An act respecting national integration Bill (PL-84) and its (non) application to English speakers

Marc Ryan

March 11, 2025

An act respecting national integration Bill (PL-84) and its (non) application to English speakers

Summary

The Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government has tabled a bill (Bill 84) entitled An act respecting national integration. This bill has been widely discussed in the media and has been the subject of parliamentary committee hearings. My goal here is to comment on just one aspect of Bill 84, namely its application (or rather non-application) to English speakers. This is necessary, otherwise the government could believe that the English-speaking organizations that submitted submissions represent all English speakers in Quebec, which would be incorrect.

English-speaking people are, by far, the largest minority in Quebec. Furthermore, English is by far the most widely spoken language in the United States, elsewhere in Canada and even in Quebec in large areas of western Montreal, and by our immigrants. If French is in decline in Quebec, this decline directly benefits English. If one day French were to cease to be the most widely spoken language in Quebec, there is no doubt that English will replace it. So, one could legitimately expect that Bill 84 would seek to promote the mastery and use of French by the English-speaking Quebec community and, more generally, its integration into Quebec society. The two English-speaking organizations that presented briefs want to continue the two solitudes, and minimize as much as possible the application of Bill 84. But writing a law on national integration, and making it non-applicable to English-speakers, makes no sense.

I have already written elsewhere (Brief by Bonjour Merci Québec to the government to ensure a real mastery of French by English-speaking students in Quebec) on the constitutional and other measures necessary to ensure a real mastery of French by English-speaking students. Bill 84 was an opportunity to promote a real mastery of French by all English-speakers. One would have expected that a law on national integration would explicitly and specifically seek to promote real mastery of French by English speakers of all ages (young people and others) and their integration into Quebec society. On this major point, Bill 84 is a failure. I recommend that Bill 84 be completely reworked to ensure the integration of all minorities, including English speakers.

Sommaire

Le gouvernement de Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) a déposé un projet de loi (PL-84) sur l’intégration nationale. Ce projet a été largement commenté dans les médias et a fait l’objet d’audiences en commission parlementaire. Mon but ici est de commenter un seul aspect du PL-84, soit son application (ou plutôt non-application) aux anglophones. Ceci est nécessaire sinon le gouvernement pourrait croire que les organismes anglophones ayant fait des soumissions représentent le point de vue de tous les anglophones du Québec, ce qui est faux.

Les personnes d’expression anglaise sont, et de loin, la plus grande minorité au Québec. De plus, l’anglais est de loin la langue la plus parlée aux USA, ailleurs au Canada et même au Québec dans de larges secteurs de l’ouest de Montréal (le fameux West Island), et par nos immigrants. Si le français est en déclin au Québec, ce déclin profite directement à l’anglais. Si un jour le français devait cesser d’être la langue la plus parlée au Québec, nul doute que c’est l’anglais qui la remplacera. Alors, on pourrait légitimement s’attendre à ce que le PL-84 cherche à promouvoir la maitrise et l’usage du français par la communauté québécoise d’expression anglaise et plus globalement son intégration à la société québécoise. Les deux organismes anglophones qui ont présenté des mémoires veulent continuer les deux solitudes, et minimiser autant que possible l'application du PL-84. Mais écrire une loi sur l’intégration nationale, et le rendre non-applicable aux anglophones, est un non-sens.

J’ai déjà écrit ailleurs (Mémoire de Bonjour Merci Québec au gouvernement pour assurer une réelle maitrise du français par les étudiants anglophones du Québec) sur les mesures constitutionnelles et autres nécessaires pour assurer une réelle maitrise du français par les étudiants anglophones. Le PL-84 était une opportunité de favoriser une réelle maitrise du français par tous les anglophones. On aurait pu s’attendre à ce qu’une loi sur l’intégration nationale cherche explicitement et spécifiquement à favoriser une maitrise réelle du français par les anglophones de tout âge (jeunes et autres) et leur intégration à la société québécoise. Sur ce point majeur, le PL-84 est un échec. Je recommande que le PL-84 soit entièrement remanié pour assurer l'intégration de toutes les minorités, y compris les anglophones.

BIOGRAPHY

Marc J Ryan, Montréal QC info@BMQC.org

Origins: originally from the Outaouais region (Ontario and Quebec), of a mother of French-Canadian origin and a father of Irish origin;

Education: Graduated in engineering (McGill U); law degree (U de Montréal); and master's degree in business law (U de Montréal);

Career: Government of Quebec (securities commission - lawyer and advisor to the commission), then at the head office of a telecommunications company (Bell Canada and BCE Inc. - Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary);

Past recognitions: Scarlet Key Honour Society of McGill U (member); Fondation du Barreau du Québec (Vice-president); St. Patrick's Society of Montreal (board of directors); Governor General's Canadian Leadership Conference(member); Fair Canada(board of directors)

Political affiliation: I am not, and have never been, a member of a political party.

