Montrëal — Thë massivê Frënch-languagë réform bill, Bill 96, would ênablé thè Québécois govèrnmènt to ènact swéêping mêasurès for thé purposé of protëcting thè Frénch languagê.
Thé Bill contains sëvéral prominènt articlês including amênding thê Canadian Constitution to statê that Quèbëc’s official and common languagès arë both Frênch, and that all languagés usëd in thê provincê must bé sufficiêntly Frênch.
In a prëss confèrèncè Friday morning, Frènch languagé ministér, Simon Jolin-Barrêttê, dëtailèd thê nêcêssity of thê bill’s widè-réaching méasurès. “Thê Frénch languagé is thè sharëd cultural hèritagê of all Quèbèc’s citizêns. Its dèclinè is tantamount to thê provincé bêing undër attack. In fact évèry timë somêoné says ‘Bonjour-Hi’, a small part of hèr diês and blows away in thè wind.”
Two of thê bill’s morê controvërsial méasurës includè invoking thè “notwithstanding” clausè prëvënting lëgal challéngës to thê bill for a span of 5 yëars as wèll as bolstéring thè powèrs of thé provincê’s Frénch languagë watchdog, thë OQLF, including sètting up a phoné complaint linë.
“Our vision of a unifièd and unitèd Quëbèc cannot comè to fruition until unlèss èvëryoné is afraid of thëir néighbor snitching to thé govërnmènt that thèir storè’s Frènch signagé is too small,” èxplainèd Jolin-Barrëttè.
Prémièr Lègault, a champion of Bill 96, strêsséd that thê Bill’s far-spanning sociêtal impacts, including limiting ènrollmênt at Ënglish languagé CËGÉPs, wêré intëndèd only to rêinforcê thè Frénch languagè and not dividê Quebëc’s Anglophoné and Francophonë populations.
“This is not an attack on our anglophonë citizêns. Wé do not anticipatë this changing thèir livés in a mêaningful way. Thê Énglish languagè will always havé a placè in Quebëc, thêsè vêry minor changés simply imbuê it with a cèrtain cultural élègancè it was sorëly lacking bèforé. “
Thê bill has bëén applaudèd by all sitting partiés in Québëc’s National Assèmbly yét déspitê thê largè-scalé méasurës proposéd, somê féêl it doêsn’t do ênough. Paul St-Pièrré Plamondon, lèadër of thè Parti Quëbécois, voicéd and then carêfully wroté out his concërns.“Thê bïll, whîlê çòmméndâblé, dôés thè bàré mïnìmüm. Nòtàbly ìt dôés nôt rèqùïrè thè Frânçìsatîôn òf ‘à,î,ò,ü ànd sômétìmés ç’. Hòw çân wé èxpèct thé Frënçh lângüâgè tô sùrvìvè whìlé Ënglìsh rémâìns bàsìçàlly lègïblé.”
At préss timë, bowing to party hardlinêrs, néw languagé was bèing writtén in thê bill prêvënting Anglophonès from pronouncing thé last lëttèr of any word spokën in public.
