Language and Quebec's identity are once again front and centre. Francois Legault claims that Quebec has the right to amend the constitution. At issue is Quebec's Bill 96, which would amend section 90 of the BNA Act to read:
“FUNDAMENTAL CHARACTERISTICS OF QUEBEC
“90Q.1. Quebecers form a nation.
“90Q.2. French shall be the only official language of Quebec. It is also the common language of the Quebec nation.”
The problem is the notion of "the Quebec Nation." Andre Pratte writes in The Montreal Gazette:
Do Quebecers form a nation? There is no doubt in my mind, and in the minds of the vast majority of experts who have studied the issue, that they do. Fifteen years ago, the House of Commons even passed a motion to that effect.
However, recognition of the Quebec nation (or distinct society) has not been enshrined in the country’s Constitution, because a majority of English Canadians are opposed to it. They fear that such recognition would lead to the granting of special rights to Quebecers, a situation they cannot accept. While I do not share this view, it is certainly a legitimate one. The only way to change the minds of our fellow citizens is to convince them, not to “shove the idea down their throats,” as the politicians in the National Assembly like to characterize the process that led to the 1982 Constitution.
He has a point. In French, the word pays means more than "province." It means home. But, for Francophone Quebecers, it means much more than that. It means homeland. It's not easy to negotiate the meaning of words between two different languages.
Justin Trudeau wants to ignore that negotiation. His father would have confronted the problem head-on.
Image: The Hill Times
10 comments:
Legault seems to be in a panic about the recent study by the Office québécois de la langue française that found half of Quebecers using a language other than French at work. The number rises to two-thirds in Montreal. This is hardly surprising given Quebec's position as an island of French in a sea of English, and I doubt the proposed constitutional amendments will arrest the decline of French. Still, if Quebec wants to use the amending formulas in the Constitution Act 1982, it might help if they signed the damn thing!
Cap
What's been behind all of this business -- for decades -- has been Quebec's shifting demographics, Cap. The days of The Revenge of the Cradle have long since passed.
As a Canadian from England with no language skills in any other language I am no doubt biased on this issue however my initial concern is regarding “French shall be the only official language of Quebec.” Canada currently mandates that both French and English services be available on request at government facilities and on line and in print, does mandating that French be the ONLY Official language meen that non french speaking Canadians would then NOT get services in other than french (or is that already the case in provincial government facilities)?
Despite my birth place and current residence in Ontario I view myself as CANADIAN not inextricably linked to some ethnic upbringing. Canada's strength is its multitude of peoples from all over the world that whilst celebrating their heritage strive to SHARE such and not limit it!
Not the way to encourage the use of french across Canada IMHO.
Unfortunately. Rural, most Francophone Quebecers are not too worried about French-language rights beyond their own borders. They believe that French speakers outside Quebec will be assimilated by the English majority.
There are two issues here. One goes to the merit of the changes Legault wants to implement. The second, perhaps more important, is the precedent factor if Ottawa doesn't oppose this or at least set some limits on when provinces can do this. I wish there was somebody in the wheelhouse.
This is a difficult situation, Mound. But ignoring it won't make it go away.
It's not clear that the federal government has a say in Quebec's proposed changes. Under the Constitution's amendment formulas, provincial legislatures can amend their province's constitution without approval of any other government. Arguably, this is what Quebec is doing since its amendments don't affect any other province or Canada as a whole.
The feds could argue that Quebec's changes relate to the use of English and French in the province and so the approval of the House of Commons and Senate are needed. But this is far from clear. Bill 101 already made French the official language of Quebec five years before the Constitution was repatriated. The Constitution Act 1867 only requires that the National Assembly and courts allow the use of both English and French, and that laws be published in both languages. Bill 101 didn't change any of that. As long as Quebec is simply enshrining Bill 101 into the Constitution, I don't see how this changes the use of languages so that Parliamentary approval is needed. And since the Harper government already proclaimed the Quebecois nation, I don't see how the feds can claim their approval is needed. Politically, Trudeau may be better off letting sleeping dogs lie rather than picking a fight in a province he needs to carry in the next election.
Cap
Trudeau's political position in Quebec is always tenuous, Cap. The majority of Quebecers will vote for him if they see him as their champion. It's the reaction in the rest of the country that is unpredictable.
Anybody in Quebec that thinks they are a Distinct Society has never been to Newfoundland.
An excellent point, zoombats. But lots of us don't look beyond our own backyards.
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