Bilingual McDonald’s coming to CSL Shopping Centre

McDonald’s concept coming to the CSL Shopping Centre

Cote Saint-Luc is about to get its first drive-through restaurant.  McDonald’s will be building a restaurant on Cote Saint-Luc Road at the Shopping Centre. Council gave final approval at its public meeting last night.

I was pleased to have pointed out that its signage plans were only in French and that the city ought to recommend that the fast food giant consider adding English wording. Mayor Housefather immediately directed that city staff encourage the company to reconsider their signage plan. The mayor and I, former president and executive director, respectively, of Quebec’s English language rights lobby, are very sensitive about promoting bilingualism, particularly with commercial signs.

One of many bilingual signs coming to McDonald’s Cote Saint-Luc

To their credit, and to our great pleasure, McDonald’s agreed to avail themselves to the provision in Bill 101, the Charter of the French Language, which allows for languages other than French on commercial signs provided that French predominates.

“Cote Saint-Luc is likely the only municipality in Quebec to make such recommendations.  Given the government’s efforts through Bill 14 to wipe out English I am proud that Cote Saint-Luc has taken such action to encourage businesses to comply with the law in displaying English,” Housefather said.

In related news, by chance last week I met Target Canada’s new director of  government affairs.  I mentioned that I noticed that recruitment signs were only in French and said I hoped that new Target stores would carry English on their signage in neighbourhoods with English-speaking communities, such as the West Island, Lasalle and elsewhere.  The Target executive assured me that English would appear on their signs in the appropriate neighbourhoods.

 

National Post Full Comment: Throwing around Quebec’s c-word

Dan Delmar: Throwing around Quebec’s c-word

National Post | 13/05/07 |

One of the most offensive words in the Québécois lexicon is “colonisé.”

Also abbreviated as “colon” (not the organ, it’s a soft N), it is an adjective hurled at those who have been metaphorically “colonized” by their embrace of the English language.

It’s a word that is used among Francophones casually, in private. In public, it typically is used only by fringe ultra-nationalists, a few rabid radio talk-show hosts, and, last week, an elected member of Quebec’s National Assembly.

In a debate about Bill 14, a language law that might be described as the ugly stepchild of Bill 101, Parti Québécois MNA Daniel Breton objected to Liberals speaking English in the legislature — even though the practice is perfectly permissible, and is done on occasion when legislators are dealing with matters pertaining to Anglo Quebecers.

“I would like to highlight that elected members of the official opposition in the National Assembly expressed themselves in English on the subject of Bill 14, a law on the French language,” Breton said in the legislature (speaking in French, of course). “You might have the right, but it shows to what point you are ‘colonisés.’”

The statement is offensive for a number of reasons. And it shows that Breton knows less about Canadian history than the average high school student.

Francophones were, of course, the colonizers. The true “colonisés” were Aboriginals. Despite the popular myths of ultra-nationalists such as Breton, and their claims to victimhood, Francophones in Canada are not an indigenous people.

Breton’s comments also are consistent with retrograde PQ policies (including Bill 14 itself) that cast multilingualism as a threat to Quebec’s identity, and unilingualism as a mark of true Québécois patriotism.

This is hardly the first time that Breton has attracted controversy. He had a brief stint as Quebec’s environment minister, which ended when it was revealed that he called up the head of Quebec’s public consultation bureau to make it clear that the agency would hear from him if he wasn’t satisfied with their decisions.

To describe a fellow Quebecer as “colonisé” is more than just a cheap insult. It’s a Québécois species of McCarthyism

Breton also was found guilty of three counts of fraud for making false EI declarations in 1988. The co-founder of Quebec’s Green Party, he once was caught speeding in a Porsche at 275km/h. This is the man whom the PQ has chosen to defend one of the most controversial bills in the party’s history.

If the PQ were a normal political party, his behaviour in the National Assembly alone would be enough to have him removed from caucus. He is not fit to represent Quebecers, sovereignists or otherwise.

If the PQ wants to repair its credibility, Premier Pauline Marois must rid her party of those who contribute to hateful, regressive rhetoric. To describe a fellow Quebecer as “colonisé” is more than just a cheap insult. It’s a Québécois species of McCarthyism, and a sad example of how fringe separatist elements are impeding tolerance between Quebec’s two main language communities.

 

Dan Delmar is the co-founder of Provocateur Communications and the co-host of Delmar & Dwivedi on CJAD 800 Montreal.

