The Quebec National Assembly (QNA) is almost across the finish line in passing French language Bill 96..The bill is controversial legislation that will significantly broaden the province’s ability to mandate the use of French both in public and in private..For some in the province, it will become almost illegal to operate in English..The legislation would enforce stricter language requirements on small businesses and companies in federally regulated industries. It would also encompass governments and schools..The bill is anticipated to pass before the legislature leaves for the summer break..The business community in particular is anxious the Quebec government's proposal to strengthen its language laws will become an unmanageable burden for smaller companies already struggling to get up and running again, post-pandemic..As well as broadening Quebec's 1977 Charter of the French Language (Bill-101), the legislation would apply to tens of thousands of businesses that were previously exempt..One clause in the bill prohibits employers from requiring proficiency in a language other than French. Currently, requiring another language as condition of employment is permitted only if “the nature of the duties requires such knowledge,” Bill 101 states..Supporters of the bill have said it's an important law that will preserve Quebec as North America’s last predominantly French-speaking territory..First Nations leaders have denounced the bill as “cultural genocide” for forcing French on the province’s predominantly English-speaking indigenous communities.. Flags in Quebec .First Nation leaders in Kahnawake, south of Montreal, warned the Quebec government about the bill..“We need to put Quebec on notice that there’s going to be some backlash and ramifications if this moves forward in the way that it is,” Grand Chief Kahsennenhawe Sky-Deer told Global News..She and other chiefs are demanding their communities be exempt from the bill. They say students in indigenous communities already face numerous barriers in the system..“We see this as an attack and a threat on our rights as people,” she said..Doctors' organizations have called the alarm saying it “could endanger people’s lives, or have negative impacts on mental health if applied.”.Last week, college students in Quebec expressed their outrage with a huge walkout and remonstrated the bill’s curbs on English-language education..The drive to promote French in the province will lead to an enhanced complaint procedure as well as the creation of a French Language Ministry and a French Language commissioner..If a doctor violates the bill's guidelines, an anonymous complaint to the Office québécois de la langue française is all it will require for investigators to confiscate records without a warrant. This would allow for the seizure of confidential patient medical records..Inspectors do not require a warrant from a judge. They will have the authority to enter a premises any time a complainant reports an alleged offence against a business..The bill will require health professionals to interact with patients in French, even in situations where both practitioner and patient would understand each other better in a different language..Michel Leblanc, president and CEO of the Montreal Chamber of Commerce has his reservations, "Elsewhere, when a company feels that its employees need to speak English, we don't ask that company to justify and explain [what they're doing]," said Leblanc.."Are we heading toward a situation where, at any moment, a company will find itself in court because of the use of French or English [at work]?".Leblanc says he understands the need to fortify the French language and to ensure English is not arbitrarily used in the workplace, but he's concerned about how the law would be applied.."If I am in retail, or the restaurant business and I want teams that are able to work with tourists, I am okay if I want eight waiters who can speak English? Or does it have to be only one waiter, and each time there's a table with anglophones, [someone] will say 'sorry, I can't help you, let me go get my colleague'?" Leblanc said..If the bill gets through the Quebec legislature, businesses with 25 employees, or more, will be subject to “francization” — government certification showing that French is the adopted language of the workplace..A large demonstration protesting the controversial is set to take place in Montreal this weekend.
