Québec Bill 96/Canada C-13 June 2024

Bill 96
Task Force on Linguistic Policy

Illegitimi non carborundum

2 August
Quebec health-care language directive open to constitutional challenge: Frédéric Bérard
“You are dividing people who do not need to be divided. It makes me sad,” Montreal law professor says.
Aaron Derfel
One of Quebec’s leading constitutional scholars has come out against a controversial linguistic directive regulating the province’s health care in English and other languages apart from French, warning the new rules are divisive and open to legal challenges before the courts.
Frédéric Bérard, co-founder of the Observatoire national en matière de droits linguistiques and a professor of law at the Université de Montréal, said the July 18 directive issued by Quebec’s Health Ministry likely violates both the Canadian and Quebec charters of rights and freedoms.

Enfin/Finally! a strong, credible Francophone voice.
Le blues des « anglos historiques »
Michel C. Auger
À force d’intransigeance sur les modalités et de principes plutôt flous, le gouvernement de la CAQ est en train de se fabriquer une véritable crise de confiance avec la communauté anglophone du Québec. Il serait temps de s’en occuper. …
En fait, bien des anglophones se demandent si la politique du gouvernement de la CAQ n’est pas d’accumuler des points nationalistes sur leur dos, en appliquant le principe du « si les Anglais n’aiment pas ça, c’est que ça doit être bon pour le français ».
Alors, avant qu’autant de malentendus ne deviennent un véritable problème, il est temps que ce dossier se retrouve sur le bureau du premier ministre. S’il daigne s’en occuper.

23 August
Canadian government wants to be removed from Bill 96 lawsuit
The plaintiffs say they included the attorney general because of the Trudeau government’s “failure to defend the Constitution of Canada.”
The Attorney General of Canada has filed a motion with the Quebec Superior Court asking that it be dismissed from the constitutional challenge of Bill 96, filed in May 2023 by the Task Force on Linguistic Policy. The next court date is Aug. 29.
The lawsuit involves six plaintiffs who say their human rights have been detrimentally affected by Bill 96. Task force president Andrew Caddell is one of the plaintiffs.
The plaintiffs do “not seek any remedy enforceable against the federal government, nor (do they) allege any infringement of the (their) rights by the federal government or by any federally enacted law.”

21 August
Andy Riga: Human rights group seeks $1M in damages over Bill 96 ‘discrimination’
Quebec’s language-law overhaul “has fractured our society, deepening divides and legitimizing discrimination.”
“This complaint is not just about holding the government accountable,” said Red Coalition founder Joel DeBellefeuille. “It’s about healing our community and reaffirming the principles of equality and respect that should define Quebec.”

15 August
Allison Hanes: Roberge’s meeting with anglo community a total sham
All Roberge’s meeting accomplished was to deepen the mistrust of English-speaking Quebecers.
Tuesday’s meeting didn’t clarify a thing about the English health-care directive.
Two words: total sham.
There’s no other way to describe French Language Minister Jean-François Roberge’s meeting with members of the English-speaking community Tuesday to “clarify” 31 pages of new directives that he keeps insisting mean nothing changes for anglophone patients trying to access health care in English.
Where to begin?
Well, for starters, there’s the fact a meeting had to be held at all to explain the new rules outlining the “exceptional circumstances” in which “a language other than French” can be used in the health system under Bill 96.
In effect since July 18, these rules contradict the earlier promises Premier François Legault’s government made to English-speaking Quebecers when the new language law was adopted, including that no proof would be required to obtain health and social services in English. Instead, the document repeatedly references certificates of eligibility for education in English as a means of qualifying for health care exclusively in English.
Yet Roberge took to the X social media platform to deny this was the case and wrote an open letter co-signed by Christian Dubé, the health minister, and Eric Girard, the minister responsible for relations with English-speaking Quebecers, reiterating this assertion.
Clear as mud.
The QCGN, which has been openly critical of the directives, ultimately received an 11th-hour summons to the meeting, but decided not to participate because Dubé was not present. Quebec City’s Community Health and Social Services Network also declined.