OQLF visits Côte St. Luc

The Suburban, By Joel Goldenberg, May 1st, 2013

An Office Québécois de la Langue Française inspector took her camera to Côte St. Luc last Thursday, probing Pharmaprix, IGA and the Cordonnerie Cavendish shoe repair store in Quartier Cavendish (Cavendish Mall) for potential language law offences.

According to interviews and discussions with each of the stores probed, a female inspector came in, took pictures and said each establishment would receive a letter in a month and a half with the results of the OQLF’s investigation if the law was seen to be violated.

The visit outraged many at the mall, including Gino Scandale, owner of Ralphs Mens Wear and president of the mall’s merchants association.

“This was very unexpected, especially to come into a [majority] anglophone community and start like that,” Scandale told The Suburban. “It’s sort of like coming into the West End, agitating people…. They saw English lettering; the law says French has to be three times bigger than the English. That’s the type of crap going on right now.

“It’s just ludicrous,” he added. “We’ve got to, at some point, start speaking out. From what I see now, we’re between the devil and the deep blue sea. Anyone who really speaks out, they get the tax department and [other repercussions]. That’s why, I feel, a lot of people are not speaking out.”

Pharmaprix manager Ian MacDonald said the inspector was checking if the signage in the store complied with the language law. No warnings were given on Thursday, MacDonald said.

“We’re in Côte St. Luc, I think they’re in the wrong neighbourhood,” MacDonald said. “They want to push an issue, and that’s it. It’s ridiculous, but what are you going to do? They want to pass Bill 14.”

IGA management had no comment.

Hovig Ourichian of Cordonnerie Cavendish confirmed that the OQLF visited the store.

“The inspector came to check and took some pictures from the outside, and told me they were checking the signage of whatever a customer sees from the outside in,” Ourichian told The Suburban. “She took some pictures, said she would send it to an inspector and if I was at fault, they would send me a letter.

“They seem to not have anything better to do,” he added. “Hospitals need money, they’re cutting everywhere and meanwhile these guys are going around taking pictures and wasting our money.”

Many stores in the mall avoid any language problems by having very few signs -one store primarily has just the store name and sales numbers, such as an item being 20 percent off, but very little wording. Some are also careful to greet customers with a “bonjour.”

Opinion: Our opposition to Bill 14 – a question of principle

Quebec Liberal leader Philippe Couillard and Liberal critic on language issues Marc Tanguay offer a refreshing and confident position on the language question. Their opposition to the “unnecessarily coercive and judicialized approach, and inflammatory measures,” of Bill 14 stand in stark contrast to that of the PQ government, let alone the CAQ that coward away from killing the bill outright.

Couillard and Tanguay speak of the benefits of bilingualism and multilingualism and of the great advantage that the million strong English-speaking  Quebecers – “they are not foreigners” – have in speaking at least two languages fluently.

They finally state what is plain to many but not enough in Quebec, that Francophones are placing themselves at a disadvantage by hindering themselves and their children off from greater opportunity.

I am far from a Liberal flag bearer.  Bill 22, Bill 178, these pieces of language restrictive legislation, along with hiring of more language cops came in under liberal governments.  However, the principles espoused in this opinion piece deserve praise and should be echoed by more and more Francophone leaders across Quebec.

Couillard and Tanguay close with, “Let’s choose to focus on our strengths and, above all, on our desire to live and prosper together.   Sounds good to me.

Opinion: Our opposition to Bill 14 – a question of principle (Montreal Gazette)

CRITIQ calls for bilingual status for Montreal and other cities

An open email from CRITIQ:

[La version française suit.]For A Bilingual Montreal
A Movement for Bilingual Status

One of CRITIQ’s founding principles is the recognition of English and French as official languages in Quebec. We see no better place to start than on the island of Montreal.  As such, CRITIQ has drafted a resolution (below) for you to forward to Montreal municipal councilors.

We request that you visit our website and…

1. Email the Montreal City councillors
2. Call their offices and urge for change
3. Attend council meetings and gain support

We have simplified the process for you on our website (http://critiq.ca/en/montreal).

Please note that this initiative will not be limited to Montreal.  This is merely the beginning, we call on all municipalities in Quebec that desire to officially recognize the equality of French and English as official languages to follow suit.