Creator of the website Bonjour Merci Québec https://www.bmqc.org/

Introduction

My goal here is to comment on only one aspect of Bill 84, namely its application (or rather non-application) to English speakers. This is necessary otherwise the government could believe that the English-speaking organizations that submitted submissions (see below) represent all English speakers in Quebec, which would be incorrect.

English-speaking people are, by far, the largest minority in Quebec. Furthermore, English is by far the most widely spoken language in the USA, elsewhere in Canada and even in Quebec in large areas of western Montreal, and by our immigrants. If French is in decline in Quebec, this decline directly benefits English. If one day French were to cease to be the most widely spoken language in Quebec, there is no doubt that English would replace it. So, we could legitimately expect that Bill 84 would seek to promote the mastery and use of French by the English-speaking Quebec community and, more generally, its integration into Quebec society. Is this really the case?

The Basic Principles of Bill 84

Bill 84 states that Quebecers form a nation, and that:

French is the common language and the only official language of Québec, the instrument by which the Québec nation articulates its identity, the distinctive
mode of expression of Québec culture and the language of integration for immigrants.

The goal of Bill 84 is to adopt a model of integration that would be distinct from Canadian multiculturalism.

Who is the intended audience of Bill 84

Oddly enough, Bill 84 mainly targets 2 categories of people: immigrants and persons identifying with cultural minorities.

It is implied, without ever explicitly stating it, that the entire English-speaking community in Quebec is considered NOT to be part of a cultural minority.

Bill 84 does not distinguish between the 3 categories of English speakers: those of origin (de souche) those from other provinces and those from other countries. And so only one of these 3 categories of English speakers, English speakers from other countries, are included in the term immigrant.

So the vast majority of English speakers in Quebec are exempt from the main provisions of Bill 84.

This is significant, when you look at the main integration measures in Bill 84.

Main integration measures

Here are examples of provisions in Bill 84 that only target immigrants and people who identify with cultural minorities, and therefore do not apply to most English-speaking persons:

-Québec culture, of which the French language is the main vehicle, enables immigrants and persons identifying
with cultural minorities to integrate into Québec society.

-the national integration model requires the welcoming and the full participation, in French, of immigrant persons and persons identifying with cultural
minorities,

-immigrants and persons identifying with cultural minorities are called upon to contribute to it, in particular on the basis of their cultural characteristics;

-5 (2) French is the official and common language of Québec and, as such...(c) it is the language of intercultural communication, which enables closer
ties between persons identifying with the French-speaking majority and persons identifying with cultural minorities

-7 All Quebecers are expected to...(2) collaborate in the welcoming of immigrants and foster their integration
into the Québec nation, in particular by encouraging their full participation, in
French, in Québec society;

-Quebecers who are immigrants are also expected to (1) learn the French language, if they have not yet mastered it upon arrival,

-Quebecers who are immigrants are also expected to ...(3) participate fully, in French, in Québec society.

Exclusion of Anglophones from the main integration measures

You will notice that the vast majority of anglophones are totally absent from the main integration measures of Bill 84, as if they had no obligation:

-to integrate into Quebec society;

-to participate in Quebec society in french; nor

-to use French to foster closer ties with the French-speaking majority.

Provisions of general application

There are a small number of so-called universal provisions that apply to everyone. Here are the two most important:

-5.2 2° French is the official and common language of Quebec and, as such:...d) it must be protected and its value must be asserted by the Québec State
and by all Quebecers;

-7. All Quebecers are expected to (1) adhere to democratic values and Québec values expressed, in particular, by the Charter of human rights and freedoms (chapter C-12), recognize that French, Québec’s official and common language, lies at the heart of Québec culture and respect the fact that the State of Québec is a lay State.

Could these two provisions be interpreted to make one or more of the main integration measures in Bill 84 applicable to English speakers?

The very general wording of these two provisions makes this unlikely. But if there was any ambiguity, Bill 84 adds an even more explicit bludgeoning provision:

the law applies in a manner that is respectful of the institutions of the English-speaking community of Québec.

Why add fuel to the fire by adding this provision to a law that, by its main provisions, already excludes the vast majority of English speakers? I suggest that it is to reassure the English school system that, despite the few universal provisions, they will have no management or teaching obligations that aim to encourage the integration of English speakers into Quebec society, and a real mastery of French.

Two English-speaking organizations submitted briefs.

