QUEBEC — The leader of the Quebec Conservatives is walking back a promise to repeal the Bill 96 language law and now says he will just amend it if his party takes power in the October election.
And to shield the amended law from court challenges, Éric Duhaime says he would continue to make use of the Constitution’s notwithstanding clause.
In fact, Duhaime now says he would want to use the clause “systematically” on all bills passed by the National Assembly, to prevent federal meddling in Quebec policy-making.
Assuming a more nationalist posture in order to compete with the other parties that are doing the same, Duhaime announced the policy shift at a news conference Wednesday.
“We won’t repeal (Bill 96) and we will use the notwithstanding clause,” he told reporters. “We will remove the elements that pointlessly render the life of anglophones miserable.
“Do you really think the decline of French has been reversed in Montreal since the adoption of Bill 96? I don’t think so. This law was sold as the solution to all ailments. I don’t think it was the case.”
The new line is a departure from Duhaime’s previous stance on Bill 96.
In the 2022 general election, he tried to woo anglophone voters with a promise to scrap the bill, which had been adopted by the Coalition Avenir Québec government in May 2022.
“It’s a symbol of dividing Quebecers, and that’s the wrong message,” he said at a Montreal news conference at the time, urging anglophones to break their habit of voting Liberal and join him.
“We want to unite Quebecers. We will present a bill to ensure we can integrate more immigrants into the French reality, without poking the English community.
“Anglophones have historic rights we should recognize and protect, and for that, we need to repeal Bill 96.”
He held the news conference standing behind a podium featuring a sign with “Bill 96” struck through in red.
Then in June 2023, Duhaime said the identification rules in the bill dictating who can have service in English were making Quebec a “laughing stock.”
Now he has a different line. Duhaime said he would eliminate certain “irritants” in Bill 96, which was an overhaul of the Charter of the French Language.
He mentioned two: the government’s use of inspectors to enforce the law and rules requiring predominance of French on certain products.
“On the irritants, I think there are a lot of people in Quebec who think they make no sense,” Duhaime said.
“I use the example of the guy who sells washer-dryers and has to put up with language police coming in and looking into the appliance to see what language is used in the engravings and has to add stickers or not sell those appliances.
“That’s the kind of aberrant measures in the name of language that don’t hold the road.
“We want to make sure the government stops bugging all sorts of businesses in Quebec because some things are not bilingual,” he said.
Duhaime continued to make a pitch for votes from the English-speaking community when asked about a potential backlash to his new stance on Bill 96.
“It’s never going to be enough for some people,” he said. “I know that.”
He countered that his party also offers the promise of no referendum on independence, and that is a big selling point with anglophones.
As for the notwithstanding clause, which overrides fundamental rights, Duhaime noted even the Quebec Liberals are saying they might use the clause.
Last week, Quebec Liberal Leader Charles Milliard found himself mired in a controversy after saying he would use the clause to protect Bill 96, then downgrading that to a maybe the next day.
His initial comments sparked anger in the English-speaking community and even in his own caucus, which had not discussed the leader’s stand on the clause.
Duhaime said it’s a “sign of weakness” in the English-speaking community that it continues to vote Liberal despite the party’s record.
“(Anglophones) are not able to get their voice heard,” Duhaime said. “They saw the flip-flops of Mr. Milliard last week. I think it would be worth it for you guys to have competition and stop electing Liberals election after election.
“They’re not defending your interests.”
Duhaime’s change of position comes as his party steps up efforts to position itself as a nationalist option that believes in more autonomy for Quebec within Canada, to woo disillusioned CAQ members.
Duhaime says he now believes Quebec should use the notwithstanding clause in adopting all of its laws, to prevent meddling from the federal government.
He makes the pitch for widespread use of the clause in a book he published this week, titled Destination Autonomie.
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