Resolution for Bilingual Status of Montreal

Whereas Montreal is a truly unique City in North America where its bilingual nature and multi-cultural character constitute part of its richness and part of its essence;

Whereas French and English speaking Montrealers in all walks of life historically get along and often communicate in each other’s language;

Whereas Montreal is by fact and has always been by fact a bilingual city and a multicultural city;

Whereas Article 1 of the Charter of the City of Montreal which affirms that “Montreal is a French-speaking city” (“Montréal est une ville de langue française”) negates this aforementioned positive reality;

Be it proposed that the City Council of Montreal adopt a resolution calling on the Quebec government to amend Article 1 of the Charter of the City of Montreal and designate the City as an officially bilingual municipality, recognizing the historical alliance of French and English speaking communities and the rich diversity of cultural communities and languages.

Be it proposed that all Quebec municipalities that desire to officially recognize the equality of French and English as official languages in their jurisdiction follow suit.

---

Pour un Montréal bilingue
Un mouvement pour le statut bilingue

Un des principes de base de notre groupe est la reconnaissance du français et de l’anglais en tant que langues officielles du Québec. Nous ne voyons pas de meilleur endroit que Montréal pour débuter notre démarche. CRITIQ a rédigé l’ébauche d’une résolution à faire parvenir à tous les conseillers municipaux de Montréal.

Nous vous demandons…

1. d’envoyer un courriel aux conseillers municipaux
2. de téléphoner à leurs bureaux
3. d’assister aux réunions du conseil de ville de façon à pouvoir intervenir et discuter

Nous avons simplifié le processus pour vous sur notre site web (http://critiq.ca/fr/montreal).

Veuillez noter que cette initiative ne se limitera pas uniquement à Montréal. Ceci n’est que le début, nous demandons à toutes les municipalités du Québec qui désirent reconnaître officiellement l’égalité du français et de l’anglais comme langues officielles d’aller de  l’avant.

Résolution visant à obtenir le statut bilingue pour la Ville de Montréal

Considérant que Montréal est une ville unique en Amérique du nord ou’ sa nature bilingue et son caractère multiculturel constituent en partie et sa richesse et son essence;

Considérant que les montréalais francophones et anglophones de toutes les conditions  sociales s’entendent bien et communiquent souvent entre eux dans les deux langues;

Considérant que Montréal est de fait et a toujours été de fait une ville bilingue et multiculturelle;

Considérant que l’Article 1 de la Charte de la Ville de Montréal affirme que « Montréal est une ville de langue française» niant ainsi la réalité quotidienne mentionné plus haut;

Vu ce qui précède il est proposé que le Conseil de la Ville de Montréal adopte une résolution demandant au gouvernement du Québec l’amendement de l’Article 1 de la Charte de la Ville de Montréal afin que la désignation officielle de la ville soit celle de municipalité bilingue, reconnaissant l’alliance historique entre les communautés francophone et anglophone ainsi que la richesse de la diversité de ses communautés culturelles et langues.

Vu ce qui précède il est proposé que toutes les municipalités du Québec qui désirent reconnaître officiellement l’égalité du français et de l’anglais dans leur juridiction puissent y donner suite.

Related articles

• CRITIQ fighting the good fight (gjnashen.wordpress.com)
• Hundreds join anglo rights group, denounce Bill 14 (montreal.ctvnews.ca)

MP Cotler’s support of linguistic minorities must guide parliament

I’m very pleased that our Member of Parliament, Irwin Cotler, has broken a long parliamentary silence and has come out to denounce Bill 14. Cotler is internationally recognized for his support of human rights of oppressed peoples around the globe. This is his opportunity, as he likely approaches the end of an illustrious political career, to take a bold stand in support of the majority of his constituents, indeed for all Quebecers who stand for human rights and equality of all Canadian citizens.

There’s a new bitterness around Bill 14, one that hasn’t been manifested since the Alliance Quebec days. The community is very, very displeased by the divisive, mean-spirited direction the PQ has taken us in.  We are also concerned by the continued silence of parliamentarians of all stripes in all legislatures in this country.

If this discrimination was happening to any other group in Canada there would be a loud (and even international) outcry. Idle no more – Anglo style?.

Why has it been acceptable to ignore and trample the rights of Quebec Anglos?

Thank you Professor Cotler. Now the challenge is yours to convince not only the Liberal Party of Canada but the Government of Canada to speak up in defence of Anglo Canadians in Quebec who have had their rights diminished for far too long.

Acceptable no more!

Cotler breaks federal MP silence on repressive language legislation

The following article appeared in The Metropolitain.

