Why Quebec's new language law is stirring controversy episode artwork

EPISODE · Jun 1, 2022 · 26 MIN

Why Quebec's new language law is stirring controversy

from Front Burner

Bill 96, Quebec's newly adopted language law, is meant to protect the use of French in areas such as education, government services, courts and the workplace. But there has been a fierce backlash against it from some Indigenous communities, advocates for immigrants and refugees, business owners, and experts who say it infringes on an array of human and legal rights. Some analysts have criticized the Quebec government for invoking the notwithstanding clause, which allows provinces to override Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms, to pass the bill. That could help set the stage for a broader fight between Quebec and the federal government, they say. Today, Emilie Nicolas, a columnist with Le Devoir and the Montreal Gazette and host of Canadaland's French-language podcast Detours, walks us through some elements of the new law that critics find contentious.

Bill 96, Quebec's newly adopted language law, is meant to protect the use of French in areas such as education, government services, courts and the workplace. But there has been a fierce backlash against it from some Indigenous communities, advocates for immigrants and refugees, business owners, and experts who say it infringes on an array of human and legal rights. Some analysts have criticized the Quebec government for invoking the notwithstanding clause, which allows provinces to override Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms, to pass the bill. That could help set the stage for a broader fight between Quebec and the federal government, they say. Today, Emilie Nicolas, a columnist with Le Devoir and the Montreal Gazette and host of Canadaland's French-language podcast Detours, walks us through some elements of the new law that critics find contentious.

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Why Quebec's new language law is stirring controversy

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This episode was published on June 1, 2022.

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Bill 96, Quebec's newly adopted language law, is meant to protect the use of French in areas such as education, government services, courts and the workplace. But there has been a fierce backlash against it from some Indigenous communities,...

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