QUEBEC \u2014 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.<\/p>\n
And to shield the amended law from court challenges, \u00c9ric Duhaime<\/a> says he would continue to make use of the Constitution\u2019s notwithstanding clause.<\/p>\n In fact, Duhaime now says he would want to use the clause \u201csystematically\u201d on all bills passed by the National Assembly, to prevent federal meddling in Quebec policy-making.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cWe won\u2019t repeal (Bill 96) and we will use the notwithstanding clause,\u201d he told reporters. \u201cWe will remove the elements that pointlessly render the life of anglophones miserable.<\/p>\n \u201cDo you really think the decline of French has been reversed in Montreal since the adoption of Bill 96? I don\u2019t think so. This law was sold as the solution to all ailments. I don\u2019t think it was the case.\u201d<\/p>\n The new line is a departure from Duhaime\u2019s previous stance on Bill 96.<\/p>\n In the 2022 general election, he tried to woo anglophone voters with a promise to scrap the bill<\/a>, which had been adopted by the Coalition Avenir Qu\u00e9bec government in May 2022.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a symbol of dividing Quebecers, and that\u2019s the wrong message,\u201d he said at a Montreal news conference at the time, urging anglophones to break their habit of voting Liberal and join him.<\/p>\n \u201cWe 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.<\/p>\n \u201cAnglophones have historic rights we should recognize and protect, and for that, we need to repeal\u00a0Bill 96.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n He held the news conference standing behind a podium featuring a sign with \u201cBill 96\u201d struck through in red.<\/p>\n Then in June 2023, Duhaime said the identification rules in the bill dictating who can have service in English<\/a> were making Quebec a \u201claughing stock.\u201d<\/p>\n Now he has a different line. Duhaime said he would eliminate certain \u201cirritants\u201d in Bill 96, which was an overhaul of the Charter of the French Language<\/a>.<\/p>\n He mentioned two: the government\u2019s use of inspectors to enforce the law and rules requiring predominance of French on certain products.<\/p>\n \u201cOn the irritants, I think there are a lot of people in Quebec who think they make no sense,\u201d Duhaime said. <\/p>\n \u201cI 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.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s the kind of aberrant measures in the name of language that don\u2019t hold the road.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to make sure the government stops bugging all sorts of businesses in Quebec because some things are not bilingual,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s never going to be enough for some people,\u201d he said. \u201cI know that.\u201d<\/p>\n He countered that his party also offers the promise of no referendum on independence, and that is a big selling point with anglophones.<\/p>\n As for the notwithstanding clause, which overrides fundamental rights, Duhaime noted even the Quebec Liberals are saying they might use the clause.<\/p>\n Last week, Quebec Liberal Leader Charles Milliard found himself mired in a controversy after saying he would use the clause to protect Bill 96<\/a>, then downgrading that to a maybe the next day.<\/p>\n His initial comments sparked anger in the English-speaking community and even in his own caucus, which had not discussed the leader\u2019s stand on the clause.<\/p>\n Duhaime said it\u2019s a \u201csign of weakness\u201d in the English-speaking community that it continues to vote Liberal despite the party\u2019s record.<\/p>\n \u201c(Anglophones) are not able to get their voice heard,\u201d Duhaime said. \u201cThey 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.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re not defending your interests.\u201d<\/p>\n Duhaime\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Duhaime says he now believes Quebec should use the notwithstanding clause in adopting all of its laws, to prevent meddling from the federal government.<\/p>\n He makes the pitch for widespread use of the clause in a book he published this week, titled Destination Autonomie<\/a>.<\/p>\n