Bill 96 Will Disproportionately Affect Those Already Marginalized
Quebec is working to strengthen its language laws once again, citing a decline in the use of French in the province. While many celebrate the Bill 96, others are apprehensive about how it will impact human rights, in part due to its use of the notwithstanding clause to circumvent sections of the federal and provincial charters of rights. Among those most impacted would be low-income anglophones and recent immigrants who aren’t fluent in French.
Bill 96 would make French the only language in which the government could communicate with people, with exceptions for those with the right to go to elementary school in English, those with a history of communicating with the same government agency in English prior to 2021, immigrants who have been in Quebec less than six months, and Indigenous people.
The minister responsible for Bill 96, Simon Jolin-Barrette, says that this actually won’t change anything for anglophones and isn’t stripping anyone of their rights. But beneath the surface, Bill 96 will pose major challenges for the province’s already-vulnerable population. Some of the people who will face the harshest consequences are those who need access to social and economic benefits such as social assistance and pensions. Those with a limited grasp on the French language might not be able to understand eligibility requirements, for example, since the information is complicated and technical.
For example, it might be difficult for a homeless man newly eligible for his Quebec pension to provide the government with satisfactory documents proving his right to communicate with them in English, the only language he understands.
This additional roadblock will be all the more frustrating because it is so deliberate and unnecessary. English translations of government form letters will still be drawn up, but those who lack English eligibility will be prohibited from receiving them. Government agents may wish to speak English on the telephone to vulnerable people who do not understand French, but they will be prohibited from doing so.
Face à Face has worked with vulnerable populations and has seen countless examples of people becoming discouraged by government red tape from accessing their economic and social rights. Many of those we work with are more comfortable speaking in English, use our mail reception services to get their social assistance cheques, and it’s already difficult for them to get official papers and ID even at the best of times.
With French already having been Quebec’s official language for decades, the new requirements under Bill 96 that prevent the government from communicating in non-official languages even with vulnerable people seem unnecessary at best.
