We're not surprised by latest Bill 96 court challenge, opposition parties say

QUEBEC — The Legault government issued a “no comment” to news of another legal challenge to its language overhaul legislation, Bill 96.

“It is a matter before the courts,” said an aide to the minister of the French Language, Jean-François Roberge. “We won’t be reacting.”

But some of the opposition parties at the National Assembly said they are not surprised the law and other pieces of legislation adopted by the Coalition Avenir Québec government during the last five years are being challenged.

“There are flaws in these bills, which explain why we voted against them in the first place,” Liberal MNA André Fortin told reporters. “When you present legislation that bypasses people’s rights, there will be court challenges.

“People told us there would be court challenges even before it was adopted, so are we surprised? … Absolutely not? Will the court do its work and analyze their request and see if there is legal validity to it? I certainly hope and expect so.

“I think people in general want their rights respected.”

Québec solidaire co-spokesperson Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois said he is not surprised by the challenge.

“What we are seeing since the CAQ has been in power is the fact they don’t like the check-and-balance mechanisms of our society,” Nadeau-Dubois said at his morning news conference. “They tend to think that because they have a majority of MNAs that means they have the majority of Quebec behind them and that means they can do whatever they want.

“It’s not true. The majority of Quebecers did not vote for them in the last election.”

Nadeau-Dubois noted that even if QS voted in favour of Bill 96, it also has said if it ever takes power it will amend it.

“We will keep what’s good in the bill and we will get rid of what’s bad,” Nadeau-Dubois said.

More specifically, a QS government would drop the rules stating immigrants can only have government services in their language for six months after they arrive. It would also exempt Indigenous Peoples from the bill entirely.

The government recently published regulations exempting Indigenous nations from the new French course requirements to graduate from CEGEP.

But the Parti Québécois, which supported Bill 96, was skeptical.

“It’s their right to sue if they want to, but the National Assembly is sovereign,” said Parti Québécois language critic Pascal Bérubé. “So it don’t impress me much, as Shania Twain would say.”

The legal challenge is the latest in a string filed against the bill. This one is sponsored by the Task Force on Linguistic Policy. The group launched its case Wednesday at the Montreal courthouse.

pauthier@postmedia.com

twitter.com/philipauthier

1. Crowd-funded lawsuit focuses on Bill 96's concrete impact on human rights

2. CAQ hangs up on PQ motion to regulate cellphones in Quebec classrooms