National
Bill 96: Quebec public servants now required to make ‘exemplary’ use of French
People take part in a protest against Bill 96 in Montreal, Thursday, May 26, 2022. Quebec’s language law reform is continuing to draw criticism and legal challenges from the province’s English community, a year after it was adopted, as more of its provisions come into effect. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes
By Jacob Serebrin in Montreal
Quebec’s language law reform is continuing to draw criticism and legal challenges from the province’s English community as more of its provisions come into effect Thursday, exactly a year after it received royal assent.
While many elements of the law, commonly known as Bill 96, took effect shortly after it was passed, others were delayed. Those include restrictions on communications with the provincial government in languages other than French, French-language requirements for certain contracts and a requirement that small businesses tell the government how many of their employees don’t speak French.
The Quebec government has described the law as a moderate response to what it says is the declining use of French in the province, particularly in Montreal. Quebec Premier François Legault has repeatedly said that French will always be under threat in North America and he wants to avoid Quebec becoming like Louisiana, where few people speak French despite the state’s French history.
But Eva Ludvig, president of the Quebec Community Groups Network, said the changes taking effect Thursday — and others to follow — will make life harder for English-speaking Quebecers. “We are now seeing the impact of a bad bill, a draconian bill,” she said in an interview. “We see what this really means and the impact it will have on the day-to-day lives of business people, of everyday workers, of students.”
Here are three of the main changes coming into effect:
Civil service to use French “in an exemplary manner”
Chantal Bouchard, spokeswoman for the watchdog that enforces the province’s language laws, says this change means that when on the job, civil servants “must speak and write exclusively in French, except in certain cases.” The rule will not affect access to health care and social services in English, Bouchard said.
In a directive to government agencies, the province’s French Language Department said other exceptions include situations where health, public safety or principles of natural justice require the use of languages other than French.
“We won’t leave anyone in danger,” Jean-François Roberge, Quebec’s Minister of the French Language, told reporters in Quebec City, Wednesday, adding that 911 services will still be available in English.
There are also exceptions for Indigenous people, those who communicated with the government in English before the bill was tabled in May 2021 and people who have the right to English-language schooling in Quebec. Immigrants can also be served in another language, but only for the first six months they live in Quebec.
Roberge said the government will rely on people’s “good faith” when they self-identify as belonging to one of the exempt groups. He said government officials will ask a few questions to establish that people are entitled to receive service in English, but they won’t be issuing anglophone identity cards.
Also starting Thursday, Quebec government websites with English-language content will display banners informing people that the content is only intended for people eligible to receive government communications in English.
Small businesses must report how many employees can’t communicate in French
This requirement applies to businesses with between five and 49 employees, and the data will be made public by the province’s corporate registry.
François Vincent, Quebec vice-president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, said the requirement will mean more paperwork for small business owners at a time when they’re already facing a labour shortage.
“I think it will be important for the government to be flexible,” he said. “They should help and support the businesses to get the information the government needs without giving fines.”
Other provisions intended to increase the use of French in small businesses and further restrict the use of languages other than French on signs go into effect in June 2025.
Contracts of adhesion must be presented in French to both parties
These are standard contracts drawn up by one of the parties, such as employment contracts, collective agreements, insurance policies, franchise agreements and telephone service contracts.
As long as a French copy has been presented, people can then decide to request the contract in another language.
Vincent said this measure will cost his members more if they have to prepare two copies of the same contract and pay for translation.
Other changes related to the law — including French-language requirements for students in the province’s English junior colleges — come into effect this fall.
The law faces several legal challenges, including one filed at the Montreal courthouse on Wednesday.
That suit, brought on behalf of six English-speaking Quebecers who say they already struggle to get government services in English and worry the situation will deteriorate as more elements of Bill 96 come into effect, seeks to have many aspects of the bill struck down.
“On the first of June, a lot will change,” said Andrew Caddell, president of the Task Force on Linguistic Policy, the organization that brought the suit, and one of the six plaintiffs.
Caddell told reporters he worries the law’s far-reaching impacts will make English-speaking Quebecers second-class citizens. “We can protect a language and community without eliminating the rights of another,” he said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 1, 2023.
Alberta
Alberta requests more control over provincial immigration system
Alberta is requesting more control over its provincial immigration to address its skilled workforce shortage, including increasing Ukrainian evacuee participation in the job market.
Premier Danielle Smith has written a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau asking him to re-evaluate his government’s decision limiting the number of allocations for Alberta’s provincial nominee program in 2024. Last week, the federal government informed the province it would only receive 9,750 such allotments – which is the same number of allocations Alberta received in 2023 and is less than the 10,140 for 2024 the federal government had originally allocated.
As of February 2024, Alberta accounts for just under 12 per cent of Canada’s population, but it leads the nation in net employment growth, with 42.8 per cent of the country’s employment gains between January and February 2024. By not providing the requested increase to Alberta’s provincial nominee allocations, the federal government is restricting the province’s ability to keep up with its growing labour market demands, especially as it relates to integrating Ukrainian evacuees into Alberta’s job market.
