On May 13, 2021, the Canadian province of Quebec tabled Bill 96:  «An Act respecting French, the official and common language of Québec »

Under the guise of protecting and promoting the French language, this bill extensively overrides human  rights, putting aside both Important aspects of the  Provincial Quebec Charter of Human Rights and sections of the Canadian Charter of Rights.

-Bill 96 grants The Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF) the discretionary powers to search and seizure without any prior judicial authorization (no search warrants). Agents (inspectors) will have the right to enter any workplace for inspection at any hour to ensure French is being followed. They will be empowered to investigate: work phones,  work computers, and electronic devices to collect and print data. Employees will not be protected from such invasive inspections. 

-Bill 96 proposes taking away the bilingual status of any municipalities that do not have a population of a minimum of 50% English speakers.

- Bill 96 does not recognize the threat to First Nations languages and cultures  which are vanishing, while at the same time declaring that French is the the only official language of the Canadian province of Quebec. 

- Bill 96 caps the amount of enrolment possible in Quebec’s English community colleges (CEGEP) at 17.5%. This tightly controls how enrolment increases years to come. 

-Bill 96 would make Canadian federal  jurisdictions including insurance, media and banks will subject to Quebec’s provincial language laws

-  Bill 96 will further limit the English language , a minority in the predominantly French Province of Quebec. 

The people most affected by the passing of the bill are the minority language groups in Quebec, especially the English Community

I add that the (QESBA), Quebec English School Boards Association representing the 9 English  school boards in Quebec, which is exclusively managed and controlled by the Anglophone  community has been excluded by the Quebec government from the hearings into Bill 96. 

What is most disturbing is that their has been some Canadian federal support for the passing of this bill. In the province of Quebec, the French media is omitting many critical details included in this petition. 

Human rights are too important to be signed away without objection by the present day political parties. The international community needs to know and object to this blind adherence to the articles written therein.

                                                         The Solution

I call upon the international community to stand up with us Canadians,  against Bill 96 by signing this petition.

Signing this petition means:

1. Telling the Canadian government (a United Nations signatory) how important the minority English speaking community is in Quebec,  and why human rights for this vulnerable segment of the population needs to be protected by stopping bill 96. 

2. Getting the attention of the United Nations to stop Bill 96.

3. Putting moral pressure on the Liberal government presently in power in Canada

4. Attention to the fact that Human Rights violation are in fact happening in Canada.

Thank you!————————————————

Join us on Facebook: Our Bilingual Quebec / Canada: No to Bill 96 & C-32

https://www.facebook.com/groups/143144701218314/permalink/170507198482064/
                  https://www.facebook.com/groups/143144701218314/