Montreal Gazette
June 14, 2021
-Montreal Gazette
The Trudeau government will legislate to formally recognize French as the official language of Quebec, La Presse reported on Monday.
The recognition will be contained in an amendment to Ottawa’s Official Languages Act that will be tabled by Languages Minister Mélanie Joly before the end of the present session of Parliament.
The recognition by Ottawa will be unprecedented by a federal Liberal government, which up until now has promoted bilingualism across the country.
Citing sources within the government, the report notes that the amendment will also maintain the federal government’s obligations to linguistic minorities across the country — including anglophones in Quebec.
The amendment results from an expression of concern by the Trudeau government in the last Throne Speech that the federal government has a responsibility to protect and promote the French language, not just outside of Quebec but within it as well.
News of the amendment comes as the Quebec government headed by François Legault prepares to adopt Bill 96, a reform of Bill 101, the province’s language law.