“Alberta is growing and that is good news. Since January 2023, more than 100,000 new jobs have been created in our province and our employment rate has led the country even longer. At the same time, we continue to experience labour shortages that could be resolved by welcoming skilled workers from around the world, including evacuees from Ukraine, many of whom have the exact skills that our job market most needs. Alberta has long been the economic engine of Canada and we are once again requesting Ottawa respect section 95 of the Constitution and let us welcome the skilled individuals we need into our province on our terms.”
With Alberta’s population growth at levels not seen in four decades, Alberta’s Provincial Nominee Program is best placed to address the province’s unique immigration and economic goals.
Part of Alberta’s population growth has resulted from Russia’s invasion in Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Since that time, Alberta has welcomed a significant number of Ukrainian evacuees to the province. While it is anticipated that many will return to Ukraine following the war, Alberta is also expecting a number of families to apply for permanent residency via the Alberta Advantage Immigration Program. An increase in the number of allocations from the federal government would assist these new Albertans to fill positions in the province’s workforce.
“Immigration is key to Alberta’s ability to address labour shortages and to grow our economy. This limitation imposed by the federal government on our provincial nominee program will be a very difficult pill to swallow, not only for businesses that need this skilled labour but also to the many Ukrainian evacuees who have the skills we need and wish to stay permanently in Alberta.”
Quick facts
- The federal government through Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada sets provincial immigration nomination limits. It also approves all permanent resident applications.
- Alberta maximized its 9,750 nomination allocations in 2023, with a total of 10,029 nominations issued within the federal government administrative buffer.
Related information
Great Reset
World Happiness Report ranks Canada as one of the unhappiest places in the West for young people
From LifeSiteNews
While senior Canadians seems to be mostly happy in Canada, young Canadians may be beginning to feel the negative effects of the Trudeau government’s overspending, onerous climate regulations, lax immigration policies and ‘woke’ politics.
A recent report has ranked Canada as one of the unhappiest places in the West for people in their 20s.
According to the World Happiness Report, published March 8, Canada was listed as the 58th happiest country out of 143 for people under the age of 30, a trend that coincides with the long-reign of the Trudeau government in which the cost-of-living has exploded.
“Happiness fell significantly in the country group including the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, by twice as much for the young as for the old,” the report noted.
According to the report, Canada ranked behind many Western countries, including the United Kingdom (32nd), Italy (41st), Poland (43rd), Germany (47th), France (48th), and even South Korea (52nd), which is well known for its high suicide rate. However, the United States ranked even lower than Canada at 62nd.
The report, published by Gallup, the Oxford Wellbeing Research Centre, the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, and the WHR’s Editorial Board, found that senior Canadians were much happier than young Canadians.
Canadians over 60 were ranked as the 8th happiest in the world for their age group, a trend which placed Canada at 15th for the total population’s overall happiness ranking.
While senior Canadians seems to be mostly happy in Canada, young Canadians may be beginning to reap the effects of the policies of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government, which has been criticized for its overspending, onerous climate regulations, lax immigration policies, and “woke” politics.
In fact, many have pointed out that considering the rising housing prices, most Canadians under 30 will not be able to purchase a home.
Similarly, while Trudeau sends Canadians’ tax dollars oversees and further taxes their fuel and heating, Canadians are struggling to pay for basic necessities including food, rent, and heating.
A September report by Statistics Canada revealed that food prices are rising faster than the headline inflation rate – the overall inflation rate in the country – as staple food items are increasing at a rate of 10 to 18 percent year-over-year.
Additionally, a recent poll revealed that seven out of 10 Canadians believe the country is broken and that the Trudeau government does not focus on issues that matter.
While happiness in young people is down in Canada, euthanasia in Canada has skyrocketed in recent years. The most recent reports show that Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) is the sixth highest cause of death in Canada.
However, it was not listed as such in Statistics Canada’s top 10 leading causes of death from 2019 to 2022. When asked why MAiD was left off the list, the agency explained that it records the illnesses that led Canadians to choose to end their lives via euthanasia, not the actual cause of death, as the primary cause of death.
According to Health Canada, in 2022, 13,241 Canadians died by MAiD lethal injections. This accounts for 4.1 percent of all deaths in the country for that year ,a 31.2 percent increase from 2021.
While the numbers for 2023 have yet to be released, all indications point to a situation even more grim than 2022.
-
Economy2 days ago
Deputy PM Chrystia Freeland irks Canadian senators with request to pass budget bill sight unseen
-
Banks2 days ago
Canada is preparing to launch ‘open banking.’ Here’s what that means
-
Business1 day ago
Balanced budget within reach—if Ottawa restrains spending
-
Taxpayers2 days ago
Police admit Canadian bribery scandal was nixed without talking to Trudeau, reviewing records
-
Canadian Energy Centre1 day ago
B.C. First Nation buying ‘ready-to-go’ natural gas pipeline to supply LNG project
-
City of Red Deer1 day ago
Nominations are in for the by-election to replace beloved citizen and City Councillor Michael Dawe
-
Also Interesting1 day ago
Online Betting Trends of 2024
-
MAiD1 day ago
Canada’s euthanasia regime considers death less harmful than offering help to live