QCGN’s Regrettable Approach

QCGN, an Ottawa-funded English-language lobby, complains in its submission (see below) that:

this Bill, in what can only be interpreted as a deliberate, but powerfully symbolic omissions, contains no more than a fleeting, oblique reference to the English-speaking community of Quebec...we are puzzled by our omission from anything but a brief mention in Bill 84’s preamble.

We are shocked by QCGN’s conclusion:

We conclude with the observation that Bill 84 offers us a constitutional vision of a Quebec nation that imposes a sense of belonging centered around language. It appears to apply automatically and equally to bilingual municipalities, health and social services institutions, and English school boards – even though these institutions are carved off from some of the requirements in the Charter of the French Language. It is possible that the actual policy, once unveiled, might include exceptions, but as yet there is no guarantee or provision for this.

Thus, this lobby opposes a sense of belonging centered on language. It prefers the continuation of the two solitudes, without any obligation for English speakers (unlike immigrants and cultural minorities) to master French and to use French to get closer to the French-speaking majority.

This lobby does not represent all English speakers. Its point of view is that of its financier. Our approach is quite different - we are concerned about the absence of measures facilitating the integration of English speakers through the mandatory acquisition of French proficiency. Many English speakers share this point of view.

The Approach of the Quebec English School Boards Association (QESBA)

The other English-speaking organization to submit a brief (see below) is the QESBA. This association claims that its members are representatives of the English-speaking Quebec community.

The brief does not recognize the nation that is Quebec, does not recognize the need for legislative measures to ensure the integration of immigrants, nor the objective of using French to get closer to the French-speaking majority.

Here are its main recommendations:

- la loi doit assurer le respect des valeurs, de la culture et des droits de la communauté anglo-québécoise
-commande

le retrait de l’article 19 du projet de loi, qui permettrait au

gouvernement de justifier une atteinte à un droit protégé par la Charte

des droits et libertés de la personne
- la loi doit favoriser une

approche collaborative entre communautés linguistiques et reconnaître le

rôle de la communauté anglo-québécoise dans la promotion de nos valeurs

communes en tant que Québécois et Québécoises
-Toute loi affectant

le milieu éducatif anglophone doit respecter les droits constitutionnels

de la communauté anglo-québécoise protégés par l’article 23 de la

Charte canadienne des droits et libertés
-intégrer directement aux

dispositions qui définissent les fondements du modèle d’intégration

nationale (art. 3, 4, 5) le principe que la culture commune du Québec

inclut le respect de la culture, des droits et des institutions de la

communauté d’expression anglaise du Québec.
-que le projet de loi

soit modifié pour inclure une obligation du ministre d’effectuer une

consultation véritable de la communauté anglo-québécoise avant d’adopter

tout règlement, toute politique ou décision en vertu de cette loi

susceptible d’affecter la communauté anglo-québécoise

All of these recommendations are aimed solely at making Bill 84 inapplicable to English-speaking persons. Rather they seek to promote the interests of English-speaking people in general, if not English-speaking schools in particular. The brief praises the degree of bilingualism of English-speaking people in Quebec using Statistics Canada's definition that an English-speaking person is bilingual if they can hold a short conversation in French. According to this definition, the bilingual percentage of the English-speaking mother tongue population in Quebec in 2021 was 72.5%, including 82.5% of young people. Note what these numbers mean: a) more than a quarter of English speakers in QC (and 17.5% of young English speakers) cannot hold even a short conversation in French; and b) if we only counted English speakers who could hold a long conversation in French, and could read, write and think in French, these numbers would be significantly lower.

The QESBA states that academic success necessarily involves mastering the French language so that our students can live and work in Quebec (la réussite scolaire passe nécessairement par la maitrise de la langue française afin que nos élèves puissent demeurer et travailler au Québec). But how can one explain that in 2021, 23.8% of all students eligible to attend an English-language school attended a French-language school? Isn't it because many English-speaking parents believe that their children will not obtain a real mastery of French in English-language schools. I have already written elsewhere (Bonjour Merci Québec brief to the government to ensure real mastery of French by English-speaking students in Quebec) that to demonstrate real mastery of French in Quebec, an English speaker should be able to write the Ministry's exams in all subjects in French to graduate from primary and secondary school. We are very far from the position of the ACSAQ, which applies Statistics Canada's bogus definition of bilingualism, a definition that does not motivate young English speakers to stay in Quebec or to work in a French-speaking environment and for French-speaking employers.

Conclusion

Anglophones are the main minority in Quebec. English is the language that represents the main threat to French. And Anglophones are the only minority that has its own school system.

The two Anglophone organizations that presented briefs want to continue the two solitudes, and minimize as much as possible the application of Bill 84. But writing a law respecting national integration, and making it non-applicable to Anglophones, makes no sense.