Our Linguistic Duality Must be a Legal Reality

By Hon. Irwin Cotler on April 22, 2013

In the words of René Lévesque, “A nation is judged by how it treats its minorities.” Regrettably, linguistic minorities in Canada have often had to fight for just treatment, and that struggle continues against the backdrop of several troubling recent developments that threaten the rights of minority language communities throughout the country. Simply put, it is critical to ensure that minority language communities feel welcome and are able to thrive, and this is as true for Anglophones in Quebec as it is true for French-speakers elsewhere in Canada.

Regrettably, Quebec Anglophones have recently come under increased pressure in the form of Bill 14, which would amend the French Language Charter with the goal of enhancing protection for French. All Quebecers – indeed, all Canadians – have an interest in ensuring the continued vibrancy of the French language and culture in our province, but this can and must be accomplished while respecting the rights of the English-speaking minority.

To that end, Bill 14 is problematic in several respects. It would:

• Allow the provincial government to strip municipalities or boroughs of bilingual status against their will if the population of mother-tongue Anglophones drops below 50%.

• Empower OQLF inspectors to seize property without a warrant, and to refer infractions for prosecution without giving alleged offenders an opportunity to comply.

• Prohibit English CÉGEPs from considering Francophone applicants – regardless of merit – until all Anglophone applicants have been accepted.

• Remove an exemption allowing members of the armed forces to send their children to English schools.

• Modify the Charter of the French Language by replacing “ethnic minorities” – a defined term in international law – with “cultural communities,” a concept lacking legal clarity.

• Make French the “normal and everyday language” in which government agencies are addressed, and require citizens applying for government assistance to apply in French or pay for translation. As the Quebec Bar Association recently noted, this could limit access to justice in English, particularly for low-income Anglophones and Allophones seeking legal aid.

Moreover, as the Quebec Bar Association also noted in its analysis of the legislation, Bill 14 could allow public servants to refuse to acknowledge anything said to them in English and require that files be translated in French at the expense of the applicant. Further, it places new and unnecessary burdens on employers with multilingual staffs, while translation inconsistencies in the bill may give rise to unnecessary litigation while burdening the delivery of social services.

Above all, however, Bill 14 would amend the preamble of the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms to say that “rights and freedoms must be exercised in keeping with … the values of Quebec society, including … the importance of its common language and the right to live and work in French.” In so doing, Bill 14 renders Quebec’s Charter a document designed to entrench the supremacy of the majority, whereas a primary purpose of constitutions is to establish individual and minority rights that cannot be suppressed by simple majority rule.

As the Supreme Court stated in the reference on Quebec’s secession, “there are occasions when the majority will be tempted to ignore fundamental rights in order to accomplish collective goals more easily or effectively. Constitutional entrenchment ensures that those rights will be given due regard and protection.” Accordingly, while the Francophone majority may certainly seek to ensure the sustained vitality of its language and culture, the rights of the Anglophone minority must be protected even if their protection complicates the majority’s goal.

In constitutional democracies such as ours, it is the constitution that protects minority rights from what Alexis de Tocqueville called “the tyranny of the majority.” Indeed, without constitutional safeguards, a majority-elected legislature would be legally empowered to oppress minority groups. Therefore, for Quebec’s Charter to subordinate all other rights to the importance of the majority’s language would be to undermine the very raison-d’être of a human rights charter.

Inasmuch as the language minister has expressed her hope that the amendments to the preamble will affect Supreme Court decisions about Quebec’s language laws, Bill 14 seeks manifestly to reduce constitutional protections for linguistic minorities. Yet such protections must be robust, both for Anglophones in Quebec and Francophones elsewhere in Canada.

Last October, at a meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Union held in Quebec City, Canada signed an international agreement to “uphold cultural, linguistic, ethnic, racial, political and religious diversity as a global value which should be celebrated, respected, encouraged and protected within and among all societies and civilizations.” It is time for government decisions – at both federal and provincial levels – to adhere to this noble ideal.

Irwin Cotler is the Member of Parliament for Mount Royal and the former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada. He is an Emeritus Professor of Law at McGill University. 

 

Housefather and Steinberg on Bill 14: Money and Business Show

On April 10 Samuel Ezerzer of the Money and Business Show on Radio Shalom 1650AM in Montreal hosted Dr. William Steinberg, Mayor of the Town of Hampstead and Anthony Housefather, Mayor of the City of Cote Saint-Luc.  They discussed the proposed Bill 14 and how it will affect the English-speaking communities.

