(Quebec) The Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador (AFNQL) denounces that the reform of Bill 101 perpetuates “the devastating effects that the policy of linguistic assimilation within the Charter [de la langue française] a about our children, our languages, our culture and our communities ”.
Present on Tuesday at the public hearings of Bill 96 by the Minister responsible for the French language, Simon Jolin-Barrette, the AFNQL invited the Legault government to “be bold and take into account the reality of the First Nations by including in the bill provisions that would promote their ancestral languages ”.
“All the provisions of the Charter which oblige students to continue their studies at the nursery, primary and secondary levels in French should not be applicable to First Nations students, because they are detrimental to their educational and academic success and unduly undermine to the right to self-determination and self-government of the First Nations, ”explains the Assembly of First Nations in a brief that it submitted to Quebec parliamentarians.
The AFNQL also wants Quebec “to allow Native students to study in their mother tongue and to promote their success at the secondary level by granting students with a certificate of Indian status or any person recognized by the code of” belonging to the Local Government of the First Nation the right to study in their mother tongue, whether it is their ancestral language or English ”.
“Today, more than half of First Nations students are educated off reserve. For example, many students are forced to go to school in French when their mother tongue is an ancestral language or English. Many fail to obtain their high school and college diplomas because of second language credits in French, ”deplores the AFNQL.
For a special and joint commission
In its brief, the Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador also states that “Bill 96 must clearly provide that the provisions that force students to be educated in French or to take second language courses in French at the secondary level and at the college level are not applicable to First Nations students ”.
“Without the insertion of a clear exemption, the constitutional rights of the First Nations and their academic success will continue to be infringed”, it is written.
The AFNQL took advantage of its visit to the National Assembly to once again invite the government of Quebec to hold a “special and joint commission” which would allow “a real government-to-government dialogue between elected representatives of the First Nations and elected representatives of the First Nations. Quebec for decisions affecting the first peoples ”.
An “extremely problematic” bill for anglophones
The public hearings on the reform of the Charter of the French language failed to appease the anger of the English-speaking community either on Tuesday. The Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN), which claims to represent the province’s English-speaking community, accuses Bill 96 of upsetting human rights protection.
QCGN president Marlene Jennings asks the Legault government to “withdraw Bill 96 as a whole” and instead conduct extensive consultations “on how to protect and promote the French language”. The French language “can and must be protected in Quebec”, she explains in her brief, adding that “Bill 96 is not the right way to achieve this”.
“Bill 96 is extremely problematic. Its measures, based on outdated and sometimes odious approaches aimed at strengthening the use of the French language, will only create obstacles and mistrust. It upsets the social and linguistic peace that has lasted for decades, ”denounces the QCGN.
The organization is also asking Quebec to make a reference to the Court of Appeal to validate whether it can indeed modify the constitutional law of 1987 to add that Quebec forms a nation in which French is the only official language and common.
Who is English speaking?
According to Mme Jennings and the QCGN, “The right to communicate and to service in English should never be based on eligibility for instruction in English”.
“Bill 96 attempts to define what is a member of a minority and, in this case, an English-speaking person. To do this, it uses a restrictive and outdated definition based on eligibility for instruction in English, and attempts to link this definition to access to services and priority admissions to CEGEPs. This poses serious problems, ”says the organization.
“The bill introduces the notion of eligibility to receive instruction in English to make it a criterion for benefiting from services in that language. […] This principle turns out to be more problematic, however. It appears that this is an attempt by the government to identify a “historic English-speaking community” in Quebec, “deplores the QCGN.