MONTREAL Arguments over language are nothing new in Quebec, but with a changing landscape that leans towards multiculturalism, some are asking if it might be time to put the debate to rest. Whenever I hear about it, I don t know who the target demographic is, said Jasmine Clarke, a second-generation Canadian born and raised in Montreal. When these things come up, I find it s just so not based in reality. Thursday, Quebec s language debate was once again thrown into the spotlight when the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) tabled an aggressive piece of legislation to reform Bill 101, Quebec s Charter of the French Language.
MONTREAL Camille Lévesque is perhaps a rarity; she s a perfectly bilingual Quebecer. She spent her early years in Toronto due to her father s work, but attended a French elementary school. When the family moved back to Quebec in 2007, Lévesque said there was no question that she would be attending a French-language high school. My parents were very adamant about speaking French every day, she said. But ultimately, when it came to picking a CEGEP, Dawson had a strong science program. Lévesque attended Dawson College from 2012 to 2014, studying health sciences. The science world is overwhelmingly anglophone and I had plans to go to an English university, so I thought it would be an easier transition to start with English CEGEP, she told CTV News.
The Association of Suburban Municipalities, representing 13 of the 15 municipalities with bilingual status on the island of Montreal, issued a news release Wednesday afternoon, calling for the status to be maintained, even where demographics have changed. “For us, balance means strengthening the French language without taking away the rights of citizens in bilingual municipalities, said Beny Masella, mayor of Montreal West and head of the association. “We fully support the social and political consensus in favour of protecting and strengthening the status of the French language in Quebec. At the same time, we are committed to protecting the gains that are important to the citizens of our municipalities,” the news release read.
A group of suburban municipalities with bilingual status is calling for ‘balance’ and ‘respect’ ahead of major language reform set to be tabled in Quebec Thursday.