New language law is in effect
Quebec’s new language law came into effect Thursday – as the CBC says here:
The provisions require employees of most front-facing government agencies to serve clients in French unless those clients have acquired English-language rights or are new immigrants who arrived to the province within the last six months. The acquired rights include that an English speaker be allowed to be educated in English because of their family’s anglophone history.
Does anyone know what the mechanism is for demonstrating one’s anglophone family history?
Anton 09:25 on 2023-06-01 Permalink
Can u get some sort of badge to wear?
Kate 09:37 on 2023-06-01 Permalink
I could dig out my old anarchy badge, that has an A on it.
Kevin 10:04 on 2023-06-01 Permalink
There isn’t any mechanism. The CAQ has refused to write anything into law, and multiple ministers (Eric Girard, Legault, and Jean-Francois Roberge https://montrealgazette.com/news/quebec/we-are-counting-on-good-faith-minister-says-of-anglos-seeking-services-in-english ) have said that employees will have to accept declarations from the public on the assumption that we are making that claim in good faith.
Joey 10:10 on 2023-06-01 Permalink
That second sentence is, just, yikes. If your rights are based on your ancestry, i.e., the lineage that preceded your birth, how is that ‘acquired,’ which presumably is distinct from ‘inherent’ – I googled ‘acquired rights’ but only found references to construction – “The recognised right to maintain a construction or use in compliance before the coming into force of a new law or regulation” – I suppose you could bend that into a certain shape to be relevant here.
Anyway, previously CBC reported that provincial agencies were supposed to provide services in English in the following cases:
The person is eligible to go to an English-language school.
The person is Indigenous.
The person has a history of communicating with the institution in question in English prior to May 13, 2021.
The person receives services outside of Quebec.
The person is a new immigrant to Canada who arrived in Quebec within the previous six months and is learning French.
Ian 11:20 on 2023-06-01 Permalink
Perhaps some kind of “A”, embroidered in a bright colour so as to be easily identified. Maybe in scarlet.
Kate 11:34 on 2023-06-01 Permalink
Joey, that’s the thing. Both my parents went to school in English in Montreal and so did I. But I have no documents to prove this and I don’t know whether anyone has kept records from people studying in schools of a defunct school board in the 20th century. Surely someone has them, if you need to present these documents to get your kids into English school now? But I don’t have kids, so I’ve never had to figure that out.
dhomas 12:44 on 2023-06-01 Permalink
I had to get a “Déclaration d’admissibilité à l’enseignement en Anglais” for my kids to be allowed to attend English school. In Montreal, the EMSB has inherited the records of the majority of the defunct school boards (at least for the CECM and the PSBGM). Not sure if they would be able to get that information in your name, as the certificates I have are in my children’s names. But if you went to school (in English) after 1977, there is probably an existing certificate in your name kicking around somewhere at the EMSB.
Joey 13:06 on 2023-06-01 Permalink
@dhomas it makes a certain amount of sense that you would need ‘proof’ of eligibility for something like enrolling your child in English school. It makes no sense that you would need to carry that proof on you (or have it registered in some provincial IT system) to, say, renew your driver’s license. It’s sweet and all that the minister says not to worry and that all bureaucrats will be deferential and use good judgment – how long until we start hearing stories other kinds of bureaucrats demanding papers from ‘historic’ anglos? Then how much longer until the whole concept is scrapped and the provincial bureaucracy moves to French-only?
Kate 13:54 on 2023-06-01 Permalink
I’ve emailed the EMSB to find out how to get documentation. If they still have my old report cards I’d be amazed. I even gave them a few details on my parents’ schools.
Orr 15:36 on 2023-06-01 Permalink
The woman in our condo building who tears down any sign or notice containing any trace of English is very happy today, telling anyone and everyone how this is finally going to force the english speakers to leave Quebec, which tbh is something she’s been saying since Legault was first elected. But today she’s positively jubilant.
Kate 17:48 on 2023-06-01 Permalink
I wonder what percentage of Quebec residents would like to see that happen.
Ephraim 13:43 on 2023-06-02 Permalink
@Orr – She would have supported the Nuremburg laws too