The debate over the language is a highly sensitive issue in Quebec, but also inflammatory throughout Canada, an officially bilingual country. The province of La Belle lives like a Gallic village besieged by more than 350 million English speakers and rules over the North American continent. The province of La Belle regards the French language as part of its identity.

On May 24, the Quebec government’s governing coalition, Avenir Quebec (center right, Nationalist), passed legislation intended to reaffirm its primacy. This text, named “96”, reinforces the charter of the French language, which became French in 1977 “the official language” from Quebec; it extends its use to small businesses, makes it a fundamental right and duty for all immigrants and Anglophones to learn, and requires businesses to give preference to French in their dealings.

“This is the beginning of a great linguistic revival”, got excited the minister carrying the law, Simon Jolin-Barrette, who referred to the legislation as ” first stage “ towards a more French-speaking Quebec. It’s about “Survive”, added the Prime Minister of Quebec, François Legault. He even mused, alarmingly, that without that linguistic framework and without control over its immigration policies, Quebec would inexorably suffer an area now the responsibility of the federal government “Louisianization”in reference to this American state where French, once the majority, has become the vernacular.

Worry by Justin Trudeau

This new demonstration of faith in Quebec’s identity sparked an outcry across the country. After the Secularism Act passed by the Quebec Parliament in 2019, “English” Canada rebelled against this new law “Retreat” the province. The powerful English-language daily newspaper The Globe and the Mail has multiplied forums and editorials to castigate this attempt “to tiptoe out of Canada’s constitutional order”and accused the province of playing the Separatist card without saying so.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau immediately said his ” Issue “, not rule out that the federal government would challenge the law in the Supreme Court of Canada. “Our government’s job will always be to protect minorities across the country, especially minorities in official languages,” he said. he said, adding his voice to the voice of English-speaking Quebecers, about 9% of the population, the wind is blowing against the new legislation.

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