9 August
Opinion: Language directives show lack of respect and humanity
Quebec doesn’t need a long list of language rules in hospitals. Let doctors and nurses do their jobs.
Eva Ludvig and Sylvia Martin-Laforge
Wikipedia tells us a catch-22 is “a paradoxical situation from which an individual cannot escape because of contradictory rules or limitations.”
What the Quebec government has revealed about how members of the English-speaking community can maintain access to health care in their language comes across as something similar — leaving aside what the community has been repeatedly told: that nothing in language law Bill 96 would affect that access, contrary to the evidence.
Now, according to directives approved by the Ministry of the French Language, and implemented in July by the Ministry of Health and Social Services, “historic anglophones” (that slice of the English-speaking community granted the privilege of communicating with the government in English) face additional hurdles if they wish to access health care in English only: They must provide a certificate of eligibility for schooling in English, or they must show proof they conversed exclusively in English with an institution within the health network before May 13, 2021, excluding the COVID pandemic.
The certificate is provided by the Ministry of Education, not the Language Ministry or the Health Ministry. But here’s the catch: Anyone who has already graduated from school and never had a certificate can’t get one now, because the Education Ministry says it isn’t issuing them to people beyond those applying for schooling. You need a certificate, the government health directives say, but this same government’s education arm won’t issue the certificate you need, except to replace an old one.
Fact-checking the ministers’ letter on accessing health care in English
An open letter from the Quebec government claims that absolutely no linguistic conditions in health care are imposed before providing service in English to anyone who requests it. We examined the claims.
“The government of Quebec imposes absolutely no linguistic conditions in health-care settings before providing health care in English to anyone who requests it,” the letter states.
That claim is misleading. The 31-page directive requires that “all oral and written communication must be in French.” It then specifies that other languages “can be used” in exceptional situations like emergencies that are outlined in excruciating detail.
For those seeking health care in English only, the directive imposes for the first time in Quebec history the requirement that historic anglophones must have been “issued” an English eligibility certificate from the Education Ministry, and they must expressly request health services in English. And even were a patient to produce such an eligibility certificate, the directive stipulates that a health-care institution can – not must – provide medical services in English only. Such certificates have proved difficult to obtain for anglophone students and are generally not available to adults.
Nowhere in the letter do the three ministers address the requirement of the eligibility certificate in what effectively amounts to an error of omission.

7 August
Health-care language directive is immoral and dangerous
The CAQ government is prepared to sacrifice fundamental constitutional rights to life, liberty and security of the person to fulfil its language goals.
Julius Grey and Eric Maldoff
(Opinion Montreal Gazette) … In Bill 96, the government has invoked the notwithstanding clause, removing the protection of both charters and making bureaucratic decisions virtually unreviewable by the courts. The notwithstanding clause was inserted into the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms at the insistence of the premiers during the negotiations leading to repatriation of the Constitution in 1982. It was initially presented as an extreme measure to be used in truly extraordinary cases. Under the Coalition Avenir Québec, however, policies that the government is passionate about — language and secularism — have been sheltered from review in this way. This wholesale reliance on the notwithstanding clause is under challenge, but the Quebec Court of Appeal has refused to impose limits on its use, and only the Supreme Court of Canada remains as a possible forum for contestation.

31 July-3 August
Can I obtain an English-language eligibility certificate? It’s complicated
New Quebec government directives suggesting “historic anglophones” will need their English-language eligibility certificates to communicate exclusively in English in the province’s health-care network has prompted both anxiety and increased interest in how to obtain those certificates.
If you’re an adult who didn’t already have one, you can’t get one, even if you would be eligible.
French Language Minister Jean-François Roberge responded to The Gazette’s series of articles on X, formerly known as Twitter, saying the directive allows anyone who wishes to receive health-care services in a language other than French to do so.
But his assistant chief of staff told The Gazette the government has no intention of dropping the new requirement the province’s “historic anglophones” produce an eligibility certificate from the Education Ministry to be allowed to communicate exclusively in English in the health sector.
Shameful Bill 96 healthcare directives on language restrictions creating chaos in Quebec
by Toula Drimonis
The new Bill 96 directives for the Quebec healthcare system — 31 pages detailing exceptions for language restrictions that require healthcare providers to communicate with patients in French only — have prompted confusion and even panic among the public and staff alike.
(Cult) … Bill 96’s new language directives for Quebec’s healthcare system have added even more confusion to the mix. In some cases, it’s become even harder to access help when you try to communicate with public employees, who, because of the legislation’s new convoluted language rules, are themselves often confused and unsure of whether they can even help you in a language other than French. Many of the current legal challenges against Bill 96 involve cases like these.
Anglos may now need eligibility certificates for English health care, directive says
“It’s a new, major and scary wrinkle,” says the Quebec Community Groups Network.
(Montreal Gazette) Quebec Community Groups Network director general Sylvia Martin-Laforge expresses doubt as to whether the Education Ministry would be able to handle an influx of new demands for eligibility certificates required for English service in health care.

