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Updated May 13, 2021
(FILES) In this file photo a young fan holds a sign reading “Phoenix I love you” as French band Phoenix performs on stage during the Festival d’ETE Concert in Quebec City on July 12, 2018. (Photo by Alice Chiche / AFP)
Canada’s Quebec province on Thursday unveiled sweeping legislation aimed at curbing the decline of the French language in the former French colony, particularly in Montreal where businesses are using English more and more.
The bill is a revamp of a 1977 law, reaffirming French as Quebec’s main language and promoting its use locally on signage, in education and in workplaces.
Active cases drop below 8,000 in Quebec 11 May 2021 at 18 h 25 min Reading time: 2 min 30 s
By Gordon Lambie
Although the areas will remain under special emergency measures to help control the spread of COVID-19, Premier Francois Legault announced on Tuesday afternoon that high schools in the Beauce and Granit sectors will be reopening. While emphasizing that people in those hard-hit areas need to “be more careful,” the premier spoke with pride about reopening the schools, and the degree to which schools in the province have remained open in general during the pandemic.
Legault said that the situation in certain parts of the Bas Saint Laurent, Chaudiere Appalaches, and Estrie regions all remain areas of concern, although he added that as of next Monday the Outaouais region will be downgraded from the emergency measures and that several regions closer to Montreal may be moving to orange shortly.
MONTREAL The Legault government will table its long-awaited reform to the French language charter on Thursday, a source confirmed to CTV News. In a tweet posted Tuesday evening, Premier Francois Legault teased the news by saying an important announcement is coming Thursday after meeting with Quebec s language minister, Simon Jolin-Barrette. Rencontre préparatoire avec @SJB CAQ en vue d’une annonce importante ce jeudi du gouvernement du Québec.… mais je ne vous dis pas laquelle! pic.twitter.com/CjAU4KbqI6 François Legault (@francoislegault) May 11, 2021 It s not yet known which reforms will be unveiled this week, including how they will be applied to CEGEPs or how they will affect Montreal where the debate over the French language is a hot-button issue. The CAQ government has said previously that it intends to table its changes to Bill 101 before the end of the current parliamentary session on June 11.
Fast Facts: A woman in her 20s became the youngest person in Ottawa to die from COVID-19. Quebec Premier Francois Legault announced that emergency restrictions in Gatineau will come to an end Monday. Ontario will be pausing first the rollout of first doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
COVID-19 by the numbers in Ottawa (Ottawa Public Health data):
New COVID-19 cases: 67 cases on Tuesday.
Total COVID-19 cases: 25,513
COVID-19 cases per 100,000 (previous seven days): 75.3
Positivity rate in Ottawa: 6.4 per cent (May 3 to May 9)
Reproduction Number: 0.88 (seven day average)
Testing:
Who should get a test? Ottawa Public Health says you can get a COVID-19 test at an assessment centre, care clinic, or community testing site if any of the following apply to you: