Tag: quebec

Anglophone Quebecers Object to French Policy

Only about 10% of Quebecers use English as their primary language.Many of them argue that recent proposals for language policy in the province—Bill 96, for example—are further consigning Anglophone Quebecers to the margins of...

Dread and Delight as Québec Passes Strict French Law

Called Bill 96, Canada’s Québec province passed into law its fiercely fought French language bill last month. The new law will impose penalties on businesses and organizations that don’t switch exclusively to the French...

French Fallout from Canadian Elections

Canada’s snap election this past month was a stark reminder for many of the nation’s residents that the country still has a tricky and contentious relationship with its two official languages, English and French....

Bill Would Allow Six Months to Learn French in Québec

A proposed language reform policy in Québec would give new immigrants to the Canadian province a pretty narrow timeframe to attain working proficiency in French: six months. Bill 96, a 100-page piece of legislation,...

Plan to Promote French in Québec

Last month, the leader of Québec’s Liberal Party and spokesperson for the protection of the French language Hélène David released a 27-point plan for the future of the French language in the province. “It...
Highway shield of the Trans-Canada highway/Transcanadienne in Quebec.

Move to Egalité for French in Canada

Since its adoption of the Official Languages Act in 1969, Canada has been an officially bilingual country—that is, the nation has recognized both English and French as its official languages on a federal level....

Canada Elections May Favor French

The Bloc Québécois, revitalized under its new leader Yves-François Blanchet, managed to win 32 seats (up from ten) in the recent Canadian general election, according to provisional results. As no party is likely to...

Pictograms to Replace French on Quebec Roadsigns

Quebec’s French-only roadsigns will be replaced by pictograms, making it easier for non-French speakers to navigate the road in Canada’s province. English text on roadsigns would have violated Quebec’s language laws, which left little...

Quebec French Tests Challenged

Quebec’s Ministry of Immigration, Diversity, and Inclusiveness has been accused of using French test results as an excuse to violate the constitutional rights of more than 500 international students. Fo Niemi, director of the Montreal-based...

Quebec Court Rules Against French Signs

The Quebec Superior Court has deemed the province’s main French-language group too harsh, after trying to enforce major retail chains to change their trademark names and outdoor signage into appropriate French-language translations. A total of...
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