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bill 96

quebec news

New French signage rules hit Quebec businesses June 1 — Here's what changes

Starting June 1, Quebec's French language laws are getting stricter for businesses, and many storefronts across the province could start to look a little different.

Under new rules coming into effect as part of Bill 96, all companies in Quebec with 25 to 49 employees will now be required to register with the Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF) to prove that French is being used broadly in the workplace. Previously, this rule only applied to businesses with 50 or more employees.

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The CAQ dropped a new commercial sh*tting on 'Bonjour-Hi' and people online are riled up

The Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) just dropped a new commercial sh*tting on the phrase "Bonjour-Hi" as part of a $2.5 million ad campaign promoting the French language — and it's causing quite a stir on social media.

"We are the only French-speaking state in North America. It is through our language that our identity and culture are expressed. I will never stop defending it. Here, in Quebec, it happens in French," wrote Premier François Legault on X (formerly Twitter) where he posted the 30 second advertisement.

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This Montreal College Can Be Your Alternative To CEGEP & Here's How

Got your head spinning over CEGEP options? Fear not, education enthusiasts! There's a fresh alternative in town, and it's TAV College's Grade 12 program. This unique Montreal gem is the perfect stepping stone to university and the best part? You can wrap it up in a single year.

As the only Quebec college offering a fully integrated on-site Grade 12 program, they break the traditional mould. A haven for international students and those without an English education eligibility certificate.

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Quebec Has A New Ad Warning Of The Dangers Of Franglais (VIDEO)

A funny yet striking — and sure-to-be-controversial — new ad from the Quebec government warns against the use of Franglais, specifically the way some Francophones intersperse their speech with terms borrowed from English for flourish or emphasis. The suggestion in the ad is that the practice undermines the integrity of language and contributes to the decline of French in the province.

The 30-second clip takes the form of a mock nature documentary following a peregrine falcon. The bird of prey, a narrator says, "est reconnu pour être assez chill."

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A Quebec Nationalist Group Covered 'STOP' Signs In TMR With 'ARRÊT' Stickers

Nouvelle Alliance, a French language and separatist activist group, taped over a number of "STOP" signs this past weekend across the Town of Mount Royal. The group, which describes itself as an "independence and nationalist movement of young Quebecers," replaced the signs with "ARRÊT" stickers.

"On the night of August 20-21, Nouvelle Alliance activists went to remind the Town of Mount Royal that it is not a linguistic enclave cut off from the rest of Quebec. The signage was frenchified by us," Nouvelle Alliance wrote in French on its Facebook page.

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What The Census Says About The State Of French & English In Quebec

The number of French speakers in Quebec is going up, but that's little comfort to those concerned about the state of the language in the province. The proportion of Quebec's population who mostly speak French at home decreased from 79% to 77.5% between 2016 and 2021, according to the latest census data from StatCan.

Similarly, while the number of people with French as their first language has increased in terms of the raw numbers, their proportion within Quebec’s population declined from 77.1% to 74.8%.

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montreal west island

Some Sulky Anglophones Might Be Selling Their Homes Because Of Bill 96

That chill in the air isn't an early sign of the approaching autumn, that's just the first hint of a cooling Montreal real estate market — sort of, maybe (*fingers crossed*). Royal LePage has released its quarterly House Price Survey and forecast, projecting more price increases but noting a "slowdown" in sales. The company also offered anecdotal evidence that Bill 96 has become a factor in some buyers' plans — at least, unsurprisingly, in the old anglo citadel that is the Montreal West Island.

Bank of Canada interest rate hikes, local Royal LePage broker Marc Lefrançois said in a release, have led buyers to "seriously reassess their financial capacity" and "reduced their enthusiasm and slowed down demand for properties in June."

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françois legault

Legault's Approval Dropped Below 50% For The First Time & There's More Bad News For Him

After almost four years of riding high on a lofty approval rating, Quebec Premier François Legault's popularity has dipped below the 50% mark. According to the latest Angus Reid Institute (ARI) survey, the premier's approval now sits at a more humble 44%, down eight percentage points from March 2022.

But there's a linguistic divide to his support. While the institute says Legault's popularity has declined among both anglophones and francophones, a majority (53%) of francophones still approve of his leadership.

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The EMSB Council Of Commissioners Hired A Legal Firm To Challenge Bill 96

On May 24, the National Assembly of Quebec officially passed Bill 96 in a 78 to 29 vote — and many anglophone institutions aren't too happy about it, especially the English Montreal School Board.

On Friday, May 27, the EMSB put out a press release stating that they have hired a legal firm to contest Bill 96.

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bill 96

Quebec Bill 96's Passage Is A 'Deliberate Attack' On Mohawk Nationhood: Kahnawake Council

The Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (MCK) says it's "engaging with the community in developing plans to fight the implementation" of Quebec Bill 96 on its members after the legislation passed overwhelmingly in the National Assembly.

The bill overhauls the province's Charter of the French Language, imposing, among other things, new French course requirements on students in English-language colleges and restrictions on the use of languages other than French in some public employees' communications.

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bill 96

Bill 96 Has Passed Quebec's National Assembly In A 78-29 Vote

Bill 96, a controversial French language reform touted by the provincial government, passed in Quebec's National Assembly by a landslide on Tuesday. The vote came down to 78 for the bill and 29 against it with opposition coming from the Parti Quebecois and the Liberals. The PQ said the bill's protection of the French language doesn't go far enough, while Liberal leadership said the legislation violates the rights of anglophone residents.

"The position of the CAQ is balanced, unlike that of the PQ, which is too restrictive, and that of the Liberals, which does not want any limits," Premier Francois Legault said in a statement.

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bill 96

'Insidious' Quebec Bill 96 Threatens Indigenous Children's Future, Kahnawake Mohawk Leaders Say

The Mohawk Council of Kahnawake has joined forces with school and community groups to express outrage at the Quebec government's push for new French-language legislation. A community meeting on Monday evening will determine what action the Longhouse takes in response to Bill 96. The new law would force Indigenous students to take an increasing number of French courses within the next two years and be tested for proficiency at the same level as native speakers.

"Our children are now expected to be fluent in three languages? We already have students who are struggling in CEGEP and that's without the new language regulations. We're concerned that the futures of many of our kids will be closed off," Joe Delaronde, spokesperson for the Mohawk Band Council in Kahnawake, told MTL Blog.

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