Related articles

• Housefather and Roy defend English-speaking cities (gjnashen.wordpress.com)

Merchant resists OQLF inspector: Strudelgate?

From CJAD800:

The Pointe Claire merchant who famously started selling “Pasta Salad Marois” in the days following “Pastagate” is again rebelling.

An OQLF inspector visited Swiss Vienna Pastry and Delicatessen and owner Harry Schick asked the man to leave.

The inspector pointed to several violations to Quebec’s language law, Bill 101, and asked to take pictures. Schick refused. The inspector left and, according to Schick, said that he will be back.

“French and English are the same size,” on signs in his store, a defiant Schick told CJAD 800′s Rick Moffat. “To me, Anglophones and Francophones have equal rights in my store.

“Pasta Marois” has become one of the shop’s top sellers, “and we’ve just added this week ‘le Mac and Cheese!’”

Schick seems to be daring the government to take extreme action.

“I will not pay the fine. What will they do? Put me in jail? Put 35 employees out of business by closing me down? I doubt it. Somebody is going to have to stop them.”

Several merchants in the same mall on St. Jean blvd. tell CJAD 800 that they have been visited by the OQLF in recent days.

Schick is positioning himself as an Anglo martyr.

“[The government] is slowly but surely driving out Anglos. My daughter has already left. She will never come back to this province.”

Listen to Rick Moffat’s full interview with Harry Schick.

English is as official as French

The Suburban Newspaper

By William Johnson, April 3rd, 2013

Even as English is again under attack at the National Assembly during the hearings on Bill 14, it is perhaps true that most Quebecers have been misled into believing that English is not also an official language of Quebec. But that’s entirely unfounded in fact or in law. English has been an official language of Quebec ever since 1763. Every law passed since then has been passed in English. Every law to be passed by the current Parti Québécois government will be passed in English as well as French, and the English text will be official, just as will be the French.

English is part of Quebec’s very identity. That part is largely what makes the difference between Quebec and other former colonies of France, such as Guadeloupe, Martinique, Louisiana, Haiti, Vietnam or Algeria.

So how has the myth been propagated that French is the “sole official language?” It began with the trickery of Robert Bourassa’s Bill 22 of 1974, the so-called “Official Language Act, which proclaimed – in English as well as French: “French is the official language of the province of Québec.”

Did English cease thereby to be an official language of Quebec? Not at all, as seven McGill professors wrote in a lengthy legal opinion, published on July 19, 1974: “Section 1 which provides that French is ‘the official language of the province of Quebec’ is misleading in that it suggests that English is not also an official language in Quebec, which it is by virtue of section 133 of the BNA Act and the federal Official Languages Act. Section 133 of the BNA Act provides for two official languages in the legislature (in debates, the records and journals, and the printing and publication of statutes) and in the pleadings and process of the courts in the province of Quebec. No legislation in the National Assembly proclaiming French the sole official language in the province can affect these bilingual areas protected by the BNA Act itself.”

This statement was signed by Quebec’s two most distinguished legal scholars, Frank R. Scott, dean of the McGill Law Faculty, and John Humphrey, the chief drafter of the United Nations’ Declaration on Human Rights. What they wrote in 1974 was then reinforced by the Constitution Act 1982, which further constitutionalized English and French language rights across Canada.

When Camille Laurin prepared the first draft of the Charter of the French Language (1977), it contained several items which the Cabinet knew were unconstitutional, as is borne out in Jean-Claude Picard’s biography, Camille Laurin. L’homme debout (2003). But Laurin persisted to declare French the only official language of the legislature and the courts, according to his admirer Picard “even after all the jurists consulted by the government explained to him that this violated Section 133 of the Canadian constitution and that it would certainly be found unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of Canada.”

And that is what happened. The Supreme Court of Canada, in its decision on Blaikie (1979) struck down the pretence that only French was the language of Quebec’s legislature and its courts. The court ruled: “Section 133 is an entrenched provision, not only forb¬idding modification by unilateral action of Parliament or of the Quebec Legislature but also providing a guar¬antee to members of Parliament or of the Quebec Legislature and to litigants in the Courts of Canada or of Quebec that they are entitled to use French or English in parliamentary or legislative assembly debates or in pleading (including oral argument) in the Courts of Canada or of Quebec.”

