23 bilingual municipalities in Quebec to challenge Bill 96 in court
Twenty-three bilingual Quebec municipalities are challenging Bill 96 in court. They are asking for parts of the province’s new language law to be suspended, calling it abusive.
Cities and towns like Westmount, Côte St-Luc, Dorval, Beaconsfield, Kirkland, and Montreal West, as well as rural communities near the Labrador border, say they are concerned by many parts of the law that, they say, will make it much harder to receive services in English and unreasonably penalize English speakers.
They are equally concerned by the many punitive measures aimed at protecting the French language and culture, such as illegal searches and seizures without warrant by the province’s language watchdog, the OQLF, as well as possible punishment for employees who work in English.
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Côte Saint-Luc Town Hall, June 8, 2023. (CREDIT: Martin Daigle, CityNews Image)
Côte Saint-Luc, June 8, 2023. (CREDIT: Martin Daigle, CityNews Image)
Concerns over ‘abusive’ powers
Provisions of the law now make it legal for OQLF employees to look at public workers’ smartphones, something all parties involved in the legal challenge say oversteps boundaries and is abusive.
With the Quebec government having preemptively used the notwithstanding clause to pass the legislation, human rights lawyers say this has opened Quebec up to constitutional debates. Many expect that the challenge will eventually reach the Supreme Court.
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Elected officials for the bilingual cities and towns involved in the legal challenge say they would have much rather seen positive and proactive measures to protect and promote French instead of punitive measures aimed at making life for English speakers more complicated.
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Montreal West Town Hall, June 8, 2023. (CREDIT: Martin Daigle, CityNews Image)
BACKGROUND: New provisions of Bill 96 come into effect June 1: what you need to know
The Minister responsible for the English-speaking community is expected to issue a statement on the court challenge this Friday.
