt from the new law. Federal Official Languages Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor called the data “worrying.” French is more threatened in Canada, including Quebec, than ever before, according to the minister. In 1969, the Act respecting the promotion of the French language in Quebec (Bill 63) was passed.

It guarantees parents the right to choose the language of instruction of their children, with the Ministry of Education merely ensuring that children in English acquire a “working knowledge of French”. As a result, allophones were anglicized and francophones merged to form the Front du Québec français, which demanded that French become the only official language in Quebec. Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said this week he had “concerns” about Bill 96 because the federal government was responsible for protecting the rights of linguistic minorities. The report of the Gendron Commission, presented in February 1973 under the government of Robert Bourassa, officially proposed that French become the only official language of Quebec, while French and English remained the national languages. With regard to the language of instruction, the decision was left to the government. Faced with growing social unrest, she drafted Bill 22 (Official Languages Act) in 1974 to address the shortcomings of Bill 63. The release of government data comes at a time when efforts to protect the French language in Quebec are intensifying.