27 July
Protesters, advocates worry Quebec is complicating access to healthcare in English (with video)
By Joe Bongiorno, The Canadian Press
(Global news) …community groups advocating for the rights of Quebec anglophones…warn the government is making it harder for Quebecers to access health-care services in English, and their concerns grew last week after the provincial health ministry published a directive spelling out the exceptional circumstances in which health-care workers are allowed to communicate in languages other than French.
Sylvia Martin-Laforge, director general of QCGN, said the new directives are amplifying fears about the kinds of service anglophones and allophones will be able to receive and putting the onus on health-care workers to determine who should be eligible for care in their language of choice.
Eric Maldoff, a lawyer and founder of the Coalition for Quality Health and Social Services, said on Friday that the law undermines the quality of care anglophones and allophones will be able to receive. He argued language should take a back seat, adding the province’s directive will create a climate in which health-care workers will have to consider language laws instead of focusing on providing the best possible care.

25 July
New language directive for Quebec hospitals denounced as ‘dangerous’
The guidelines “could lead to situations where English-speakers could be refused service in a language they understand in critical medical situations,” said Sylvia Martin-Laforge of the QCGN.
Aaron Derfel
The goal behind the July 18 directive was to clarify the exceptional situations in which English can be used in the health sector, but critics counter that it does the opposite.

18-19 June
Busting myths: Report shows English-speaking Quebecers are key part of a national-unity solution
(QCGN) There is a lot of good news in a new report from the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages (OCOL) that confirms two key things about the English-speaking community of Quebec (ESCQ), Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN) President Eva Ludvig said today.
“First, the report shows clearly that on an individual basis, English- and French-speaking Quebecers get
along, far better than discourse in the chattering classes would have us believe,” she said. “Second, it is very clear that there is an important role for the ESCQ to play in building bridges, not only within
Quebec, with our Francophone friends and neighbours, but with the rest of Canada, even in helping
promote the importance and value of French to the rest of the country.

Building Bridges: Perceptions and realities about the English-speaking communities of Quebec and their relationship with French in Quebec and bilingualism in Canada
The Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages (the Office of the Commissioner) has observed that, in recent years, the English-speaking communities of Quebec (ESCQ) have been the focus of much public discourse and debate in the province. Survey and census data indicate that, overall, the ESCQ are highly bilingual and value Canada’s broader linguistic duality, including the French language. The extent to which the general population is aware of these facets of the ESCQ is not clear, however, and the Office of the Commissioner wished to test the hypothesis that problematic myths may persist.
In light of this context and with the modernization of the Official Languages Act by the federal government in 2023, which recognizes the need to “advance the existence of a majority-French society in a Quebec where the future of French is assured,” this research projectFootnote 1 is an opportunity to shed light on the relationship that the ESCQ have with the French language in Quebec and official bilingualism in Canada as a whole. This is also an opportunity to explore how Quebec’s English-speaking minority can be considered as bridge-builders or even as a potential ally of the promotion of French in Canada as a whole, with a view to developing a more constructive discourse that better acknowledges their contributions and, ultimately, deconstructs certain misperceptions.

3 June
Parts of Bill 101 will not apply to English school boards, appeals court rules
The suspension of certain parts of the Charter of the French Language will stand until the courts decide on the merits of the EMSB’s challenge of Bill 96.
The fact that the Charter of the French Language requires English school boards to communicate exclusively in French when interacting with other English-speaking community organizations never made any sense,” says EMSB chair
For now, English school boards can continue to communicate in English with other anglophone organizations, thanks to a Quebec appeals court ruling.

1 June
‘It doesn’t feel human’: Six Quebecers file legal challenge against Bill 96
The suit was filed by a group called the Task Force on Linguistic Policy.
“Today, we are obliged to take the Quebec government to court to ensure our rights are respected,” said Andrew Caddell, task force president.
“No legislation can abolish individual rights, which is what Bill 96 tries to do by invoking the notwithstanding clause,” added lawyer Michael Bergman.
(CTV) One year less a day after Quebec’s Bill 96 came into force, a new legal challenge was filed Wednesday at the Montreal courthouse on behalf of six people.
They argue the law to strengthen the French language will make it more difficult to access necessary services in English, adding that they believe it places language rights before human rights.
One of the six named in the lawsuit is Elena Montecalvo. Her son, Giancarlo, has autism and sometimes gets violent, she said.
His psychiatrist recommended an in-patient program at the Rivieres-des-Prairies Hospital that analyzes how he reacts to different medicines. He was denied entry to the program because he attends an English school.