Picard also quoted the then deputy minister of justice, Robert Normand: “I stressed to him, as had many others that the sections dealing with the language of the courts and of the National Assembly were unconstitutional, but he insisted on keeping them to the end and managed to convince everyone to keep them anyway in the bill.”

There was only one exception on which Laurin gave in. His first draft of the Charter of the French Language had declared: “French is the only official language of Quebec.” But he relented when he was convinced that this would be struck down by the courts and so would undo the political effect of Bourassa’s statement in Bill 22. As Picard wrote on page 266: “And so he accepted to remove the word ‘only’ in Section 1 of the draft bill, which had stipulated that ‘French is the only official language of Quebec.’ But as for the rest, he got pretty much everything that he had wanted.”

Those who say that French is the “sole” official language of Quebec are either misinformed or deliberately misinforming. English was, is and will be an official language of Quebec.

In response to call for no more anglophone hospitals

Letter to the editor, Montreal Gazette

Re: “Emotions run high at Bill 14 hearing” (Gazette, April 10).

Jean-Paul Perreault, President of the language lobby group Impératif français said at hearings into Bill 14 that “in our view, there’s no place for anglophone hospitals in Quebec.”

Mr. Perreault is only technically correct. Since the adoption of Bill 101 in 1977, only French-language and bilingual hospitals exist in Quebec. Such is the case of the Jewish General Hospital, which proudly communicates in both official languages. Our diverse, multilingual staff is focused on providing compassionate, high-quality care in a safe environment, where French and English are respected and used effortlessly. Indeed, our research shows that our patients speak more than 90 languages.

No wonder the JGH has been cited through the years for its contributions as an outstanding partner in Quebec’s public healthcare system.

Even former Premier Jacques Parizeau has said, “The Jewish General Hospital saved the quality of my life.” What’s more, former Premier Lucien Bouchard said, “I believe undoubtedly that Montreal has, with the Jewish General Hospital, one of the best health institutions in the world.”

Even Mr. Perreault might be surprised to learn that the JGH, and the few other bilingual hospitals in Quebec, offer compassion, dignity and respect in the language that is most important to each patient. Many generations of Quebecers of all backgrounds have turned to the JGH, which proudly proclaims “Au service de tous.”

Glenn J. Nashen

Director, Public Affairs and Communications

Jewish General Hospital

Related articles

• Public hearings on Bill 14 create polarized debate (cbc.ca)
• Quebec’s proposed new language law is a challenge across the political realm (montreal.ctvnews.ca)

Hearings into Bill 14: Bill 101 should not be subject to tinkering, civil rights lawyer says

Lawyer Julius Grey seems to have adopted the CAQ approach of suggesting that with changes to Bill 14 it would be an acceptable law.  Furthermore, he even concludes that Bill 101 should be allowed “to do its work and not try and change it.” So much for language and human rights.

Grey, apparently, is increasingly out of sync with the community he purportedly seeks to protect.  The English-speaking community has little interest in whittling away what few rights it has left.  The threat of Bill 14 hangs heavy upon English-speaking Quebecers, but Grey acts as if it is merely a minor discomfort to be shaken off.

What’s more, Grey argues that the imposition upon small business is not too heavy a burden. The business community doesn’t even agree with him. Ridiculous, Mr. Grey.

On the other hand, I salute the representatives of CRITIQ, the newest group to speak out for linguistic equality. Montreal Lawyer Richard Yufe, newspaper publisher Beryl Wajsman and former Cote Saint-Luc Mayor and D’Arcy McGee MNA Robert Libman presented their brief before the National Assembly yesterday calling for Bill 14 to be struck down in its entirety.

Wajsman, editor-in-chief of the Suburban, is unabashedly outspoken in human and language rights issues.  Libman, who lead the Equality Party in the National Assembly from 1989 to 1994, stood for his party’s namesake, equality.  These worthy goals, sadly, seem unattainable today to Quebec’s English-speaking community.  However, it’s only through the continued efforts of these leaders, and others like Cote Saint-Luc Mayor Anthony Housefather, that we will eventually succeed in making Quebec a better society for all.

