French was soon recognized as the only official language in Canada

Real progress or a simple electoral maneuver? Justin Trudeau’s Canadian government is expected to soon amend the Official Languages ​​Act, which has declared English and French as the two official languages ​​of Canada’s federal state since 1969, an anonymous government source revealed to Journalism. With this reform, Canada will officially recognize French as the only language in the province of Quebec. An unprecedented gesture by the Trudeau government, as all of its liberal predecessors, including his father, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, have fiercely advocated official bilingualism across the country, including Quebec.

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This review is for Official Languages ​​Law It builds on a simple remark, made last fall by the government during the Throne Address (the speech that opens each new parliamentary session, and which allows the government to set its direction and goals, editor’s note): French is on the decline in Quebec. On this occasion, Justin Trudeau admitted “The responsibility to protect and promote the French language not only outside Quebec but also within Quebec».

Opposition denounces electoral opportunism

The project, led by the Federal Minister for Economic Development and Official Languages, Melanie Jolie, has been on the table for six years, reports the daily. duty . It had already submitted a working document last February, which recognizes French as an official language in Quebec, but also imposes bilingualism on Supreme Court judges and lays the foundations for the country’s Francophone immigration policy. But this announcement was met with extreme caution by the political opposition. Several votes are being raised to denounce the electoral opportunism of the Canadian state, just months before the federal election. “To avoid having to face Quebec Prime Minister François Legault in this election, the Federation seeks to occupy the linguistic space“,” summarizes for Le Figaro Our columnist Matthew Boc Cote, who stated “A gesture more symbolic than anything else».

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More broadly, all opposition parties expressed skepticism about the federal government’s approach, instead seeing in the bill an electoral promise for the future. Indeed, the current parliamentary session will end at the beginning of next week, marking a summer recess. “In this context, it is clear that the bill, even the one that was introduced this week, will not have time to be adopted and the liberals know this very well.‘, Curator Alan Reese judges to Task. In addition, if early elections are called before the next parliamentary session, all bills that have not been adopted will be thrown into the trash, the daily assures.

Reform Bill 101 in Quebec

from the magazine news , the Sovereign Formation of the Quebecwa Cluster would rather be ironic: “Fifty years later, the federal government will recognize French as the official language in Quebecsatirical MP Claude Debelville. Indeed, at the same time, the Prime Minister of Quebec, François Legault, is promoting the largest project to modernize and modernize Bill 101, also known as the Charter of the French Language. This text, which was adopted in 1977, establishes the language rights of all Quebec citizens and actually affirms that French is the province’s only official language. reform, deliberate Law 96, aims to increase the protection of the French language in the “County of Belle”, by strengthening its presence and ensuring its survival. By extension, it also provides for an amendment to the Constitutional Act of 1867, which established Canada, to affirm “Recognition of the nation as well as French as the only official and common language in Quebec».

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