Hearings into Bill 14: Bill 101 should not be subject to tinkering, civil rights lawyer says (Montreal Gazette)

Related articles

• Quebec’s War on English: Language Politics Intensify in Canadian Province (world.time.com)
• Cote St-Luc battles Bill 14 with online video (montreal.ctvnews.ca)
• Language minister wishes for calmer spirits (globalnews.ca)

 

CRITIQ fighting the good fight

Posted by Barry Morgan, CJAD800

The hearings into the ridiculous piece of proposed legislation known as Bill 14 continue in Quebec City. And while some groups have made an outrageous call for an end to bilingual hospitals, several representatives for Canadian Rights in Quebec (CRITIQ) will be at the National Assembly today to talk some common sense.

Richard Yufe, Dino Mazzone and Beryl Wajsman all spent some time on Barry’s show last night, ahead of their appearance in the provincial capital.

They explained what they would present and also talked about what they hope to accomplish.

Bottom line; thank goodness for groups including CRITIQ, fighting the very good fight.

Listen to the show here: CRITIQ fighting the good fight.

Time: In Quebec’s War on English, Language Politics Intensify

Protesters opposing Bill 14 demonstrate outside the office of Quebec Premier Pauline Marois. Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press.

The PQ government’s horrible Bill 14 continues to embarrass this province around the world.  This month’s Time Magazine exposes the narrow-mindedness of this discriminatory draft law.

Cote Saint-Luc Mayor Anthony Housefather continues to play a leadership role in opposing Bill 14 and has been quoted in this article and several others across the country. We’re lucky to have him and other such as Town of Mount Royal Mayor Philippe Roy to speak up in defence, not only of the English-speaking population, but all Quebecers in favour of equality among citizens, a vibrant economy and a better, fairer society.

You can read the full article here: In Quebec’s War on English, Language Politics Intensify | TIME.com.

Barbara Kay: Quebec seeks covert exit from pledge to ethnic minorities

National Post, Full Comment

Barbara Kay

Friday, Apr. 5, 2013

 

Quite a lot of printer’s ink has been consumed in the last few months on the iniquities inherent in Quebec’s proposed Bill 14, a substantial revision of Bill 101, Quebec’s 1977 Charter of the French Language.

 

Under Bill 14, we have learned, bilingual municipalities could lose their bilingual status against their will according to slight demographic shifts; military families could see their traditional rights to have their children educated in English during their tours in Quebec terminated, effectively suffocating the English school system in that region; English CEGEPs could see their freedom to accept francophone students curtailed (which would hurt francophones a lot more than anglophones); and employees would have the right to sue their employees if they were asked to speak English on the job.

 

Here is another, quite insidious twist to Bill 14. Bill 14 will replace the current Charter’s words “ethnic minorities” with “cultural communities.” On the surface that seems rather anodyne. But in terms of human rights, that would be a momentous change. For “ethnic minorities” has status in international, national and provincial human rights codes, while “cultural communities” has no status at all.

 

When “ethnic minorities” feel their rights have been abrogated, they can make a moral appeal to the UN Declaration of Human Rights of 1948,or the UN Covenant on Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities of 1992, not to mention the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Quebec Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

 

But I suspect one especially pressing reason for the change is that with it, Quebec can ignore the Quebec City Inter-Parliamentary Union of October 2012. (See ipu.org for information on this organization, which seems not to have much political muscle, but certainly holds high ideals.)

 

The IPU’s latest gathering was held in Quebec City last October. The theme was: “Citizenship, Identity and Linguistic and Cultural Diversity in a Globalized World.” It produced the “Quebec City Declaration,” and as I note some of the declaration’s highlights below, please bear in mind that they were adopted unanimously:

 

* “We, members of parliament gathering in Quebec City on the 127th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, firmly uphold cultural, linguistic, ethnic, racial, political and religious diversity as a global value which should be celebrated, respected, encouraged and protected within and among all societies and civilizations”;

 

* “We are convinced that a diversity of ideas, values, beliefs, languages and cultural expressions…enriches our outlook and experiences at the national, regional and international levels”;

 

* “All individuals must be allowed the full enjoyment of their equal and inalienable rights recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights…[and] should not lead to any discrimination whatsoever based on culture, race, colour [or] *language*…”;

 

* “Moreover, persons belonging to linguistic minorities should not be denied the right to use their own language or to gain access to minority-language education.”

 

This last provision really sticks in the craw. Bill 101 of course already abrogated this right, and Bill 14 would only extend its application in a more draconian fashion. But it takes a special brand of political cynicism not only to sign off on an international document one has not honoured in the past and has no intention of honouring in the future, but to hold the assembly in which these dishonoured human rights are praised in the very shadow of the legislature that mocks them.

 

National Post

 

bkay@videotron.ca